Although the contemporary history of Freemasonry in India can be traced to the year 1961, when the Grand Lodge of India was formed, Freemasonry was being widely followed throughout Europe and the English Colonies following the establishment of the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland and Ireland. The nobility, clergy, military personnel and men of influence sought to become part of the Fraternity. British India was no exception. In fact, within just 12 years of the constitution of the Grand Lodge of England, constituted for the purpose of exercising supervision over the Lodges in London and its neighbouring areas, a petition was sent by a few Brethren in India to constitute a Provincial Grand Lodge in due form at Fort William, Calcutta. The petition having been granted, a Provincial Grand Master was appointed to supervise Masonic activity in India and the Far East in 1729. In India, British influence gradually spread through its East India Company, and Lodges were established by the military, railways and bureaucracy, though the military played a more prominent role. At the close of the French and Indian Peninsula wars there were, in addition to Military Static and Travelling Lodges, more than 100 Lodges warranted by the three Grand Lodges. Military Lodges greatly accelerated the growth of Colonial Freemasonry. It is no wonder that so many prominent military leaders of the French Revolutionary and Indian wars were Freemasons, such as Lord Nelson, Sir Charles Napier, Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote, twice Commander-in-Chief of British India, Lord Lake, Hastings, Dalhousie, the Duke of Wellington, Sir William Lockhart and Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, both Commanders-in-Chief of British India, and so on. Historical records indicate that the son of Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, was also himself a member of the fraternity. Many Lodge had been set up in other major townships like Madras, Calcutta and Mumbai. By the next 150 years, some 400 registered Lodges were existing in India, but the figure diminished soon after India gained its Independence in 1947, when its strength came down to just about 290. Amongst its prominent members Swami Vivekananda (initiated in 1884 under the name of Brother Narendra Nath Dutt, in Lodge ‘Anchor & Hope’, Calcutta); Motilal Nehru (father of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and grandfather of Indira Gandhi) – Lodge ‘Harmony’, Kanpur; C.Rajagopalachary (Governor General of India); Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer (Divan of Travancore); Dr. P.V.Cheriy (Governor of Maharashtra); Maharaja of Patiala and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (President of India), Actor Ashok Kumar, Madhav Rao Scindhia, M.A.Khan Pataudi. The Grand Lodge of India was officially constituted on Friday, the 24th of November 1961 at Asoka Hotel, New Delhi. There were three delegations from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Ireland and England. In addition to the Grand Master, Masons of Grand Lodge of Scotland, representatives of Grand Masters of England and Ireland, The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel, the Most Worshipful Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alberta (Canada) and about 1500 Brethren from all over India and abroad were present at this historic event. After the consecration and Constitution of the Grand Lodge of India, the Deputy Grand Master of England assumed the Throne and installed Major General Dr.Sir Syed Raza Ali Khan, His Highness the Nawab of Rampur, as the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India. The Apron, chain in Gold and Gauntlets etc. For the new Grand Master were presented jointly by the three parent Grand Lodges. Thereafter, the new Grand Lodge invited the 277 individual Lodges existing in India at the time to join, only if they so desired. Of these, 145 came forward, while other decided to remain under the charter of their respective founding Grand Lodges of England, Ireland and Scotland, respectively. The Lodges which came into the fold of the Grand Lodge of India were known as ‘Foundation Lodges’. The headquarters of the Grand Lodge of India was, and continues to be located at Freemasons’ Hall Complex, Janpath, New Delhi. Over the next few weeks Regional Grand Lodges came into being viz – the Regional Grand Lodge of Northern India with its headquarters at New Delhi; the Regional Grand Lodge of Eastern India with its headquarters at Kolkata; the Regional Grand Lodge of Western India with its headquarters at Mumbai and the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India with its headquarters at Chennai. All Foundation Lodges falling into regional jurisdiction came into the fold of their respective Regional Grand Lodges, and in the coming five decades more Lodges have come into existence, and many prominent citizens have joined the Fraternity. Today India has nearly 470 Lodges and over 160 R.A.Chapters, over 180 Mark Lodges and over 140 R.A.M.Lodges located in about 172 cities in different parts of the country, with a total membership of about 23000 Freemasons. These Lodges have been divided into four distinct regions in India, with each region headed by respective Regional Grand Master. Many veteran Lodges are still retaining their rich history, traditions and customs, though rituals being followed in all the lodges are uniform. RW Bro Gutha Krishnan Selvarajan, popularly known as GKS or GKS sir. Born on 22nd July 1946, had his early school education in Madurai and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Loyola College, Madras with distinction. He obtained his Law Degree from Madras Law College in First Class in 1967. After a brilliant academic record, he joined the Bar in January 1968 as an Apprentice and Junior under Mr.V.Ramaswami (who went on to become R.W.Bro.Chief Justice V.Ramaswami). After initial training, he set up independent practice as Advocate, both in the Appellate and Original Side of Madras High Court in the year 1971. He set up a lucrative practice and specialized in civil, criminal, banking and arbitration laws. He is presently Legal advisor to many Corporate and Banking Institutions. R.W.Bro.G.K. Selvarajan, saw the light of freemasonry on 11.9.1982 in Lodge Justitia No.82. He took keen interest and served the various offices in the Lodge before he occupied the Eastern Chair in December 1989. Being an excellent ritualist, he motivated and inspired his officers and brethren to improve the ritual working and administration in the Lodge. During his Mastership, the Lodge participated in the Ritual Working Competition and won Awards from the Region. During his Mastership, the Lodge celebrated its Platinum Jubilee in the presence of the then Regional Grand Master R.W. Bro. K.L. Reddi. He also compiled the history of the Lodge from the year 1971 to 1985 and brought out the same as a supplement on that occasion. In the Region, R.W. Bro. G.K. Selvarajan, held many offices. In 1998, he was appointed as the Regional Grand Director of Ceremonies. This marked the beginning of the new league of DOC’s. He gave an extempore proclamation of the 14 ARGMs invested at the meeting including their personal biodata, achievements, masonic honours etc. It was highly acclaimed as the first of its kind and he became the trend setter for the other RGDOCs to follow in later years. He held the office of RGDOC for 3 years with great aplomb. (KS Rekhi as GDOC.) R.W.Bro.G.K.Selvarajan, served as the Grand Director of Ceremonies of the Grand Lodge of India for 3 years. His performance as Grand DOC at the World Conference, held in New Delhi for the first time, attended by 38 Grand Lodges throughout the World was acclaimed as the BEST performance by any Grand DOC and most impressive ever. His meticulous planning and execution of receiving and escorting the Grand Masters individually is still talked about amongst his contemporaries. The later breed of GDOC’s, including me, have tried to emulate that but, of course, have not been able to match his performance. His majestic gait had an aura of respectability. He was confident, firm and polite. He never had to speak aloud. Once asked to write about him, I used the tagline of a popular news channel some years back – “You don’t have to shout to be heard.” He was appointed as the Regional Grand Master of Southern India and served that office from January 2005 till March 2008 with distinction. During his tenure he introduced the innovative concept of Area Meetings for each Area under the ARGMs to enable the Lodges to perform better and to strengthen the bond of brotherhood. This concept was followed by not only his successor Regional Grand Masters but by the RGM’s in other Regions as well. He introduced the office of “Officers in Charge” for the superior degrees to streamline the administration. The Corpus fund of Regional Grand Lodge Charitable Trust had substantially increased by about 100% during his tenure. As RGM, for the first time in the Region, he set up an Ongoing Charity Project “Vocational Training Centre for Women” to impart training in computers, tailoring etc. Numerous down-trodden women benefitted from the training imparted by the Centre and got placements in various organization. In recognition of the meritorious service rendered by him, the Grand Lodge of India with the approval of Grand Board of General Purposes consecrated a Craft Lodge in the name of `Lodge G.K.SELVARAJAN No.365’ at Chennai on 11.7.2009. After a long gap of about 20 years, it was the first time that a new Craft Lodge was consecrated in the name of a living person. R.W.Bro.G.K.Selvarajan, was exalted in Chapter Madras No.13 in 1986 and occupied the office of `Z’ in that Chapter. He also held various offices in the Grand Chapter and the Regional Grand Chapter of Southern India and he was awarded the Past Rank of Second Grand Principal. In the Mark Degree, he was advanced in St. Mark’s in the East No.1 in 1986 and occupied the Eastern Chair in the Lodge later. He has held various offices in the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons and the Regional Grand Mark Lodge of Southern India. He is a Founder of Mark Lodge Chennai No.92 and Dakshin Mark Masters Lodge No.100. He was an active Deputy Grand Master in the Grand Lodge in 2009-2010. He was elevated in RAM Gurdial Gill No.31 and served as W.C.N. in the Lodge. He is the Founder W.C.N. of R.A.M. Lodge Chennai No.92 and Founder Member of Dakshin R.A.M. Lodge No.100. He is also Senior RAM Grand Officer. In the speech delivered by R.W.Bro. Chief Justice V. Ratnam in 2007 on the occasion of R.W.Bro. G.K.Selvarajan, receiving his 25 years Long Term Service, he described R.W.Bro. G.K.Selvarajan “Brother with a sound head, honest heart, humble spirit, thoughtfulness, generosity, modesty, self-respect, affability, mildness, cheerful disposition and accepting duty as a dominant conception, who never stinted in his service to masonry and his devotion and dedication will forever be glorious and shining example.” In year 2009, MW Bro Dr Balaram Biswakumar, OSM, gave a formal stamp of recognition of the services rendered by RW Bro Sylvarajan to Freemasonry by decorating him with the highest award – the Order of Service to Masonry. For last two years he has been holding the office of the President of the Grand Board of General Purposes. April-2023 Edition (Please click below link )
Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of India
Grand Master
Grand Secretary
Grand Master Elect 2024-27
Annual Grand Festival held on 25th-26th November, 2023 at Hyderabad
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DEPUTY GRAND MASTER, ASSISTANT GRAND MASTER & PRESIDENT, BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSES
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