Sir Ramasamy Chetty Kandasamy Shanmukham Chetty KCIE (17 October 1892 – 5 May 1953) was an Indian lawyer, economist and politician who served as first Finance Minister of India from 1947 to 1948. He also served as President of India's

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 1933 to 1935 and Diwan of

Cochin kingdom The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy ...

from 1935 to 1941. Shanmukham Chetty was born in Coimbatore in 1892 and studied at Madras Christian College and

Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in ...

. On completion of his education, Shanmukham Chetty joined politics and served both in the Indian nationalist Swaraj Party as well as the Justice Party. Shanmukham Chetty was elected to the

of India and served as its Deputy President from 1931 to 1935. After losing the 1935 elections, Chetty returned to South India where he served as Diwan of Cochin kingdom from 1935 to 1941. On India's independence in 1947,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, the first Prime Minister of India controversially chose Chetty as his Finance Minister despite the latter's well known pro-British leanings. Shanmukham Chetty died on 3 March 1953. During his public life, Chetty also identified with a number of social causes. He was a strong supporter of the ''Tamil Isai Movement''. Shanmukham Chetty was the Finance Minister of India when the country's first budget was tabled in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

on 26 November 1947.

Early life

Shanmukham Chetty was born to Kandasamy Chetty in Vaaniar Street, Coimbatore on 17 October 1892. Shanmukham Chetty's grandfather Ramasami Chetty had migrated to Coimbatore in the middle of the 19th century. The family was involved in business and owned a number of mills in Coimbatore city. Shanmukham Chetty had his schooling at Coimbatore. He studied economics at Madras Christian College and graduated in law from

. On completion of his graduation, Shanmukham Chetty did not join the bar. Instead, he took care of the family business and after some time, entered politics.

Early political career

Shanmukham Chetty joined the Justice Party and became a Councillor in the Coimbatore municipality in 1917. Soon afterwards, he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Coimbatore Municipality.

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

, p. 122 Chetty is credited with having brought about some reforms in the municipal administration. In 1920, Shanmukham Chetty participated in the Madras Presidency legislative council elections and was elected to the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was init ...

. He served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council from 1920 to 1922, when he resigned. He joined the Swaraj Party and was, in 1924, elected to the

, the newly inaugurated lower house of the

Imperial Legislative Council of India The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

. Chetty represented Indian employers at the International Labour Conference in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1928, 1929 and 1932. He was the Indian delegate at the Imperial Economic Conference held at Ottawa in 1932. In 1932, Shanmukhan Chetty was made Deputy-President of the Central Legislative Assembly and in 1934, made President, in succession to Sir Ibrahim Rahimtoola. Shanmukham Chetty served as President till 1935, when he had to quit his membership of the Central legislative Assembly after losing the 1935 elections. During his tenure as member of the Central Legislative Assembly, Chetty is believed to have enjoyed the support of Lord Willingdom, who once even referred to Shanmugham Chetty as his "god-son".

, p. 123

Later political career

Chetty served as Diwan of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

from 1935 to 1941. During his tenure, new reforms were brought in the administration of the princely state. Chetty introduced schemes for the improvement of

port. He also tried to do away with Hindu religious superstitions and introduce

Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the ' ...

's schemes. Chetty returned to Madras in 1941 and was succeeded by E. F. W. Dickinson. In 1938, Chetty visited

as the Indian delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. He was also India's delegate to the World Monetary Conference at

Bretton Woods Bretton Woods can refer to: *Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a village in the United States **Bretton Woods Mountain Resort, a ski resort located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire *The 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, also known as the "United Nations Mo ...

in 1944.

, p. 124 During this period, Shanmukham Chetty tried to revive the staggering Justice Party but failed. For a short period, he served as constitutional advisor to the Nawab of Bhopal. He also served as President of the Indian Tariff Board. Due to his pro-British views, Shanmukham Chetty was not included in the Constituent Assembly. When India got independence on 15 August 1947, he is reported to have said Due to his expertise in economics, Shanmukham Chetty was chosen by the Father of the Nation, Mahathma Gandhi, against the wishes of Jawaharlal Nehru, to be the Finance Minister in independent India's first cabinet. However, due to conflict of views with Nehru, Chetty quit after a short time. Shanmukham Chetty is, today, remembered for presenting the first budget of independent India on 26 November 1947. Chetty returned to state politics and was re-elected to the Madras State Legislative Assembly in the 1952 elections as an independent candidate.

Constituent Assembly Debates

In the Constituent Assembly
Chetty
he intervened on the issues of fiscal federalism. The Parliament House will join with me in conveying our condolence to his family. The House may stand in silence for a minute and express its sorrow.https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/55530/1/lsd_01_03_06-05-1953.pdf Page no. 31

Death

Shanmukham Chetty suffered a severe heart attack on 3 May 1953. He succumbed to a second attack on the evening of 5 May 1953.

Honours

Chetty was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

on 3 June 1933. He was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the Annamalai University. A life-size bronze statue of Dr. Chetty was unveiled on the campus of R. K. Sreerangammal Kalvi Nilayam Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore on 6 July 2014.

Notes

References

* *