A blooming movement and two GOs

The recent Supreme Court order permitting 27% quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the all-India quota for admissions to the undergraduate medical courses has been hailed by almost the entire political spectrum in Tamil Nadu as a milestone in the history of social justice. The words, ‘social justice,’ may even sound clichéd to some but a look at the evolution of the reservation system reveals how the idea is an important chapter in the contemporary politics in Tamil Nadu.

K. Kamaraj, as Chief Minister, had got ready the list of ‘More Backward’ among the BCs after a study.

It all began with a decision taken at a meeting at the Victoria Public Hall in Chennai in November 1916 to form an organisation to voice the grievances of non-Brahmins. Among those present were T.M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetti. The meeting paved the way for the establishment of the Justice Party. A month later, the leaders unveiled a document, called ‘Non Brahmin Manifesto’. Thus began the campaign for getting a rightful share of the non-Brahmins in public life and in government services.

The recent Supreme Court order permitting 27% quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the all-India quota for admissions to the undergraduate medical courses has been hailed by almost the entire political spectrum in Tamil Nadu as a milestone in the history of social justice. The words, ‘social justice,’ may even sound clichéd to some but a look at the evolution of the reservation system reveals how the idea is an important chapter in the contemporary politics in Tamil Nadu.

It all began with a decision taken at a meeting at the Victoria Public Hall in Chennai in November 1916 to form an organisation to voice the grievances of non-Brahmins. Among those present were T.M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetti. The meeting paved the way for the establishment of the Justice Party. A month later, the leaders unveiled a document, called ‘Non Brahmin Manifesto’. Thus began the campaign for getting a rightful share of the non-Brahmins in public life and in government services.

Four years later, the Justice Party came to power in the elections to the Legislative Council, which was how the legislature was called. It had its moments of success in September 1921 and August 1922 when two government orders (GOs), famously called “Communal GOs”, were issued.

In his Politics and Social Conflict in South India, the Non-Brahman Movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916-1929 ,’ American historian Eugene F Irschick mentions the party “pursued its demands doggedly, for it realised that the implementation of Government Orders to redistribute government appointments in favour of non-Brahmans [sic] would fulfil some of the party’s first-articulated ideas — administrative power, social position and economic security.” Read More on..