Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair: The Lone Dissenter

Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair (1857–1934) was a lawyer, political leader, and member of the Viceroy's Executive Council who made his most significant mark by resigning from the Council in protest against the British government's handling of the Punjab disturbances and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. He then fought a landmark defamation case against Sir Michael O'Dwyer (the Lt. Governor of Punjab) that brought the horrors of the Punjab martial law into public record in a British court.

For UPSC, Nair is relevant in Modern History (Indian National Congress, Punjab martial law), and he has recently gained visibility due to the 2022 biographical film.

Early Life and Career

Sankaran Nair was born on July 11, 1857 in Mankara, Palakkad district, in present-day Kerala. He belonged to the Nair community and studied law, becoming one of the most successful barristers in Madras.

Legal career: He practised at the Madras High Court and built a formidable reputation. He was appointed a Judge of the Madras High Court in 1908 — one of the earliest Indians to hold such a position.

Political career: Nair was active in the Indian National Congress from its early years. He served as President of the Indian National Congress at the Amritsar session in 1897.

Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council

In 1915, Nair was appointed to the Viceroy's Executive Council — the highest governing body of British India, equivalent to a cabinet. He held the Education portfolio.

Being on the Viceroy's Council was a position of privilege and influence. Very few Indians held such posts. Resigning from it was a career-ending act that carried enormous personal and financial cost.

Resignation Over Jallianwala Bagh

The Context

After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 13, 1919) and the imposition of martial law in Punjab, Nair was the only member of the Viceroy's Council to demand accountability for the atrocities.

The martial law measures in Punjab included:

• General Dyer's massacre at Jallianwala Bagh (379 officially killed, likely many more)
• The "crawling order" — Indians forced to crawl on their bellies on a particular street
• Public floggings, forced saluting of British officers
• Aerial bombing of Gujranwala
• Press censorship that prevented news from reaching the rest of India

The Resignation

Nair resigned from the Viceroy's Council in 1919 in protest. His objections were specific:

1. The use of excessive and indiscriminate force against unarmed civilians
2. The imposition of collective punishment on entire populations
3. The racial humiliation inherent in measures like the crawling order
4. The government's defence of Dyer's actions rather than condemning them

His resignation was a significant political act because:

• He was the only member of the Council to take this step
• It demonstrated that not all Indians in government positions would silently accept colonial violence
• It cost him his career, pension prospects, and social standing within the colonial establishment

The O'Dwyer Defamation Case

Background

After resigning, Nair wrote a book — "Gandhi and Anarchy" (1922) — in which he described the Punjab martial law atrocities in detail and held Sir Michael O'Dwyer (the Lt. Governor of Punjab who had approved Dyer's actions) responsible.

O'Dwyer sued Nair for defamation in a London court.

The Trial (1924)

The case — O'Dwyer v. Nair — was heard in the King's Bench Division of the High Court in London. It became a de facto trial of British conduct in Punjab:

• Nair used the case as a platform to present extensive evidence of the atrocities — testimony from witnesses, official documents, accounts of torture and humiliation
• The case brought details of the Punjab martial law to British public attention in a way that the Hunter Commission had not
• O'Dwyer technically won the defamation case (the jury found in his favour), but the moral victory was Nair's — the evidence presented made the case a lasting record of colonial brutality

Significance

The O'Dwyer v. Nair case is important because:

• It created a permanent legal record of the Punjab atrocities in British courts
• It demonstrated Indian willingness to use British legal institutions to challenge British injustice
• It kept the memory of Jallianwala Bagh alive in British public discourse

O'Dwyer himself was later assassinated by Udham Singh in London on March 13, 1940 — a direct act of revenge for the Punjab atrocities that Nair had documented in court.

Political Views

Nair's political position was complex and does not fit neatly into the nationalist vs. loyalist binary:

On Gandhi: Nair was critical of Gandhi's mass movement approach, particularly the Non-Cooperation Movement. His book "Gandhi and Anarchy" argued that Gandhi's methods would lead to chaos rather than ordered progress. He believed in constitutional methods and gradual reform.

On British rule: While he worked within the British system, his resignation showed he had clear moral limits. He believed the British system could be reformed from within but only if it adhered to its own stated principles of justice and rule of law.

On Indian self-governance: He supported Indian self-governance but preferred a gradualist approach — building institutions and legal capacity before full independence.

This made him a moderate in the Congress spectrum — closer to Gokhale than to Tilak or Gandhi.

Legacy

Nair's historical reputation has undergone a reassessment in recent years:

• The 2022 film "The Lawsuit" (Malayalam) and the book "The Case That Shook the Empire" by Raghu Palat brought his story to wider public attention
• His resignation is now cited as an example of moral courage within the system — a rare instance of an establishment figure choosing principle over position
• His documentation of the Punjab atrocities through the O'Dwyer case remains a primary historical source

Key Dates for UPSC

UPSC Relevance

GS1 (Modern History): Freedom movement personalities, INC presidents, Jallianwala Bagh aftermath, Punjab martial law.

GS4 (Ethics): Moral courage within institutions, resignation on principle, personal cost of standing up against injustice.

Key Prelims facts:

• INC President: 1897 (Amritsar session)
• Resigned from Viceroy's Council: 1919
• Reason: Protest against Punjab martial law and Jallianwala Bagh
• Book: "Gandhi and Anarchy" (1922)
• O'Dwyer v. Nair: Defamation case in London (1924)
• From: Kerala (Palakkad)

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