Panagal Raja

• Raja Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar also known as the Raja of Panagal, was a zamindar of Kalahasti, and an important leader of Justice Party.
• Ramarayaningar was regarded as an advocate of democracy and a staunch supporter of empowerment of the depressed classes.

• He was the Chief Minister or Premier of Madras Presidency from 11 July 1921 to 3 December 1926.
• He was one of the founder-members of the Justice Party and served as its President from 1925 to 1928.

Early Life

• Ramarayaningar was born in Kalahasti, Chittoor District, Madras Presidency on 9^th July 1866.

Activist life

• In 1912, he was nominated to the Imperial Legislative Council of India in Delhi and represented the landlords and zamindars of South India.
• In 1914, Ramarayaningar moved a legislation for the creation of separate Provincial departments for the welfare of depressed classes.
• He served as a legislator until 1915.
• In 1912, the Madras Dravidian Association was established by C. Natesa Mudaliar.
• Ramarayaningar was elected as the first President of the Association.
• On 19 July 1917, at a conference in Coimbatore presided over by the Ramarayaningar, the four different non-Brahmin associations got together to form the South Indian Liberal Federation.
• Later this party unofficially was known as the Justice Party.
• In 1918, he was awarded the title of Dewan Bahadur.
• He was also made a member of the Imperial War Council the same year.

Reforms during his tenure

• When Subbarayalu Reddiar resigned, citing health reasons, Ramarayaningar was appointed Chief Minister.
• He served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 11 July 1921 to 3 December 1926.
• The Madras Town Planning Act of 1920 had been passed on 7 September 1920 before the dyarchy was established.
• In 1921, the Raja of Panagal introduced the Hindu Religious Endowments Bill.
• As per this bill, trusts were established to maintain temple funds and given complete power over the administration of temples.
• In 1921, a labour strike erupted in the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras.
• The strike eventually came to an end in October through the mediation of C. Natesa Mudaliar.
• Gour's Bill, introduced in 1921, brought about an amendment in the Special Marriages Act, sanctioning the legal validity of inter-caste marriages.
• In 1921, the Justice Party government of the Raja of Panagal introduced reservations for backward classes in government jobs.
• In August 1921, the First communal Government Order was passed.
• As per the order, 44 percent of jobs were reserved for non-Brahmins, 16 percent for Brahmins, 16 percent for Muslims, 16 percent for Anglo-Indians and Christians and eight percent for the Scheduled Castes.
• However, this Act did not guarantee adequate quotas for scheduled castes.
• In 1922, MC Rajah passed a resolution demanding that the terms Paraiya and Panchama be dropped from official usage and instead be substituted with Adi-Dravida and Adi-Andhra.
• In 1922, the Madras State Aid to Industries Act was passed.
• Through this Act, the government made it a state policy to advance loans to developing industries.
• The Madras University Act was passed in the year 1923.
• As per the provisions of this Act, the governing body of the Madras University was completely reorganised on democratic lines.
• In 1925, the Andhra University Act was passed which included similar reforms in Andhra University.
• The Theagaroya Nagar locality in Chennai was developed during his Chief-Ministership in 1923 to 1925.
• The Raja of Panagal reorganised the Public Works Department in the Madras Presidency and improved medical facilities, water supply and communications in rural areas and patronised Siddha medicine.
• A School for Indian Medicine was set up. For this the Raja gave his property, located in Hyde Park Gardens, Kilpauk of Madras. The Kilpauk Medical College is now in that campus.
• Despite the fact that he was regarded as a communalist and anti-Brahmin, he nominated a Brahmin, T. Sadasiva Iyer as the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious Endowment Board.
• Ramarayaningar assumed office as Chief Minister for the second term on 19 November 1923 through the Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1923.

Post Tenure

• Theagaroya Chetty, the founder-President of the Justice Party died in 1925 and the Raja, then Chief Minister of Madras succeeded Chetty as the second President of the Justice Party.
• Ramarayaningar resigned as Chief Minister in 1926 when the Justice Party failed to obtain a majority in the 1926 elections to the Madras Legislative Council.
• He, however, continued to remain active in politics and served as the President of the Justice Party until his death on 16 December 1928.
• In the Assembly elections which took place on 8 November 1926, no party was able to get a clean majority.
• The Swarajya Party won 41 of the 98 seats and emerged as the single largest party while the Justice party won 21.
• No party had a clean majority and the Swarajya Party which was the single largest party in the assembly was reluctant to form the government.
• The Governor appointed P. Subbarayan as the independent Chief Minister and nominated 34 members to the Council to support him.
• Raja became the leader of opposition in the council.
• In 1927, the Simon Commission which was appointed to report on the working of the progress of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms landed in India.
• It was boycotted by the Swarajya Party and the Indian National Congress.
• However, the Justicites and the Subbarayan Government accorded the Commission a warm reception.

Last Stage

• Ramarayaningar died on 16 December 1928 of influenza.
• He was succeeded as the President of the Justice Party by B. Munuswamy Naidu.

Legacy

• Ramarayaningar was very active in the All-India Non-Brahmin movement.
• He was a friend of Shahu Maharaj and was closely associated with the former's Satya Shodhak Samaj.
• In 1923, the British government bestowed upon Ramarayaningar, the honorific title of "Raja of Panagal".
• Ramarayaningar was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire on 5 June 1926.
• From 17 December 1920 to 11 July 1921, Ramarayaningar served as the Minister of Local Self-Government in the first Justice Party government led by A. Subbarayalu Reddiar.
• The Justice Party began to decline with the death of the Raja of Panagal.
• The lack of efficient leadership in the party is regarded as the main reason for its decline.
• The statue of the Raja of Panagal stands inside the park in T. Nagar that is named after him.

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