P. Subbarayan
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Paramasivan Subbarayan (11 September 1889 – 6 October 1962) was an Indian politician,
freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...
and diplomat and was the First Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communications in
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
's government. He was the father of General P. P. Kumaramangalam, who served as India's Chief of Army staff, and of politician Mohan Kumaramangalam. He was also the grandfather of INC and BJP politician and Union Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam. Subbarayan was born at the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
era on 11 September 1889 in the family estate at Kumaramangalam,
Salem district Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the dis ...
and had his education at Presidency College,
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
, the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
and
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
. In 1922, he was nominated to the
Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...
. He served as the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 4 December 1926 to 27 October 1930. In 1933, Subbarayan joined the Indian National Congress and served as the Minister of Law and Education in Rajaji's cabinet and the Minister of Police and Home in Ramaswamy Reddiar's cabinet. Subbarayan participated and was imprisoned in the Quit India Movement. He served as independent India's ambassador to Indonesia and as Union Minister from 1959 to 1962. Subbarayan died on 6 October 1962 at the age of 73. He was the
Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor; however, the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Minister ...
until his death.


Early life and education

Subbarayan was born under British Raj colonial rule to Paramasiva Gounder in the family estate of Kumaramangalam near
Tiruchengode Tiruchengode is a special grade municipality town located in western part of southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for the ancient hilltop Ardhanareeswarar Temple, dedicated to the unique combined male-female form of Lord Shiva and G ...
,
Namakkal district Namakkal District is one of the 38 districts (an districts of Tamil Nadu, administrative district) in the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, India. The district was bifurcated from Salem District with Namakkal city as headqua ...
on 11 September 1889. He belonged to the family of Zamindars. He graduated from the Presidency College and obtained his M.A. and LLD from the
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
and
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
respectively. He started practising as an advocate of the
Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...
in 1918.


Politics

In 1922, Subbarayan was nominated to the
Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...
as an independent candidate representing the landowners of the South-Central division of the
Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
and served as a Council Secretary. South Indian Celebrities, Pg 101 He took the side of C. R. Reddy and the Swarajists and voted against the Raja of Pangal during the no-confidence motion of 1923.


As First Minister of Madras Presidency

In the Assembly elections which took place on 8 November 1926, no party was able to get a clean majority. Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 189 The
Swaraj Party The Swaraj Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party, was a political party formed in India on 1 January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922. Chauri Chaura The Swaraj Party was formed on 1 January 1923 by Indi ...
won 41 of the 98 seats and emerged as the single largest party while the Justice Party won 21. It was a setback for the Justice Party and its incumbent First Minister, the Raja of Panagal. However, none of the parties could form the Government as they did not have a clean majority. The Governor invited the Swarajya Party to take the lead in forming a coalition government but the latter refused. The Justice Party did not have enough seats. Hence, the Governor chose Subbarayan, who was not affiliated to either of these parties, to form the Government and nominated 34 new members to the Madras Legislative Council to support him. An independent ministry was formed with A. Ranganatha Mudaliar and R. N. Arogyaswamy Mudaliar as the second and third ministers. The Justice Party took the place of an opposition. Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 190 Because Subbarayan's regime was appointed and largely controlled by the Governor, it became the target of strong criticism both from the Justicites as well as the Swarajists. In March 1927, P. Munuswamy Naidu of the Justice Party passed a motion recommending salary cuts for Government ministers. However, they were defeated by a margin of 41 votes. A no-confidence motion was passed on 23 August 1927, but was defeated 56 to 67 with the support of the Governor and the members nominated by him. Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 191 The Simon Commission was appointed by the British Parliament in 1927 to report on the working of the progress of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. The Swarajya Party moved a resolution to boycott the commission and this was passed 61 to 50 with 12 remaining neutral. Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 192 Subbarayan opposed the resolution but his cabinet ministers Ranganatha Mudaliar and Arogyaswamy Mudaliar supported it. Subbarayan resigned as First Minister, but at the same time, he also compelled his ministers to submit their resignations. Fearing the possibility of the formation of a Swarajya Party-Justice Party coalition Government, the Governor stepped in to foster discord amongst the opposition. In order to obtain the support of the Raja of Panagal, he appointed Krishnan Nair, a leading member of the Justice Party as his Law Member. Led by the Raja of Panagal, the Justice Party switched sides and lent its support to the Subbarayan government. Soon afterwards, the Justice Party passed a resolution welcoming the Simon Commission. Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 193 The Simon Commission visited Madras on 28 February 1928 and 18 February 1929 Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 194 and was boycotted by the Swarajya Party and the Indian National Congress. However, the Justicites and the Subbarayan Government accorded the commission a warm reception. In the 1930 elections, due to the non-participation of the Indian National Congress and the Swarajya Party, the Justice Party won an overwhelming majority and was voted to power. Subbarayan was succeeded as First Minister by Munuswamy Naidu. Encyclopedia of Political Parties, Pg 196


Reforms

The Raja of Panagal government had introduced the Communal Government Order (G. O. No. 613) in 1921 which introduced reservations in the Presidency. However, the provisions of this act were not implemented till 1927. The Subbarayan government, therefore, introduced the Communal G. O. Ms No. 1021 to implement the 1921 order. South Indian Celebrities, Pg 107 The act was introduced by S. Muthiah Mudaliar, the Education Minister in Subbarayan's cabinet on 11 April 1927. This act, it is believed, introduced provisions for reservations for
Dalits Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for Untouchability, untouchables and Outcast (person), outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called ...
and increased representation for Indian Christians and Muslims. At the same time, it reduced the reservations for Brahmins from 22% to 16% and non-Brahmins from 48% to 42%. This act was in effect till India's independence on 15 August 1947. Subbarayan introduced the Madras District Municipalities Act and Local Boards Act during his tenure. The Annamalai University, founded by Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar was opened by Subbarayan in
Chettinad Chettinad (also known as Chettinadu) is a name that collectively refers to a locality that comprises 56 villages in the Sivaganga district and 20 villages in Pudukkottai district, Pudukottai district, which was historically ruled by the Ramnad ...
in 1929. The Annamalai University is the first residential university in Madras Presidency.


From 1930 to 1937

Subbarayan was re-elected as an independent to the Madras Legislative Council in 1930. As a member of the legislature, Subbarayan was instrumental in introducing
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
in
Salem district Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the dis ...
in 1930. Prohibition was enforced in Salem till 1943 when it was scrapped by the British. In 1932, C. S. Ranga Iyer passed the Untouchability Abolition Bill in the
Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of British Raj, British India from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Government of India Act 1858 by providing for the addition of six additional members to the Governor General ...
. On 1 November 1932, Subbarayan proposed the Temple Entry Bill which permitted low-caste Hindus and Dalits enter Hindu temples and made their prohibition illegal and punishable. South Indian Celebrities, Pg 108 He also passed a copy of the resolution and the proceedings of the council to
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
who was in jail. The Viceroy, however, refused permission explaining that temple entry was an all-India problem and should not be dealt with in a provincial basis even while clearing Ranga Iyer's bill. The Temple Entry Bill was not passed until the Indian National Congress came to power in 1937. Subbarayan had been a follower of Mahatma Gandhi from his early days and he officially joined the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
in 1933. He also served as the President of the Tamil Nadu Harijan Sevak Sangh.


In the state cabinet and the Quit India Movement

Subbarayan was an admirer of
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
leader
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence ...
(Rajaji) right from his early days. Rajaji had been his personal lawyer in property cases. In 1937, when the Indian National Congress swept to power in the Madras Presidency and Rajaji took over as the Prime Minister of the Presidency, he appointed Subbarayan the Minister of Law and Education. Subbarayan resigned along with other members of the Rajaji cabinet when
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
was declared in 1939. Subbarayan also served as the President of the
Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...
from 1937–38 to 1945–46. Subbarayan actively participated in the Quit India Movement and was arrested along with other Congress leaders as
Sathyamurthy Sundara Sastri Satyamurti (19 August 1887 – 28 March 1943) was an Indian independence activist and politician. He was acclaimed for his rhetoric and was one of the leading politicians of the Indian National Congress from the Madras Presidenc ...
and M. Bakthavatsalam. In 1947, he served as a Minister for Home and Police in the Ramaswamy Reddiar Cabinet in Madras and was a member of the
Constituent Assembly of India Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated ...
. He served as a member of the Provincial Constitution Committee.


India's Ambassador to Indonesia

From 1949 to 1951, Subbarayan served as independent India's first ambassador to Indonesia. He was instrumental in the signing of a mutual treaty of friendship with the Indonesian Foreign Minister Mohammad Roem on 3 March 1951. Subbarayan's tenure came to an end in 1951 and he was succeeded by Alagappan. On his return to India, Subbarayan was elected president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC).


Member of Indian Parliament

Subbarayan also served as a member of
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
from 1954 to 1957. In 1957, Subbarayan was elected to the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
from
Tiruchengode Tiruchengode is a special grade municipality town located in western part of southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is famous for the ancient hilltop Ardhanareeswarar Temple, dedicated to the unique combined male-female form of Lord Shiva and G ...
and served as a member till 1962. He was elected again in 1962 but was instead made
Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor; however, the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Minister ...
. Subbarayan was a member of the first Official Language Commission constituted by Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
on 7 June 1955, under the chairmanship of B. G. Kher. The commission delivered its report on 31 July 1956. It recommended a number of steps to eventually replace English with
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
as the sole official language of India. Subbarayan and another member –
Suniti Kumar Chatterji Suniti Kumar Chatterji (26 November 1890 – 29 May 1977) was an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur. He was a recipient of the second highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan. Life Childhood Chatterji was born on 26 Novem ...
from
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
– did not agree with its findings and added dissenting notes to the report. Later when the Indian President
Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...
sought his opinion on making Hindi as the sole official language, Subbarayan advised against it.


In the Union cabinet

Subbarayan served as the Minister of Transport and Communications in the Government of India union cabinet from 1959 to 1962.


Other interests

Subbarayan took a keen interest in sports during his lifetime. He wrote numerous articles on
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and was the Founder-president of the Indian Cricket Federation, the first association in the Madras Presidency to represent Indian cricketing interests. He also served as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during the Second World War. With Sir John Beaumont and
Sikandar Hayat Khan '' Khan Bahadur'' Major Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, among ...
, he formed the commission that investigated the return of Lala Amarnath from the India's tour of England in 1936. He also served as the president of the Madras Olympic Association and the Madras Hockey Association.


Death

Subbarayan died at the age of 73 on 6 October 1962.


Family and legacy

Subbarayan married Kailash Radhabai Kulmud, a
Mangalorean Mangaloreans ( Tulu: ''Kudladaklu''; Kannada: ''Mangaloorinavaruu''; Konkani: ''Kodialkar''; Beary: ''Maikaltanga''; Urdu: ''Kaudalvale'') are a collection of diverse ethnic groups that hail from the historical locales of South Canara ( Tuluna ...
Brahmo of Brahmin parentage, who was his colleague in Presidency College, by Brahmo rites despite opposition from family members. Radhabai Subbarayan was an active campaigner for women's rights and served as a member of the Indian parliament. Subbarayan's eldest son Mohan Kumaramangalam was a minister in Indira Gandhi's cabinet. His second son, General P. P. Kumaramangalam was a
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran and served as India's Chief of Army staff. A third son Gopal Kumaramangalam headed important public sector undertakings. Mohan's son and Subbarayan's grandson Rangarajan Kumaramangalam was a minister in Indian National Congress and NDA governments. Subbarayan's daughter
Parvathi Krishnan Parvathi Krishnan (15 March 1919 – 20 February 2014) was an Indian politician from the Communist Party of India. She was a three time former Member of Parliament representing Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency and Rajya Sabha member. She was ...
was a politician belonging to the
Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
. She was a Member of the
Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
from 1954 to 1957 and represented
Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...
in the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
three times. A portrait of Subbarayan was unveiled in the central hall of the Indian Parliament on 16 October 1989.


See also

* Political families of the world


Notes


References

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Subbarayan, P. 1889 births 1962 deaths Union ministers from Tamil Nadu Indian cricket administrators Chief ministers of Tamil Nadu Governors of Maharashtra Brahmos Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Presidency College, Chennai alumni Tamil Nadu ministers Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Ambassadors of India to Indonesia People from Salem district Madras Presidency Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu University of Madras alumni Kumaramangalam family Presidents of the Board of Control for Cricket in India People from Namakkal district Presidents of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee