On 14 February 1909, Thomman Cherian and Annamma Karippaparambil welcomed their second daughter. They named her Accamma Cherian — a reputation that may later be etched within the historical past of the Indian freedom battle.
On 23 October 1938, a 29-year-old Accamma stood bravely in entrance of the chief of the police stationed outdoors the Travancore palace. As he ordered his males to shoot the Congress protestors, she stated, “I’m the chief; shoot me first earlier than you kill others.” To today, these phrases are recalled for the influence they made.
Now to attach the dots between her start and the momentous day, let’s begin from the start.
In pre-independent India, a frontrunner is born
Born in a Nasrani household (an historical Christian group) in Kanjirapally, Travancore, Accamma grew up and accomplished her BA in Historical past from St Teresa’s School in Ernakulam. Quickly after in 1931, she began educating at St Mary’s English Medium College in Edakkara, the place she would ultimately be promoted to the position of the headmistress and serve for six years.
It was in February 1938 that Accamma joined the Travancore State Congress.
However inside a number of months, on 26 August 1938, C P Ramaswami Aiyar, the Dewan of Travancore, banned the State Congress after the folks began urgent for a accountable authorities. This gave rise to a civil disobedience motion, throughout which Congress leaders had been arrested and jailed.
Regardless of the hurdles, Congress continued to perform below new presidentships, however one after one other, every new president was put behind bars. The eleventh Travancore State Congress president nominated Accamma to switch him earlier than his arrest.
In her autobiography, Jeevitham: Oru Samaram (Life: A Battle), she writes, “I used to be conscious of the seriousness of the task and knew what the implications may very well be, but I volunteered to do the job.”
Beneath her management, Congress despatched phrase and united the youth from each locality in Kerala. The plan was to disrupt the Maharaja’s birthday celebrations and lift their voice in opposition to his dictatorial rule. So, on October 23, 1938, volunteers thronged the streets and the Thampanoor Railway Station floor stuffed up with protestors.
“Not tons of however tens of 1000’s sporting white Khaddar Jubbahs and nonetheless whiter Gandhi caps had been surging ahead in large waves…Accamma Cherian was main that white sea, standing in an open jeep, wearing khaddar and a Gandhi cap, like Goddess Durga crushing beneath her ft evil and injustice; her hair performed within the wind like black flags hoisted in opposition to autocracy,” stated E M Kovoor whereas describing this historic protest that was a primary of its type in Kerala.
From there, Accamma began in the direction of the Royal Palace to current the folks’s memorandum to the King. The protest noticed immense resistance and hurdles, however she boldly stood her floor. When the chief of police Colonel Watson tried to order his males to shoot the protestors, her valiant phrases compelled him to withdraw. And at last, on account of the huge protest, the federal government gave in and lifted the ban on the State Congress. Additionally they agreed to launch the arrested celebration leaders.
When Mahatma Gandhi heard of this incident, he referred to as Accamma “the Jhansi Rani of Travancore”, which caught on.
The work that adopted the victory
After this momentous win, she went on to organise a feminine volunteer corps referred to as Desasevika Sangh. She travelled extensively with a mission to encourage ladies volunteers to affix the native Congress our bodies as members. Her efforts bore fruits.
Then, on 24 December 1939, she was arrested for her participation within the State Congress’ first annual convention. She spent a yr in jail the place she was verbally abused, tortured and harassed. However, after she accomplished her sentence, she joined the State Congress as a full-time employee and ultimately grew to become the president.
However that wouldn’t be the final time Accamma frolicked in jail. She was once more put behind bars for her assist of the Indian Nationwide Congress’ Stop India Decision. And once more for resisting Dewan’s mission for an impartial Travancore.
In 1947, she was elected to the Travancore Legislative Meeting from her birthplace. However she needed to resign from Congress when she was denied a ticket. She then contested independently from Muvattupuzha. However in 1950, she took a step again from politics as a consequence of conflicting faculties of thought.
The denied alternative for a deserved position
In 1951, Accamma married fellow freedom fighter V V Varkey Mannamplackal, who was a member of the Travancore Cochin Legislative Meeting. Quickly, she gave start to a son, George V Varkey.
However, the battle in her was not but over. In 1967, she once more contested the meeting election from Kanjirapally however didn’t win. She was by no means capable of stand for an election after this defeat.
In her autobiography, Accamma writes about how the Congress celebration refused to recognise her position within the freedom battle after India grew to become impartial. Devoted ladies like her weren’t thought of for essential celebration roles and had been moderately supplied native positions, she famous.
The brave freedom fighter writes about this in her autobiography, “Shakespeare has stated that the world is a stage and that each one the women and men merely gamers; however to me, this life is a protracted protest — protest in opposition to conservatism, meaningless rituals, societal injustice, gender discrimination, in opposition to something that’s dishonest, unjust…once I see something like this, I flip blind, I even neglect who I’m preventing…”
She ultimately settled to develop into a member of the Freedom Fighters’ Pension Advisory Board, and a robust, fearless freedom fighter’s heroic story was misplaced within the chaos. She handed away on 5 Could 1982 and is now recognised posthumously as an ‘Unsung Hero of India’s Freedom Battle’ by the federal government.
(Edited by Divya Sethu)
Sources:
Accamma Cherian: The Jhansi Rani Of Travancore | #IndianWomenInHistory: Written by Rinzu for Feminism In India, Printed on 11 March 2017