Petitions
The Arundhateeya Welfare Association - Free Night School & Reading Room
5 December 1949.
The Arundhateeya Welfare Association, along with two other Arundhateeya organisations in Madras, wrote jointly to B.R. Ambedkar on 5 December 1949. The letter was based on resolutions passed at a public meeting held at Pudupet, Madras, on 1 December 1949. The Association, established in 1947, ran a free night school and reading room in Periamet, Madras, and counted among its patrons the Minister for Harijan Uplift and the Speaker of the Madras Legislative Assembly.
The Arundhateeyas (also called Chucklers) were a leather-working community in Tamil Nadu. The letter stated that they formed 40 per cent of the Harijan population in the Madras province but had no representation in the Madras Legislature. They described themselves as the most downtrodden among Harijans, only lately getting recognised as human beings, deprived of elementary amenities, and economically displaced.
The petition had one specific demand: that K.R. Sreeramulu, described as a leading businessman in leather crafts and footwear and a quiet social worker of the Arundhateeya community, be put up as the official Congress nominee for one of the three Harijan vacancies in the Central Legislature from Tamil Nadu. It asked Ambedkar to use his influence with the Governor-General, the President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, and the Premier of Madras to make this happen.
The Arundhateeya Welfare Association,
Free Night School & Reading Room
(ESTD. 1947)
Patrons:
Hon. Sri. V. Kurmayya Garu, B. A. L. L. B.,
Minister for Harijan Uplift.
Hon. Sri. J. Sivashanmugam Pillai, M. A.
Speaker Madras Legislative Assembly.
Sri. N. Gopala Menon B. A. B. L. M. L. C.
R. Soundararajan.
President:
Sri. K. R. Sri Ramulu.
Vice President:
Sri. M. V. Badragiri.
General Secretary:
Sri. A. M. Naliah.
Treasurer:
Sri. A. M. Nagarathnam.
SUBBIAH STREET,
BARRACKS ROAD, PERIAMET,
Madras 5th December, ’49.
Hon’ble Dr. B. R. Ambedhadkhar,
The Hon’ble The Minister for Law,
Government of India,
New Delhi.
Most Honoured Sir,
We, the Secretaries of the Associations noted below have great pleasure to submit herewith the Resolutions passed jointly at public meetings held on the 1st December, 1949, at Pudupet, for favour of necessary action and add that we, the Arundhateeyas (Chucklers) are in a miserable plight, being the most down trodden of Harijans in Tamil Nad are not represented in Madras Legislature, although we form 40% of the Harijan population in the Province
Sir, we approach you and seek your help not merely because you are the Minister for Law but you are our well wisher who evinced keen interest and built up the community even before Mahatmaji thought of ameliorating our conditions of — backwardness, and it is not an exaggeration if we emphatically say that we behold in you a Champion of our cause, and as such, we trust that you will do fair justice as the custodian of the — welfare of the entire Harijan community all over Indian Dominion when you distribute the fruits of our hard won freedom.
We are sure you are well aware of the fact that it is only lately that we are getting recognized as human beings and for most part have been refused, rather deprived of our elementary amienities of life, economically displaced as we are, not to speak of representation in Legislatures of this kind. We therefore strongly feel that patrons like you with power and will should stand by us and emancipate by giving some representation in the Central Legislature to speed up economic emancipation and political liberation of our most backward community, in view of the fact that we are very grossly neglected so far, and hence it is in fitness of things that you may at this stage use your influence to see that we are given one representation in Centre. We are afraid that we are carrying coals to New Castle, as we are well aware of the pitiable conditions of backwardness of our community all over.
We take this opportunity to express once again our appreciation and admiration of the valuable services that you have rendered and have been rendering to us at the critical juncture, and request earnestly that our case may kindly be viewed with the utmost sympathetic consideration for representation and cause Sri. K. R. Sreeramulu, the leading business man in leather crafts and social but silent worker of the Arundhateeyas to be put up as the official Congress nominee in one of the three Harijan vacancies for Central Legislature.
We add in conclusion that we are quite alive to the — duties and responsibilities that we owe to the State and promise you that our entire community will not lag behind to rally round you for any task aimed that you may call upon us to shoulder with.
An early reply is requested.
Yours faithfully,
Secretary,
All Madras Arundhateeyas
Association,
Madras,
Secretary,
Arundhateeyas Welfare
Association,
Periamet, Madras –
Secretary,
Arundhateeyas Youths
Association,
Pudupet, Madras –
Resolved “That in view of no representation of the Arundhateeya community of Tamil Nad, the most down trodden of the Harijans in the Madras Legislatures, His Excellency the Governor-General of Indian Dominions is earnestly requested to view our case with utmost sympathetic consideration for representation in the Central Legislature in one of the three Harijan vacancies of Tamil Nad, and May His Excellency graciously be pleased to influence suitably the President of Tamil Nad Congress Committee and the Premier of Madras to kindly put up Sri. K. B. Sreeramulu, the leading business man in Footwear and social but silent worker of the Arundhateeya community as the Official nominee of Congress for Central Legislature, and thereby speed up economic emancipation and political liberation.