Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty - Madras Native Association

Madras Native Association

Lakshminarasu established Madras Native Association as a platform for educated Indians to protest against any injustice on the part of the British. It was the first Indian political organization in the Madras Presidency. Lakshminarasu, the founder, served as its first President. Initially, his plans had been to establish a branch of the British Indian Association in Madras but later, he decided in favor of a separate organization. P. Somasundaram Chettiar, a close associate of Lakshminarasu, served as the Secretary of the organization. The organization frequently locked horns with Christian missionaries.

In 1852, the Madras Native Association presented a detailed list of grievances to the British Parliament. It was read out at the House of Lords on February 25, 1853 by the Earl of Ellenborough along with a petition from the inhabitants of Manchester that a minister and council for India be appointed and that they be made responsible directly to the British monarch. Lakshminarasu Chetty followed it up with another petition in 1855. This petition signed by over 14,000 beseached the British Crown to take the administration of India directly under its control. These petitions resulted in the curtailment of the powers of the British East India Company eventually culminating in the transfer of sovereignty over India to the British Crown.

As President of the Madras Native Association, Chetty also petitioned the Government of the United Kingdom praying for religious neutrality and tolerance. The organization did not fare well and gradually, faded from the limelight.