THE HINDU
Diwans take over
THE BRITISH usurpation of the State in 1831 could not have been liked by the Wadiyar King or the people. Mummadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar and his supporters frequently urged for the return of power. It is said, however, that the two famous Commissioners, Cubbon and Bowring, were hostile to the idea. No wonder the king took to philosophical and cultural activities and eventually passed away a dejected man in 1868.
Power was finally restored to the Wadiyars and the rendition took place in 1881. The Bangalore Cantonment became an "Assigned Tract" outside the control of the State Government. The commissioner's post was abolished and the diwan functioned as the head of the administration.
There were 13 diwans from 1881 to 1947 - C. Rangacharlu (1881-82), K. Seshadri Iyer (1883-1901), T.R.V. Thambuchetty (1901), P.N. Krishnamurthy (1901-06), V.P. Madhava Rao (1906-09), T. Ananda Rao (1909-1912), M. Visvesvaraya (1912-19), M. Kantha Raje Urs (1919-22), Sir Albion Banerjee (1922-26), Sir Mirza Ismail (1926-41), Incharge Diwan Sir M.N. Krishna Rao, N. Madhava Rao (1941-46), and Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar (1946-47).
The famous litterateur and journalist, D.V. Gundappa, classifies diwans into two categories - the statesman and the administrator. Among the statesmen, he names four - C. Rangacharlu, Sir Seshadri Iyer, Sir M.Visvesvaraya, and Sir Mirza Ismail.
Diwan Rangacharlu was the first to constitute a people's representative committee to ventilate the common man's views on the functioning of the Government. This was at a time when monarchy or autocracy was the rule of the day. He set up Whitefield as a colony for Anglo Indians. The Bangalore-Mysore railway line was completed and work was also started on the Bangalore-Tiptur line.
The state remembers Seshadri Iyer for the first ever hydro-electric generating unit in India at Shivasamudra (1900), for reforms in administration, for the commencement of Kolar Gold Fields, and for the extension of railway line by over 170 miles. Bangalore remembers him for the new extensions of Basavanagudi and Malleswaram (1898), the Glass House in Lalbagh (1889), Victoria Hospital (1900), Hesaraghatta Water Supply Scheme (1896), and the initial encouragement to set up the Indian Institute of Science (1911). Seshadripuram, Seshadri Road, Seshadri Memorial Library, and his statue in the Cubbon Park remind Bangaloreans of this statesman's valuable contribution. A diwan, who came later, deserves credit for the State becoming "Modern Mysore". This was an achievement we owe to the forethought and untiring efforts of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The Mechanical Engineering School (1913), Agricultural School (1913), Hebbal Agricultural Training School (1912), Mysore University (1916), and Kannada Sahitya Parishat (1915) owe a great deal to this statesman. Among the industrial units started by him, the major were Bhadravati Iron & Steel, Sandal Oil and Soap Factories (1916), and Tata Silk Farm Laboratory (1913). Krishnaraja Sagar Dam on Cauvery and its canals brought a great deal of prosperity to the farmers and the State. He was also responsible for the beautification of Bangalore. A disciplined life, sincerity of purpose, and practical imagination were the hallmarks of this exceptional statesman.
Sir Mirza Ismail had the vision to take up useful projects. Tippagondanahalli water supply for Bangalore, the Mandya Sugar Factory, ITL, the Porcelain Factory, Hindustan Aircraft, city improvement works such as Silver Jubilee Park, Kalasipalyam Bus Stand, and beautification of circles are some of his several contributions to the City. He was a diwan at a difficult period of time - when the Independence Movement was gathering strength and winds of change were blowing over the country. Many were the troublesome situations such as the Binny Mill strike (1926), the Ganapathi disturbance in Sultanpet (1928), and Nariman episode (1937), which arose during his period. Sir Mirza enhanced the prestige of the office he held and rendered yeoman service to the state. More details about the Diwans can be seen in the author's forthcoming book in Kannada,Bengaloorina Notagalu.
It was the plague of 1898, a calamity for the people that brought a new opportunity for Bangalore city. Many areas were decongested, roads widened, and sanitation improved. Hotels made their appearance and many new industrial units came to be established and people got more employment opportunities.
While the commissioner's rule established the framework of good administration, it was the enlightened diwans' rule, which really ushered in modernisation and progress. New residential extensions, water supply schemes, electricity, technical education, new factories and mills, the growth of railways, road transport vehicles, telegraph... every one of them was a key factor in building up of "Modern Mysore" and its uncrowned capital, Bangalore city.
(Readers may send their comments and suggestions to the author. He can be contacted on 6520122 or on e-mail: kcmvcm@rediffmail.com).
K. CHANDRAMOULI
(Thursday, Aug 15, 2002 edition)
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/08/15/stories/2002081500220200.htm
Luminaries who presided over the High Court
BANGALORE: Cyriac Joseph, who was administered the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court here on January 7, is the first member of the Christian community after Independence to adorn the office. However, contrary to public perception, he is not the first Christian to hold the office as there have been many members of the community who have held the office — some of them as the Chief Judge of the Mysore Chief Court and others when the court was known as the Mysore High Court.
In fact, the last Christian and the last British judge of the then High Court of Mysore to become its Chief Justice was Sir D'Arcy Reilly. He had a long tenure in the High Court and was judge from 1934 and 1943. Incidentally, the first Indian Christian who became the Chief Justice of what was known as the Mysore Chief Court was Sir Thumboo Chetty. This was in the late 1890s. Sir Chetty was an expert on the Hindu law.
Some of the other Christians who headed the High Court (all before Independence) were D.G. Plumer and his son R.B. Plumer, J.W. Best, E.W. Staley, Jones, Sir Stanley Ismay, E.W. Wallace and Sir Leslie Miller. Sir Miller headed the first commission for backward classes.
Till the 1930s, the High Court was called the Mysore Chief Court and it was headed by a Chief Judge. The Court of the Chief Judge, Mysore, was set up in 1880 along with three other courts — the court of district judges, the Bangalore Court of Small Causes and subordinate and munsiff courts. The Bangalore Small Causes Court was abolished in 1881.
In 1884, the Chief Court of Mysore was reconstituted with three judges and it was designated as the highest court of appeal, reference and revision in the State.
Renaming
It was only in 1930 the court was renamed as the High Court of Mysore and the Chief Judge was renamed as the Chief Justice. During the Independence era, the High Court was headed by Paramashivaiah.
In 1973, the Mysore High Court was renamed as the Karnataka High Court. This is one of the few High Courts to have been renamed after the State of its jurisdiction was renamed. Other High Courts such as the Madras High Court, the Bombay High Court and the Calcutta High Court still continue to use the same name under which they were constituted.
Built by the British, the building now housing the High Court was known as the Attara Kutcheri. It was here (in the hall of the Advocates Association facing the Vidhana Soudha) that meetings during the pre-Independence era of the erstwhile Mysore Assembly were held.
The building housed several departments of the Government and, hence, the name Attara Kutcheri. Later, the High Court began functioning from the building.
(Friday, Jan 13, 2006 edition)