Historian AR Venkatachalapathy honored for work on VO Chidambaram

Historian AR Venkatachalapathy, whose tireless efforts and research yielded new insights into the Indian freedom movement and freedom fighters including VO Chidambaram and Bharathiar, has won the Sahitya Akademi Award, 2024, for his book, Tirunelveli Ijukkiyam or. Vuu.ci. Year 1908

A professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chalapathy, as he is known to his friends, was a student at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. An authority on Tamil society and culture, he worked at Manomaniyam Sundarnar University before joining MIDS. His first book, VOC Kadithangal (VOC Letters), was published in 1984 when he was 17 years old.

“This is unexpected. After TMC Raghunathan’s book, Bharti Kalamum Karuthum, this is probably the first research work to win this award. Tamils ​​in general feel that the VOC is not getting its due and so I am happy that a book on the VOC has won the prestigious award. I hope This will inspire the younger generation to study the history of Tamil society and culture,” he said Hindu.

Tirunelveli Ijukkiyam or. Vuu.ci. Year 1908 Discusses the uprising in Tirunelveli 114 years ago in March 1908 after VOC was arrested for giving a speech praising freedom fighter Vipin Chandra. The VOC urged people to boycott foreign goods, and the rebellion is evidence of how society rebelled against British rule in India.

“All public buildings in Thienveli (Tirunelveli) town, except the Sub-Registrar’s office, were attacked. The furniture and records of these buildings as well as some parts of the buildings were also burnt. The municipal office has been destroyed. Twenty-seven persons were convicted and sentenced for their involvement in the riots,’ according to the Report of the Sedition (Rollett) Committee, 1918.

The incident drew nationwide attention, and S. Kasturiranga Iyengar, Proprietor HinduSent a special correspondent to Tirunelveli and Tuticorin (now Thoothukudi) to report for the newspaper.

It was a witness to the rebellion as the common people rose up against the British by marching and joining hands with advocates and students. At least 10 ‘jutka’ drivers, a barber, a caterer, a goldsmith, a marriage broker, three retired policemen, a native doctor, a cattle trader, a municipal inspector, a labourer, a woodcutter, a weaver and several shopkeepers. were Shot, arrested or convicted. In an interview with Hindu In 2022, Mr. Venkatachalapathy requested Chief Minister MK Stalin to erect a memorial pillar to honor those who took part in the uprising.

Another of his books, Swadeshi Steam, details the launch of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company by the VOC in 1906, which challenged the power of the British Merchant Navy.

“In his verse autobiography, the VOC mentions that he met Swami Ramakrishnananda, who sowed the seeds of Swadeshi in his heart. Under the leadership of the VOC, Tuticorin became the center of the Swadeshi movement in South India. Tirunelveli and Tuticorin attracted the attention of all India, and the VOC became a national hero,” Mr. Venkatachalapathy said. said Hindu.

He met the descendants of the British collector Robert WD Ashe, who was murdered by Vanchinathan, and published a collection of essays as Ashe Adichuvatil.

He compiled the letters of Subramania Bharati in The Hindu, which was published as a book titled Subramania Bharati: Writings in The Hindu. It was the only institution that gave him space to express his views from 1910 to 1913, when many publications were banned by the British.

Book, Tamil characters by M. Introduces important Tamil personalities including Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa.

The Brief History of a Very Big Book: The Making of the Tamil Encyclopedia deals with the making of the Tamil Encyclopedia.