08/08/2015
Valangaiman Sankaranarayana Srinivasa Sastri (Tamil: வலங்கைமான் சங்கரநாராயண ஸ்ரீநிவாஸ சாஸ்திரி) (22 September 1869 – 17 April 1946) was an Indian politician, administrator, educator, orator and Indian independence activist. He was acclaimed for his oratory and command over the English language. Srinivasa Sastri was born to a poor temple priest in the village ofValangaiman near Kumbakonam, India. He completed his education at Kumbakonam and worked as a school teacher and later, headmaster in Triplicane, Madras. He entered politics in 1905 when he joined the Servants of India Society. Srinivasa Sastri served as a member of the Indian National Congress from 1908 to 1922, but later resigned in protest against the Non-Cooperation movement. Sastri was one of the founding members of the Indian Liberal Party. In his later days, Srinivasa Sastri was strongly opposed to the partition of India.
Srinivasa Sastri served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1913 to 1916, Imperial Legislative Council of India from 1916 to 1919 and the Council of State from 1920 to 1925. Sastri also functioned as India's delegate to the League of Nations, as member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and agent to the Union of South Africa.
He gained worldwide fame for his prowess in the English language. Sastri was a close follower of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He was also a close friend and associate of Mahatma Gandhi who addressed Sastri as his "elder brother" in writings. Sastri was made a "Companion of Honour" in 1930. In 1921, the Freedom of the City of London was conferred on Srinivasa Sastri followed by the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh in 1931.
Early life and educational career[edit]
Srinivasa Sastri was born in the town of Valangaiman, Madras Presidency, India[1] on 22 September 1869.[2] His father, Vaidik Sankaranarayana Sastri, was a poor Hindu priest.[2] Srinivasa Sastri did his schooling at the Native High School, Kumbakonam and in 1887, graduated from Government Arts College, Kumbakonam with a first class degree in English and Sanskrit.[1][2] On graduation, he found employment as a teacher at Municipal College, Salem.[1][2]
Srinivasa Sastri married Parvathi in 1885.[3] His granddaughters are, Parvathy, married to Ramamurti (Retd.G.M of NLC)[citation needed] and Kausalya, married to the renowned Indian scientist and nephew of Sir C. V. Raman, S. Ramaseshan.[4]
In 1894, Srinivasa Sastri was appointed headmaster of Hindu High School, Triplicane and served for a period of eight years, till 1902.[2][5] During this period, he achieved fame for his proficiency in English and his good administrative skills.[2] In his late years, he also served as Vice-Chancellor of the Annamalai University.[1][2] During his tenure as Vice-Chancellor, he demonstrated his scholarship in Sanskrit and Oriental Literature. He persuaded Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar, then Head of the Tamil Research Department, to translate Kalidasan's epic poem Abhignana Sakuntalam in Tamil. The poem was translated in the Sandam Metre and published in 1938.[6] He delivered the Kamala lectures in Calcutta University which are widely cherished and remembered.[1][2]
Politics[edit]
Srinivasa Sastri established the Madras Teachers Guild during his term as headmaster of Triplicane High School.[7] He was one of the pioneers of the Co-operative movement and started India's first co-operative society, the Triplicane Urban Co-operative Society (TUCS) in 1904.[7][8]
Srinivasa Sastri met Indian independence activist Gopal Krishna Gokhale for the first time in 1906.[1] He was drawn towards Gokhale's Servants of India Society and joined the organization becoming its President in 1915.[1][9] He joined the Indian National Congress in 1908 and became the Secretary of the Madras District Congress Committee in 1911.[1][10] As a member of the Congress, he was instrumental in bringing about a pact between the Congress and the Muslim League.[9]
Srinivasa Sastri was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council in 1913 and to the Imperial Legislative Council of India in 1916.[1][9]He opposed the Rowlatt Act which empowered the Government of India to imprison anyone without trial and delivered a well-appreciated speech in the Imperial Legislative Council denouncing the bill.[1] In 1919, he was appointed a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.[1]
In 1922, Sastri resigned his membership of the Indian National Congress after disagreeing with its leadership on the issue of non-cooperation and established the Indian Liberal Party along with Tej Bahadur Sapru.[9] He consequently served as a President of the Indian Liberal Federation. In 1924, he accompanied Annie Besant on a visit to England demanding Home Rule for India.[1] He also participated in the first and second round table conferences.[1]
