In the night of 9th Feb Rabindranath and his team reached Salem of Madras. Many important persons gathered on the platform to welcome them. In the morning of 9th Feb,1919, many leaders of the locality came to meet him and discussed with him about the then politics and literature informally. Rabindranath commented on Rowlat Bill as not-a-la at all. and read the English version of the of "Gandharir Abedan" to enunciate his idea of politics.(The Rowlatt Act was a law passed by the British in colonial India in March 1919, indefinitely extending "emergency measures" (of the Defence of India Regulations Act) enacted during the First World War in order to control public unrest and root out conspiracy. Passed on the recommendations of the Rowlatt Committee, named for its president, British judge Sir Sidney Rowlatt, this act effectively authorized the government to imprison for a maximum period of two years, without trial, any person suspected of terrorism living in the Raj. The Rowlatt Act gave British imperial authorities power to deal with revolutionary activities.Mohandas Gandhi, among other Indian leaders, was extremely critical of the Act and argued that not everyone should be punished in response to isolated political crimes. The Act led to indignation from Indian leaders and the public, which caused the government to implement repressive measures. Gandhi and others found that constitutional opposition to the measure was fruitless, so on April 6, a "hartal" was organized where Indians would suspend all business and fast as a sign of their hatred for the legislation. This event is known as the Rowlatt satyagraha)
In he afternoon at 4 pm he was greeted by the residents of Salem at the local Electric Theatre. The meeting was presided by Mr. Narasimha Rao and organized by the members of the Sahitya Samity and the students who read a written felicitation paper written on a silver sheet with artistic design and offered it to Rabindranath Tagore.The vice-President of the Board of Dharampuri Taluk SreeKrishna Chettier presented a statue of Sreekrishna made of Brass. After that Rabindranath read the essay " The Centre of Indian Culture". At the end of the ceremony Rabindranath visited the Sahitya Samity and read the um-published work of English version of " Karna Kuntir Sangbad". In the night the members bade farewell to him at the station.
