The party among its many reforms pioneered caste-based
quotas in the 1920s and abolished the Devadasi system in TN
The results of the Tamil Nadu assembly election show that
the Dravidian movement’s roots are strong as ever in the state. In many ways,
the movement’s political and social priorities can be traced directly to the
Justice Party.
On October 26 1926, Periyar’s ‘Kudi Arasu’ pointed at one
of the seminal objectives and achievements of the Justice party which had been
in power under the dyarchy from 1920 to 1925 twice -their quest to take
education to the villager’s door and orient him “to the necessity of literacy
.“ Rightly understanding that education was the key to social mobility the
Justice ministries began chipping away at the historical and religious mindset
that stood between the 97% majority in the Madras Presidency and education.
Thanks to their work, learning would no more be the prerogative of the few.
Schooling was made free and compulsory for children from
5-12 and parents who withdrew their wards faced penalty. In Malabar, 37 schools
for children of fisher folk were set up. Also, in 1920, the Justice Party
pioneered free breakfast in a corporation preparatory school later extending it
to four other schools till 1925 when paucity of funds saw an end to the avant
garde meal scheme and a consequent drop in school enrollment. Additionally ,
free education was provided for girls above eighth standard initially in the
district of Madras and by 1925 to 18 of the 20 districts. In 1968 the
government made education free up to the pre-university level and later by the
mid-1970s up to the first college degree.
When it came to western medicine believe it or not
entrance to medical colleges required proficiency in Sanskrit. Yes Sanskrit and
not Latin or Greek, which abound in medical terms. When the Justicites won the
fight to do away with this, they opened the doors to many who could have
otherwise never dreamt of becoming medical doctors and much more. One such was
Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy , the first woman physician and legislator in 1926 and
deputy speaker of the legislature in 1927. As early as 1921 the Justicites had
turned Madras the first British province in India to provide women’s suffrage.
The Raja of Panagal had reminded on that occasion that some 900 years ago women
had held positions in administrative committees in the Chola era. In 1922 the
Justicites legislated to term those who fell outside the pale of caste as Adi
Dravidas, the predecessor of the Dravidas. The party was also responsible for
doing away with the degrading Devadasi system.
The Justice Party was known for its governance and
bespoke decentralisation and federalism. Its ministry spurred industrial
growth. The ministry provided loans to farmers by substituting ‘indebtedness’
for ‘distress in the Agriculturists’ Loans Amendment Act.
In 1926 the Justicites passed the Hindu Religious
Endowments Act in the face of much opposition. The idea was that temple
property and revenue should serve the entire community and not just a private
few. It was done with much tact as the Raja of Panagal took N Gopalaswami
Iyengar of the provincial civil service and later a central minister as an
`expert member’ to assist the passage of the bill. T Sadasiva Iyer, a retired
judge of the Madras high court became the first president of the Hindu
religious endowments board to assuage the sentiments of the Hindu religious. In
1989 the successor Dravidian party government set up a committee led by pontiff
Kunrakudi Adigalar to suggest ways on better temple administration.
In 1921 and 1922 the Justice ministry extended the
principle of communal representation in the services and promotions, in simpler
terms reservation as we understand it today spearheading a social revolution.
Earlier the Justices had legislated the use of public facilities like roads and
wells for Adi-Dravidas, appointed a labour commissioner to enforce
non-discrimination, provided liberal aid to acquire lands for cultivation and
occupation, free building sites, and much incentive for education. The irony is
that the classist Justicites were rich and accomplished people in their own
right but they set about to change the situation of the masses.
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