On March 24, 1931, some fiery speeches were made at the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi against the British government for executing freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru at the Lahore jail the previous night. Veteran lawyer T. Rangachariar, the leader of the Nationalist Party, said in his speech: “It is with feelings of profound sorrow and deep indignation that I rise to make a statement. We view with grief and resentment the action of the Government in having carried out last night the sentence of death passed on Bhagat Singh and two others. The Government have by this disregard for public opinion invited and is inviting serious trouble to themselves and the country. The peaceful atmosphere which is so essential now is seriously jeopardised. We resent this most strongly and we are in great grief. We shall not be able to take part in today’s proceedings.” (The Hindu dated March 24, 1931).
Apprenticeship under Wedderburn
A multi-faceted personality, who shined as a legal luminary, independence activist, policy-maker and philanthropist, Diwan Bahadur Rangachariar was born on November 27, 1865, at Ombalapadi near Papanasam in Thanjavur district. He was educated at Native High School at Kumbakonam, Pachaiyappa’s High School at Chidambaram, and S.P.G College at Tiruchi. He married Kanakavalli alias Ponnamal. After a brief stint as a teacher, Rangachariar studied law at Madras Law College and graduated in 1890. The next year, he joined the Madras Bar Council and apprenticed under H.G. Wedderburn, who was then the Advocate-General. He later set up independent practice in 1896 and conducted numerous criminal and civil cases, including the defence of G. Subramaniya Iyer and V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, during the freedom movement. Rangachariar did not confine himself to the practice of law. He was an active member of Madras Mahajana Sabha and later served as an elected member of the Corporation of Madras for nearly 14 years. He then became a member of the Imperial Legislative Council of India, sitting for Madras.
