Young Men's Indian Association
The Young Men's Indian Association (YMIA) was a youth organization founded by Annie Besant in 1914 in support of the Indian independence movement. It continues to exist as a society registered under the provisions of Act 21 of 1860, with the object of the improvement of the moral, physical and educational standards and citizenship of Indian youth.[1] The original location in Madras (now Chennai), offers a residence for young men with food service, recreational facilities, and a library reading room. In other cities, similar facilities are offered. The YMIA has a web page and a presence in Facebook.
Early history
By 1914, Annie Besant had already been working for some years on establishment of schools and organizations to support Indian education and nationalism. In a 1908 address at Central Hindu College, she said, "Our work is the training of thousands of India's sons into noble manhood into worthiness to become free citizens in a free land." [2] Her political activity reached greatest intensity in the years 1914-1917. She worked with several other nationalist leaders to demand home rule for India, and formation of the YMIA was one aspect of this movement.
Mrs. Besant sponsored the construction of a building for the YMIA, which was completed in 1915. A large public meeting hall in the building was given the name Gopal Krishna Gokhale Hall after the Indian leader. When she announced the formation of the Home Rule League in 1916, it was at Gokhale hall. Many other nationalistic events took place there. The Indian Society of Oriental Art held an exhibition at the YMIA building in 1916, organized by Theosophist James Cousins.[3]
In his introduction to The Besant Spirit, George S. Arundale wrote of Dr. Besant's daily routine in Adyar during the time of her great activism in the Indian independence movement. Each evening at 5:30,
She would be seen having a cup of coffee at the Young Men's Indian Association, a fine building in Armenian Street given by herself to the youth of the city. It would have to be very important business which could cause her to forego this solemn and happy ritual. But often there was very important business. So many people had to be seen, committees to be attended, and above all those wonderful meetings in the Gokhale Hall, itself part of the Association premises. Most young people of to-day [note that this was written in 1939] are too young to remember those meetings of twenty years ago. The Hall packed to the brim with youth and a sprinkling of the older generation sedately seated on the platform. Enters the white-robed figure of the Editor of New India, almost gorgeously arrayed in silken sari, with an H. R. pendant in green and gold enamel – green and gold being the then Home Rule colours... A torrent of applause. A cheery smile... Wave upon wave of cheers. A bow to the audience with folded hands. A rustle of chairs and a general fussification as the entourage settled itself down. And then a Hall-wide hush of expectancy, with everybody impatient to hear the world's greatest orator demand freedom for India in language that no one could possibly mistake.[4]
Facilities
Gokhale Hall was partially demolished, but is now being renovated. Two hostels are now serving about 150 youth. Over the years additional hostels were operated in George town, Triplicane, Mylapore, and Nungambakkam, but these had to be closed despite their popularity.[5]
Activities
Internships are offered to students who would like to develop a career in services and development of youth programs. YMIA proposes to launch branches in all major cities of India.[6]
These are some of the activities and services of the YMIA
- Sports, boxing, and body building
- Fine arts competitions
- Competitions for carrom (a tabletop game)
- Oratorical contests in 4 languages ( English, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu)
- Blood drive
- Republic Day celebrations
- Celebration of Swami Vivekananda's 150th birthday
- Memorial lectures honoring Dr. Annie Besant
- CDs of Annie Besant’s speeches
Notes
- ↑ Madras High Court document. 1962. Citation: AIR 1964 Mad 63, 1963 14 STC 1030 Mad Available at IndianKanoon.org.
- ↑ Annie Besant, The Besant Spirit Volume 7: The India that Shall Be: Articles from New India.
- ↑ Kathleen Taylor, Sir John Woodroffe Tantra and Bengal: 'An Indian Soul in a European Body?' (Surrey: Routledge, 2012), 70.
- ↑ George S. Arundale, Introduction to The Besant Spirit: Volume III Indian Problems (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1939), 13-14. The Besant Spirit is a compilation of writings by Annie Besant.
- ↑ Young Men's Indian Association web page.
- ↑ Young Men's Indian Association web page.