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Vedaranyam March
The Vedaranyam March (also called the Vedaranyam Satyagraha) was a framework of the nonviolent civil disobedience movement in British India. Modeled on the lines of Dandi March, which was led by Mahatma Gandhi on the western coast of India the month before, it was organised to protest the salt tax imposed by the British Raj in the colonial India.
C. Rajagopalachari, a close associate of Gandhi, led the march which had close to 150 volunteers, most of whom belonged to the Indian National Congress. It began at Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirappalli) on 13 April 1930 and proceeded for about 150 mi (240 km) towards the east before culminating at Vedaranyam, a small coastal town in the then Tanjore District. By collecting salt directly from the sea the marchers broke the salt law. As a part of the march, Rajagopalachari created awareness among the people by highlighting the importance of Khadi as well as social issues like caste discrimination. The campaign came to an end on 28 April 1930 when the participants were arrested by the colonial police force. Its leader Rajagopalachari was imprisoned for six months. The march along with the ones at Dandi and Dharasana drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement.
In response to a nationwide protest of the British salt tax, Mahatma Gandhi decided to initiate a march to Dandi—then a small village in the Bombay Presidency—on the western coast of India. When Gandhi's choice of salt was not welcomed by his peers, C. Rajagopalachari ably supported the idea and took part in the Salt March, which was organised on 12 March 1930.
A month later, Rajagopalachari was unanimously elected as the president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) at the conference held in Vellore. T. S. S. Rajan was elected as the secretary, while Panthulu Iyer, Swaminatha Chetty, Lakshmipathi, A. Vaidyanatha Iyer and N. S. Varathachariyar were among the prominent members of the committee. In the meanwhile, the party headquarters was shifted from Madras to Trichinopoly. A month later, Rajagopalachari intended to initiate a protest—on the lines of Dandi March—on the eastern coast to make salt at Vedaranyam, Tanjore District, Madras Presidency. Rajaji initially thought of choosing Kanyakumari, the point where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean confluence with each other. Since the TNCC had decided not to conduct Satyagraha in non-native states, Kanyakumari, which was then a part of the princely state of Travancore, was ruled out. Vedaratnam Pillai, an active congressman and a resident of Vedaranyam, convinced Rajaji that his hometown be the preferred destination. Rajaji agreed with his idea as there were "convenient" salt marshes at the Agasthiampalli salt factory, which was located near Vedaranyam. Further, Pillai was also a licensee of the salt factory and had knowledge about the manufacturing of salt. Further, Rajaji was influenced by the location of the town; it was a part of the Tanjore District, which was a Congress stronghold.
As soon as the venue was finalised, Rajaji made further preparations for the march. A Government record pointed out that he was very much concerned about modeling the march on the lines of Gandhi's Dandi March. He estimated that a minimum sum of ₹20,000 was needed to organise the rally. He successfully managed to collect the funds with the help of Saurashtrians of Madurai and South Indians in Bombay and Ahmedabad. Rajaji had formulated an advance guard that consisted of T. S. S. Rajan, G. Ramachandran and Thiruvannamalai N. Annamalai Pillai. Even before the march took off, the guard traveled along the proposed route and met the villagers to ensure support from them. Rajan was in charge of fixing the halt points for the march and took care of food and accommodation at each stage. The promulgation of section 157 of the Indian Penal Code made it a difficult task for Rajan. J. A. Thorne, the district collector of Tanjore, issued a warning that those who provide food and accommodation to the marchers shall be punished. He tried his best by widely publicising his order throughout his jurisdiction.
The committee had received nearly 1000 applications for participating in the march. After scrutinising the applications, Rajaji selected a team of ninety-eight volunteers, most of them being young clerks, students and graduates. Out of the first batch, twenty-four were from Madurai, fifteen from Tirunelveli, twelve from Ramanathapuram, eleven from Madras, nine from Tiruchengodu, nine from Bombay, seven from Tanjore, five from Trichinopoly, four from Coimbatore and one each from North Arcot and Srirangam. Other prominent members included, Rukmini Lakshmipathi, K. Kamaraj, Aranthangi C. Krishnaswamy, M. Bhaktavatsalam and Rajaji's son, C. R. Narasimhan. In addition, social activists like Vaidyanatha Iyer and G. Ramachandran joined the rally.
The march commenced on 13 April 1930, coinciding with the Puthandu (Tamil New Year), from Rajan's house in Trichinopoly Cantonment. As soon as the marchers reached Tanjore, Rajaji avoided the usual route to Vedaranyam, and instead chose a "circuitous" route via Kumbakonam, Valangaiman, Semmangudi, Needamangalam and Thiruthuraipoondi as he hoped that the marchers would receive hospitality in these places. He had organised fifteen sub committees to ensure a smooth functioning of the march. The idea was to gather enough support among the people by drawing their attention. They planned to cover a stretch of 10 miles each day for a period of about 15 days, thus reaching the destination before the stipulated time.
The Madras Government took a series of measures to bring an end to the march. It ordered the district officers to organize public meetings to persuade people upon the "impracticability" of the march and issued orders to arrest the participants of the march. Other preventive measures included, censoring news items related to the march and taking actions against the editors of the nationalist newspapers. Parents were warned not to send their children to participate in the satyagraha. The telegrams of the volunteers were confiscated, and the Government servants were cautioned about the consequences of participating in the march.
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Vedaranyam March
The Vedaranyam March (also called the Vedaranyam Satyagraha) was a framework of the nonviolent civil disobedience movement in British India. Modeled on the lines of Dandi March, which was led by Mahatma Gandhi on the western coast of India the month before, it was organised to protest the salt tax imposed by the British Raj in the colonial India.
C. Rajagopalachari, a close associate of Gandhi, led the march which had close to 150 volunteers, most of whom belonged to the Indian National Congress. It began at Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirappalli) on 13 April 1930 and proceeded for about 150 mi (240 km) towards the east before culminating at Vedaranyam, a small coastal town in the then Tanjore District. By collecting salt directly from the sea the marchers broke the salt law. As a part of the march, Rajagopalachari created awareness among the people by highlighting the importance of Khadi as well as social issues like caste discrimination. The campaign came to an end on 28 April 1930 when the participants were arrested by the colonial police force. Its leader Rajagopalachari was imprisoned for six months. The march along with the ones at Dandi and Dharasana drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement.
In response to a nationwide protest of the British salt tax, Mahatma Gandhi decided to initiate a march to Dandi—then a small village in the Bombay Presidency—on the western coast of India. When Gandhi's choice of salt was not welcomed by his peers, C. Rajagopalachari ably supported the idea and took part in the Salt March, which was organised on 12 March 1930.
A month later, Rajagopalachari was unanimously elected as the president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) at the conference held in Vellore. T. S. S. Rajan was elected as the secretary, while Panthulu Iyer, Swaminatha Chetty, Lakshmipathi, A. Vaidyanatha Iyer and N. S. Varathachariyar were among the prominent members of the committee. In the meanwhile, the party headquarters was shifted from Madras to Trichinopoly. A month later, Rajagopalachari intended to initiate a protest—on the lines of Dandi March—on the eastern coast to make salt at Vedaranyam, Tanjore District, Madras Presidency. Rajaji initially thought of choosing Kanyakumari, the point where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean confluence with each other. Since the TNCC had decided not to conduct Satyagraha in non-native states, Kanyakumari, which was then a part of the princely state of Travancore, was ruled out. Vedaratnam Pillai, an active congressman and a resident of Vedaranyam, convinced Rajaji that his hometown be the preferred destination. Rajaji agreed with his idea as there were "convenient" salt marshes at the Agasthiampalli salt factory, which was located near Vedaranyam. Further, Pillai was also a licensee of the salt factory and had knowledge about the manufacturing of salt. Further, Rajaji was influenced by the location of the town; it was a part of the Tanjore District, which was a Congress stronghold.
As soon as the venue was finalised, Rajaji made further preparations for the march. A Government record pointed out that he was very much concerned about modeling the march on the lines of Gandhi's Dandi March. He estimated that a minimum sum of ₹20,000 was needed to organise the rally. He successfully managed to collect the funds with the help of Saurashtrians of Madurai and South Indians in Bombay and Ahmedabad. Rajaji had formulated an advance guard that consisted of T. S. S. Rajan, G. Ramachandran and Thiruvannamalai N. Annamalai Pillai. Even before the march took off, the guard traveled along the proposed route and met the villagers to ensure support from them. Rajan was in charge of fixing the halt points for the march and took care of food and accommodation at each stage. The promulgation of section 157 of the Indian Penal Code made it a difficult task for Rajan. J. A. Thorne, the district collector of Tanjore, issued a warning that those who provide food and accommodation to the marchers shall be punished. He tried his best by widely publicising his order throughout his jurisdiction.
The committee had received nearly 1000 applications for participating in the march. After scrutinising the applications, Rajaji selected a team of ninety-eight volunteers, most of them being young clerks, students and graduates. Out of the first batch, twenty-four were from Madurai, fifteen from Tirunelveli, twelve from Ramanathapuram, eleven from Madras, nine from Tiruchengodu, nine from Bombay, seven from Tanjore, five from Trichinopoly, four from Coimbatore and one each from North Arcot and Srirangam. Other prominent members included, Rukmini Lakshmipathi, K. Kamaraj, Aranthangi C. Krishnaswamy, M. Bhaktavatsalam and Rajaji's son, C. R. Narasimhan. In addition, social activists like Vaidyanatha Iyer and G. Ramachandran joined the rally.
The march commenced on 13 April 1930, coinciding with the Puthandu (Tamil New Year), from Rajan's house in Trichinopoly Cantonment. As soon as the marchers reached Tanjore, Rajaji avoided the usual route to Vedaranyam, and instead chose a "circuitous" route via Kumbakonam, Valangaiman, Semmangudi, Needamangalam and Thiruthuraipoondi as he hoped that the marchers would receive hospitality in these places. He had organised fifteen sub committees to ensure a smooth functioning of the march. The idea was to gather enough support among the people by drawing their attention. They planned to cover a stretch of 10 miles each day for a period of about 15 days, thus reaching the destination before the stipulated time.
The Madras Government took a series of measures to bring an end to the march. It ordered the district officers to organize public meetings to persuade people upon the "impracticability" of the march and issued orders to arrest the participants of the march. Other preventive measures included, censoring news items related to the march and taking actions against the editors of the nationalist newspapers. Parents were warned not to send their children to participate in the satyagraha. The telegrams of the volunteers were confiscated, and the Government servants were cautioned about the consequences of participating in the march.
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