The inauguration of the Rs.60-lakh memorial was a sequel to J Jayalalithaa’s announcement in the Assembly in April 2012
About Vanchinathan(1886 - 1911)
Like many other youngsters of his time, Vanchinathan was fired by the
national movement for freedom. Hailing from the composite Tirunelveli
district, he had observed the region experiencing violent scenes in 1908
in the wake of the arrest of V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, popularly known
as VOC, and Subramania Siva.
According to a publication of the Crime
Branch - Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) released in 2011,
Vanchinathan and other revolutionaries had a grudge against the then
Tirunelveli Collector and District Magistrate Robert William D' Escourt
Ashe for his role in scuttling the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company,
established by VOC in 1906.
It was for this reason and Vanchinathan and some others had decided to
kill the Collector.
On June 17, 1911, Ashe and his wife Mary were on
their way to Kodaikanal when their train made a halt at the Maniyachi
railway junction, now in Tuticorin district. As they were waiting for
their first-class coach to be attached to the Boat Mail that was to
arrive shortly, Vanchinathan along with his accomplice, Madasamy,
entered the compartment and fired at the Collector, using an automatic
Belgian-made Browning pistol, the police document says.
An hour later
(11-30 a.m.), the Collector died of internal haemorrhage. In the
meantime, a crowd at the railway junction chased them. While Madasamy
could never be traced, Vanchinathan entered a toilet and shot himself
dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment