Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam was an Indian Politician who served as the Minister of Steel and Mines in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet. Kumaramangalam was initially a member of the Communist Party of India and later joined the Indian National Congress.
Moreover, he served as the Advocate-General of the Madras Constituency from 1966 to 1967. Born in London, Kumaramangalm was the third child of Chief Minister of Madras Presidency P Subbarayan and his wife, Radhabai Subbarayan. When Kumaramangalam returned to India in 1939, he joined the Indian Independence Movement.
Elected Member For Lok Sabha In 1971
In 1941, he was arrested for distributing 'seditious' pamphlets for what was known later as the Madras Conspiracy Case. Until long after independence, he favoured India's proximity to the Soviets, which was also a Communist country.
However, he started distancing himself from the ideology, resigned from the Communist Party of India and joined the Indian National Congress. Nonetheless, he remained loyal to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when the Party split and was anointed as the elected member of the Lok Sabha from Pondicherry in 1971.
Grandson Suffered A Similar Fate In MH370
Later, he served as the Minister of Steel and Mines until 1973, when he died in a fatal plane crash. While many dead could not be identified, Kumaramangalam was recalled because of his Parker pen and the hearing aid he wore. His grandson and an Indo-Canadian citizen, Muktesh Mukherjee and his wife suffered a similar fate when they were on board the ill-fated Malaysian plane MH370.
Kumaramangalam's daughter Uma Mukherjee had visited the Chinese capital fearing that her son had met the same fate like her father's, four decades apart.
Muktesh Mukherjee, 47, and his wife Xiaomao Bai, 37, were listed as passengers on flight MH370. The wreckage of MH370, which vanished off the radar, has still not been found. However, the government confirmed that the last approved location for the flight was over the Southern Indian Ocean.
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