D. Pandian Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth and Family

Pandian died from sepsis at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on 26 February 2021, at age 88.

Pandian had two daughters and a son, David Jawahar. His wife Joyce Pandian died at the age of 76 in 2010. His son David Jawahar is a former registrar of the University of Madras, Tamil Nadu, and was a professor at the Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchi.

On 21 May 1991, Pandian was seriously injured while accompanying the then Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, when the latter was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack. Pandian was scheduled to translate the prime minister’s speech for the local audience. Though opposed to LTTE, he was a critic of the Sri Lankan government’s approach to the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils and called for peaceful political solutions. Speaking later about the incident he would say that he still carried pieces of shrapnel in his body. He was also amongst the first victims to call for the release of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, writing to the then Tamil Nadu Governor, Banwarilal Purohit, asking for their release on humanitarian grounds.

After completing his education, he served as a lecturer teaching English at the Alagappa Chettiar college in Karaikudi. He campaigned for the 1957 Tamil Nadu state assembly elections under a pseudonym. However, his name was published in some newspapers resulting in a demand for his resignation. However, the college’s founder would encourage him further by presenting him with works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

David Pandian (18 May 1932 – 26 February 2021) was an Indian Tamil politician who served as Member of Parliament elected from Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as an Indian National Congress–United Communist Party of India (UCPI) candidate from North Chennai constituency in 1989 and 1991 elections. He was the Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the Communist Party of India for three consecutive terms from 2005 to 2015, when he was succeeded by R. Mutharasan.

Pandian was born in Vellaimalaipatti, a village in Usilampatti Taluk, in modern day Madurai district on 23 September 1932. His father, David, and mother, Navamani, were teachers in a Christian missionary school aimed at children of the Piramalai Kallar community. He studied at the Kallar Reclamation School and later at the Usilampatti Board High School. He went on to complete to obtain a postgraduate degree in English from Alagappa college in Karaikudi. During this time, he also won the students’ union elections as a member of the communist party’s student wing. He held a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws degree.