M. Ananta Sayanam Ayyangar
(4-2-1891 to 19-3-1978)
S. K. Mangammal Chary
Let us
remember the unsung heroes of yester years.
Ananta Sayanam Ayyangar was a
great freedom fighter. It was a crime
in those days for Indians to make salt, during the British regime. “ Our cause is just; our means are strong
and God is with us:.” – Gandhi declared the night before the famous Dandi March
at the time of Salt Satyagraha. For 24
days India watched and joined the Salt Satyagraha from Kanyakumari in the South
to Himalayas in the North. Ayyangar, a
devout follower of Gandhi, was no exception.
He followed the satyagrahis in their March, heart and soul.
Andhras
played an important role in the freedom struggle. They were people like Pattabhi Sitaramayya, Prakasam Pantulu,
Durgabai, Rajaji and Bhaktavatsalam in the undivided Madras Presidency
then. It is good to remember the
stalwarts like Ananthaswamy Ayyangar, an Andhra, who ran hither and thither
during the demonstration with the placard in hand, ‘Quit India’, receiving
blows from the ‘Lathis’ and beatings from the butt of the rifle of the British
Sepoy. Ayyangar loomed large over the
freedom movement.
He started
his career as a teacher, soon after graduating from Pachiappa’s college and
later as a Lawyer. He was motivated by
Gandhian ideals and jumped into the vortex of freedom movement. From then onwards, there was no looking
back, nor let up in his efforts to fight for Independence of India along with
the patriots like C. Rajagopalachari, Tanguturi Prakasam and Pattabhi
Sitaramaiah. He bade good-bye to his
lucrative legal profession, and courted arrest, and suffered imprisonment in
Vellore Jail and then in Tiruchirapalli jail in Tamilnadu. From then onwards he was taken away to
Amroati Jail near Nagpur and was kept there without any trace of his
whereabouts to the members of his family.
His prison mates were Rajaji and Bhaktavatsalam.
His career
started in 1922 as Municipal Commissioner.
His membership in the Parliament lasted long. After Independence he was elected to the Constituent
Assembly. His contribution in the
drafting of the Indian Constitution led to his elevation as the Dy. Speaker in
the Provisional Parliament. He became
the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 1955 after Mavlankar. He was popular with both ruling party and the opposition. His wit and humour and his expertise in
conducting the proceedings of the House, made him a popular Speaker. He represented India in the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Conference at Ottawa and Canberra in post-Independence years.
Being impartial, as Speaker,
he pulled up even the members of the Treasury Benches, when there was need for
it and kept up the high traditions of parliamentary democracy. As Governor of Bihar, he established peace,
harmony and justice there. During his
tenure no visitor was allowed to eat meat or touch liquor in the Raj
Bhavan. We wish he were alive at
present, and that too in Bihar.
Ayyangar, to the present generation, is an unsung hero, A true follower
of Gandhian Ideals. AYYANGAR stood for the promotion of Indian traditions and
culture in true spirit and always stood for the cause of common people, the
handicapped and the poor. He was the
founder of Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth at Tirupati, and started also a leprosy
Home there. He lived up to Alexander
Pope’s “Act well your part. There all
the honour lies”