Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1926
Encyclopedia
The third legislative council election to Madras Presidency
after the establishment of dyarchical
system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919
, was held in November 1926. Justice party
lost the election to Swaraj Party
. However, as the Swaraja Party refused to form the Government, the Governor of Madras set up an independent government under the leadership of P. Subbarayan
and with the support of nominated members.
were not successful. The Justice government was not in good terms with Viscount Goschen
who had succeeded Marquess Willington
as Governor of Madras in 1924. The Justice ministers were often at odds with the members of the Governor's Executive Council over issues of power and patronage.
The Indian National Congress
was also weakened by the exit of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
in November 1925. Angered by the Congress' refusal to pass resolutions in support of communal representation, he left the Congress and openly supported the Justice candidates in the election. He virulently attacked the Congress using his Tamil
newspaper kudiarasu (lit. The Republic).
had a total of 132 members in addition to the ex-officio members of the Governor's Executive Council. Out of the 132, 98 were elected from 61 constituencies of the presidency. The constituencies comprised three arbitrary divisions: 1) communal constituencies such as non-Muslim urban, non-Muslim rural, non-Brahman urban, Islam in India
urban, Muslim rural, Indian Christian, European and Anglo-Indian; 2) special constituencies such as landholders, Universities, planters and trade associations (South India Chamber of Commerce & Nattukottai Nagarathar Association); and 3) territorial constituencies. 28 of the constituencies were reserved for non-Brahmans
. 34 members were nominated, out of whom a maximum of 19 would be government officials, 5 would represent the Paraiyar
, Pallar
, Valluvar
, Mala
, Madiga
, Sakkiliar
, Thottiyar, Cheruman and Holeya
communities, and 1 would represent the "backward tracts". From this election five more nominated members were added to the legislature to represent women. Including the Executive Council members, the total strength of the legislature was 134. The franchise was limited based on property qualifications.
, which had been considered as a Justice strong hold. Notable Justice leaders like Natesa Mudaliar, O. Thanikachalam Chetti
ar, Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu
and Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
were defeated. The table shows the party wise distribution of elected and non elected members.
. They used public demonstrations, meetings, door to door canvassing, bhajan
ai processions to woo public support. In contrast, the Justice party stuck to its traditional method of electioneering - canvassing support from persons of influence and strong men of the villages and cities. The mass outreach campaign of the Swarajists proved successful. They worked together with the Tamil Nadu Congress to defeat the Justice party. V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar and M. P. Sivagnanam were among the Congress leaders who worked hard for the Swarajist victory. However, another notable Congress leader C. Rajagopalachari
, did not participate in election activities. The Swarajists countered Periyar's charges of brahmin dominance against them, by fielding non Brahmin candidates in the Tamil speaking areas of the Presidency and were thus able to blunt the anti-brahmin movement. The following table shows communal distribution of the elected and non-elected members.
emerged as the single largest party it did not have a simple majority in the council. Governor Goschen invited its leader in the council C. V. S. Narasimha Raju to form the government. The Swarajists declined the offer as the National Congress party had a passed a resolution in its Cawnporne meeting, not to participate in government formation till dyarchy was abolished. The Justice party too refused to accept power as it did not have enough strength in the council and due to its previous antagonism with the governor. Goschen then turned to the Nationalist Independents for ministry formation. P. Subbarayan
, then an unaffiliated member was appointed as the Chief Minister while A. Ranganatha Mudaliar
and R. N. Arogyasamy Mudaliar
were appointed as ministers for Public Health & Excise and Development respectively. Goschen nominated 34 members to the Council to support the new ministry. The ministry was a puppet administration of the Governor. According to David Arnold, Professor of History at the University of Warwick
, it was a "government by proxy".
and M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer
. This turn around by the Justicites made the Congress distrustful toward them. When a similar situation arose after the 1937 elections
, Madras Congress leaders were wary of letting an independent ministry taking power. They remembered how the Justice party was able to worm its way back into power through the independent ministry and were able to persuade the National Congress to assume power in the presidency.
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
after the establishment of dyarchical
Diarchy in Madras Presidency
Diarchy was established in Madras Presidency based on the recommendations of the Montague-Chelmsford report. Five elections were held during the period diarchy was in effect and Justice Party occupied power most of the time...
system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919
Government of India Act 1919
-See also:*British India*British Raj*History of Bangladesh*History of India*History of Pakistan*Governor-General of India*Government of India Act*India Office*Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms*Secretary of State for India...
, was held in November 1926. Justice party
Justice Party (India)
The Justice Party , officially known as South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. The party was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and Theagaroya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency...
lost the election to Swaraj Party
Swaraj Party
The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in 1922 that sought greater self-government and political freedoms for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj...
. However, as the Swaraja Party refused to form the Government, the Governor of Madras set up an independent government under the leadership of P. Subbarayan
P. Subbarayan
Paramasiva Subbarayan was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communications in Jawaharlal Nehru's government. He is the father of General P. P...
and with the support of nominated members.
Background
The election was held at a time of heightened economic hardship in Madras Presidency. The failure of South West and North East monsoon resulted in a severe drought affecting farming activities. This aggravated the livelihood of landless labourers whose fortunes had already been crippled by tax collectors and money lenders. Migration of farmers from rural areas to cities in search of jobs and livelihood increased during this time. Justice party was beset with internal distension and factionalism. Its leader Theagaraya Chetty had died on 28 April 1925 and the Raja of Panagal, who was the incumbent Chief Minister of Madras Presidency succeeded him as the leader. Panagal's efforts to unite the Justice party by bringing back dissidents like C. Natesa MudaliarC. Natesa Mudaliar
C. Natesa Mudaliar , also known as Natesan, was a politician and activist of the Dravidian Movement from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was one of the founders of the Justice Party along with Theagaroya Chetty and Dr. T. M. Nair....
were not successful. The Justice government was not in good terms with Viscount Goschen
George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen
George Joachim Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen GCSI GCIE CBE VD PC was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for East Grinstead from 1895 to 1906 and as Governor of Madras from 1924 to 1929....
who had succeeded Marquess Willington
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon
Major Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the country's 22nd.Freeman-Thomas was born in England and...
as Governor of Madras in 1924. The Justice ministers were often at odds with the members of the Governor's Executive Council over issues of power and patronage.
The Indian National 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...
was also weakened by the exit of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
Erode Venkata Ramasamy , affectionately called by his followers as Periyar , Thanthai Periyar or E. V...
in November 1925. Angered by the Congress' refusal to pass resolutions in support of communal representation, he left the Congress and openly supported the Justice candidates in the election. He virulently attacked the Congress using his Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
newspaper kudiarasu (lit. The Republic).
Constituencies
The Madras Legislative CouncilMadras Legislative Council
Tamil Nadu Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initially created as an advisory body in 1861, by the British...
had a total of 132 members in addition to the ex-officio members of the Governor's Executive Council. Out of the 132, 98 were elected from 61 constituencies of the presidency. The constituencies comprised three arbitrary divisions: 1) communal constituencies such as non-Muslim urban, non-Muslim rural, non-Brahman urban, Islam in India
Islam in India
Islam is the second-most practiced religion in the Republic of India after Hinduism, with more than 13.4% of the country's population ....
urban, Muslim rural, Indian Christian, European and Anglo-Indian; 2) special constituencies such as landholders, Universities, planters and trade associations (South India Chamber of Commerce & Nattukottai Nagarathar Association); and 3) territorial constituencies. 28 of the constituencies were reserved for non-Brahmans
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
. 34 members were nominated, out of whom a maximum of 19 would be government officials, 5 would represent the Paraiyar
Paraiyar
Paraiyar, Parayar, and Sambavar, anglicised by Europeans as Pariah are a social group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and in Sri Lanka . In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, though they have been enumerated under three different caste names, they have generally been referred to as...
, Pallar
Pallar
The Pallar are a caste from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are mostly agriculturalists in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and amongst the Tamil diaspora...
, Valluvar
Valluvar
Valluvar is a caste belonging to the Hindu community in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are the hereditary priests preaching and practicing Astrology, Astromomy and Medicine in Tamil Nadu.They are the subset of sambavars.- Origin :...
, Mala
Mala (caste)
Mala or Malla is a social group or caste mostly from Andhra Pradesh state of India. Mala or Malla is derived from the Sanskrit word "Malla" which means wrestler. They are one of the dominant Dalit castes of Andhra the other being Madigas.They constitute around 8.5% of the total state population...
, Madiga
Madiga
Madiga is a social group or caste group of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharastra etc. found almost in all Indian states with different names. The people belonging to this community are most oppressed and exploited in the society. The term Madiga is derived from Sanskrit word Maha-Adiga which can be...
, Sakkiliar
Sakkiliar
Arunthathiyar are one of the most marginalized social groups or castes from Tamil Nadu and Arunthathiyar are one of the most marginalized [[social groups]] or castes from [[Tamil Nadu]] and...
, Thottiyar, Cheruman and Holeya
Pulayar
The Pulayar , also Pulayar, Pulaya, or Pulayas or Holeya or Cheramar, are one of the main social groups found in Kerala, Karnataka and in historical Tamil Nadu or Tamilakam.- Traditions :...
communities, and 1 would represent the "backward tracts". From this election five more nominated members were added to the legislature to represent women. Including the Executive Council members, the total strength of the legislature was 134. The franchise was limited based on property qualifications.
Results
The incumbent Justice party lost the elections and was able to win only 21 seats. The Swarajists emerged as the single largest party with 41 seats, but were not able to obtain a majority. They even captured all the four seats in the city of MadrasChennai
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...
, which had been considered as a Justice strong hold. Notable Justice leaders like Natesa Mudaliar, O. Thanikachalam Chetti
O. Thanikachalam Chetti
O. Thanikachalam Chetti was an Indian lawyer and politician who is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Dravidian Movement.- Early life :...
ar, Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu
Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu
Rao Bahadur Sir Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu KCSI was an Indian lawyer, professor, politician and Justice Party leader who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from April 1, 1937 to July 14, 1937...
and Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
Diwan Bahadur Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, KCSI was an Indian lawyer, politician and statesman who served as a senior leader of the Justice Party and in various administrative and bureaucratic posts in pre-independence and independent India.Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar was born on October 14, 1887 in...
were defeated. The table shows the party wise distribution of elected and non elected members.
| Party | Elected | Nominated & Ex-officio | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justice Party Justice Party (India) The Justice Party , officially known as South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. The party was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and Theagaroya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency... |
21 | 1 | 22 |
| Swaraj Party Swaraj Party The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in 1922 that sought greater self-government and political freedoms for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj... |
41 | 0 | 41 |
| Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
36 | 22 | 58 |
| Anti-ministerial | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Officials | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Total | 98 | 34 | 132 |
Analysis
The victory of the Swarajists has been attributed to declining Justice party and superior campaign tactics of Swarajists most notably S. Srinivasa Iyengar and S. SatyamurtiS. Satyamurti
S. Satyamurti was an Indian politician and patriot. A protege of S. Srinivasa Iyengar, Satyamurti was the political mentor of Kumaraswami Kamaraj....
. They used public demonstrations, meetings, door to door canvassing, bhajan
Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
ai processions to woo public support. In contrast, the Justice party stuck to its traditional method of electioneering - canvassing support from persons of influence and strong men of the villages and cities. The mass outreach campaign of the Swarajists proved successful. They worked together with the Tamil Nadu Congress to defeat the Justice party. V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar and M. P. Sivagnanam were among the Congress leaders who worked hard for the Swarajist victory. However, another notable Congress leader C. Rajagopalachari
C. Rajagopalachari
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...
, did not participate in election activities. The Swarajists countered Periyar's charges of brahmin dominance against them, by fielding non Brahmin candidates in the Tamil speaking areas of the Presidency and were thus able to blunt the anti-brahmin movement. The following table shows communal distribution of the elected and non-elected members.
| Party | Elected | Nominated & Ex-officio | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brahmans Brahmin Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self... |
18 | 3 | 21 |
| non-Brahmans Brahmin Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self... |
56 | 10 | 66 |
| Depressed classes | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Mohammadans | 13 | 1 | 14 |
| Indian Christians | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Europeans and Anglo-Indians | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| Total | 98 | 34 | 132 |
Government formation
Though the Swaraj PartySwaraj Party
The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in 1922 that sought greater self-government and political freedoms for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj...
emerged as the single largest party it did not have a simple majority in the council. Governor Goschen invited its leader in the council C. V. S. Narasimha Raju to form the government. The Swarajists declined the offer as the National Congress party had a passed a resolution in its Cawnporne meeting, not to participate in government formation till dyarchy was abolished. The Justice party too refused to accept power as it did not have enough strength in the council and due to its previous antagonism with the governor. Goschen then turned to the Nationalist Independents for ministry formation. P. Subbarayan
P. Subbarayan
Paramasiva Subbarayan was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communications in Jawaharlal Nehru's government. He is the father of General P. P...
, then an unaffiliated member was appointed as the Chief Minister while A. Ranganatha Mudaliar
A. Ranganatha Mudaliar
Arcot Ranganatha Mudaliar was an Indian politician and theosophist from Bellary. He served as the Minister of Public Health and Excise for the Madras Presidency from 1926 to 1928.- Early life :...
and R. N. Arogyasamy Mudaliar
R. N. Arogyasamy Mudaliar
Diwan Bahadur R. N. Arogyasamy Mudaliar was an Indian civil engineer and politician who served as the Minister of Development in the Madras Presidency from 1926 to 1928.- In the Subbarayan ministry :...
were appointed as ministers for Public Health & Excise and Development respectively. Goschen nominated 34 members to the Council to support the new ministry. The ministry was a puppet administration of the Governor. According to David Arnold, Professor of History at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, it was a "government by proxy".
Impact
The Subbarayan ministry was effectively controlled by the governor making a mockery of the dyarchial system. It was initially opposed both by the Swarajists and the Justicites. However, halfway through the ministry's term, the governor was able to entice the Justice party to support the ministry. In 1927, Subbarayan's ministers were replaced by S. Muthiah MudaliarS. Muthiah Mudaliar
S. Muthiah Mudaliar CIE was an Indian politician and legislator of the Justice Party and later, the Swarajya Party and an independent minister in the Madras Presidency. He is largely remembered for introducing the Communal Government Order implementing reservations in the Presidency.Muthiah...
and M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer
M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer
M. R. Sethuratnam Iyer was an Indian politician who served as the Minister of Development in the Madras Presidency from March 16, 1928 to October 27, 1930.-Early life:...
. This turn around by the Justicites made the Congress distrustful toward them. When a similar situation arose after the 1937 elections
Madras Presidency legislative assembly election, 1937
The First legislative assembly election for the Madras Presidency was held in February 1937. The Indian National Congress obtained a majority by winning 159 of 215 seats in the Legislative Assembly. This was the first electoral victory for the Congress in the presidency since elections were first...
, Madras Congress leaders were wary of letting an independent ministry taking power. They remembered how the Justice party was able to worm its way back into power through the independent ministry and were able to persuade the National Congress to assume power in the presidency.