THE ATTEMPT ON SIR CP'S LIFE: A CONFESSION

K C S Mani Died with a Guilty Feeling

Ambalapuzha Konattu Madam Chidambara Iyer Subramanian Iyer, known better as K. C. S. Mani (2 March 1922 - 20 September 1987), was a socialist activist of Kerala who is known for his attempt of assassination on C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, the then Diwan of Travancore, a princely state in India. This incident was a turning point in the history of Kerala, forcing the Diwan to leave Travancore and flee to Madras after assenting to merge Travancore with the Union of India.

On 18 July 1947, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore, made the declaration that Travancore would announce sovereignty on 26 August. On 25 July 1947, then-25-year-old Mani attacked the Diwan in front of the erstwhile Music Academy (now the Swathi Thirunal College of Music) in Thiruvananthapuram, following a concert in the evening. Ramaswamy Iyer was wounded. Following the incident on 25 July, the Maharaja informed the Viceroy of India of the decision to join the Union of India.

At the instance of Kumbalath Sanku Pillai, a Congress leader known for physical actions, K C S Mani recorded the story of the assassination attempt. Here is the story in his own words:

K C S Mani

The freedom struggle in Travancore strengthened while I was a student. As a person born in Ambalapuzha, I was inspired by N Sreekantan Nair to jump into politics. I joined the Socialist group. Since they could not do political activity in Travancore, Sreekantan Nair and his associates had shifted their base to Cochin. From there, the Socialist groups helped the State Congress activities in Travancore. When I reached Cochin with Sreekantan Nair, all the major Socialist leaders including K N Gopala Kurup, Mathai Manjooran, Janardanan, A P Pillai,K S Joseph and T P Gopalan were present there. After a few days, myself and A P Pillai were sent to Kollam for political activities, along with Gopala Kurup. Janardanan was part of the team. Kurup had the supervision. He was in charge of the financial resources.

It was a period when the police were on the lookout for political activists. I moved with them like a pet dog, being a novice in politics and a non-speaker.

One day when we were discussing the developments, Kurup all of a sudden, lamented: "If someone had got rid of Sir C P Ramaswamy Aiyar, all the issues would have been solved."

People were really fed up with the administration.

I responded: "Even if Aiyar is gone, someone will be there to replace him and the issues will remain as it is".

"No, issues will get solved if he goes," Kurup explained. He added that Iyer has correctly assessed all the prominent individuals and communities and their weaknesses, like no other. It is impossible for another to match him."

The discussion ended there.

 Janardanan and I moved to a secluded area and discussed it seriously. I needed to have the organising or speaking capacity of Janardanan or other leaders. I wanted to do something for the country. I thought the essence of what Kurup shared gave me clarity on what to do.

"Why not me for the action?"I asked Janardanan.

"If you can, proceed,", Janardanan replied, "but you will not be alive after that. You will be hanged." 

Attack on Sir C P

It seemed Janardanan was unaware of my mental state. I am not boasting; I have never taken life seriously. Life is not as sacred or permanent as to be afraid of death. If my death contributes something to the country, that death will be heroic. Hence I am ready to attack Sir C P-I told Janardanan. Janardanan said that we should discuss the idea with "Annan." We approached Kurup. After hours of discussions, he agreed. But it was not enough. The action needs strong moral and financial support, which will not be forthcoming even in extraordinary situations. We discussed names of Congress leaders, who are courageous enough. Kurup revealed that Kumbalath Sanku Pillai had earlier shared his readiness to support such an action if somebody came forward. He was even ready to face the repercussions.

Sanku Pillai had known Kurup and Janardanan, but not me. Hence it was essential that I win his trust. Sanku Pillai always had shared a dream of his with Kurup-the bust of Sir C P in front of C P Inn in Thampanur should be destroyed. None had come forward till then for the action. Once Sanku Pillai himself had ventured to do it with the help of Kadachikatt Nanu Pillai and they had waited in the compound in vain. The area was always busy.

Janardanan prodded me to show my mettle by destroying the bust."Yes," I agreed.

I could not sleep at all in the night. The body was getting heated up. I was determined to win Sanku Pillai's trust. Thiruvananthapuram was not a familiar place; I had been there only a couple of times.

Sanku Pillai

I discussed again with Janardanan and A P Pilli; We took certain decisions. 

Janardanan gave me word that A P Pillai would accompany me to Thiruvananthapuram. Pillai agreed to show me around the place and arrange the weapons to get the bust destroyed. Pillai selected Chellappan Pillai, a worker at the Rubber Works to help us with these essentials. Chellappan was soft-spoken and had a good physique and courage. He was not at all worried about the repercussions.

Kurup came up with a budget of Rs 10 to implement the whole plan. With that, I boarded the next bus to Thiruvananthapuram and reached the Union office of the Rubber Works at Chakka, by 5 pm, and met Chellappan. By 7 pm, Chellappan came with a hammer. Union leaders K Balakrishnan, K Pankajakshan, and Sadananda Sasthri arrived. Only Balakrishnan was aware of my mission. We spent our time talking till 9 pm, dispersed myself with Chellappan and reached Thampanur. Chellappan's friend and co-worker Velayudhan Pillai was also with us.

It was not easy to accomplish the action and then escape at that hour. We walked to a Theatre, the name of which I don't recollect. The movie was 'Thyagayya." The show was over by 1.30 am. We approached the Sir C P Inn. There was a slight drizzle. Even then the area was not deserted. It was impossible to destroy the bust without the attention of others. But we were not ready to return without accomplishing the mission. We decided to do it, come what may. I asked both Chellappan and Velayudhan to move to the area below the over-bridge on the western side. All three need not be in peril. Though they refused to relent initially, they finally yielded to my pressure and moved away.

I jumped over the western wall of the compound and reached the main gate of the Inn. A car came all of a sudden, seeking a room. I moved away and hid under a tree, A man came out of the Inn and informed the people in the car that rooms were unavailable. I sat under the tree for some more time. My hand accidentally hit a rock. It weighed 5-6 pounds. Holding it in my hand I moved towards the bust. With all my might I hurled towards the bust.

None of us knew of the material with which the bust was made. The rock rebounds after hitting the bust. Though I lost the hope of destroying it, I hit the bust with the hammer three or four times, hard. Nothing happened. Then I hit the nose of it and I could see it cut and thrown away from the body. I heard noises around me, calling for the seizure of the aggressor. I jumped over the iron fence on the southern side and reached the railway premises. I had held the branch of a tree beside the fence to get over it; today the tree has grown up and I have tried to catch the branch several times after that night, in vain.

I met Chellappan and Velayudhan below the Overbridge and we walked to Petta. The three of us were walking weapon depots-we were carrying daggers, knives and axes. I realised for the first time that fear makes man a coward. If someone had asked us where we were going, we would have finished him off.

At Petta, I think we slept in the Union office. I left for Kollam in the morning. The news of the destruction of the bust had reached Kollam before me. It was published in a paper called 'Yuvakeralam'. The paper closed down within a few days.

Sanku Pillai and Gopala Kurupp were arrested. While Kurup was arrested Janardanan was very much inside the home but was spared since they didn't search the place. With the arrest of Kurup, we lost our breadwinner and we decided to surrender. We decided to hold a meeting at Padinjare Kollam, presided over by me, in which Janrdanan would speak. Janardanan was against me getting arrested. But I was not eager to work without him being outside.

We were not even able to raise the cash for buying the paper to make wall posters, announcing the public meeting. We got information that Kannanthodath Janardanan Nair, who had gone underground had arrived in his house at Kureepuzha. He gave me Five rupees; he embraced me "for the action".

We were sure that a surrender would bring us torture and a possible lock-up death. Sanku Pillai came out of Jail on parole to attend the funeral of a senior family member. We met him at Koyivila. The three of us moved away to an isolated place and conspired to assassinate Sir C P.Sanku Pillai offering his wholehearted support. He said he didn't even mind being the first accused in a case related to it. It would be a proud moment, he said.

We were given help by all the youngsters in Karunagapally Taluk; they include Sankara Pillai, Puthan Veetil Ramakrishna Pillai, Nareenchi Karunakaran Pillai, Kovoor Karunakaran Pillai, Mararithottath Raghavan Pillai and Banglavil Madhavan Pillai.

I pledged to assassinate Sir C P during the upcoming Education Conference at Thiruvananthapuram, which Sanku Pillai endorsed. He helped us with some cash and we bid farewell. We reached Thrissur where Sreekantan Nair was camping. Mathai Manjooran sent a person with us to locate the camp. When we briefed him on our plan, he was furious. He didn't approve of two in a group making their own decisions. He expressed disbelief in my capacity to attempt the action.

Our initial decision was to shoot down Sir C P with a revolver. But we were not in a position to pay for it. Our enquiries revealed that a revolver would cost around Rs 1000-1200 in the black market. It needs a lot of training to shoot. Hence we zeroed in on a knife.

We could not accomplish action during the education meeting towards the end of October. I waited for a suitable opportunity. Sanku Pillai came out on parole a couple of times again. We met and told him about the issues involved in procuring and using a revolver and our decision to use a knife instead. He said what is important is to get it done, by hook or crook. Sanku Pillai had no weapons to offer; he guided us to Kaithavanathara Raghavan Pillai, who would get a knife made for us. After a couple of days, he handed over the knife to me. This happened at the end of January 1947.

As days went by, peoples' struggle against Sir CP's Independent Travancore gained momentum. I knew that I would never get a chance if I got isolated in view of the struggle. I waited for an immediate opportunity and it came as news in the dailies-he will be there as a speaker in the anniversary celebrations of the Swati Thirunal Music Academy. The King will inaugurate the function. Sreekantan Nair and Janardanan had banned me from sharing the secret with anyone. But I can't keep anything to myself even now. The move was known to a lot of people associated with Sanku Pillai at Karunagapally. I had informed several youngsters, who were in close contact with us in Thiruvananthapuram. Only two front-line leaders knew of the move: Sanku Pillai and T M Varghese ( According to Sanku Pillai's autobiography, G P Neelakanta Pillai also knew- Ramachandran).

N Sreekantan Nair

As the Academy celebrations drew near, discussions grew stronger. Sreekantan Nair, Janardanan, T P Gopalan, K S Joseph and A P Pillai had worked as a revolutionary committee. The resolution to assassinate Sir C P was discussed officially in this committee. Sreekantan Nair, from the beginning, was not in agreement with me doing the action. His personal commitment towards me and my mother's knowledge that he was behind my political entry, stood in the way. He would be responsible to my mother for my loss. But he didn't express his thoughts openly for the reason that it would be interpreted as cowardice.

He informed the committee that he had another candidate better than me, for the action. Except for Janardanan, everyone on the committee endorsed the view. The committee of 7 dismissed Mani as the candidate.

I had been living with this only intention for the whole year. I had become one with the idea. I had also boasted with many. I would become a laughing stock if I am dismissed. I am committed to the people for this patriotic action.

I begged the committee; they refused to relent. I lost my patience and roared: "I resign from your committee; I am more indebted to Sanku Pillai than you people. This is a question of my self-esteem. I will do it without your help."

Sreekantan Nair budged; all the opposition faded away.

Sreekantan Nair passed a budget of Rs 65 on July 15 to assassinate Sir C P. I bid farewell to my friends and left Thrissur. I reached Cochin at night, with K S Joseph. He had two sten guns with him. We slept at the Congress camp. 

At Cochin, I felt a sudden intuition to see the mother of Sreekantan Nair, Janaki Amma, who had loved me like a son. She was in a critical condition. I reached Ambalapuzha during the night itself, saw her and left early morning for Maririthottam at Karunagapally. The knife was kept there. Taking it, I reached Adur via Kayamkulam. From there, boarding an Express coach, I reached Thiruvananthapuram, by 6pm. I took a room at the TBR Boarding and Lodging, on 19 July.

Most of the leaders had left Thiruvananthapuram, fearing arrest after the killing of Rajendran in the Petta police firing. Some were at Cochin and others at Anchuthengu, which was in British India. Our associates were at Anchuthengu. None of whom I knew were in the city. I had an introduction letter from Krishnan Nair of Cochin, to a friend Sadasivan in Thiruvananthapuram. When I enquired for Sadananda Sasthri, his brother Thankappan informed me that he had left for Anchuthengu. I met Sadasivan and told him of my mission frankly. I sought his help to get a pass to the Academy compound.

K C S Mani, then

Sir C P had left Thiruvananthapuram for Delhi on 19 July, at the invitation of the Viceroy. He was expected back on 25 to be present at the Academy. A sense of fear gripped me. If he doesn't come back? Is the God playing a game? On whose side is the Almighty? 

I waited since there was nothing else to do.

July 25 arrived. At 3 pm, I had a shave and a bath before I stepped outside. A moustache was kept for the evening. I wore a Khaki knicker inside, and a mundu over it.A Khadar Juba,without a Banyan. I had met both Chellappan Pillai and Velayudhan Pillai meanwhile-they agreed to accompany me to the Academy and then wait outside.

I left the hotel spending even the last penny of the budget allotted for the mission. A small amount was due at the hotel. Both Chellappan and Velayudhan came, and we began our journey. I went in. There were chairs in four-five rows, on the two sides of the shamiana (pandal) with a way in the middle. I sat on a chair on the left in the first row. Unfortunately, a Brahmin who had worked in my native town for some time, whom I know, came and sat next to me. We shared some stories. He didn't know that I had become a political activist.

The chopping knife was attached to my knicker, under the mundu. Around 5.30 pm, Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer reached the venue. He stood in front of me, with his back, waiting for the King to arrive. My hand went to the handle of the knife. I gripped it strongly. Should I now? No, wait a little more. He will be here for a long time. I took my hand off the knife.

From the time I was inside, I was shaken by the feeling that all my actions were absurd. There was no reason for a personal enmity towards him. I had been never sent to a lock-up. I had not been tortured. There had been several people who suffered torture. Why can't one among them?

I was immediately shaken by another feeling that thoughts were becoming unnatural.

I looked at the watch of the person sitting beside me. I looked at the small needle moving around. I remembered the last moments of the characters I have read in fiction; instantly the faces of the poor workers who were killed at Punnapra-Vayalar came as a parade in my mind. I thought of the hapless families. I controlled myself. I have to be thoughtless; I have a mission to accomplish.

I think it was 5.30. The King arrived and he was welcomed by the Dewan and other dignitaries to the dais. The inauguration was over within minutes. Sir C P spoke for some time. He explained the idea of independent Travancore.

The King left after the inauguration. The music concert began. Sir C P and his Political Agent listened to it sitting in the chairs in front of the dais.It was Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer,on the concert.I don't remember exactly. At about 7.30 pm Sir C P stood up and began walking out. He has to go out, past me. Here he comes. My heart began beating like the piston of a 150 HP engine that was pumping. I gripped the knife hard. The time has come. The marching bugle began beating in my brain. Chariots and horses passed before me, fiercely. I saw the fluttering tricolour of India, above them.

To move easily, I got rid of the mundu, jumped to the front and hacked with all my might. I think the first blow didn't hit him. I hacked again. I don't remember how many times I did it. If I am to remember and describe it in such detail, I should be an avatar, not a human being. Lights suddenly went off. I don't know how it happened. Somebody seized me.

Both myself and Sir C P were in the midst of a multitude. I could not cut him down to pieces. Lights were on again and went off. I put the knife down, shoved off the ones who held me and came out of the crowd. Fear gripped me; I jumped to one side of rows of chairs. The people who sat on them stood up and moved apart. I appreciated the cowardice of my native brethren for the first time in my life. I came out of the Pandal one after me. All of them were trying to figure out as to what happened to the Dewan. I walked back.

Sir C P in his last days

I could gauge the impulse in my legs to run. But a running man will catch attention and will be caught immediately. Hence I didn't run. At the same time, I was afraid that my legs might lose control and run. I fell down and crawled. I moved towards the fence on the western side. I jumped over the fence, falling down on the drainage road. The strangling noise of the leaves on the fence reverberated like the shots from a thousand field guns. I fell on my knees since the distance from the fence to the road was far more than I had assumed. I felt that I was losing consciousness. It was not a familiar terrain. I didn't even know that a road existed there. The needles on the fence poked holes in my shirt. I got rid of the shirt on the road.

I met Chellappan and Velayudhan at the railway line, after the hotel, where I was staying. We went to Chellappsan's home at Petta. He borrowed through his wife, Rs 10 from a neighbour and we reached our hotel back. We settled the bill, took my dresses and went back to Petta. I spent the night at Chellappan's home. In the morning, I boarded a train to Kadaikavur, and from there, reached Palakkad, via Dindigul. I had something to eat only the next morning at Palakkad since my purse was empty.

I stayed there at the house of Madhava Menon and Sankara Menon, who were the sons of Kollangode King. They had the news from dailies; A P Pillai had told the elder one, who was in Cochin the day before that a person called Ravi did the action. I was welcomed as Raveendranatha Menon, cordially by them. They informed our Thrissur camp of my arrival. Sreekantan Nair, K S Joseph, Janardanan and Gopalan reached Palakkad by evening. I was taken for a safe stay in an estate at Chittoor. I spent several days there, cut off from the outer world.

After a couple of days, the police informed the public that the assailant was Narendran of Petta. Assessing that the police had found out, I was taken to Palakkad. Baby John then was a student at Victoria College. I stayed in his lodge. We got information that the police were groping in the dark. Sir C P left on the 19th day of the attack. I began travelling for free.

I was arrested during the reign of Pattam Thanu Pillai and spent a couple of days in the police lockup. The case was dismissed by the First Class Magistrate at Thiruvananthapuram.

No one still knows how the lights went off at the academy during the episode. Police inferred that it was part of the larger conspiracy. It remains a mystery.

( Translated by Ramachandran )

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POSTSCRIPT:

A Sreedhara Menon, a noted historian, based on research has proved that Sir C P had resigned much before the assassination attempt but was continuing at the request of the King (Triumph and Tragedy in Travancore: Annals of Sir CP's Sixteen Years in Travancore.) In a note to the King (January 11, 1946) he warned that if he declined to join the Union, support of the British army would be necessary. But "English character in general and Englishmen in particular will always swim with the tide. To rely upon British help and assistance would be unwise". Yet, he met Sri Conrad Corfield, Political Adviser to the Viceroy, on February 24, 1946, and claimed an independent status for Travancore (S. Menon, pages 233-4). Sir C P changed his stand after having taken up the active advocacy of the cause of independent Travancore in the interests of the Royal Family after his return to the State.

N Padmanabhan Achari, a renowned ivory carver at the Travancore School of Arts, repaired the nose of Sir C P's bust.He was assisted by K Ramakrishnan Achari. Padmanabhan Achari’s grandfather Kochu Kunju Achari was the head craftsman who made the golden chariot for Swati Tirunal in 1842. Later, he and his son Neelakandan Achari made the ivory throne for the Great London Exhibition of 1851.

Born in Ambalpuzha (Alapuzha dist of Kerala) a traditional Communist stronghold, Mani's ancestors were feudal landlords. He was the son of Chidambara Iyer and Thangam Ammal.

After Independence, Mani served as a member of the local panchayat for more than a decade.

Mani married Lalithammal from Senkottai in 1963 at the Subrahmanya Temple in Valliyur. He was then 41 years old, 18 years older than his wife (who was born in 1940). The proposal was introduced by Mani's sister Lakshmi, who was married from Senkottai. Lakshmi knew Lalitha's father Venkatarama Iyer, who was a motor company mechanic, very well.

According to Lalitha, she was taken by Lakshmi to Konattu Madom in Ambalappuzha, and at that time, Mani was not there. Sometime later, Lakshmi told Lalitha to clean her face and feet in the pond on the southern side. After coming back to the Madom, everyone went to Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna Temple, and while going, she met her future husband speaking to a stranger in an Ayurveda pharmacy. Two weeks later, their marriage was conducted. Mani's hair had already been grey, and his teeth were removed after a serious disease at the age of 30. Mani and Lalitha did not have children. Lalitha outlived him for 30 years, finally dying on June 14, 2017, aged 77.

Mani contested the Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Kuttanad constituency in 1965, as an independent candidate (not the nominee of any political party, But RSP leaders instructed him to submit the nomination, So he could be considered as an RSP Candidate), winning only 920 votes. The election result:

Constituency 96 KUTTANAD 1 . THOMAS JOHN, KC 25319, 51.54% 2 . V. Z. JOB, CON 15067, 30.67% 3. SONNEY SEBASTIAN, IND 7684 15.64% 4 . K. C. S. MANI, IND 920, 1.87% 5 . A. K. SANKARA PILLAI, IND 134, 0.27%, ELECTORS: 64880 VOTERS: 49608 POLL PERCENTAGE: 76.46% VALID VOTES 49124.

Mani felt alienated by the party as well as the state in the later years of his life. He spent his last days abandoned and struggling with diseases. When he suffered from loneliness, he found solace in devotion. The feeling of guilt overpowered him. During some nights, after Ambalapuzha temple was closed, he conducted 'sayana pradakshinam' around the temple. Sometimes, he went to Sabarimala without informing anyone. Mani died on September 20, 1987, at age 65, in the Chest Diseases Hospital, Pulayanarkotta, Thiruvananthapuram.

While with Malayala Manorama, I met Chellappan Pillai in 1996 at his home to do a larger story on the attempt. K Pankajakshan, Secretary of the RSP, facilitated the contact. I could not complete the story then.

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Illustration of the attack done by Sarath Sunder Rajeev, Assistant Professor, Dept of Architecture, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. Padmanabhan Achari is his great grand uncle and Ramakrishnan Achari, maternal great-grandfather.

© Ramachandran 

THE CHRISTIAN HIJACK OF KERALA POLITICS,1932-1938

Thangassery was a British Area

Looking back at some episodes in Kerala history,it becomes evident that a Christian agenda was at work to catch the vulnerable sections of the Hindu society and its leaders like C Kesavan.Ambedkar's 1935 exhortation to dalits came in handy,and the movement which began in the early 1930s began to show its true colours in the Abstention movement and the Thangassery struggle.In both,Barrister George joseph played a significant role.

Barrister George Joseph

Vaikom Sathyagraha (1924–25) was a social protest in erstwhile Travancore against untouchability and caste discrimination in Hindu society of Kerala. The movement was centered around the Sri Mahadeva Temple temple at Vaikom, in the present day Kottayam district. The Sathyagraha was aimed at securing freedom to all sections of society to pass through the public roads leading to the Sri Mahadeva Temple.Gandhi wanted only caste hindus to be on the fore front of the Vaikam Sathyagraha-hence he ordered Barrister George Joseph who was very much there to lead it,to exit from the scene.

Gandhi wrote to George Joseph on 6 April 1924:

"As to Vaikom, I think you shall let the Hindus do the work. It is they who have to purify themselves. You can help by your sympathy and your pen, but not by organizing the Movement and certainly not by offering Satyagraha. If you refer to the Congress resolution of Nagpur, it calls upon the Hindu Members to remove the curse of untouchability. I was surprised to learn from Mr Andrews that the disease had infected even the Syrian christians".

Andrews mentioned by Gandhi is C F Andrews ( 1871-1940 ) a priest of the Church of England,educator,social reformer and a close friend of Tagore and Gandhi.He was instrumental in convincing Gandhi to return to India from South Africa.C. F. Andrews was affectionately dubbed Christ's Faithful Apostle by Gandhi, based on his initials, C.F.A. For his contributions to the Indian Independence Movement.He taught at St Stephen'ds College,Delhi. George Joseph,a Syrian Orthodox Christian in the Gandhi camp from Chengannur,moved away,and embraced catholicism.

In response to popular demand for representative government,the Travancore Legislative Reforms Act of 1932 was enacted.However in the view of the major under-represented communities,the Ezhavas,the Muslims and the Christians the impementation of the new Act would have resulted in their getting even fewer seats in the legislature than before.The disproportionate representation of Nairs would not change as a result of the new Act.

The representatives of the three organisations on 17 Decembetr 1932 formed the Samyuktha Rashtriya Samithi ( Joint Political Conference).A deputation submitted a petition to the Dewan,Thomas Austin on 9 January 1933.Austin ( 1887-1976 ) was an ICS officer of the 1910 batch;he was district Collector of Nilgiris during 1929-32.Later,he was Chief secretary,Madras.Austin Town in the city of Bangalore, is named after Thomas Austin who had built houses for low-income groups in the Cantonment section of the city.

The Joint Political Conference met on 25 January 1933 and passed a resolution that its members ' should abstain from taking part either by voting or by standing as candidates in the elections or by accepting nominations to the Legislature so long as the Government did not make adequate provision for the representation by election of all communities in proportion to their population in the Legislsture'.

To win the sympathy of of the British,the Conference drew a distinction between 'Abstention'( Nivarthanam) and 'Non-Cooperation'( Nissahakaranam) of Gandhi.The Viceroy Lord Willingdon was engaged in a campaign to crush the Non- Cooperation movement in India.The Travancore Government could not be deceived.The agitation continued to the end of 1933 when the Travancore Givernment in their attempt to eliminate the protest before the arrival of the Viceroy in Travancore,served a notice to the Christian news paper,Malayala Manorama,whose publisher K C Mammen Mappillai was a financier of the movement,to show cause why legal action should not be taken against it for supporting the agitation.It should ne noted that the Dewan was not Sir CP,the Dewan was a christian,Thomas Austin.A gag order was imposed on its leaders N V Joseph,P K Kunju and C Kesavan.It was in this back drop the Thangassery episode took place.

While the Christian,Thomas Austin was the Dewan,the leaders of the movement and its supporters till now have blamed Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer,who was only the constitutional Advisor to the King,for suppressing the agitation,because he took steps to close the Travancore and National Quilon Bank later as Dewan in 1938-Mammen Mappilai was the one who had founded the Travancore Bank.

Viceroy Willingdon

The leaders of the movement claim that it was Sir C P who began a campaign to incorporate Thangassery,a small village with a population of 2000,who were mostly Christians,into the Travancre state.Covering an area of only about 100 acres,Thsngsssery originally formed part of the principality of Kollam ( Quilon ) and was ceded to the Portuguese in the sixteenth century.The Dutch then took it from the Portuguese and the British in turn from the Dutch,with the final transfer from the Dutch to the British taking place around 1815.Thus the village did not form part of Travancore for 400 years.A part of Tirunelveli district in Madras Presidency,it soon became a refuge for some of the Abstentionists who wanted to escape the attention of the Travancore police.

The determination to take over Thangassery was resisted by the inhabitants,who wanted their special British protectorate status.On 24 June 1934 the inhabitants passed a resolution to the British crown,to protect their status.A petition was submitted to British authorities in Madras,who then decided not to transfer without the concurrence of the inhabitants.On 15 January 1935,a counter petition was submitted to the Vuceroy by those wished for the merger.In response to this,another petition was drawn up,with demands similar to that of the Abstention movement.At the suggestion of Mammen Mappilai and others,early in 1935,M M Varkey,a stooge of Mappilai,was despatched to Madurai to meet George Joseph.George agreed to act an emissary to the Viceroy,if he was authorised by the people.A revised petition with clear authority to act on behalf of the people was given to George.

George and Varkey went to Madras and met the Governor Lord Erskine.From there they went to the offices of The Hindu and and Madras Mail,and keeping with Geoge's character or the lack of it,gave unwanted media exposure.George Joseph spoke at the local Congress meeting on prohibition,when invited.But George exploded against the very idea of prohibition,and the journalists surrounded him.He spoke about the Abstention movement and plight of the thangassery inhabitants in Travancore.In his trip to Delhi fro Madras,in every railway station,the press approached him for more.Before leaving for Madras he had informed of the developments in Travancore,to William Wedgewood Benn,former Secretary of State for India ( 1929-31 ) and the Duchess of Atholl,British Hostess of political soirees.Duchess of Atholl,Katharine Marjorie Stewart-Murray resigned the Conservative Whip in 1935 over the India Bill.

Duchess of Atholl

In Delhi,George and Varkey met the Viceroy Willingdon,whom George had known while he was Governor in Madras.Thus Thangassery remained part of British India until India became independent.On their return journey from Delhi,George and Varkey found their first class reservations cancelled and seats occupied by others.George created a fuss thatbthe train was not allowed to leave until it was agreed that both of them could travel in the general manager's saloon.

M M Varkey who accompanied George records in his book Ormakaliloode,that it was Mammen Mappilai who organised the trip of George to Delhi.

Varkey was summoned through telegram by Mappilai to Alapuzha,where T M Varghese was also present.Mappilai gave blank cheque books and a list of banks where he can clear the cheques, to Varkey.Thangsassery Christians gave Rs 500.Mappilai dropped Varkey at the Alapuzha railway station in his car.

The inhabitants of Thangassery,writes Varkey,had to go to Tirunelveli for all thir needs since it was in British Inda.Hence,a merger in travancore would have been a positive development.But both Anchuthengu near Attingal and Thangassery,being part of British India,provided safe haven to the Abstentionists,to plan the agitation and escape.

The Abstentionists organised the Thangassery Christians to sent petitions to the Viceroy on three occasions:May 18 1934,8 September 1934 and 15 January 1935.The Viceroy ignored them,as he had full faith in the Travancore Dewan ( 1934-36 ) Sir Muhammad Habibullah.

Habibullah was a member of the Arcot royal family and closely related to the Nawabs of Arcot. From 1925 to 1930, he was a member of the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India.Habibullah was appointed Dewan of Travancore by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore, on 15 March 1934, and remained in office for two years.Immediately after taking office, he appointed a committee to determine the appropriate electoral representation for the state's various communities. Specific numbers of legislative seats were reserved for Christians, Ezhavas and Muslims. However, because of objections by the Nairs—the military caste of Travancore—the issue was not resolved.Habibullah retired in 1936 and was succeeded by Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer.

Habibullah

Habibullah was the only Muslim Dewan Travancore ever had;this means the the Christian Abstention movement was forceful during a Muslim administrator,though they blamed Sir C P.

Varkey records that, "Mammen Mappillai saw Thangassey episode as a god send opportunity to showcase the sorry plight of the Travancore Christians."

At Delhi,George and Varkey stayed at the home of Pothan Joseph,Editor of Hindustan Times,and brother of George.George had lunch with Lancelet Graham,member of the Viceroy's Executive Council,and met the Viceroy the next day.He told the Viceroy that Christians at Thangassery were being sold like cattle;a cold blooded lie,since slavery was abolished in Travancore in 1855.After the meeting,George sent a telegram to Sir CP,informing of his success and challenging CP.He also sent messages to William Wedgewood,A A Somerville,Lord Atholl and Fitsalan,according to Varkey.Sir Annesley Ashworth Somerville ( 1858-1942 ) was a conservative MP from Windsor during 1922-1942.

This Christian manipulation found its nemesis at Kozhencherry soon.

C Kesavan,T M Varghese,George Joseph

On 13 May 1935,the Joint Political Conference held a meet at Kozhencherry under the President C Kesavan,on the backdrop of the Tangassery agitation.Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer wanted to incorporate Thangassery into Travancore,whereas the Christian inhabitants there wanted a British Protectorate.George Joseph presided over the Kozhencherry meet.In his challenging address,Kesavan made critical references to the Nairs' monopoly of the general administration,roundly condemned the policy of of the government for discriminating against other communities and hinted at the intention of the Ezhavas to leave the Hindu fold.At the same conference,a request was made to the King of Travancore to dismiss Sir C P as his legal and constiturtional advisor ( Sir CP was made Dewan only in 1936) on the ground that his continuance was inimical to communal harmony.Kesavan said:

"We do not want that 'Jantu' (creature).I did not say 'Jantu' but Hindu. He will do no good to the Ezhava, Christian and the Musalman. When I say this I do not see any play of protest in the countenance of any one of you. It is after the arrival of this gentleman here that such a bad name about Travancore state has spread outside. Unless this man leaves the country, no good will come to it. We have achieved these things by the joint organisation of our three communities."

Calling one a Jantu ( animal ) was a statement of hatred,not of criticism.

A week later,Kesavan was charged under section 117 of the Travancore Penal Code for exciting contempt and feelings of disaffection towards the Government.George Joseph was appointed the defence counsel.He was to make a journey from Madurai to argue the case and return there on the completion of the hearings.Since it was believed that George Joseph's arrest was a strong possibility,the Kottarakara railway station was the only safe venue for the discussion of the case and the political events of the day since the railway stations constituted British territory and thus were outside the jurisdiction of the Travancore authorities.Kesavan was found guilty and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a payment of a fine of Rs 500.

At the trial of Kesavan,Thangassery issue came up again.While delivering the judgement,Justice Raman Thampi observed that taking of a local issue to the British government over the head of the Travancore government,was highly irregular and the petition presented to the Viceroy amounted to disloyalty to Travancore.

In the book,Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India,1863-1937,Chandra Mallampalli records:"Througout the 1930s both Indian and International media had devoted much attention to the role of religion in determining the future of India'd depressed classes.Views of Gandhi and Ambedkar on conversion and nationality,alongwith Pickett's study of mass movements,had contributed to a climate of religious competition within which dalit issues were being addressed.At the Yeola Conference of 1935,Ambedkar issued his evocative call to dalits to seek equality of status within "another religion".His declaration caused Hindus,Muslims,Buddhists and Christians alike to consider the prospect of masses of dalits to committing themselves to their folds.Within this competitive climate,a group of prominent Christians attempted to carve out a middle path between excessive evangelistic zeal and indifference to the plight of the dalits.They formulated their position in a statement,"Our Duty to the Depressed and and Backward Classes".

Barrister George Joseph was one among them.J W Pickett wrote,Christian Mass Movements in India.

The signatories were: K.K. Chandy, S. Gnanaprakasam, S. Gurubatham, S. Jesudasen, M. P. Job, George Joseph, K.I. Matthai, A. A. Paul, S.E. Ranganadham, A.N. Sudarsanam, O. F.E. Zacharia, D.M. Devasahayam, G.V. Martyn ( Only 13 names are on record.)

Ambedkar had announced in a speech at Nasik in 1935 that he will renounce Hinduism. In the same year a meeting was held at Yevala in which through a resolution a decision was taken to the effect that "we should Denounce the Hindu religion". In that meeting Ambedkar had said, "though both a Hindu because I could not help it, I would not die as a Hindu." Gandhi described this as a "bombshell".

Thomas Austin

Kesavan's conviction aroused some of his Ezhava community friends even more and a section among them sought mass conversion to Christianity.They approached George Joseph on this matter.According to the biography,George Joseph:The Life and Times of Kerala Christian Nationalist,George Joseph's attitude was some what ambivalent.While any addition to the Christian fold was welcome to some one with his recently acquired Christian convictions,he was uneasy about the non-religious motivation underlying the intended mass conversion.He counselled caution when a number of Christian organisations wanted to take a more active role in promoting this project.This was also the time that he corresponded with Ambedkar regarding the efficacy of mass conversion as a political weapon to improve the status of the untouchables.However more favourable circumstances,notably the Temple entry Proclamation led many Ezhavas to reconsider the original plan of embracing Christianity.

The book claims that this conversion movement had the approval of SNDP Yogam-it can't be true becuase Sir C P had made several Ezhavas including Kumaran Asan Sree Moolam assembly members and eventually before Sir C P left Kerala,SNDP Yogam held farewell meetings in honour of him.R Sankar was a close friend of Sir CP.Sir CP allotted 27 acres of prime land to build the SN College free of cost,at the heart of Quilon town.Sankar and associates expressed their gratitude to Sir CP.Kesavan who was an atheist and anti Hindu, instead of condemning the Sabarimala Temple burning,applauded it by saying that destruction of temples would eradicate superstitious beiefs in society.

Incidentally it was Narayana Guru,renaissance leader and life long President of SNDP Yogam and Kumaran Asan,the Illustrious General Sceretary of SNDP,who vehementally opposed the conversion move of a group of upstarts and insisted that there is no religion equal to Hinduism in providing spiritual freedom and enlightenment,in a well known article,titled,Mathaparivarthana Rasavadham,a treatise on religious conversion.

George Joseph,who had supported Fascism as a rival to Communism after he left Gandhi,began to preach Christianity among the depressed classes and in 1937,a manifesto was issued by 14 Indian Christians including him,for conversion of the depressed classes to Christianity.George Joseph,a soldier of Christ,who had become an evangelist wanted to convert the depressed classes who constitute a majority of the Hindu population as a prelude to forming a Christian theocratic state in India.

Gandhi with Harijans

In the book,Hindu-Christian Dialogue:Perspectives and Encounters , Harold Coward states:

"Disagreements with Gandhi went beyond differences concerning specific facts about the motives for and consequences of conversion.Whereas Gandhi considered all religions on par,if not similar,in that they were both true and flawed,the Christians saw religions as basically distinct,each with differing gifts to offer.Moreover,whereas Gandhi sought to remove untouchability and the disabilities from which untouchables suffered without destroying the existing socio-religious order,the Christians,like Ambedkar,considered social conflict the inevitable price of meaningful change.This comes out clearly in many Christian statements including the one on "Christian Attitude to Harijan Revolt" issued by the Bangalore Conference Continuation in June 1936.This statement,unlike a later one,"Christian Evangelism in India", prepared by the National Christian Council ,was sensitive to reformist Hindu concerns and fearful of aggravating communal rivalries.It therefore urged Christians to continue their work among untouchables with great care and even to exercise a "ministry of reconciliation between caste Hindus and Harijans."

It further states:

"Perhaps the most thoughtful and sensitive Christian response to Gandhi's concerns came from a group of fouteen nationalist Christians who wrote a careful statement entitled,"Our Duty to the Depressed and Backward Classes:An Indian Christian Statement," in March 1937.On one hand,it recognized the fact untouchables were seeking the fellowship of the church and that it was the duty of the Christian Church to receive such seekers as well as to awake spiritual hunger.On the other,it urged restraint,so as not "to alienate the sympathy and spoil the open mindedness of the Hindu to the Gospel by any ill-considered attempts at external results of a questionable value".

Barrister George Joseph was one among the 14 signatories.

Gandhi called this an "unfortunate document" as its main purpose,in his creading,was "not to condemn unequivocally the method of converting the illiterate and the ignorant but to assert the Right of preaching the Gospel to the millions of Harijans."

Gandhi replied:

"The duty of the Christian Church in India is turned into a right.Now when duty becomes right it ceases to be a duty.Performance of a duty requires one quality-that of suffering and introspection.Excercise of a right requires a quality that gives the power to impose one's will upon the resister through sanctions devised by the claimant of the law whose aid he invokes in the excercise of his right.I hsave the duty of paying my debt,but I have no right to thrust the owed coppers ( say ) into the pocket of an unwilling creditor.The duty of taking spiritual message is performed by the messenger becoming a fit vehicle by prayer and fasting.Conceived as a right,it may become an imposition on unwilling parties."

The Editor of The Guardian,one of the 14 co-signers took issue with Gandhi's remarks and concluded that Gandhi's criticism does not allay Muslim and Christion suspicions that "Mahatma Gandhi is a downright communalist and cannot but fight as a Hindu inspite of his nationalism."

Ivanios,1908

The book mentioned above, then goes on to establish what it calls Gandhian Christianity,bringing into the picture,C F Andrews,Gandhi's close friend.Following Andrews,whose Mahatma Gandhi's Ideas appeared in 1929,Frederick B Fisher a Methodist missionary Bishop,and Jaswant Rao Chitamber,soon to become the first Indian Methodist Bishop,published very appreciative biographies of Gandhi in the U S in which they argued that Gandhi was putting Christian ideals into practice.Rajkumari Amrit Kaur,a Christian had also shared the same feelings.

George Joseph briefly returned to Congress,failed in Muncipal elections and in his practice as a lawyer,again left Congress and then got immersed in Roman Catholicism.His conversion to Catholicism was triggered off when Mar Ivanios,a Syrian Orthodox Archbishop acknowledged the authority f the Pope as the head of all Christian churches in 1931.Mar Ivanios was lured by a heftuy sum from Rome,according to his detractors.George Joseph joined the break away group led by Mar Ivanios.He began to campaign for the Christians and more specifically for the Catholics in the political arena.

He visited a French Jesuit,Fr Gathier who taught philosophy at a Jesuit seminary at Shembaganur,near Kodaikanal. The Jesuit Archives of Madurai Province is situated at Shembaganur (Kodaikanal) and Fr Gathier was in charge of the archives,from 1937.He dropped in his regular visits to meet his client,Maharaja of Nabha,at Kodaikanal.Ivanios was the first MA holder in Malankara Church.

Towards the end of his life,George paved the way for the closure of Kerala Kaumudi.On George's 50th birth day on 5 June 1937,he presided over a political conference at Punalur.There he was taken in a large procession led by caparisoned elephants.For Kerala Kaumudi,edited by Kesavan,George sent a message,which was published on 7 March 1938,two days after his death.The message read:

"The specific work of this year of the Kerala Kaumudi should be to press for responsible goverment in Travancore.The Legislative Council is in the process of reformation and you can have a state Government only by constitutional responsibility.In other words,power must pass from the palace to the Lregislative Council."

The Travancore Government considered publication of this message as unacceptable and by an executive order cancelled the license for publishing the paper.The publishers also forfeited the deposit of Rs 1000.

The Abstention movement didn't have the blessings of the Indian National Congress,which had banned any political movement in princely states.The Congress was agitating only in British India.Hence a section of the Christians,who still claim the movement was part of the freedom struggle,are eschewing a dead cause.

George Joseph died on 5 March 1938.Till his death,he was associated with the Abstention movement,a Christian movement in which C Kesavan was only a pawn of the global Christian agenda.The Joint Political Conference weakened and with the resignation of stalwarts such as N V Joseph and E P Varghese,on 4 July 1938,the last meeting of the Conference decided that all members of the organisation should be advised to join the newly founded Travancore State Congress.

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Gandhi's Reply to 14 Christians Including George Joseph:

Segaon, Wardha
April 3, 1937

An Unfortunate Document

Fourteen highly educated Indian Christians occupying important social positions have issued a joint manifesto setting forth their views on the missionary work among Harijans. The document has been published in the Indian Press. I was disinclined to publish it in Harijan, as after having read it more than once I could not bring myself to say anything in its favour and I felt that a critical review of it might serve no useful purpose. But I understand that my criticism is expected and will be welcomed no matter how candid and strong it may be.

The reader will find the manifesto published in full in this issue. The heading⁽¹⁾ is also the authors'. They seem to have fallen between two stools in their attempt to sit on both. They have tried to reconcile the irreconcilable. If one section of Christians has been aggressively open and militant, the other represented by the authors of the manifesto is courteously patronizing. They would not be aggressive for the sake of expedience. The purpose of the manifesto is not to condemn uniquivocally the method of converting the illiterate and the ignorant but to assert the right of preaching the Gospel to the millions of Harijans. The key to the manifesto is contained in paragraphs 7 and 8. This is what one reads in paragraph 7:

"Men and women individually and in family or village groups will continue to seek the fellowship of the Christian Church. That is the real movement of the Spirit of God. And no power on earth can stem that tide. It will be the duty of the Christian Church in India to receive such seekers after the truth as it is in Jesus Christ and provide for them instruction and spiritual nurture. The Church will cling to its right to receive such people into itself from whatever religious group they may come. It will cling to the further right to go about in these days of irreligion and materialism to awaken spiritual hunger in all."

These few sentences are a striking instance of how the wish becomes father to the thought. It is an unconscious process but not on that account less open to criticism. Men and women do not seek the fellowship of the Christian Church. Poor Harijans are no better than the others. I wish they had real spiritual hunger. Such as it is, they satisfy by visits to the temples, however crude they may be. When the missionary of another religion goes to them, he goes like any vendor of goods. He has no special spiritual merit that will - distinguish him from those to whom he goes. He does, however, possess material goods which he promises to those who will come to his fold. Then mark, the duty of the Christian Church in India turns into a right. Now when duty becomes a right it ceases to be a duty. Performance of a duty requires one quality - that of suffering and introspection. Exercise of a right requires a quality that gives the power to impose one's will upon the resister through sanctions devised by the claimant or the law whose aid he invokes in the exercise of his right. I have the duty of paying my debt, but I have no right to thrust the owed coppers (say) into the pocket of an unwilling creditor. The duty of taking spiritual message is performed by the messenger becoming a fit vehicle by prayer and fasting. Conceived as a right, it may easily become an imposition on unwilling parties.

Thus the manifesto, undoubtedly designed to allay suspicion and soothe the ruffled feelings of Hindus, in my opinion, fails to accomplish its purpose. On the contrary, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I venture to suggest to the authors that they need to reexamine their position in the light of my remarks. Let them recognize the fundamental difference between rights and duties. In the spiritual sphere, there is no such thing as a right.

1. The heading of the manifesto was. "Our Duty to the Depressed and Backward Classes".

Note: The signatories were: K.K. Chandy, S. Gnanaprakasam, S. Gurubatham, S. Jesudasen, M. P. Job, G. Joseph, K.I. Matthai, A. A. Paul, S.E. Ranganadham, A.N. Sudarsanam, O. F.E. Zacharia, D.M. Devasahayam, G.V. Martyn.
 

Vol.65 P. 47-48 (Harijan, 3-4-1937

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Reference:

1.Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters/ Harold Coward
2.Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India, 1863-1937: Contending with Marginalty/ Chandra Mallampalli

3.George Joseph:The Life and Times of Kerala Christian Nationalist/ George Gheverghese Joseph

4.Ormakaliloode/M M Varkey

5.Christian Mass Movements in India/J W Pickett

© Ramachandran