From India's Digital Archives-10: Kasturiranga Iyengar

The Hindu turned 140 on September 20th. Its journey from an eight-page weekly in the 1880s to its current avatar has been a remarkable one with several firsts to its credit. That it has managed to achieve tremendous success despite many odds is thanks in no small measure to the spirit of the founders and the several men who have been at its helm over the course of its journey. The book featured in this issue is a biography of one such person, Kasturiranga Iyengar.

Born in 1859, Kasturiranga Iyengar had his early education in Kumbakonam, before completing his law degree from the Presidency College in 1884. On completion of his apprenticeship under the legendary Sir V Bashyam Iyengar, Kasturiranga Iyengar rather intriguingly chose to establish practice in Coimbatore rather than in Madras. He however established himself as a leading lawyer within a short span of time in the city which was then slowly starting to gain importance as an urban centre.

Kasturiranga Iyengar returned to Madras in 1894 after a successful decade in Coimbatore. Apart from achieving legal success, he had also held several public positions, having been elected to the Coimbatore Municipal Council and the Coimbatore District Board apart from being appointed Honorary Magistrate. Even during his apprenticeship, Kasturiranga Iyengar had displayed a keen sense of public spiritedness. He was one of the founders of the Madras Mahajana Sabha in 1884, a nationalist body which would serve as a platform for the Indians to air their grievances and come together to voice their views on matters of social reform. It was a successor of sorts to the Madras Native Association, a body that had been founded by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty in 1852 which had become inactive following his death in 1868.

The Hindu had been founded in 1878 by six young men, G Subramania Iyer, M Veeraghavachariar, N Subba Rau Pantulu, TT Rangachariar, PV Rangachariar and D Kesava Rao Pant, all of whom were members of the Triplicane Literary Society. It was started as a journal which would serve as a forum to represent Indian opinion, the lack of which was sorely felt when the British owned newspapers criticised the appointment of Sir T Muthuswamy Iyer as Judge of the Madras High Court. With their avowed purposes being similar, the Mahajana Sabha and The Hindu began a close association, with the Sabha for sometime even functioning out of the offices of the newspaper. It was but inevitable that Kasturiranga Iyengar too would become associated with the newspaper. Soon after his return from Coimbatore, he was appointed its Legal Advisor in 1895. His association was not confined to his legal capacity, for he was an active contributor to its columns on legal, political and social matters.

While the newspaper started to make its presence felt by being vocal on several issues of national interest, it was far from smooth sailing on its financial front. With little advertisement revenue to fall back on and a small circulation (with a good number of subscribers in arrears), it was largely dependent on the munificence of a few patrons who sympathised with its cause. The death of one such patron, Maharaja of Vizianagaram in 1897 threw the paper into deeper difficulties. Adding to its troubles was the fact that G Subramania Iyer (who was one of two remaining from the founding group) decided to withdraw from the newspaper, leaving M Veeraraghavachariar in sole charge. A failed attempt in 1901 at reconstituting the paper as a joint stock company (due to poor public response to the share issue) only made things worse.

It was in these circumstances that Kasturiranga Iyengar decided to purchase the newspaper. It was not a decision that had ready approval of his friends and relatives. Undeterred and placing supreme confidence in the growing popularity of the paper amidst the public, he along with Sir C Sankaran Nair and T Rangachari bought the paper for Rs 75000 in 1905. Thus began a two-decade association with the paper, one that would end only with his death in 1923.

Kasturiranga Iyengar faced several challenges within a short span of taking over. He lost the services of C Karunakara Menon, who had been with the paper since the 1880s and had served as its editor since 1898. M Veeraraghavachariar, who was serving as its manager and principal administrator too left due to illness. Undeterred by the challenges, Kasturiranga Iyengar brought in his nephew, A Rangaswami Iyengar who was a lawyer in Tanjore as Assistant Editor and manager of the paper and undertook several measures to put the paper in a strong financial footing. The pages were increased, which brought in more advertising revenue and arrears in subscription were dealt with by stopping supply of the paper to defaulters. On the news front, he subscribed to the Reuters and appointed more correspondents in the mofussils and North Indian centres. Under the stewardship of Kasturiranga Iyengar, the newspaper grew to become one of the country’s leading newspapers, not afraid of taking on Governors and public servants and championing several public causes, most notable amongst them being the Arbuthnot bank crash and its fallout. In many ways, it became the hub of political activity in Madras, which earned it the sobriquet “a den of conspirators” in the bureaucratic circles.

The book, written by VK Narasimhan who was the Deputy Editor of The Hindu was published in November 1963 as a part of the Builders of Modern India Series. The Series is an initiative of the Publications Division of the Government of India that dates to the 1920s. In its own words, the objective of the Series is the publication of short biographies of eminent people who have been instrumental in the national renaissance and the freedom movement. Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer has written the foreword of this book, which is a fascinating profile of the life and times of a multifaceted personality.

From India's Digital Archives-9: The Madrasiana

The book featured in this issue, The Madrasiana (WT Munro, 1868) turns 150 this year. It is an interesting compilation of all things significant in Madras.

WT Munro was the pseudonym of Rev William Taylor, a missionary and orientalist who played an important role in the analysis and cataloguing of the Mackenzie Manuscripts in the 1830s. Some of his other works include a memoir of the Amravati sculptures titled “On the Elliot Marbles” and “A Memoir of the First Centenary of the Earliest Protestant Mission at Madras” marking the centenary of the Vepery Mission.

The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 of the book contains brief profiles of the churches and chapels of Madras while Part 2 deals with the history of public places and monuments such as The Pantheon, The Mint, Banqueting Hall, Brodies Castle, the Cenotaph etc. Part 3 is titled Archaeological Notes and contains his writings on topics of philosophy and theology while Part 4 is a miscellaneous collection.

Parts 1 and 2 contain vivid descriptions of the various structures as they stood then and the stories behind their origins. For instance, he writes that the St George’s Cathedral was constructed as a church primarily for the aristocracy or the “big wigs of Madras” as he called them, as other churches were mostly out of bounds for them, though not officially. The site chosen was suitable, being “as central as possible to the residences of those for whose use it was principally intended”, alluding to the owners of the grand garden houses on the Choultry Plain. He hails its Iconic pillars and the portico, which was then a novelty in Madras. Writing of the Luz Church, he alludes to the well-known legend of a light coming to the rescue of Portuguese sailors caught in the rough seas and guiding them to the spot where the church now stands and says that it is the first footing of Christianity in the neighbourhood of Madras. As regards the St Andrews Kirk, which came up on the site known as “Ellis’s Cutcherry” Munro strangely makes no mention of the unique step well foundation, while delving on the acoustical issues it was faced with thanks to the steep dome and calls it the “worst in Madras as to the essential point of hearing”!

Amongst the many interesting descriptions of the various public spaces is that of The Pantheon, which had a history dating to the 1770s, when it was the residence of a civil servant. In the 1790s, it served as the Public Assembly Rooms. It served as the Land Customs house from 1830, when the Government acquired it from the wealthy Armenian merchant ES Moorat, to whom they had sold it in 1821. When the Central Museum was founded in 1851, it made the Pantheon its home and several additions were made to it. “To come at the original building, you have to remove the colonade, or portico, the upper story, and lastly the two sides, leaving only a small lodge on either side; and then the old building will remain which was once called “The Pantheon;” a building by no means handsome in external appearance, but erected more for use than show”, writes Munro. Today, it is virtually impossible to make out the remnants of the old Pantheon.

By far the most interesting article in Part 3 is the one prophesising the arrival of Veera Bhoga Vasanta Raya, said to be the Kalki Avatar. Munro writes of the Chenna Basaveswara Kala Gnanam by a poet named Chennappa and a few other works, which prophesise the arrival of a messiah to restore dharma. This legend seems to have been strong enough to merit a separate writeup in the Madras Times on his arrival and characteristics.

Two notable articles in Part 4 are the ones dealing with an account of three old Madras newspapers, the Madras Courier, the Madras Gazette and the Government Gazette and the Harbour project. Writing about the harbour project, he writes of the various pitfalls of the Madras coast and the constant threats of inundation. He gives instances of encroachments of the sea (such as the drowning of the Bulwark in 1820-22) and hopes that the entire project would receive careful consideration. Seven years from the publication of this book, the foundation stone for the harbour was laid.

From India's Digital Archives-8: Representative Men of Southern India

The book featured in this issue, Representative Men of Southern India by Govinda Parameswaran Pillai (1896) is a compilation of brief sketches of eminent personalities of the 19th century from the region.

Born in 1864, GP Pillai as the author was known was a multifaceted personality. Educated at the Maharajah’s College in Trivandrum and the Presidency College in Madras, he qualified as a barrister in England. He was one of the key members of the Indian National Congress in its early years, serving as its secretary in 1894 and 1898. Amongst his achievements as a political activist was the Malayali Memorial, which strove for reservation qualified persons at par with the numerical strength of the communities. In 1892, he took over as the Editor of the Madras Standard, a paper that had been founded in 1877. He came into close contact with Mahatma Gandhi, who used its pages to write extensively on the grievances of Indians in South Africa. In his autobiography Experiments with Truth, the Mahatma writes warmly about his relationship with GP Pillai, who passed away when he was hardly 39.

In the preface to the book, GP Pillai laments that “while the biographies of several eminent men of Bengal and Bombay have been published, India knows little or nothing of the greatest men of South India”. In an attempt to set this right, he started a column titled “Our Portrait Gallery” in the Madras Standard which contained brief biographical sketches of eminent Indians. This book is a collection of twelve of these sketches. While the book profiles some of those whose lives have been well documented, such as Sir T Madhava Row and Sir Savalai Ramaswamy Mudaliar, it also profiles people such as Sir T Muthuswamy Iyer, Rao Bahadur T Gopala Row, Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty (MM, Feb 1-15, 2011) and V Ramiengar, whose achievements and contributions have been long forgotten.

Born in 1832, Sir T Muthuswamy Iyer’s humble beginnings were no indicator of the fame and distinction he would achieve as a Jurist. Compelled to work at an early age due to his family circumstances, Muthuswamy Iyer completed his studies thanks to the benevolence of his employer, the village Tahsildar. Joining government service, he held several positions such as the Deputy Collector and Magistrate of Arcot and later Tanjore. Remarkably, he appeared for his BL Examinations during his time as a Magistrate and acquired a First Class. In 1878, he became the first Indian to become a Judge of the Madras High Court.

If Muthuswamy Iyer’s rags to riches story is remarkable, no less inspiring is the profile of Rao Bahadur Thandalam Gopala Row. Born in a Tanjore Marathi family, Gopala Row had little by way of formal education. Having learnt Marathi and Sanskrit from his father, he joined the Education Department as a First Assistant in the Provincial School at Kumbakonam. He graduated with a BA Degree in 1859 with a First Class. He was placed in sole charge of the Kumbakonam College between 1872 and 1874, where he became renowned as a Maths and English scholar but was never appointed its Principal. In 1878, he was transferred to the Presidency College, where he spent the last years of his life. He passed away in 1886. Rich tributes were paid by eminent personalities such as Rev Dr Miller, who wrote that “few of the educated sons of Southern India held so high a place in the regard of the Natives and English equally”.

Dewan V Ramiengar, hailing from the renowned Vembakkam clan was distinguished himself as a civil servant, serving the Government in various capacities during his career. He was the first Indian to serve as an official member of the Madras Legislative Council. On retiring from the service in 1880, he was appointed as Dewan of Travancore, where he is credited with having brought about several educational and revenue reforms and revamping the judicial system in the State.

GP Pillai brought out another book titled Representative Indians the next year, comprising the sketches of 40 personalities from across the country. It was published in London, with the preface by Sir Richard Temple. The Madras Standard got a new lease of life in 1914, when it was bought over by Annie Besant, who renamed it New India.

From India's Digital Archives-7: History of Freemasonry on the Coast of Coromandel

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest social movements, with its origins being traced to the times of King Solomon. Modern Freemasonry is however dated to 1717, when the United Grand Lodge of England, the body that has overseen much of the progress of freemasonry across the world was founded. The first lodge formed in our country was in Fort William in Calcutta in 1728. The movement took roots in South India in 1752, with the formation of the District Grand Lodge of Madras. The book featured in this edition, History of Freemasonry on the Coast of Coromandel (1895) traces the origins and early history of the movement in South India.

The book notes that most of the early lodges were what were known as travelling lodges. Owing to the fact that most of the early members of the fraternity were attached to regiments, the lodges shifted bases with the regiments. The fate of these lodges depended on the exploits of their members on the battlefields. Thus, the book records several instances of lodges going out of existence, only to be resurrected by surviving members a few years later at a different place. The year 1786 marked a watershed moment in the history of the movement in South India. It saw the coming together of the Antients and the Moderns, the two competing branches of Masonry that owed allegiance to their parent bodies in England. The Grand Union, as it came to be known was a momentous occasion which put an end to a period of strife and uncertainty surrounding the movement. Marking the Grand Union, a new Lodge, Perfect Unanimity No.1 was formed in 1787. It is the oldest lodge in continuous existence in Madras to this day. This lodge was the pivot around which the entire movement revolved in the region. It was at the forefront along with the Provincial Grand Lodge in overseeing the development of the movement in all aspects. For instance, it was the leader in the practice of the masonic virtue of charity, playing an active role in the founding of the Civil Orphan Asylum and Charitable Committee for the relief of the poor, which was the origin of the Friend in Need Society. The role of the Lodge in leading the search for a permanent home for the fraternity in Madras, which would culminate in the coming up of the present premises in Egmore in 1925 is another noteworthy contribution.

Over the period of its existence, several prominent personalities, both Indian and European who have contributed to the social, political, commercial and cultural landscape of the region have been members of the movement. Notable names from the latter section include that of Dr James Anderson, the botanist, FW Ellis (the Tamil scholar who propounded the Dravidian proof), RF Chisholm, the famous architect and pioneer of the Indo Saracenic style of architecture and GB Bruce, the Father of the Railways in South India. It is also interesting to note that three Governors of Madras, Lord Elphinstone, Lord Connemara and Lord Ampthill were at the helm of the fraternity in South India as District Grand Masters during their gubernatorial tenures.

Indian participation in the movement began to increase only in the 1850s, though the first Indian member, Umdat-Ul-Umrah, the Nawab of Carnatic had been initiated in 1775. In 1883, the first lodge to be exclusively formed by Indians, Lodge Carnatic came into existence. Over the years, the Lodge has had on its rolls several illustrious personalities such as Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, Sir C Sankaran Nair, C Rajagopalachari, Lodd Govindoss and TMS Mani, ICS (who developed the Neyveli township).

The book, written by Rev CH Malden, Garrison Chaplain of Fort St George and published by Addison and Co, Mount Road is a fascinating account of the early history of the movement. Containing short histories of the old Lodges, the book also has comprehensive appendices which list out the 69 lodges “ever warranted on the Coast of Coromandel” chronologically along with their places of meeting from 1752 to 1895. Malden also authored “A Handbook to St Marys Church” and two other comprehensive works, List of Burials at Madras from 1680 to 1746 and List of Burials at Madras (St Mary’s Cemetery) from 1801 to 1850.

From India's Digital Archives-6: Labour in Madras

Amongst the many distinctions that the city has to its credit is the fact that it was here that the first organised labour union in the entire country, the eponymous Madras Labour Union was founded in 1918. Commemorating the centenary of this pioneering movement, the book featured in this issue traces the origins and the early days of the Union through one of its torchbearers, noted Theosophist BP Wadia.

With the expanding industrial landscape of Madras in the late 19th and early 20th century, labour started voicing out its concerns and agitating against what it felt were unjust working conditions. As early as 1889, the workers of Binny’s Carnatic Mills went on strike demanding that Sunday be made a weekly holiday. Over the course of the next few decades, labour unrest would manifest in the form of sporadic incidents of agitations, such as the one in the Perambur Railway workshops in 1913.

In his foreword to the book, Wadia says that the idea for an association that would fight for the rights of the labour took seed when one day in early 1918, two workers from the Buckingham and Carnatic mills met him and complained about the insufficient time allowed to them for lunch in the factory. On observing the conditions, he found it fit to take up their cause and use it as an opportunity to form a movement that would be the voice of the labour class.

On April 13, 1918 the workers of the textile mills assembled under the auspices of the Venkatesa Gunamrita Varshini Sabha (probably a religious and cultural organisation) on Perambur Barracks Road. BP Wadia addressed the gathering and promised to study their troubles in full and arrive at a resolution. Two weeks later, at the meeting on April 27, it was decided that an association called the Madras Labour Union would be formed. A subscription of one anna was fixed and it was resolved that the Union would not be restricted to the workers of the textile mills alone. It was also resolved to invite several leading figures of Madras to visit and address the meetings. Wadia found a resolute comrade in the fiery orator, Tiru-Vi-Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar, who would translate the speeches into Tamil. In a special note addressed to Tiru-Vi-Ka in the book, Wadia acknowledges his mighty contribution towards the growth of the movement.

The book, published in 1921 is a fascinating account of the early days of the Union through the speeches of BP Wadia. The formation of the Union had unsurprisingly evoked a sharp response from the administration. While the Madras Mail, for long the voice of the Madras Chamber of Commerce wrote against the movement, the Governor of Madras Lord Pentland met Wadia and expressed his reservations on the grounds that the B&C mills were engaged in war work and that this would only serve as a means to disruption. It is interesting to read that at every meeting, Wadia exhorts that workers ought to cooperate with the management and not give them an opportunity to allege that the Union was instrumental in bringing about indiscipline.

Apart from Tiru-Vi-Ka and Wadia, mention also has to be made about the contributions of G Selvapathy Chetty and Ramanujulu Naidu, two businessmen who would be the first general secretaries of the Union. Selvapathy Chetty is remembered even today in a park named after him in Strahan’s Road, Pattalam. A striking feature of the park, which was opened in August 1948 is its beautiful art-deco clock tower. The Union’s own building, which stands in a derelict state even today was inaugurated in 1931 and is named the Selvapathy-Ramanujulu building. Another interesting piece of information, which is recorded in the Madras Labour Gazette of 1959 is that in a tribute to Ramanujlu Naidu, 12436 out of 14721 workers of the B&C Mills struck work on October 2, 1959 for less than a day to mourn his demise.