Independence Day: Memorials in Thiruvananthapuram which can be reminders of Indias wrestle for independence

On the event of the 79th yr of India’s independence, here’s a take a look at how the liberty motion swept by means of Thiruvananthapuram, then part of Travancore and the monuments inbuilt reminiscence of freedom fighters as a reminder of their sacrifice. These reside tales of braveness and resilience.

“The battle was spearheaded by Travancore State Congress shaped in February 1938 to work in direction of accountable governance. The Congress was up in opposition to not simply the British but additionally 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 dying of eight individuals, together with a homemaker, when the British military opened fireplace on a march protesting the arrest of a number of Congress leaders, together with the then Congress head, NK Padmanabhan Pillai on August 31, 1938. Leaders who had been killed had been Athazhamangalam Raghavan (Veeraraghavan), Kalluvila Podiyan, Nadoorkolla Kuttan Pillai, Varuvilakom Muthan Pilla, Maruthur Vasudevan, Kanchampazhinji Kuttappan Nair, and Varuvilakom Padmanabhan Pillai, apart from a lady, Kali. In 2020 a memorial was unveiled at Athazhamangalam, the native place of Veeraraghavan. Funded by the Municipal Corporation, it’s a reduction sculpture depicting the police firing. It has been made by an artists’ collective Neyyar Varamozhi.

The city can also be residence to Madhava Mandiram, the home the place Mahatma Gandhi stayed on January 1, 1937, on his solution to Kanyakumari. Located at Ooruttukala, it’s now a museum. The cot Gandhiji used, a charkha and brass urn that contained his ashes are stored right here.

Historic venue

At Vattiyoorkkavu stands the memorial remembering the primary convention of the Travancore State Congress held on December 22, 1938. In spite of a ban on public conferences by the Dewan, a whole lot marched to the venue to take heed to their leaders. Designed by Rajasthan-based Malayali artist Thomas John Kovoor, it’s a mountain-shaped construction standing on 25 cents. “The construction has three layers, representing the states of Travancore, Kochi and Malabar, with the map of Kerala on high of it. Special bricks produced from the sand collected from areas the place main struggles for freedom happened had been used to assemble it,” says a former official with the Department of Archives, which manages the memorial. Drawings of landmark agitations are executed on the construction.

Four bronze figures are put in round it. “Metaphorically they stand for freedom, nationality, fraternity and ladies’s position within the battle for independence,” he provides. Plans for a mural across the memorial hit a roadblock on account of paucity of funds. However, the landscaped house across the memorial is now place for individuals to unwind.

Rising up in arms

In September, 1938, Kallara and Pangode villages, round 45 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, witnessed protests which have made it to the checklist of 39 agitations listed by the Government of India because the actions that paved the best way for India’s independence. A police outpost preserved as a heritage construction at Pangode and the martyrs’ memorial at Kallara look again on the outbreak of sturdy protests by farmers over exorbitant taxes levied by the authorities on spices and different commodities. They had the help of these protesting the Dewan’s rule, which ultimately led to tumultuous scenes at Kallara market. When Kochappi Pillai, one of many leaders, was arrested and tortured on the Pangode Police Outpost, individuals confronted the police with arms and ammunition and blocked the path to Thiruvananthapuram. Even although he was launched the subsequent day, a mob lynched a policeman on the identical day. They marched to the outpost and began firing. In the crossfire that adopted, two protestors, Plankeezhil Krishna Pillai and Cheruvalam Kochu Narayanan Achary, had been killed. The incident got here shut on the heels of the riots in close by Kadakkal over unlawful toll assortment.

For the martyrs

Martyrs Column at Palayam is a big landmark. It was constructed by the primary elected authorities of Kerala led by Chief Minister EMS Namboothiripad in reminiscence of those that laid down their lives in India’s first struggle of independence in 1857. The construction is claimed to be designed by Prof JC Alexander, who designed a number of different outstanding buildings in Thiruvananthapuram, and was unveiled by President Dr Rajendra Prasad on August 14, 1957.

‘Balikudeerangale’, the favored revolutionary music written by Vayalar and composed by Devarajan has a reference to the memorial. The spirited music that celebrated the revolutionaries was the opening music of the operate held at VJT Hall (now Ayyankali Hall) in reference to the a centesimal anniversary of the revolt of 1857. It was initially written for a gathering of the AITUC however was later chosen to be performed on the operate.

On fireplace

Rajendra Maidan at Pettah is called after a boy who obtained shot when the military opened fireplace at a gathering on June 13, 1947. They had been protesting in opposition to the Dewan’s choice that Travancore would change into an impartial state with out becoming a member of the Indian Union. “While some say that he was killed within the firing together with two others, it’s also heard that he sustained a head harm and succumbed to it just a few years later,” Gopalakrishnan says.