| Honorific-Prefix: | Hon. Senator |
| S. Natesan | |
| Native Name: | சு. நடேசன் |
| Native Name Lang: | ta |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MSC MP |
| Office1: | Minister of Posts and Information |
| Predecessor1: | V. Nalliah |
| Successor1: | C. A. S. Marikkar |
| Term Start1: | 1952 |
| Term End1: | 1956 |
| Office2: | Member of the State Council of Ceylon for Kankesanthurai |
| Term Start2: | 1934 |
| Term End2: | 1947 |
| Constituency Mp3: | Kankesanthurai |
| Parliament3: | Ceylonese |
| Term Start3: | 1952 |
| Term End3: | 1956 |
| Predecessor3: | S. J. V. Chelvanayakam |
| Successor3: | S. J. V. Chelvanayakam |
| Office4: | Member of the Senate of Ceylon |
| Birth Date: | 21 May 1895 |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Blank1: | Ethnicity |
| Data1: | Indian Tamil |
Subaiya Natesan (Tamil: சுப்பையா நடேசன்; also known as Subbaiya Nadesapillai; 21 May 1895 - 15 January 1965) was a Ceylonese politician, Member of State Council, Member of Parliament and senator.
Natesan was born on 21 May 1895.[1] He was the son of Subaiyapillai from Thanjavur, India.[2]
Natesan married Sivagamasundari, daughter of P. Ramanathan, a leading Ceylon Tamil statesman.[2] [3]
Natesan moved to Ceylon after being invited by P. Ramanathan and in 1924 was appointed principal of Parameshwara College, Jaffna.[2] He was also Ramanathan's private secretary.[2]
Natesan stood as a candidate in Kankesanthurai at the 1934 state council by-elections. He won the election and entered State Council.[2] [4] He was re-elected at the 1936 state council election.[5] He was one of the founding members of the United National Party (UNP) in 1946.[6] [7]
Natesan stood as the UNP's candidate in Kankesanthurai at the 1947 parliamentary elections but was defeated by the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) candidate S. J. V. Chelvanayakam.[8] [9] However, he won the 1952 parliamentary elections and entered Parliament.[9] [10] [11] He was appointed Minister of Posts and Information in the First Dudley Senanayake cabinet following the resignation of V. Nalliah.[2] [12] [13] [14] He retained his cabinet position, which was renamed Minister of Posts and Broadcasting, when the Kotelawala cabinet was formed in 1953.[15] Natesan resigned from the government on 19 January 1956 and, like many Tamil UNP politicians, left the UNP over its support of the Sinhala Only policy.[15] [16] [17] He stood for re-election in the constituency at the 1956 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was defeated by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate S. J. V. Chelvanayakam.[2] [18]
Natesan later joined the ACTC, became its president and was appointed to the Senate of Ceylon.[2] He was a member of the University College Council and Ceylon University Court.[2] He was appointed to the National Education Commission in 1961.[19] He was a Tamil scholar and historian - his works included The Northern Kingdom and Glimpses of the Early History of Jaffna.[2] He was awarded an honorary D.Litt. degree by the University of Ceylon for his contribution to Tamil literature.[2] He died on 15 January 1965.[1]