Monsieur Samatam Krishnayya (Samatam Kistaya) (

Yanam Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united wi ...

c. 1875 – 13 June 1954) was a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and ayurvedic doctor. He wrote many books in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

. He was a loyal pro-French politician.

Life

During 1954, Monsieur Maddimsetti fled from Yanam to join pro-merger group, which brought anger in its people that led to pillage of his home. Then a 78-year-old, Monsieur Samatam Krouschnaya became the Mayor of Yanam (interim) who was the lone pro-French leader to fight against pro-merger leaders.

Death

He died during the Coup d'État de Yanaon on Sunday, 13 June 1954 at the age of 78 years. It was declared that he was killed by

Indian Military The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

while seizing

. But it is still a mystery about the actual causes and real persons behind his death.

Major view about his death

On the day of the coup, he fought a lone battle to maintain French sovereignty in Yanam against all the pro-merger groups. When he was trying to jump from a wall (at Pydikondala house) and take shelter, he was shot by Maddimchetty Satianandam who had a

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...

which had been given to him by one of his close friends. It was known that Maddimchetty thought that because of Monsieur Samatam that only his house had been pillaged. The 78-year-old,

Acting Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Monsieur Samatam collapsed mortally wounded, but even as he was dying he did not stop shouting Vive la France. It was declared that Monsieur Samatam was killed by shots fired by the

which brought tears to many people in Yanam. The death of Monsieur Samatam is still considered by the French even now as a political

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

perpetrated by the Indian side. For locals of Yanam, it is still a mystery, who was the real murderer of their beloved leader. A popular view is that it was only personal interests that drove the leaders to help in the merger of Yanam rather than that of the cause of

Indian nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, ...

French patriot

The

French Government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, wh ...

identified him as a patriot of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

with ''Citation à l’Ordre de la Nation'' on 19 November 1954.

Titles held

References