The Impact of Great Depression on the Social Life of Tamils, 1929-1937

The World-wide impact of Great Depression of 1939's was on a scale of unprecedented severity. The collapse of export markets. fall in the prices of agricultural and commercial products, and decrease in goverment revenue from customs, excise, stamps and registration were the marked feature of this global phenomenon. In India the trade and fiscal policies pursued by the colonial state added to the incidence of the Depression and aggravated the situation. This paper attempts a brief account of the onslaught of the Great Depression on the Tamil districts of Madras Presidency, the intervention of the colonial government in Madras to counteract the Depression and finally the Depression 's fallout on the people and their response to the consequences of the Depression.