George Joseph (5 June 1887 – 5 March 1938) was a lawyer and

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

. One of the earliest and among the most prominent Syrian Christians from Kerala to join the freedom struggle, Joseph's working life in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

and is remembered for his role in the Home Rule agitation and the

Vaikom Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...

and for his editorship of Motilal Nehru's ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' and Mahatma Gandhi's ''

Young India ''Young India'' was a weekly paper or journal in English founded by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1916 and later published by Mahatma Gandhi. Through this work, Mahatma Gandhi desired to popularise India's demand of self-government or Swaraj. It was publ ...

''.

Early life and education

George Joseph was born the eldest child of CI Joseph at Chengannur, a town in the

Travancore State The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

and now a part of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. His younger brother, Pothan Joseph, became a famous journalist and editor of several newspapers. George studied at the Madras Christian College and did M.A. in philosophy at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

before doing law at the Middle Temple, London in 1908. During his time in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

he came into contact with many prominent

Indian freedom fighters The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

there. Having completed his studies, he returned to India in January 1909.

Role in the freedom struggle

On Joseph's return from London, he initially set up practice at Madras before shifting to Madurai. He hosted at his house in Madurai several leaders of the freedom struggle including Gandhi,

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

, Srinivasa Iyengar and

K. Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

during their visits there. Subramania Bharati composed the ''Viduthalai'', a well known patriotic song while staying at Joseph's residence.

Home Rule and Non Cooperation Movements

In 1917, aged 29, Joseph was invited by Annie Besant to go to England along with her, Syed Hussain and BV Narasimhan to talk about

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

there. The British however foiled this bid, arresting them when the ship Besant had chartered reached

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, Subsequently, deporting them back to India. When

P. Varadarajulu Naidu Perumal Varadarajulu Naidu (4 June 1887 – 23 July 1957) was an Indian physician, politician, journalist and Indian independence activist. He was also the founder of The Indian Express, a major English-language daily, in 1932 in Madras. He was ...

was arrested for making a speech at the Victoria Edward Hall, George Joseph assisted C. Rajagopalachari who appeared for Naidu in the case. Joseph was the leader of the Rowlatt Satyagraha in Madurai, organising meetings, fasts and hartals during the satyagraha and during the

Non-Cooperation Movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

he relinquished his lucrative legal practice and joined the movement.

Trade unionist and editor

Joseph played an important role in setting up the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

movement in Madurai to organise the textile mill workers there. The union's initial struggles resulted in higher wages and reduced work hours for the mill workers but soon the mill owners and the government came together to bring about a collapse of the union. Joseph edited the Nehrus' Allahabad based newspaper ''

'' during 1920-21 until his arrest on charges of sedition and the subsequent closure of the paper. He also succeeded Rajagopalachari to the editorship of Gandhi's ''Young India'' in 1923.

Vaikom Satyagraha

Joseph was an eager participant in the

that sought to achieve the right to temple entry for the

Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

. According to C. F. Andrews, the plan for a non violent agitation was arrived upon by Joseph when he visited Gandhi who was convalescing in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. Joseph and other Congressmen led the Dalits in walking through the

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

quarter of the town where they were met with violence. The police immediately arrested Joseph and his accomplices who were sentenced to varying terms in prison. Joseph viewed the struggle at

Vaikom Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The town is also noted for its role in the Indian independence movement for being the venue of Vaikom ...

an issue of civil rights for all Indian citizens but this was in contrast to the views of most Congressmen who saw it as purely an issue between high and low caste

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and to be settled by the Hindus themselves. Gandhi himself did not encourage Joseph's participation in the satyagraha. Disillusioned by Gandhi's lack of support and the attitude of the Congress Party, Joseph left the Congress Party to join the Justice Party. He however rejoined the Congress in 1935.

Rosapoo Durai

Joseph led Congressmen of Madurai in the agitation against the Simon Commission. In this he was supported by K Kamaraj and the duo mobilised thousands of volunteers at the Tirumalai Nayak Mahal to demonstrate against the Commission when it visited Madurai in 1929. Later, when Kamaraj was implicated in Virudhunagar Conspiracy Case in 1933, Joseph and Varadarajulu Naidu argued on his behalf and succeeded in exonerating him of all charges. He also agitated against the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), an act that criminalised and negatively affected communities like the

Piramalai kallar Piramalai Kallars is a sub caste of the Kallars and thus are part of the Mukkulathor community that also includes the Maravar and Agamudayar castes.They belong to Most backward class/Denotified class in Tamil nadu. History Copper plate insc ...

and Maravars. He fought for them in the courts and wrote extensively in the newspapers against the act and came to be called ''Rosapoo Durai'' by the grateful Kallars who continue to pay homage to him on his death anniversary.

Parliamentary career

In 1929 Joseph contested the municipal elections in Madurai on a Congress ticket but lost. In July 1937, he was elected to the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometim ...

from Madura-cum-Ramnad-Tirunelveli constituency.

Death and commemoration

Following a prolonged period of illness, Joseph died at the

American Mission Hospital The American Mission Hospital is a 120 year old private not-for-profit hospital located in Manama, Bahrain. Established in 1903, as the Mason Memorial Hospital, it was the first modern hospital in the country and, possibly, along the entire Sout ...

in Madurai on 5 March 1938. He was 50. He is buried at the East Gate Cemetery in Madurai. ''George Joseph: The Life and Times of a Christian Nationalist'' is his biography by his grandson George Gheverghese Joseph.

References

Other sources

External links

Family Website of George Joseph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, George 1887 births Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala 1938 deaths Indian editors Trade unionists from Kerala People from Alappuzha district Indian male journalists 20th-century Indian journalists Journalists from Kerala Gandhians 20th-century Indian educational theorists Christian nationalists