Vembaukum family

The Vembaukum or Vembakkam^[i] family were one of the two preeminent Brahmin dynasties in the Madras Presidency, dominating the Mylapore clique^[1] alongside the Calamur clan, and 'possess(ing) an enormous presence in the... bureaucracy of the capital and its surrounding district(s)',^[2] whose historical presence began in the 1820s,^[3] with the sprawling clan famously having begun holding yearly family conferences by the 1890s to preserve their dynastic unity, political cohesion and influence, and wealth.^[4]

Populated by numerous elite lawyers and administrators, the Vembaukum were originally Vadakalai Iyengars from Vembakkam in the Chingleput District of the Madras Presidency (in contrast to the Calamurs, who were Vadama Iyers from North Arcot).^[5] The Law Weekly, a legal journal, has been edited and published by the family for over a century.^[6]

Members

V. Ramiengar , Diwan of Travancore
V. Bhashyam Aiyangar , Advocate-General, Justice of the High Court
C. R. Thiruvenkatachari, Justice of the High Court
C. V. Rungacharlu , Diwan of Mysore
S. Srinivasa Iyengar , Advocate-General, Law Member of the Executive Council
V. C. Desikachariar, member of the Legislative Council of Madras
V. Sadagopacharlu, first Indian member of the Legislative Council of Madras
V. Rajagopalacharlu
V. C. Gopalratnam
Ambujammal
S. Varadachariar^[ii]

Notes

^ also Vembakkem, Venbakkam, or (in very old sources) Vembaucum
^ Son of the core family's head priest

References

^ Fuller, C. J.; Narasimhan, Haripriya (2014). Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste. University of Chicago Press. doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226152882.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-226-15274-5.
^ Fuller, C.J.; Narasimhan, Haripriya (October 2010). "Traditional vocations and modern professions among Tamil Brahmans in colonial and post-colonial south India". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 47 (4): 473–496. doi:10.1177/001946461004700403. ISSN 0019-4646. PMID 21128371.
^ Neild-Basu, Susan (February 1984). "The Dubashes of Madras". Modern Asian Studies. 18 (1): 1–31. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00011203. ISSN 0026-749X.
^ Washbrook, David (1975), Baker, C. J.; Washbrook, D. A. (eds.), "The Development of Caste Organisation in South India 1880 to 1925", South India: Political Institutions and Political Change 1880–1940, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 150–203, doi:10.1007/978-1-349-02746-0_5, ISBN 978-1-349-02746-0, retrieved 2024-03-27
^ Washbrook, David A. (1976). The emergence of provincial politics: the Madras Presidency 1870 - 1920. Cambridge South Asian studies. Cambridge: Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20982-3.
^ "Turning the pages of time". The Hindu. 2011-08-10. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-03-14.

[1] so Vembakkem, Venbakkam, or (in very old sources) Vembaucum

[8] Son of the core family's head priest

[2] Fuller, C. J.; Narasimhan, Haripriya (2014). Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste. University of Chicago Press. doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226152882.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-226-15274-5.

[3] Fuller, C.J.; Narasimhan, Haripriya (October 2010). "Traditional vocations and modern professions among Tamil Brahmans in colonial and post-colonial south India". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 47 (4): 473–496. doi:10.1177/001946461004700403. ISSN 0019-4646. PMID 21128371.

[4] Neild-Basu, Susan (February 1984). "The Dubashes of Madras". Modern Asian Studies. 18 (1): 1–31. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00011203. ISSN 0026-749X.

[5] Washbrook, David (1975), Baker, C. J.; Washbrook, D. A. (eds.), "The Development of Caste Organisation in South India 1880 to 1925", South India: Political Institutions and Political Change 1880–1940, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 150–203, doi:10.1007/978-1-349-02746-0_5, ISBN 978-1-349-02746-0, retrieved 2024-03-27

[6] Washbrook, David A. (1976). The emergence of provincial politics: the Madras Presidency 1870 - 1920. Cambridge South Asian studies. Cambridge: Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20982-3.

[7] "Turning the pages of time". The Hindu. 2011-08-10. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-03-14.

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