All the elements of twentieth-century politics in Tamilnadu cohere in 1918–1919: human and natural rights, women's rights, the labor movement, linguistic nationalism, and even the politics of caste reservation. Much has been written of how this politics was mediated by newspapers, handbills, and chapbooks, and the dominant narrative of such events privileges the circulation of print and print culture of vernacular language. This paper explores the relatively lesser-known story of the role and impact of vernacular oratory on the development of the mass political in Tamilnadu from the Swadeshi movement (1905–1908) to the formation of labor unions (1917–1919), and the explicit attempt to persuade non-elites into speech, action, and ultimately politics. I argue that Tamil oratory was an infrastructural element in the production of the political, at least the political as we understand it in twentieth-century Tamilnadu, where oratory became the defining activity of political practice. When elites made the conscious move to begin addressing the common man, when Everyman was called to join into the political, a new agency was formed along with a new definition of what politics would look like. The paper considers what such new agency and definitions entail in pursuit of a better understanding of what constitutes the political generally and the Tamil political in particular.

This study assessed, by postal questionnaire, how the role of the psychiatrist in learning disability is perceived by general practitioners. One hundred and forty-six GPs were questioned on various aspects of assessment and management that the psychiatrist in learning disability might be involved with; 43.5% of questionnaires were returned. The results indicated that confusion continues. The psychiatrist was perceived as having a global role in the care of this group of patients with lack of knowledge of community teams for learning disability being evident. Further education at a primary care level is indicated.