{"id":56,"date":"2014-11-08T17:56:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-08T17:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/?p=56"},"modified":"2017-06-24T01:24:52","modified_gmt":"2017-06-24T01:24:52","slug":"diwan-bahadur-t-rangachariar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/?p=56","title":{"rendered":"Diwan Bahadur T. Rangachariar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0DEWAN BAHADUR T. RANGACHARIAR<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Lawyer, Parliamentarian, Philanthropist<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Independence Activist)) <\/em><\/p>\n

By Vengrai Parthasarathy<\/p>\n

At the climax of his speech, moving a formal resolution for Dominion Status for India, Dewan Bahadur T. Rangachariar, representing Madras City in the Central Legislature, said :<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is inside a glass dome, working the levers, operating the engine\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 inside that dome. I flatten my nose against it, to enter into it. How long\u00a0 am \u00a0I to go on doing that? A day will\u00a0 come when we will have to throw stones at the dome to break it and enter by force..\u201d. The Central Legislature hall reverberated with approbatory applause. Such a resolution was \u00a0\u00a0moved for the first time in the nation\u2019s \u00a0legislative history, way back in 1924., i.e. 23 years before India won Independence and the Tricolour flew over the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.<\/p>\n

Mr. Rangachariar, a Nationalist \u00a0\u00a0to the core, had fired the first salvo ever\u00a0 in the legislative annals \u00a0for putting the country on the road to self-government with a safe machinery to work it. He had moved the resolution representing Madras and this resolution recommended to the Governor General in \u00a0Council :<\/p>\n

To take at a very early date \u00a0\u00a0steps (including, if necessary) procuring the appointment of a Royal Commission, \u00a0for revising the Government of India Act so as to secure for India full, self-governing Dominion Status within the British Empire and Provincial autonomy in the Provinces\u201d<\/p>\n

The resolution moved by him recommended revision of the then Government of India Act ,1919, \u00a0so as to secure for India full, self-governing Dominion Status within the British empire.. He believed that it was a half-way home \u00a0preparatory \u00a0to full Independence .<\/p>\n

His resolution marks the earliest role of the Central Legislature in the freedom struggle. At the political level Gandhiji was more than a life force, laying \u00a0\u00a0siege\u00a0 at the stubborn ramparts of British Colonial\u00a0 \u00a0policy. Gandhi was leading t his non-violent assault on the mighty\u00a0 Imperial ramparts.<\/p>\n

Not many of the present generation know much about the lions of those days, of whom Mr.Rangachariar was \u00a0a notable one. A political moderate, he was an outstanding lawyer \u00a0\u00a0with a vast practice. The politics of those days was dominated by lawyers, specially in the south. His initiatives in the Parliament of those days\u00a0 were many. As the leader of the Swaraj Party he \u00a0led a walk out to condemn the hanging of \u00a0the revolu-tionary Bhagat Singh. Mr. Rangachariar\u2019s contemporaries included \u00a0such luminaries as Pundit Motilall Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Vithalbhai Patel, Sir P.S. Sivaswamy Iyer, Sir R.K. Shanmugham Chetty, \u00a0K.C. Neogy, Mr. Rangachariar was like a shining star . Those were the most troublous and critical of times for India. Cries of Independence rent the air and the nation was like a kicked-up anthill. Gandhi was at the throat of the colonial lion.<\/p>\n

For Rangachariar, \u00a0Dominion Status, was worth a trial if only to show the British that Indians were capable of self-government. There were other nationalists\u00a0 \u00a0who wanted full swaraj and no less. The British would not budge an inch..<\/p>\n

Who was Mr. Rangachariar?<\/p>\n

According to known records he was born on 27th<\/sup> November 1865 in the village of Omblapadi in the Tanjore district in an orthodox famly of Vaishnavites.While still a stripling of 14 he married Kanakavalli alias Ponnammal who, Rangachariar believed, brought him all his latter day fortunes. Mr.Rangaachariar had his early education \u00a0\u00a0in the Anglo \u2013vernacular school, Kapisthalam, \u00a0Pachaiyappa\u2019s High School, Chidambaram and in the SPG College Trichinopoly (present day Tiruchrapalli). He took his degree in Arts with distinction and \u00a0after a short stint as school \u00a0Teacher, he obtained \u00a0\u00a0his Law degree \u00a0with distinction in the Madras Law College. He joined the Madras Bar in 1891 and apprenticed under\u00a0 Mr.H.G. Wedderurn, a flamboyant \u00a0Barrister of his days who gave the young colt his first lessons\u00a0 in practical aspects of \u00a0Law.<\/p>\n

One of the celebrated stalwarts of the Vaishnava community, Rangachariar was a religious person and believed in traditions and \u00a0\u00a0family values. At the same time he was modern in his outlook\u00a0 and believed in moving with the times. (When at a later date as Deputy President of the Indian Legislative Assembly he represented India at the inauguration of\u00a0 the Parliament\u00a0 of Australia by the Duke of York, he wore his \u00a0Sreechoornam- Namam <\/em>\u00a0on his fore head\u00a0 and turban,\u00a0 in the presence of the suited and booted gentry\u00a0 from many nations).<\/p>\n

Rangachariar was a practicing lawyer at a time there was heavy competition from many a \u00a0stalwart\u00a0 of the legal profession. It was said that there were two prominent groups, the Mylapore Lawyers and the Egmore Lawyers. Rangachariar belonged to the latter group having been a resident of Egmore in Veda Vilas , his first real estate acquisition.. This was at a time when there were many movers and shakers in the legal profession, some were Englishmen like Willie Grant,and Eardley Norton and Indians like Sir V.Bhashyam Iyengar, Sir.C.Sankaran Nair,V.Krishnaswamy Iyer and P.R. Sundaram Iyer. He made his mark as a front liner in no uncertain manner. . Many were the landmark cases, both civil and criminal, in which he had triumphed by his masterly marshalling of facts and adroit interrogation of witnesses. These include the\u00a0 Ramnad Zamin Partition Appeal, Fisher-Christian Marriage case, the Vizianagaram claim suit. and the Kapisthalam forgery case.<\/p>\n

Rangachariar\u2019s strong suit was his court room strategies and skill in exploiting loopholes . He spoke with a sing-song tilt and could be pugnacious if the situation demanded it. Legal precedents were at his finger tips. Nationalist that he was, Rangachariar had also conducted several political cases including\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

The climax of his legal career was the \u2018CKN and Sons case\u2019 in which the full bench judgment was in his favour. The trial judge whose judgement was reversed was one Justice Eddy. The trenchant \u00a0strictures of the full Bench was taken by him as a personal indictment and he \u00a0chose to retire ostensibly on grounds of sickness, which a wag described as \u2018Rangachariity<\/p>\n

Rangachariar\u2019s career as a lawyer and\u00a0\u00a0 vocation as Legislator \u00a0progressed along parallel lines. He began his career in the public domain as elected Member of the Madras Corporation Council for fifteen years. He was elected as Secretary of the Madras \u00a0Mahajan Sabha, \u00a0a Nationalistic political body. His sterling contributions to the Corporation Council\u2019s proceedings \u00a0\u00a0led to his being elected to represent the city of Madras in the Madras Legislative Council for four years , 1916-1920.He did not remain tethered to the home ground for long. Elevated to the All-India \u00a0\u00a0plateau \u00a0he\u00a0 went to Delhi representing City of Madras in the Indian Legislative Assembly winning a hard-fought electiom battle..<\/p>\n

In the Central Legislature, Rangachariar came to full flower. Though irked by by his nationalistic fervour, the British Government was quick to recognize the vast knowledge, legal acumen and quicksilver mind of Rangachariar and appointed him to several Commissions and Committees including the\u00a0 North-west Frontier Committee.. His report as \u00a0Chairman of the Indian Cinematograph. Committee is considered of great value even today \u00a0\u00a0as valuable reference material. \u00a0He was deputed to England in 1924\u00a0 \u00a0on the Colonies committee dealing with Kenya .In the ILA, Rangachariar initiated many proposals and resolutions for \u00a0alleviating the conditions of\u00a0 have-nots and for advancing the political status of the country.<\/p>\n

Rangachariar was elected Deputy President of the Indian Legislative Assembly (Present day Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha) at a time when stalwarts like M.A.Jinnah, \u00a0KC Neogy and NC Setalvaad were in the panel of Chairmen.. He defeated Mr. Kubeer-uddin ahmed\u00a0 by 58 to 16 votes. Annnouncing the result, the President of the ILA\u00a0 Sir Frederick Whyte \u00a0in his laudatory speech \u00a0said \u00a0that he was expressing the unanimous feeling of the house when he said that Rangachariar\u2019s \u00a0election \u201chas done honour to one\u00a0 to whom honour is due\u201d. High praise \u00a0it was coming from a dyed-in-the \u2013wool\u00a0 Britisher of colonial vintage. Later, in the run-up to the post of President, \u00a0\u00a0Rangachariar lost to Mr.Vithalbhai Patel, the Congress candidate \u00a0(brother of Sardar Vallabhai Patel) \u00a0by a margin of two votes.<\/p>\n

His brilliant Parliamentary performance, \u00a0his erudition\u00a0 and\u00a0 services brought their own recognition.\u00a0 Rangachariar was honoured with the titles of Rao Bahadur and then, \u00a0Dewan Bahadur,\u00a0 For his conspicuous ability as Deputy \u2013 President, the British government\u00a0 gave him the high distinction of CIE (Companion of the Indian Empire), in 1925. This was followed by his nomination as Representative of India at the Inauguration of the Australian Parliament and declaration of Canberra s the new Capital of Au<\/p>\n

Rangachariar was an orthodox Brahmin who did his daily religious \u00a0\u00a0rituals, ceremonies for his parents \u00a0and visits of temples regularly.. He had donated and bequeathed\u00a0\u00a0 substantial property for charitable purposes and religio<\/p>\n

While in Australia, Rangaachariar in his ethnic outfit was the cynosure of all eyes. The Sydney Morning Herald daily\u2019s story titled \u00a0\u201dPicturesque Indian Representative\u201d, read \u201dThe semi-circular benches around the throne in the Senate are rapidly filling up. The Indian representative Dewan Bahadur\u00a0 T. Rangachariar is in picturesque turban and his his caste mark in red on his forehead. His native costume contrasts with his modern tortoise-shell spectacles\u201d. The paper carried a photo of the garlands presented by Rangachariar to the Duke of York (who later ascended the British throne after the abdication of Edward VIII , paving the way for the present ruling clan).. It said<\/p>\n

\u201dRangachariar approached their Royal Highnesse and placed around their necks garlands of solid gold studded largely with beautiful jewels; this is recognized as the highest honour that an Indian potentate can confer on anyone. Their royal Highnesses were extremely touched with the ceremony and generosity of Dewan Bahadur\u201d<\/p>\n

The CANBERRA TIMES carried a photo of Rangachariar \u00a0prominently.. \u00a0So did\u00a0 THE \u00a0SYDNEY MORNIND HERALD whose report \u00a0said\u201d The representative of India Dewan Bahadur T .Rangachariar CIE, a conspicuous figure in his native uniform, was the first to speak. At its conclusion Rangachariar made a novel departure by reading or rather one might say intoning a Sanskrit a poem \u201cIndia\u2019s Message to Australia<\/em>\u201d. At the conclusion he explained the meaning in detail each of the twenty two stanzas\u201d.<\/p>\n

While in Australia, Rangachariar did not fail to take up with the Australian Prime Minister Rt.Hon. S.M Bruce the plight of the dependents of resident Indians who had been barred entry by the law of that country. The most repugnant of these laws was the notorious \u2018White Australia\u201d policy. (now in the dust-bin of History)..<\/p>\n

As a prominent public figure and flourishing lawyer\u00a0 Mr. Rangachariar was \u2018at home\u2019 to many celebrities in his sprawling mansion \u2018Ritherdon House\u2019 in Vepery; among them: Lord Rawlinson, Sir Frederick Whyte, and Lord Goschen. The elite of Madras was invited to these elaborate parties \u00a0\u00a0giving rise to his facetious nickname \u2018Tea\u2019 Rangachariar..<\/p>\n

As a lawyer he was involved in \u00a0Trust and _Sampradaya cases in temples, usually involving Thenkalai-vadakalai disputes. One of his Juniors of vadakalai\u00a0 persuasion\u00a0 asked him whether by advocating the cause of only Thenkalais he was not laying himself open to the charge of \u00a0parochialism by unkind critics. Mr. Rangachariar\u2019s reply was \u00a0\u201cMy mother was a vadakalai, I have no prejudices against them. If vadakalais approach me for assistance my response will always be a professional one. I fight for causes. If they do not come\u00a0 \u00a0to me it is because of an in-born inhibition , me being a Thenkalai\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Rangachariar was passionately interested in Education and had donated fifty acres of land near Mayavaram for a school. The DBTR National Higher Secondary school\u00a0 MayilAduthurai\u00a0 celebrated its Centenary a few years back. The school has \u00a0spawned\u00a0 many \u00a0brilliant students \u00a0who are shining in various disciplines\u00a0 in all parts of the world. As a tribute to his former Principal and as a distinguished past student of SPG college, he instituted the Pearce Gold Medal for the most outstanding student in Economics.<\/p>\n

Mr. Rangachariar was known for his courtly manners, quiet dignity and high sense of self-esteem. A judge, in open court made some cutting remarks against him in open court, comments which were totally out of bounds. Rangachariar collected his papers and \u00a0flounced out in a huff, a scene the like of which was \u00a0never before witnessed in the Madras High court. At the instance of the Chief Justice who deplored the judge\u2019s behaviour towards a senior Advocate, \u00a0the errant judge, invited Rangachariar to his Chambers to straighten out the misunderstanding.. But \u00a0Rangachariar would have \u00a0none of it and insisted on an apology in the open court where the incident took place. The judge had to apologise and Rangachariar graciously shook hands with him to signal \u2018Case closed\u2019.<\/p>\n

In the thirties, Rangachariar had a paralytic stroke which affected his mobility. The tragedy was that he was also \u00a0\u00a0rendered speechless–a sad irony because it was by his debating skills \u00a0and gift of speech \u00a0that he had made his opponents in court speechless in admiration and rose to great heights in his<\/p>\n

Rangachariar lived the full measure of his life and savoured\u00a0 its luxuries \u00a0to the fullest extent.. He died with full honours \u00a0in 1945 \u00a0and his funeral was attended by\u00a0 his clan going down to four generations. A great \u00a0\u00a0pity that he did not live to see India becoming free \u00a0but he had done his mite for freedom\u2019s cause. . The BBC broadcast a special eulogy to the great man, a great Indian and a shining star…<\/p>\n

(In 1995 a \u201cRangachariar Dynasty Re-union\u201d was organized by V.Varadarajan , Mrs.Y.G.Parthasarathy and\u00a0 his\u00a0 grand children. Over 170 relatives of all ages, related by blood and marriage, attended the meet which was a landmark event for the newer generation of youngsters who were getting acquainted with each other for the first time.. They were, as a biographer put it, \u201cbasking in Rangachariar\u2019s sunshine\u201d) .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0DEWAN BAHADUR T. RANGACHARIAR \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Lawyer, Parliamentarian, Philanthropist \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Independence Activist)) By Vengrai Parthasarathy At the climax of his speech, moving a formal resolution for Dominion Status for India, Dewan Bahadur T. Rangachariar, representing Madras City in the Central Legislature, said :… <\/p>\n

Read <\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2039,"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions\/2039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vengrai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}