The roaring lion of the south, C.Vijayaraghavachariar was born at Madurantakam to Kanakavalli and Sadagopachariar. He was one of the many kids of the family which lived in Ponvizhaindhakalathur. His father was a priest cum scholar who was adept in Sanskrit and our traditional scriptures.
The roaring lion of the south, C.Vijayaraghavachariar was born at Madurantakam to Kanakavalli and Sadagopachariar. He was one of the many kids of the family which lived in Ponvizhaindhakalathur. His father was a priest cum scholar who was adept in Sanskrit and our traditional scriptures. Sadagopachariar wanted his son to take up after him. The young Vijayaraghavachariar learned the scriptures but was keen to learn English too. Therefore he went over to Madurantakam and stayed with his uncle in order to learn English from the local school. Later on , he joined Pachaiyappas and stood second in the Matriculation Exams ( 1871 ). He got his B.A degree in 1875 and became a teacher in a Mangalore School. Those were times when Indians were ill treated by the Europeans and Vijayaraghavachariar met the same fate with his Principal. He quit the job but was requested to stay back by the Director of Public Instruction. However, the bold youngster decided to call it a day. He moved over to Salem in order to teach English and Maths in a Municipality institution. Eventually he got domiciled in Salem. He left his job and became an advocate.
C.Vijayaraghavachariar ( CV ) got embroiled in an issue around 1882. The Hindus of Shevapet (Salem) were stopped from taking their temple procession on the road which housed a mosque. Finally the Hindus got a court order in their favour, but the Muslims continued to block the procession. A big riot took place and the Mosque was pulled down by the Hindus. There was lawlessness for sometime in Salem and the authorities had to get in special police forces from Bengaluru and Chennai in order to restore calm. A separate judge was appointed to look into this matter and CV was accused of standing on the site of the riots while also directing the irate mob to demolish the mosque. He was sentenced for 10 years imprisonment along with 9 others to the terrible jail in Andamans. CV appealed in the High Court and engaged the famous advocate Eardley John Norton ( 1852 - 1931 ) to appear for him. The court saw Norton reading out the letter from CV and it was contrary to the approach of this lawyer. Norton stated that the letter from CV was sufficient enough for making his point. The High Court acquitted CV and the Judge sent for CV in order to discuss with him. Such was his caliber. Subsequently CV came out and got the other 9 co accused released on the same grounds. He got the ones who were responsible punished for their misdemeanor. Meanwhile he had been removed from the Municipal Council and he filed a petition against the Secretary of State ( India ) and won the case. A compensation of Rs.100 was received by him.
The successful lawyer became a Member of the Legislature in Madras ( Chennai ) in 1895 and he served the people until 1901. It was in Chennai that he came into close contact with Right Honourable V.S.Srinivasa Sastri, C.Sankaran Nair, Sir V.Bhashyam Iyengar and many other eminent citizens. He ensured that the Chairpersons of the Municipalities were elected. A number of resolutions were passed due to his efforts. He was in the Imperial Legislature from 1913 for 3 years and the country came to know of him. The English feared his guts and also his acumen. Hardinge had been the Viceroy and he developed respect for CV. The leader had moved with Madan Mohan Malaviya, Surendranath Banerjee, Gopalakrishna Gokhale etc., The Government brought in the Criminal Act Law Amendment Bill in 1913 and CV opposed it along with Banerjee. They had to face threats but the stood by their decision. The majority was with the Government and it was passed. CV participated in debates, presentations and discussions on a number of subjects. He argued in favour of the citizen. CV was an expert in parliamentary proceedings, international laws and he understood the rules of the house quite well. The Government acknowledged his intelligence grudgingly.
Vijayaraghavachariar was involved with the Indian National Congress from day one. He had known A.O.Hume prior to the founding of the party and he helped him to go ahead with the same. The first meeting took place in Mumbai ( 28/12/1895 ) under W.C.Banerjee ( 1844 - 1906 ) and CV participated along with Dadabhai Naoroji ( 1825 - 1917 ), Pheroze Shah Mehta ( 1845 - 1915 ), Dinshaw Wacha ( 1844 - 1936 ), N.G.Chandravarkar ( 1855 - 1923 ), K.T.Telang ( 1850 - 1892 ), P.Rangiah Naidu, S.Subramania Iyer ( 1842 - 1924 ), P.Ananda Charlu ( 1843 - 1908 ) and G.Subramania Iyer ( 1855 - 1916 ) - the founder of The Hindu ( 1878 ) and Swadesamithran ( 1882 ). It was in 1888 that CV drafted the constitution for the Congress Party. He used to attend annual meetings in order to present public grievances and all the Congress leaders used to meet him for seeking his advice on legal matters concerning the country. CV for responsible for making the Congress popular in the south. He told the founders that the party should look into the economic and social needs of the people.
It was during the formative period that CV and his friends played a key role in making the Indian National Congress an effective political organization with a focus on national consciousness, unity and development. CV was appointed as a member of the Congress Propaganda Committee in 1899. It was at the Calcutta Session in 1906 that CV moved the resolution relating to the Permanent Land Settlement of Land Tenures. He argued that the people owned the land in India since time immemorial and the ruler was only paid a share of the produce. Never did the ruler own everything and a shift in thought and action was very western. He stated that it reeked of European feudalism . Later this was to become the basis for the various acts connected with land reforms in India. The Surat Congress of 1908 caused a split between the extremists and moderates. Tilak collected all the extremists and CV was with him. The party went into the hands of the moderates and CV stayed away from the party activities for some years. Finally the Lucknow Congress of 1916 was the time when he attended once again and it was when Gandhi began attending the annual conclaves thereafter. The Amritsar Congress ( 1919 ) was important for CV spoke about the Fundamental Rights of the Citizen. The meeting went on well into the night and he got an approval from the members on the spot. The Constitution of India was based on this resolution. Vijayaraghavachariar had always been a man of foresight.
Nagpur Congress took place in 1920 and C.Vijayaraghavachariar of Salem was made the President and the Non Cooperation Movement was proposed by Gandhi during this session. It came in at the back drop of the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. CV told Gandhi that Non Cooperation should keep Swarajya as its goal and the point was accepted. In fact these details are found in the autobiography of Gandhi. Jinnah had opposed Non Cooperation. CV had liked the non violent approach and the spinning wheel had just begun to become a mass activity leading to the doors of freedom. The Congress faced issues in 1922 for it was when C.R.Dass, Motilal Nehru and Madan Mohan Malaviya wanted to enter the legislature. However CV, Rajaji and Rajendra Prasad opposed their move. Therefore the proponents formed the Swarajya Party. Those were times when CV participated in a number of meetings, conferences and also helped in the drafting of resolutions which helped in taking the country forward. Lord Birkenhead , the Secretary of State of India had once stated that Indians were incapable of drafting their own constitution. C.Vijayaraghavachariar took up the challenge and prepared the Swaraj Constitution of India. He wanted a strong a strong Central Government and therefore he had proposed a Unitary Constitution. CV had opposed the Simon Commission and had also requested Gandhi not to participate in the Round Table Conference.
The year 1932 saw the 80 year old CV heading the Unity Conference in Prayagraj and it was at this moment that he turned emotional while emphasizing the need for national unity. 1935 saw the people of our country celebrating Vijayaraghavachariar's 50 year tenure in the Congress. The Congress formed a Government in the Madras Presidency under the wise Rajaji in 1937. CV supported prohibition then. He opposed the Defence of India Rules in 1940 for it could imprison patriots. The Government did not pay heed to his words and finally CV was proved right when the Federal Court decided against the move of the authorities. CV opposed the Sir Stafford Cripps Mission in 1942 and Rajaji stated that there was nothing on Earth that could stand against the courage of Vijayaraghachariar. The great man was accessible and helpful always. He clearly understood that the old Congress was a national movement which had was a meeting point for people belonging to diverse backgrounds. He used to often tell people that it was the freedom movement which had enriched the party. Therefore it was incumbent on the leaders of the time to serve the country on an equitable basis.
It becomes important to check out on some details in order to understand the time and life of the great statesman C.Vijayaraghavachariar. Once a train carrying the Congress delegates from Nagpur was to be connected to the train going to Chennai in 1920. The authorities refused to get it connected in the wake of the Non Cooperation Resolution. CV and 500 others laid themselves down on the tracks and this forced the railway authorities to accede. On another occasion the Raja of Panagal had given a word that he would vote in favour of a particular resolution. This did not happen and CV flung coins from the chess board on the Raja when he was visited by him on the banks of River Yamuna. Later , CV apologized to him and they continued to be friends for life. The great statesman acted properly in spite of being short tempered. On another occasion the baggage of CV was thrown out of the first class train compartment in Salem. The Collector of Coimbatore had been travelling in the same. An angry CV chucked out the baggage belonging to the European instantly. Both became friends thereafter !
C.Vijayaraghavachariar was married to the good Lakshmi and he showered love on Seetha, their only child. He earned well but had spent much on the well being of the people. He was kind hearted and self less. CV stood against untouchability. He had come from a poor family which could not afford to give him milk everyday. CV had been used to eating old rice and groundnuts soaked in water. He used to work out for about 2 hours everyday and this habit had kept him healthy. CV was punctual with regard to food and never ate unless he was hungry. He used spend his summers at Kodaikanal and used to row the boat on the lake with a lot of vigour. Friends were scared to play cards with him for he would get angry if they made mistakes. Good habits helped him to live for 92 years.
The Lion of South India lived in Salem and used to help build institutions in the city. However C.Vijayaraghavachariar was an institution by himself. K.Lalitha Bai ( 1928 - 1999 ) , the daughter of S.N.Padmanabha Chetty ( 1893 - 1973 ) , the founder of Gopala Padma Vilas ( Estd : 1916 ) used to recall the short silver tumblers which resembled bowls that were used for serving milk in the residence of C.Vijayaraghachariar. The great soul had inaugurated several facilities all over the Presidency. One can see the arch at the P.S.G Industrial Institute of Coimbatore still carrying his name. The great Statesman C.Rajagopalachari hailed from the Nallan Chakravarthy clan like Vijayaraghavachariar. The family of the great soul continues to share the details pertaining to his life and times. C. Vijayaraghavachariar’s grandson R.T. Parthasarathy served the country by being a member of the parliament for some years. He has written some books connected with the freedom movement.
C. Vijayaraghavachariar believed in gender equality and wanted women to be of the right age at the time of marriage. He was a classical liberal who believed in pragmatism. His wisdom and knowledge were the two oars that took forward the vessel of freedom based on his liberal approach. His endearing nature brought out the liberal in him. He wanted the country and its people to progress and this was to be done without compromising on our ancient values and traditions.
The fourth estate of the day used to acclaim the words of C.Vijayaraghavachariar. He had distinguished himself by the thorough grasp of the subject that was dwelt upon. His debating powers were unrivalled. It was backed by his patriotic and fearless vote. The intellect of C.Vijayaraghavachariar was admired by one and all. He commanded much respect through his fabulous arguments that were made in the interest of the people. Let us salute him now by celebrating the centenary year of his Presidentship of the old Indian National Congress. The people of the country will forever remember the ' Roaring Lion of South India ".