S. Satyamurti Biography PDF

# S. SATYAMURTI ## K. R. Vaidyanathan ### “When once people make up their minds to attain their freedom, there is no power on earth which can stand in their way.” ### S. Satyamurti --- The year was 1910. A young man of twenty-three wrote an essay for a competition held by the Imperial League. T...

# S. SATYAMURTI ## K. R. Vaidyanathan ### “When once people make up their minds to attain their freedom, there is no power on earth which can stand in their way.” ### S. Satyamurti --- The year was 1910. A young man of twenty-three wrote an essay for a competition held by the Imperial League. The subject was ‘Loyalty to the British Raj’. It won him a gold medal. He had not indulged in any flattery of the British rulers to win the prize. Instead, he ably argued that loyalty was a two-way affair, a matter of give and take. He thus proved his talent for debate quite young. This was S. Satyamurti who later became one of the most articulate opponents of the British Raj. He rose to such fame as a fiery orator, debater and brilliant parliamentarian that Mahatma Gandhi once said of him, “It is enough if one Satyamurti is sent to the legislature.” He also added, “If there had been ten Satyamurtis in our legislatures, the British would have quit long ago.” Strangely, the same Satyamurti who won the prize, failed in his matriculation examination which he had written seven years earlier, in 1903. He was just sixteen then. However, the failure proved to be a stepping stone to success, as the saying goes. The following year Satyamurti passed the examination creditably and went on to complete his college education. He joined the Christian College, Madras, in 1906 for his Bachelor of Arts Course. He was one of the most brilliant students of the college and secured a first class in English and a high second class in Sanskrit and History. After his B.A. he joined the Law College, Madras. Here too he passed with distinction. So much so the then Principal of the Law College desired his pupil to become a lecturer in the same college. Satyamurti, however, opted to work in a wider world rather than confine himself within the four walls of a classroom. He enrolled himself as a High Court Vakil in 1913. It was then that he came in close contact with the veteran Congress leader and leading lawyer, S. Srinivasa Iyengar. He was so impressed by Satyamurti’s oratory and debating capabilities that he initiated him into politics. Around 1915 Satyamurti gave up law to devote himself wholly to politics and public affairs. From then on he never looked back. ## Three predictions Soon after Satyamurti’s birth on August 19, 1887, in Tirumayyam village, in the principality of Pudukottai, now part of Tamil Nadu, his father, an amateur astrologer, studied the child’s stars and made three predictions: He would become a famous orator, he would carry his fame ‘across the seas’ and he would perform the *shraddha* (periodic rites for dead relatives) of his father at Gaya. All these preditions did come true. When Satyamurti was but nine, his father, Sundara Sastriar, an orthodox brahmin, scholar, and a pleader by profession, died, leaving behind his wife, children and aged parents to fend for themselves. Satyamurti was the eldest of five sons and one of the nine children. It fell to his and his mother’s lot to bring up the family. While he diligently pursued his studies he could not be oblivious to the happenings in the country. This is how he described his formative and impressionable college years: “We had exciting times. Mr. Bepin Chandra Pal visited Madras and we, students, got thoroughly excited. We attended all his lectures. Lala Lajpat Rai was deported and we boycotted classes.” ## Stirring events Even as a pre-graduate course student in Pudukottai itself, there were many stirring events which drew young men like Satyamurti towards the public forum. The partition of Bengal on October 16, 1905, created much anger in the country. Both Hindus and Muslims saw in it the British policy of ‘divide and rule’ in action and strongly opposed it. Young Satyamurti could not remain silent. He organized a meeting of students to protest against the tyranny of the British. The Bengal partition marked the beginning of the Swadeshi movement and the boycott of British goods. It is interesting to recall how every section of people reacted. The celebrated historian, Dr. R. C. Majumdar writes: "The cobblers in Mymensingh refused to mend English shoes. The Oriya cooks and servants declared that they would not serve masters using foreign goods. The washermen of Kalighat passed a resolution boycotting the washing of foreign clothes. A young girl of six refused to take foreign medicine even when she was seriously ill. The students refused to appear in the examinations on the ground that the answer books were made of foreign paper." The first decade of the twentieth century saw the advent of the railway network in India. This and the post and telegraph system linked the main centres to each other. These advances in communication led to the development of newspapers all over the country, stirring the minds of educated people. The introduction of English education and the ideas of the nineteenth century liberal philosophers took India from the Medieval Age to the Modern Age. This modern Indian renascence helped the nation to wake up from a deep slumber. It led to a great awakening which touched every aspect of our national life-religious, social, cultural, literary, and, above all, political. As Dr. Majumdar has put it, “English education broke the barrier which had hitherto shut India from the outside world and opened the floodgate of ideas.” While English education awakened the elite, the masses were roused through the medium of popular songs or ballads. Many sensational events like the arrest of Lala Lajpat Rai and the trial and sentence of Bal Gangadhar Tilak were narrated in lilting tunes, which inspired people. It is interesting to note in this context that at the Congress session held at Benares in 1905, presided by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, 'Jana Gana Mana', our national anthem, was sung by the author, Rabindranath Tagore, himself. ## Gandhiji's influence The most important event in the history of the Congress which influenced the youth was the emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as its peerless leader in 1919. This was the year of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when the patriots in Punjab had their first baptism of bloodshed. The year 1920 was significant as the year of the Nagpur session of the Congress, presided over by C. Vijayaraghavachariar, which saw the birth of the non-violent Non-cooperation movement on a mass scale and the epic Flag Satyagraha. Needless to say, Satyamurti, like many others of his generation, felt the powerful attraction of Mahatma Gandhi. Satyamurti also became one of the ardent followers of C. R. Das. Das had visited Madras in 1917 to canvass support of Congressmen in the South to the Council entry programme.As Satyamurti earlier wrote: “C.R. Das came to Madras as a leader of a new school of thought in the Indian National Congress... He succeeded in raising the people of Madras from the quagmire of metaphysics and slough of despondency into which they had fallen or had been thrown in and gave them a breath of fresh air of the mountains of real nationalism and real work for Swaraj.” ## Call of the Congress Sons of Ind, why sit ye idle, Wait ye for some Dera's aid? Buckle to, be up and doing! Nations by themselves are made! This clarion call to the sons of India to get to work came not from an Indian leader, but A.O. Hume, a Britisher. It was he who set the Congress movement in motion. Hume addressed his first letter in 1883 to the graduates of the Calcutta University to form an organization “for the mental, moral, social and political regeneration of the people of India”, and this led to the founding of the Congress in Bombay in 1885. The up-and-coming generation of Satyamurti was brought up in such an emotionally charged atmosphere. To them the call of the Congress was irresistible. No wonder, as early as 1908, when Satyamurti was just 21, and still in college, he served as a volunteer during the Madras session of the Congress presided over by Rash Behari Ghose. His talents as a public speaker came to light then and he was encouraged to take an active interest in subsequent sessions. In 1914, when the Congress met again at Madras under the presidentship of Bhupendra Nath Basu, Satyamurti headed one of the sub-committees. In the intervening years he kept himself engaged in studying various issues of public interest and commenting on them through letters and articles in the press. He wrote a critical piece on Annie Besant’s Home Rule Movement. Satyamurti made his real debut as an orator and debater at the Provincial Political Conference held at Kancheepuram in May 1918. The conference was presided over by Sarojini Naidu. Annie Besant moved a resolution calling upon men to enlist themselves in the defence forces and help the British in the first world war. Satyamurti opposed the resolution in a forceful speech. Though he did not carry the day, ‘he made a very fine impression on his hearers’, as the editor of the Daily Gazette of Karachi observed. Sarojini Naidu herself remarked that Satyamurti could be classed among the best models for parliamentary oratory. No small tribute this. Within one year, in April 1919, Satyamurti was invited to join the Congress deputation which was leaving for England to place the nationalist view on the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms proposals before the British Government and public. The delegation was headed by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. ## “Across the seas” Satyamurti had but about a day to make up his mind when the telegram came from Bombay asking him to join the delegation. “Without a moment’s hesitation I decided to join,” said Satyamurti. That was typical of his response to the call of the Congress all his life. This was Satyamurti’s first trip abroad, thus fulfilling his father’s prediction that he would carry his fame across the seas. He was to return to India after a few weeks. But he was asked to stay back and carry on intensive propaganda for the Congress so as to remove any misapprehension among the British about India and create a better understanding between the two countries. This Satyamurti did by addressing numerous public meetings and making valuable contacts with leading British politicians. Ultimately his stay in England extended to six months. That his long stay in England was fruitful is evident from a letter addressed to him by the Scottish Independent Party. It read: "Your eloquent appeals delivered to the many huge meetings addressed in the country have made a powerful impression, and in your absence, we will carry on the work of fighting for justice to the Indian people." Back home, a warm welcome awaited Satyamurti. In his own words, "This made me resolve not to go back to my profession at all, but to do Congress propaganda work in the country." Indeed, Satyamurti considered political work his life’s mission and to the end he lived up to it. In fact, he once remarked to Gandhiji, "Life without political work appears a very dreary thing to me." It is not difficult to imagine how, to a young man of 34, professional career was indispensable for his family’s survival. But to Satyamurti, the aim in life was clear. He said, "I have deliberately chosen a life of strenuous public work and comparative poverty in order to serve my motherland." When Mahatma Gandhi started his Non-cooperation movement, Satyamurti did not join it. He made it clear that he was patriotic enough to stick to the Congress, though he could not respond to Gandhiji’s call. By suspending his practice he did answer, to an extent, Gandhiji’s call to boycott the courts. However, he did not give up his membership of the Madras University as he wanted to take an active part in the University’s affairs and maintain his rapport with the student community. Satyamurti was against any ban on council entry, which a section of leaders advocated. He felt that council entry would, in fact, further the Non-cooperation movement from within the councils. It was actually "carrying the fight into the enemy’s fortress and fighting him on his own ground”, he said. In support of his argument he cited the example of the Irish leaders, Charles Stewart Parnell and Eamon De Valera who had entered the British Parliament with a similar objective. In 1923 Satyamurti became a member of the Madras Legislative Council. He sought election from the University Constituency. His reason: “This is the only electorate which consists of all classes and creeds among the people of the Presidency namely, the Andhras, the Tamils, the Malayalees, the Canarese, the Hindus, the Mussalmans and the Christians...I shall be occupying a unique position there as being entitled to voice the educated opinion of the whole Presidency.” Satyamurti’s election appeal read: “Ever since my political birth, I have been a Congressman and I will continue to be so. I recognise the Indian National Congress as the work of the best brains and best hearts of India for the last 40 years. And, it is the duty of every patriotic Indian to strengthen this great national institution in order that it may achieve its cherished object of Swaraj for India.” Even Annie Besant, whom Satyamurti had opposed, printed his appeal as a supplement to her paper, _New India_. She also sent out a letter recommending him as the best candidate from this (University) constituency. Satyamurti won handsomely and his victory was hailed by many political leaders. From the very first day his voice rose above others and reverberated in the Council Hall. During his three-year tenure he took part in every discussion of importance and tabled over 7000 questions with innumerable supplementaries. The Justice Party was in power in those days. The then Governor of Madras, Lord Willingdon, pitted the Justice Party against the Congress and asked the leader of the Party to form the ministry. Accordingly, the Raja of Panagal, formed the ministry. But the new ministry drew criticism as it was composed deliberately on communal lines. C. Ramalinga Reddy, another famous orator, moved a non-confidence motion. On November 27, 1923, Satyamurti delivered his maiden speech supporting the motion. The speech was rousing and expressive and was greeted with loud cheers. “The House had never heard anything so eloquent or stirring before,” R.V. Krishna Iyer, the Assistant Secretary of the Council, commented. ## Eloquence Satyamurti’s greatness did not rest merely on his oratory but on his deep study, factual knowledge and, above all, on his ability and manner of convincing presentation. He marshalled strong arguments and used quotations to prove his point. One of his longest speeches was with reference to the humiliations of Indians in the colonies. In this he quoted V.S. Srinivasa Sastri, C.F. Andrews, Winston Churchill, Shakespeare, the _Mahabharata_, and Sanskrit verses in support of his arguments. A typical quote he was fond of using was “not that I love the Empire less, but I love India more”. Satyamurti was a terror to the members of the Treasury Bench. It is said that Ministers and Members of Parliament would come to the Council every day fearing Satyamurti’s witticisms. Once, referring to the Chief Minister’s silence on being put a question, Satyamurti said, "I ask whether the significant silence can be reconciled with any ordinary standards of political honesty or decency." ## Radical views Satyamurti held enlightened views on communal representation in Government services. He said, "After all, we have got to live in this country, we have got to live as friends and as brothers... I want that all communities, Brahmins, Non-Brahmins, Hindus, Mussalmans, Christians and Depressed Classes must join together in one mighty battle for winning Swaraj." One of Satyamurti’s greatest parliamentary feats was when, on October 8, 1927, he initiated in the Madras Council, an adjournment motion on the seizure by the Madras Police of Subramania Bharati’s songs. The matter was sub judice, with an application filed in the Madras High Court. It was, therefore, a prolonged struggle even to get the motion admitted. Satyamurti pointed out that had Bharati been born in a free country he would have been made a Poet Laureate. But in a slave country like India he had to live in exile and become a wreck. He said that as long as the Tamil language existed and so long as a single Tamilian lived, Bharati’s songs would remain the priceless heritage of the Tamil race. ## In Central Assembly The year 1934 saw the holding of general elections to the Central Legislature. The Congress participated for the first time. Satyamurti was the obvious choice from the prestigious Madras City constituency. He had to face A.. Ramaswami Mudaliar, the Justice Party candidate, a great spokesman and orator. Both attracted huge audiences. But it was an essentially civilized campaign. The story goes that the two candidates sometimes met while canvassing in the city and shook hands. When some of Satyamurti’s fans saw this they protested. But Satyamurti laughed it off as a joke. “Actually I was feeling his pulse,” he remarked once. On one occasion both the candidates appeared together on the same platform provided by the Anglo-Indian Association. The president, E.H.M. Brower, introduced the speakers as distinguished gentlemen holding opposite views on many subjects. He complimented them for their courage and enterprise in participating in this face-to-face debate. Satyamurti won by a margin of more than five thousand votes. He came out of the Ripon Buildings to loud cheers by the waiting crowd. Thanking his supporters he said, “The success you are celebrating this evening is not mine. It is the success of the Congress, of Mahatma Gandhi and of Bharat Mata.” As Hilton Brown, a former ICS officer, aptly commented, “The Madras Legislative Council was a duller place after Satyamurti left it.” But Satyamurti found in the Central Assembly a new and higher forum for his talents. He proved himself a thorn in the flesh of the British rulers. Thus began the last and most memorable phase of Satyamurti’s brilliant parliamentary career. This is how Satyamurti himself picturised the Central Assembly scene in an article: "Sartorial expressions may not have much value, but in the Assembly it was a striking sight to see almost always nearly 44 members wearing Gandhi caps, the very caps for wearing which people were prosecuted, convicted and sentenced and at times beaten. It was particularly good for the Viceroy, when he addressed us, to see the forty-four Gandhi caps." In the Central Assembly Bhulabhai Desai was selected leader of the Congress party. Satyamurti was first chosen as Secretary of the party and later became its deputy leader. Till then the Assembly had been a puppet show. With Satyamurti dominating the proceedings, the Assembly became a battlefield. A.S. Iyengar, the veteran journalist and the then Information Officer of the Government of India, described the questions of Satyamurti as the despair of the bureaucracy and the terror of Government members. ## Battle of wits Satyamurti’s first shot was moving an adjournment motion on a confidential circular relating to Gandhiji’s activities. It suspected that it was another form of Civil Disobedience movement. Satyamurti scoffed at the bad draftsmanship and bad English of the circular. The members of the Government benches were completely nonplussed. On one occasion Satyamurti made history in the Central Legislative Assembly by speaking continuously for eight hours on his Bill to repeal the ‘Repressive Laws’. During this debate the Law Member, Sir N.N. Sircar, observed that he suspected Satyamurti’s ploy was for capturing votes. Retorted Satyamurti, "In democracy we believe in catching votes and not in catching the tails of Governors or Viceroys." B. Shiva Rao, writing in _The Hindu_ in an article, said, "I can think of no one in my 36 years of experience in parliamentary life in India, who could build up as he did a powerful case in 30 minutes missing no fact of significance, sacrificing neither lucidity nor vigour of expression." A British official, admiring one of Satyamurti’s speeches on an important resolution, said, "This man should have been in the House of Commons." Referring to the Constitutional Reforms proposals, the Secretary of State once remarked in the British Parliament, "The British caravan will pass on, even if the dogs bark." In the Assembly Satyamurti gave it back saying, "...we on this side of the House are determined to see the caravan of the Indian National Congress pass on to the fullness of its goal, whatever dogs, British or others, bark." ## Magnanimity In early 1937, the Congress party was preparing throughout India to contest elections to provincial assemblies under the Government of India Act, 1935. Satyamurti had all along worked for the legislative programme. He wanted to leave the Central Assembly and go back to Madras and take up the leadership of the new Legislative Council. Getting elected from the University Graduates’ Constituency would have been easy. The Parliamentary Committee also approved his candidature. However, events took a different turn. In a surprise move, C. Rajagopalachari, who had retired from politics, returned to it. There is an interesting story behind this development. For a while now the question of office-acceptance was being floated. Who could be the leader commanding everyone’s respect? Satyamurti would have been a natural choice if it was only a question of leadership of the party in the Assembly. But it was also a question of linguistic, regional and other interests. It was crucial that the leader of the party should be a unanimous choice in the interests of the solidarity of the Congress. Well-meaning friends, therefore, were in search of such a personality. Rajaji was the ideal choice they thought. K. Srinivasan, Managing Editor of _The Hindu_, approached Rajaji on the matter. Rajaji was not willing to go about campaigning and canvassing for a general seat. The only constituency where he could expect an almost unanimous election was the University Constituency. Rajaji agreed to contest if Satyamurti willingly gave up his constituency to him. When Srinivasan approached Satyamurti, the latter was surprised. But when Rajaji’s name was mentioned for party leadership, he willingly offered it to Rajaji. It was Satyamurti’s finest hour. In the interest of the party he cast aside his personal claim! Gandhiji said, "You are a miracle worker; you have done what we could not do. I wonder how you gave up your seat.” But when Rajaji formed his ministry, not only was Satyamurti not included in the first Congress cabinet, as was generally expected, but he was not even consulted on its formation. Satyamurti did not sulk. Instead, he buried himself in the Parliamentary work in the Central Assembly. He was offered the Vice-Chancellorship of the Madras University. Satyamurti declined. As A.S. Iyengar put it, "Satyamurti never rose to greater heights than when he did this unparallelled act of effacement. He gave no greater lie to his traducers and critics who thought that Satyamurti was after office. He never held office even for a single minute either under the Congress or under the bureaucracy though others have gone on and tasted the fruits of office." Satyamurti’s hectic public life did not leave him with much time to look after his health or his family-his wife and his daughter. In connection with Gandhiji’s Individual Civil Disobedience, he was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on December 13, 1940. As his health deteriorated, he was transferred from Vellore jail to the Madras General Hospital for treatment. Satyamurti was allowed the personal attention of his family. They visited him twice a day and helped to tend him in the hospital. Satyamurti was released on August 23, 1941. But his health continued to remain unsatisfactory. Dr. B.C. Roy examined him and prescribed prolonged rest in view of the condition of his heart. But Satyamurti felt that more than medicine it was public activity that kept him going. Indeed, he was as active as ever. When he was ailing he had found a suitable match for his daughter. He had even fixed the date of the wedding. When he knew his end was near, he asked his people not to postpone or cancel the wedding. It was done. ## Letters to Lakshmi While undergoing treatment in the Madras General Hospital in 1941, Satyamurti realized that he had hardly devoted any time to his growing daughter. At home he was a devoted husband and a loving father to his only child. It is said that when he went out to work he would dress well, as always. Before he left home he would often ask Lakshmi how he looked. Though she was very young, he would consult her and ask her opinion on many things. Lakshmi was turning sixteen in 1941. To make up for the neglect and lack of communication between father and daughter, Satyamurti wrote a letter to her everyday from his hospital bed. The letters, about sixty-eight in all, contained wholesome advice and were meant to instruct and inspire Lakshmi, indeed all children. They have been published as a book, _At the Threshold of Life_. These letters covered a variety of subjects like art, public speaking, women’s education and so on. In one of his letters Satyamurti mentioned that all girls should get the highest possible education in literature. He advised Lakshmi to learn Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit and English. “I want you to become a great scholar in all these languages and literatures or at least in some of them," he wrote. "Then I want you to know the history and geography of the world to understand world affairs. You must know enough elementary science to take an intelligent interest in things around you. You must know the history and geography and politics of your country fairly intimately. You must know at least one of the fine arts-music or painting...” In another letter he quoted a Sanskrit poem which meant, "He who is devoid of poetry, music and art is a real beast, only he has no tails or horns.” Referring to painting and sculpture he said they "give form to our conception of the Divine". Keen as he was on public speaking, Satyamurti cited from his own experience, giving some useful points and guidelines. "You must always keep your hand on the pulse of the audience—and long before the audience gets tired you must stop.” "When you address public audiences you must prepare your speeches in advance. I always do, unless I am taken by surprise. Then I do my best. When members of the audience do you the honour of hearing you, you must return the compliment by preparing your speeches carefully.” Above all he laid stress on a well modulated voice while delivering a speech. On August 8, 1942, the All India Congress Committee passed the famous ‘Quit India’ resolution in Bombay. Following this all the leaders including Gandhiji were arrested. Satyamurti left Bombay for Madras on August 10. Before his departure Dr. Gilder, Gandhiji’s physician, examined him and declared him unfit to work. Satyamurti was arrested at Arkonam on August 11, 1942, and taken to Vellore jail. From there he was transferred to Amraoti (now in Maharashtra) jail. As his condition worsened he was sent back to Madras and admitted to the General Hospital on January 10, 1943. Despite some improvement, complications soon set in. Satyamurti passed away on March 28, 1943. "A restless soul has found rest,” said Rajaji. ## Varied interests Though politics took most of his time and energy, Satyamurti’s interests were wide. He distinguished himself in many fields ranging from fine arts to education. Whatever task he undertook, he did a thorough job of it. In the field of education, as mentioned earlier, he was an elected member of the Senate of the Madras University for several years. He was also the prime mover behind the establishment of the Annamalai University and took an active interest in its affairs. As a lover of arts, and music especially, he encouraged and patronized musicians. He was one of the founder members of the Music Academy, Madras. He would regularly arrange for two or three music concerts by leading musicians at his house. Satyamurti was also interested in the stage. He acted in many of the plays produced by the Suguna Vilas Sabha, one of the oldest cultural organizations of Madras. Among languages his first love was Sanskrit. Thanks to his early training under his father, he could speak in Sanskrit. He was one of the pillars of the Sanskrit Academy in Madras. Next to Sanskrit he loved Tamil. His style was simple and straight. He was equally at home with English. He advocated that the medium of instruction in schools should be in the mother tongue and English should be an optional subject. Satyamurti took keen interest in civic and municipal affairs. He became the Mayor of Madras in 1939. He took considerable interest in keeping the city clean and green. Aside from politics, his interest in public affairs was varied. He took up the cause and fought for the kisans, the landlords, for the grievances of non-gazetted officers, the workers, for students’ demands. Satyamurti was deeply religious. He started the day very early with a bath. He performed daily pujas and would recite a few verses of the _Ramayana_ before proceeding to work. He was a great devotee of Jagadgurus Sankaracharyas of Kanchi and Sringeri. He would frequently visit them, pay his respects to them and even discuss with them burning issues of the day. “Do good, be good.” This is how he explained the essence of the Hindu religion, his faith and creed and he lived up to it. "I profoundly and sincerely believe that if we live good lives, control our senses and do only good to others and no harm, sooner or later we must attain _moksha_."