Tamil Nadu Timeline

ProtestNational and Dravidian movements

Neill Statue Satyagraha

· Anna Salai

Neill Statue Satyagraha
TuckDB, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Nationalists in Madras campaigned for the removal of the statue of Colonel James Neill from Mount Road.

Colonel James Neill had played a major role in suppressing the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and his statue stood on Mount Road in Madras. In 1927 the Madras Mahajana Sabha and the provincial Congress committee demanded its removal and began demonstrations. Volunteers from across the Presidency, led by S. N. Somayajulu of Tirunelveli, took part and several were sent to prison. The statue was finally moved to the Madras Museum in 1937 by the Congress government of C. Rajagopalachari.

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