Omandur Ramasamy Reddiyar (1 February 1895 – 25 August 1970) was an Indian freedom-fighter and politician of the Indian National Congress. He served as the Premier of Madras Presidency from 23 March 1947 to 6 April 1949.

Early life

Omandur Ramaswamy Reddiyar was born on 1 February 1895 in the village of Omandur near

Tindivanam Tindivanam is a town and a municipality in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in Villupuram District after the headquarters town Villupuram. Important roads from north to south (NH 45) Tami ...

in the

South Arcot South Arcot District was a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Cuddalore, Kallakurichi and Viluppuram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The district was divided into eight ta ...

district of Madras Presidency. He belonged to a

Reddiar Reddiar (also spelt as Reddiyar) is a Telugu speaking land owning, merchants , agricultural social group in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Reddiars, Reddy, Reddappa are considered and believed to come from the same origins and they spread across ...

family. He had his schooling at Walter Scudder school and entered the Indian independence movement at an early age. Ramaswamy Reddiyar was a devotee of

Vallalar Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalār Chidambaram Ramalingam (5 October 1823 – 30 January 1874), commonly known in India and across the world as Vallalār, Ramalinga Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigal, was one of the most famous Tamil Saints and also one of t ...

As Chief Minister

Ramaswamy Reddiyar became the Chief Minister or Premier of Madras on 23 March 1947 and was in power till 6 April 1949. During his tenure, the Madras Temple Entry Authorization Act 1947 was passed. This act was intended to give Dalits and other prohibited Hindus full and complete rights to enter Hindu temples. This was approved by the Governor on 11 May 1947 and passed as Madras Act 5 of 1947. The Devadasi Dedication Abolition Act of 1947 put an end to the

devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

system that was in vogue in many Hindu temples. It was during his tenure that India achieved independence from the United Kingdom. Soon after independence and partition of India, there was a shortage of food grains, especially rice, in the province. In 1948, he ordered the purchase of a

de Havilland Dove The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, ...

, the first aeroplane to be owned by the Government of Madras. In 1948, when the Congress legislative party elections were held, Ramaswamy Reddiyar's candidature was opposed by

Tanguturi Prakasam Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu (23 August 1872 – 20 May 1957) was an Indian jurist, political leader, social reformer, and anti-colonial nationalist who served as the chief minister of the Madras Presidency. Tanguturi subsequently became the fi ...

. However, Reddiyar won with the support of

K. Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

. However, the Congress leaders were disgruntled with Reddiyar as he did not allow them special privileges. So, during the 1949 Congress Legislative Party elections, Kamaraj supported P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja against Ramaswamy Reddiyar. Though Ramaswamy Reddiyar was supported by C. Rajagopalachari,

P. Subbarayan Paramasiva Subbarayan (11 September 1889 – 6 October 1962) was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communic ...

and T. Prakasam, he lost the vote and stepped down as Chief Minister. ;Changes Subbarayan resigned on 5 April 1948, Daniel Thomas on 15 June 1948 and Kala Venkata Rao on 24 January 1949.

Later years

When his Premiership of Madras Presidency came to an end in April 1949, Ramaswamy Reddiyar was elected to the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

. The complex of buildings that houses the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembl ...

has been named after him. A commemorative postage stamp on him was released on 25 August 2010.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramasamy O. P. 1895 births 1960 deaths Telugu people Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu