Chetpat Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer, was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law member of the Executive council of the Governor of Madras from 1923 to 1928, Law member of the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India from 1931 to 1936 and the Diwan of Travancore from 1936 to 1947. Ramaswami Iyer was born in 1879 in Madras city and studied at Wesley College High School and Presidency College, Madras before qualifying as a lawyer from the Madras Law College. He practiced as a lawyer in Madras and succeeded S. Srinivasa Iyengar as the Advocate-General of the Madras Presidency. He subsequently served as the Law member of the Governor of Madras and of the Viceroy of India before being appointed Diwan of Travancore in 1936. He was made a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire in 1926 and a Knight Commander of the Star of India in 1941. He returned these titles when India attained independence in 1947. He was also a member of the 1926 and 1927 delegations to the League of Nations.
Chetpet Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer was born on Deepavali day, 13 November 1879 to C.R. Pattabhirama Iyer, a prominent judge and his wife Seethalakshmi Ammal, also called Rangammal in the town of Wandiwash, North Arcot. C.P. had done his schooling at the Wesley College High School in Madras. He had an extremely strict upbringing, as a result of a prediction that the child would not pass a single exam in his life. On completion of his schooling, C.P. enrolled at the Presidency College, Madras. In college, C.P. Won prizes in English, Sanskrit and Mathematics and the Elphinstone Prize for his paper on the Nebular theory. C.P. passed his degree with a gold medal and graduated with distinction from the Madras Law College.
In 1903, C.P. joined V. Krishnaswamy Iyer as an apprentice. Just before the death of Pattabhirama Iyer the same year, he arranged for C. P.’s admission as a junior to Sir V. Bhashyam Aiyangar but the latter was not able to accommodate him. As a result, C.P. practiced on his own and made a reputation as a lawyer. He fought and won over 300 cases and was offered a judgeship of the Madras High Court which he, however, turned down. In 1920, he was appointed Advocate-General of Madras by the then Governor, Lord Willingdon. During his tenure as a lawyer, C.P. handled a number of prominent cases as the Ashe murder trial and the Besant Narayaniah case.
In his early days, C.P. was an admirer of Gopal Krishna Gokhale and desired to join the Servants of India society in Poona. In 1912, he fought on behalf of Jiddu Narayaniah against Annie Besant for the custody of his sons J. Krishnamurti and Nityananda in the famous Besant Narayaniah trial and won. Besant, however, later got the verdict annulled by appealing to the Privy Council in England. However, as a result of this case, C. P. developed an admiration for Annie Besant and collaborated with her in organizing the Home Rule League and served as its vicepresident. In 1917, he became the Secretary of the Indian National Congress. C.P. also edited Annie Besant’s newspaper New India during her incarceration, at the same time, campaigning vigorously for her release. C.P., later, distanced himself from the Indian Independence after disagreeing with Mahatma Gandhi over the Swadeshi and Non-Cooperation movements.
In 1920, C.P. was nominated as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency. He was responsible for the introduction of the City Municipalities Act and the Madras Local Boards Act. In 1923, he was nominated to the executive council of the Governor of Madras and was charged with the portfolios of law and order, police, Public Works Department, irrigation, ports, and electricity.
As a member of the executive council, C.P. laid the foundation of the Pykara Dam which was constructed between 1929 and 1932 at a cost of Rs. 67.5 million. He also started the construction of Mettur Dam over the Cauvery river. While the Pykara Hydro-electric project triggered the rapid industrialization of Coimbatore, the Mettur project was used to irrigate vast areas of Tanjore and Trichy districts. As the member in charge of ports, C. P. was also responsible for the improvement of Cochin, Visakhapatnam and Tuticorin ports.
As a law member, C.P. was also instrumental in passing the Devadasi Abolition Bill proposed by Muthulakshmi Reddy. However, owing to strong protests from devadasis across Madras Presidency, C.P. suggested that the bill is introduced only as a private bill and not a government measure.
In 1931, when Chithira Thirunal was barred from succeeding his deceased uncle as the Maharaja of Travancore, C.P. spoke on his behalf to the Viceroy of India. The Viceroy agreed to crown Chithira Thirunal but only on the condition that C.P. should function as adviser to the young monarch. C.P. agreed and served as Legal and Constitutional adviser to the prince from 1931 to 1936. In 1936, Maharajah Chithira Thirunal personally requested C.P. to be the Diwan of Travancore. C.P. accepted the offer and served as Diwan for a period of ten years.
During C.P.’s tenure as Diwan, Travancore made rapid strides in industrial development. The Indian Aluminium Company was invited to set up a factory in the town of Aluva. The first fertilizer plant in India, the Fertilizers and Chemicals of Travancore Ltd. (FACT) was established by C.P. To manufacture ammonium sulphate. This was established with American collaboration in open defiance to the hostility of the Viceroy of India. C.P. also established a plant to manufacture cement and another to manufacture titanium dioxide. The Travancore plywood factory at Punalur, The Travancore Rayons Limited was established in 1946 with a plant at Perumbavoor. The first plant to manufacture aluminum cables was opened at Kundara. By the time, C.P. Stepped down as Diwan in 1947, the revenues of the state had increased fourfold from the time he had assumed charge.
On 3 June 1947, when United Kingdom accepted demands for a partition and announced its intention to quit India within a short period, the Maharaja of Travancore desired to declare himself independent. Supported by the Diwan, C.P., Chithira Thirunal issued a declaration of independence on 18 June 1947. As Travancore’s declaration of independence was unacceptable to India, negotiations were started with the Diwan by the Government of India. Family sources indicate that C.P. himself was not in favour of independence but only greater autonomy, and that a favorable agreement had been reached between C.P. and the Indian representatives by 23 July 1947 but accession to the Indian Union could not be carried out only because it was pending approval by the Raja. On the other hand, noted historian Ramachandra Guha has written about how C.P., egged on by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, had established secret ties with senior Ministers of the British Government, who encouraged him in the hope that he would give them privileged access to monazite, a material Travancore was rich in and which could give the British a lead in the nuclear arms race. Nevertheless, an assassination attempt was made on C.P. on 25 July 1947 during a concert commemorating the anniversary of Swati Thirunal. C.P. survived with multiple stab wounds and hastened the accession of Travancore state to the Indian Union soon after his recovery.
C.P. was acknowledged for his talent as a lawyer, administrator, and visionary. Edwin Samuel Montagu, who served as the Secretary of State for India from 1917 to 1922, described him as “one of the cleverest men in India”. He is credited with having transformed Kanyakumari district into the rice-bowl of Travancore and is acclaimed for being the first person to envisage the industrialization of Madras Presidency. In September 1966, C.P. left for England to conduct research on a planned book titled “A History of My Times” at the India Office library. At about 11:30 am, on 26 September 1966, he suddenly slumped on his armchair while speaking to a reporter and died instantly.
www.grandmasters.in | 8 Years & Counting
www.rcls.in | 8 Years & Counting
www.itlegalsummit.com | 8 Years & Counting
www.bfls.in | 8 Years & Counting
www.maels.in | 8 Years & Counting
www.plcs.co.in | 8 Years & Counting
Copyright © 2020 Lex Witness - India's 1st Magazine on Legal & Corporate Affairs Rights of Admission Reserved
