When a Marathi Dewan ushered in major reforms in Travancore

In 1857, a 29-year-old with a modern English education was appointed the dewan (prime minister) of Travancore, then widely regarded as a misgoverned kingdom. The man in question, a Marathi-speaking Brahmin named T Madhava Rao was no stranger to the princely state. His father Ranga Rao had served as acting dewan, while uncle Venkata Rao was the dewan for nine years.
Madhava Rao also tutored Travancore princes Ayilyam and Vishakam Tirunal for four years.

By the time he was made the dewan, Madhava Rao had been working as a divisional magistrate in southern Travancore since 1855 and had even earned the respect of missionaries who would otherwise constantly complain about the princely state’s officials to the East India Company in Madras.

Groomed for governance
Born in Kumbakonam in 1828 into an eminent family, he displayed a strong penchant for learning at a very young age. “In 1841, Rao entered the newly-established Madras High School, the precursor to Presidency College,” academic Rahul Sagar wrote in the introduction of the book 'The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao’s Hints on the Art and Science of Government'. “Under the tutelage of its legendary Principal Eyre Burton Powell, Rao received a decidedly modern and liberal education: Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, John Locke, Adam Smith, Alexander Pope, and Edward Gibbon were studied alongside calculus, trigonometry, algebra, astronomy, optics, and electricity.”

After graduating with high honours in 1846, Madhava Rao briefly worked as a physics and mathematics tutor in his school before joining the Accountant General’s Office in Madras. In 1848, he would get the opportunity to move to Travancore and tutor the two princes.

“This was how he entered, for the first time, the service of a Native State,” Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Gujarati in Indian Opinion, the English translation published by the Dakshini Marathi Kajana website. “The princes in his charge became good students, and their career as rulers also proved very successful.”
Madhava Rao then took positions with the Travancore government over the next few years.

Appointed dewan after Krishna Rao died in 1857, Madhava Rao held the all-powerful position when the British were clearly in danger of annexing Travancore due to poor governance and social problems.

It was only in 1855 that slavery was abolished in Travancore. The princely state also faced the Channar Revolt, where women from the Nadar community fought for the right to wear upper-body clothing and cover their breasts.

Implementing Reforms
In his first few years, the main priority was to fix the administration and ensure budgetary surpluses. From 1860, Madhava Rao implemented wider and more impactful changes.

“He established a successful system of fee-paying, government English and vernacular schools,” renowned academic Robin Jeffrey wrote in his book 'The Decline of Nair Dominance'. “He began to insist on the need for academic qualifications for admission to certain jobs in the sirkar service.”

Jeffrey added: “He created and provided the finance for a large public works department. He reformed land tenures, commercial laws and the sirkar’s policy- on paper at least- regarding caste disabilities.”

One of Madhava Rao's main motivations for improving access to education and economic opportunities for the oppressed castes in Travancore was to ensure that the missionary community wouldn’t convert them to Christianity. He, however, had to play a delicate balancing act in a society plagued by caste-related rules such as dress distinctions and even ‘distance-based pollution!’

“Under Madhava Rao, the sirkar began to walk a fine line,” Jeffrey wrote. “It issued ‘enlightened’ proclamations lessening the disabilities of low castes; it conciliated the missionaries to lessen their militancy; yet it strove to give a minimum of offence to conservative high-caste Hindus, not the least of who was the Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal, himself. The policy was successful, if cynical.”

In his 15 years as the dewan, Travancore came to be seen as a model state, and Trivandrum became one of the best cities in southern India, with visible and shining examples of its progress such as the General Hospital, Public Offices, and the Maharaja’s College. The administration was also regularly praised for its efficiency. However, social progress was slow, and caste-based discrimination was still highly prevalent. Kerala in the 1860s and 70s was not ready for meaningful social reforms.

Madhava Rao was more or less forced to resign as dewan in 1872 by Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal, who felt his former teacher did not give him enough respect. The maharaja also suspected the dewan was involved with his brother Vishakam’s faction. Jeffrey said Madhava Rao “left Travancore under a cloud.”

Writing about Madhava Rao’s legacy in Travancore, Vishakam Thirunal said, “What Pericles did for Athens, what Cromwell did for England, that Madhava Rao did for Travancore.”
Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) remembers T Madhava Rao’s legacy. Since the 1890s, a statue of the former dewan has stood in an area commonly known as Statue Junction.