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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Independence Day: Memorials in Thiruvananthapuram that are reminders of India's struggle for independence
On the occasion of the 79th year of India's independence, here is a look at how the freedom movement swept through Thiruvananthapuram, then a part of Travancore and the monuments built in memory of freedom fighters as a reminder of their sacrifice. These are living stories of courage and resilience. 'The fight was spearheaded by Travancore State Congress formed in February 1938 to work towards responsible governance. The Congress was up against not just the British but also the then Dewan, CP Ramaswamy Iyer, who resorted to brutal measures to crush the agitations,' says historian Malayinkil Gopalakrishnan. Remembering the bloodshed Neyyattinkara witnessed the death of eight people, including a homemaker, when the British army opened fire on a march protesting the arrest of several Congress leaders, including the then Congress head, NK Padmanabhan Pillai on August 31, 1938. Leaders who were killed were Athazhamangalam Raghavan (Veeraraghavan), Kalluvila Podiyan, Nadoorkolla Kuttan Pillai, Varuvilakom Muthan Pilla, Maruthur Vasudevan, Kanchampazhinji Kuttappan Nair, and Varuvilakom Padmanabhan Pillai, besides a woman, Kali. In 2020 a memorial was unveiled at Athazhamangalam, the native place of Veeraraghavan. Funded by the Municipal Corporation, it is a relief sculpture depicting the police firing. It has been made by an artists' collective Neyyar Varamozhi. The town is also home to Madhava Mandiram, the house where Mahatma Gandhi stayed on January 1, 1937, on his way to Kanyakumari. Located at Ooruttukala, it is now a museum. The cot Gandhiji used, a charkha and brass urn that contained his ashes are kept here. Historic venue At Vattiyoorkkavu stands the memorial remembering the first conference of the Travancore State Congress held on December 22, 1938. In spite of a ban on public meetings by the Dewan, hundreds marched to the venue to listen to their leaders. Designed by Rajasthan-based Malayali artist Thomas John Kovoor, it is a mountain-shaped structure standing on 25 cents. 'The structure has three layers, representing the states of Travancore, Kochi and Malabar, with the map of Kerala on top of it. Special bricks made from the sand collected from regions where major struggles for freedom took place were used to construct it,' says a former official with the Department of Archives, which manages the memorial. Drawings of landmark agitations are done on the structure. Four bronze figures are installed around it. 'Metaphorically they stand for freedom, nationality, fraternity and women's role in the fight for independence,' he adds. Plans for a mural around the memorial hit a roadblock due to paucity of funds. However, the landscaped space around the memorial is now place for people to unwind. Rising up in arms In September, 1938, Kallara and Pangode villages, around 45 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, witnessed protests that have made it to the list of 39 agitations listed by the Government of India as the movements that paved the way for India's independence. A police outpost preserved as a heritage structure at Pangode and the martyrs' memorial at Kallara look back at the outbreak of strong protests by farmers over exorbitant taxes levied by the authorities on spices and other commodities. They had the support of those protesting the Dewan's rule, which eventually led to tumultuous scenes at Kallara market. When Kochappi Pillai, one of the leaders, was arrested and tortured at the Pangode Police Outpost, people confronted the police with arms and ammunition and blocked the route to Thiruvananthapuram. Even though he was released the next day, a mob lynched a policeman on the same day. They marched to the outpost and started firing. In the crossfire that followed, two protestors, Plankeezhil Krishna Pillai and Cheruvalam Kochu Narayanan Achary, were killed. The incident came close on the heels of the riots in nearby Kadakkal over illegal toll collection. For the martyrs Martyrs Column at Palayam is a significant landmark. It was built by the first elected government of Kerala led by Chief Minister EMS Namboothiripad in memory of those who laid down their lives in India's first war of independence in 1857. The structure is said to be designed by Prof JC Alexander, who designed several other prominent buildings in Thiruvananthapuram, and was unveiled by President Dr Rajendra Prasad on August 14, 1957. 'Balikudeerangale', the popular revolutionary song written by Vayalar and composed by Devarajan has a connection with the memorial. The spirited song that celebrated the revolutionaries was the opening song of the function held at VJT Hall (now Ayyankali Hall) in connection with the 100th anniversary of the revolt of 1857. It was originally written for a meeting of the AITUC but was later chosen to be played at the function. On fire Rajendra Maidan at Pettah is named after a boy who got shot when the army opened fire at a gathering on June 13, 1947. They were protesting against the Dewan's decision that Travancore would become an independent state without joining the Indian Union. 'While some say that he was killed in the firing along with two others, it is also heard that he sustained a head injury and succumbed to it a few years later,' Gopalakrishnan says.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Vizhinjam set to celebrate its storied past
Vizhinjam has a venerable past with its history of maritime trade dating back to the second century BCE. Once again the old maritime hub is in the news with the Vizhinjam international seaport set to be commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. It is believed that Vizhinjam was developed into a small port by Raja Kesavadas, who was the Diwan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. However, the idea for a modern port at Vizhinjam was first mooted by Diwan Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer when he was the Diwan of erstwhile Travancore State. British engineer The survey was carried out in themid-1940s and was led by a British engineer who arrived in Travancore to study the sea at Vizhinjam and its shore. A Vizhinjam Harbour Special Section was founded in 1946 under the airport division of the Public Works department at the time. However, the work got stalled when the country earned independence. However, as the commissioning of the port approaches, it seems that the authorities have forgotten the initial group who did the survey for developing Vizhinjam into a major seaport. G.G. Menon of Thiruvananthapuram, an engineer who retired from the Kerala Public Works department (PWD) and turns 103 next month, was part of the team of engineers who started the survey in the 1940s for Vizhinjam's development into a seaport as per orders of Ramaswamy Iyer. As the seaport is now getting ready for its commissioning, the only voice which remembers the arduous task the team undertook in the mid-40s to carry out the survey by going into the sea in small catamarans with imported instruments is forgotten. Speaking to The Hindu Sasikumar Menon, his son, said no one from the State government has contacted him or invited him to the opening ceremony. According to Mr. Menon, Ramaswamy Iyer perceived the possibility of a commercial seaport at Vizhinjam with even plans to link the Vellayani lake to the port with a channel. The survey team in which Mr. Menon was a part travelled the length and breadth of the sea in the region in small boats to survey the depth and tide variations up to one nautical mile as part of preparing layout, water availability, and other details. Though the project was dropped by the then government and the officers in the Harbour Division were relocated to other departments, it gained momentum again in 1995 when the then government took an initiative to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kumar Energy Corporation, a Hyderabad-based company, for the development of a port on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. Cancelled later It was also cancelled later. A decade after this, a feasibility study was conducted again in 2004, and it was decided to build a port at Vizhinjam, adjacent to the existing fishing harbour. Based on the study, the first global bid was floated in 2005, although the bid was not successful due to security reasons. Later, bids were floated again in 2007, 2010, and finally in 2014, which paved the way for Vizhinjam to turn into a transshipment hub to transform the whole nation, marking its own space in the global maritime trade.
