Madras State - The politics of 1950s

Madras—a former name of a city and a province—has been associated with numerous historical entities. While the Aravidus, Nayakas, Udaiyars, and Zamorins ruled over regions such as Madurai, Jinji, Vijayanagara, Sira, and Maisur, European establishments had already emerged along the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.

It all began in the mid-17th century with a small trading factory near the fishing villages of Madraspattinam and Chennapatnam. Over the next century, this modest settlement expanded into the larger Madras Presidency. However, by the 20th century, when India gained independence, the political landscape of Madras underwent significant changes, particularly from the 1950s onward.

A series of territorial reorganizations took place, leading to the formation of Mysore, Coorg, Andhra, Madras, and Travancore-Cochin (Thiruvithaamkoor-Kochi) from the larger Madras Province. The key aspect to analyze is the intent and the rising tensions that fueled these divisions. The concept of a community is often rooted in linguistic unity, and India has always been a land of linguistic diversity. Before independence, the only province divided along linguistic lines was Bihar and Orissa, which were separated into Bihar Province and Orissa Province in 1936. By the mid-20th century, southern India was increasingly demanding recognition of its distinct linguistic identities.

When the Madras Province was reorganized into the Madras State on August 15, 1947, it still included several princely states that needed to be merged and annexed. Meanwhile, movements advocating for separate Andhra and Kerala states were gaining momentum. In 1953, with the creation of Andhra State and the transfer of Bellary district to Mysore, the Madras State was left with the following districts: 

1. South Kanara (Udipi, Dakshina Kannada, Kasaragod)
2. Malabar (Kannur, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, parts of Ernakulam)
3. Nilgiri (The Nilgiris)
4. Coimbatore (Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur)
5. Madura (Theni, Madurai, Dindigul)
6. Trichinopoly (Tiruchchirappalli, Karur, parts of Pudukkottai, Ariyalur, Perambalur)
7. Ramnad (Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram)
8. Tinnevelly (Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi or Tuticorin, Kanniyakumari)
9. Tanjore (parts of Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam)
10. South Arcot (Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi)
11. North Arcot (Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet, parts of Kancheepuram)
12. Salem (Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal)
13. Chingleput (Chengalpattu, parts of Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Chennai)
14. Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindive Islands (Lakshadweep)

This list shows that there was one Malayalam-speaking district and one Kannada-speaking district, while the remaining districts had a Tamil-majority population. Therefore, it became necessary to merge the Malayalam-speaking region into the larger state of Kerala, while South Kanara was to be integrated with Mysore. Although the Malayalam-speaking regions were peacefully merged with the Travancore-Cochin state, some Congress leaders opposed this move, insisting that these regions should remain part of Madras State.

Sree Chithira Thirunal
(r. 1924-1949)

A conflict arose between two groups—the Aikya Kerala Movement and the Malabar Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC). While the former aimed to create a unified Kerala state, the latter sought to keep Travancore-Cochin under Madras State. This opposition was largely driven by concerns over the post of 'Rajpramukh,' which was held by Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, commonly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal. He was the last ruling Maharaja of Travancore (Thiruvithaamkoor) until 1949.

The MPCC's primary concern was that if the Malayalam-speaking Malabar region were annexed to Travancore-Cochin, it would fall under an unelected regime, similar to the princely states they had fought to dismantle. At the time, Travancore-Cochin had a system where its Chief Minister was appointed by the Rajpramukh rather than elected democratically. This system remained in place until 1956, with Panampilly Govinda Menon serving as the last Chief Minister under this arrangement.

In 1956, the entire district of Nagercoil was transferred from Travancore-Cochin to Madras State. This district, which marks the southernmost tip of India, includes the popular tourist destination of Cape Comorin, now known as Kanyakumari. The transition was driven by a strong pro-Tamil movement based on linguistic and administrative reasons and was carried out relatively peacefully in November 1956. Similarly, up in the northeast close to Madras city, the district of Chingleput was also bifurcated between Chittoor district of Andhra where numerous villages were exchanged to polish the Tamil-Telugu demarcation even more. However, concerns over the creation of a unified Kerala still lingered at the time.

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran
Namboodiripad
(1909-1998)

Somehow, the fear of being governed undemocratically did not prevail in the argument, as the Aikya Kerala Movement's proposal to unify all Malayalam-speaking districts under a single Kerala state gained traction. Once Kerala was formed, the monarchy was effectively discredited, the Rajpramukh post was abolished, and Chief Ministers were now democratically elected through state elections. The first elected Chief Minister was Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, who served until 1959. However, the strong opposition to being ruled under a monarchy led to the achievements of the Maharaja during the colonial era being largely overlooked.

Among his many contributions, the most significant was the landmark 'Temple Entry Proclamation' of 1936, which allowed Dalits to enter all Hindu temples in Travancore. For those familiar with Indian politics, this was a groundbreaking step in the 1930s when caste-based discrimination was deeply entrenched. After the Rajpramukh post was discontinued, the former Maharaja distanced himself from politics and devoted his life to religious service at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram until his passing in 1991. However, despite the progressive nature of the 1936 proclamation, Dalit leaders such as Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and Rettamalai Srinivasan criticized it, calling it an act of appeasement rather than a comprehensive solution to the plight of Dalits.

Madras State, as a separate entity excluding Kerala, continued to

Tanguturi Prakasam
(1872-1957)

exist until 1959, when it was officially renamed Tamil Nadu. Minor boundary adjustments between Mysore, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh followed in the 1960s. Despite Madras remaining the state's capital, proposals to relocate the capital periodically emerged. In the 1940s, intense debates arose between Tamil and Telugu leaders, with the latter advocating for Madras to be included in Telugu-majority Andhra. Some even suggested splitting the city along the Cooum River, conducting a plebiscite, or designating Madras as a centrally administered territory. Congress leader Tanguturi Prakasam proposed this idea and even invited the then Governor of Madras, Thomas Erskine, in 1941 to discuss the matter. The British, while initially supportive of an Andhra province with Madras as its capital, ultimately refrained from implementing the proposal, fearing communal unrest between Tamils and Telugus.

Additionally, Tamil and Telugu leaders clashed over territorial exchanges, with the Tamil side demanding Nellore, Chittoor, and Tirupati in September 1947 if Madras was to be annexed into Andhra. This dispute mirrored similar conflicts, such as the battle between Gujarati and Marathi leaders over Bombay when Gujarat and Maharashtra were carved out of Bombay State. In the 1960s, Chandigarh became a point of contention between Punjab and Haryana, leading to similar tensions.

Potti Sreeramulu
(1901-1952)

For Madras, the situation escalated in 1952 when Potti Sreeramulu, a Gandhian freedom fighter who had participated in the Quit India Movement alongside Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and was a highly respected figure in the Telugu community, undertook a ‘fast unto death’ demanding the formation of Andhra State with Madras as its capital. On the night of December 16, 1952, Sreeramulu passed away, and his death sparked widespread protests. As a result, Andhra State was formed, though its capital was established at Kurnool rather than Madras.

The idea of relocating Tamil Nadu’s capital resurfaced in the 1980s when then-Chief Minister Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran proposed shifting the capital to a more central location, such as Tiruchirapalli or Madurai. However, this proposal faced severe opposition and was eventually abandoned.

The struggle for identity has been a defining aspect of Indian states—sometimes centered around language and, at other times, driven by community interests. This focus on identity was so strong that in 1969, Madras State was officially renamed Tamil Nadu, and in 1996, Madras city was renamed Chennai. Leaders believed 'Madras' carried colonial connotations, whereas 'Chennai' was derived from the name of Chennappa Nayak, a ruler from the Vijayanagara era.

Below is a map of Madras State as it existed in 1954, two years before the implementation of the States Reorganisation Act.