T. R. Venkatarama Sastri

Thiruvalangadu Raju Venkatarama Sastri CIE (6 February 1874 – 2 July 1953) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the Advocate-General for Madras Presidency from 1924 to 1928. He was also known as T.R.V.Sastri.[1]

Thiruvalangadu Raju Venkatarama Sastri

CIE
T.R. Vankatarama Sastri in 1940
Advocate-General of Madras Presidency
In office
1924–1928
Preceded byC. Madhavan Nair
Succeeded byAlladi Krishnaswamy Iyer
Personal details
Born6 February 1874
Mayavaram, British India
Died2 July 1953(1953-07-02) (aged 79)
Madras, India
NationalityBritish Indian
Political partyIndian Liberal Party
OccupationLawyer
ProfessionAttorney-General, statesman

Early life

Venkatarama Sastri was born on 6 February 1874 in Mayavaram (now known as Mayiladuthurai).[2][3] His father, Thiruvalangadi Raju Sastri was a Sanskrit scholar.[4] Venkatarama Sastri studied at the Municipal High School at Mayavaram, graduated from the Government College at Kumbakonam in 1894, received his B.L degree from the Law College at Madras in 1898 and enrolled in the Madras Court in April 1899 working initially as an apprentice under Sir P.S. Sivaswamy Aiyar.[4]

Career

On completion of his studies, Sastri enrolled as a lawyer in 1899[5] and rose to become the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency in 1924 succeeding Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer.

Venkatarama Sastri was also the President of the National Liberal Federation of India which in 1945 suggested the formation of a central government represented by all major political parties of India with provisions for minority representation.[6]

T.R. Venkatarama Sastri also drafted the RSS constitution, helped lift the ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and facilitated the release of M.S.Golwalker.[7][8] He was a RSS sympathiser and a personal friend of Golwalkar.[9]

Life

After his tenure as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency, he served as the Law Member in the Government of Madras,[1] having been promoted to that position by George Goschen who did not want to offend Brahmins by excluding them from the cabinet.[10] Additionally, Sastri also served as a Member of the Hindu Law Committee, Government of India.[11]

In his long and illustrious career, Venkatarama Sastri served as a member of several committees, such as the Bajpai Commission on Ceylon Refugees, and B.N.Rau Committee on Hindu Code Reform.[12]

Venkatarama Shastri made his home in the Edward Eliots Road, Chennai where he stayed until his demise. A robbery at his home was once reported to the police of which E. N. Purushothaman reminisces in his book "The Police I Served":

"..She told me of another of one of the great Advocates of Madras, Sri T.R.Venkatrama Sastry, in the Edward Eliots Road. Among the valuables stolen from this house, there was a silver idol of Vigneswara which was presented by the Paramacharya of Kanchi Kamakoti.[13]

Death and legacy

Venkatarama Sastri died on 2 July 1953.[3] On his death, the then Chief Minister of Madras state, C. Rajagopalachari said:

"The court has lost a legal luminary and I’ve lost a good friend."

Notes
  1. Jagdish Saran Sharma (1981). Encyclopaedia Indica, Volume 2, p.1104.
  2. The Indian Review, Volume 70. G. A. Natesan. 1974. p. 41.
  3. The Journal of Oriental research, Madras, Volume 22. Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute. 1952.
  4. Eminent lawyer's demise, The Hindu, Jul 03, 2003.
  5. NMML manuscripts: an introduction. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. 2003. p. 455. ISBN 978-81-87614-05-0.
  6. "A Central Govt of Major Parties". Indian Express. 13 November 1945.
  7. S Gurumurthy (16 October 2013). Lifting of ban on RSS was unconditional, The Hindu.
  8. Vidya Subrahmaniam (17 October 2013). Written constitution was indeed a pre-condition, The Hindu.
  9. Dwarka Prasad Mishra (1978). Living an era, Volume 2, p.65
  10. David Arnold (1977). The Congress in Tamilnad: Nationalist Politics in South India, 1919-1937, p.109. ISBN 0883869586. Quote from p.109: ""Goschen had considered appointing a non-Brahmin to what had so far been a Brahmin preserve. He had, however, decided it would be foolish to exclude the Brahmins by excluding them from the Cabinet, and he promoted the Advocate-General, T.R. Venkatarama Sastri to the post,..."
  11. Madras State Bar Federation, (1957). Lawyer, Volume 1, p.61.
  12. Jagdish Saran Sharma (1981). Encyclopaedia Indica, Volume 2, p.1104.
  13. E. N. Purushothaman (1989). The Police I Served, p.88-89. Andhra Pradesh Police Academy
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References
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