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{{Short description|Indian lawyer, judge, journalist, and freedom fighter}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Justice
| name = 
| image = S. S. Setlur -- from Cyclopedia of India Vol 3 (1909).png
| alt = Image of Justice S. S. Setlur from 1909
| native_name = Setlur Śrinivāsiyengar
| native_name_lang =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1862|07|21}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1930|01|10|1862|07|21}}
| death_place = Bangalore
| education = B.A. (1887), LL.B. (1891)
| alma_mater = [[Presidency College, Chennai | Presidency College, Madras]]; [[University of Mumbai | Bombay University]]
| occupation = [[Lawyer]] and [[judge]]
| known_for = First president of [[Indian National Congress | Congress party]] in [[Mysore state]] (1921); association with [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]]; works on [[Hindu law | Hindu inheritance law]]
| works = A Full and Authentic Report of the Trial of The Hon'ble Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1897); A Complete Collection of Hindu Law Books on Inheritance (1911); The Mitākshara, with Visvarūpa and Commentaries of Subodhini and Bālambhatti (1912)
| movement = [[Indian independence movement]]
| spouse = 
| partner = 
| children =
| parents = 
| mother = 
| father = Setlur Singiengar (Shingaiengar)
| relatives = [[Sargur Srihari]] (great grandson)
}}

'''S. Srinivasiyengar Setlur''' (21 July 1862 – 10 January 1930), widely known as '''S. S. Setlur''', was an Indian lawyer, judge, journalist, and freedom fighter. As a lawyer in Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]), Setlur was a close associate of [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] and served as the Bombay correspondent for ''[[The Hindu]]''. He was later a justice of the Chief Court of Mysore (now the [[Karnataka High Court]]) and became the first president of the [[Mysore state]] chapter of the [[Indian National Congress]].

Setlur was also an expert on Hindu inheritance laws,{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}} preparing both a landmark compilation of ancient texts and a translation of the [[Mitākṣarā | Mitākshara]], an important text on inheritance, that are still in use today.

==Background and education==

Setlur was a member of the Sri [[Vaishnavism | Vaishnava]] [[Brahmin]] community. His family came to [[Kingdom of Mysore#Princely state | princely Mysore]] and settled at Seringapatam (modern [[Srirangapatna]]) in the 18th century.<ref name="Cyclopedia1909">{{cite book |title=The Cyclopedia of India, Vol. III |date=1909 |publisher=The Cyclopedia Publishing Coy. |location=Calcutta |page=276 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdjkAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA276 |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref> His father was Setlur Singiengar, who provided "highly approved services" to the British administration in various parts of the [[Madras Presidency]] before joining the Mysore government as the ''Marhamat (or Maramuth) Bakshi'' (Chief Engineer) of the state. Singiengar retired as ''Anche Bukshi'' or Postmaster-General in 1867, and his "extensive cosmpolitan charities" in [[Tirupati]], [[North Arcot]], and several parts of Mysore State had "rendered his name a household word in Mysore."<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/><ref name="Biography1915">{{cite book |editor1-last=Rao |editor1-first=C. Hayavadana |title=The Indian Biographical Dictionary |date=1915 |publisher=Pillar & Co. |location=Madras |page=389 |url=https://archive.org/details/indianbiographic00raoc/page/388/mode/2up |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

Setlur studied at the [[Presidency College, Chennai | Presidency College]] in Madras (now [[Chennai]]), graduating with a degree in arts (B.A.) in January 1887.<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> After taking a course in the B.Sc. class in the Science College, [[Pune | Poona]], he eventually obtained his law degree (LL.B.) from [[University of Mumbai | Bombay University]] in 1890.<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/><ref name="BombayUniversityCalendar1902">{{cite book |title=Bombay University Calendar for the Year 1902-1903 |date=1902 |location=Bombay |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015063770922 |access-date=8 June 2024}}</ref>{{rp|215}} While studying law, in December 1889 he won Judge Spencer's prize and the [[Joseph Arnould | Arnould Scholarship]] by placing first in the Presidency and first in Hindu law.<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Bombay University Examination |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/234550875/fulltextPDF/718C95408194493EPQ |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Times of India |date=6 December 1889 |page=4}} "The Arnold Scholarship and Judge Spencer Prize have been awarded to S. Shrinivasiengar Setlur."</ref><ref name="BombayUniversityCalendar1902"/>{{rp|pp=384,439-40}}

==Career in Bombay==

Setlur spent a good portion of his life in Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) and was a leading lawyer there.<ref name="TheHindu2001">{{cite news |last1=Jayaram |first1=A. |title=Giants from Karnataka who shaped the course of history |publisher=The Hindu |date=18 March 2001 |location=Bangalore |page=5}}</ref> In 1892, he was enrolled as an advocate in the Bombay and Madras High Courts.<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> He was a law professor for four years (1903-07) at the [[Government Law College, Mumbai | Government Law School]] where he lectured on Hindu law,<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Bombay "Government Gazette" |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/101385 |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Times of India |issue=283 |date=27 November 1903 |location=Bombay |page=6}} (noting appointment as Professor of Law in the Government Law School)</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Bombay Services |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/33012 |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Gazette |issue=54271 |date=29 November 1907 |page=7}} (noting expiration of term as law professor)</ref> an examiner for High Court examinations, and an examiner in Kanarese ([[Kannada]]) for Bombay University where he was a fellow.<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Election of Five Fellows of the University of Bombay |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/101579 |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Times of India |issue=205 |date=27 August 1904 |location=Bombay |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bombay "Government Gazette" |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/101884 |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Times of India |issue=172 |date=21 July 1905 |location=Bombay |page=6}} (noting appointment as member of the Civil and Military Examination Committee for examining candidates in Kanarese)</ref> He was also active in local civic life, being a member of the [[The Asiatic Society of Mumbai | Royal Asiatic Society]],<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> serving as an honorary secretary of the local chess tournament,<ref>{{cite news |title=Untitled article |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003197/18990525/066/0014 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Indian Daily News |date=25 May 1899 |page=14}} The article describes remarks Setlur delivered on the occasion of prizes being awarded in the chess tournament.</ref> judging an elocution contest (in [[Marathi language | Marathi]]),<ref>{{cite news |title=The National Indian Association: An Elocution Gathering |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/19060118/166/0023 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=18 January 1906 |page=75}}</ref> and even signing a letter of protest against the resumption of animal sacrifices for the [[Vijayadashami | Dasara]] festival in [[Porbandar]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Revival of Animal Sacrifice at Porbander |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001712/19021027/025/0011 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Homeward Mail from India, China, and the East |date=27 October 1902 |pages=11-12}} The article notes that Setlur signed a petition to the ruler of Porbander appealing for the practice to stop.</ref> His friends and associates included [[Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar | N. C. Kelkar]] and [[Pherozeshah Mehta]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kelkar |first1=N. C. |title=Pherozeshah Mehta As I Knew Him: The Last of the Political Barons |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/13952 |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Chronicle (Sunday / Weekly Edition) |date=5 August 1945 |page=9}} "The first time I talked with [Pherozeshah Mehta] was in 1899. It was in his well-known chamber, where I attended at his command, and was introduced to him ... by my friend, the late S. S. Setlur, then an Advocate in the Bombay High Court."</ref>

Setlur was also an active journalist and writer. He was the Bombay correspondent for ''[[The Hindu]]'' (based in Madras) and edited English language columns for the ''[[Induprakash | Indu Prakash]]'', an Anglo-[[Marathi language|Marathi]] journal published in Bombay.<ref name="Biography1915"/><ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> He also sent letters to other publications.<ref>{{cite news |title=Untitled article |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003196/19050218/008/0004 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=The Indian Spectator |issue=7 |date=18 February 1905 |location=Bombay |page=148 |quote=As the subject of sending young men to Europe, America, and Japan for technical training is receiving much attention both in British India and in Native States, Mr. S. S. Setlur draws our attention to an interview which Sister Nivedita had with Dr. Hanford Henderson of America when he was last year at Calcutta.}}</ref> He was a delegate to the seventh Bombay Provincial Conference held in November 1894,<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of Seventh Provincial Conference, Held at Bombay, on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th November 1894 |date=1895 |publisher=Printed at the "Times of India" Steam Press |location=Bombay |pages=100-101}} Available [https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/40662 online] through the Asiatic Society of Mumbai's Granth Sanjeevani project. Setlur spoke in favor of a resolution setting the next conference location: "Being myself a Kanarese man, though not a citizen of Belgaum, I have a right to ask you to honour the Kanarese Districts by accepting this proposition, and on behalf of the people of the Karnataka country, I assure you, gentlemen, that you will have a right hearty welcome in Belgaum." </ref> and was later a delegate to the eleventh conference in 1901.<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Eleventh Provincial Conference held at Bombay, on 14th & 15th September 1901 |date=1901 |publisher=Printed at the "Commercial Press" |location=Bombay |page=103}} Available [https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/40662 online] through the Asiatic Society of Mumbai's Granth Sanjeevani project.</ref>

===Trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak===

In September 1897, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was tried for sedition in the [[Bombay High Court]]. Setlur took an active interest in Tilak's defense,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keer |first1=Dhananjay |title=Lokmanya Tilak: Father of Our Freedom Struggle |date=1959 |location=Bombay |pages=131, 144-45 |url=https://archive.org/details/BALGANGADHARTILAKDHANANJAYKEER/page/n141/mode/2up?q=setlur |access-date=4 June 2024}}</ref> and later published a complete report of the trial with a lengthy introduction that included some of his personal observations.<ref name="TilakReport">{{cite book |editor1-last=Setlur |editor1-first=S. S. |editor2-last=Deshpande |editor2-first=K. G. |title=A Full and Authentic Report of the Trial of The Hon'ble Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak |date=1897 |publisher=Education Society's Press, Byculla |location=Bombay |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.02200/page/n3/mode/2up |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref>{{rp|vii-xvii}} In Setlur's view, the prosecution of Tilak resulted from "panic among the European community" caused by the recent killings of two British officers in [[Pune | Poona]] by the [[Chapekar brothers]]; Setlur himself would later defend Balkrishna Hari Chapekar in his murder trial two years later.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Jubilee Murders: Yesterday's Proceedings |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/19341 |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Gazette |issue=51559 |date=8 March 1899 |page=5}} (noting Setlur's appearance for the defense and cross-examination of witnesses)</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Jubilee Murders. The Verdict. The Three Accused Found Guilty |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/19342 |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Gazette |issue=51560 |date=9 March 1899 |page=5}} (noting Setlur's closing argument of nearly two hours)</ref><ref name="TilakReport"/>{{rp|xi}} The Tilak trial report was priced at 10 annas,<ref name="StJamesGazette1897">{{cite news |title=Notes |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001485/18971111/018/0003 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=St. James's Gazette |date=11 November 1897 |location=London |page=3}}</ref> a low price intended to make it widely available to the Indian public, with profits designated for Tilak's defense fund.<ref name="TilakReport"/>{{rp|vi}}

A London newspaper, the ''[[St James's Gazette | St. James's Gazette]]'', was critical of Setlur's report, calling it "mischief which is allowed to run riot under the name of freedom of the Press." The Gazette added that "while purporting to be a 'report' of the trial, it is mainly a glorification of Tilak, and holds up the judgment of the court which tried him to native ridicule and contempt."<ref name="StJamesGazette1897"/> ''[[The Pioneer (India) | The Pioneer]]'' of Allahabad was also critical of Setlur, finding that he had committed "a great many popular errors" and concluding that the trial result was the product of "independent mature deliberation" about which "no one has any right to complain."<ref>{{cite news |title=Untitled article |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/64932 |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=The Pioneer |issue=11433 |date=13 November 1897 |location=Allahabad |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Tilak Case |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/18971118/058/0010 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=18 November 1897 |page=460}} (reprinting 13 Nov. 1897 article from ''The Pioneer'')</ref>

While Setlur noted that he "did not know Mr. Tilak personally before the trial,"<ref name="TilakReport"/>{{rp|xvii}} he would ultimately become a staunch follower of Tilak.<ref name="TheHindu2001"/> After the trial, Setlur served as one of his legal advisors and when Tilak quickly lost weight in prison, Setlur wrote to the [[Howard League for Penal Reform | Howard Association]] in London, eventually leading to some improvement in Tilak's conditions.<ref name="Jog1962">{{cite book |last1=Jog |first1=N. G. |title=Builders of Modern India: Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak |date=1962 |publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |url=https://ia903104.us.archive.org/23/items/lokmanyabalganga00jogn/lokmanyabalganga00jogn.pdf |access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref>{{rp|64}} In 1915, a dying [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], who had his differences with Tilak, would ask Setlur to seek a compromise with Tilak to achieve Congress party unity.<ref name="Jog1962"/>{{rp|166-67}}

==Hindu inheritance law==

Setlur was a leading scholar of [[Hindu law]] relating to inheritances and contributed to the law journal of the [[Bombay Presidency]].<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> In 1907, a response by Setlur to an article on the origin of the [[Bengal]] School of Hindu law was published by the ''[[Law Quarterly Review]]'', one of [[London]]'s leading law journals.<ref name="LQR1907">{{cite journal |last1=Setlur |first1=S. S. |title=Origin and Development of the Bengal School of Hindu Law |journal=Law Quarterly Review |date=April 1907 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=202-219 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/lqr23&i=214 |access-date=2 June 2024 |location=London}}</ref><ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> Setlur argued that the reason Bengal's inheritance laws differed from the Mitākshara school of the other Indian provinces was due to different historical circumstances, rather than different interpretations of the same original ancient [[Hindu texts]].{{fact|date=June 2024}}

In 1911, Setlur's ''A Complete Collection of Hindu Law Books on Inheritance'' was published. The treatise includes a nearly 30-page introduction by Setlur followed by English translations and analysis of all important texts recognized as authorities in different schools of Hindu law.<ref name="InheritanceTreatise1911">{{cite book |last1=Setlur |first1=S. S. |title=A Complete Collection of Hindu Law Books on Inheritance |date=1911 |publisher=V. Kalyanaram Iyer & Co. |location=Madras |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.351404/mode/2up |access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref> A review in the ''Madras Weekly Notes'' observed that this was the first volume to present most of the seventeen included texts in accurate English translations, and that it would enable lawyers to compare what different writers had to say on a given point.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Hindu Law Books on Inheritance: A Translation |journal=Madras Weekly Notes |date=20 August 1911 |page=11 |url=https://www.tamildigitallibrary.in/admin/assets/periodicals/TVA_PRL_0022609/TVA_PRL_0022609_The_Madras_weekly_notes_August_20_1911.pdf |access-date=2 June 2024}} ''See also'' {{cite journal |title=Hindu Law Books on Inheritance |journal=Calcutta Law Journal |date=1 December 1911 |volume=XIV |issue=11 |page=65 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hl2mfa&seq=843 |access-date=9 June 2024 |location=Calcutta}} The Calcutta law journal was more critical, saying that "[t]here is no indication given of the persons responsible for the translations. That they have not been made first-hand by the same person is manifest."</ref> Setlur's treatise was widely influential and was cited by the [[Supreme Court of India]] as recently as 1980.<ref>''Shyam Sunder Prasad Singh & Ors. vs. State of Bihar & Ors.'', 1981 AIR 178 (22 July 1980), https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/4501.pdf</ref>

Setlur had a "keen interest in the advancement of [[Sanskrit]] knowledge" and was himself "a Sanskrit scholar of ability."<ref name="Cyclopedia1909"/> In 1912, he edited a comprehensive edition of the Mitākshara and related texts and commentaries in both Sanskrit and English.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Setlur |editor1-first=S. S. |title=The Mitākshara, with Visvarūpa and Commentaries of Subodhini and Bālambhatti (Vol. 1) |date=1912 |publisher=Bramhavadin Press |location=Madras |url=https://archive.org/details/mitaksharawithvisvarupasubodhinibalambhattisetlurs.s.1912_202003_374_s/mode/2up |access-date=2 June 2024 |language=Sanskrit}}</ref> Setlur's edition of the Mitākshara has had significant influence in the field to the present day.

==Chief Court justice and freedom fighter==

Setlur eventually left Bombay for [[Bangalore]]. He became an acquaintance of [[Swami Vivekananda]] and shared his reflections in a letter to the ''Madras Mail'' upon the latter's passing in 1902.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Late Swami Vivekananda |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003345/19020717/175/0020 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=17 July 1902 |page=20}} The news article includes an excerpt of a letter from Setlur that describes Vivekananda's visits to Bangalore, Mysore, and Madras.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Svami's ideas. |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003196/19110218/004/0001 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=The Indian Spectator |date=18 February 1911 |location=Bombay |pages=121-22 |quote=Mr. Setlur mentioned that the Svami wished to found a ladies' Matha or Vihara at Poona, but he did not live to see the idea concretised.}}</ref>

In 1908, the [[Dewan of Mysore]], Sir [[V. P. Madhava Rao]], appointed Setlur as one of three justices of the Mysore Chief Court,<ref name="TheHindu2001"/> and the appointment was "met with general satisfaction in the Province."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Mysore Chief Court |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/19080723/038/0005 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=23 July 1908 |page=89}}</ref> Upon taking his seat on 24 July 1908, Setlur expressed appreciation to the Mysore Bar, observing that "[m]ost of your members have been well known to me from my boyhood, and I am glad I have come back to my people...."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Chief Court |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/19080730/233/0026 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=30 July 1908 |page=138}}</ref> While the appointment was temporary to relieve a justice who had gone on leave,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Chief Court |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/19080730/025/0005 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=30 July 1908 |page=117 |quote=Mr. S. Setlur, the newly appointed acting Third Judge of the Mysore Chief Court ... took his seat on the Bench to-day, relieving Mr. Justice P.S. Krishna Rao, who proceeds on leave. There is every prospect of Mr. Setlur's appointment being made a permanent one before the end of the year, as certain changes among high officials of the service are impending.}}</ref> he was reappointed for one year in November as the fourth judge.<ref>{{cite news |title=Official |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/19081126/073/0009 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=26 November 1908 |page=575 |quote="Bangalore, 19th Nov. -- The Government of H. H. the Maharajah of Mysore have appointed Mr. S. Setlur to be a fourth Judge of the Mysore Chief Court for one year, with effect from the date of Mr. Justice Nanjundiah's return from leave.}}</ref> Later, the [[Residencies of British India | British Resident]] in Mysore, Sir [[Stuart Fraser (civil servant) | Stuart Fraser]], objected to the appointment due to Setlur's links with Tilak, eventually leading Setlur to resign his judgeship.<ref name="TheHindu2001"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Judge Setlur Retires |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/33090 |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Gazette |issue=54861 |date=25 October 1909 |page=6}} ("Mr. S. S. Setlur ... intends retiring and starting practice at Madras.")</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The appointment of Mr. Setlur, B.A., LL.B., as a Puisne Judge of the Chief Court of Mysore |journal=Selections from the native newspapers published in the United Provinces of Agra & Oudh |date=20 November 1909 |issue=47 |page=881 |url=https://jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.26082303 |access-date=10 June 2024}} The online source is likely from the India Office Reports on native newspapers. It mentions three local news stories: 49. ''Advocate'' (Lucknow), 7 November 1909, referring to an article in ''The Hindu'' and suggesting that "this action was probably due to the fact that a letter written to one of the nationalist leaders in Calcutta fell into the hands of the police." 50. ''Musafir'' (Agra), 15 November 1909. 51. ''Leader'' (Allahabad), 18 November 1909.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Comments on the alleged advice given by the Government of India to Mysore State against the appointment of Mr. Setlur as a Judge of the Chief Court. |journal=Report on Native Papers published in the Bombay Presidency |date=27 November 1909 |issue=48 |page=32 |url=https://jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.33177026 |access-date=10 June 2024}} The report quotes the ''Phoenix'', 20 November 1909, which in turn references ''The Hindu''. The ''Phoenix'' article cites as reasons Setlur's editing of the Tilak trial transcript, and also "it is rumoured that the Bombay Political Department had in possession a letter written by Mr. Setlur to Mr. Tilak expressing sympathy with his propaganda."</ref> Setlur would later visit [[London]] in 1915, leaving for his return journey to Bombay on 13 November on the [[P&O]] ship [[RMS Arabia | RMS ''Arabia'']].<ref>{{cite news |title=The London Indian Association |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004300/19151112/030/0011 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=India |date=12 November 1915 |page=215 |quote=The London Indian Association was "At Home" ... to meet Dr. Jivraj N. Mehta on the eve of his departure for India. *** [A]mong those present were ... Mr. S. S. Setlur....}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mail Passengers: Outward Bound |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19151208/106/0011 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Civil & Military Gazette |date=8 December 1915 |location=Lahore |page=11}} The article provides a list of passengers leaving London for Bombay on 13 November on the P&O ship ''Arabia'' that includes "Setlur, Mr. S S."</ref>

From 1914 to 1923, Setlur was a regular columnist for [[Annie Besant]]'s newspaper, ''[[New India (newspaper) | New India]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=V Geetha |author2=S V Rajadurai |title=One Hundred Years of Brahminitude: Arrival of Annie Besant |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=15 July 1995 |volume=30 |issue=28 |page=1769 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4402996 |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref> In February 1916, he attended [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s first public speech in India, on the occasion of laying the foundation stone for the [[Banares Hindu University]]. Gandhi did not finish the speech after being interrupted by Besant, who claimed she was protecting him from the authorities. In a letter to ''The Hindu'', Setlur said that while Gandhi was not encouraging anarchists, he was instead "playing the role of an apologist for the Civilian Bureaucrat." Setlur went on to criticize much of the speech's substance and Gandhi's delivery.<ref name="MaharashtraSourceMaterial">{{cite book |editor1-last=Phatak |editor1-first=N. R. |title=Source Material for a History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol. 3 (Part I) |date=1965 |publisher=Government of Maharashtra |location=Mumbai |url=https://archive.org/details/HindSwaraj.Source.VOL-03-PART-I/page/n29/mode/2up |access-date=4 June 2024}}</ref>{{rp|21-22}} In a public response to Besant, Gandhi called Setlur's criticism "in some respects totally unfair" and that Setlur had "endeavoured to tear me to pieces."<ref name="MaharashtraSourceMaterial"/>{{rp|19}} As part of a further reply to Gandhi, Besant herself re-published Setlur's letter.<ref name="MaharashtraSourceMaterial"/>{{rp|20-21}}

Setlur would go on to found the Congress party in [[Kingdom of Mysore#Princely state | princely Mysore]] in 1921 and serve as its first president.<ref name="TheHindu2001"/><ref name="TimesofIndia2001">{{cite news |last1=Prasad |first1=Srinivasa |title=Becker's girlfriend has roots in south India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/beckers-girlfriend-has-roots-in-south-india/articleshow/20244971.cms |access-date=2 June 2024 |publisher=Times of India |date=9 February 2001}}</ref> When three freedom fighters were killed while picketing in [[Dharwad]] on 1 July 1921, Setlur served on a three-member inquiry committee appointed by the All India Congress Committee.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shrinidhi |first1=R |title=Centenary of Dharwad's mini Jallianwala Bagh |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/centenary-of-dharwad-s-mini-jallianwala-bagh-1019704.html |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Deccan Herald |date=14 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="CongressResolutions1920-23">{{cite book |title=The Indian National Congress: Being a collection of the resolutions of the Congress and of the All India Congress Committee and of the Working Committee of the Congress from September 1920 to December 1923 |date=1924 |publisher=Allahabad Law Journal Press |location=Allahabad |url=https://jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.26422465 |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>{{rp|102}} In February 1922, he and other Congress leaders were served with notices under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code relating to [[unlawful assembly]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Notices Served on Agitators |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19220224/082/0007 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Civil & Military Gazette |date=24 February 1922 |location=Lahore |page=7}}</ref> In December 2022, he called for an end to Congress' state-level work and resigned as the Mysore Congress Committee president, but his suggestions were not accepted by the committee.<ref>{{cite news |title=Congress Work in Indian States |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19221206/105/0008 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Civil & Military Gazette |date=6 December 1922 |location=Lahore |page=8}}</ref>

Setlur continued writing in his later years. In December 1923, the ''[[The Bombay Chronicle | Bombay Chronicle]]'' published a lengthy essay in which he critiqued the new constitution of Mysore.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Setlur |first1=S. S. |title=Mysore Reforms: The Constitutional Aspect |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/7719/ |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Chronicle |date=20 December 1923 |page=10}}</ref> In 1927, Setlur led a group known as the "Sanatan Nationalists" with [[Hindu nationalism | Hindu nationalist]] views.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brahmins' Greetings |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003221/19271219/162/0011 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Civil & Military Gazette |date=19 December 1927 |location=Lahore |page=11 |quote=Mr. S. S. Setlur, leader of the 'Sanatan Nationalists' in a special telegram to the Afghan Consul, Bombay, extending a cordial welcome to His Majesty the King of Afghanistan says: 'Pray convey the heartiest greetings of the Brahmana Aryas of Southern India to His Majesty, Arya's Ruler of the most sacred Vedic North-Western Province of Gandhara, the ancient Hindu name for the geopgrahical unit of Afghanistan.}}</ref>

Setlur resided in the Siddikatte area of Bangalore (present day Gundopanth Street)<ref name="TheHindu2001"/> while continuing to own land elsewhere.<ref>{{cite news |title=The North Arcot District Conference |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003345/19080430/030/0005 |access-date=2 June 2024 |work=Madras Weekly Mail |date=30 April 1908 |page=487 |quote=Mr. S. S. Setlur, an Advocate of the Bombay High Court, who owns lands in the North Arcot District, [was] among those present.}}</ref> He died at his residence in Siddikatte on the morning of 10 January 1930 (possibly 9 January) after a five-month battle with stomach cancer, and was survived by his wife, six sons and three daughters.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mr. S. S. Setlur Dead |url=https://www.granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/9016 |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Chronicle |date=11 January 1930 |page=7}} "Bangalore, Jan. 10. Mr. S. S. Setlur ailing of cancer in the stomach for the last five months expired ''this morning'' at 6-35 in his family residence at Siddikata, Bangalore City." (italics added)</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Late Mr. Setlur |url=https://granthsanjeevani.com/jspui/handle/123456789/9060 |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=The Bombay Chronicle |date=20 January 1930 |page=11}} "Bangalore, Jan. 10. It is with regret I have to report the death of the late Mr. S. S. Setlur, a prominent advocate ''yesterday'' at his residence. *** He leaves behind him, his young wife six sons and three daughters...." (italics added)</ref> A street in Bangalore's [[Richmond Town, Bangalore | Richmond Town]] neighborhood may have been named after him or an ancestor.<ref name="TimesofIndia2001"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:1862 births]]
[[Category:1930 deaths]]
[[Category:Presidency College, Chennai alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Karnataka]]

S. S. Setlur - Revision history

Bhargava1920: starting first article v1