Tamil Nadu   

Nellai corporation cancels century-old resolution

TIRUNELVELI: The Tirunelveli Corporation on Thursday passed a resolution to cancel a century-old resolution of the then Tirunelveli Municipality Council, that censured the public upheaval against the arrest of great freedom fighters V.O. Chidambaram, Subramania Siva and Padmanabha Ayyangar, who organised a meeting, ignoring the district administration’s ban on celebrating the release of Bipin Chandra Pal from prison.

When they planned a meeting on March 12, 1908, after the British released Pal, a close associate of patriots Lala Lajpathi Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak from prison, the then Collector of Tirunelveli, Wynch, summoned VOC to his office and told him that he had banned celebrations of all sorts to glorify the release.

The successful conduct of the meeting led to the arrest of the trio, which triggered unrest in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.

Besides attacking the Veeraraghavapuram police station (where the Tirunelveli Junction police station now stands below the two-tier flyover), the public set fire to a kerosene depot on the Tirunelveli municipality premises and attacked a post office.

In the subsequent police firing, four persons — an archaka of Valampuri Amman Temple, a Muslim, a Dalit and a boy working in a bakery — were killed, and 53 others arrested.

To maintain peace, the colonial regime deployed additional forces and collected tax from people of the affected areas to maintain them. Condemning the public upheaval and attack on public properties, the municipality, led by the then Chairman Kailasam Pillai, adopted a resolution on March 23, 1908. It stated: “The Council strongly condemns the disturbances on the 13th instant and greatly regrets the serious losses occasioned thereby.

The Council humbly begs to assure His Excellency the Governor-in-Council that the inhabitants of the municipality have always been loyal, peaceful and law-abiding and that the disturbances came as a surprise and were caused by an irresponsible mob on a sudden impulse of a moment. This Council anxiously and humbly prays that His Excellency the Governor-in-Council may be graciously pleased to cancel the order imposing an additional police force on this municipality.”

After receiving several appeals from the public and freedom fighters, Mayor A.L. Subramanian initiated steps to cancel this resolution and convened an extraordinary meeting. “Besides cancelling this resolution that tarnished the local body and the entire freedom struggle, the Council worships the sacrifice of four persons who lost their lives in the police firing and who were imprisoned after being arrested in connection with the Tirunelveli riot,” Mr. Subramanian said.

Tirunelveli MP R. Dhanushkodi Adityan, chairpersons of the corporation’s zonal offices Suba. Seetharaman (Palayamkottai), P. Subramanian (Thatchanallur) and S. Viswanathan Pandian (Tirunelveli) and others welcomed Thursday’s resolution.

The Mayor also presented cash awards to SSLC toppers at the meeting.

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