An
interesting Q asked on 11th Feb 1931 in UK – still relevant here too
.. Lord Erskine asked the Minister of Transport whether he
has now any evidence as to what percentage of motorists were not insured
against third-party risks prior to the coming into force of the Road Traffic
Act? The Minister Herbert Morrison
defensively answered in negative !!
Shri Banwarilal
Purohit is the 14th Governor of Tamil Nadu. Earlier he had served as
Governor of Assam; and had been a Member
of Parliament from the Nagpur (Lok Sabha constituency) three times .. .. ..
ever heard of a Governor – Lord Erskine.
Andrew Cogan
was the first agent of the English East India Company to rule Madras. He was
the chief of the Masulipatnam factory when Madras was purchased from Peda
Venkata Raya. Madras was elevated to a
Presidency in 1684 and remained so until 1785
when new rules and regulations brought by the Pitt's India Act. Elihu Yale took
charge on 8 August 1684 as the First President of Madras. In 1746, Dupleix's deputy, La Bordannais laid
siege to Madras and captured the city. For the next three years, Madras remained
under French Governors, until 1749, when Madras was handed to the British as
per the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappele.
George
Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney often
remembered for his observation following Britain's success in the Seven Years
War and subsequent territorial expansion at the Treaty of Paris that Britain
now controlled "a vast Empire, on which the sun never sets", was Governor
of the British West Indies and Grenada
before assuming office as Governor of Madras from 1781 to 1785. During his tenure as governor,
renovation and strengthening of the walls of Fort St. George was commenced
after the siege by Thomas Lally, and completed in 1783.
University of
Madras needs no introduction.
Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and premier universities in
India.
The first ever demand for
higher education in Madras Presidency was given in a public address to Lord
John Elphinstone, Governor of Madras, signed by 70,000 residents when the
Governor in Council was contemplating "some effective and liberal measures
for the establishment of an improved system of national education." The
University Board was constituted in
1840; and was a precursor of the present Presidency College, Chennai.
University of Madras, organized on the model of the University of London, was
incorporated on 5 September 1857 by an Act of the Legislative Council of
India. The university is spread over six
campuses, viz., Chepauk, Marina, Guindy, Taramani, Chetput and Maduravoyal. The
Chepauk campus of the university houses the VC's secretariat, central library,
centenary auditorium and the historic Senate House. The Senate House, the
University's first building, inaugurated in the year 1879, is a masterpiece of
Robert Fellowes Chisholm, an architect of the 19th century, who blended the
Indo-Saracenic style with Byzantine and European architectural features. The
university renovated the Senate House in 2006.
The Marina
Campus, a couple of decades ago was referred as the University Examination
hall. Now it houses the Oriental
Research Institute, that first began its
researches in Tamil in 1914. In 1927, a separate Tamil Department was
established in the Institute. It is a landmark building at Marina, on beach
Road nearer the eastern arch leading to Sri Parthasarathi Swami temple and is
in fact before the Thiruvallikkeni MRTS station. It has a plaque commemorating
the laying of foundation stone on 20th March 1935 by Lord Erskine, the then Governor
of Madras.
John Francis
Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine GCSI, GCIE (1895 – 1953) was a British soldier,
Conservative Party politician and administrator who served as Member of
Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare and Brighton. Erskine served as the Governor of Madras Presidency
from 1934 to 1940. John Erskine married Lady Marjorie Hervey, the elder
daughter of the 4th Marquess of Bristol, on 2 December 1919 and had four sons.
Erskine had
his education at Eton and Oxford University. On graduation, Erskine served in
the British army and rose to become a major before entering politics. With an interest in politics and an
allegiance to the Conservative Party, Erskine was appointed Assistant Private
Secretary to Viscount Long in 1920 and his political career continued
steadily. After the 1931 general
election, Erskine was named as an unpaid Assistant Government whip in Nov 1931
that effectively silenced Erskine in the
Chamber of the House of Commons due to the tradition that Whips do not make
speeches. Previously Erskine had been an effective and confident speaker who
had taken a close interest in the affairs of India (although he admitted never
to having visited it). He followed the 'Round Table Conferences' of the early
1930s closely. Erskine's public support for native rule in India counted
against him with Winston Churchill who had led the opposition to the Government
of India Act 1935.
In 1934,
Erskine succeeded George Frederick Stanley as the Governor of Madras Presidency
and served from 1934 to 1940. Erskine was a supporter of the Justice Party and
wanted the party to capture power in the Presidency during the 1937 elections.
However, to his disappointment, the Indian National Congress won by a huge
margin. Despite being the majority party in the Assembly and the Council, the
Congress refused to form the government. Their objections stemmed from the
special powers given to the Governor by the Government of India Act of 1935.
Erskine decided to form an interim provisional Government with non-members and
opposition members of the Legislative Assembly. Erskine formed the interim
Government with Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu of the Justice Party as premier on 1
April 1937.
It appears
that he strongly dangled in local politics trying to make his way. Erskine was
also a regular visitor to the Nilgiri Hills;
he gave Kothagiri town the sobriquet, "Princess among Hill
Stations”. When Congress Ministry
resigned in Oct 1939 over the outbreak of Second World War, Erskine declared an emergency and took over
the reins of the administration. Rajagopalachari and other ministers were
arrested as per Defence of India Act rules.
With no hope of continuing a political career, and finding that
representing the seat was very expensive, Erskine resigned his seat and went to
live in his house at Ickworth near Bury St Edmunds.
Active in voluntary work locally, Erskine was appointed President of the Navy League. A major operation in the early 1950s damaged his health, and he died in 1953 during the lifetime of his father.
1st July 2021
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