GANDHI'S sathyagraha in South Africa, in protest against the inhuman treatment meted out to Indians there, was at its peak. The British rulers were trying to put down the Indian community with stringent anti-Asiatic
legislation to subdue and subjugate the 'coolies' (what Indians were called
in S. Africa then).
Nothing degraded Indians more than the verdict given by Justice Searl on March 14, 1913 concerning the legality of marriage.
As per his verdict, only those marriages performed according to the law of the prevailing
government in S. Africa or marriages performed according to Christian law or those registered with the registrar of European marriages would be valid.
This mischievous verdict had a serious connotation. The wives of Indians in S. Africa would become illegal and their children, as born outside wedlock, would have no right of inheritance. |
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There was a spate of protests from the Indian community.
Touched to the quick, scores of Indian women defied prohibitory orders and undertook a protest march from
Johannesburg to Newcastle. Among the protest marcher was a 16-year-old, tall, charming and energetic Tamil girl
Valliamma.
When the marchers entered Transvaal on Dec. 22, 1913, Valliamma was arrested along with others and sentenced to three months rigorous imprisonment in Maritzburg jail. Since she was young and could not cope with the rigours of prison life, (which also included inhuman treatment at the hands of the jailors), she fell seriously ill and became bedridden.
Under an agreement with General J.C. Smuts, Gandhi secured her release on Feb. 11, 1914, before the expiry of her jail term. But even by then her life was hanging by a thread and she breathed her last on Feb. 22, - 1914, in her house in
Johannesburg.
Mourning the death of Valliamma in Indian Opinion, Gandhi wrote: "We
have lost one of the holy daughters of India. She has done her duty courageously without bothering about the consequences. She is the paragon of tolerance, self-respect and character, which are the hallmarks of virtuous women. I believe that her example will not go in vain."
To commemorate her memory, the Indian community in S. Africa decided. to build a hall. But the project did not reach fruition. Instead, a memorial stone was installed on Ju1y 14, 1914, at Johannesburg.
It is to be noted that Valliamma never visited India. She was born in
1898 in Johannesburg to R. Munusamy Mudaliar, a trader and owner of a
confectionery shop, and his wife Janaki.
Since Janaki is believed lo have hailed from Thillayadi village, in the
Tarangampadi (Tranquebar) taluk, Valliamma came to be popularly called Thillayadj Valliammai.
During the period hundreds of Tamils migrated from Tarangampadi to S.
Africa as unskilled labourers, clerks and traders. They took active part in Gandhi's salhyagraha movement and many
of them knew him personally. Later, when they were forced out of S. Africa by the ru1ers, they came back to India and settled in their native villages around Tarangampadi. A sizable number are living in Thillayadi.
During the first phase of his extensive tour of India, Gandhi came to Tarangampadi on April 30, 1915, and was given a warm welcome by the old sathyagarahis.
The next day, Gandhi came to Thillayadi especially to console the widow of Selvam who was shot dead in S. Africa by European estate owners, and to take with him their son. It is said Thillayadi was the first village Gandhi visited in Tamil Nadu.
Incidentally, Gandhi had the opportunity to set for himself the sad
plight of the Harijans there. Their social segregation touched his conscience.
It is believed that Thillayadi was instrumental in making him take a vow to work for the welfare
of the Harijans in India.
Years later the Tamil Nadu government under chief minister M. Karunanidhi and the Sembanarkoil panchayat union decided to erect a memorial for Valliamma and other Tamil sathyagarahis like Nagappan and Narayanaswamy (who also lost their lives in the struggle in S. Africa.
In 1969, they planned the Valliammai Nagar at Thillayadi at a cost
of Rs. 7,5 lakh as part of Gandhi's birth centenary celebrations. The 'Valliammai Mandaram' (picture) was part
of that project.
Valliammai's story sounds like sweet music at this juncture in Indian
history when patriotism is not a fashionable feeling.
P. Maria Lazar
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