Abstract
Archival material is drawn upon to bring out the steps taken by the pre-Independence, colonial government of Madras to provide for the education of the depressed classes. In the initial stages, when the British government shied away from the issue for fear of hostility from caste Hindus, it was the missionaries who took up the cause of these people. Some administrators too were proactive, among them, the Collector of Chingleput, who, as far back as 1892, took up cudgels on behalf of the Pariah. By 1916, the GOI, sensitive to the concerns voiced in the Imperial Legislative Council, conferred with the provincial governments on what further could be done; and in 1919, the depressed classes acquired an official protector-the Commissioner of Labour. The Labour Department was active in many districts; it sought to promote the education of the depressed classes, and in the process, faced caste prejudice.
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