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P. Kalifulla Sahib | |
---|---|
Diwan of Pudukkottai | |
In office 1941–1947 | |
Monarch | Rajagopala Tondaiman |
Preceded by | Alexander Tottenham |
Succeeded by | Post Abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | 1888 Trichinopoly, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu,India) |
Died | 10 February 1950 61–62) Pudukkottai,Madras State (now Tamil Nadu),India | (aged
Occupation | Politician,Lawyer,civil service |
Profession | Statesman |
Dewan Khan Bahadur P. Khalifullah (1888–1950), [1] was a politician of the Madras Presidency,British India,who served as the minister for public works in the short-lived ministry of Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu from April–July 1937. He was a Tamil Muslim belonging to the Rowther community,and his father (T.A. Pitchai Rowther) was a wealthy businessman of Tiruchirapalli. Born in 1888 in Tiruchi into a wealthy rice merchant's family,his birth name was Mohamed Pichai Rowther Ibrahim Khalifullah. He went on to be known by the honorific Khan Bahadur ,a title bestowed on him by the British. In later years,his work as the Dewan of Pudukottai made him more popular as ‘Dewan Khalifullah.’
P. Khalifullah's early education was in present-day Tiruchirappalli,and then he did his post-graduation at Madras University. He is thought to be the first south Indian Muslim to obtain a master's degree in 1913. "My father was a man of vision,and was very keen to educate all his sons," says Kutbuddin,his youngest son. "Being educated then was a way to help others in life."
P. Khalifullah decided to study law soon after and sailed for Britain. But it was to be a tragic sojourn as he had to return to India within a month to attend his father's funeral. "The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 put paid to my father’s plans to study law in Britain,so he completed his studies in Madras Law College in 1929 and became an advocate in the Madras High Court," says Kutbuddin.
P. Khalifullah was married when he was 13 years old to Varsaisammal (8),and the couple had 12 children.
"My father never pampered any of his family members," says Kutbuddin. "Every year,he would stitch clothes for 10–15 street children at the same time and using the same fabric as for his own children," he adds.
"We all loved him,but our relationship with him was a little formal. In fact,his younger brother would not even sit down in his presence,such was the respect he commanded."
The family's ancestral home in Pakkali Street,Bheema Nagar was large,and it was not unusual for at least 50–100 guests to be served a meal there at any given day.
"On the 26th fast of every Ramzan,he used to serve food to thousands of people from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Around 350 measures of rice used to be cooked for this annual event. My mother stayed out of the public eye,but she was the one who took charge of the home," says Kutbuddin.
Elected to Madras Presidency Legislature in 1930 as a Muslim League candidate,P. Khalifullah nurtured an activist side to him. [2]
He was a keen advocate of secular education for Muslims in the south,and was a convenor of the Khilafat Movement (1919–24).
He was the Councillor in the Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation for over 20 years,and also served as its chairman for two terms.
Other highlights in his political career include the membership of the Madras Presidency Legislative Council from 1930 to 1936,and a stint in 1937 as the Public Works Minister under the leadership of K. Venkata Reddy Naidu.
He was personally close to Periyar E.V. Ramasamy,K.A.P. Viswnatham,P.T. Rajan and Sir A.T. Panneerselvam,with political affiliations obviously no impediment to their friendship.
P. Khalifullah was openly supportive of Periyar's Self-Respect movement,though not of its atheist tenets.
He was a vocal opponent of the introduction of compulsory Hindi lessons in the south,and with Periyar,flagged off the 100 Anti-Hindi Volunteers march in 1938. Later on,though,he dissociated himself from the demand for a separate ‘Dravida Nadu’by the Dravidian Movement as also Mohamed Ali Jinnah's move for partition.[ citation needed ] He belonged to the All-India Muslim League and was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly from Tiruchirappalli in the 1937 elections. He was sympathetic to the cause of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) and his Self-Respect Movement. In 1937,he spoke against the introduction of compulsory Hindi classes in the Madras legislature and later participated in the anti-Hindi agitation started by Periyar. He was a lawyer by profession and was known by his honorifics as Khan Bahadur P. Khalifulla Sahib Bahadur. He was also a member of the Madras Legislative Council during the early 1930s. [3] [4] [5] [6] He was the Dewan of Pudukottai after his withdrawal from political work.[ citation needed ]
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences,organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in December 1932. They were conducted as per the recommendation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald,and by the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May 1930. Demands for Swaraj or self-rule in India had been growing increasingly strong. B. R. Ambedkar,Jinnah,Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru,V. S. Srinivasa Sastri,Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan,K. T. Paul and Mirabehn were key participants from India. By the 1930s,many British politicians believed that India needed to move towards dominion status. However,there were significant disagreements between the Indian and the British political parties that the Conferences would not resolve. The key topic was about constitution and India which was mainly discussed in that conference. There were three Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932.
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Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 6 million in India,primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 90% of the Muslim community identified themselves as Tamil Muslims. In Tamil Nadu,the majority of Tamil-speaking Muslims belong to the Rowthers Community while other Muslims live in coastal Tamil Nadu. There is a substantial diaspora,particularly in Southeast Asia,which has seen their presence as early as the 13th century. In the late 20th century,the diaspora expanded to Western Europe,Persian Gulf and North America.
Khan Sahib - a compound of Khan "Leader" and Sahib "Master" - was a formal title of respect and honour,which was conferred mainly on Muslim,and also on Parsi,Irani,and Jewish subjects of the British Indian Empire. It was a title one degree lower than Khan Bahadur,but higher than that of Khan.
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Rai Bahadur and Rao Bahadur,abbreviatedR.B.,was a title of honour bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the Empire. From 1911,the title was accompanied by a medal called a Title Badge. Translated,Rai or Rao means "King",and Bahadur means "Brave". Bestowed mainly on Hindus,the equivalent title for Muslim and Parsi subjects was Khan Bahadur. For Sikhs it was Sardar Bahadur.
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy,revered by his followers as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar,was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'Father of the Dravidian movement'. He rebelled against Brahmin dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu. Since 2021,the Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrates his birth anniversary as 'Social Justice Day'.
Rao Bahadur Sir Arogyaswami Thamaraiselvam Pannirselvam was an Indian attorney,landlord,politician and leader of the Justice Party.
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The third legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act,1919,was held in November 1926. Justice party lost the election to Swaraj Party. However,as the Swaraja Party refused to form the Government,the Governor of Madras set up an independent government under the leadership of P. Subbarayan and with the support of nominated members.
The first legislative council election for the Madras Presidency after the establishment of a bicameral legislature by the Government of India Act of 1935 was held in February 1937. The Indian National Congress obtained a majority by winning 27 out of 46 seats in the Legislative Council for which the elections were held. This was the first electoral victory for the Congress in the presidency since elections were first conducted for the Council in 1920 and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) became the Premier. The Justice Party which had ruled the presidency for most of the previous 17 years was voted out of power. Congress also won the Legislative assembly election held simultaneously.
Dewan Bahadur Sir Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu was an Indian social reformer and educationist who hailed from present-day Andhra Pradesh. He was described as "the most powerful orator of his day". He worked for the eradication of untouchability and upliftment of Dalits. He strived for the reformation of the Devadasi system in Andhra,and succeeded to a considerable extent. He promoted widow remarriages and encouraged women's education.
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Tiruchirappalli is believed to be of great antiquity and has been ruled by the Early Cholas,Mutharaiyars Early Pandyas,Pallavas,Medieval Cholas,Later Cholas,Later Pandyas,Delhi Sultanate,Ma'bar Sultanate,Vijayanagar Empire,Nayak Dynasty,the Carnatic state and the British at different times. The archaeologically important town of Uraiyur which served as the capital of the Early Cholas is a Neighborhood of Tiruchirapalli.
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