**General Studies | Day 21 | 2 November 2026 | 1:00 PM IST | TNPSC Grp IV**
Yesterday's lesson discussed the early revolts against British rule. Today's lesson covers political associations, nationalist newspapers, the Swadeshi movement, labour protests, revolutionary activity and mass movements in Tamil Nadu from the mid-nineteenth century to 1942.
## 1. Early Political Associations **1852 – Madras Native Association:** Founded by Gazulu Lakshminarasu and associates. It protested revenue-related abuses and demanded reduced taxation. It ceased to exist by 1862.
**1884 – Madras Mahajana Sabha:** An early nationalist political organisation. P. Rangaiah Naidu was its first president. It raised questions of Indian representation and administration.
**1885 – First Indian National Congress session:** Held in Bombay; 22 participants came from the Madras Presidency. **1887 – Third Congress session:** Held at the area now called Thousand Lights in Madras, presided over by Badruddin Tyabji.
## 2. Nationalist Newspapers **The Hindu (1878):** Founded by G. Subramania Iyer, M. Veeraraghavachari and colleagues to present an Indian perspective. **Swadesamitran (1891):** Tamil publication started by G. Subramania Iyer; it became a daily in 1899. Such newspapers spread nationalist ideas and informed readers about colonial policies.
## 3. Swadeshi Movement and V.O. Chidambaranar The **1905 partition of Bengal** intensified the Swadeshi Movement. Its methods included boycotting imported goods, promoting Indian industries and supporting national education.
**V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC)** founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company at Thoothukudi. Its ships **Gallia** and **Lavo** served the Thoothukudi–Colombo route. The venture challenged British commercial dominance.
**1908 – Coral Mills strike and Tirunelveli unrest:** VOC and Subramania Siva organised workers. Their arrests contributed to serious protests in Tirunelveli. VOC received a harsh prison sentence and was forced into strenuous labour, traditionally remembered through the oil-press episode.
## 4. Bharati and Revolutionary Activity **Subramania Bharati:** Used poems and journalism to argue for freedom, social equality and women's advancement. He moved to French-controlled Pondicherry to avoid arrest.
**Subramania Siva:** Mobilised audiences through speeches and worked closely with VOC during the Swadeshi period.
**1911 – Maniyachi incident:** Revolutionary Vanchinathan shot British official Robert Ashe at Maniyachi railway station and then killed himself. This belongs to the history of revolutionary political violence; it is distinct from the nonviolent satyagraha tradition.
## 5. Home Rule and Non-Cooperation **1916 – Annie Besant's Home Rule movement:** Demanded self-government for India. Besant promoted the cause through journals including *New India* and *Commonweal*.
**1919 – Rowlatt Act protests:** Indians opposed legal provisions allowing detention without ordinary due process.
**1920–22 – Non-Cooperation Movement:** Participants in Tamil Nadu promoted khadi, boycotted foreign cloth and participated in picketing and other non-cooperation campaigns. Rajaji, Periyar and other leaders were involved at different stages, despite differences in their wider political ideas.
## 6. Salt Satyagraha and Later Movements **1930 – Vedaranyam Salt March:** Rajaji led a march from Tiruchirappalli to Vedaranyam, a Tamil Nadu parallel to Gandhi's Dandi March. Women including Rukmini Lakshmipathi participated in civil-disobedience struggles.
**1932 – Tiruppur Kumaran:** Remembered as *Kodikatha Kumaran* because he died after colonial police assaulted protesters while he held the national flag.
**1937 – First Congress ministry in Madras:** Headed by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji). **1939:** Congress ministries resigned after India was brought into World War II without consulting them.
**1942 – Quit India Movement:** Protests, strikes and student participation took place in Tamil Nadu. The textbook mentions clashes between Congress volunteers and military forces in Madurai.
## 7. Key Chronology | Year | Event | |---|---| | 1852 | Madras Native Association | | 1878 | The Hindu founded | | 1884 | Madras Mahajana Sabha | | 1887 | Third Congress session in Madras | | 1891 | Swadesamitran founded | | 1905 | Swadeshi Movement intensified | | 1908 | Coral Mills strike; arrest of VOC and Siva | | 1911 | Vanchinathan–Ashe incident at Maniyachi | | 1916 | Home Rule Movement | | 1930 | Vedaranyam Salt March | | 1932 | Tiruppur Kumaran | | 1942 | Quit India Movement |
**Historical distinction:** The freedom struggle included constitutional moderates, militant nationalists, workers, women and social reformers. Their methods and perspectives were not identical.
## Textbook and Book-Back Progress **Reference:** SCERT Class 10 Social Science, History Unit 9, *Freedom Struggle in Tamil Nadu*, English 2019 edition, printed pages 55–68, exercises on pages 66–68. **Exercise inventory (old edition):** I – 8 MCQs; II – 8 fill-ups; III – 4 statement items; IV – 1 matching set; V – 8 short answers; VI – 12 caption subquestions; VII – 3 detailed answers; VIII – 2 activities. **Total = 46 exercise units**, counting the matching set as one unit. **Completed within this 1 PM lesson:** 0/46. The evening verified older-edition batch covers 8 items in Section I, leaving 38. **2026–27 edition: source not yet verified.** **Verified official TNPSC Group IV PYQs used:** 0; original-paper and official-final-key matching remains pending.
## Revision Revise on **3, 5, 9 and 16 November 2026** (+1/+3/+7/+14 days).
