Justice Party (India)
Videos
The Justice Party, officially the South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. It was established on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by Dr C. Natesa Mudaliar and co-founded by T. M. Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetty and Alamelu Mangai Thayarammal as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency. Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmins began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in government jobs. The Justice Party's foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organisation to represent the non-Brahmins in Madras and is seen as the start of the Dravidian Movement.
Image taken in 1920s : Theagaroya Chetty is seated at the centre (to the immediate right of the girl). To his right is Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar. Also present are Raja of Panagal and Raja of Venkatagiri
The masthead of the English daily – Justice
Image taken in 1930s : (starting fifth from left after the woman) Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, C. Natesa Mudaliar, Raja of Bobbili and S. Kumaraswami Reddiar
A cartoon from 19 March 1923, evaluating the first Justice Ministry. It mentions Prohibition, Andhra University, irrigation schemes, industrial development and more local self-government among the unfulfilled expectations of the people.
The first legislative assembly election for the Madras Presidency was held in February 1937, as part of the nationwide provincial elections in British India. The Indian National Congress obtained a majority by winning 159 of 215 seats in the Legislative Assembly. This was the first electoral victory for the Congress in the presidency since elections were first conducted for Madras Legislative Council in 1920. The Justice Party which had ruled the presidency for most of the previous 17 years was voted out of power. The assembly was constituted in July 1937 and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) became the first Congress Prime Minister of Madras.
