New Delhi, Nov. 1 -- In the fateful autumn of 1906, the residents of Chennai (then Madras) awoke to a two-line notice that shattered the city's peace.

"Messrs. Arbuthnot & Co. have suspended payments."

The seemingly innocuous statement signalled a financial and moral catastrophe for the city. For nearly a century, Arbuthnot & Co. had been the symbol of British integrity and financial security in South India. Thousands of merchants, landlords, charities, and even ancient temples had entrusted their life savings to the firm.

At its helm was Sir George Gordon Arbuthnot, a knight of the British Empire, a prominent civic leader, and one of the most powerful men in the Madras Presidency. Often cited as an antithesis to "corrupt Indian mercha...