Editing Chennai (section)

=== Politics ===
[[File:Fort St. George, Chennai 2.jpg|thumb|[[Fort St. George|Tamil Nadu legislative assembly]]]]

While the major part of the city falls under three [[Parliament of India|parliamentary]] constituencies ([[Chennai North (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai North]], [[Chennai Central (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai Central]] and [[Chennai South (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chennai South]]), the Chennai metropolitan area is spread across five constituencies. It elects 28 [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLAs]] to the state legislature.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elections.tn.gov.in/Web/TNLA_map.htm|title=List of TN Assembly constituencies|publisher=[[Election Commission of India]]|access-date=28 December 2022|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208120121/https://www.elections.tn.gov.in/Web/TNLA_map.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Chennai Metropolitan Area&nbsp;– Profile|publisher=[[Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority]]|url=http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/|access-date=28 December 2012|archive-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008183728/http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/|url-status=live}}</ref> Being the capital of the [[Madras Province]] that covered a large area of the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] region, Chennai remained the centre of politics during the British colonial era. Chennai is the birthplace of the idea of the [[Indian National Congress]], which was founded by the members of the [[Theosophical Society]] movement based on the idea conceived in a private meeting after a Theosophical convention held in the city in December 1884.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sitaramayya|first=Pattabhi|year=1935|title=The History of the Indian National Congress|publisher=Working Committee of the Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/73b4862g?display=all|title=Theosophy and the Origins of the Indian National Congress|last=Bevir|first=Mark|journal=International Journal of Hindu Studies|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|year=2003|volume=7|issue=1–3|pages=14–18|doi=10.1007/s11407-003-0005-4|s2cid=54542458|quote="Theosophical Society provided the framework for action within which some of its Indian and British members worked to form the Indian National Congress.", "1884 annual convention of the Theosophical Society. At this convention, Rao argued that the Society should start formally to discuss the political situation in India as well as more strictly religious matters. Although Rao did not get his way, he did arrange a meeting of sympathetic theosophists to be held at his home. Those who attended this meeting with Rao included Aiyar, Ananda Charlu, and M. Viraraghavachariar. They formed the Madras Mahajana Sabha," "meeting to coincide with the next annual convention of the Theosophical Society. This meeting would promote their idea of an all-India body." "Hume was probably the single most important individual for the formation of the Indian National Congress."|access-date=23 September 2012|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630205548/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/73b4862g?display=all|url-status=live}}</ref> The city has hosted yearly conferences of the Congress seven times, playing a major part in the [[Indian independence movement]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Political and Social Conflict in South India; The non-Brahmin movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916–1929|last=Irschick|first=Eugene F.|year=1969|oclc=249254802|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-83641-918-4}}</ref> Chennai is also the birthplace of regional political parties such as the South Indian Welfare Association in 1916 which later became the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] and [[Dravidar Kazhagam]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Richard Warren|title=Religion and Society: The First Twenty-five Years, 1953–1978|publisher=Christian Literature Society (for the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore)|year=1982|oclc=9007066|page=242}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rajaraman|first=P.|title=The Justice Party: a historical perspective, 1916–37|publisher=Poompozhil Publishers|year=1988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGMmAAAAMAAJ|oclc=20453430|at=ch. 4 (Ideology, Organisation and Programme of the Justice Party)}}</ref>

Politics is characterized by a mix of regional and national political parties.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Political Parties|last=Ralhan|first=O.P.|year=2002|publisher=Print House|pages=180–199|isbn=978-8-1748-8287-5}}</ref> During the 1920s and 1930s, the [[Self-Respect Movement]], spearheaded by [[Theagaroya Chetty]] and [[E. V. Ramaswamy]] emerged in Madras.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/tamil-nadu-politics-history-dravidian-movement-brahmins-lower-caste-casteism-madras-presidency-4388452/|date=22 November 2016|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|title=A century of reform|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=29 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629150750/https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/tamil-nadu-politics-history-dravidian-movement-brahmins-lower-caste-casteism-madras-presidency-4388452/|url-status=live}}</ref> Congress dominated the political scene post Independence in the 1950s and 1960s under [[C. Rajagopalachari]] and later [[K. Kamaraj]].<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year=1990|page=[https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/164 164]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, [[Government of India]]|asin=B003DXXMC4}}</ref> The Anti-Hindi agitations led to the rise of [[Dravidian parties]] with [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK) forming the first government under [[C. N. Annadurai]] in 1967. In 1972, a split in the DMK resulted in the formation of the [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (AIADMK) led by [[M. G. Ramachandran]]. The two Dravidian parties continue to dominate electoral politics, the national parties usually aligning as junior partners to the two major Dravidian parties.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wyatt|first=A.K.J.|title=New Alignments in South Indian Politics: The 2001 Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu|journal=[[Asian Survey]]|volume=42|issue=5|pages=733–753|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=2002|doi=10.1525/as.2002.42.5.733|df=dmy-all|hdl=1983/1811|url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/new-alignments-in-south-indian-politics-the-2001-assembly-elections-in-tamil-nadu(ccd8e236-7d18-4981-92b0-5a1d63ff695d).html|hdl-access=free|access-date=8 December 2023|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212070038/https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/new-alignments-in-south-indian-politics-the-2001-assembly-elections-in-tamil-nadu(ccd8e236-7d18-4981-92b0-5a1d63ff695d).html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/article61129.ece|title=Language issue again: the need for a clear-headed policy|author=S. Viswanathan|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=7 December 2009|access-date=28 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120072025/http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/article61129.ece|archive-date=20 January 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Many film personalities became politicians and later chief ministers, including C. N. Annadurai, [[M. Karunanidhi]], M. G. Ramachandran, [[Janaki Ramachandran]] and [[Jayalalithaa]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Ellens|first2=Lakshmi|last2=Srinivas|title=A Time for India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Nsyr3J1fpIC|year=2005|publisher=Vantage Press|isbn=978-0-53315-092-2|access-date=26 March 2018|archive-date=29 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629140433/https://books.google.com/books?id=6Nsyr3J1fpIC|url-status=live}}</ref>