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The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s decision to admit AIADMK’s former MP V. Maitreyan has attracted an adverse absorption successful definite quarters owing to his Brahmin roots. With the Assembly predetermination owed adjacent year, it has led immoderate commentators to presume the erstwhile MP volition beryllium fielded successful a suitable constituency. The question, according to specified commentators, is whether the DMK can spell to specified an grade of accommodating the Brahmins. However, not galore are alert that B. Munuswami Nayudu (1885-1935), the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency during 1930-32, made an unsuccessful effort to admit “willing” Brahmins to the Justice Party, a precursor of the DMK. At the party’s two-day Nellore confederation successful October 1929, Nayudu sought to amend the enactment by-laws, arsenic helium felt that the explicit exclusion of 1 assemblage had resulted successful the enactment not being a “full representative” of the Presidency.
Debate wrong the enactment
A perusal of reports successful The Hindu Archives reveals the alteration successful the rules, arsenic suggested by Nayudu, had triggered a immense statement wrong the Justice Party, formally called the South Indian Liberal Federation (SILF). The intent of the organisation was to “promote the governmental interests of non-Brahmin caste Hindus,” writes Eugene F. Irschick in Politics and Social Conflict successful South India (University of California Press, 1969).
The Nellore meeting took spot astir a twelvemonth earlier the 1930 predetermination to the Legislative Council. As Nayudu had made it wide that helium wanted the enactment to see amending its constitution, his determination ruffled the feathers of many. At a gathering of the party’s Chennai subdivision held connected Anna Salai on September 20, galore stalwarts, including V. Chakkarai Chettiar, A. Ramaswami Mudaliar, and J.S. Kannapar, were present, with G. Narayanaswami Chetti presiding. Calling the Nellore event “very important”, Chettiar expressed his absorption to the admittance of Brahmins arsenic the organisation chiefly existed to “advance the interests” of the Non-Brahmins. But, astatine the aforesaid time, helium favoured the thought of assigning the party’s enactment successful the Legislative Council and the section bodies to the Brahmins arsenic the nonsubjective was to “do justness to each communities”. Mudaliar was categorical successful saying that determination was to beryllium “no pact oregon compromise” with the Brahmins.
Meanwhile, the party’s Srivilliputtur unit adopted a solution that “until the non-Brahmins found equality with the Brahmins successful governmental and societal fields”, the Brahmins should not beryllium admitted to the party. Regarded wide arsenic a adjacent subordinate of the Raja of Panagal who was the Chief Minister during 1921-26, Nayudu became the president of the Justice Party astatine the Nellore meeting. A postulation of leaders, specified arsenic P.T. Rajan, P. Subbaroyan, R.K. Shanmugam Chetti, the Raja of Bobbili, A.P. Patro, Mudaliar, and ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramaswamy (EVR), attended the conference.
Delivering his statesmanlike address, Nayudu referred to the Article 4 of the enactment constitution, wherein it was stated that “every Non-Brahmin who is implicit 21 years of property and who accepts the creed of the SILF shall beryllium eligible for membership”. Pointing to this clause that excluded lone 1 community, helium argued the organisation was not started arsenic an “anti-Brahmin movement”. Its main nonsubjective was the betterment of non-Brahmin communities and securing the adjacent opportunities for each communities successful the governance of the country.
‘A existent Congress Party’
Tracing the genesis of the party, Nayudu, who hailed from a Kamma household of the past Tirutanni taluk and learnt the basics successful instrumentality signifier from P.R. Sundara Aiyar and T.T. Vijayaraghavachariar, said that erstwhile the Home Rule Movement was launched successful 1916, “a sizeable fig of influential and typical Non-Brahmins” felt “the devolution of powerfulness from the bureaucracy to a liable legislature should not effect successful the substitution of 1 oligarchy by another”. He went connected to accidental that by removing the prohibition connected the introduction of the Brahmins, the organisation would beryllium the “real Congress Party successful southbound India”, according to The Hindu on October 5, 1929.
Many speakers deliberated connected the contented of allowing rank to the Brahmins either successful the enactment oregon successful the Legislative Council limb of the party. At the two-hour league of the subjects committee that discussed the issue, Shanmugam Chetti, EVR, and Surendranath Arya spoke against the amendment. Earlier, two, including Patro, had favoured the projected change. Chetti said it would beryllium “too aboriginal to take” specified a step. EVR said helium had “no objection” to the admittance of the Brahmins to the legislature limb of the party, if the organisation was truthful inclined. He had besides contended that it was “ideal” to deliberation of admitting the Brahmins to the enactment erstwhile non-Brahmins from different organisations were joining the Justice Party, “being fed up with Brahmin methods”.
Motion defeated
Eventually, the question was defeated. While delegates from 14 districts went against the resolution, those from 13 districts supported it. Chennai, Tiruchi, Thanjavur (East & West), Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Godavari (East & West), Kurnool, Malabar, the Nilgiris, North Arcot, and Salem voted against the motion, portion Ganjam Visakapatnam, Guntur, Kadapa, Krishna, Anantapur, Bellary, Nellore, Chengalpattu, South Canara, Chittoor, South Arcot, and Coimbatore backed the resolution.
Nayudu took the determination sportingly and called the lawsuit “a splendid success”, The Hindu reported connected October 7, 1929. Though the enactment did not hold to his thought of admitting the Brahmins into it, the question of allowing them to the legislature limb of the enactment was defeated by lone 1 vote, an result that helium called “significant”. However, P. Varadarajulu Naidu, a nationalist, described the determination of the Justice Party arsenic “simply deplorable”. Shortly aft quitting the station of Chief Minister, Nayudu left the Justice Party to signifier the Justice Democratic Party, which had the enactment of 20 legislators. His untimely decease successful January 1935 led to the disintegration of the caller body. A roadworthy astatine K.K. Nagar successful Chennai has been named aft the erstwhile Chief Minister. M. Chakravarthy, 1 of the members of the Nayudu family, says determination is simply a program to instal a statue of the person successful a parkland successful Chittoor, which is besides named aft the leader.
