Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty (1806–1868) was an Indianmerchant and Indian independence and political activist who founded the Madras Native Association, one of the earliest Indian political associations, and the first Indian-owned newspaper in Madras, The Crescent. He was also the second Indian to be appointed a member of the Madras Legislative Council.
Gazulu Chetty was born in 1806 to a wealthy indigo merchant Sidhulu Chetty in Madras and was closely related to T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty and was a gajula balija chetty merchant. On completion of his initial education, Chetty entered the family trade and succeeded as a businessman. He entered politics and devoted money for social and philanthropic causes.
Early life
Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty was born in Periamet, Madras belong to balija chetty community . His father, Sidhulu Chetty, owned a large indigo, dye, and cloth business, and was the first Indian member of the Madras Chamber of Commerce.Due to the poor schooling facilities available in India at the time, Chetty had little formal education. However, even as a boy, Chetty was interested in politics and took part in Debating Societies.
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In 1844, Chetty founded a journal called Crescent as a voice to defend the traditional Hindu rights that were at stake due to the increasing proselytizing activities of the European missionaries. The Company, he said, despite following the policy of “religious neutrality” was serving the needs of the Christian missionaries. Besides exposing the unlawful conversion activities via his journal, Chetty went further ahead to form an Association that included not only the Hindu elite but also the willing masses. The Madras Mahajan Sabha, or the Madras Native Association that was founded under his leadership was among the earliest Associations to hold agitations complying with the western methods. Every meeting and memorial that was arranged by the association had permission from the Sheriff of Madras.In this way, Chetty was sure that his campaigns and causes would not be thwarted under any circumstances. His first agitation was against the Lexi Loci Draft Act which was framed by the Indian Law Commission in 1845. The Draft Act, coming as a sign that the Government was siding with the European missionaries despite the promises of religious neutrality, had clauses that invalidated crucial elements of the native Hindu and Mohammaden law with respect to their property rights. Chetty organized public gatherings to let the masses know of the invasive Act and sent a memorial to the Government of India demanding its removal. The Government was forced to remove the controversial clauses – the first of many victories that organized protests would see in Madras.