A Memorial To The Sovereign Of Travancore

  • Published on January 22, 1908
  • By Staff Reporter
  • 707 Views
This article / write-up appeared in Svadesabhimani. Svadesabhimani.com has not made any changes.

It should be admitted that there are,  often occurring, in this world, instances of what is understood to be ingratitude, though they do not receive universal notice,  almost always excused on the ground, inter alia, of the irresponsible and unnote -worthy position, in every respect , of those from whom such things generally emanate ; but, in this 'Land of Charity', one has, every now and then, to brook, not only thanklessness even of an extreme kind, but also certain other qualities and acts, which it is too unsavoury to describe or specify, and which proceed from political luminaries or the cynosural order . Indeed, the State is overpowered by favouritism - a fact , on account where of the many undesirable ways of doing things have become the order of the day -a reason why any thing and every thing should be unavoidable borne. Enough of allowance being made for all that, there remains yet, a considerable amount of pure despotism and lunacy perpetrated merely for the purpose, it seems, of sportive cruelty, if not anything worse. These and other annotations even more scandalous have to be legitimately shouldered on the authors of such tyrannies as the one, on the subject of which is the memorial, in English, submitted to,  and pending with.  His Highness the Maharajah of Travancore, the full text of which has been published in the Svadeshabhimani of the 5th Makaram 1085, besides the Malayalam abstract of the case that appeared in the same on the third of Dhanu previous. That nothing but monstrosity has been meted out to Madhavan Pillay is prima facie clear to the sober mind , and does not need argument. If the poor Compounder had fallen a victim to the  persecutions of some of the favourites ,as has been the case of Mr.Narayana Kurukal B.A , Assistant Inspector of Schools, then, that much of consolation to the memorialist and excuse to the bureaucracy could have been a justification to put down the grievance as irremediable. Had the petitioner been found disqualified, during his three years' service in the eye of the Chief Engineer, the Durbar Physician or the Dewan , by any thing to be said of , then , that could have been reckoned to be the cause of this evil fate. But, the gigantic ungodliness that has entailed the clamour under reference has not even a remote show of connection with any such thing. 

When in obedience to 'Government' orders through the Durbar Physician , to the Chief Engineer, the Compounder presented himself , on relief after three years' service from the Pechipara Dispensary , before the Durbar Physician, for duty as a Sircar servant under transfer in the usual course, the Medical Boss behaved as if he had just then been dropped from heaven above into Durbar Physicianship on earth below, where he met a lay man from school applying for a Compounder's place on the authority of an ......... irrelevant and under-measure claim which could  not fetch him the appointment , and should not have been contracted by him; which,  if left without being then  and there killed, would cause the development and eruption of volcanoes ; and which he felt  called upon to ............... in conjunction with the Dewan, whose aid was immediately sought. The Dewan ............ .his hand , and the destruction deemed needed not carried out. This  conduct on the part of the Durbar Physician and the Dewan stands aggravated by the fact that at least a shabby apology for a reason has not been assigned , by any of the two , for their action in vetoing G.No.5282. to the man whom they have forced to welcome the edge of their powerful hatchet. Nay more, the highest officer in the State has, in pursuing the line chalked out by the Durbar Physician , declined to hear Madhavan Pillay, to the shocking surprise of the world . If this be the policy inaugurated and intended to be followed for ever by Dewan Raja Gopalachari, what will be the condition of things half a decade hence in this State which per se is already bad as bad can be ? There are, of course , in the public service . officers who are simply machines worked by their subordinates as if their energy and brains to look into and study things were white elephants. Even they , in whose list the world do not include Mr.Raja Gopalachari, do not act as mere instruments used by others in cases of outrageously glaring injustice , especially when such inequity does not fetch any of those illegal advantages for which alone is unrighteousness  resorted to by seekers of unlawful gain. Is this the reward of self -sacrificing public service in this "Model State" , where " Charity" is Household   Divinity? If the Kodayar  Dam had not been completed would not Madavan Pillay have still been a darling billeted by the Durbar Physician and the Dewan ? "Danger passed, God forgotten" is the policy which serves to distinguish the lower orders from gentlemen , but which , all can see , has been ceremoniously adopted by well established administrative pilots not other than the Durbar Physician Lt.Col. R.James L M S. and the Dewan Bahadur. Has the Chief Engineer done anything  in the matter by way of rectifying the mistake, which has been committed and into which the Dewan has been thrown by the Durbar Physician? Is there any justification on the part of the Dewan in declining to hear Madhavan Pillay? Has the Dewan an assurance, to hold out into the world, that he invalidated G. No. 5282 after a correct and full study of the case without allowing himself to be led into blunder by the Durbar Physician ? What are the circumstances under which a Government may be justified in withdrawing a sanction once accorded ? How many of them, and what, if any have necessitated the cancelment  in this particular case ? Is Dewan Raja Gopalachari ready to undo the past doings of the Government or at least  the recent ones if he convinced of their illegality ? If that be the case , let him veto the cancelment of G.No.5282 seeing that it has been a mistake unfortunately committed on account of being misled by the Durbar Physician, it being understood that, if he has not already been convinced, he shall be convinced provided he has the patience and discrimination and love of Justice to hear both sides and analyse into the matter, ' Let the dead past bury its dead' . It is hoped that his Highness and Maha Raja  would give the memorial that consideration it deserves.

The petitioner has submitted a copy of his memorial addressed to his Highness the Maharajah to the Dewan introducing himself to the latter in the  following terms :- " With reference to Your Excellency's kind endorsement No.G.8029 dated 17th December 1907  the undersigned begs most respectfully to approach Your Excellency inconsolably lamenting over Your Excellency's endorsement and crying again and again that, to his misfortune, Your Excellency does not happen to have realised the petitioner's remediable misery, presumably because his history in full might not have been made known to Your Excellency . He therefore begs to throw himself for protection  on Your Excellency's condescension to read the following statement of his case , the petitioner feeling sure  that Your Excellency's kind perusal of it would fetch him, at your Excellency's hands, the protection he craves for ".  In concluding his representation to the Dewan, the Compounder says  that he legs to " throw himself for mercy on Your Excellency's generosity and justice, and crave for protection." Nobody fails to think that the subject will now be treated in the light of that all-round correctness which, as believed by all, is characteristic of Mr. Rajagopalachari.


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