A Parliamentarian Before and After Independence, M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar Left His Mark

The Wire

23-06-2025

A scholar of distinction, seasoned lawyer, freedom fighter and skilful parliamentarian, Madabhooshi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly in the year 1934 and unanimously elected first as Deputy Speaker of the First Lok Sabha and the Speaker twice in 1956 and 1957.
Ayyangar was born on February 4, 1891 at Tiruchanur near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh in an orthodox Vaishnava Brahmin family. His father, Venkata Varadacharya, was a Sanskrit scholar and the family, though poor, was respected for its scholarly traditions.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.
Having completed his initial education in the Devasthanam High School, Tirupati, Ayyangar got his BA degree from the Pachaiyappa's College, Madras. He then obtained his law degree from Madras Law College in 1913. He married Choodamnlal in 1919.
He had to suspend his legal practice for about a year during 1921-22 due to his participation in the national movement, after which he joined the bar again at the Madras high court. Ayyangar did not treat the profession only as a means to earn his livelihood. He was also deeply interested in the building judicial system of the country to suit the needs and aspirations of the masses.
He strongly advocated for independence of the judiciary and urged the government to raise the status of the Federal Court to that of a Supreme Court. He was very concerned about the humiliation as also the hardships faced by masses due to the vesting of ultimate authority of the judicial system in the hands of the Privy Council in England. His concern in this area is clearly evident in the following statement made by him on December 11, 1947 in the Constituent Assembly:
'I hope very soon we will have a Supreme Court established in this country and do away with the Privy Council. We ought not to be satisfied with this and prolong the agony of going to a foreign court. They may not understand many cases where religious matters are involved and what the kind of mart is put on an idol. Muslim Waqf cases go there. They do not know any of our cases. They want to hold supreme authority over us, and it is for that reason that, though the Judges there may be impartial, they do not feel one with the Community here.'
As a freedom fighter
Ayyangar started taking active part in the activities of the Indian National Congress which was spearheading the national movement for the liberation of the country from the clutches of British colonialism. He took part in the non-cooperation movement of 1921-22.
Ayyangar enlisted himself in the individual satyagraha campaign started by M.K. Gandhi in 1940 and was immediately jailed for eight months. Later he joined the "Quit India" agitation launched in August 1942 and suffered imprisonment till December 4, 1944.
Apart from taking active part in the fight for liberation of the country, Ayyangar was also a staunch follower of Gandhi's constructive programme for fighting social evils like untouchability which were prevalent at that time and were destroying our social fabric. He always advocated the upliftment of Dalits, particularly their right to temple entry.
As a parliamentarian
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Ayyangar's career as a parliamentarian started long before independence when he took a seat in the Central Legislative Assembly in the year 1934. Ayyangar was elected to the House with an overwhelming majority.
He took his seat along with stalwarts like Govind Ballabh Pant, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Bhulabhai Desai and Satyamurti, whose objective was to fight the government from within.
He proved to be one of its indefatigable members with a vast treasure of knowledge and experience. Apart from his ability and popularity, Ayyangar possessed an abundant fund of humour which stood him in very good stead and helped challenge the heated atmosphere of the House from time to time into something bracing and tolerable. As a dedicated parliamentarian, he always took keen interest in the business of the House.
In recognition of his long parliamentary experience, Ayyangar was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker in 1948. His unopposed election on May 30, 1952 as the Deputy Speaker of the First Lok Sabha was a signal tribute to his ability and popularity. While thanking the members for electing him, Ayyangar said:
'Whatever the position may be, I still feel that it is not the position that makes it so important as the unanimous verdict of the House, the confidence of my Leader whose opinion I value very much, yourself Sir (Speaker) and the Members of the House. young and old repose in me. I hope that that confidence that they have reposed in me will make me strong and healthy and I shall try to do whatever work I am asked to do. The Deputy Speaker's position is somewhat difficult and delicate.'
After the demise of P.G. Mavalankar, Ayyangar was elected Speaker of Lok Sabha on March 8, 1956 and again in May 1957 when the Second Lok Sabha met after the general elections.
As Speaker, Ayyangar was quite aware of the heavy responsibility that a presiding officer had to shoulder. As he said:
"Under a dictatorship or an absolute monarchy there can be no guarantee of life or liberty to the citizens. The goodness of the dictator is the only guarantee. A democracy may also degenerate into a communal or linguistic dictatorship and begin to show favours to the members of its own community and oppress the minorities.Such tendencies have to be checked ruthlessly. The only person in such circumstances that can safeguard the interest of the minorities and prevent oppression is the Presiding Officer."
In 1952 Ayyangar attended the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference at Ottawa as a delegate. He led the Parliamentary delegations to China in 1956 and to the East European countries (Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland) in 1959.
In December 1957, Ayyangar resigned from the membership of the Congress Parliamentary Party. In the 1962 general elections, he was again elected to the Lok Sabha but resigned its membership on his appointment as Governor of Bihar in the same year. After his tenure as governor, Ayyanagar retired from politics and moved back to Tirupati. He passed away on March 19, 1978 at the age of 87.
Qurban Ali is a trilingual journalist who has covered some of modern India's major political, social and economic developments. He has a keen interest in India's freedom struggle and is now documenting the history of the socialist movement in the country.