Vanchi Iyer

Vanchinathan (1886 – 17 June 1911), popularly known as Vanchi, was an Indian independence activist. He assassinated Robert Ashe, then district collector of Tirunelveli district on 17 June 1911 at Maniyachchi railway station. Ashe was considered to have suppressed independence activism and ordered the police to use violence. Vanchinathan committed suicide later while trying to evade arrest. The assassination of Ashe was one of the significant events in the Indian independence movement in South India and supported the rise of revolutionary movement against the British rule.

Early and personal life

Vanchinathan was born in 1886 in a poor Hindu family in Sengottai, Travancore, British India (presently in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu). His parents Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani named him Shankaran. He did his schooling in Sengottai before completing his bachelors degree. He started his career as a temple accountant before he landed a government job in the Travancore forest department. He married Ponnamma and the couple had a daughter who died as an infant.

Indian freedom activism

Vanchinathan participated in activities against the British rule in India. He was trained in arms by V. V. S. Aiyar, another activist who sought violent means to defeat the British. Nilakanta Brahmachari was a compatriot of Subramania Bharati and worked as a sub-editor in the newspaper "India". After the Tinnevely riot of 1908, Brahmachari recruited youth to join his organization called "Bharatha Matha Sangam" and worked upon various methods as a protest to the British rule. Vanchinathan's brother-in-law Shankara Krishna Iyer was part of the group headed by Brahmachari and introduced Vanchinathan to him.

Assassination of Ashe

Robert Ashe was then district collector of Tirunelveli district. He repressed the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, founded by Indian nationalist V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, which was supported by Indian merchants and gave employment to Indian workers. He charged Chidambaram and fellow activist Subramaniya Siva with sedition, for which they were arrested and convicted. During the Tinnevely riots of 1908, he issued the order for the police to quell the riots by violence. He followed a policy of discrimination with Indians being barred at Coutrallam when the British accessed it. In response to his actions, the revolutionary factions decided to assassinate him, and Vanchinathan, who was 25 years old, was chosen for the task. Vanchinathan closely started following the activities of Ashe, while planning for the assassination. He learnt that Ashe would be traveling to Madras on 17 June 1911 via Maniyachchi railway station.

On 17 June 1911, Ashe and his wife traveled from Tirunelveli to Maniyachchi via train to catch the Boat Mail Express from Ceylon to Madras. Unknown to them, Vanchinathan and fellow activist Madasamy had boarded the train at Tirunelveli, which started at 9:30. When the train reached Maniyachchi at 10:35, the men moved towards the first class compartment of the train, where Ashe was seated. Vanchinathan took a pistol hidden in his coat and shot Ashe at point blank range twice to assassinate him. He hid in the lavatory of the train and shot himself to commit suicide thereafter. As per the police report, he used a Browning semi-automatic pistol, procured by Bhikaiji Cama from Paris. His accomplice escaped, following the incident. Vanchinathan's father refused to collect the body as he considered his act as against Brahminism. A letter was found in his pocket, in which he accused the British of destroying the Sanatana Dharma, claimed to have committed the assassination on his own accord and that he has done his part to drive the British out of the country.

Legacy

The assassination of Ashe was one of the significant events in the Indian independence movement in South India. It supported the rise of revolutionary movement which supported the use of arms as against the moderate movement propagated by Gandhi and others. Ashe was the first and last British high ranking official to be assassinated in South India during the rule of the British.

The railway station in Tamil Nadu where he shot Ashe is named in his remembrance as Vanchi Maniyachchi Junction railway station. In 2010, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced that a memorial will be built in Sengottai at his birthplace. The memorial was inaugurated in 2013. Many streets and localities have been named after him.

In the Tamil film ''Kappalottiya Thamizhan'' (1961) based on the life of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Balaji played the role of Vanchinathan and various events involving Vanjinathan including the assassination event are showcased.

References

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People from Tirunelveli district
Indian nationalist assassins
Suicides by firearm in India

1886 births

1911 deaths