[Tamilnadu Board]*Class 12 History Notes | Chapter 18. THE JUSTICE PARTY RULE

 

LESSON 18.

THE JUSTICE PARTY RULE

Learning Objectives

Students will come to understand

1. The factors that led to the rise of Non-Brahmin Movement in Madras Presidency.

2. The genesis of the Justice Party.

3. The Justice Party in power.

4. Achievements of the Justice Party.

5. The end of the Justice rule in Madras Presidency

 

            The Justice Party rule in the Madras Presidency constitutes an important chapter in the history of South India. The ideology and objectives of the Justice Party had been unique and somewhat different from those of the Congress Party. The Justice Party represented the Non-Brahmin Movement and engineered a social revolution against the domination of Brahmins in the sphere of public services and education.

Birth of the Justice Party

            Various factors had contributed to the formation of the Justice Party, which represented the Non-Brahmin Movement. The social dominance of the Brahmins was the main cause for the emergence of the Non-Brahmin Movement. Their high proportion in the Civil Service, educational institutions and also their predominance in the Madras Legislative Council caused a great worry among the nonBrahmins. The Brahmins had also monopolized the Press. The rediscovery of the greatness of the Tamil language and literature also provided a stimulus to the non-Brahmins. Particularly, the publication of the book entitled A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian Family of Languages by Rev. Robert Caldwell in 1856 gave birth to the Dravidian concept. Later the ancient Tamil literature had been rediscovered and printed by various Tamil scholars including Arumuga Navalar, C.V. Damodaram Pillai and U.V. Swaminatha Iyer. V. Kanakasabhai Pillai in his famous historical work, The Tamils 1800 Years Ago pointed out that Tamils had attained a high degree of civilization before the Advent of the Aryans. This led to the growth of Dravidian feelings among the non-Brahmins. These factors collectively contributed to the birth of the Non-Brahmin Movement and the Justice Party.

             The precursor of the Justice Party was the Madras United League which was renamed as the Madras Dravidian Association in November 1912. Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar played a significant role in nurturing this organization. In 1916 the South Indian Liberal Federation was formed for the purpose of ‘promoting the political interests of non-Brahmin caste Hindus’. The leaders who stood behind the formation of this organization were Pitti Theagaraya Chetti, Dr. T.M. Nair, P. Ramarayaninger (Raja of Panagal) and Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar. The South Indian Liberal Federation published an English newspaper called Justice and hence this organization came to be called the Justice Party. The other news paper which supported the Justice Party was Dravidan (in Tamil). Besides, the Justice Party organized a series of public meetings, conferences, lectures to popularise Non-Brahmin movement. Similarly, the Justice Party formed District Associations, the Non-Brahmin Youth League.

Justice Party Rule

          The Justice Party came to power following the election of 1920 held according to the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms. The Justice Party captured sixty three out of ninety eight elected seats in the Madras Legislative Council. As Pitti Theagaraya Chetti declined to lead the ministry, A. Subbarayalu Reddiar formed the ministry. In the election of 1923 it fought against the Swarajya Party. The Justice Party again won the majority and the ministry was formed by Raja of Panagal. In the election of 1926 a divided Justice Party faced the opposition of a united Congress. Therefore, an independent, A. Subbarayan with the help of the Swarajya Party formed the ministry. In 1930 when the next election was held the Justice Party won the majority and formed a ministry with B. Muniswami Naidu as the leader. In 1932 Raja of Bobbili replaced him as Prime Minister of the Presidency. In 1934 Raja of Bobbili formed his second ministry, which continued in power until the election of 1937.

Achievements of the Justice Party

            The Justice Party remained in power for a period of thirteen years. Its administration was noted for social justice and social reform. Justice rule gave adequate representation to non-Brahman communities in the public services. It improved the status of depressed classes through education reforms. Justice Party introduced following reforms in the field of Education :

1. Free and compulsory education was introduced for the first time in Madras.

2. Nearly 3000 fisher boys and fisher girls were offered free special instruction by the Department of Fisheries.

 3. Midday Meals was given at selected corporation schools in Madras.

4. The Madras Elementary Education Act was amended in 1934 and in 1935 to improve elementary education.

5. The Education of girls received encouragement during the Justice rule in Madras.

6. Education of the Depressed Classes was entrusted with Labour Department.

7. Encouragement was given to Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medical education.

                The government took over the power of appointing district munsiffs out of the control of the High Court. The Communal G. O.s (Government Orders) of 1921 and 1922 provided for the reservation of appointments in local bodies and educational institutions for non-Brahmin communities in increased proportion.

               The Staff Selection Board, created by the Panagal Ministry in 1924, was made the Pubic Service Commission in 1929. It was the first of its kind in India. The women were granted the right to vote on the same basis as was given to men.The Hindu Religious Endowment Act of 1921, enacted by the Panagal Ministry, tried to eliminate corruption in the management of temples. Justice Party Government introduced economic reforms.

             To assist the growth of industries State Aid to Industries Act, 1922 was passed. This led to the establishment of new industries such as : sugar factories, engineering works, tanneries, aluminum factories, cement factories and oil milling so on. This act provided credits to industries, allotted land and water. This proved favourable for industrial progress.)

            Similarly, Justice Party Government introduced schemes for rural development to help agrarian population, public health schemes to prevent diseases. To improve village economy village road scheme was introduced. In the city of Madras the Town Improvement Committee of the Madras Corporation introduced Slum Clearance and Housing Schemes. As a social welfare measures the Justice Party Government gave waste lands in village to Depressed Classes.

            The devadasi system, a disgrace to women, was abolished. The Justice administration reorganized the working of the University of Madras. During the administration of Justice Party, the Andhra University was established in 1926 and Annamalai University in 1929.

End of Justice Party Rule

               The Government of India Act of 1935 provided for provincial autonomy and the electoral victory meant the assumption of a major responsibility in the administration of the province. K. V. Reddi Naidu led the Justice Party, while C. Rajagopalachari led the Congress in the South. In the election of 1937, the Congress captured 152 out of 215 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 26 out of 46 in the Legislative Council. In July 1937 the Congress formed its ministry under C. Rajagopalachari. Thus, the rule of Justice Party which introduced important social legislations came to an end. In 1944 the Justice party conference was held in Salem. There Peraringar Anna passed a resolution thereby the name of justice party was changed as Dravidiar Kalagam.

Learning Outcome

After studying this lesson the student has understood that

 1. The domination of Brahmin community in the sphere of civil service and education led to the emergence of the NonBrahmin Movement.

2. The leaders of the Justice Movement.

3. The Justice ministries between 1920 and 1937.

4. The achievements of the Justice party administration such as Communal G.O, Hindu Religious Endowment Act and abolition of devadasi system.

5. The decline of the Justice Party.