State will continue to play a crucial role in nation’s growth, development: Governor Purohit

Addressing the gathering at the two-day seminar on the role of Tamil Nadu in the Quit India Movement, Purohit said, “Tamil Nadu played a significant role in the Quit India Movement. The Gandhian leader, Kamarajar, simple and non-violent in approach, exhorted the freedom loving people of Tamil Nadu to fight whole heartedly against the British. His mentor Satyamurthi was imprisoned and tortured because of which he died a martyr. MP Sivagnanam, T Prakasam, Kala Venkata Rao, Nageswara Arya, Komaladevi Arya, VM Ubayadulla, Tiruvanamalai N Annadurrai, M Baktavatsalam, Rukmini Lakshmipathi, Parvathy Kumaramangalam were some of the prominent leaders of those times who suffered imprisonment. The students who were their followers then came to the forefront.”

Recalling the role played by the city’s institutions, Purohit said, “The Presidency College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Loyola College and Madras Christian College led the strikes and demonstrations. Annamalai University had to be closed. Queen Mary’s College was the first women’s college to organise a protest in the southern region. The agitating students were subject to lathi-charge, whipping, suspensions and expulsions from the educational institutions. But they held firm. British administration in Madras used the Army to supress the Movement.” 

Looking forward and commenting on Tamil Nadu’s role in future, he said, “The state will play a crucial role in India’s growth and development in the coming years, as did the Tamil people of the earlier generations, who contributed to the freedom struggle and Quit India Movement.”

The seminar is being organised by the Department of Indian History, University of Madras. The workshop, which coincides with the 160th year celebrations of the Madras University, will have more than a hundred research papers on the state’s role in Quit India Movement. Minister for Higher Education KP Anbalagan delivered the special address.