Pudukkottai Legislative Council was the legislative assembly which functioned in the princely state of Pudukkottai from 1924 to 1948. Made up of 50 members, 15 of whom were nominated, the assembly discussed issues of importance to the state and passed resolutions on them. The legislative council was eventually disbanded in 1948 when the state was annexed to the Dominion of India and became a part of Tiruchirappalli district .
19-543: Until 1850, legislations made in Pudukkottai state were limited to royal proclamations and British Indian laws were not in use. From 1850 onwards, British Indian laws were introduced in stages, with the Civil Procedure Code in 1859 and Indian Penal Code in 1868. Registration laws were enacted in 1876 and a police force was created the same year. Until 1904, bills were drafted by the diwan and circulated to
38-707: A representative assembly of 30 members on the pattern of the Mysore Assembly. The members of the assembly were nominated by heads of government departments and public institutions. The office of Councillor was created to assist the Diwan and the Diwan acting with the assistance of the Councillor was known as "Diwan-in-Council". Martanda was made a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in
57-652: A villa, La Favourite. In 1921, Martanda formally gave up his claim to the throne of Pudukkottai and nominated his brother Raghunatha Pallavarayar to rule the state in his absence. Martanda settled down in France with Molly and Sydney. He died on 28 May 1928 at the age of fifty-two. His body was cremated and the ashes were interred in the Columbarium at the Golders Green Crematorium in London as
76-554: The India Office refused Molly's request to transport his body by air to India. Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman was succeeded as the Raja of Pudukkottai by his nephew, 6-year old Rajagopala Tondaiman , with Raghunatha Pallavarayar continuing as regent. Richard Lawley, 4th Baron Wenlock Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Thompson Lawley, 4th Baron Wenlock , CB (1856–1918) was a British Army officer and polo champion who became
95-711: The Second Boer War , for which he was mentioned in despatches (dated 8 April 1902 ) and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He was later colonel commanding the 7th Hussars . He won the International Polo Cup in 1886 for Britain alongside John Henry Watson , Captain Thomas Hone , and Brigadier-General Malcolm Orme Little . He succeeded to the title of Baron Wenlock on
114-589: The 1913 New Year Honours' List. In March 1915, Martanda travelled to Australia where he met Australian socialite Molly Fink at Hotel Majestic Mansions in Melbourne . Martanda soon fell in love with her and followed her to Sydney . In August 1915, Martanda proposed to Molly and she accepted. The couple were married on 10 August 1915 at the Regsitrar's Office in Melbourne. A son Martanda Sydney Tondaiman
133-735: The 4th Baron Wenlock and the 11th Lawley Baronet of Spoonhill in 1912. Lawley was born on 21 August 1856, the second son and sixth child of Beilby Lawley the 2nd Baron Wenlock and his wife Lady Elizabeth (née Grosvenor). Lawley joined the British Army and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 7th Hussars on 11 February 1876. He served in the Nile Expedition of 1884–1885, and was promoted to captain on 21 July 1885, to major on 5 May 1893, and to lieutenant-colonel on 26 June 1899. In 1902 he served in South Africa during
152-422: The assembly discussed the various laws and measures enacted in the previous year and drew up plans for the following one. Each member had a term of one year but this was later increased to three. In 1907, elections were introduced for 18 of the 30 seats in the assembly. This was reduced to 13 in 1913 but increased to 25 in 1916 as a gift by the Raja of Pudukkottai to his subjects. The Pudukkottai Legislative Council
171-551: The assistant diwan, civil judge, appeal judge and heads of departments for their opinion. Bills became law once the Raja gave his assent. In 1904, the function of drafting bills was delegated to a Law Committee. On the occasion of his Silver Jubilee in 1915, Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman inaugurated an advisory council composed of the State vakil, two members of the Representative Assembly and two members nominated by
190-476: The early 19th century as the private property of his three wives. Since Martanda was unmarried and did not have wives of his own at the time, he desired that the jagir be restored to him. However, the government rejected his request. During his reign, Martanda attended the Coronation Durbar at Delhi in 1903 and the coronation of George V at Westminster Abbey in 1911. In 1902, Martanda set up
209-548: The legislative council were presided over by the diwan or administrator and in his absence, by the assistant diwan. In the absence of both, the sessions were presided over by a deputy president nominated by the diwan. According to the Pudukkottai Legislative Council Resolution IV of 1924, the "Pudukkottai Legislative Council shall consist of not less than forty and not more than sixty members of whom seventy percent shall be elected and
SECTION 10
#1732802615153228-443: The preceding year in the state. The person was also required to satisfy the following income criteria: The subject should be a graduate of any Indian or British university. Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman Raja Sri Brahdamba Dasa Raja Sir Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman GCIE (26 November 1875 – 28 May 1928) was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai from 15 April 1886 to 28 May 1928. Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman
247-455: The raja. The council was purely advisory in nature and did not have any say in other matters. The Pudukkottai Legislative Council owes its genesis to the state's first representative body - the Assembly of Nominated Representatives, which was inaugurated in 1902 by Diwan bahadur Siram Venkataramadas Nayudu . Made up of 30 members nominated by various departments of the state administration,
266-587: The rest, nominated." To vote in the elections to the Pudukkottai Legislative Council, a person should be not less than 21 years of age and of sound mind and not a convicted offender under Section IX A of the Indian Penal Code. Those accused of electoral misconduct are automatically barred from voting in the elections for the next five years. The voter should be a subject of the state and should have spent at least 100 days in
285-547: The state in his minority. Martanda assumed the reins of the government on 27 November 1894 when he attained majority and was invested with full powers by Lord Wenlock , the Governor of Madras , himself. Soon after obtaining the management of the state, Martanda petitioned for the restitution of the Manovarti jagir . The Manovarti jagir consisted of four villages which had been designated by Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman in
304-407: Was born on 26 November 1875 to Princess Brihadambal Rajammani Sahib of Pudukkottai and her husband M.R.Ry. Kolandaswami Pallavarayar Sahib Avargal. Princess Brihadambal was the eldest daughter of Ramachandra Tondaiman , the Raja of Pudukkottai. Martanda was Brihadambal's third son. At an early age, Martanda was adopted by Ramachandra Tondaiman as he did not have any male heirs of his own. Martanda
323-713: Was born to them on 22 July 1916. Martanda had been briefly engaged to an American woman prior to his marriage with Molly. Right from the beginning, the British authorities in India were hostile to their marriage. They refused to recognise Molly Fink as Martanda's wife and accord her the privileges due to a "Maharani". Martanda returned to India in October 1915 with Molly but barely stayed for five months. The couple moved to Australia where they stayed from 1916 to 1919 and then to London and eventually, Cannes , where they purchased
342-473: Was educated in private by Fredric Feilden Crossley, a Cambridge alumnus. Martanda excelled in sports and developed a liking for European culture and manners. Ramachandra Tondaiman, the Raja of Pudukkottai kingdom , died on 15 April 1886 after a reign of fifty years. Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman was, therefore, crowned king at the age of eleven with a regency headed by the Diwan , A. Seshayya Sastri governing
361-697: Was formed in 1924 and its first session was inaugurated on 29 September 1924 by the Diwan Raghunatha Pallavarayar in the presence of the British Agent for the Madras States Agency , C. W. E. Cotton . The council assumed the functions of the Representative Assembly as well as the advisory council. It had a total of 50 members of whom 35 were elected and the rest, nominated by the raja. One reserved seat each for women and Dalits were introduced in 1927. The sessions of
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