C. P.: GREAT BUILDER AND TRUE SERVANT OF INDIA

T. V. VISWANATHA AIYER

C. P. was a man of manifold gifts and graces, a many-faceted gem of scintillating brilliance and lustre. A man of action, a hero of a thousand battles in courts of Law, Legislative Chambers or International Forums and in the wider arena of administrative and public affairs. Wherever he was, he was the centre of attraction, the cynosure of all eyes, for the charm of his magnetic personality and the dignity of his bearing, the mellifluous flow of his oratory and the versatility of his endowments.

It is interesting to note that the Madras Advocates’ Association, consisting of his compeers in the profession, paid C. P. an unusually warm tribute in felicitating him on his 81st birthday in 1959.

“As an eminent lawyer and advocate, as an astute politician, able administrator, far-sighted statesman, generous patron of the fine arts, fine sportsman and perfect gentleman, you have left your impress, indelibly on the political, social, economic and aesthetic development of our country during this century. Your life has been eventful, full of purpose and achievement. Even in your eighty-first year you continue to command the physical vigour and clarity of thought which have characterised your younger days. That Independent India has allowed you to take rest on the cool heights of the Nilgiris without enlisting your superb gifts and ability in its development, is undoubtedly our loss.”

Indeed one could write a separate chapter, if not volumes, C. P. the hero–as a man of letters, as a man of religion and culture, as a nationalist statesman and man of action, as the most finished and polished of advocates, etc.

C. P. was a Dhira, to whom courage and loyalty were paramount. He dared and succeeded; but as in all such types he dared once too often and that meant needless sacrifice and harm to himself and what he stood for. He could never compromise as a true nationalist and patriot on what he held dear and sacred, undivided and united India. He says in a letter dated 1-7-47: “You are aware of the unflinching stand taken by me with regard to the unity of India. If there was a real campaign to establish the unity of India, I should have, notwithstanding my age, co-operated in that endeavour because I considered that there is nothing more sacred than the cause of the unity of India. But the Congress under the inspiration of the present leaders and with only the passive opposition of Gandhiji, which was withdrawn at the last moment, has effected a partition. The division of India is therefore a direct result of the policy pursued by the Congress. They (the Congress High Command) are panicky whenever their opponents took a strong line.”

In reply to the felicitations offered to him as Dewan of Travancore on 17-10-1936 he said that he adopted poverty, enlightenment and study as his watchwords. “In India today the need was for harmony and reconciliation. There were two paths in religion, that of the hermit and that of the dynamic worker and today, perhaps, the latter was the better way.”

It is this adherence to dynamic working to rigid implementation of whatever he planned–and he planned many things being a man of great creative impulse–that makes him so outstanding.

C. P. has left an indelible mark on the profession of law and carved out a special niche for himself in the Hall of Fame. From the day in 1912 (within 8 years at the bar) he came into public prominence as an advocate by winning the famous case against Dr. Besant, he has never looked back. He became the Advocate-General in 1920, in the 17th year of his practice. Within three years thereof he was pitchforked as a Member of the Executive Council of the Government of Madras in charge of Law, Police, P. W. D. and Electricity, the youngest to be so appointed. This he accepted on the advice of and out of loyalty to Dr. Besant. During all this period of 11 to 12 years (1912 to 1923) he was the idol and rage of Young India, the prime favourite of the gods, a unique combination of the blessings of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Shakti, all rolled into one. Even in his ’Twenties his hand was deemed a lucky one and his master, the late Mr. V. Krishnaswami Iyer, involved him in the founding of the Madras Sanskrit College, the Mylapore Club, the Indian Bank and various other institutions. So did Dr. Besant, later, in the Home Rule League and National Education Movement which was part of the freedom movement.

Long before Mahatma Gandhi came into the scene with his Non-co-operation Movement and Satyagraha, C. P. had adopted and fathered as early as 1917, the Passive Resistance Movement to achieve a political result, to secure the release of Dr. Beasant, Mr. Arundale and Mr. Wadia who had been interned by the Government. He was the acting Editor of the “New India” during that period. He went to Bombay to interest Mr. Jinnah in the Passive Resistance Movement along with others, but kept their names and number secret; however the impression gained ground that half of India was ready to offer passive resistance which could impede the war effort. Both Lord Pentland (the Governor of Madras) and Lord Chelmsford (the Viceroy) were taken aback and released Dr Besant and others within three months of their internment and C. P. escorted them victoriously from Nilgiris to Madras with great public fanfare and jubilation and gave them a hero’s welcome. Thus began his even more active part in politics than before and opportunity for intimate contact with other great nationalist leaders.

Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the Congress historian, has recorded thus:

Between 1917 and 1919 C. P. was the one star on the firmament flooding the horizon of Indian politics with his radiance...He was then General Secretary of the Congress, his immediate colleague being Jawaharlal Nehru. It was the Montague phase in our politics and he was one of the few who impressed Montague most. What Montague recorded of him in his diary is worth recalling. ‘One of the cleverest men I have ever met in my life–very extreme, but, very, very, very able. He tied us completely into knots.’

He took part in the shaping of the Commonwealth of India Bill, went to England to plead the national cause and became a great friend of Montague, Ramsay McDonald and others. He gave up his lucrative practice at the bar and joined the nationalist campaign and fought. It is interesting to recall that he won every election he stood for–the Madras Corporation, the Madras Legislative Council which he won against heavy odds in 1919, election to the Delhi Central Legislative Assembly, and later the Council of States, Delhi. He was Leader of the House at various times, in each of the three Legislative bodies. As Dewan of Travancore, he was the Chairman of the Sri Mulam Assembly and occupied the office of Speaker as well. His membership of these several bodies at Madras, Delhi and Travancore gave great scope for his parliamentary abilities, his skill in debate and repartee. These were the talk of the town then. He visibly wielded power and used it to constructive purposes. Being one of the finest advocates in the country, a seasoned politician and a man of great administrative experience, no wonder he was also a delegate to the League of Nations and a rapporteur therein. He was selected the sole delegate for India in the World Economic Conference. He also took part in the Round Table Conference.

Among the persons who have greatly influenced C. P.–apart from his father, Swami Vivekananda and Dr. Besant–were Sir K. Seshadri Iyer (Dewan of Mysore) and Mr. A. Ramachandra Iyer (Chief Justice successively of Travancore and Mysore) and Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya of Sringeri. As regards the profession of law itself, the examples of Eardley Norton, Rozario and Sir P. S. Sivaswami Iyer were the formative influences in his life.

It was the desire of C. P., even from his student days, to emulate the achievements of Sir Seshadri Iyer who was a pioneer in originating hydro-electric schemes, industrial projects, etc., in Mysore. This great example was not a little responsible for the great creative impulses, rigid planning and speedy implementation exhibited by C. P. in the initiation of some of the momentous irrigation and power projects like Mettur, Pykara and Bhavani and the industrial schemes of port development in Cochin, Vizag and Tuticorin–all in the old Madras Presidency. No wonder, the Coimbatore area has become the Manchester and the Tanjore District the granary of Tamil Nadu. Cochin, Vizag and Tuticorin have become major ports, the former two have developed into shipyards and naval bases as well. Vast industrial and business complexes have also become concentrated near these places.

The even more spectacular achievements in power, industrial projects, cottage industries and agriculture in Travancore during the period of C. P’s Dewansbip (1936 to 1947) made that State a model State, one of the front rank States in prosperity and administration and gave it a place in the industrial set up of the country. As a result, the revenues of that comparatively small State rose from about Rs. 3½ crores to 11 crores during his administration without a pie of additional taxation–the income being next only to those of the large States of Hyderabad and Mysore. C. P. was the first to abolish capital punishment, to give adult suffrage, to introduce ameliorative social measures, to adopt and execute planning as a governmental measure, etc. But the epoch-making event, however, was (what was described in Mahadev Desai’s book, “The Epic of Travancore”) the proclamation abolishing untouchability “which noble and moving document takes rank with other historic assertions of human dignity.”

On 6-8-1939 Mr. Eric Hall delivered a public speech contrasting the peace, prosperity and the financial position of Travancore with European countries and stating that, compared with the rest of the world, Travancore was the best place to live in.

All this forward march of Travancore, taking many departures which British India could not and did not do, generated not a little undercurrent of jealousy, not only in the neighbouring States and British provinces, but also in new Delhi.

All this C. P. was able to do because the enlightened Maharajah of Travancore gave him free scope for constructive work unhampered by those elements of communal bitterness and personal spite which then overshadowed British Indian politics.

Mr. K. C. Roy, the doyen of journalism, described C. P. (when he had been chosen as a Member of the Central Executive Council in 1942) as “a brilliant intellectual who, if he had been born in England would have inevitably occupied 10, Downing Street, with distinction and success...Although they do not see eye to eye on most current problems of the day, the only two politicians who will not surrender their individual judgement to the compelling influences of Gandhi’s school of politics are C. P. and M. A. Jinnah.”

Of Course, for different reasons, C. P. wanted an undivided and united India, but Jinnah was in quest of the opposite, a divided and partitioned India. Both started as great nationalists and in fact C. P. acted as Jinnah’s junior in a case in which both appeared as lawyers for Sir K. Seshadri Iyer. Mr. Jinnah had also signed at the request of C. P. (that was the measure of his confidence and admiration for young C. P.) the Passive Resistance Pledge of 1917. This has already been referred to.

The “National Herald” of 3rd July 1942 said: “Sir C. P. has more political talent and administrative experience than the Viceroy, the Governors and the white civilians put together. He would have been a front rank statesman anywhere in the world...”

Be it remembered however that in the midst of all these high tributes and within a few days of his joining the Central Government, C. P. resigned his job as he was not permitted to contact Gandhiji and the leaders of public opinion and in politics so as to effect a reconciliation between them and the Government and to help to bring about a national Government, somewhat on the lines indicated during Cripp’s Mission. In a confidential letter to a colleague of his, he said on the 8th of August 1942, what later became the “Quit India Day,” “I hope nothing will be done to create the impression that all Hindus are distrusted and that the Government wishes to crush them with the help of Muslims.”

It required courage and candour of the highest order to do all these things at the crucial time when the might and ruthlessness of the British Government were on, and still get back to his Dewanship of Travancore and continue unabatted his work there, in full swing as if nothing had happened.

Sir B. L. Mitter, who was Dewan of Baroda, says in a letter dated 28-11-’43, “Sir Maurice thinks that you are the one man fit to be the Prime Minister of United India.”

Finally, in a letter dated 14-7-1947 from V. P. Menon to C. P. he says:

“Of all the living politicians in India, I have the greatest regard for you both on account of your realistic attitude to affairs and the part you have played in moulding the destinies of India which has led to freedom. It should not be said of you that at India’s crucial hour you did not make your contribution towards building up a unified India, when you had it in your power to do so.”

Unfortunately the unified India V. P. Menon was having in mind appears to have been the truncated India after her arms had been cut, right and left.

If and when all the material and relevant correspondence during the months preceding the partition and after, becomes available to the public, a truer and better appreciation of the correct situation would become possible; may be the dubious and misleading role played by some in Delhi and elsewhere, would also become exposed.

“The greatest friend of truth is time, her greatest enemy prejudice and her constant companion is humility.”

–C. C. Colton

It is only fair to record that throughout his career, C. P. upheld the dignity and honour of India and the ability and capacity in every sphere of life of Indians to meet on an equal footing, the highest in administration and public life, white or brown, be he the Viceroy, the Commander-in-Chief, Governor, member of the steel frame, or Montague, Cripps, Birkenhead, Attlee or Ramsay McDonald or for that matter, Mahatma Gandhi, Jinnah, Sapru or other leaders, whatever their hue, or the numerous Highnesses, Exalted and otherwise. No one could take liberties with him, a highly independent and integrated personality, a great gentleman, a flower of Indian culture and a man of magnanimity with a gift for synthesis, harmony and reconciliation.

Rajaji, the last Governor-General of India, who was on the opposite side in politics, says he has followed C. P’s illustrious career all through from 1896 when he was a student of the Presidency College and observes: “But whether in office or outside, Ramaswami Aiyar forever worked for the uplift of India and for our country’s freedom according to his own independent ideas...He has ever maintained the highest level of courage, administrative ability, scholarship and patriotism.”

The “Daily Gazette” commenting on C. P.’s resignation as Dewan in its editorial dated 26-8-1947 opined: “It was Sir C. P. who gave that small State a proud and prominent place in the world map...Sir C. P. is an incomparably great man. He is a scholar and a statesman...Sir C. P. can keep his own company.”

It was his ambition as soon as he graduated brilliantly from the Presidency College, first in English, Sanskrit and Mathematics, to be a Professor of English literature or to become a member of the Servants of India Society, both of which he could not achieve.

He had, however, the satisfaction of having served as a Professor at the American Academy of Asian Studies in California, U. S. A. He also lectured there at several universities. That only revealed how great he could be as a teacher. Also significant is the fact that he was the Vice-Chancellor of three universities, two of them at the same time, and made a great contribution to education and as an education administrator. He delivered convocation addresses in nearly thirty of the well-known universities and had the unique honour and opportunity of having presided over the learned bodies of four different disciplines–The All-India Philosophical, Educational, Mathematical and Political Science Congresses. He was a delegate to the P. E. N. Conference, East-West Philosopbical Conference at Honolulu, Commonwealth Universities Conference and chairman of numerous National Committees and Commissions.

The mass of material left behind by way of addresses, articles, prefaces and reviews are truly astounding in their range and sweep. I hope it will be possible for some competent person to do justice to these and publish at least the more important of them.

It will be interesting to know what the Rt. Hon’ble V. S. Srinvasa Sastri thought about his literary capacity. He says in his letter of 9th April 1944 in appreciation of C. P’s book review of Sastri’s letters as follows:

“Magnificent and magnanimous!

I am ever yours more than before.

Of the rich repast, that Baconian diss is the richest dish. Apart from the selfish aspect, I admire the review as a piece of literature. I am proud to have been the occasion of a real gem of thought and style.

May success as thorough as you wish crown all your under-takings.”

This is but one of many such letters received from India and abroad.

C. P. says in one of his letters:

“You may not be aware how keenly I regret that it has not been possible for me to devote myself more systematically and concentratedly to the two things that attract me most–namely reading and writing. Especially do I feel that it would be a pity if my existence were ended before I put on record the sum total of my experiences, influences and impressions gained during a lifetime which has, according to the workings of fate, been more many-sided and varied than that of most of other Indians during the last two generations.”

What he feared actually happened. It was a quirk of fate that he should have gone to London to collect material for his book “History of my Times” and died there. It was the peaceful and sudden death he had wished for (with all his faculties, body and mind in perfect order) while carrying on a conversation with a friend with all his usual vigour, wit and charm.

He enriched (economically, culturally and intellectually) as well as sweetened, Indian public life.

In fine, C. P. was a nationalist to the core, a dynamic worker, one of the best India has produced, a great builder, a man of vision but no visionary, a savant, “one of the greatest of statesmen and the most brilliant of Indian administrators.” That he achieved what he did in the face of odds, the several handicaps and restraints so rampant in the first half of this century, is truly remarkable.

When we see the dismal picture in this country in December 1979 we realise the immensity of the loss to the country, at this juncture, of persons with the spirit and passion of C. P. to be a builder, worker and true servant of India.

A Man of Steady Growth

“I had watched C. P. at work from afar both in time and space...This brilliant type is now, alas, dead in our land. Weakness of heart, sentimentality, indecision, lack of intellectual convictions, a vague girlish admiration for foreign culture and a monstrous dislike for our own national culture–this is the picture of the modern hero whom our youth has been taught to admire, to accept, to idolise. But the Hindu ideal has always been different...

“Here is an industrious man of studious nature, constrantly mobilising himself for greater and more spectacular achievements–and with each success his ambition only mounts the higher, and with tireless efforts he heaves himself forward to climb the rising peaks. Rarely do we find such men of steady growth–growing on all sides, up towards the heights and down towards depth: high in his ideas, deep in his understanding...And at each stage of his career, C. P. has been a type all his own. A rule unto himself in all departments, we have no standard to measure him by; that is our Sachivottama.”

–SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA

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