Mylapore clique

The clique is considered to have "wielded almost exclusive influence and patronage in the service and government appointments",[6] and "controlled the flow of resources out of the institutions of the capital",[8] and "dominated the professional and political life of [the presidency].

"[9] Informal and exclusive, the clique was controlled by two extended families, the Vembaukum Iyengars, and the Calamur Viravalli-Chetpet Iyers,[10] and took its name from the luxurious Madras City neighborhood in which many of its members kept mansions.

[14] American historian Eugene F. Irschick said of them, "the Mylapore Clique was most powerful in the High Court and the Judiciary, but its great influence permeated the Secretariat at Fort St. George and all the Tamil District administrations.

[v] The Mylapore clique and its ur-elements were of central importance in the Madras Mahajana Sabha,[3] forerunner of the Indian National Congress, which it dominated without resistance in the southern territories until 1905,[1] rendering it nearly 'moribund'.

The nationalists of the Salem Clique led by Rajaji wrestled with the Mylapore faction for control over the provincial congress and eventually succeeded with the Gandhian line of engagement.