Titusji

Titusji was a man of vision and mission, who worked untiringly for the freedom of India, along with other great leaders of India's freedom struggle. He was the only Christian among the 78 marchers selected by Mahatma Gandhi to take part in the 1930 Dandi March, to break the salt law. He was also selected by Mahatma Gandhi as a secretary for his milk project in the Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad. Mr. Gulzarilal Nanda (who later became prime mister of India) was the secretary of another unit. Both of them were trusted friends of Gandhiji. In his earlier days he was known by the name Titus Theverthundiyil. “Titusji” was the name given to him by Mahatma Gandhi as a token of love and honour.

Early life.

Titus, born on February 18, 1905, hails from a farming family, (Theverthundiyil, Maramon) in Kerala. After his high school graduation, he taught in a school in Vadaserikara (a village about 20 km away from Maramon), for a few years. Then he joined the Allahabad Agriculture University and passed an Indian Dairy Diploma course with distinction. After that he joined Mahatma Gandhi in Sabarmati Ashram.

Titus got married in 1933, and his wife Annamma joined the Sabarmati Ashram. Titus wanted to give her wedding ornaments to be donated to the Ashram. This newly married Annama initially refused to give her gold ornaments but later gave them to Gandhiji.

alt march to Dandi.

The Salt Satyagraha was a campaign of non-violent protest against the British salt tax in colonial India which began with the Salt March to Dandi. It was the first act of organized opposition to British rule after "Purna Swaraj", the declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress.

When Mahatma Gandhi decided to break the salt law, he chose 78 trusted men. Titus was one of them. On March 12, 1930.Gandhiji, Titusji and the others marched from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi beach, in Gujarat to make salt in the symbolic way. Titus was the only Christian in that group.

A growing numbers of Indians joined them along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws in Dandi at the conclusion of the march on April 6, 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians. ["Mass civil disobedience throughout India followed as millions broke the salt laws", from Dalton's introduction to Gandhi's "Civil Disobedience". Gandhi & Dalton, 1996, p. 72.] Gandhi and the others were beaten up and arrested by the British. During one of his visits to Kerala, Titusji burnt the British clothes (foreign clothes) in Kottayam and gave a fiery speech to thousands of Keralites.

Gandhi's visit to Kerala.

On March 15, 1925, Mahatma Gandhi visited Titusji’s house in Maramon (Theverthundiyil) on his way to the famous Hindu temple in Aranmula near Chengannur. This was considered one of the greatest events in Central Travancore. In and around Maramon, thousands witnessed his visit. [Thomas John Nalloor. www.kuwaitmarthoma.com/e-library]

Later life.

After Independence, Titusji settled in Bhopal. He always wore Khadi dress. He helped thousands of youngsters find jobs in Madhya Pradesh. He was a very active member of the Mar Thoma Church in Bhopal. In 1970, he published the book “The Bharat of my Dreams”.

He died on August 8, 1980, at the Kasthurba Hospital in Bhopal. He never got any medals or pension for his participation in the freedom struggle. As the years passed by he was forgotten, but not by all.

Re-enactment in 2005

To commemorate the Great Salt March, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation proposed a re-enactment on the 75th anniversary. The event was known as the "International Walk for Justice and Freedom". Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi and several hundred fellow marchers followed the same route to Dandi. Son of Titusji, fifty-two-year-old Thomas Titus, a general manager with a hospital in Bhopal, had been personally invited by Kanti Gandhi, Gandhiji’s grandson, to take part in the yatra.

The start of the march on March 12, 2005 in Ahmedabad was attended by Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, as well as several Indian Cabinet Ministers, many of whom walked for the first few kilometres. The participants halted at Dandi on the night of April 5, with the commemoration ending on April 7. [cite news | title = Gandhi's 1930 march re-enacted | publisher = BBC News | date = 2005-03-12 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4342745.stm | accessdate = 2007-12-27 ]

References

ee also.

Salt Satyagraha
On The Eve of Dandi March