Perunthalaivar Prof. M.C. Rajah's Speech At The Domestic Servants Conference (1920).

Prof. M. C. Rajah's Speech in 1920

What a coincidence ..! Yesterday, I was planning to share a brief article about 'Perunthalaivar Prof. M. C. Rajah and United Punjab (India and Pakistan)'. But I was not able to do it. While reading today's The Hindu, I found that Prof. M. C. Rajah's speech has published on page 7 under 'A Hundred Years Ago April 28, 1920'.

// As regards the representation in the Legislative Council, though the Joint Parliamentary Committee had recommended six seats for us, you do not know what amount of difficulty I had in getting five seats reserved for us. //

Domestic Servants Conference:

A Conference of the Madras Domestic Servants of the European Employers was held. The Hon’ble Mr. M. C. Rajah in the course of his presidential address said: “Our demands are elementary. We have to plead hard for the most elementary rights of citizenship. We have often to ask that we may be treated as human beings. It is only the Christian missionaries among the European Employers that treat us at all sympathetically but with others our aspirations meet but with little sympathy. In the Legislative Council, I have often been reminded that my interpellations and resolutions relate to trifling matters. They may be trifling and insignificant to those engaged in the game of transcendental politics. They may not be so romantic as big political proposals. But “the toad beneath the harrow knows exactly where each tooth-point goes.” The Government seems to be under the impression that by appointing a few men of our community to the councils of the land, they have done their duty to our community. I am often told that my being on the Legislative Council is propositive of the interest the Government takes in our community. As regards the representation in the Legislative Council, though the Joint Parliamentary Committee had recommended six seats for us, you do not know what amount of difficulty I had in getting five seats reserved for us. I desire that we should be treated as office-servants and not as despicable slaves.