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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
How Kochi celebrated Independence Day on August 15, 1947, a day marked by heavy rain
It rained very heavily in Kochi on August 15, 1947. But that did not matter. Seventy nine years ago, to the day, bells rang all over the city, in schools and colleges, temples and churches, while the ships in the harbour, factories and mills sounded sirens to announce India's independence. 'Interestingly, the Indian flag was not hoisted at any official building in Thiruvananthapuram but the YMCA. In Kochi, the flag was hoisted at the Durbar Hall grounds, Ernakulam, by the Cochin Maharaja, Aikya Keralam Thampuran's younger brother, the Elaya Raja Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran,' says Balagopal Varma, city historian. Grainy photographs from the day, published in the September edition of Cochin Information (archived by Granthappura, the Kerala Digital Archive) a magazine published by the Government of Cochin, show a river of black umbrellas on the road as a large crowd makes its way to Rajendra Maidan, unbothered by the rain. 'The processions started from Durbar Hall in the evening and terminated at Rajendra Maidan where a public meeting was held,' says Rajith Nair, a history enthusiast who is co-authoring a book on Kochi and the Cochin Royal Family. That day two flags were hoisted — of the Indian Union and the Cochin State — at the same level, not higher or lower than the other. The Elaya Raja declared, as he hoisted the flags, 'As a symbol of the Union of the State of Cochin with the Dominion Government and the independence of our State, let us fly the Dominion Flag and the State Flag at the same level.' He concluded the speech with 'Jai Hind! Jai Cochin!' Interestingly the two flags were hoisted at all government buildings, educational institutions, homes, shops and other establishments such as the Town Hall and Maharaja's College, to name a few, across the city. Flag hoisting ceremonies were held at Mattancherry, Thrissur, Irinjalakuda, Talappalli and Chittoor. Rajith says, 'There was a 19 gun salute. The procession comprised Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, elephants, panchavadyam, bands and more.' There is a reference to 'Muslim pipes' (in the Cochin Information article) also being part of the procession, which, Rajith guesses, could be a wind instrument like a shehnai. That is not all, there were fireworks and public meetings too to celebrate the event. A snake boat race planned for the day was cancelled on account of the heavy downpour. As part of his research for his book, Rajith has come across references to the day, which impresses upon us what the day meant. 'One of the reminiscences I came across was by one Krishna Rao, who said that his history teacher told the class that it rained so heavily in order to wash off 150-odd years of slavery!' Just a day before, on August 14, 1947, the Maharaja sent a message to the Legislative Council, informing them of the accession of the Cochin State to the Indian Federation. He wrote, 'In my view it is essential for the strength and prosperity of India that all units of the Indian Federation should as far as possible have uniform systems of administration. Therefore I am passing all departments except Devaswam [sic], Police, Jail and State Forces to Ministers under the Government of Cochin Act.' In that message, the Maharaja also declared he was prepared to act as a constitutional ruler. Wheels were set rolling on several other constitutional changes [for the Cochin State] followed, the significant ones being the abolition of the Diwanship and the establishment of the Public Service Commission. The Durbar Hall Ground has witnessed several public events, but the first Independence Day celebration, would remain the most cherished of them all.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Tribal children from Sabarimala forests step outside with English on their lips
For 13-year-old Rajith, summer has always meant living inside the Sabarimala forests near Moozhiyar. This April, however, this youngster from the Malaipandaram tribe, walked away from the woods for an experience that would take him and his peers a step closer to the outside world. Over the course of three days, Rajith joined 35 other children from his community for a residential camp where they interacted, played and performed together—but only in English. For a tribe that has lived inside or close to the Sabarimala forests for generations, it marked the first spark of a movement called Communicore. Launched by the Kudumbashree District Mission in Pathanamthitta, Communicore is a full-throttle push to train Malaipandaram children in communicative English. Designed as part of a micro-plan for the community, the initiative aims at providing 300 hours of training in communicative English to selected children over 10 months. Three residential camps will be held this summer, which will be followed by classes on all second Saturdays and Sundays once the schools reopen. Since most of these children stay in tribal hostels, special permissions have been secured from the authorities to enable their participation during weekends. Interactive activities 'The key aim of the project is to improve their basic communication skills through a series of interactive activities,' says Shahjahan T.K, programme coordinator. The participants, aged between 12 and 17 years, come from the tribal settlements in Ranni, Vadasserikkara, Thannithodu, and Aruvapulam. To ensure effective learning, specialised trainers have been roped in. The sessions focus on building confidence and fluency through engaging formats like debates, presentations, English drama, group discussions, anchoring, and storytelling. The learning modules have been developed in collaboration with the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). At the end of the training cycle, a convocation ceremony will be held. The grand finale, however, will be the Indian International Tribal English Conclave 2k26, a State-level event where these students will showcase their communication skills and do stage presentations developed during the training. Semi-nomadic Officials underscore the significance of Communicore in the unique context of the Malaipandaram community. Traditionally semi-nomadic, they have long lived in the Sabarimala forests, largely disconnected from the mainstream society. Their livelihood continues to depend on the forest ecosystem, and their hesitance to integrate into wider society has made them one of Kerala's most socio-economically marginalised groups. As per official estimates, there are just 837 Malaipandaram tribespeople living across 12 settlements in Pathanamthitta. Smaller groups also reside in the extended forests of Idukki and Achencoil in Kollam district.
