21 private sector banks were taken over by the government in 1969 and 1971.

The seeds of this historic decision were possibly sown exactly ten years earlier at Ooty at the All India Congress Committee, Sub-Committee Planning Seminar held on May 30-June 5, 1959. The meeting was attended by all top leaders of the congress party as well as economists like Dr.V.K.R.V.Rao. Nehru inaugurated the seminar. Indira Gandhi had just then taken over as the President of the Congress party. The seminar mostly reflected her hard line views on socialism.   

The Seminar envisaged a continuous expansion of the public sector. Private sector was cautioned against ‘any exploitation and misdirection of resources’. The proceedings of the seminar upset the market sentiment of the country. Traders regretted that ‘Congress leaders cannot easily dissociate politics from economics’.

On June 10, Nehru had to clarify in a press meet in Delhi. He denied that it had been decided in Ooty seminar that only certain specified industries should be in the private sector and residuary industries should be in the public sector.

The seminar was also of the view that public sector enterprises need not be profit oriented. Economist like Dr. Rao strongly prophetically objected saying if the public sector units were not profit oriented they would  eat away public resources.

If Nehru had been alive probably the banks may not have been touched. But with Nehru not in the way Mrs.Gandhi wasted no time in pushing through her agenda no sooner than she assumed office. Fortunately for her the economic conditions of the time were favorable for a rapid expansion of banking and her decision was vindicated. 

Nilgiris Documentation Centre

OOTACAMUND AS THE SEAT OF THE MADRAS GOVERNMENT.

It deserves consideration whether Ootacamund might not with advantage be substituted for Madras as the seat of the Government. The advantages in point of climate and health are indisputable. The town of Madras is not on the whole unhealthy. English men and women contrive to live here for many years, but how! If  they go to the Hills for six months in the year they have not so much to complain of, but those who cannot, pass at least seven months out of the twelve in a state of physical misery and mental depression, without appetite, performing their allotted duties with weariness, frequently laid up with fever, always more or less out of sorts, wishing life away, and earnestly looking forward to that happy day, which, alas, to many never comes, when they can turn their backs on Madras forever. What a contrast to such a life as this would be one on the Hills | Every man woman and child would there be full of life and health ; instead of the worn look which now meets one on every side we should see faces ruddy with colour, and beaming with spirits. A temperature of 60 degrees would permit of men keeping their wives and children with them, during their whole term of service, and each man’s house would be, as in England, really his home, the place, that is, in which all he loves best is around him, instead of being, as is the case here, merely the den in which, like a wild beast, he hides himself from the hateful glare without.

Work would not be irksome, and the period spent in India, instead of being a period of penance would be one of enjoyment and content. We might adduce a further argument in favour of a change to the Hills from the fact that Government servants by retaining their health at Ootacamund, and having about them home comforts and ties, would not be continually going to England, whereby a considerable saving in absentee allowances would accrue to Government.

(The Memorandum concluded) We, therefore, feel sure that a move to the Hills would have the very best results, looking at it as a question of political economy, for, if our European regiments were permanently located at the Hills, and European settlers of all sorts were attracted there by the seat of Government being permanently placed there, boys would be born in numbers not as now to die early, but to grow up into men who would naturally take to the army as a profession, and owing to the fact of there having been born in this country, would in many important particulars, prove better suited to service in India than youngsters fresh from England.

Image : Ooty Raj Bhavan would have become the permanent seat of government .

Nilgiri Documentation centre

This Institute came into exist­ence in 1906. The affairs of the Institute are administered  by a Central Committee, composed partly of ex-officio and partly of elected members.  Though it was originally start­ed as an anti-rabies research centre, the Institute has traversed a long way in research into other virus diseases. The Institute has acquired international status and reputation on account of its success in reducing the incidence of paralysis, which is stated to be one of the after-effects of anti-­rabies vaccine treatment.

Anti-rabic treatment was given to patients from all over South India at the Institute itself almost from its inception till 1922. As people found it very difficult for financial and other reasons to reach Coonoor for this treatment, it was felt safe to decentralise the treatment.. It has been computed that 2,93,611 patients have been treated at this Institute and its numerous subsidiary centres during the pe­riod of 48 years of its existence. A clinical laboratory was  started as early as 1924 to which a biochemical section was added in 1948.

During the Second World War, the orga­nisation of an extensive Blood Bank service in the province made it necessary to have plasma processing laboratories and the Pasteur Institute, Coonoor, open­ed in 1942 a section for this pur­pose.  Be­sides its pioneering and leading role in research in rabies, the Institute has played a noteworthy part in public health work by serving as a depot for the distri­bution of prophylactic vaccines for cholera, assisting in the prompt diagnosis of contagious epidemics like cholera, plague, enteric fever, etc., and, at times, helping directly in prophylactic mass inoculation when such epi­demics were threatening to get out of control.

A  self-con­tained laboratory for the study of viruses other than that of rabies  has been recognised by the W.H.O. as its Influenza Centre in India and work on in­fluenza, vaccine and small-pox is now in progress at the laboratory. It may be interesting to note that the first strain of influenza virus in India was isolated here.

The establishment of a Pasteur Institute at Coonoor was rendered possible by the generosity of Mr. Henry Phipps, an American. Henry Phipp (1839–1930) grew up in poverty-stricken conditions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) another immigrant to the US from the UK. Phipps’s close association with Carnegie led him to invest in 1861 in a steel-works operation – the Carnegie Company. In 1901, this operation became the US Steel upon sale to J. P. Morgan. At this point of time, Phipps retired, far wealthier than what he expected to achieve in his life. He spent the rest of his life donating generously to scientific efforts made both within the US and elsewhere. Phipps was of the conviction that those who acquired great wealth should return it for public good and create institutions dedicated for that purpose. Phipps came to India in 1903 presumably to witness the Delhi Durbar, planned by Lord Curzon. Phipps’s visit to India enabled him to perceive the pains of famine, which had swept India on a massive scale during 1899–1900. Phipps volunteered to support the science of agriculture in India, which he thought would enable educating the people of India towards achieving food security. He donated 1 lakh US dollars.

Phipps’s concerns were particularly stimulated by the number of people of lower social strata, who died of snake bites and wild-animal bites without appropriate medical attention and support. At that time, only the Indian Pasteur Institute at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh existed. IPIK functioned from August 1900 treating people, who suffered dog bites and similar problems; However, the distance to Kasauli from southern India was so far that it could not be reached easily without several days of travel. Phipps contributed  50,000 US dollars  to start a second Pasteur Hospital in south India.

The Pasteur Institute of Southern India started functioning in Coonoor from 6 April 1907. John Wolfran Cornwall of the Indian Medical Service was the first Director, who served for many years, Anderson H. McKendrick, also of the Indian Medical Service, was the Assistant Director, M. Kesava Pai served as the Assistant Surgeon and S. Ramasamy Aiyar was the Hospital Assistant.  J. W. Cornwall, T. H. Gloster, K. R. K. lyengar, H. W. Mulligan, M. L. Ahuja and N. Veeraraghavan were  its successive directors.

Nilgiri Documentation Centre

The establishment of Ooty as the Summer Capital of the Madras Presidency in 1870 brought rapid developments to Ooty and attracted many Europeans who were in need of a place for gathering and entertainment. One of the businesses which thrived after 1878 was the horse drawn ‘Tonga’ service  which replaced the  grueling practice of native runners taking the mail at day and night. The Brownes made  a monopoly of the trade earning the sobriquet ‘Tonga’ Browne.

The Brownes had stables all along the route from Mettuplayam  with halts at Coonoor and Yellanalli. Their office was at where Shinkows and other establishments are today.

The Brownes were one of the biggest realtors of  their time  owning  among others Assembly Rooms, Lawley Institute, Simpson company     (which was their home), Clifton cottage,  Shoram  palace and Oriental Buildings opposite Collector’s office.

The Brownes were very active in public life. John, who was in the original Garden committee along with McIvor, was  known to swear fluently in Tamil and English.

The  Brownes built the present Assembly Rooms evidently in 1886 closer to where they owned several houses including their house. But the Rooms did not do well as it was found difficult to get performing artists and troupes. But regular fund raising events were held to help government hospital and other public causes.

The Brownes fortune ended with the death of Harriat in 1899 of cancer at the age of 52. Tonga Browne died three years later at the age of 59. Their only son, a popular veterinary surgeon in Ooty lived up to 81. Both are buried at St. Thomas Church, Ooty.

The Browne papers have been donated by their granddaughter to the Cambridge University archives.

An obscure road behind Assembly Rooms is named after Tonga Browne.

• Nilgiri Documentation Centre 

After colonization ,  from 1820 to 1855, Ootacamund had a military police under the military magistrate who was called Officer Commanding or Commandant of  Nilgiris.  The military police was abolished after the military depot was shifted from Ootacamund to Wellington.  In the rest of the district, from 1816 to 1859, the peons of the Revenue Officers, under the  Tahsildar, appear to have done the little police work there was. Thus prior to the introduction of the regular police system headed by Sir William Robinson, the first Inspector General of Police of Madras State,  no  police existed on the hills except at Ootacamund which was populated by a  mixture of immigrant  workers and labourers.

Since then  the Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore, exercised a general control over the Nilgiri district. The officer immediately in charge was the Chief Inspector who was stationed in Ootacamund, assisted by an  Inspector and  two Sub-Inspectors. There were ten stations in the Nilgiris. The police strength of Ootacamund was one Inspector and 45 Constables.

The British administration was also kind enough to extend the benefit of the Nilgiri climate to their prisoners. From1862 to 1891 an European jail was functioning in Ooty exclusively for Europeans sentenced in all parts of India.

In 1910 the Nilgiris was separated from the Coimbatore district and placed under a separate District  Superintendent of Police.  Considerable difficulty was experienced in maintaining the police force on the Nilgiri Hills in an efficient and satisfactory manner. The rates of hill bata given did not compensate for the dearness of provisions and for the discomforts of the climate.  Consequently.  resignations became frequent. The Superintendent of Police of Coimbatore District rendered special attention to keep up the force in a better working standard.

Nilgiri Documentation Centre

Image : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/The-Nilgiris-turns-its-oldest-police-station-into-a-museum/article16934418.ece