Raja of Panagal

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Sir Panagal Ramarayaningar, KCIE (1866 – December 16, 1928[1]), also known as the Raja of Panagal, was a prominent Zamindar of Kalahasti and the Chief Minister of Madras Province from July 11, 1921 to December 3, 1926.[2]

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[edit] Early life

Ramarayaningar was born in 1866 in Kalahasti in a family of landlords.[3] He belonged to the Velama community.[3] The Velamas claim to be the earliest Kshatriyas to settle in the Telugu country.[3] He completed his education from Triplicane High School in 1886[3] and graduated in Sanskrit from the Presidency College in 1893 with Advanced Chemistry as his optional subject.[3] He graduated in B.L. and M.A. (Philosophy and Dravidian Languages) in 1899.[3] On completion of his studies, he served for a particular period of time as a fellow of the Presidency College.[3]

[edit] Early political career

Ramarayaningar got his first taste of politics when he was appointed to the district board of North Arcot. In 1912, he was nominated to the Imperial Legislature of India. During his tenure as a legislator, he actively supported reforms in the Hindu society. In 1915, he was elected President of the Third Andhra Congress.

In 1917, when the South Indian Liberal Federation (better known as the Justice Party) was formed for the upliftment of non-Brahmins, Ramarayaningar joined the party. In 1918, Ramarayaningar sailed to England to present the case for non-Brahmin representation before the members of the British Parliament. When the Government of India Act was passed in 1919, provisions were made to hold free and fair elections in the Madras province. The Justice Party unanimously decided to contest the elections.

When the Justice Party captured power in Madras, Ramarayaningar served as Minister for Development in the shortly-lived Subbarayalu Reddiar Government. When Subbarayalu Reddiar resigned, citing health reasons, Ramarayaningar was appointed Chief Minister.

[edit] Chief Minister of Madras

The Raja of Panagal was appointed Chief Minister of Madras on July 11, 1921 following the resignation of the First Chief Minister of Madras, Subbarayalu Reddiar, on grounds of health. A. P. Patro of Berhampur was immediately appointed to fill the place occupied by Subbarayalu Reddiar in the cabinet, and he took the portfolio of education. However, the government did not last long and was dissolved on September 11, 1923 to make way for fresh elections.

[edit] Second general elections

Elections to the Assembly were held on October 31, 1923. However, owing to heavy rains, polling was not completed until November 10. Though the Justice Party returned to power, its majority had been considerably reduced. Critics attirbute this decline in performance to the rift between the Tamil and Telugu members of the Justice party. The Raja of Panagal assumed office as Chief Minister on November 19, 1923 and retained the same Cabinet with one important change -- K. V. Reddi Naidu, the Minister of Development was replaced with T. N. Sivagnanam Pillai.

[edit] No-confidence motion

A few prominent members of the Justice Party broke off from the organization to form the United Nationalist Party and styled themselves "Democrats". The dissidents were lead by C. R. Reddy, a prominent leader of the Justice Party. On November 27, 1923, a no-confidence motion was passed against the government of the Raja of Panagal. The no-confidence motion wss, however, defeated by a margin of 65 votes to 44.

[edit] Reforms

In 1921, the Raja of Panagal introduced the Hindu Religious Endowments Bill. As per this bill, trusts were established to maintain temple funds and given complete power over the administration of temples. This act evoked severe protests from some sections of the assembly which felt that this was an intrusion in the religious affairs of the populace. The Madras State Aid to Industries Act of 1922, through which the government made it a state policy to advance loans to developing industries, was passed with comparatively less opposition. This eventually became Madras Act V of 1923.

A little later, the Madras University Act was passed. The bill was introduced by Education Minister Sir A. P. Patro. As per the provisions of this bill, the governing body of the Madras University was completely reorganized on democratic lines. The bill asserted that the governing body would henceforth be headed by a Chancellor who would be assisted by a pro-Chancellor who was usually the Minister of Education. Apart from the Chancellor and the pro-Chancellor who were elected, there was to be a Vice-Chancellor appointed by the Chancellor. In 1925, the Andhra University Act was passed which included similar reforms in Andhra University.

Dr. Gour's Bill, introduced in 1921, brought about an amendment in the Special Marriages Act, sanctioning the legal validity of inter-caste marriages.

However, the tenure of the Justice Party government of the Raja of Panagal is largely remembered for the introduction of caste-based reservations in 1921.[4] In August 1921, the First communal Government Order (G.O. No.613[5]) was passed.[4] As per the order, 44 percent of jobs were reserved for non-Brahmins, 16 percent for Brahmins, 16 percent for Muslims, 16 percent for Anglo-Indians and Christians and eight percent for the Scheduled Castes.[5]

[edit] Municipal development

The rapid growth of the population of Madras necessiated the expansion of the city and the creation of more residential colonies. In order to fulfill this requirement, the 5-kilometer long and 2-kilometer broad Long Tank, which extended from Nungambakkam to Saidapet, forming an arc along the city's western frontier, was drained out in 1923. The development of the tract to the west of the Long Tank had been initiated by the British Government in 1911 with the construction of a railway station at the village of Marmalan or Mambalam. Following the draining out of the Long Tank, the Justice Party government of the Raja of Panagal conceived the creation of a residential colony adjoining this little village.

The residential colony was named Theagaroya Nagar after Justice Party stalwart Sir Pitti Theagaroya Chetty, who had passed away shortly before its creation, and was centred around a park named Panagal Park after the Raja of Panagal. The streets in this new locality were named after prominent members of the Justice Party or officials in the municipal administration as Mr. Boag and Mr. Burkitt.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rao, P. Raghunadha (1983). History of Modern Andhra. Stering Publishers, 116. 
  2. ^ List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu
  3. ^ a b c d e f g R. K. Shanmukham (1928). "The Raja Saheb of Panagal". The Revolt. 
  4. ^ a b Murugan, N.. "RESERVATION (Part-2)", National, October 9, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-05-19. 
  5. ^ a b "Tamil Nadu swims against the tide", The Statesman. Retrieved on 2008-05-19. 
Preceded by
A. Subbarayalu Reddiar		 Chief Minister of Madras
July 11, 1921– December 3, 1926		 Succeeded by
P. Subbarayan