Indian independence movement in Tamil Nadu

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Indian independence movement had a long history in the Tamil-speaking districts of the then Madras Presidency going back to the 18th century.

The first resistance to the British was offered by the legendary Since then there had been rebellions by

Sir S. Subramania Iyer, C. Jambulingam Mudaliar, Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar, S. Ramaswami Mudaliar, T. M. Jambulingam Mudaliar, Tiruppur Kumaran, M. Veeraraghavachariar and C. Karunakara Menon. After a brief interlude of militancy in the early 1900s, independence activists from Tamil Nadu adopted the non-violent principles of Mahatma Gandhi. Some of the important Gandhian leaders of the region were C. Rajagopalachari, K. Kamaraj and S. Satyamurti
.

Contemporaneous with the Indian nationalist movement, there were also pro-British political parties and movements, the most prominent being the

Raja of Panagal
. The first freedom fighter alakumuthu kon in thirulavali Kattamkulam

Early contacts with European powers

European travellers and traders have had contacts with the Tamil country at least since the 1st millennium

Origin and rise of the British East India Company

Following the negotiations which Sir

Madras
, which grew from this new settlement, thus became the first British trading settlement to be established in the Tamil country. The agency of Fort St George set up in 1640, was upgraded to a Presidency in 1652 but demoted in 1655 before being upgraded once again in 1684.

In the initial years, the British in South India concentrated mainly on trade and not on territorial expansion and hence, rarely indulged in acts of military aggression. However, the rapid rise of French influence forced[

Nawab of the Carnatic
, who became a debtor and eventually pensioner of the British East India Company.

The first British possession in the Tamil country, apart from Madras, was Fort St David, near Cuddalore, which was established in 1690. The British acquired taxation rights over Chingleput district in 1763 and South Arcot in 1781. The two districts, along with rest of the Carnatic kingdom, came under complete British control in 1801. The

Third Mysore War while Tanjore was acquired from the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II
in 1799.

Resistance to British expansion

Maruthanayagam
's forces. He was executed in 1757 by British troops after a fierce battle and was captured and executed. In his memory, the government of Tamil Nadu conducts a Pooja ceremony every year on 11 July. A documentary film based on his life was released in 2012. After his death
Muhammad Yusuf, the governor of Madurai and Tirunelveli, and entrusting to him the task of putting down the rebellion. Yusuf enlisted the support of the Eastern polygar chieftains and eventually succeeded in reducing the rebels. Later, however, Muhammad Yusuf, himself, rebelled against the British and was captured and executed. During the 1780s and 1790s, Tamil chieftains like Dheeran Chinnamalai and the Maruthu Pandiyar brothers also fought along with Tipu Sultan against the British. The Marudu brothers defeated a powerful British force at Kollangudi near Sivagangai in April 1789 with Udhaya Perumal Gounder as Chief commander. Velu Nachiyar
was one of the few rulers who regained her kingdom, and ruled it for ten more years. She formed an army and sought an alliance with Gopala Nayaker and Hyder Ali with the aim of attacking the British, whom she did successfully fight in 1780. When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the British stored their ammunition, she arranged a suicide attack: a faithful follower, Kuyili, doused herself in oil, set herself alight and walked into the storehouse. Velu Nachiyar formed a woman's army named "udaiyaal" in honour of her adopted daughter, Udaiyaal, who died detonating a British arsenal.

In 1799, Kattabomman Nayak, the polygar of Panchalankurichi, revolted against the British along with his brother Oomadhurai and a few neighbouring polygars. After a few successful skirmishes, Panchalankurichi was eventually besieged by Company troops and Kattabomman was defeated in a long, pitched battle. Kattabomman and most of his allies were captured and hanged and the fort of Panchalankurichi was levelled to the ground. However, the Maruthu Pandiyar brother and some of Kattabomman's allies evaded capture and along with Dheeran Chinnamalai, fought the Second Polygar War against the British. Though the rebels were initially successful and Chinnamalai inflicted a severe defeat on Colonel Makiskan, the rebellion was eventually put down in 1802 and all the leaders captured and hanged. The Maruthu Pandiyar brothers defeated the British troops at Virupatchi and repulsed an attack on Sivagangai but were defeated and captured at Cholapuram. The brothers were hanged in October 1801 along with other prisoners.

Vellore Mutiny

Pillar commemorating the Mutiny at Vellore.
See also: Vellore Mutiny

On 10 July 1806, a sepoy mutiny broke out in the town of

Governor of Madras
was recalled and replaced. The laws regulating Hindu religious marks was withdrawn.

Opposition to missionary activities

Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty

During the 19th century, the British rulers of India were actively endorsing the activities of Christian missionaries and enacting laws to empower them and favour proselytisation. In 1844, a law was introduced amending Hindu law to make it possible for Christian converts to inherit property from their Hindu ancestors. At about the same time, Christian theology was introduced as a compulsory subject in the curriculum of the University of Madras.

Madras Legislative Council, the second Indian to be in the council. Chetty was also assisted in his efforts by Madras lawyer and Indophile John Bruce Norton
whose own participation in the Indian National movement is significant.

The conversion of a Brahmin student of the Madras Christian College in April 1888 sparked severe protests from Hindus in the Madras Presidency.[1] The agitators resolved to start national schools to counter evangelistic activities in missionary-run schools and colleges.[2][3] Most of the leaders were Indian nationalists who had recently founded the Indian National Congress.

The Hindu and the Madras Mahajana Sabha

Delegates at the first session of the Indian National Congress, 1885
Main article: Madras Mahajana Sabha

Indian nationalists of the 19th century propagated their views and objectives by starting newspapers and forming social and political organisations. The first Indian-run newspaper The Crescent was started by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty to counter Christian missionary propaganda and alleged British injustice. But the newspaper which played a major part in the history of the Indian independence movement in Tamil Nadu was the English-language The Hindu which was started by Indian independence activists G. Subramania Iyer, M. Veeraraghavachariar and N. Subba Rao Pantulu in 1878 in support of the candidature of T. Muthuswamy Iyer as the first Indian judge of the Madras High Court. In the following years, The Hindu launched severe criticisms of economic policies of the government.

The Madras Native Association established by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty in 1852 was the first Indian political organisation in the Madras Presidency. On 16 May 1884, the

Chingleput
. Its founders later played leading roles in the Indian National Congress.

The Indian National Congress was established due to the efforts of

Viceroy of India Lord Ripon
and held its first meeting at the Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay between 28 and 31 December 1885. Among the 72 delegates who attended the first session, 22 were from the Madras Presidency.

City/Town Delegate/s Profile
Madras
(8) 		P. Rangaiah Naidu (1828–1904) vakil, Madras High Court. Municipal Commissioner, Madras. President of the Madras Mahajana Sabha (1884). Member of the Madras Legislative Council (1892–99).
S. Subramania Iyer (1842–1924) lawyer, Madras High Court. Member of the Madras Legislative Council (1884–87).
G. Subramania Iyer (1855–1916) journalist and social reformer. Founder of English-language The Hindu (1878) and Tamil-language Swadesamitran (1882).
P. Anandacharlu
(1843–1908) 		vakil, Madras High Court, journalist and Municipal Commissioner, Madras.
M. Veeraraghavachariar journalist. Sub-editor of The Hindu. Secretary of the Madras Mahajana Sabha.
C. Singaravelloo Mudaliar Merchant and Municipal Commissioner, Madras. Trustee, Pachaiyappa's Charities.
M. E. Shriranga Chariar Lawyer, Madras High Court
S. V. Athalye Medical practitioner, Madras
Chingleput
(1) 		M. Y. Ramanujachariar Pleader, Chingleput
Coimbatore (1) S. P. Narasimhalu Naidu (1854–1922) journalist and social reformer. Secretary of the Coimbatore unit of the Madras Mahajana Sabha and editor of The Crescent.
Tanjore
(2) 		S. A. Saminatha Iyer (d. 1899) public prosecutor and lander proprietor. President of the Tanjore People's Association and corresponding member of the Madras Mahajana Sabha. Chairman of the Tanjore Municipal council and member of the district board
N. Narayanaswami Iyer landlord, Tanjore
Kumbakonam (1) K. Pattabhirama Iyer landlord
Madura
(1) 		P. Subramania Iyer landlord
Salem (1) Kristnaswamy Rout
Tinnevely
(1) 		Peter Paul Pillai headmaster and landlord

Important public personalities of the Presidency, like Rangaiah Naidu, S. Subramania Iyer, and G. Subramania Iyer, attended the first session of the Indian National Congress. However, some prominent personalities like

Governor of Madras
. In 1889, Eardley Norton and Salem Ramaswami Mudaliar led an Indian delegation to the United Kingdom to set up a UK chapter of the Indian National Congress.

From the early 1900s, leadership of the Indian National Congress passed on to a new generation of politicians such as

P. Theagaroya Chetty
. Eventually, with the passage of time and the influx of revolutionary ideas from the north, the movement turned violent.

Rise of the radicals

V. V. S Aiyar
Subramania Bharathi

The split between the moderates and radicals at the

Subramania Bharathi and V. O. Chidambaram Pillai
.

Subrahmanya Bharathi was a prodigious Tamil poet and writer and is often regarded as the "national poet of Tamil Nadu". His virulently anti-British writings in New India and Swadesamitran attracted the attention of the government which issued a warrant for his arrest forcing hm to flee to the French territory of Pondicherry.

Chidambaram Pillai (VOC) founded the first Indian- owned shipping company in British India, the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company to challenge British monopoly over shipping. From the beginning, the company had to deal with the hostility and bias of British administrators and competitors. Eventually, the company was liquidated and Pillai thrown in jail.

V. D. Savarkar, joined the India House and participated in the Hindu–German Conspiracy. In 1911, one of Aiyar's associates, Vanchinathan shot dead General Ashe, the District Collector of Trichinopoly
. Vanchinathan, later, shot himself to evade arrest.

Extremist activities in Tamil Nadu reached a climax during the First World War. The British theosophist

Sir S. Subramania Iyer and Muhammad Ali Jinnah
.

The Rowlatt Act and subsequent Jallianwala Bagh massacre provoked outrage in the Tamil-speaking districts of Madras Presidency. S. Subramania Iyer returned his knighthood and S. Srinivasa Iyengar, his CIE.

The Dyarchy

The

Sir P. Ramarayaningar. The formulation of a policy of caste-based communal reservations in 1921 appears to be one of the highlights of his tenure. During the 1923 elections, the Justice Party split into two factions – the Constitutionalists and Ministerialists. In the very same year, the Indian National Congress, itself, split into two with a group of "No-Changers" who claimed the right to use its name in favour of non-participation in the government and another faction called the "Swaraj Party" which was in favour of council entry. The Swaraj Party under S. Srinivasa Iyengar emerged as the single-largest party in the 1926 elections. However, the Swaraj Party refused to form the government prompting the governor Lord Goschen to install a regional aristocrat P. Subbarayan
as the Premier and nominate members of his own choice to the council to support him. However, the government was beset with problems from the very beginning as both the Swaraj Party as well as the Justice Party tried to topple it.

The

Sir M. Krishnan Nair
, an important leader of the Justice Party, to his executive council, in order to enlist the support of its members. The motion was eventually defeated and the Simon Commission was accorded a warm welcome amidst cries of foulplay by the Swaraj Party.

The Justice Party was voted back to power in the 1930 elections and

Raja of Bobbili. However, the economic conditions under the Great Depression combined with anti-incumbency and rising corruption in the Justice Party ranks resulted in its defeat in the 1934 elections. However, Justice Party was returned to power as the Swaraj Party, the single largest party, refused to form the government. However, by 1937, things had changed and a united and rejuvenated Indian National Congress participating in the elections for the first time held under the Government of India Act 1935
registered a famous win and a near-complete rout for the Justice Party.

Notes

  1. ISBN 978-0-913215-55-5
    .
  2. ^ Missionary controversy: Discussion, Evidence and Report, 1890. London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room. 1890. p. 163.
  3. ^ Missionary controversy: Discussion, Evidence and Report, 1890. London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room. 1890. p. 176.

Sources

See also
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