THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Contribution of the South
Dr. D. ANJANEYULU
This year marks the centenary of the Indian
National Congress, which had its birth in
The British Indian Association in Bengal,
started in 1851 in
In
In the South, the beginnings of articulate
public opinion are identified with the founding of the Madras Native
Association in the 1840s by Gazula Lakshmi Narasu Chetty, with “Crescent” as
its organ. His role became very important in connection with what came to be
known as the Report of the Torture Commission (1855). He was a true pioneer, as
he did in
Public opinion, in a collective form, found organised expression with the founding of “The Hindu”
as a weekly newspaper in 1878 and the starting of the Madras Mahajana Sabha in 1884. The paper was founded by six
intrepid young men – G.
Subramania Iyer, M. Veeraraghavachariar,
T. T. Rangachariar, P. V. Rangachariar,
D. Keshava Row Pant and N. Subba
Rao Pantulu. The first two were also closely
associated with the starting of the Madras Mahajana
Sabha, whose first President was P. Rangaiah Naidu. There were also other active members, like
Sir T. Madhava Rao, Dewan
Bahadur R. Raghunatha Rao, P. Rauganatha
Mudaliar, T. Rangachariar,
S. Subramania Iyer and C. Saakaran
Nair (the last two to be knighted later). S. Kasturiranga
Iyengar, who later took over the publication of “The
Hindu” was also a founder member of the Mahajana Sabha, which was initially located on the premises
of the paper at 100,
The intellectual elite of
The suggestion cannot be dismissed out of
hand, as the names already mentioned, those of the members of the Madras Mahajana Sabha recur in the list of Representatives (or
delegates as they are now called ), who attended the
inaugural session of the Indian National Congress in
The first South Indian (by which is meant
Andhra, Kannadiga, Keraliya
as well as Tamil) to preside over a Congress Session was P. Anandacharlu,
at the seventh annual session at
Anandacharlu had well-defined views on the role of the
Congress as a powerful tool for all-round improvement of the nation. “Educate
the masses” was his exhortation to fellowCongressmen.
It was imperative to imbue the masses with the spirit of the Congress, “which
is only another name for national sentiment.” He wanted them “to saturate their
minds with the aspirations of a united nationality.” He was a doughty fighter
in freedom’s battle; but he was all for winning that battle by “constitutional
and righteous methods.” He also supported a proposal for holding a
session of the Congress in
The second South Indian to preside over the
Congress was C. Sankaran Nair at Amaravati
in 1897. A man of strong views and dauntless spirit, he made an eloquent plea
for free institutions and representative government. “It is impossible to argue
a man into slavery in the English language,” he said in his memorable address.
Though a constitutionalist by conviction he always fought hard, whoever was the
opponent, giving no quarter and asking for none.
Another patriarch from the South, who adorned
the galaxy of Congress Presidents was C. Vijayaraghavachariar of
Going back a little in time, one is
confronted by the inspiring figure of Dr. Annie Besant, who was a many-sided
personality. If she cannot be described as a “patriarch “, she has to be hailed
as a “matriarch” who gave the country the message of Home Rule. She galvanised the youth and shook the Indian bureaucracy to
its foundations to such an extent as to drive it to the recourse of interning
her in Ooty. Riding on the crest of the wave of a new
national awakening, she presided over the
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a compelling
figure from the South sought to invigorate the national movement by his
intellectual eminence as a lawyer and individuality as a political activist. S.
Srinivasa Iyengar, who presided over the Gauhati session of the Congress in 1926, had his sympathies
with the younger section led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash
Bose, who were impatient for freedom, and the Swarajists,
who were ready to sharpen their fighting weapons on the floor of the Council
Chamber. His influence was later felt in the dedicated workers who were
nurtured under his care.
Dr. Pattabhi, the historian of the Congress,
who presided over its Jaipur session in 1948, was
known for his advocacy of linguistic provinces and service to the cause of the
States people. There was at least one other staunch individualist, whose
example of courage and sacrifice had served as a source of inspiration to many
in the city of
There were yet others from the south, men and
women, poets and politicians, who may or may not have presided over the
Congress, but who contributed substantially to the national movement and
influenced the policies and programmes of the Congress. Among them Rajaji (as
C. Rajagopalachari was popularly known) and S. Satyamurti take an honoured
place. The former, known as the conscience-keeper of the Mahatma, not only
propagated the Gandhian message of prohibition and removal of untouchability
in Tamil Nadu, but also expounded Gandhiji’s
political and social ethic. In the split between the pro-changers and the no
changers, he served as a powerful advocate of the latter, throwing his weight
against Council entry and in favour of the constructive
programme.
By a curious irony of fate, S. Satyamurti, a born parliamentarian, if ever there was one,
who made a mark in the assemblies and councils in the Province and at the
Centre, found himself left out in the cold, when the Congress decided on office
acceptance in the Provincial Autonomy Scheme under the Government of India Act,
1935. But this did not sour him too much as he was ready to throw himself,
heart and soul, in the electoral campaigns of the Congress. The growth of
national sentiment among the masses and the success of the Congress in the
elections owed not a little to the unstinted labours
of Satyamurti and his spirited co-workers. If he had
done nothing else, he deserves all credit for the training and encouragement
lie gave to an unknown Congress volunteer, who rose to be a national leader – his name was Kamaraj.
It is difficult to think of any Congress
leader in the South who carried the message of Gandhi and the Congress to every
nook and corner of Tamil Nadu, strengthening
the national movement from the grass-roots as did Kamaraj
(1903-1975). It is often said of him that there was no village that he did not
visit in person nor a Congress volunteer that he did
not know by name. He represented a necessary shift in the leadership of the
freedom movement under the Congress from the lawyers-dominated intellectual
elite to the political workers from the rank and file.
The task of inspiring the common man with a
spirit of nationalism was not confined to the political worker or the party
cadre. The vision of the poet, the voice of the singer, the pen of the writer
and the journalist had proved even more effective. Poet Subramania Bharati, who
worshipped “Shakti”, identifying her with Mother
India, had an integral vision of the country. His Guru was Sister Nivedita, his mentor Sri Aurobindo. In his song of the
Mother, he sang:
She has thirty crores
of faces,
But
her heart is one;
She speaks eighteen languages,
Yet her mind is one,
His voice was strengthened by others like
those of Subramanya Siva, and V. O. Chidambaram Pillai blazed a new trail on the seas.
The concept of national idealism found
expression in different forms –
ranging from Sri Aurobindo, Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy to V. V. S. Iyer and Duggirala Gopalakrishnaiah. It supplied the vigour
and vitality necessary for the sustenance of a patriotic movement with a
lasting significance, far beyond the attainment of political independence.