Vanchinathan
Encyclopedia
He is best remembered for having shot dead Ashe
Robert William Escourt Ashe
Robert William d'Escourt Ashe I.C.S. was the acting Collector and District magistrate of Tirunelveli district during the British Raj. On June 17, 1911, he was assassinated by Vanchinathan at the Maniyachi railway junction . and died within half an hour...
, the Collector of Thirunelveli and having later committed suicide in order to evade arrest.
Personal life
Vanchinathan was born in 1886 in ShenkottaiShenkottai
Sengottai is a town in Tamil Nadu, India, in the foothills of the Western Ghats. It is located roughly 5 km from the Courtallam Waterfall, near the border with Kerala...
to Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani Ammal. His actual name was Shankaran. He did his schooling in Shenkottai
Shenkottai
Sengottai is a town in Tamil Nadu, India, in the foothills of the Western Ghats. It is located roughly 5 km from the Courtallam Waterfall, near the border with Kerala...
and graduated in M.A. from Moolam Thirunal Maharaja College in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
. Even while in college, he married Ponnammal and got into a lucrative Government job.
Freedom Movement
On June 17, 1911, Vanchi assassinated AsheRobert William Escourt Ashe
Robert William d'Escourt Ashe I.C.S. was the acting Collector and District magistrate of Tirunelveli district during the British Raj. On June 17, 1911, he was assassinated by Vanchinathan at the Maniyachi railway junction . and died within half an hour...
, the district collector of Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
, 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.
On that day, Ashe boarded the 9-30 a.m. Maniyachi Mail at Tirunelveli junction. With him was his wife, Mary Lillian Patterson, who had arrived from Ireland only a few days earlier. They had married on April 6, 1898, in Berhampore; Mary was about a year older than Ashe. They were on their way to Kodaikanal where their four children, Molly, Arthur, Sheila, and Herbert, lived in a rented bungalow.
At 10-38 the train pulled in at Maniyachi. The Ceylon Boat Mail was due to arrive at 10-48. As the Ashes sat facing each other in the first class carriage, waiting for the Boat Mail to arrive, a neatly dressed man with tufted hair and another young man wearing a dhoti approached the carriage. The former boarded the carriage and pulled out a Belgian-made Browning automatic pistol. The bullet hit Ashe in the chest and he collapsed. The sound of the pistol shot was absorbed by the howling wind.
After the shooting the assassin ran along the platform and hid in the latrine. Some time later he was found dead, having shot himself in the mouth. In his pocket was found the following letter:
"The mlechas of England having captured our country, tread over the sanathana dharma of the Hindus and destroy them. Every Indian is trying to drive out the English and get swarajyam and restore sanathana dharma. Our Raman, Sivaji, Krishnan, Guru Govindan, Arjuna ruled our land protecting all dharmas and in this land they are making arrangements to crown George V, a mlecha, and one who eats the flesh of cows. Three thousand Madrasees have taken a vow to kill George V as soon as he lands in our country. In order to make others know our intention, I who am the least in the company, have done this deed this day. This is what everyone in Hindustan should consider it as his duty.
sd/- R. Vanchi Aiyar, Shencottah"
The contents of the letter indicated that the murder was political and caused great apprehension. The timing of the assassination indicated a protest against the impending coronation.
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. He trained Vanchinathan to execute the plan in all perfection. They belonged to Bharatha matha Association.
The Tamil Nadu Government has decided to build a memorial in Shenkottai
Shenkottai
Sengottai is a town in Tamil Nadu, India, in the foothills of the Western Ghats. It is located roughly 5 km from the Courtallam Waterfall, near the border with Kerala...
the birth place of this martyr.