Punnapra-Vayalar uprising

The Punnapra-Vayalar uprising was a popular uprising in the then Indian province of Travancore (now part of the Indian State of Kerala) in 1946.

The interpretation of this incident is still debated. Some individuals argue this was neither an uprising or a liberation struggle. They suggest certain trade union leaders instigated the coir workers belonging to the Eezhava community to wage a war against the then administration led by Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer. The Communists in Kerala maintain this was a struggle for freedom against the oppression of the state. The qualified historians (like Prof. A Sreedhara Menon) state that it was a proper political struggle by the communists against the Travancore Maharaja's government

The Quit India movement of 1942 had not influenced the politcal life in Travancore. However, in January, the Diwan of Travancore, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer proposed constituional reforms which provided for an irremovable executive on the "American model". Both the State Congress as well as the Communists opposed this move with the slogan "American Modal Arabi Kadalil" (translation: chuck the american model into the Arabian sea). The region around Alleppey was a Communist stronghold and the communist workers organised a mass upheaval in October 1946 against the authority of the Diwan, and practically established their own government in the region. This led to attacks and deaths of Travancore police officals and communist party members in the area.

Dismayed by the turn of events, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer declared martial law in Alleppy on October 25, 1946 A.D. He assumed supreme command of the Travancore army and navy. The Travancore army moved from the camp in Shertallai town and surrounded the communists at Vayalar village by the 26 and 27th of October. The Travancore navy ably supported the army in isolating Vayalar, which is surrounded by water on three sides. Once the blockade was in place, the army moved in. The communists armed themselves with bamboo spikes (Vari kuntham), machetes, sticks and stones, and the army met them with rifles and machine guns. It is estimated that at least 150 people were killed on the spot during the army's pincer movement on October 27, and many more succumbed to injuries later. The Tranvancore army's basic infantry was armed with .303 Lee-Enfield rifles, whose bullets tend to "tumble" when moving inside a body, and may have contributed to these later deaths. On the same same day, at least 130 people where killed in army firings, elsewhere in the district. The local people and press maintain that many more people were killed and the bodies disposed by the army.

Prof. Menon estimates that over a thousand people were killed during the Punnapra-Vayalar outbreak. Atrocities were not one sided, and there are reports of murders of travancore policemen after they had surrendered to the communists, during the early stages of the disturbances. Police Inspector Velayudhan Nadar had moved forward to reason out with the communists, but he was brutally hacked to death. This hardended the stance of the police and the armed forces. Following the supression of the communist local governments, the Travancore police used heavy handed methods to repress the political movement in the region and detained many activits without any trial.

However, the killings turned the popular opinion of the people of Travancore totally against Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, who, in response to the Indian Independence Act (1946) which included provisions for the princely states like Travancore to join the Indian union, announced on June 11, 1947 A.D., that Travancore would remain as an independent kingdom. This led to more political struggles by the Communists and the Congress and more repressions by the Diwan, cluminating in the police firing in Trivandrum, during which at least three people, including a student named Rajendran, were killed. On July 25, 1947, an attempt was made on the life of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer during a function at Swati Tirunal Academy of Music at Trivandrum, forcing him to leave the state for good (August 19, 1947), following which, the Maharajah of Travancore announced his decision to accept the Instrument of Accession and take Travancore into the Indian union.

So, in retrospect, the Punnapra-Vayalar struggle did achieve it's grand plan (democracy and freedom for the people of Travancore in general and Punnapra-Vayalar in particular), though in a different manner from what was planned and expected in October 1946.

References:

1. A survey of Kerala History, by Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon, S. Viswanathan printers and publishers, 1996.

2. A study of Kerala History, by Dr. K.V. Eapen, Kollett Publications, 1980.