The transfer of Kanniyakumari to Tamil Nadu amid political struggle and police firing

Tamil Nadu Day celebrates the formation of the State, which was achieved after several obstacles, including a violent episode. The transfer of Kanniyakumari district in 1956 was a key event in the process. The States Reorganisation Commission's report allowed the transfer of four taluks, along with Shenkotta, to Tamil Nadu, while dismissing the TTNC's plea for other areas.

Tamil Nadu Day, celebrated on July 18, brings back the focus on the circumstances that led to the formation of the State, as it exists now. A look at history would reveal that in the run-up to the creation of the State, there were several obstacles. At least, one episode of the whole story was violent. And, that pertains to the transfer of Kanniyakumari district to Tamil Nadu in November 1956.

Since around the mid-1940s, the demand for the transfer of four southern taluks — Agastheeswaram, Thovala, Kalkulam and Vilavancode — from the princely State of Travancore (the present day Thiruvananthapuram) and subsequently from Travancore-Cochin to the Madras Presidency got crystallised with the birth of the All Travancore Tamilar Congress in 1945 and the Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress (TTNC) in 1947. At the same time, the concept of Aikya Keralam (a united Kerala) was also talked about. The Maharaja of Cochin, Kerala Varma VII, had supported this idea of the union of Cochin (now called Kochi), Travancore, Malabar and Kasaragod (both in Madras).

Though the proponents of Aikya Tamizhagam had also wanted Devikulam and Peermedu to be included in the then Madras State, the focus was on those four taluks, known as Nanjil Nadu. The Assembly elections (in 1948, 1951-52 and 1954) in the princely State delivered one message: in Tamil-speaking areas, the TTNC was a force to reckon with. It was then that “Marshal” A. Nesamony (1895-1968) became prominent. In 1951, he won from the Nagercoil (now Kanniyakumari) Lok Sabha constituency as the TTNC candidate. The late 1953 saw the Centre constituting the States Reorganisation Commission. The Kanniyakumari transfer was one of the issues before the commission.

However, the TTNC started intensifying its demand both in and outside the Travancore-Cochin Assembly. During a debate in the House in March 1954, party leader P. Thanulinga Nadar accused the government of adopting a “calculated and continuous” policy of discrimination against the Tamil-speaking areas. He had raised a couple of issues — neglect of the areas in the creation of irrigation network and difficulties faced by the people in the region from the use of Malayalam for official purposes. Kunjan Nadar (TTNC), also called the “Dictator” of the Satyagraha Campaign for the transfer, pointed out that the popular mandate, as reflected in the Tamil areas during the 1954 Assembly election, was in favour of the transfer.

Five months later, the stir took a new turn, with the pro-transfer advocates calling “Deliverance Day” for August 11. Incidents of violence — setting fire to the government buses, putting up road blocks and pelting of stones at the police — were reported in the Tamil areas. According to a report published by The Hindu on August 12, 1954, four persons were killed in two incidents of police firing — one at Marthandam to “control an unruly crowd” and the other at Pudukadai. A procession was taken out in Nagercoil, with the TTNC and the Communist Party coming together. Nesamony and Communist Party’s prominent leader P. Jeevanandam (1907-1963), then a legislator of the Madras Assembly, led the procession. As for the casualty, there were varying accounts. M.P. Sivagnanam (1906-1995), as the leader of the Tamilarasu Kazhagam, visited the trouble-hit areas the next day. He had disputed the version of the government that nine persons had died in all; the toll, according to him, was 10.

The police firing had prompted the government to constitute a commission of inquiry headed by K. Sankaran, a judge of the Travancore-Cochin High Court. T.V. Ramasubba Aiyar, Managing Editor of Dinamalar, a leading Tamil newspaper, was one of the witnesses who appeared before the commission. While answering questions about the paper’s stand, he had said that if there should be Aikya Kerala, there should be Aikya Tamizhagam, according to a report published by The Hindu on October 30, 1954. In November, the commission gave its report, justifying the police action. In fact, the government had then released a summary of the commission’s findings, even before the Cabinet took them up for discussion.

The States Reorganisation Commission’s report was out in October 1955. It had decided to allow the transfer of the four taluks, along with Shenkotta, to Tamil Nadu. It had dismissed the TTNC’s plea for Neyyattinkara (of Thiruvananthapuram district), Devikulam and Peermedu (Kottayam) and Chittur (Thrissur).