- Vanchinathan
Vanchinathan (
1886 -June 17 ,1911 ) , popularly known as Vanchi, was an Indian independence activist. He is best remembered for having shot dead Ashe, the Collector ofThirunelveli and having later committed suicide in order to evade arrest.Personal life
Vanchinathan was born in 1886 in
Shenkottai to Raghupathy Iyer and Rukmani Ammal. His actual name was Shankaran. He did his schooling in Shenkottai and graduated in M.A. from Moolam Thirunal Maharaja College inThiruvananthapuram . Even while in college, he married Ponnammal and got into a lucrative Government job.Freedom Movement
On
June 17 1911 , Vanchi assassinated Ashe, the district collector ofTirunelveli , who was also known as Collector Dorai. He shot Ashe at point-blank range when Ashe's train had stopped at theManiyachi station, en route toMadras . He committed suicide thereafter. The railway station has since been renamed Vanchi Maniyachi.Vanchi was a close collaborator of
Varahaneri Venkatesa Subrahmanya Iyer (normally shortened toV.V.S.Aiyar or Va.Ve.Su Iyer), another freedom fighter who sought arms to defeat the British.Vanchinathan's letter
Cquote|I dedicate my life as a small contribution to my motherland. I am alone responsible for this.
3000 youths of this brave country have taken an oath before mother Kali to send King George to hell once he sets his foot on our motherland. I will kill Ashe, whose arrival here is to celebrate the crowning of King George in this glorious land which was once ruled by great samrats. This I do to make them understand the fate of those who cherish the thought of enslaving this sacred land. I, as the youngest of them, wish to warn George by killing Ashe who is his sole representative and has destroyed the Swadeshi shipping company and several other freedom fighters by subjecting them to severe torture.
Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram
Trivia
In the movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250460/ Kappalottiya Tamizhan] , Actor Balaji played the role of Vanchinathan. Sivaji Ganesan roled as Va.U. Chidamparam
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