H.B. Ari Gowder, a well-known leader of the Badaga community, the largest indigenous social group in the Blue Mountains, was remembered on his 121st birth anniversary on December 4.
Some members of the community gathered at the Nilgiris Cooperative Marketing Society (NCMS) here and garlanded a bust of the leader installed near the threshold of the Society’s multi-purpose hall. Among them were the president of the Society Kannabiran and T.M. Kullan of Tribal Solidarity. Participants pointed out that Gowder has for long been considered as the uncrowned king of the Badagas.
A widely respected philanthropist, he was instrumental in the NCMS coming into being in the 1930s to protect farmers from middlemen and unscrupulous members of the mercantile community.
Members of the Academy for Badaga Culture (ABC) Trust led by its president Manjai V. Mohan also paid floral tributes to the leader.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore/ by D. Radhakrishnan / Udhagamandalam – December 09th, 2014
Despite being captured by the British, Captain Lakshmi’s support and reflections on Bose’s dubious death reveals fascinating insights — Photo: The Hindu Archives / The Hindu
The controversy of making public Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s classified files has yet again spawned speculation surrounding the freedom fighter’s last days.
This is not surprising considering the leader’s radical politics always invited polarised public opinion.
The city’s tryst with the Indian National Army’s (INA) fight for independence was best embodied by ‘Captain Laxmi’ or Dr. Laxmi Swaminathan, who hailed from then Madras. Having earned an MBBS and made Singapore her home, Dr. Swaminathan led the INA’s women-only ‘Rani of Jhansi’ regiment in 1942, under Bose’s command.
Despite being captured by the British in Burma soon after, Captain Lakshmi’s unwavering support and reflections on Bose’s dubious death, as recorded in The Hindu’s archives, reveals fascinating insights.
A rare interview given in the Burmese capital on November 15, 1945, to Douglas Lackerseen of Associated Press, unveils an intimate portrait of the trailblazer.
Dressed in a plain white sari with a green border, as Lackerseen described the 31-year-old national, she came across as being formidable, on the defensive, and often fronting an impervious silence to questions. When she was asked about her loyalties, given that she was offering medical aide to wounded civilians on the behest of the British military, she said, “Never – I shall never be pro-British. I still think of myself as a member of the INA. ”
Despite facing a precarious future with INA undergoing a trial in New Delhi for its ‘terrorist’ acts, Captain Laxmi held a dogged defence. She said, “I do not regard them (members of the INA) as war criminals. How can I? In that case even I am a criminal.”
Reiterating the dominant suspicions over Mr. Bose’s death, the leader confessed to believing there was a possibility of him being alive. “I sincerely hope he lives. Subhas Chandra Bose was never a traitor to India. What he did, he did for India,” she said.
The admiration was mutual. The Hindu quotes Mr. S. A. Aiyer, a minister in Bose’s Azad Hind government, in a tribute offered to the leader in Madras on January 1, 1946: “Bose had a special relationship with Captain Lakshmi and wanted to appoint her as a minister in the provisional government. I remember him once saying, ‘She is a wonderful child, God bless her’.”
With front men of INA refusing to accept their leader’s death even then, it is not surprising that decades after, the conspiracy theories continue to thrive.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Nitya Menon / Chennai – December 02nd, 2014
This is a significant year for India and Australia to build bilateral relations and strengthen economic ties between the countries, Patrick Suckling, Australian High Commissioner to India, said here on Saturday.
He was in Chennai to present the Indo-Australian Award for Meritorious Service to Elizabeth Varghese, chairperson, Hindustan Group of Institutions.
Highlighting the significant aspects of recent meetings between Prime Ministers of India and Australia, Mr. Suckling said their mutual visits helped to intensify the relations between the countries.
Drawing comparison between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, he said both were deeply committed to values and development. Pointing out that several agreements were signed for sustainable development, Mr. Suckling said mutual contributions by the communities in both the countries were also significant. He lauded Ms. Varghese for her achievements in male-dominated fields and also for her pioneering work in the engineering and education fields.
Accepting the award and citation given by the Indo-Australian Association and Australian Consulate General, Chennai, Ms. Varghese said, “This award is recognition for my work in the fields.”
Deputy Consul General to South India Stuart Campbell and Indo-Australian Association’s vice-president Eugenie Pinto also spoke.
The Indo-Australian Award for Meritorious Service was presented to Elizabeth Varghese of the Hindustan Group of Institutions
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 23rd, 2014
Economic thinker and social scientist Pulapre Balakrishnan has been handed the 2014 Malcolm Adiseshaiah award for contribution to development studies. The award was instituted by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshaiah Trust, which runs the Madras Institute of Development Studies in Adyar.
An alumnus of Madras Christian College, Balakrishnan also studied at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Oxford and Cambridge. With a formidable academic training followed by research at prestigious institutions across the world, he is now professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Delivering the Malcolm Adiseshaiah memorial lecture on the topic ‘Macroeconomic reversal in India,’ Balakrishnan said that macroeconomics was in riotous disarray.
“Some of the triumph that had accompanied the rise of the New Classical Economics has dissipated after the global financial crisis,” he pointed out.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / November 22nd, 2014
The Madras University has, for the first time, conferred the Doctor of Science (D Sc) research degree to a former Christian Medical College (CMC) scientist, Dr S Gunasekaran, for his lifetime contribution to research on insulin in the field of physiology. Governor K Rosaiah conferred the prestigious degree on him at the 157th convocation of Madras University held recently.
Gunasekaran received his Ph D in Physiology in the year 1981 from Madras University. With almost four decades in teaching at CMC, he devoted his research time to contributing to knowledge on primate pancreatic islets (insulin secreting cells) from monkeys, white pigs and to some extent human islets from brain dead persons.
Gunasekaran told Express that it was a big honour and recognition of his unique research work.
He recalled how he had teamed up with professor P Zachariah to study insulin. He established the first radioimmunoassay (to estimate hormones) technique in the country in 1973.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by V. NarayanaMurthi / November 19th, 2014
In 1928, B. Ananda Bai was the first woman law graduate in then Madras Presidency. Photo: The Hindu Archives
B. Ananda Bai was the lone female law graduate in then Madras Presidency, which included parts of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Cornelia Sorabji, the first woman to practice law in India, was born on November 15, 148 years ago. She was only one among the many pioneers who worked long and hard to breach the glass ceiling for women in courtrooms across the country.
For the women of Madras, the foundations of this struggle were laid by B. Ananda Bai in August 1928. After graduating with a degree in law from Madras University, she became the lone female law graduate in then Madras Presidency, which included parts of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Bai’s original career path, however, did not involve becoming a lawyer. According to the Palaniappa Brothers’ book Madras: the Land, the People and their Governance, it was only after being rejected in the government services that Bai considered entering the chambers of law. Finally, after a rigorous apprenticeship under V.V. Srinivasa Iyengar, she enrolled in the Madras High Court on April 22, 1929, to become the first woman advocate trained and specialised in the city of Madras.
Hailing from the South Kanara region (present day districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi), Bai’s father, Dr. Krishna Rao, was particular that all female family members receive a ‘liberal and academic education’.
While admitting that Bai represented a privileged minority, historian V. Geeta points out the 1920s and 30s were a time of churning for women. “With the social reform movement gaining ground, law became central to a lot of the debates regarding women, which were governing civil discourse. Both Hindu and Muslim women with The All India Women’s Conferences, for instance, were very vocal about their aspirations for empowerment through social legislation,” she says.
However, as Rukmani Lakshmipathi, president of the League of Youth, said at a meeting to honour Bai in 1929, “Education and medicine are becoming more and more popular with girls. That is not the case with law. We are glad that a beginning has been made in this direction, and an impetus has been given.”
K. Shantakumari, president, Tamil Nadu Federation of Women Lawyers, points out that storming the male bastion of law was far from easy. She says, “In those days, people were apprehensive and would not give cases to women. Societal taboos also forbid women from taking criminal cases. Because of this, many had to work under male lawyers and did not receive fair remuneration.”
By setting a precedent, in spite of these daunting obstacles, the likes of Bai and Sorabji made a career in law a distinct possibility for women. Today, as we celebrate the latter’s birthday, it only seems fitting to raise a toast to these pioneers for the new ground they broke.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Society / by Nitya Menon / Chennai – November 15th, 2014
Pandit Iyothee Thass / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
He had his roots in The Nilgiris: Nilgiri Documentation Centre
The Kotagiri based Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC) has pointed out that 2014 marks the death centenary of a pioneering Dravidian leader who had his roots in the Nilgiris.
Stating that not many are aware of this, NDC Director Dharmalingam Venugopal has in a statement issued here on Wednesday pointed out that Pandit Iyothee Thass (1845-1914), who was born in Coimbatore, was brought up in the English household of George Harrington in Ooty. His father worked for the Harringtons. Thass was originally named Kathavarayan.
Tamil scholarThass became a well known Siddha practitioner and Tamil scholar with expertise in the traditional knowledge on astrology and palm-leaf manuscript reading. In 1870, Thass founded Adhvaidhananda Sabha in Ooty. In 1891, he established an organisation called the Dravida Mahajana Sabha, and organised the first conference at Ooty. In that conference, 10 resolutions were passed including the one on enacting a criminal law to punish those who humiliated untouchables, creating separate schools and providing scholarships for matriculation education for untouchable children; providing employment for educated untouchables, and representation for untouchables in District Boards and Municipal Boards.
In 1898, Thass visited Sri Lanka and converted himself to Buddhism under the influence of Colonel Olcott of Theosophical Society and founded ‘The Sakya Buddhist Society’ at Royapettah, Madras. In 1907, Thass launched his journal ‘Oru Paisa Tamilan’ as an organ of this organisation.
After a year the name was changed to ‘Tamilan’. It was edited, published and owned by Thass. The average circulation of the weekly was 500. The ‘Tamilan’ is considered the most renowned journal in Dalit print history because of its rich content and ideology.
In 1881, when the colonial Government planned to carry out the second census, Thass gave a memorandum to the Government requesting that the people of depressed classes in Tamil speaking land should be considered as Adi-Tamilar and not as Hindus.
Thass died in 1914. The institute for Siddha Research in Chennai is named after him.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Special Correspondent / Udhagamandalam – November 13th, 2014
In October 1677, Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji paid a visit incognito to the Kalikambal temple in George Town, supposedly while contemplating an attack on the British forces. He came, he saw, he prayed, though he never did conquer.
“He finally decided against fighting,” said historian and archaeologist Dr S Suresh, Tamil Nadu State convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), who will give a talk on the Art and Architecture of the Tanjore Marathas for the Chennai chapter of the organisation on Wednesday, at Amethyst, a cafe and shop in Royapettah.
A few years before Shivaji’s visit, his half-brother Venkaji had made travelled to Tanjore to sort out a succession issue among the Nayak rulers. “Venkaji pitted one against the other and took charge of the kingdom, establishing the Tanjore Maratha dynasty in the south in 1676,” said Suresh, who completed his second PhD on the Marathas.
Several Maratha families also came to the south and settled in Tanjore, Vellore and Chennai. “Over the years, they developed their own culture and language, which is very different from the Mumbai Marathis,” he said. “Today’s Tanjore Marathis speak a dialect, which is completely different from Marathi.”
Suresh will also be releasing a book on the history of the Tanjore Marathas, a clan that had been ignored in most Indian history books. “They contributed to the art, architecture and culture of south India in a number of ways, but most of that is forgotten,” he said.
“They never destroyed an enemy’s building, but preserved and expanded them, always using the same material used in the existing structure,” said Suresh, citing the example of the Tanjore Big Temple in which the Marathas added a sub-shrine dedicated to Lord Nataraja.
“The Marathas ordinarily used brick to build their temples. But here they used stone for the sub-shrine because that was what was used in the rest of the temple. No one can tell the sub-shrine was added later.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Kamini Mathai , TNN / September 24th, 2014
He was one of the finest authorities on the Dravidian Movement
M.S.S. Pandian, an eminent social scientist who wrote extensively on the Dravidian Movement, south Indian politics, cinema, caste, identity and several other socially relevant issues, passed away after a sudden heart attack here on Monday.
Prof. Pandian, 53, was moved from his residence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he was declared dead. He is survived by wife and daughter.
He was serving in the School of Social Sciences’ Centre for Historical Studies and his sudden death has put the entire department in shock.
“He was a very good guide and although I was not his direct student, he helped me a lot whenever I asked him to,” said Ambedkar, a student at the SSS.
Academics from other universities who admired his work also mourned his loss. “He was one of the finest authorities on the Dravidian Movement and his book on it was considered radical when it was first published. His writings on the history of contemporary South Indian politics, caste and identity, also gave a boost to Subaltern Studies, which mostly had North Indian and Bengal subjects,” said Prabhu Mohapatra, who is an Associate Professor in Delhi University’s History Department and also one of Prof. Pandian’s oldest friends.
He added that Prof. Pandian’s book, “The Image Trap – M G Ramachandran in Films and Politics,” on the Tamilian superstar and his tryst with politics is also considered one of leading authorities on this subject.
Prof. Pandian was earlier an Associate Professor in the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai.
His publications in the best reputed academic publications were many and his research interests were Nationalism, Caste, Tamil cinema and Popular Culture, among others. He completed his Ph.D in Madras University in 1987.
Prof. Pandian has been writing for national newspapers and the ‘Economic and Political Weekly’ for several years and known for his incisive articles on Tamil Nadu and Dravidian politics in particular.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by S.N. Vijetha / New Delhi – November 11th, 2014
V. Sundaram, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who became prominent after his controversial stand on the coal import issue in the early 1990s, died at his residence in Chennai in the early hours of Friday after a brief illness.
He was 72. He is survived by three daughters.
A native of Tiruchi, Mr. Sundaram was a post-graduate in economics from the Delhi University. He briefly worked in the University before joining the IAS in 1965 at the age of 23 years.
He served as Collector of the undivided Tirunelveli in the mid-1970s and subsequently, became the first Chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust.
source: http: thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 07th, 2014
