An advertisement has been published in last Tuesday's (*29th Sept. 1908) Government gazette regarding the fifth annual meeting of Sri Moolam Popular Assembly scheduled to be held from 24th of Thulam* (1084 M.E.) this year at Victoria Jubilee Town Hall, Thiruvananthapuram. The taluk meetings for electing the representatives to be sent to the assembly shall be held between the 11th and 20th of Kanni* (M.E.). The eligibility of those who are qualified to vote for the election of representatives and the subject information to be submitted by the representatives are mentioned in the notification. It also mentions the selection criteria of representatives from each group and other essential matters.

This Popular Assembly has become an everyday presence in the state affairs of the subjects of Travancore State. Though there were some who laughed at it in the beginning as worthless, they have come to thank it now and it is a testimony to the benefits people gained because of the assembly. Although the meetings of the House did not immediately yield favourable decisions on all the demands of the delegates, many things have been discussed and decided in the meantime, and it is evident from the government proceedings of the past one year. For it is a more respectable policy in statecraft to promise slow action and keep the work fast than to promise fast action and keep it slow. For those who were concerned about the answers they received from the Dewan during the assembly days, which almost gave them a feeling of displeasure, still have the right to hope as many of their other affairs are well decided.

Therefore, if there is anything left unsettled in the matter discussed in the previous meetings, there is no harm in stating it again in the assembly. We can think that the Government will do it, if we see that there is a favourable occasion and raise it again in the House. In terms of governance, no government can work for the welfare of the people unless there is support of the people. That kings are divine, and that their will is the justice of the kingdom and the opinion that it is the duty of the subjects to obey their rules without evaluating their merits has become a mere myth. Instead, the importance of peoples’ will is becoming dominant. Many eastern countries, founded on theocracy and autocracy, are now teaching the world that the old political strategies are powerless to prevent this change. Great powers such as Japan, Persia, Turkey, China, etc. are transformed as if under the trance created by the magic wand of a political wizard. This new change is now being prominently seen all over India. The Maharajah may have foreseen that the right of the subjects to enjoy a share in the administration of the kingdom would have to be granted at some time in the future, if not now. When such a blessing is given even before the subjects asked for it, it is certain that he will listen to and decide upon the reasonable desires of his subjects. This being the case, we should not hesitate to keep placing before the Government, time and again, the matters that have not yet been favourably decided.

However, the representatives sent to inform the Government of such public needs should be as capable and qualified as possible. There have been accusations that the elections in the past years were not flawless in many places. When the representatives are supposed to act knowing the opinion of the majority of the public, it is inappropriate to involve caste strife and factionalism in their selection. It is a mistake to think that the government decides the issues submitted to the House based on the number of people who appealed for it. In each case, the Government has to consider only the merits of the pros and cons arguments made. Therefore, no matter what caste the representative belongs to, it is enough to take care that he should be interested in the public good and have a sense of its affairs. The matters to be stated by the representatives are not of their own needs, or the wishes of their acquaintances, instead, it should be a matter widely available to the public. The people have a right to address them well and the representatives have a duty to comply with those suggestions.

While determining the eligibility to be a voter under the current rules, many who are overqualified may have to be left out. It is necessary to amend the current requirement slightly that those accepted as voters in the taluk meetings should be the ones who pay a tax of Rupees 50/- in their own name or having an income of Rupees 3000/- in a year or the status of a graduate. An objection was strongly raised last year that a person holding only the title of a barrister should not be selected as a voter. This shortcoming needs to be addressed. Apart from this, the amount of tax should also be reduced. There are many people who establish their own life only through self-effort and who leave the joint family and start a separate family. As the present state of affairs in this country favours such a separation from the joint family, many such people, who are capable of civic services, are unable to take part in anything serious in the affairs of the country only because of lack of income or the ability to pay tax. Most of the Karanavars in the Rupees 50/- tax paying bracket are not aware of this sophisticated strategy in the affairs of the country; and the stipulation says that they should not be replaced by younger people. It would be good for the people, if those who have a tax of not less than Rs.25/- are allowed as voters. Then, if the representation is based on ancestral property, it would be reasonable to allow a younger person to be appointed as the representative instead of the Karanavar of the estate.

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Notes by the translator:

*Date added by the translator.

*A month in the Malayalam calendar.

*This advertisement is available in the Travancore gazette archive online dated 29 September 1908, pp 1365.