Many of the present generation may have no knowledge of this person. He lived, fought and died in the cause of freedom. When he died 50 years ago, India was under British bondage, its patriots were in jail and the prospects of freedom were non-existent.
He was an orator par excellence. His quick repartee was admired by his opponents in the then Imperial Legislative Assembly. He came prepared for the legislative debates and when he raised supplementaries he was nicknamed supplementary Murti–the treasury benches had no answer.
His sarcasm was memorable. Those were days of dyarchy when the British handed over innocuous portfolios to the Indians who were loyal to them, with the Governor having the veto. There was a trinity of such Indian leaders — the Raja of Panagal, A.P. Patro and Sivagnanam Piilai.
Panagal had formed the Cabinet, Patro had joined it and a questioner asked Satyamurti at a public meeting whether Pillai would also join. Quick came the reply in biting allegory.
It was Satyamurti who made the Congress popular in Madras presidency which then comprised besides the present Tamilnadu parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. Night and day he was busy with a whirlwind tour of every village and hamlet in the presidency.
Comparisons may be odious but are sometimes relevant. The other big gun in Tamilnadu of those days was Rajaji: while Rajaji never got into the legislature by straight election. Satyamurti earned his seat at the polls. There was always a personality conflict between them.
Satyamurti believed in fighting the British through getting elected to the legislature. None was happier than he when the Congress accepted office under the system of provincial autonomy. In the elections that brought the Congress to power Satyamurti’s contribution was the largest.
But Gandhiji, despite all his saintliness had his partiality for Rajaji. Satyamurti could not get a foothold in the government. That rankled in the hearts of many like this writer who could not overcome the feeling that recognition seemed to hinge on marital relationship with the Gandhis.
Kamaraj could never forget this. That explains in part his antipathy towards Rajaji. But in politics, ethics even democratic ethics did not have relevance even in the heydays of Gandhiji. Instead there was a lot of character assassination of Satyamurti.
Satyamurti will be remembered not only for his debating skills but for originating the reservoir in Madras named after him as Satyamurtisagaram. In the few months of his office as Mayor of Madras, he pushed through reforms which could not be carried to their destination because the Congress went out of power at Gandhijis behest.
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