Madras Hindu Associations

There were two of them: the Madras Hindu Social Reforms Association founded by Veresalingam Pantulu (1848-1939) in 1892, and the Madras. Hindu Association founded by Mrs. Annie Besant in 1904. Pantulu’s Hindu Association was a social purity-movement advocating temperance and combating the devadasi custom. Besant’s organisation was intended “to promote Hindu social and religious advancement on national lines with the spirit of Hindu civilization.”