Vanchinathan and Ashe Murder Repression of the Swadeshi efforts in Tuticorin and the subsequent arrest and humiliation of the swadeshi leaders generated anger among the youth. A plan was hatched to avenge the Tirunelveli event. A sustained campaign in the newspapers about the repressive measures of the British administration also played a decisive role in […]

Subramania Bharati: Poet and Nationalist The growth of newspapers, both in English and Tamil language, aided the swadeshi movement in Tamil Nadu. G. Subramaniam was one of the first among the leaders to use newspapers to spread the nationalist message across a larger audience. Subramaniam, along with five others, founded The Hindu (in English) and Swadesamitran (which was the

V.O.C. and Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) The Swadeshi movement in Tamil Nadu came to national attention in 1906 when V.O Chidambaram mooted the idea of launching a swadesh shipping venture in in opposition to the monopoly of the British in navigation through the coast. In 1906, V.O.C. registered a joint stock company called The Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) with

Swadeshi Campaign in Tamil Nadu Swadeshi movement in Tamil Nadu, notably in Tirunelveli district, generated a lot of attention and support. While the Swadeshi movement in Tamil Nadu had an all India flavour, with collective anger against the British rule remaining the common thread, it was also underpinned by Tamil – pride and consciousness. There

Dravidian Parties Rule In the general elections of 1967, the congress party was defeated. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam formed the government. The provision of affordable universal housing for poor, precursor to food security (Rice scheme) and establishment of Slum Clearance Board have substantially improved and received support among the urban poor people also. Significantly, the

Kamaraj Era (1954-1963) Kamaraj abolished the Modified Scheme of Elementary Education, increased manifold the number of schools, built a number of dams for improving irrigation, provided more industrial estates and ensured astonishing industrial growth in the state. He made education more accessible to poor and rural children. Kamaraj also introduced the noon-meal scheme for school

Rajaji Regime (1952-54) The politics of Madras State in India witnessed the continuation of struggle between statusquoists and reformists. C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) who led the first elected ministry in the Madras, under the Republican Constitution, again reduced the number of schools, attempted to impose Hindi in schools and Modified Scheme of Elementary Education which provided

Anti Hindi Agitation The decline of the Justice Party and Periyar’s refusal to enter into electoral politics together with the growing popularity of Mahatma Gandhi, enabled Indian National Congress to win elections in the Madras Presidency in 1937 and Rajagopalachari became the premier. He introduced total prohibition (ban on liquor) and abolished the Zamindari system,

Periyar E.V. Ramasamy: Peiyar E.V. Ramasamy considered the decision of Rajaji’s government to impose Hindi as a compulsory subject as a move to establish ‘North Indian imperialism’ and destroying the Tamil language and culture. Periyar, further, maintained that the imposition of Hindi was a calculated effort to sub judicate the Dravidians in order to ascertain

Justice Party The major political organization of that time, Indian National Congress was dominated by Brahmins had refused to consider the demands of non-brahmin members. Thus the non-brahmin leaders of Madras Presidency began to think of floating a non-brahmin political organization. The prospects of political reforms after the First World War, and the possibilities of