In the twenties and thirties, and up to 1942, the South, and for a time the Central Assembly under British rule, reverberated with the voice of Satyamurti, patriot, orator, parliamentarian par excellence. He must be counted among the most important of those who carried the message of the national movement to the farthest corners of the country. One of the most loyal of Gandhiji’s followers, Satyamurti never hesitated to express his disagreement with the Mahatma on many vital issues of the times, outstanding being the question of council entry to which Gandhiji and some of his tallest lieutenants were opposed. Even when Gandhiji chided him, he would insist on presenting his case, and nobody could stop him. xThose familiar with political developments in the South in those distant days, particularly in what is now Tamil Nadu, know the extent of respect he commanded all round and the depth of affection the general run of Congress workers had for him.
Nov-Dec 1979, volume 4, No 3