M. Singaravelar (Sinthanai Sirpi) – First May Day in India (1923), Labour Kisan Party, Kanpur Communist Conference, Self-Respect Movement & Labour Rights | TNPSC Notes

M. Singaravelar (Malayapuram Singaravelu, 1860–1946) was a lawyer, freedom fighter, rationalist writer and labour leader from Madras who organised the first May Day (Labour Day) celebration in India on 1 May 1923 at Madras. On the same day he founded the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan and the red flag was used for the first time in India. He presided over the first Communist Conference in India at Kanpur (December 1925), worked with Periyar in the Self-Respect Movement, and is honoured as Sinthanai Sirpi (sculptor of thought) and the first communist of South India.

தமிழில் படிக்க

These notes are written for TNPSC Group 1, 2/2A and 4 aspirants and are meant to be complete on their own. Singaravelar is a core topic in History, Culture, Heritage and Socio-Political Movements of Tamil Nadu (labour movement, Self-Respect Movement, rationalism, Erode Plan). His role in the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Gaya Congress and the early communist movement comes under History, Culture of India and Indian National Movement; his demands for labour welfare link to Development Administration in Tamil Nadu; and his title 'Sinthanai Sirpi' and his Tamil journals are asked in General Tamil. Read each section, then use the tables, the quick revision table and the key points at the end.

Singaravelar at a Glance

Early Life, Family and Education

• Born: 18 February 1860 in Madras, in the then Madras Presidency.
• Parents: Venkatachalam and Valliammai. He was their third son.
• Community: his family belonged to the fishing community of the Madras coast and was well-to-do.
• Schooling: Hindu High School, Triplicane.
• College: he studied at Madras Christian College and took his degree from Presidency College, Madras (University of Madras).
• Law: he studied at Madras Law College and began practising at the Madras High Court in 1907, when he was already in his late forties. His practice was successful and he owned property in Madras.

Buddhism and Rationalism

• From his younger days Singaravelar rejected the caste system and superstition.
• He was drawn to Buddhism as a rational religion opposed to caste, and became a member of the Maha Bodhi Society in Madras.
• This rationalist outlook later brought him close to Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and the Self-Respect Movement.

Entry into the National Movement (1918–1922)

• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22): he followed Gandhi's call. In 1921 he gave up his legal practice and burnt his lawyer's gown at a public meeting as a mark of non-cooperation.
• Prince of Wales's visit (January 1922): he helped organise the hartal (shutdown) in Madras against the visit. Gandhi criticised the Madras hartal in Young India.
• Workers and the Congress: he wanted workers and peasants to take part in the freedom struggle and argued that swaraj must include economic freedom for them. In 1922, at the Gaya session of the Congress, he pressed for labour organisations to be brought into the national movement.
• After the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1922), he turned more and more to organising workers and to socialist ideas.

Note: the Madras Labour Union (1918), described as one of the first organised trade unions in India, was formed at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills with B. P. Wadia as its first president; Thiru. Vi. Kalyanasundaranar was also a leading figure of the early Madras labour movement. Singaravelar was active in this early labour movement, and some accounts credit him with a role in forming the union – but in exams the first president of the Madras Labour Union is B. P. Wadia.

The First May Day in India – Madras, 1 May 1923

Background: 1 May is observed as International Workers' Day in memory of the struggle for the eight-hour working day. The Haymarket Affair took place in Chicago in 1886, and in 1889 the Second International set apart 1 May as a day of the workers. India's first May Day was organised by Singaravelar in Madras in 1923.

Exam tip: first May Day in India = 1923, Madras, Singaravelar. Do not confuse it with the founding of the Communist Party at Kanpur (1925) or the Madras Labour Union (1918).

Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan (1923–1925)

• Founded: 1 May 1923, Madras, by Singaravelar – a party of workers (labour) and peasants (kisan).
• Approach: it was to work by peaceful (non-violent) means. Singaravelar criticised the Congress leadership for neglecting the economic needs of workers and farmers.
• Journals: the English fortnightly Labour Kisan Gazette and the Tamil weekly Thozhilalan ('The Worker'), which reported working-class movements in India and abroad.
• End: the party was dissolved in December 1925; Singaravelar announced its merger with the communist movement at the Kanpur conference.

The programme announced by Singaravelar placed the following demands:

Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case (1924) and the Kanpur Communist Conference (1925)

Exam tip: Kanpur 1924 = conspiracy case (he was an accused); Kanpur 1925 = Communist Conference (he presided).

Civic Work in the Madras Corporation

Singaravelar was elected a member (councillor) of the Madras Corporation. He gave priority to public health and education in the city, especially for poor localities affected by disease.

South Indian Railway Strike (1928)

• In July 1928 the workers of the South Indian Railway went on strike; Singaravelar was one of its leaders.
• After the strike, he was arrested, tried in the strike conspiracy case and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
• The sentence was reduced on appeal, and he was released in 1930.

With Periyar: Self-Respect Movement and the Erode Plan (1932)

• Singaravelar supported Periyar E. V. Ramasamy when Periyar left the Congress, and the two worked together for social reform.
• He wrote many articles in Periyar's Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu on rationalism, science, socialism, caste and superstition.
• He believed the Self-Respect Movement and the socialist movement should work together.
• Erode Plan (December 1932): at a meeting held in Erode in December 1932, a socialist (Samadharma) programme known as the Erode Plan was drawn up; Singaravelar helped frame its policies.
• By the mid-1930s the two leaders' paths diverged, as Periyar chose not to confront the British government, while Singaravelar continued with the socialist movement.

Writer, Rationalist and Journalist

Singaravelar wrote in clear and simple Tamil so that ordinary readers could understand science, reason and economics. He attacked caste, superstition and blind belief, and explained socialist ideas in terms of Indian conditions. Because he brought scientific and rational thinking into Tamil public life, he is honoured as Sinthanai Sirpi.

Later Years and Death

• In his last years he withdrew from active politics because of age and health, but continued to write on his causes until the end.
• Death: 11 February 1946, at Madras, aged 85.

Titles of Singaravelar

Honours and Memorials

Writing Mains Answers on Singaravelar (Group 1 / Group 2)

Descriptive papers can ask about Singaravelar under the labour movement, the Self-Respect Movement or social reformers of Tamil Nadu. Build your answer around these points and support each with a fact from the notes above.

Singaravelar's contribution to the labour movement in Tamil Nadu (about 150–250 words)

• Introduction: lawyer turned labour leader (1860–1946); the first communist of South India; Sinthanai Sirpi.
• Linking labour with freedom: argued that swaraj must mean economic freedom for workers and peasants; raised this at the Gaya Congress (1922).
• May Day 1923: organised the first May Day in India at Madras; red flag used for the first time; demand for a May Day holiday.
• Organisation: founded the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan; journals Labour Kisan Gazette and Thozhilalan.
• Programme: eight-hour day, minimum wages, union rights, housing, provident fund, maternity leave, abolition of zamindari.
• Struggles: South Indian Railway strike (1928) – ten-year sentence, released in 1930.
• Legacy: demands such as the eight-hour day, provident fund and maternity leave are part of labour law today; May Day Park, the Triumph of Labour statue and the 2006 stamp keep his memory alive.

Singaravelar and the Self-Respect Movement (about 150 words)

• Common ground: rationalism, opposition to caste and superstition.
• Writing: regular articles in Kudi Arasu explaining science and socialism in simple Tamil.
• Erode Plan (December 1932): helped frame the socialist (Samadharma) programme drawn up at Erode.
• Evaluation: brought economic questions into a social-reform movement; the partnership weakened by the mid-1930s, but it shaped later Tamil political thought.

Singaravelar and the early communist movement in India (about 100 words)

• 1923: Labour Kisan Party – one of the early parties of workers and peasants.
• 1924: accused in the Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case; released because of illness.
• December 1925: presided over the first Communist Conference at Kanpur; the Labour Kisan Party merged into the communist movement.
• Advocated socialism through peaceful means suited to Indian conditions.

Practice: Match the Following

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Year of the first May Day: 1923 – not 1925 (Kanpur conference) and not 1918 (Madras Labour Union).
• Place: the first May Day in India was in Madras, not Bombay or Calcutta.
• Two Kanpur events: 1924 – conspiracy case (accused, released due to illness); December 1925 – Communist Conference (presided).
• Madras Labour Union (1918): first president B. P. Wadia – not Singaravelar.
• Journals: Labour Kisan Gazette is English; Thozhilalan is Tamil. Kudi Arasu was Periyar's journal – Singaravelar only wrote for it.
• Two February dates: born 18 February 1860; died 11 February 1946.
• Sinthanai Sirpi is Singaravelar's title – do not confuse it with Periyar's or Thiru. Vi. Ka.'s titles.
• Stamp year: 2006 (2 March).

Quick Revision Table

TNPSC Key Points (PYQ-style facts)

• Full name: Malayapuram Singaravelu; born 18 February 1860, Madras; died 11 February 1946, Madras.
• Parents: Venkatachalam and Valliammai; family from the fishing community of Madras.
• Studied at Hindu High School (Triplicane), Madras Christian College, Presidency College and Madras Law College; lawyer from 1907.
• Member of the Maha Bodhi Society; drawn to Buddhism as a rational, anti-caste faith.
• Burnt his lawyer's gown in 1921 during the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Organised the Madras hartal against the Prince of Wales's visit (January 1922).
• Raised workers' and peasants' welfare at the Gaya Congress (1922).
• First May Day in India: 1 May 1923, Madras – red flag used for the first time in India.
• Founded the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923.
• Journals: Labour Kisan Gazette (English fortnightly), Thozhilalan (Tamil weekly), Pudhu Ulagam.
• Accused in the Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case (1924); released due to illness.
• Presided over the first Communist Conference in India, Kanpur, December 1925.
• Member of the Madras Corporation; worked for public health and education.
• Led the South Indian Railway strike (1928); sentenced to ten years; released in 1930.
• Wrote in Periyar's Kudi Arasu; Erode Plan with Periyar, December 1932.
• Titles: Sinthanai Sirpi; the first communist of South India.
• Memorials: stamp (2 March 2006); M. Singaravelar Maligai (Chennai Collectorate); May Day Park (former Napier Park); Triumph of Labour statue (1959).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Singaravelar remembered on May Day?

On 1 May 1923 Singaravelar organised the first May Day (Labour Day) celebration in India, at Madras. Meetings were held on the Madras beach – on the beach opposite the Madras High Court and on Triplicane beach. On the same day he launched the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan, and the red flag was used for the first time in India. The meeting also asked that 1 May be made a holiday for workers.

What was the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan?

It was a party of workers and peasants founded by Singaravelar in Madras on 1 May 1923. It stood for peaceful means and asked for an eight-hour working day, minimum wages, the right to form unions, housing and other welfare measures for workers, and relief for farmers. It published the English Labour Kisan Gazette and the Tamil weekly Thozhilalan. The party was dissolved in December 1925 and merged into the communist movement at the Kanpur conference.

What was Singaravelar's role in the Kanpur conference of 1925?

Singaravelar presided over the first Communist Conference in India, held at Kanpur (Cawnpore) in December 1925. The conference resolved to form the Communist Party of India. A year earlier, in 1924, he had been named an accused in the Kanpur (Cawnpore) Bolshevik Conspiracy Case, but because of his age and illness he was not tried with the others.

Why is Singaravelar called 'Sinthanai Sirpi' and 'the first communist of South India'?

'Sinthanai Sirpi' means 'sculptor of thought'. The title honours his rationalist and scientific writing in Tamil, through which he attacked superstition and caste and explained modern ideas to ordinary readers. He is called the first communist of South India because he was among the earliest leaders to spread socialist and communist ideas in the region, founded a workers' and peasants' party in 1923 and presided over the Kanpur Communist Conference of 1925.

How is Singaravelar remembered in Tamil Nadu today?

India Post issued a commemorative stamp on him on 2 March 2006. The Chennai Collectorate building on Rajaji Salai is named M. Singaravelar Maligai. Napier Park in Chennai was renamed May Day Park, and the Triumph of Labour statue on the Marina (installed on 25 January 1959) stands near the place associated with the 1923 May Day meeting. On his birth anniversary, 18 February, leaders pay tribute to him.

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