George Joseph (activist)

In 1917, aged 29, George was invited by Annie Besant to go to England along with her, Syed Hussain and BV Narasimhan to talk about Home Rule there. The British however foiled this bid, arresting them when the ship Besant had chartered reached Gibraltar, Subsequently, deporting them back to India.[4] When P. Varadarajulu Naidu was arrested for making a speech at the Victoria Edward Hall, George Joseph assisted C. Rajagopalachari who appeared for Naidu in the case. George was the leader of the Rowlatt Satyagraha in Madurai, organising meetings, fasts and hartals during the satyagraha and during the Non-Cooperation Movement he relinquished his lucrative legal practice and joined the movement.[3][5]

George played an important role in setting up the trade union movement in Madurai to organise the textile mill workers there. The union's initial struggles resulted in higher wages and reduced work hours for the mill workers but soon the mill owners and the government came together to bring about a collapse of the union.[3][6] George edited the Nehrus' Allahabad based newspaper The Independent during 1920-21 until his arrest on charges of sedition and the subsequent closure of the paper. He also succeeded Rajagopalachari to the editorship of Gandhi's Young India in 1923.[3][7]

George was an eager participant in the Vaikom Satyagraha[8][9] that sought to achieve the right to temple entry for the Dalits in Travancore. According to C. F. Andrews, the plan for a non violent agitation was arrived upon by George when he visited Gandhi who was convalescing in Bombay. George and other Congressmen led the Dalits in walking through the Brahmin quarter of the town where they were met with violence. The police immediately arrested George and his accomplices who were sentenced to varying terms in prison.[10] George viewed the struggle at Vaikom an issue of civil rights for all Indian citizens but this was in contrast to the views of most Congressmen who saw it as purely an issue between high and low caste Hindus and to be settled by the Hindus themselves. Gandhi himself did not encourage George's participation in the satyagraha.[11][12] Disillusioned by Gandhi's lack of support and the attitude of the Congress Party, George left the Congress Party to join the Justice Party. He however rejoined the Congress in 1935.[1][4]

George led Congressmen of Madurai in the agitation against the Simon Commission. In this he was supported by K Kamaraj and the duo mobilised thousands of volunteers at the Tirumalai Nayak Mahal to demonstrate against the Commission when it visited Madurai in 1929.[13] Later, when Kamaraj was implicated in Virudhunagar Conspiracy Case in 1933, George and Varadarajulu Naidu argued on his behalf and succeeded in exonerating him of all charges.[3] He also agitated against the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), an act that criminalised and negatively affected communities like the Piramalai kallar and Maravars. He fought for them in the courts and wrote extensively in the newspapers against the act and came to be called Rosapoo Durai by the grateful Kallars who continue to pay homage to him on his death anniversary.[3][5]