South India's role in freedom struggle not highlighted, says Chidambaram

The role played by South Indians in
the freedom struggle had not been
properly brought to light by
historians though they were the first
to oppose British Raj a century
before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, Union
Finance Minister P Chidambaram
said on Sunday.
Releasing a 20-minute documentary
on Veeran Azhagu Muthu Kone of
Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu,
considered India’s first freedom
fighter belonging to the 17-18th
century, he said, “Even now the
textbooks mention only Sepoy mutiny
as the first freedom struggle against
the British.”
But over 100 years prior to that, Kone
had fought against the Britisher’s
agent.
Thereafter, people like chieftains
Veerapandia Kattabomman and
Pulithevan had fought against them.
All these did not find a place in the
history, Mr. Chidambaram said at the
function here.
“Only through documents and the
local historians and their essays do
we know about the blood shed by
martyrs like Muthu Kone,” he said.
“Along with Kone seven people were
tied to the canon and shot dead in a
brutal way and the hands of
hundreds of people were cut off for
opposing the British agent (in 1739).
We should be proud that Tamils were
the first to shed their blood for the
country’s freedom,” Mr.
Chidambaram said.
He also said there was another thing
that, “We, as Indians, should learn
from the freedom struggle. We
should be united. The British had
engaged only Indians or their
puppets to rule this part of the
country and collect tax etc.”
He said Kone, a Yadava, had taken
sword and shield and war techniques
to rise to the level of commander to
fight British. .
“Now the Yadava Community, a
Backward Class here, should take up
education and science to come up in
life.”
“They should equip themselves with
education to make a claim, and
emerge as a strong community.
Several backward communities have
risen in their level by studying and
equipping themselves with
education. You should also equip
yourselves,” he said.
“Only if you qualify yourselves...can
you demand and get what you want
from the government,” he said.