Caste census has become a topical issue in Tamil Nadu. The ruling DMK is making a strong case for it and parties, like the PMK, are demanding caste-wise reservation. It turns out that freedom fighter V.O. Chidambaram (VOC) had also been a strong advocate of reservation proportionate to the strength of each caste. While articulating the idea, he had echoed the views of the Justice Party, previously known as South Indian Liberal Federation. “He had advocated the idea at least since 1919. He spoke in favour of it at the Congress conference in Tirunelveli and in his presidential address at the Salem district conference in 1927,” says historian A.R. Venkatachalapathy and author of the book Swadeshi Steam: V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and the Battle against the British Maritime Empire.
Many faces
In Naan Yaar (Who Am I), expressing his views on various issues, he recommends reservation on the basis of the strength of each caste in the District Boards, the Legislative Assembly, government jobs, and public organisations like the Congress and its units. Naan Yaar is part of the special issue brought out by the Tamil Nadu government on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of VOC. While he is known as Kappalottiya Tamilan, as he ran the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) to challenge the might of the British mercantile power, the commemorative volume presents VOC as a thinker, espousing rights, dignity, and education for women, and as a Tamil scholar, who has written commentaries on Sivagnana Bodham, Tholkappiyam, and Tirukkural.
Though he believes that rightly or wrongly, caste differences are bound to continue, VOC says the argument that reservation proportionate to the strength of each caste would hamper the eradication of the caste system does not stem from a deep understanding. “It is the duty of every patriot to ensure that proportionate reservation is implemented in government jobs and positions in various organisations to achieve unity among the countrymen. Unless we implement caste-wise reservation, there will be no unity,” he writes.
Non-Brahmins, according to VOC, are Muslims, Indian Christians, Oppressed Hindus, and Hindus who oppressed them. “The enmity and disunity between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins has reached a breaking point,” he says. He feels that castes were created on the basis of occupation.
VOC favours vocational courses at university. “No job can be done without money, and there is a need to teach vocational courses and courses on agriculture,” he says.
‘Cooking machines’
In Naan Yaar, VOC comes across as a liberator of women. “We have converted women into cooking machines. We have made them as a machine that delivers babies. They should have rights on a par with us. They should be consulted on all issues. Are they qualified for that? No. Because they are not educated. They should be educated,” he writes. He is also vocal about respecting women’s dignity. “There is a practice of women eating in the plates used by their husbands. After my marriage, I told my wife that she should not eat on the plate left by me,” he said.
A Tamil scholar, who penned commentaries on Tirukkural, VOC says Thiruvalluvar as a poet has no equals. “I consider him as God. Tamils should learn by heart all the 1330 couplets. I will not respect and love anyone, including my father and my children, if they have not learnt Tirukkural with meaning,” he writes. He had also studied the interpolations in Tirukkural. Citing the oldest manuscript in the Oriental Library, he says the title, Kadavul Vaazhthu (Invocation), with great couplets was actually a preface. He also regretted the absence of a Tamil university, which was established only in 1981 in Thanjavur.
VOC’s determination to run the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company found expression in his writing. “I will return to Tamil Nadu from Bombay with a ship. Otherwise, I will drown myself in the Bay of Bengal.” He was also agonised by the thought that he would die before the country gained independence. “I do not fear death. My only regret is that I may not be able to see independence. Is it a crime to raise a slogan for the welfare of one’s nation [Thai Naadu]? Is it a crime to run a ship for the growth of commerce and wealth of the country,” he asks.
Fearing poverty
VOC says that he has no plans to continue as a lawyer after he is released from jail, but will have to do it because of poverty and the ridicule of the mindless people. “If I do not resume my career as an advocate, poverty will crush me and my family,” he writes.
Published - February 11, 2025 11:04 pm IST
