Sir Thiruvarur Muthuswamy Iyer (28 January 183225 January 1895) was an Indian lawyer who, in 1877, became the first native Indian during 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 ...

to be appointed as justice of the

High Court of Madras The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is one of the oldest high courts of India along with Calcutt ...

, acting as Chief Justice in 1893. On completion of his schooling, Muthuswamy served in subordinate posts in the civil service while continuing his education. Muthuswamy graduated in law from the

Presidency College, Madras Presidency College is an art, commerce, and science college in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. On 16 October 1840, this school was established as the Madras Preparatory School before being repurposed as a high school, and then a gra ...

while serving as the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

of police and served as a judge in mofussil centres from 1871 to 1877, when he was appointed to the bench of the High Court of Madras. Muthuswamy served as a judge of the Madras High Court from 1877 till his death in 1895, acting as the Chief Justice for three months in 1893. He advocated

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

and campaigned in support of women's education, widow remarriage and the legal recognition of ''

sambandham Sambandam was the traditional marriage practiced by Nambudiris, Nairs, Samantha Kshatriya and Ambalavasis among their own communities as well as with each other, in Kerala, India. "Sambandham" was derived from the Sanskrit words "Sama" mea ...

'', collaborating closely with

C. V. Runganada Sastri The Right Hon. ''Calamur Viravalli'' Runganada Sastri (c.15 February 1819/1820 – 5 July 1881) was an Indian interpreter, civil servant, jurist, civil servant, polyglot (person), polyglot, and Social reformers of India, social reformer, wh ...

and

R. Raghunatha Rao ''Diwan Bahadur'' Rai Raghunatha Rao (7 February 1831 – 3 May 1912) was an Indian civil servant, administrator, politician and Indian independence activist who served as the Diwan of Indore from 1875 to 1880, and again from 1886 to 1888 ...

. In 1893, Muthuswamy was made a

Knight Commander 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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

in recognition of his services.

Early life

Muthuswamy was born in a Brahmin family in Vuchuwadi, Madras Presidency,

on 28 January 1832. Muthuswamy's father, Venkata Narayana Sastri, died when Muthuswamy was young and he moved with his mother to

Thiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja t ...

to make a living. At Thiruvarur, Muthuswamy found employment as village accountant. However, his mother died soon afterward leaving Muthuswamy with little support. Around this time, Muthuswamy's talents were recognised by the ''tahsildar'' Muthuswamy Naicker who arranged for the former to study at Sir Henry Montgomery's school in Madras as a companion to his young nephew, and there he won prizes and scholarships year after year.

Legal career

On successfully passing the Pleader's Test, Muthuswamy was appointed District Munsiff of

Tranquebar Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar (, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kaveri River. It wa ...

. On 2 July 1859, Muthuswamy was appointed Deputy Collector of Tanjore. On 9 July 1865, Ier was appointed Sub-Judge of

South Canara South Canara (South Kannada) was a district of the Madras Presidency of British Raj, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the mos ...

and served till July 1868, when he was appointed District Magistrate of police at Madras. While serving as the magistrate of police, Muthuswamy obtained his law degree law from the Presidency College, Madras. He also held a degree in Sanskrit at that time. Muthuswamy commenced his legal career immediately after graduation. He was appointed a judge of the Court of Small Causes in 1871. He was made Fellow of

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

the subsequent year. In 1877, the Madras Government took the controversial decision to appoint him as the first Indian judge of the High Court of Madras.

Appointment to the bench of Madras High Court and controversy

In 1877, Muthuswamy was appointed to the bench of the High Court of Madras. He was the first Indian to be appointed to this post. However, Muthuswamy's appointment was condemned by a Madras newspaper called ''The Native Public Opinion''. This prompted a strong reaction from Indian nationalists who founded ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' newspaper to voice public opinion against the outrage.

Later career

Muthuswami served as a judge of the Madras High Court from 1877 to 1895. He acted for three months in 1893 as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, the first Indian to do so.

Reforms

During his early career, Muthuswamy also served as the President of the ''Malabar Marriage Commission''. During his tenure as President of the Commission, he campaigned for the legal recognition of

Sambandham Sambandam was the traditional marriage practiced by Nambudiris, Nairs, Samantha Kshatriya and Ambalavasis among their own communities as well as with each other, in Kerala, India. "Sambandham" was derived from the Sanskrit words "Sama" mea ...

and other forms of marriage practised in the Malabar. In 1872, Muthuswamy established the Widow Remarriage Association in Madras and advocated remarriage of Brahmin widows. In 1872, he was nominated fellow of the Madras University. He became a

syndic ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or p ...

in 1877. He was also invited to attend the Coronation Durbar at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in 1877.

Honours

In 1878, Muthuswami Iyer was created a

Companion of the Most Eminent 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) Appointm ...

. In 1893, he was knighted for his services to the Crown.

Death

Muthuswami died in January 1895 after an illness of ten days. On his death,

Sir S. Subramania Iyer Sir Subbier Subramania Iyer (; 1 October 1842 – 5 December 1924) was an Indian lawyer, jurist and freedom fighter who, along with Annie Besant, founded the Indian Home Rule movement, Home Rule Movement. He was popularly known as the "Grand ...

took the seat in the bench of the Madras High Court left vacant by his death.

Notes

References

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