Madras Native Association – 1852 & Madras Mahajana Sabha-1884

Early Political Associations

1. The British Indian Association – 1851 Bengal
2. The Bombay Association – 1852 Dadabhai Naoroji
3. East India Association – 1866 London
4. Madras Native Association – 1852
5. Poona Sarvojanik Sabha – 1870 – Mahadev Ranade.
6. The Madras Mahajana Sabha – 1884

Madras Native Association – 1852

• • It was started by Gazulu Lakshminarasu, Srinivasanar and their associates in 1852.
  • One of the first attempts to organise and vent the grievances against the British came through the formation of the Madras Native Association (MNA) on 26 February 1852.
  • Gajulu Lakshminarasu, who inspired the foundation of MNA, was businessman in Madras city.
  • The Association presented its grievances before British Parliament when it was discussing the East India Company’s rule in India before the passing of the Charter in 1853.
  • In a petition submitted in December 1852, the MNA pointed out that the Ryotwari and Zamindari systems had thrown agricultural classes into deep distress.
  • The petition also made a complaint about the judicial system which was slow, complicated and imperfect.
  • It pointed out that the appointment of judges without assessing their judicial knowledge and competence in the local languages affected the efficiency of the judiciary.
  • The diversion of state funds to missionary schools, under the grants-in-aid system, was also objected to in the petition.
  • The MNA petition was discussed in the Parliament in March 1853. H. D. Seymour, Chairman of the Indian Reform Society, came to Madras in October 1853.
  • However, as the Charter Act of 1853 allowed British East India Company to continue its rule in India, the MNA organised an agitation for the transfer of British territories in India to the direct control of the Crown.
  • MNA sent its second petition to British Parliament, signed by fourteen thousand individuals, pleading the termination of Company rule in India.
  • Lakshminarasu died in 1866 and by 1881, the association ceased to exist.
  • The grievances that the MNA raised through its petitions and the agitations it launched were from the point of view of the elite, particularly the landed gentry of Madras Presidency.
  • One of the important contributions of the MNA was its agitation against torture of the peasants by revenue officials.
  • These efforts led to the establishment of the “Torture Commission” and the eventual abolition of the Torture Act, which justified the collection of land revenue through torture.
• In 1884, the Madras Native Association was merged with the Madras Mahajana Sabha.

Madras Mahajana Sabha-1884

• Madras Mahajana Sabha (MMS) was the earliest organisation in south India with clear nationalist objectives.
• After the Madras Native Association became defunct there was no such public organisation in the Madras Presidency.
• As many educated Indians viewed this situation with dismay, the necessity for a political organisation was felt and in May 1884, the Madras Mahajana Sabha was organised.
• In the inaugural meeting held on 16 May 1884 the prominent participants were: G. Subramaniam, Viraraghavachari, Ananda Charlu, Rangiah, Balaji Rao and Salem Ramaswamy.
• With the launch of the Indian National Congress, after the completion of the second provincial conference of Madras Mahajana Sabha, the leaders after attending the first session of the Indian National Congress (INC) in Bombay amalgamated the MMS with the INC.
• P. Rangaiah became its first president and P. Anandacharlu played an active role as its secretary.

Objectives

1. To create a consensus among people of different parts of the Presidency on various issues of public interest and to present it to the government.
2. Its demands included conduct of simultaneous civil services examinations in England and India
3. Abolition of the Council of India in London
4. Reduction of taxes.
5. Reduction of civil and military expenditure.

• Many of its demands were adopted later by the Indian National Congress founded in 1885.
• In Dec 1895, on his visit to Madras, the Viceroy of India, Lord Elgin refused to receive the welcome address from the Madras Mahajana Sabha.
• It had developed very close relationship with the Indian National Congress Since 1920 onwards. Consequently in 1930, the Sabha Organized the Salt Satyagraha movement on April 22nd in Madras George town, Esplanade, the High court and beach areas.
• As the Sabha insisted on a legal enquiry about the injustice done towards the participants of the Sathyagraha, a three-man commission under the leadership of Justice T.R.Ramachandra lyer has enquired thirty people and submitted its report to the government.
• When the British Government banned the Congress party, Madras Mahajana Sabha conducted numerous exhibitions to instigate the patriotic feelings in the hearts of our countrymen such as All India Khadi Exhibition and Swadeshi Exhibition.
• Mahatma Gandhiji had delivered a speech at the meeting of Mahajana sabha on Oct 24th 1896.
• Pandit Jawaharalal Nehru also had participated in the golden Jubilee celebrations of the sabha.