INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

National movement swells all over India towards the close of the

19* century; Madras too joined the stream of this national awakenii^.

The earliest modem political organization in Madras was the Madras

Native Association (MN^, and it was foimded in July 1852; the MNA

was an alimentation of the Hindu Literary Society founded in Madras

in 1830. Discrepancies within the MNA led to an impasse in its working,

encouragir^ some of its members to br^ak away and form a similar

organi2ation, the Madras Mahajana Sabha, on 16* May 1884. The ability

to mobilize mcjussil support was refleaed in the strer^;th of the Madras

Presidency contii^ent at the first Indian National G)i^ress held at

Bombay in December 1885. Among the twentyone delegates from

Madras many were mfussil leaders from as far away as TirunelveH and

Coimbatore. \fedras was represented by a substantial contingent of 366

members at the fifth armual Indian National Congress held in Ber^al in

1889; this was larger than the number of delegates from Madras at the

third armual session of the Congress held at Madras in 1887. The

boy:ott of fore^-made goods and the promotion of swadeshi

enterprise the twin pillars of the swadeshi movement, saw activities of

energetic implementation in Tamil Nadu during the period 1906-08. The

revolutionary tenx)rists of Tamil Nadu and their small oi^ani2ation

contributed little to the cause of freedom beyond a handful of darii^

acts and a reputation for self sacrifice and patriotism. Their most visible

accomplishment-the assassination of Ash-achieved no clear political goal

nor did it s^nal the start of any general uprisii^; it was essentially a

reprisal or act of revenge for the incarceration of the swadeshi

leadership.

After the split in the Coi^^iess at Surat in 1907, the Congress lost

half of its strer^;th. Infact, the post Suiat period saw the active role of

militant nationalists all over India and Tamil Nadu was no exception to

this. However, British coercion throtded militant nationalism. Durii^

First Worid War, on the eve of Gandhi's entry into politics, the divided

Congress once again united in 1916.

There was, however, a notable social imbalance in this public

sphere as it slowly emerged in the Madras Presidency in the nineteenth

century. English educated Tamil Brahmins dominated public life at the

same time as they occupied most of the positions reserved for Indians in

the administration of the Government of Madras. In 1916 resentful elite

non-Brahmins formed the South Indian Liberal Association to lobby

with the colonial government for a proper place for non-Brahmins in

public affairs. This Association shortly came to be known as the Justice

Party, and it cooperated with the British against the nationalist Brahmin

leadership in the Presidency.

MeanwhiTe, Gandhian nationalism took deep roots in Tamil Nadu

after 1917. At the same time the Justice Party took equally stroi^ roots

in Tamil NadvL Infact, the Justice Party ruled the Madras Presidency

fix)m 1920 to 1937.

In 1937 the Congress won resounding victory in the polls, and

C Rajagopalachariar became the first Premier of the Congress

government in Tamil Nadu.

At the same time, after Gandhi assumed leadership of the

nationalist movement in 1919, however, non-Brahminism in the Tamil

country took a new and radical turn. E. V. RamaswamyNaicker (EVR),

a non-Brahmin who became disenchanted the with Indian National

Congress politics, started the Self-Respect League in 1925. He

proceeded, through this forum, to espouse atheist convictions and a

pronounced hatred of Brahmitiical ideas of caste status and theistic

superstitions. EVR propagated what appears to be a new concept of

mtriyatai. This was "self-respect", an English translation of the Tamil

suprmmptai or self-honor. For EVR "self-respect" was a quality one

acquired through his own discipline. It was one's own sense of self-

worth, which one acquired t h r o i ^ refusii^ to obey the dictates of caste

etiquette and behavior. Suya-rmriyataireferredto the capacity a person

developed to rule himself, without reference to the rank of other people.

However, the honor which preoccupied E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker was

not derived from the decentralized precolonial polity of shifting

segments. Conscious memory of segmentary politics had been

obliterated by colonial ideology and Orientalist scholarship at the same

time as Brahminical notions of rigid caste status came to new

prominence in the Madras Presidency under colonial rule. For EVR self-

respea was personal liberation from ideas of caste. It was caste and, in

particular, the domination of Brahmin subcastes, which in the minds of

radical non-Brahmins prevented Tamils from achieving social and

political liberation. EVR's message tied social reform to ideas of south

Indian nationalism.

However, the Coi^ress Party continued to hold stroi^ sway over

Tamil Nadu and its politics. Wteantime, the Justice Party and the Self-

resp>ect Movement emerged and that led to Dravidar Kazhagam.

 In December 1938, EVR elected as the President of the Justice

Party when he was in prison and in 1944 he amalgamated the Justice

Party with his new association which he started, named as the Diavidar

Kazhj^am (DK) or Dravidian Federation. While the leadership of the

Justice Party included wealthy Telugus from the lii^uistic and cultural

areas north of the Tamil country, the DK was mainly Tamil in its

membership and focus. The Tamils had developed the most articulate

ethnic consciousness amoi^ the Dravidian language speakers. This is,

possibly, because their entire population lay within the borders of areas

under direa imperial administration in the south. The Telugus, the

Kannadigas, and the Malayalis were split up amoi^ native state

administrations with only parts of the population under direa imperial

control Thus, amoi^ other considerations, the Tamils had a common

colonial experience and the opportunity to develop a new regional elite

consciousness earlier than the other linguistic groups.

The DK developed a membership intense in its devotion to the

principles which E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker espoused in his speeches

and writings. Included in his antireligious rhetoric was a challenge for

the Tamils to protect their ancient Dravidian herit^e, a society that was

supposedly secular and egalitariarL However, the iconoclast did not want
to soften his harsh mess^e to widen its appeal He felt that his

followers would serve society best by maintainii^ ideological purity.

The s t r u ^ e for political preeminence ensued between Dravida

Kayhagam and the Congress. Hence, the period between 1937-1947 is

incredibly important in the history of Tamil Nadu and its political

mobilization. It saw the emergence of non-Brahmin movement

simultaneously with the Indian National Congress dominating the

political sphere of Tamil Nadu on the lines of Gandhian politics. It was

the period when the Dravidian Movement was unnoticeably growii^ in

Tamil Nadu, which gave a strong foundation to the movement. After

India attained independence in 1949, once again there was a spUt in the

Dravidian Movement and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was formed

under the leadership of CN. AimaduraL There were constant struggles

for political power between Dravida Muimetra Kazhagam and the

Coi^ress. Finally, the Dravida Muimetra Kazhagam emerged victors in

1967. Since then Tamil Nadu has been e3q)eriencing successive

Dravidian Governments not yieldii^ place to the Congress even once. It

was really during 1937-1947 the seeds for this kind of political chaise

were sowiL Though it was not visible during that time, it blossomed

after Independence with strong roots and branches.

 Hence, the present study traces the rise of Nationalism and

Regionalism in Tamil Nadu politics, particularly the emergence of the

Cor^ress and the Dravidian Movement during 1937-1947.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Amor^ the sources available to trace the emergence of the

Qjr^ress and the Dravidian Movement during 1937-1947 in Tamil

Nadu, articles and books, official and non-official documents, private

papers, newspapers and journals are used.

Some of the research worts on the politics of Tamil Nadu are

reviewed below:

K Suntharalingam (1980) in his wort, Pditics and Nationalist

Amikemr^ in South India 1885-1891, es^lains the rise of the Cor^ress

Party in Tamil Nadu durir^ the period of 1885 to 1891.

H.F. Owen (1968) in his wort, Toimrds Nation mde A^tatkn and

Qtginization: the Home Ride Lea^tes, 1915-1918 makes a study of Home

Rule Leagues. And it deeply analyses the emergence of the Leagues at

national and state level

 Eugene F. Irschick, (1969) in his work, Tamil Remalism in the

1930s\ has made a study of the interaction between British colonial

bureaucracy and the local society of the Tamil - speakii^ part of South

India in the early part of the 20* century. He attempts to show how this

interaction between the bureaucracy and the Indian population created

an environment for the development of secular, anti - caste sentiments

which found their expression in revivalist and nativist movements. He

further seeks to illustrate the manner in which revivalist and nativist

goals were adopted by the nationalist movement and the local

bureaucracy. In the beginnii^ of the twentieth century, both the

nationalist movement and the bureaucracy in South India rejected the

notion of assigning quotas to underprivileged groups for filling

government jobs. But by the time of independence, both had adopted

this idea, which was originally demanded by the nativists and the

revivalists. A revivalist movement is an attempt to return to a former

period of happiness and restore a golden 2%e. A nativist movement

seeks to 'purge societ/ of unwanted foreigners and of foreign cultural

elements. For purposes of this discussion, the Indian National Coi^ress

is referred to as a party of the nationalists and to those of the Self

Respect Movement and the Justice party as a party of nativists and

revivalists.
 GJ. Baker and D A Washbrook in their work, South India: Political

Instittaions and Pditicd Change 1880 - 1940, analyse the Coi^iess vinder

Gandhian leadership which stood outside the institutions of government

and won support from groups who had grievances against the

government and from politicians who could make no headway with the

ministry. The position which it adopted was largely negative and apart

from occasional bursts of agitation and the 1926 elections at which the

Cor^ress Swarajya Party did well, Q)r^ress activity in the south was

limited in scope. From the mid-1930s, however, the Q)i^ress was able

to play a more active part. The Justice Party ministry was nmnir^ out of

patronage and, to hold its cormections with district politicians, was

coming to rely more on the stick than the carrot. The 1937 elections

were fought very much on the principles of the politics of the 1920s

politics-that is, with non-Brahman communalism in the background.

Once, however, the G)r^ress, with its Brahman leaders though hugely

non-Brahman followir^ was in power, its opponents, eager again to seek

British favour by claimir^ communal discrimination, reviled the Non-

Brahman cry.

Saroja Sundararajan (1989) in her work, Madras Presidency in Pre-

Gandhian Era, A Histancal Perspectize 1884-1915, has taken 1884 as the

 10

starting point, and speaks briefly of the political associations that spiai^

into existence even before the advent of the Madras Mahajana Sabha

and their efforts to consolidate public opinion and organize public

activity with in the presidency. Subjects like the swadeshi, boycott, and

terrorist movement find place in this work

D. Amold (1971) in his work, The Con^s in Tonal Nadu-

Nationalist Politics in South Iridicm 1919-1937, reveals the story of the

Congress in Tamil Nadu from 1919 to 1937 has two essential themes.

One is the evolution of the Tamil Nadu Coi^ress as a regional political

party. This is a success story. From being a small political club in 1919,

with litde active support outside the predominantiy Brahmin

professional middle class, by 1937 the party grew in to a powerful

organization, experienced in both agitational and electoral technique,

and was firmly established as the region's most dominant party. In 1919-

23 the party was deeply divided along ideological, strategic and factional

lines; it seemed unable to respond effectively to the serious threat posed

by the rise of the anti-Brahmin and loyalist Justice Party. By the mid-

1930s, however, the Justice Party was in rapid decline and the landslide

victory of the Coi^ress in the 1937 provincial elections marked both the

virtual extinction of the Justice Party and the triumph of the Congress as
 11

a broad-based a relatively cohesive coalition of diverse political interests.

There were, of course, limits to the success of its party-building. The

Coi^ress in Tamil Nadu did not become a mass party in terms of its

membership or commitment; it was predominantiy a party of the

propertied classes. But within the bounds of regional politics at the time,

the Tamil Coi^^ss held a remarkable ascendancy.

N. Rajendren (1994) in his wods, Nationd Mousmsnt in Tanil Nadu-

Affiaticnd Politics and State Coerdan, 1905-1914, traces the role of the

Congress Party in the partition of Bei^al and the Swadeshi Movement.

The work analyses the impaa of Suiat split on Tamil Nadu Politics.

E. Sa. Viswanathan's The Political Carder cfE. V. Raimsami Naidzer

- Stucfy in the Politics (f Tanil Nadu 1920 - 1949 is a good ejqxjsition of

the political career and achievements of E.V.K This work is useful to

the extent of understandii^ the genesis of the D.K.

The work Periyar E. V. Ramiswmi by Anita Diehl is of a general

nature dealii^ with the work and personality of E.V.K It is an attempt

to contribute to the study of E.V.K's personality and influence within

the context of socio-political development in Tamil Nadu.

 12

P. Rajaraman's The Justice Party A Historical Perspectke, 1916-37

eliicidates the role of the Justice Party- the early phase of non-Brahman

movement - in the socio-political life of the people of the far south of

the peninsular India in its historical perspective.

Objectives

This study tries to identify the rise of the national movement and

the Dravidian Movement in Tamil Nadu politics during 1937-1947. The

general objective of the study is to record the political mobilization in

Tamil Nadu durii^ that period.

However, the particular objectives of the study are: to trace out

political conditions that prevailed during the years between 1937-1947,

examine the nature of Tamil Nadu Congress durii^ 1937-1947, given an

account of the rise and growth of Congress Party in Tamil Nadu,

discusses the emergence of the Dravidian Movement and causes for its

emergence, describe the functions of the Cor^ress ministry, evaluate the

reemergence of the Dravidian Movement under the leadership of

Periyar and discusses the growth of Cor^ress and national movement in

Tamil Nadu durir^ 1939-1947.

 13

Sources

The source materials for this thesis are the Government Orders,

papers on the Freedom Movement, Fortnightly Reports, and Muhas

Legislative Council Debates in the Tamil Nadu Archives.

There is a vast collection on the role Tamil Nadu in Freedom

Movement as part of the Private Papers Collection in the Nehru

Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, and Teen Muiti House,

New DelhL In Teen Murti House Library the Private Papers on the

political leaders of Tamil Nadu have been well classified and indexed.

This is indeed a bullion colliery for a study on the emeigence of national

movement in Tamil Nadu.

This apart, Tamil and English newspaper reports have been

utilised at appre>priate places.

Besides this, the published works, periodicals and journals form

the secondary sources.

 14

Methodology

The methodology adopted in the preparation of this thesis has a

speciality. Depending the data, chronological, narrative, analytical, and

critical methods are used. An introspective study has been conducted to

get an i n s ^ t into the details of various facets of the emergence of the

Congress and the Dravidian Movement in Tamil Nadu. To some extent

it is retrospective in the sense that it recapitulates th« happenii^

connected with the national movement. Gire has been taken to present

the rise of non-Brahmin spirit along with nationalist feelii^ in Tamil

Nadu.

Limitation

This study is confined to the rise of Nationalism and Regionalism

in Tamil Nadu politics, more parriculady, the emergence of the

Congress and the Dravidian Movement during 1937-1947. The study

starts with the year 1937, when the Congress Ministry was formed in

July 1937 with C Rajagopalachariar as the Premier and ends with the

year 1947 when India attained Independence.

 15

Organisation

The thesis consists five chapters excliidii^ Introduction and

Conclusion. They are:

I. Rise and Growth of the Coi^ress Party

II. Emergence of the Dravidian Movement

III Formation of the Congress Ministry

IV Re-emeigence of the Dravidian Movement

V The Congress and the National Movement

(1939-1947)

The first chapter narrates the rise and growth of the Congress

Party in Tamil Nadu. The facts relatii^ to the participation of Tamil

Nadu leaders in the annual sessions of the Indian National Coi^ress,

moderates and extremists split and its impact in Tamil Nadu, Swadeshi

movement in Tamil Nadu, and the establishment of the Home Rule

League in Tamil Nadu are dealt with in this chapter. It further traces the

grounds for the rise of the Congress in Tamil Nadu.

The second chapter chronologically deals with the rise of the

Dravidian movement in Tamil NadiL Further, the emergence of a

 16

Dravidian ideology the foundations of which had been fonnulated

earlier by E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker's predecessors, and the

circumstances favouring the rise of Dravidian ideology and movement

are discussed.

The third chapter is devoted to trace the formation and functions

of the Coi^ress ministrjr under C Rajagopakchari, and the

circumstances under which Congress won the elections. It analyses the

performance of the Congress ministry It further estimates its functions

and the important events durii^ the Congress rule.

The fourth chapter deals with the ne-emeigence of the Dravidian

movement imder E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker. It also traces the

circumstance leading to the ama^amation of the Justice Party with

E.V.K's Self-Respect Movement, which later became the Dravidar

Kayhagam and its impact on the political mobilization in Tamil Nadu.

The fifth chapter deals with the Coi^ress and the National

movement in Tamil Nadu during 1939-1947. It also analyses the role of

the Tamil Nadu Coi^ress in the freedom stru^le. It makes an

assessment of how the Congress grew in Tamil Nadu durii^ this period.
 17

In conclusion, a comprehensive and a critical assessment of tiie

Dravidian movement and the Congress has been made. It estimates the

circumstances leading to the emergence of regionalism - the Dravidian

Movement - alor^ with nationalism - the G)ngress.