Vanchinathan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Shankaran 1886 (1886) |
| Died | 17 June 1911(1911-06-17) (aged 24–25) |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Known for | Assassination of Robert Ashe |
| Movement | Indian independence movement |
| Spouse | Ponnamma |
Vanchinathan (1886 – 17 June 1911), popularly known asVanchi, was anIndian independence activist. He assassinated Robert Ashe, then district collector ofTirunelveli district on 17 June 1911 atManiyachchi railway station. Ashe was considered to have suppressed independence activism and ordered the police to use violence. Vanchinathan committedsuicide later while trying to evade arrest. The assassination of Ashe was a significant event in the Indian independence movement inSouth India and supported the rise of revolutionary movement against British rule.
Vanchinathan was born in 1886 in a poorHindu family inSengottai,Travancore,British India (presently inTenkasi district ofTamil Nadu).[1] His parents Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani named him Shankaran.[2] He did his schooling in Sengottai before completing his bachelors degree.[3] He started his career as a temple accountant before he landed a government job in the Travancore forest department.[4] He married Ponnamma and the couple had a daughter who died as an infant.[5][6]
Vanchinathan participated in activities against the British rule in India. He was trained in arms byV. V. S. Aiyar, another activist who sought violent means to defeat the British.[7][3]Nilakanta Brahmachari was a compatriot ofSubramania Bharati and worked as a sub-editor in the newspaper "India".[8] After theTinnevely riot of 1908, Brahmachari recruited youth to join his organization called "Bharatha Matha Sangam" and worked upon various methods as a protest to the British rule.[3] Vanchinathan's brother-in-law Shankara Krishna Iyer was part of the group headed by Brahmachari and introduced Vanchinathan to him.[4]
Robert Ashe was thendistrict collector ofTirunelveli district. He repressed theSwadeshi Steam Navigation Company, founded by Indian nationalistV. O. Chidambaram Pillai, which was supported by Indian merchants and gave employment to Indian workers.[2][5] He charged Chidambaram and fellow activistSubramaniya Siva with sedition, for which they were arrested and convicted.[9] During the Tinnevely riots of 1908, he issued the order for the police to quell the riots by violence. He followed a policy of discrimination with Indians being barred atCoutrallam when the British accessed it.[10] In response to his actions, the revolutionary factions decided to assassinate him, and Vanchinathan, who was 25 years old, was chosen for the task.[5] Vanchinathan closely started following the activities of Ashe, while planning for the assassination. He learnt that Ashe would be traveling toMadras on 17 June 1911 viaManiyachchi railway station.[1]
On 17 June 1911, Ashe and his wife traveled fromTirunelveli to Maniyachchi via train to catch theBoat Mail Express fromCeylon to Madras. Unknown to them, Vanchinathan and fellow activist Madasamy had boarded the train at Tirunelveli, which started at 9:30. When the train reached Maniyachchi at 10:35, the men moved towards the first class compartment of the train, where Ashe was seated.[11] Vanchinathan took a pistol hidden in his coat and shot Ashe at point blank range twice to assassinate him.[4][2] He hid in thelavatory of the train and shot himself to commitsuicide thereafter. As per the police report, he used aBrowningsemi-automatic pistol, procured byBhikaiji Cama fromParis. His accomplice escaped, following the incident.[12][13] Vanchinathan's father refused to collect the body as he considered his act as againstBrahminism.[14] A letter was found in his pocket, in which he accused the British of destroying theSanatana Dharma, claimed to have committed the assassination on his own accord and that he had done his part to drive the British out of the country.[15][11][5]
The assassination of Ashe was one of the significant events in the Indian independence movement inSouth India. It supported the rise of revolutionary movement which supported the use of arms as against the moderate movement propagated byGandhi and others.[16] Ashe was the first and last British high ranking official to be assassinated in South India during the rule of the British.[5]
The railway station in Tamil Nadu where he shot Ashe is named in his remembrance asVanchi Maniyachchi Junction railway station.[2] In 2010, theGovernment of Tamil Nadu announced that a memorial will be built in Sengottai at his birthplace.[17] The memorial was inaugurated in 2013.[18] Many streets and localities have been named after him.[19][20]
In theTamil filmKappalottiya Thamizhan (1961) based on the life of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Balaji played the role of Vanchinathan and various events involving Vanjinathan including the assassination event are showcased.[21]