When we talk about independence we immediately think about Gandhi and Nehru. But there are somany souls who sacrificed their entire life to the freedom circle from Tamilnadu. Generally these people are not highlighted even within Tamilnadu, atleast we the people of Tamil land try to know about them and remember them.
*Vanchinathan* (1886 - June 17, 1911) , popularly known as Vanchi, was an Indian independence activist. He is best remembered for having shot dead Ashe, the Collector of Thirunelveli and having later committed suicide in order to evade arrest. *Personal Life*
Vanchinathan was born in 1886 in Shenkottai to Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani Ammal. His actual name was Shankaran. He did his schooling in Shenkottai and graduated in M.A. from Moolam Thirunal Maharaja College in Thiruvananthapuram. Even while in college, he married Ponnammal and got into a lucrative Government job. *Freedom Movement*
On June 17, 1911, Vanchi assassinated Ashe, the district collector of Tirunelveli, who was also known as Collector Dorai. He shot Ashe at point-blank range when Ashe's train had stopped at the Maniyachi station, en route to Madras. He committed suicide thereafter. The railway station has since been renamed Vanchi Maniyachi.
Vanchi was a close collaborator of Varahaneri Venkatesa Subrahmanya Iyer (normally shortened to V.V.S.Aiyar or Va.Ve.Su Iyer), another freedom fighter who sought arms to defeat the British. *Vanchinathan's letter*
I dedicate my life as a small contribution to my motherland. I am alone responsible for this.
3000 youths of this brave country have taken an oath before mother Kali to send King George to hell once he sets his foot on our motherland. I will kill Ashe, whose arrival here is to celebrate the crowning of King George in this glorious land which was once ruled by great samrats. This I do to make them understand the fate of those who cherish the thought of enslaving this sacred land. I, as the youngest of them, wish to warn George by killing Ashe who is his sole representative and has destroyed the Swadeshi shipping company and several other freedom fighters by subjecting them to severe torture.
Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram
*Theeran Chinnamalai**, a lesser-known freedom fighter of Kongu soil *ByKarthik Madhavan
Tamil calendar Aadi 18, which is August 2, 2008, marks the 203rd anniversary of the hanging of a lesser-known freedom fighter Dheeran Chinnamalai. According to historian Pulavar S. Raju, Dheeran Chinnamalai was the first freedom fighter in history to make freedom struggle a people's movement. In the run up to his attack on British East India Company's fort in Coimbatore in 1800, Chinnamalai tried taking the help of Maruthu brothers from Sivaganga and a Maratha chieftain in Mysore. He also forged alliances with Gopal Naicker of Virupatchi; Appachi Gounder of Paramathi,Velur; Joni Jon Khan of Attur, Salem; Kumara Vellai of Perundurai and Varanavasi of Erode in fighting the Company. The plan was to attack the fort on June 3, 1800. Pulavar Raju says Chinnamalai drew the plan to keep up the momentum in the fight against the Company after Kattabomman's and Tippu's death in 1798 and 1799 respectively.
Chinnamalai's plans did not succeed as the Company has stopped reinforcements from Maruthu brothers and the Maratha chieftain. Also, Chinnamalai changed his plans and attacked the fort a day earlier. This led to the Company army executing 49 people. Chinnamalai, however escaped.From 1800 to until he was hanged on July 31, 1805, Chinnamalai continued to fight against the Company. The historian says he mostly adopted guerrilla warfare against the Company.Three of his fights are important: the 1801 battle on Cauvery banks, the 1802 fight in Odanilai and the 1804 battle in Arachalur. The last and the final one was in 1805. During the fight, Chinnamalai's cook Nallappan betrayed him by disclosing his location to Company sepoys, who hanged him to death in Sivagiri fort. Pulavar Raju says his was the first fight against the British involving people.
*V.O. Chidambaram Pillai*
To V.O. Chidambaram Pillai goes the credit of launching, as the first Indian, a Steam Navigation Company that ran a service between Tuticorin and Colombo. He did it in the interests of the nation's economy, and of course, against the British rule.**
V.O. Chidambaram Pillai came out of the Congress in 1920.
He was born on September 5, 1872 in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He had his education in Tuticorin and took a Degree in Law form Madras.
He presided over the Salem District Congress session. He entered politics in 1905 following the partition of Bengal. He was a great lover of Tamil and encouraged Tamil studies. He wrote a commentary on "Tirukurral" and edited the Tamil work of grammar, Tolkappiam. He passed away on November 18, 1936
*K. Kamaraj*
Kamraj was born on July 15, 1903, in a family of traders at Virudunagar. His real name was Kamakshi Kumaraswamy Nadar but was affectionately shortened to Raja by his mother, Sivakami Ammal. His father, Kumarswamy Nader, was a coconut merchant. Kamaraj was enrolled at the local elementary school, the Nayanar Vidyalaya but was later shifted to the high school Kshatriya Vidyalaya.
Unfortunately his father died within a year of Kamaraj's enrollment in school. Kamaraj's mother sold all jewelry except her earrings and deposited the money with a local merchant and cared for the entire family on the monthly interest that the money earned.
Kamaraj was not a good student in school and dropped out when he was in the sixth grade. When he entered mainstream public life he felt handicapped and realized the importance of a good education. He educated himself during his periods of imprisonment and even learned English from his co-worker.
Kamaraj joined as an apprentice in his maternal uncle Karuppiah's cloth shop after dropping out of school. He would slip out from the shop to join processions and attend public meetings addressed by orators like Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph. His relatives frowned upon Kamaraj 's budding interest in politics. They sent him to Thiruvananthapuram to work at another uncle's timer shop. Even there Kamaraj participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha led by George Joseph, of