Madras State
Encyclopedia
Madras State was the name by which the India
n districts in Tamil Nadu
, Andhra, Northern Kerala
, Bellary
and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953.
It was subsequently split up along linguistic
lines in 1953, when Andhra State was formed. Under the States Reorganisation Act
, 1956, the States of Kerala
and Mysore were carved out of the Madras state. In August 1968, Madras State was renamed as Tamil Nadu.
Dr. P.C. Alexander himself a former Tamil Nadu
and Maharashtra
governor writes that the most conspicuous case of constitutional impropriety was the one by Sri Prakasa when he invited Rajagopalachari to form the government in the Madras state. During this time Potti Sriramulu called for a separate state by the name of Andhra and went on an unconditional fast until his goal was achieved. He died following complications that arouse during the fast and violent riots broke out in the Telugu
areas of Madras State. Jawaharlal Nehru had initially warned that this method of fasting to achieve administrative or political changes will put end to democratic government but after death of Potti Sriramulu Nehru agreed to the demand for separate state of Andhra but refused to include Madras (now Chennai
) city in Andhra. Serious allegations arouse that Rajaji did not intervene to break the fast or provide medical help for Sriramulu even though the fast had continued for over 50 days. On a side note, only one other person, Jatin Das, before Sriramulu, in modern Indian history actually fasted to death. In most cases they either gave up, were hospitalised or arrested and force fed.
The State of Andhra was carved out of the Madras State in 1953, Rajaji remained aloof from the Andhra State and related issues. He removed controls on foodgrains and introduced a new education policy based on family vocation. According to this policy students had to go to school in the morning and to compulsorily learn the family vocation, like carpentry, masonry etc after school. It was severely opposed as casteist and dubbed Kula Kalvi Thittam (Hereditary Education Policy) by his close friend Periyar
who vehemently opposed it. This policy was under attack this from within the Congress as well as outside it. This ultimately led to his resignation in 1954.
One of the first political acts of Kamaraj during his tenure as chief minister was to widen representation of the rising non-Brahmins in the cabinet. Ministerial berths were given to the non-Brahmin caste-based parties, Tamil Nadu Toilers Party and Commonweal Party. Both the parties were subsequently 'subsumed' by the Congress. In a move to counter Tamil cultural politics espoused by the DMK, Kamaraj made conscious attempts to partake in the linguistic cultural matters. In order to placate Tamil aspirations, Kamaraj effected some measures. The efforts towards introducing Tamil language as a medium of instruction in schools and colleges was accompanied by the publication of textbooks on 'scientific and technical subjects' in Tamil. In 1960 the state education minister took steps to introduce Tamil in government arts colleges as a medium of instruction.
Similarly the usage of Tamil in the courts received encouragement. To affirm his role in the linguistic politics of the state, Kamaraj did introduce a bill in February 1962 in the legislative assembly for changing the name of Madras to 'Tamilnad' for 'intrastate communication', the bill also proposing Madurai as the capital. But no decision was taken on it. The DMK made capital out of this, routing Congress in the 1967 elections four years after Kamaraj relinquished his office as chief minister in accordance with the Kamaraj Plan to concentrate on Congress organisational work.
Committed to his version of 'socialism' meaning that "those who are backward should progress", Kamaraj remained truthful to the simple dictum of his 'socialism', providing 'what is essential for man's living' such as 'dwelling, job, food and education'. The great feature of Kamaraj rule was the ending of the retrogressive educational policies and setting the stage for universal and free schooling. Six thousand schools closed down by Rajagopalachari were revived and 12,000 schools added. The percentage of school going children in the age group between 6 and 11 increased from 45 per cent to 75 per cent within a span of seven years after he became the chief minister.
Almost every village within a radius of one mile with a population of 300 and above inhabitants was provided with a school. With a view to encouraging and attracting the rural poor children to the schools Kamaraj pioneered a scheme of free mid-day meals for primary school children in panchayat and government institutions. This scheme, aided by the American voluntary organisation CARE, was launched in 1957. In addition the government came forward to supply school uniforms to poor students. To make the education easily accessible to children from various backgrounds, full exemption from school fees was introduced. Public enthusiasm and participation in raising funds and procuring equipment for the schools were entertained through different schemes making education a social responsibility. Such measures made education affordable for many who were denied basic educational opportunities for centuries.
Kamaraj's other feat was his role in facilitating developmental programmes chiefly electrification and industrial development. Thousands of villages were electrified. Rural electrification led to the large-scale use of pumpsets for irrigational purposes and agriculture-received impetus. Large and small-scale industries were flagged off generating employment opportunities. Kamaraj made the best use of the funds available through the Five-Year Plans and guided Tamil Nadu in deriving the maximum benefit.
established a Swami Vivekananda
Centenary Committee and a Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee and appointed Eknath Ranade
as its Secretary. The main function of the committee was to construct a rock memorial at Kanyakumari
in order to honor Swami Vivekananda on his birth centenary. The Chief Minister Bhaktavatsam and the Union Minister for Cultural Affairs, Humayun Kabir vehemently opposed the move. However, Bhaktavatsalam yielded when Ranade presented him a letter with signatures of 323 members of Parliament in support of a memorial.
as compulsory language and rejected the demands to make Tamil the medium of instruction in colleges saying that it was "not a practical proposition, not in the interests of national integration, not in the interests of higher education, and not in the interests of the students themselves". On March 7, 1964, at a session of the Madras Legislative Assembly, Bhaktavatsalam recommended the introduction of a three-language formula
comprising English
, Hindi and Tamil.
As January 26, 1965, the day when the 15-year long transition period recommended by the Indian Parliament came to an end, neared, the agitations intensified leading to police action and casualties. Five of the agitators ( Sivalingam, Aranganathan, Veerappan, Mutthu, and Sarangapani) immolated themselves while three others (Dandapani, Mutthu, and Shanmugam) consumed poison. One of the agitators, eighteen-year old Rajendran was killed on January 27, 1965 as a result of police firing.
and the Left parties were responsible for the large scale destruction of public property and violence during the anti-Hindi agitations of 1965.
is also reputed to an electoral fusion
among the non-Congress
parties to avoid a split in the Opposition
votes. Rajagopalachari, a former senior leader of the Congress party, had by then left the Congress and launched the right-wing Swatantra Party
. He played a vital role in bringing about the electoral fusion amongst the opposition parties to align against the Congress.
At that time, his cabinet was the youngest in the country.
Annadurai legalised Self-respect marriages for the first time in the country. Such marriages were void of priests to preside over the ceremony and thus did not need a Brahmin
to carry out the wedding. Self respect marriages were a brainchild of Periyar, who regarded the then conventional marriages were mere financial arrangements and often caused great debt through dowry
. Self-Respect marriages, according to him encouraged inter-caste marriages and caused arranged marriages to be replaced by love marriages. Annadurai was also the first to use subsidising of the price of rice for election victory. He promised one rupee a measure of rice, which he initially implemented once in government, but had to withdraw later. Subsidising rice costs are still used as a election promise in Tamil Nadu.
) of the Parliament of India
by Bhupesh Gupta
, a communist MP from West Bengal
, but was then defeated. With Annadurai as chief minister the state assembly passed the bill of renaming the states successfully.
It was during the period of his Chief Ministership that the Second World Tamil Conference was conducted on a grand scale on 3 January 1968. Nevertheless, when a commemorative stamp was released to mark the Tamil conference, Annadurai expressed his dissatisfaction that the stamp contained Hindi when it was for Tamil. He proceeded on a world tour as an invitee of the Yale University's Chubb Fellowship Programme and was also a guest of the State Department in the U.S.A. in April–May 1968.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n districts in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Andhra, Northern Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Bellary
Bellary
Bellary is a historic city in Bellary District in Karnataka state, India.-Origins of the city's name:There are several legends about how Bellary got its name....
and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953.
It was subsequently split up along linguistic
Natural language
In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...
lines in 1953, when Andhra State was formed. Under the States Reorganisation Act
States Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...
, 1956, the States of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Mysore were carved out of the Madras state. In August 1968, Madras State was renamed as Tamil Nadu.
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
In the 1952 elections, the first as a part of independent India, the Indian National Congress was the single largest party in the Assembly. However, the Congress could not form the government as it did not have a clean majority and the Communist Party of India led coalition appeared to be in a better position to form the Government.. Nevertheless, a Congress government was formed in the state and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was selected by the cadres of the Congress party to rule the state. However, he was not an elected member of the Madras Legislative Assembly. Hence, he was nominated by the Governor to the Legislative Council and took office as the Chief Minister of Madras state.Dr. P.C. Alexander himself a former Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
governor writes that the most conspicuous case of constitutional impropriety was the one by Sri Prakasa when he invited Rajagopalachari to form the government in the Madras state. During this time Potti Sriramulu called for a separate state by the name of Andhra and went on an unconditional fast until his goal was achieved. He died following complications that arouse during the fast and violent riots broke out in the Telugu
Telugu people
The Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
areas of Madras State. Jawaharlal Nehru had initially warned that this method of fasting to achieve administrative or political changes will put end to democratic government but after death of Potti Sriramulu Nehru agreed to the demand for separate state of Andhra but refused to include Madras (now Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
) city in Andhra. Serious allegations arouse that Rajaji did not intervene to break the fast or provide medical help for Sriramulu even though the fast had continued for over 50 days. On a side note, only one other person, Jatin Das, before Sriramulu, in modern Indian history actually fasted to death. In most cases they either gave up, were hospitalised or arrested and force fed.
The State of Andhra was carved out of the Madras State in 1953, Rajaji remained aloof from the Andhra State and related issues. He removed controls on foodgrains and introduced a new education policy based on family vocation. According to this policy students had to go to school in the morning and to compulsorily learn the family vocation, like carpentry, masonry etc after school. It was severely opposed as casteist and dubbed Kula Kalvi Thittam (Hereditary Education Policy) by his close friend Periyar
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Erode Venkata Ramasamy , affectionately called by his followers as Periyar , Thanthai Periyar or E. V...
who vehemently opposed it. This policy was under attack this from within the Congress as well as outside it. This ultimately led to his resignation in 1954.
Kamaraj
On April 13, 1954, K. Kamaraj reluctantly became the Chief Minister of Madras Province. To everyone's surprise, Kamaraj nominated C. Subramaniam and M. Bhakthavatsalam, who had contested his leadership, to the newly formed cabinet. Kamaraj removed the family vocation based Hereditary Education Policy introduced by Rajaji. He reopened the 6000 schools closed by previous government for financial reasons and also added 12000 more schools. Kamaraj strove to eradicate illiteracy by introducing free and compulsory education up to the eleventh standard. He introduced the Mid-day Meal Scheme to provide at least one meal per day to the lakhs of poor school children.One of the first political acts of Kamaraj during his tenure as chief minister was to widen representation of the rising non-Brahmins in the cabinet. Ministerial berths were given to the non-Brahmin caste-based parties, Tamil Nadu Toilers Party and Commonweal Party. Both the parties were subsequently 'subsumed' by the Congress. In a move to counter Tamil cultural politics espoused by the DMK, Kamaraj made conscious attempts to partake in the linguistic cultural matters. In order to placate Tamil aspirations, Kamaraj effected some measures. The efforts towards introducing Tamil language as a medium of instruction in schools and colleges was accompanied by the publication of textbooks on 'scientific and technical subjects' in Tamil. In 1960 the state education minister took steps to introduce Tamil in government arts colleges as a medium of instruction.
Similarly the usage of Tamil in the courts received encouragement. To affirm his role in the linguistic politics of the state, Kamaraj did introduce a bill in February 1962 in the legislative assembly for changing the name of Madras to 'Tamilnad' for 'intrastate communication', the bill also proposing Madurai as the capital. But no decision was taken on it. The DMK made capital out of this, routing Congress in the 1967 elections four years after Kamaraj relinquished his office as chief minister in accordance with the Kamaraj Plan to concentrate on Congress organisational work.
Committed to his version of 'socialism' meaning that "those who are backward should progress", Kamaraj remained truthful to the simple dictum of his 'socialism', providing 'what is essential for man's living' such as 'dwelling, job, food and education'. The great feature of Kamaraj rule was the ending of the retrogressive educational policies and setting the stage for universal and free schooling. Six thousand schools closed down by Rajagopalachari were revived and 12,000 schools added. The percentage of school going children in the age group between 6 and 11 increased from 45 per cent to 75 per cent within a span of seven years after he became the chief minister.
Almost every village within a radius of one mile with a population of 300 and above inhabitants was provided with a school. With a view to encouraging and attracting the rural poor children to the schools Kamaraj pioneered a scheme of free mid-day meals for primary school children in panchayat and government institutions. This scheme, aided by the American voluntary organisation CARE, was launched in 1957. In addition the government came forward to supply school uniforms to poor students. To make the education easily accessible to children from various backgrounds, full exemption from school fees was introduced. Public enthusiasm and participation in raising funds and procuring equipment for the schools were entertained through different schemes making education a social responsibility. Such measures made education affordable for many who were denied basic educational opportunities for centuries.
Kamaraj's other feat was his role in facilitating developmental programmes chiefly electrification and industrial development. Thousands of villages were electrified. Rural electrification led to the large-scale use of pumpsets for irrigational purposes and agriculture-received impetus. Large and small-scale industries were flagged off generating employment opportunities. Kamaraj made the best use of the funds available through the Five-Year Plans and guided Tamil Nadu in deriving the maximum benefit.
M. Bhaktavatsalam
In 1963, the Indian National Congress won the Madras state elections and formed the government in the state for the fifth time in 25 years. On October 2, 1963, Bhaktavatsalam took office as the Chief Minister of Madras as Kamaraj backed off expressing his desire to spend more time serving the party. Bhaktavatsalam is, till date, the last Chief Minister of Madras from the Indian National Congress.Construction of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial
In August 1963, M. S. Golwalkar, the Sarsangchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak SanghRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
established a Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
Centenary Committee and a Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee and appointed Eknath Ranade
Eknath Ranade
Eknathji Ramkrishna Ranade was an Indian freedom fighter, a revolutionary. He had completed his M.A. from Nagpur University and an L.L.B. from Sagar University. Eknathji was greatly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda...
as its Secretary. The main function of the committee was to construct a rock memorial at Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari is a town in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is also sometimes referred to as Cape Comorin. Located at the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, it is the geographical end of the Indian mainland. The district in Tamil Nadu where the town is located is called Kanyakumari...
in order to honor Swami Vivekananda on his birth centenary. The Chief Minister Bhaktavatsam and the Union Minister for Cultural Affairs, Humayun Kabir vehemently opposed the move. However, Bhaktavatsalam yielded when Ranade presented him a letter with signatures of 323 members of Parliament in support of a memorial.
Anti-Hindi agitations
Bhaktavatsalam's tenure as Chief Minister witnessed severe anti-Hindi agitations in Madras state. Bhaktavatsalam supported the Union Government's decision to introduce HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
as compulsory language and rejected the demands to make Tamil the medium of instruction in colleges saying that it was "not a practical proposition, not in the interests of national integration, not in the interests of higher education, and not in the interests of the students themselves". On March 7, 1964, at a session of the Madras Legislative Assembly, Bhaktavatsalam recommended the introduction of a three-language formula
Three-language formula
The Three-language formula is a formula of language learning formulated by the Union Education Ministry of the Government of India in consultation with the states. The formula was enunciated in the 1968 National Policy Resolution....
comprising English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Hindi and Tamil.
As January 26, 1965, the day when the 15-year long transition period recommended by the Indian Parliament came to an end, neared, the agitations intensified leading to police action and casualties. Five of the agitators ( Sivalingam, Aranganathan, Veerappan, Mutthu, and Sarangapani) immolated themselves while three others (Dandapani, Mutthu, and Shanmugam) consumed poison. One of the agitators, eighteen-year old Rajendran was killed on January 27, 1965 as a result of police firing.
Criticism of Bhaktavatsalam's regime
On February 13, 1965, Bhaktavatsalam claimed that the opposition Dravida Munnetra KazhagamDravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
and the Left parties were responsible for the large scale destruction of public property and violence during the anti-Hindi agitations of 1965.
1967 elections
In 1967, the Congress lost nine states to opposition parties, but it was only in Madras state that a single non-Congress party majority was achieved. The electoral victory of 1967Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1967
The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress . Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities and a...
is also reputed to an electoral fusion
Electoral fusion
Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate...
among the non-Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
parties to avoid a split in the Opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
votes. Rajagopalachari, a former senior leader of the Congress party, had by then left the Congress and launched the right-wing Swatantra Party
Swatantra Party
The Swatantra Party was a classical liberal political party in India founded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga in August 1959. The party opposed the Nehruvian socialist outlook of the Congress Party by advocating free enterprise and free trade, and opposing the licence-permit Raj...
. He played a vital role in bringing about the electoral fusion amongst the opposition parties to align against the Congress.
At that time, his cabinet was the youngest in the country.
Annadurai legalised Self-respect marriages for the first time in the country. Such marriages were void of priests to preside over the ceremony and thus did not need a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
to carry out the wedding. Self respect marriages were a brainchild of Periyar, who regarded the then conventional marriages were mere financial arrangements and often caused great debt through dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. Self-Respect marriages, according to him encouraged inter-caste marriages and caused arranged marriages to be replaced by love marriages. Annadurai was also the first to use subsidising of the price of rice for election victory. He promised one rupee a measure of rice, which he initially implemented once in government, but had to withdraw later. Subsidising rice costs are still used as a election promise in Tamil Nadu.
Renaming of the state
It was Annadurai's government that renamed the Madras State to Tamil Nadu. The name change itself was first presented in the upper house (Rajya SabhaRajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
) of the Parliament of India
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...
by Bhupesh Gupta
Bhupesh Gupta
Bhupesh Gupta was an Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India.-Early life:He was born at Itna in the erstwhile Mymensingh District of Bengal Province in British India...
, a communist MP from West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, but was then defeated. With Annadurai as chief minister the state assembly passed the bill of renaming the states successfully.
It was during the period of his Chief Ministership that the Second World Tamil Conference was conducted on a grand scale on 3 January 1968. Nevertheless, when a commemorative stamp was released to mark the Tamil conference, Annadurai expressed his dissatisfaction that the stamp contained Hindi when it was for Tamil. He proceeded on a world tour as an invitee of the Yale University's Chubb Fellowship Programme and was also a guest of the State Department in the U.S.A. in April–May 1968.
See also
- Madras PresidencyMadras PresidencyThe Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
- Tamil NaduTamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
- History of Tamil NaduHistory of Tamil NaduThe region of Tamil Nadu in modern India has been under continuous human habitation since prehistoric times, and the history of Tamil Nadu and the civilization of the Tamil people are among the oldest in the world. Throughout its history, spanning the early Paleolithic age to modern times, this...
- List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu
- Mysore invasion of Kerala