Civil Rights

The Crescent, first Indian-owned newspaper in Madras

The Crescent, launched by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty, was the Madras Presidency's first newspaper under Indian ownership.

Madras Native Association founded

One of India's earliest Indian political bodies, the Madras Native Association, was set up by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty.

Madras Native Association petition read in the House of Lords

The Earl of Ellenborough read the Madras Native Association's catalogue of grievances in the House of Lords.

Death of the young satyagrahi Thillaiyadi Valliammai

Valliammai, a 16-year-old daughter of Tamil immigrants from Thillaiyadi, died after imprisonment in Gandhi's South African satyagraha.

Women's Indian Association founded at Adyar

Margaret Cousins, Annie Besant, Dorothy Jinarajadasa and others founded the Women's Indian Association at Adyar to campaign for women's rights.

Annie Besant interned

The Madras government interned Annie Besant at a hill station for her Home Rule activities, provoking protests across India.

Perungamanallur police firing

Police fired on Piramalai Kallar villagers at Perungamanallur near Madurai who resisted registration under the Criminal Tribes Act.

Madras grants voting rights to women

The Madras Legislative Council resolved to extend the franchise to women, among the first provinces in British India to do so.

Vaikom Satyagraha

A satyagraha in Travancore demanded that people of oppressed castes be allowed to use the roads around the Vaikom temple; E. V. Ramasamy took part.

V. S. Srinivasa Sastri becomes India's Agent in South Africa

The Union of South Africa received its first Agent from India: V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, a Liberal leader from Madras.

Rettamalai Srinivasan at the Round Table Conference

Dalit leader Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the depressed classes alongside B. R. Ambedkar at the Round Table Conferences in London.

Abhiramam convention against the Criminal Tribes Act

Muthuramalinga Thevar organised a convention at Abhiramam demanding repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act.

Ceylon Citizenship Act leaves Indian Tamils stateless

Passed soon after Ceylon became independent, a citizenship law shut out most Indian Tamil plantation workers, descendants of migrants from the Madras Presidency.

Sirima-Gandhi Pact on stateless persons of Indian origin

India and Sri Lanka agreed on the future of the 150,000 persons of Indian origin whose status had been left open by the 1964 Sirima-Shastri Pact.

National Emergency declared

Indira Gandhi's government declared a national Emergency; the DMK government in Tamil Nadu opposed it.

DMK workers jailed under MISA during the Emergency

After the DMK government's dismissal, many party workers including M. K. Stalin were jailed in Madras Central Prison under MISA.

Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam founded

The Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) was formed as a mass organisation to defend the rights of Muslims in the state.

Vaiko arrested under POTA

MDMK leader Vaiko was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for a speech supporting the LTTE and spent over a year and a half in jail.

Tamil Nadu anti-conversion law

The AIADMK government introduced a law against forcible religious conversion, which was withdrawn after the 2004 Lok Sabha election and formally repealed in 2006.

Transgender Welfare Board, first in India

Tamil Nadu set up India's first welfare board for transgender persons under the Social Welfare department.

Pension scheme for destitute transgender persons

Jayalalithaa announced a monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 for transgender persons above 40 living in poverty.