DEWAN BAHADUR T. RANGACHARIAR
(Lawyer, Parliamentarian, Philanthropist)
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 :
“The government is inside and glass dome, working the levers, operating the engine inside that dome. I flatten my nose against it, to enter into it. How long am I to go on doing that? A day will come when we will have to throw stones at the dome to break it and enter by force..”. The Central Legislature hall reverberated with approbatory applause. Such a resolution was moved for the first time in the nation’s legislative history, way back in 1924., i.e. 23 years before India won Independence and the Tricolour flew over the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
Mr. Rangachariar, a Nationalist to the core, had fired the first salvo ever in the legislative annals for 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 Council :
“ To take at a very early date steps (including, if necessary) procuring the appointment of a Royal Commission, for 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”
The resolution moved by him recommended revision of the then Government of India Act ,1919, so as to secure for India full, self-governing Dominion Status within the British empire.. He believed that it was a half-way home preparatory to full Independence .
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 siege at the stubborn ramparts of British Colonial policy. Gandhi was leading t his non-violent assault on the mighty Imperial ramparts.
Not many of the present generation know much about the lions of those days, of whom Mr.Rangachariar was a notable one. A political moderate, he was an outstanding lawyer with a vast practice. The politics of those days was dominated by lawyers, specially in the south. His initiatives in the Parliament of those days were many. As the leader of the Swaraj Party he led a walk out to condemn the hanging of the revolu-tionary Bhagat Singh. Mr. Rangachariar’s contemporaries included such luminaries as Pundit Motilall Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Vithalbhai Patel, Sir P.S. Sivaswamy Iyer, Sir R.K. Shanmugham Chetty, K.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.
For Rangachariar, Dominion Status, was worth a trial if only to show the British that Indians were capable of self-government. There were other nationalists who wanted full swaraj and no less. The British would not budge an inch..
Who was Mr. Rangachariar?
According to known records he was born on 27th 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 in the Anglo –vernacular school, Kapisthalam, Pachaiyappa’s High School, Chidambaram and in the SPG College Trichinopoly (present day Tiruchrapalli). He took his degree in Arts with distinction and after a short stint as school Teacher, he obtained his Law degree with distinction in the Madras Law College. He joined the Madras Bar in 1891 and apprenticed under Mr.H.G. Wedderurn, a flamboyant Barrister of his days who gave the young colt his first lessons in practical aspects of Law.
One of the celebrated stalwarts of the Vaishnava community, Rangachariar was a religious person and believed in traditions and family values. At the same time he was modern in his outlook 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 the Parliament of Australia by the Duke of York, he wore his Sreechoornam- Namam on his fore head and turban, in the presence of the suited and booted gentry from many nations).
Rangachariar was a practicing lawyer at a time there was heavy competition from many a stalwart 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 Ramnad Zamin Partition Appeal, Fisher-Christian Marriage case, the Vizianagaram claim suit. and the Kapisthalam forgery case.
Rangachariar’s 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………..
The climax of his legal career was the ‘CKN and Sons case’ in which the full bench judgment was in his favour. The trial judge whose judgement was reversed was one Justice Eddy. The trenchant strictures of the full Bench was taken by him as a personal indictment and he chose to retire ostensibly on grounds of sickness, which a wag described as ‘Rangachariitis’
Rangachariar’s career as a lawyer and vocation as Legislator progressed 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 Mahajan Sabha, a Nationalistic political body. His sterling contributions to the Corporation Council’s proceedings led 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 plateau he went to Delhi representing City of Madras in the Indian Legislative Assembly winning a hard-fought electiom battle..
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 North-west Frontier Committee.. His report as Chairman of the Indian Cinematograph. Committee is considered of great value even today as valuable reference material. He was deputed to England in 1924 on the Colonies committee dealing with Kenya .In the ILA, Rangachariar initiated many proposals and resolutions for alleviating the conditions of have-nots and for advancing the political status of the country.
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, KC Neogy and NC Setalvaad were in the panel of Chairmen.. He defeated Mr. Kubeer-uddin ahmed by 58 to 16 votes. Annnouncing the result, the President of the ILA Sir Frederick Whyte in his laudatory speech said that he was expressing the unanimous feeling of the house when he said that Rangachariar’s election “has done honour to one to whom honour is due”. High praise it was coming from a dyed-in-the –wool Britisher of colonial vintage. Later, in the run-up to the post of President, Rangachariar lost to Mr.Vithalbhai Patel, the Congress candidate (brother of Sardar Vallabhai Patel) by a margin of two votes.
His brilliant Parliamentary performance, his erudition and services brought their own recognition. Rangachariar was honoured with the titles of Rao Bahadur and then, Dewan Bahadur, For his conspicuous ability as Deputy – President, the British government 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 Australia.
Rangachariar was an orthodox Brahmin who did his daily religious rituals, ceremonies for his parents and visits of temples regularly.. He had donated and bequeathed substantial property for charitable purposes and religious causes
While in Australia, Rangaachariar in his ethnic outfit was the cynosure of all eyes. The Sydney Morning Herald daily’s story titled ”Picturesque Indian Representative”, read ”The semi-circular benches around the throne in the Senate are rapidly filling up. The Indian representative Dewan Bahadur 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”. 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
”Rangachariar 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”
The CANBERRA TIMES carried a photo of Rangachariar prominently.. So did THE SYDNEY MORNIND HERALD whose report said” 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 “India’s Message to Australia”. At the conclusion he explained the meaning in detail each of the twenty two stanzas”.
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 ‘White Australia” policy. (now in the dust-bin of History)..
As a prominent public figure and flourishing lawyer Mr. Rangachariar was ‘at home’ to many celebrities in his sprawling mansion ‘Ritherdon House’ in Vepery; among them: Lord Rawlinson, Sir Frederick Whyte, and Lord Goschen. The elite of Madras was invited to these elaborate parties giving rise to his facetious nickname ‘Tea’ Rangachariar..
As a lawyer he was involved in Trust and _Sampradaya cases in temples, usually involving Thenkalai-vadakaai disputes. One of his Juniors of vadakalai persuasion asked him whether by advocating the cause of only Thenkalais he was not laying himself open to the charge of parochialism by unkind critics. Mr. Rangachariar’s reply was “My 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 to me it is because of an in-born inhibition , me being a Thenkalai”
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 MayilAduthurai celebrated its Centenary a few years back. The school has spawned many brilliant students who are shining in various disciplines 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.
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 flounced out in a huff, a scene the like of which was never before witnessed in the Madras High court. At the instance of the Chief Justice who deplored the judge’s behaviour towards a senior Advocate, the errant judge, invited Rangachariar to his Chambers to straighten out the misunderstanding.. But Rangachariar would have none 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 ‘Case closed’.
In the thirties, Rangachariar had a paralytic stroke which affected his mobility. The tragedy was that he was also rendered speechless–a sad irony because it was by his debating skills and gift of speech that he had made his opponents in court speechless in admiration and rose to great heights in his profession.
Rangachariar lived the full measure of his life and savoured its luxuries to the fullest extent.. He died with full honours in 1945 and his funeral was attended by his clan going down to four generations. A great pity that he did not live to see India becoming free but he had done his mite for freedom’s cause. . The BBC broadcast a special eulogy to the great man, a great Indian and a shining star…
(In 1995 a “Rangachariar Dynasty Re-union” was organized by V.Varadarajan , Mrs.Y.G.Parthasarathy and his 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 “basking in Rangachariar’s sunshine”) .