The freedom movement was in need of a larger base. In the Madras Presidency, the Justice Party challenged the Brahmin led Congress and threatened to block the expansion of the nationalist party into the non Brahmin castes. The challenge delayed the recruitment process but did not stop it. There was a massive influx of non Brahmins into the Congress between 1927 and 1937. This break through has, perhaps unfairly been attributed more to changes in attitudes than the achievements of the Congress. It has been suggested that once their immediate objectives had been achieved through the provincial legislature, the non Brahmin politicians were willing to turn to national issues. They had outgrown their old party clothes and had decided to adopt the national dress. The younger educated ones among other communities are said to have been more responsive to nationalism than their elders and to have felt less in need of communal representation. Changes in the character of local government in the Presidency in 1929 - 30 diminished the control and patronage of the Justice Ministers, in consequence, it has been argued, the local notables switched their allegiance to the Congress, which had to only open its doors to them in order to sweep the polls in the 1937 provincial elections. David Arnold has studied this over time. He has carried out research on the political significance of the various moves and strategies in the Kongu region during the British period. This study has been made popular by Naga Ganesan.
The freedom movement was in need of a larger base. In the Madras Presidency, the Justice Party challenged the Brahmin led Congress and threatened to block the expansion of the nationalist party into the non Brahmin castes. The challenge delayed the recruitment process but did not stop it. There was a massive influx of non Brahmins into the Congress between 1927 and 1937. This break through has, perhaps unfairly been attributed more to changes in attitudes than the achievements of the Congress. It has been suggested that once their immediate objectives had been achieved through the provincial legislature, the non Brahmin politicians were willing to turn to national issues. They had outgrown their old party clothes and had decided to adopt the national dress. The younger educated ones among other communities are said to have been more responsive to nationalism than their elders and to have felt less in need of communal representation. Changes in the character of local government in the Presidency in 1929 - 30 diminished the control and patronage of the Justice Ministers, in consequence, it has been argued, the local notables switched their allegiance to the Congress, which had to only open its doors to them in order to sweep the polls in the 1937 provincial elections. David Arnold has studied this over time. He has carried out research on the political significance of the various moves and strategies in the Kongu region during the British period. This study has been made popular by Naga Ganesan.
The local agrarian communities formed the back bone of each region. Kongu Vellalar Gounders were on the top in terms of numbers in Western Tamilnadu. The other influential community was the Kamma Naidu community and they were high on the ritual hierarchy. The agrarian Gounder community had their own organization states David Arnold. He goes on to state that through 24 territorial groupings it moved upwards to 4 hereditary community heads known as Pattakarars or Pattagars. The authority of the Pattagars within the community originated from their role as military chieftains prior to the advent of foreigners. The position of these leaders was sustained by the landed wealth and by the religious respect they commanded. Their blessings were sought for important weddings and they were greeted with considerable deference. Occasionally they intervened in serious community disputes. The majority of the region consisted of small ryotwari land holders. These people had been the back bone of this part of the Madras Presidency.
The black cotton soil farmers who spoke Telugu were quick to exploit the latest technology at the beginning of the twentieth century. Tamil speaking farmers followed suit. A number of mills had been established and projects like the Pykara helped the situation. Besides all this estates came up from 1860 in the Pollachi region and the acreage increased by 1931 it had crossed 25000 acres. The town of Pollachi served as the commercial and transport centre of these estates and by 1920 it had the largest weekly market in the district. A number of bus and lorry companies came into being along with small industries. The cattle and the processing of hides added to the fortunes of Erode those days. Coimbatore became a municipality in 1866, Erode in 1874 and they were joined by Pollachi, Udumalpet, Tirupur and Dharapuram over time.
V.C.Vellingiri Gounder (1880 - 1948) was among the principal mirasdars of the Madras Presidency and he was among the earliest to introduce modern agricultural methods under the guidance of the agricultural college. His relative S.G.Sengodayan was the first ICS officer from this background. Vellingiri Gounder (VCV) was one of the pioneers of oil and electric pumping in the area and in 1931 he was nominated by the government to be on the Indian Central Cotton Committee. His brother V.C.Palaniswamy Gounder was a minister in the later years. The years 1916 - 1920 widened the horizons of the agrarian communities and the advent of the Montague Chelmsford reforms gave them the oppourtunity to expand their political base.
Many among the agrarians were known to be litigant and professional contacts provided a basis for political recruitment. The master strategist advocate C.Rajagopalachariar (Rajaji) belonged to the Congress party and had among his clients P.Subbarayan, the Zamindar of Kumaramangalam and P.K.Ratnasabapathy Gounder the Mittadar from Tiruchegode. Rajaji drew both of them into the Congress. As the Home Rule League advanced, the landholders were recruited or at least invited to identify themselves with the party. They did so by either attending or presiding over the meetings.
The Justice Party was formed in 1916 and its first conference was held in 1917 at Coimbatore. Kalingarayar of Uttukuli was the Chairman of the Reception Committee. The Kongu Vellala Sangam was founded in 1921 and V.C.Vellingiri Gounder was the driving force behind its creation. The political significance of the organization was appreciated by Subbarayan. He had been educated in Oxford and Dublin. Subbarayan was in the Congress and then moved to the Justice Party. He then broke with the Justice leadership He was the Chief Minister of Madras. V.C.Vellingiri Gounder and Subbarayan's success in politics made others join the crowd. The new entrants were the Pattagars of Palayakottai and Sankaranpalayam. They entered the legislature in an attempt to remould their traditional authority so that they were in tune with the changing political circumstances.
In spite of his resentment towards V.C.Vellingiri Gounder, the Pattagar of Palayakottai cooperated cautiously with him in order to improve the status of agriculture and livestock in the undivided Coimbatore District. The Kongu Vellala Sangam thus had acted as a platform for politicians. It would however be misleading to interpret that the Sangam as a sole electioneering agency. It was also the means by which the Western educated and urban elite among the farmers to narrow the ritual gap between themselves and the other communities. This helped in improving their social and economic conditions. Gounders were requested to abstain from alcohol and not to participate in the manufacture and sale of the same. They were expected to take to vegetarianism and take greater interest in religious learning.
Organizations like the Kamma Mahajana Sangam were created and it was supported by P.S.G.Rangaswamy Naidu. He was supported by G.D.Naidu in this regard. Both of them contributed funds but their presence was more through trade bodies like SIMA (Southern India Millowners Association). Prohibition was espoused by the Congress and it found support among the farmer elite who were keen to show themselves morally higher. Picketing of alcohol shops became the order of the day. V.C.Vellingiri Gounder was a prohibitionist and the strategy of Rajaji suited the situation. Rajaji saw prohibition as a way to question the morality and also threaten the financial resources of the government. It was also appealing to the social ambitions of the agrarian communities of the Presidency and particularly Western Tamilnadu.
Rajaji established the Tiruchengode Asram in 1925 and he began an intensive propaganda against alcohol. He sought in vain to persuade the Subbarayan ministry to accept the prohibition bill drafted by him. During the civil disobedience movement, Rajaji brought in a movement to picket liquor shops once again. This became the principal form of agitation in Kongunad due to the efforts of the great Statesman Rajaji. The advent of the 1937 elections brought in another appourtunity for Rajaji to stress on prohibition, hand spinning and hand weaving. The Rajaji Ministry fulfilled its promise of prohibition partly and Salem was one of the districts were it was enforced. This continuing concern of the farmers with prohibition established V.C.Palaniswamy Gounder, the younger brother of VCV as the Minister for Prohibtion in the second government of Rajaji (post independence).
Kovai Khadar Ayyamuthu from the Coimbatore region was the key person who worked on Khadi. The fabric of freedom worked as a link between the Congress and the agrarian community. VCV had tried to revive hand spinning in his estate and this was done in order to increase the income of his people. Congressmen sought out Gounder households which continued to possess charkas and encouraged them to spin yarn as part of the campaign for freedom. VCV introduced a resolution in the legislature wherein he requested government for hand spinning and weaving. He did not believe that it would usher in a new millennium and said that it was done in order to revive an old industry. He begged the government not to get nervous on the mere mention of the word ' spinning wheel '. The attitude of the Justice Party equating Khadi and Charkas with the Congress made him come up with a different approach. V.C.Vellingiri Gounder was a pragmatic person and did not want either politics or ideology to come in the way of the progress of his people.
The Tiruchengode Ashram of Rajaji became a centre for Khadi production and about 175 villages supplied yarn and about 4000 charkas were operated for this purpose. This appealed to the farming community. The cotton traders, ginners and khadi merchants of Tirupur had economic reasons to support the Congress those days. Even before that party took office, Coimbatore and Salem became the largest khadi producing districts in the Madras State. During the Civil Disobedience Movement Tirupur was a major centre of agitation with the Congress drawing many activists from the Khadi workers and its financial support was from cotton traders.
Political recruitment in the south had been achieved by the Congress successfully through Kongunad. The pragmatic and well intentioned V.C.Vellingiri Gounder was largely responsible for mobilizing the people. Rajaji, the leader was able to read the potential and he ensured that the members of the farming community were taken along with him in the interest of the nation. Just six months before the provincial elections, V.C.Vellingiri Gounder seconded a resolution at a Congress conference at Tiruchengode for a fifty percent reduction in land taxes and for urgent relief for weavers and ryots. He also expressed a hope that the Congress would extend irrigation and encourage industrial development if it took office in Madras. Pragmatic VCV did not get hijacked by ideology or other considerations. It was a rare attribute and it stood him well. The people understood his good intentions which provided results.
V.C.Vellingiri Gounder had served in the legislature and also in the Council of States prior to 1935. He had met people from far away Burma during his tenure in office. His pragmatic approach in the interest of the populace was much appreciated by one and all. This approach yielded rich dividends. Needless to say both Rajaji and V.C.Vellingiri Gounder had mobilized the people in a very positive manner in Kongunad.