Panaganti Ramarayaningar

Indian politician

Raja Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar KCIE (9 July 1866 – 16 December 1928), also known as the Raja of Panagal, was a zamindar of Kalahasti, a Justice Party leader and the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 11 July 1921 to 3 December 1926. Ramarayaningar was born in Srikalahasti, Chittoor district on 9 July 1866, and fostered in the Vadama Calamur family, whose pro Brahmin, Mylapore clique influence and political moderation he would come to fiercely oppose. He was educated in Madras and obtained degrees in Sanskrit, law, philosophy and Dravidian languages before entering politics. He was one of the founder members of the Justice Party and served as its President from 1925 to 1928. From 17 December 1920 to 11 July 1921, Ramarayaningar served as the Minister of Local Self Government in the first Justice Party government led by A. Subbarayalu Reddiar. He served as the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 11 July 1921 to 3 December 1926. He introduced a number of reforms during his tenure. The Thyagaraya Nagar locality in Chennai was developed during his First Ministership. Ramarayaningar resigned as First Minister in 1926 when the Justice Party failed to obtain a majority in the 1926 elections to the Madras Legislative Council. He, however, continued to remain active in politics and served as the President of the Justice Party until his death on 16 December 1928. Serving a total of over 5 years, he remains the longest serving First Minister in the Presidency era. Further, taking into account Madras Presidency's successor states of Madras and Tamil Nadu, he held the record as the longest serving First Minister until the 6th of September 1959 (for almost 33 years), when Congress's K. Kamaraj overtook his 1,972 day record. With MGR, M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa overtaking Kamaraj's record, he is the 5th longest serving First Minister of the state (throughout its various incarnations). Ramarayaningar was regarded as an advocate of democracy and a staunch supporter of empowerment of the depressed classes. Historians generally attribute the decline of the Justice Party in the mid 1930s to the absence of charismatic leaders in the Justice Party following his death.

Ramarayaningar belonged to Telugu Padmanayaka Velama community. His early education and rearing was in the Calamur family, in the household of his foster father Calamur Sundara Sastri, the son of C. V. Runganada Sastri, and father in law of C. P. Ramaswami Iyer. He completed his schooling from Triplicane High School in 1886 and graduated in Sanskrit from the Presidency College in 1893 with Advanced Chemistry as his optional subject.

Ramarayaningar got his first taste of politics when he was appointed to the district board of North Arcot. During this period, Ramarayaningar earned the praise of the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge. In 1915, he was elected President of the Third Andhra Congress. Ramarayaningar was elected as the first President of the Association. In 1921, Ramarayaningar was sent along with Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu and Koka Appa Rao Naidu to lobby on behalf of the Justice Party before the authorities in England. Ramarayaningar was also active in the All India Non Brahmin movement. He was a friend of Shahu Maharaj and was closely associated with the former's Satya Shodhak Samaj. He attended the All India Non Brahmin Conference held at Belgaum on 26 December 1924 and presided over the Second All India Non Brahmin Conference held at Victoria Hall, Madras on 25 May 1925. When the Government of India Act was passed in 1919, provisions were made to hold elections in the Madras Presidency for the first time in history.

Ramarayaningar served as the First Minister of Madras from 11 July 1921 till 3 December 1926. A. P. Patro of Berhampur was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Subbarayalu Reddiar's resignation, and he took the portfolio of education. This strike was led by V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar, a leader of the Indian National Congress. Violent riots broke out when striking workers prevented the others from returning to work. Top Justice Party leaders like O. Thanikachalam Chetti severely censured the police for the measures they adopted. The party's organ Justice blamed the riots on the "pampering" of Paraiyars by the Labour Department. However, owing to heavy rains, polling was not completed until 10 November. Observers attribute this decline in performance to the rift between the Tamil and Telugu members of the Justice party. The dissidents were led by C. R. Reddy, a leader of the Justice Party, who complained of the dictatorial rule of the Raja and his insensitive, unimaginative policies. On 27 November 1923, a no confidence motion was introduced against the government of the Raja of Panagal.

Ramarayaningar was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire on 5 June 1926. The Swarajya Party won 41 of the 98 seats and emerged as the single largest party while the Justice party won 21. In 1927, the Simon Commission which was appointed to report on the working of the progress of the Montagu Chelmsford reforms landed in India. The Swarajya Party moved a resolution to boycott the Commission and this was passed 61 to 50 with 12 remaining neutral. The Justice Party and the Swarajists supported the resolution while the First Minister P. Subbarayan opposed it and requested his ministers to resign. However, Lord Goschen, the Governor, was able to obtain the support of the Raja of Panagal by making a Justice Party member, M. Krishnan Nair, a Cabinet minister. The Simon Commission visited Madras on 28 February 1928 and was boycotted by the Swarajya Party and the Indian National Congress. However, the Justicites and the Subbarayan Government accorded the Commission a warm reception. He was succeeded as the President of the Justice Party by B. Munuswamy Naidu. On his death, leading newspapers and magazines poured accolades on him. S. Srinivasa Iyengar, a political opponent of the Raja, said of him:

The Justice Party began to decline with the death of the Raja of Panagal. The lack of efficient leadership in the party is regarded as the main reason for its decline.

Despite his aristocratic birth, Ramarayaningar was known for his egalitarian views. Despite the fact that he was regarded as a communalist and anti Brahmin, he nominated a Brahmin, T. Sadasiva Iyer as the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious Endowment Board.