Diwan Bahadur Rangachariar, legal luminary and independence activist Premium

He started out as a teacher and went on to become a lawyer. He was an active member of Madras Mahajana Sabha and an elected member of the Corporation of Madras. He then became a member of the Imperial Legislative Council of India

Historic moment: Diwan Bahadur T. Rangachariar (centre) seen in a painting at the Australian Parliament in Canberra. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

On March 24, 1931, some fiery speeches were made at the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi against the British government for executing freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru at the Lahore jail the previous night. Veteran lawyer T. Rangachariar, the leader of the Nationalist Party, said in his speech: “It is with feelings of profound sorrow and deep indignation that I rise to make a statement. We view with grief and resentment the action of the Government in having carried out last night the sentence of death passed on Bhagat Singh and two others. The Government have by this disregard for public opinion invited and is inviting serious trouble to themselves and the country. The peaceful atmosphere which is so essential now is seriously jeopardised. We resent this most strongly and we are in great grief. We shall not be able to take part in today’s proceedings.” (The Hindu dated March 24, 1931).

Apprenticeship under Wedderburn

A multi-faceted personality, who shined as a legal luminary, independence activist, policy-maker and philanthropist, Diwan Bahadur Rangachariar was born on November 27, 1865, at Ombalapadi near Papanasam in Thanjavur district. He was educated at Native High School at Kumbakonam, Pachaiyappa’s High School at Chidambaram, and S.P.G College at Tiruchi. He married Kanakavalli alias Ponnamal. After a brief stint as a teacher, Rangachariar studied law at Madras Law College and graduated in 1890. The next year, he joined the Madras Bar Council and apprenticed under H.G. Wedderburn, who was then the Advocate-General. He later set up independent practice in 1896 and conducted numerous criminal and civil cases, including the defence of G. Subramaniya Iyer and V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, during the freedom movement. Rangachariar did not confine himself to the practice of law. He was an active member of Madras Mahajana Sabha and later served as an elected member of the Corporation of Madras for nearly 14 years. He then became a member of the Imperial Legislative Council of India, sitting for Madras.

A souvenir released on the birth centenary of Vithalbhai Patel, the elder brother of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in 1973, noted that being a member of the Assembly, Rangachariar moved a resolution on February 5, 1924, urging the British government to grant a full, self-governing dominion status to India within the British Empire and provincial autonomy in the provinces. The resolution was passed with an amendment moved by Motilal Nehru, leader of the Swaraj Party in the Assembly.

In August 1925, Rangachariar contested for the post of President (equivalent to the Speaker) of the Central Legislative Assembly as an official candidate and secured 56 votes. He lost to Vithalbhai Patel, the Swaraj Party candidate, by just two votes, the souvenir noted. He had also served as the Deputy President of the Central Legislative Assembly at one of its sessions.

Rangachariar made official visits, as a representative of the Government of India, to England in connection with the Kenya question and to Australia for the opening of Canberra, the new capital, in the early 20th Century. Stressing the importance of education in the growth of Australia, he gave a lecture on the topic, ‘The Educational Activities in Australia’, at the Teachers’ College (now the Institute of Advanced Study in Education) at Saidapet, Chennai, The Hindu said in a report on July 27, 1928.

Y. Gee. Mahendra, film and theatre personality, said he felt proud when he saw a painting of his great-grandfather Rangachariar at the Australian Parliament in Canberra. He recollected hearing stories from his late mother, Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy (better known as Mrs. YGP), the founder of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary Schools in Chennai, about her grandfather Rangachariar. According to him, it was Rangachariar who stood firm and supported his mother in pursuing her undergraduate degree in the 1940s.

In the late 1920s, his son R. Venkatachari, alias Muthanna, started Jagannatha Bhaktha Sabha, which operated from the verandah of Veda Vilas, the then residence of Rangachariar on Egmore High Road, Chennai. S. Vasudevan, grandson of Venkatachari, said musical exponents and singers thronged the Jagannatha Bhaktha Sabha and staged their concerts.

Mr. Vasudevan said Rangammal, one of the daughters-in-law of Rangachariar, donated a parcel of land to the National High School on Mahadhana Street at Mayiladuthurai. Later, the century-old school was named Diwan Bahadur T. Rangachariar National Higher Secondary School.

Rangachariar suffered from paralysis in 1932 and retired from active public life in 1933. On August 4, 1945, he died at his residence on Ritherdon Road at Vepery at the age of 80.