204/365 – Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar

Diwan Bahadur Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, KCSI (b. October 14, 1887 – d. July 17, 1976) was an Indian lawyer, politician and statesman who served as a senior leader of the Justice Party and in various administrative and bureaucratic posts in pre-independence and independentIndia.

Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar was born on October 14, 1887 in the town ofKurnool and had his schooling in Kurnool. He graduated from the Madras Christian College and studied law at the Madras Law College.

On completion of his studies, practised as a lawyer before joining the Justice Party and entering politics. Mudaliar was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council in 1920 and served from 1920 to 1926 and as a member of the Madras Legislative Assembly from 1931 to 1934, losing to S. Sathyamurthy in the 1934 elections.

He served as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council from 1939 to 1941 and as a part of Winston Churchill’s war cabinet from 1942 to 1945.

He was India’s delegate to the San Francisco Conference and served as the first President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He also served as the last Diwan of Mysore kingdom and occupied the seat from 1946 to 1949.

Early life

Ramasamy Mudaliar was born on October 14, 1887 in Kurnool in a Tamil-speaking Tuluva Vellalar family. He was the eldest of a pair of twins, the other being Arcot Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar.

He studied at Municipal High school,Kurnool and graduated in arts from Madras ChristianCollege. On graduation, Mudaliar studied law and was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council.

Justice Party

Ramasamy Mudaliar was a part of the Justice Party ever since its inception in 1917 and served as its General Secretary. In July 1918, Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar went to England along with Dr. T. M. Nair and Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu as a part of the Justice Party delegation to argue in favor of communal representation and give evidence before the Reforms Committee. The evidence was taken just before Dr. Nair’s death on July 17, 1919.

Ramasamy Mudaliar rose in stature gradually and began to be regarded as the “brain of the Justice Party”. He assisted in coordinating between non-Brahmins in different parts of India and organizing non-Brahmin conferences. Mudaliar was a prominent orator and was known for his inspiring speeches.

Post: Diwan of Mysore 

Duration: January 1947 – August 15, 1947

Monarch: Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur

Post: President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council

Duration: January 23, 1946 – January 23, 1947

Post: Member of the Imperial War Cabinet

Duration: 1942–1945

Monarch :George VI of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister: Winston Churchill

Post: Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council

Duration: 1939–1942

 Monarch: George VI of the United Kingdom

Governor General: Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcot_Ramaswamy_Mudaliar