Sir Ramasamy Chettiar Kandasamy Shanmukham Chettiar KCIE (17 October 1892 – 5 May 1953) was an Indian lawyer, economist and statesman who served as first Finance Minister of India from 1947 to 1948. He also served as President of India's

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

from 1933 to 1935 and Diwan of Cochin kingdom from 1935 to 1941. Shanmukham Chettiar was born in

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 1892 and studied at

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

and Madras Law College. On completion of his education, Shanmukham Chettiar joined politics and served both in the Indian nationalist

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 ...

as well as the Justice Party. Shanmukham Chettiar was elected to the

of India and served as its Deputy President from 1931 to 1935. After losing the 1935 elections, Chettiar returned to South India where he served as Diwan of Cochin kingdom from 1935 to 1941. On India's independence in 1947,

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 ...

, the first

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

controversially chose Chettiar as his Finance Minister despite the latter's well known pro-British leanings. Shanmukham Chettiar died on 5 May 1953. During his public life, Chettiar also identified with a number of social causes. He was a strong supporter of the ''Tamil Isai Movement''. Shanmukham Chettiar was the Finance Minister of India when the country's first budget was tabled in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 26 November 1947.

Early life

Shanmukham Chettiar was born to Kandasamy Chettiar in Vaaniar Street,

on 17 October 1892. Shanmukham Chettiar's grandfather Ramasami Chettiar had migrated to

in the middle of the 19th century. The family was involved in business and owned a number of mills in Coimbatore city. Shanmukham Chettiar had his schooling at Coimbatore. He studied economics at

and graduated in law from Madras Law College. On completion of his graduation, Shanmukham Chettiar did not join the bar. Instead, he took care of the family business and after some time, entered politics.

Early political career

Shanmukham Chettiar joined the Justice Party and became a Councillor in the Coimbatore municipality in 1917. Soon afterwards, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Coimbatore Municipality. Patriot, p. 122 Chettiar is credited with having brought about some reforms in the municipal administration. In 1920, Shanmukham Chettiar participated in the Madras Presidency legislative council elections and was elected 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 a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1920 to 1922, when he resigned. He joined the

and was, in 1924, elected to the

, the newly inaugurated lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council of India. Chettiar represented Indian employers at the International Labour Conference in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1928, 1929 and 1932. He was the Indian delegate at the Imperial Economic Conference held at

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 1932. In 1932, Shanmukhan Chettiar was made Deputy-President of the Central Legislative Assembly and in 1934, made President, in succession to Sir Ibrahim Rahimtoola. Shanmukham Chettiar served as President till 1935, when he had to quit his membership of the Central legislative Assembly after losing the 1935 elections. During his tenure as member of the Central Legislative Assembly, Chettiar is believed to have enjoyed the support of Lord Willingdom, who once even referred to Shanmugham Chettiar as his "god-son". Patriot, p. 123

Later political career

Chettiar served as Diwan of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

from 1935 to 1941. During his tenure, new reforms were brought in the administration of the princely state. Chettiar introduced schemes for the improvement of

port. He also tried to do away with Hindu religious superstitions and introduce

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...

's schemes. Chettiar returned to Madras in 1941 and was succeeded by E. F. W. Dickinson. In 1938, Chettiar visited

as the Indian delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. He was also India's delegate to the World Monetary Conference at Bretton Woods in 1944. Patriot, p. 124 During this period, Shanmukham Chettiar tried to revive the staggering Justice Party but failed. For a short period, he served as constitutional advisor to the

Nawab of Bhopal The Nawabs of Bhopal were the Muslim rulers of Bhopal, now part of Madhya Pradesh, India. The nawabs first ruled under the Mughal Empire from 1707 to 1737, under the Maratha Confederacy from 1737 to 1818, then under British rule from 1818 to 19 ...

. He also served as President of the Indian Tariff Board. Due to his pro-British views, Shanmukham Chettiar was not included in the Constituent Assembly. When India got independence on 15 August 1947, he is reported to have said Due to his expertise in economics, Shanmukham Chettiar was chosen by the Father of the Nation, Mahathma Gandhi, against the wishes of Jawaharlal Nehru, to be the Finance Minister in independent India's first cabinet. However, due to conflict of views with Nehru, Chettiar quit after a short time. Shanmukham Chettiar is, today, remembered for presenting the first budget of independent India on 26 November 1947. Chettiar returned to state politics and was re-elected to the

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

State Legislative Assembly in the 1952 elections as an independent candidate.

Constituent Assembly Debates

Source: In the Constituent Assembly
Chettiar
he intervened on the issues of fiscal federalism. The Parliament House will join with me in conveying our condolence to his family. The House may stand in silence for a minute and express its sorrow.

Death

Shanmukham Chettiar suffered a severe heart attack on 3 May 1953. He succumbed to a second attack on the evening of 5 May 1953.

Honours

Chettiar was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

on 3 June 1933. He was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the

Annamalai University The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...

. A life-size bronze statue of Dr. Chettiar was unveiled on the campus of R. K. Sreerangammal Kalvi Nilayam Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore on 6 July 2014. Kochi's Shanmugham road is named after him.

Notes

References

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