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| 2021 Republic Day. hindustantimes.com |
Vanchinathan, a great freedom fighter and an ardent follower of V.O. Chidamparam, a leading lawysr and patriot who ran the first steam ship (owned by the Indians) between Thoothukoodi and Colombo (Sri Lanka), shot dead British Collector Ashe in the southern district of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu roughly 109 years ago at a railway junction. Though killing is not the right solution, Ash was over oppressive and went beyond human tolerance when dealing with patriots like V.O. Chidambaram and Subramania Siva. Since VOC was closer to his heart for his periotic zeal, Vanchinathan took the extreme step. is an act of great bravery for a man who sacrificed his life at a very young age to see India free from the unjust British rule directly under the Crown administration. Let us remember him him and other great Indian patriots from across India on the 72 nd Republic day 2021. On this day - 26 January 1930 it was announced that India would become a republic and on the same day, the Indian National Congress denounced the unjust, oppressive colonial rule. The patriotic leaders went ahead and proclaimed Purna Swaraj, “complete freedom from the British”.
The following post on Vanchinathan is reproduced
from https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2015/10/vanchinathan-who-shot-dead-collector.html
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| Patriot vanchinathan.you tube |
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| Patriot vanchinathan. bharathgyanblog.wordpress.com |
In the southern part of India the indomitable spirit and commitment to free India from the British yoke were very much on the mind of a group of Indian patriots who were ready to go to any length to achieve Swarajya. They were as much patriotic as their counterparts elsewhere in India. One Vanchinathan (alias R. Vanchi Iyer) of South Tamil Nadu, driven by spirit of patriotism and love for the country, did something unexpected which other persons would hesitate to do it. Vanchi became a martyr and made a mark as one of a few daring freedom fighters of India who scarified their precious lives at a very young age of early 20s.
On June 17, 1911, Vanchi assassinated the district collector of Tirunelveli, Robert William d'Escourt Ashe, an Irish man. This incident took place at the Maniyachi Railway junction where the train had stopped, en route to Madras. Later he committed suicide on the station premises. The railway station has since been renamed Vanchi Maniyachi Railway Junction.
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| Vanchi-Maniachi location map. thehindu.com |
Vanchinathan (actual name Shankaran/Vanchi Iyer)), born in 1886 in Shenkottai, Tirunelveli district to Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani Ammal. He did his schooling in his birth place and got an M.A. from Moolam Thirunal Maharaja College in Thiruvananthapuram, now the capital of Kerala state. His wife was Ponnammal and Vanchi got a comfortable job with the Government and could have led a comfortable life, drawing decent pension after retirement; lt was not to be that way.
During the British rule, with many exceptions, most of the officials were merciless and practiced subtle discrimination against the natives. Across India, the people despised the British who were totally focused on their interests and sale of their products in India, openly discouraging the indigenous products. Consequently Indian cottage industries and textile industries declined, causing widespread unemployment.
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| Patriot Chidambaram, livehistoryindia.com |
Above image: V.O. Chidambaram, lawyer, patriot and founder of first Swadeshi Steam Ship company against the British monopoly. First to sow the seeds of Swadeshi movement in our country giving inspiration to millions of people to use swadeshi products. A legendary leader, he took inspiration from great patriots like Balagangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Vanchination was his true follower. VOC played an active role in the area of labor union and welfare of the factory workers and their safety. ..................
Several reasons forced Vanchi to kill Collector Ashe. In 1906, V. O. Chidambaram, a famous lawyer, freedom fighter, labor expert and follower of Tilak launched the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, India's first shipping enterprise. The company ran two steamships between Tuticorin and Colombo to challenge the British monopoly in shipping. The agents A & F Harvey that ran the shipping company owned Coral mills in Tuticorin and was paying poor wages to the workers. V.O.C, being a labor advisor, set things right for the workers, who were on a war path against the company, despite Collector Ashe's support for the British Mills' management. Thus VOC became a hero and had large followers. In the meantime, he incurred the displeasure of the British government. He conducted public meeting to celebrate the release of Bipin Chandra Pal, a great Bengali freedom fighter, against government prohibitory orders and this, further, angered the British. Later Collector Ashe saw to it his first Indian shipping company became bankrupt by following unethical practices. VOC and his friend Subramania Shiva, in violation of governments orders not to enter the Tirunelveli district, held public meetings in Tirunelveli town and were charged with sedition and given rigorous imprisonment, causing unprecedented protest in Tirunelveli district. In yet another incident, according to one writer Ilasai Manian, Collector Ashe put restrictions on bathing at the famous Courtallam water Falls during certain hours when the whites were taking bath. Being young and a follower of VOC and other important freedom fighters, Vanchi was infuriated the way British treated natives shabbily and their blatant racial discrimination.
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| Robert William Escourt Ashe. en.wikipedia.org |
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| Place where vachi killed the collector. bharathgyanblog.wordpress.com |
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| Vanchinathan. bharathgyanblog.wordpress.com |
01. In January, 2015, the 104th death anniversary of veteran freedom fighter R Vanchinathan was observed at his birthplace Sengottai in Tirunelveli district and at Vanchi Maniyachchi Junction railway station in Tuticorin district, where he shot a British official dead before killing himself.
02. Vanchi was trained to handle hand guns by V.V.S Iyer, who believed in violence to deal with the British and and he was in exile in Pondicherry, a French territory.
03. Through inquiry by the British government concluded the murder was politically motivated and the assassin did it to revenge the collector for his oppressive handling of Coral Mills' workers, when they were on strike, purposely pushing the Indian shipping Company founded by VOC to bankruptcy and practicing racial discrimination.
04. There are no memorials to Vanch other than the one in Senkottai, either in other parts of Tamil Nadu or other states. Maniachi railway junction, where the assassination took place, was renamed Vanch Maniachi Junction long ago by the Central government.
05. This assassination was yet another pointer to the Indian people's fury over the Coronation Darbar of King George V at Delhi planned during the same period.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dalit-outfit-pays-homage-to-ashe/article7327748.ece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanchinathan
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