A young Brahmin terrorist, Vanchi Aiyer, shot down Ashe, Collector of Tinnevelly, at the Maniyachi railway station while he was in a train compartment. Vanchi committed suicide after his political crime. THE HINDU: “The noxious growth of anarchical crime so entirely foreign to the instincts, sentiments and cherished convictions of the people of this land is not, it is to be hoped, entering into this peaceful Presidency. It is the duty of the people as that of the Government to strive their best to see that it does not obtain a foothold in this Presidency. The danger of the anarchist to the peace, order and wellbeing of the people must be manifest to the meanest understanding”.
JUNE 19, 1911
The Ashe murder tragedy.
THE FURTHER PARTICULARS WHICH HAVE SINCE BEEN RECEIVED of the outrage at Maniyachi, have not tended much to clear the mystery which yet surrounds the identity of the assassin and the circumstances connected with his heinous crime. The account which we publish elsewhere from an eye-witness of the tragedy at Maniyachi, shows that the peculiarly heartless and revolting and thorough manner in which the foul assassin accomplished his deed. Mr. Ashe must apparently have been dogged by this man from Tinnevelly and have put himself in a specially favourable position for him at the Maniyachi junction where, all unconscious of his impending death, he was staying in his compartment with his wife. Mrs. Ashe was busy attending to some work in her hands and this enabled and emboldened the man to approach them and left him free to take deliberate aim and fire the fatal shot. The painfulness of the situation must have been immense and Mrs. Ashe must have needed all the courage of an English woman to make the appeal for medical help which could not be had there. Mr. Ashe expired before he reached his headquarters, but the assassin had perished long before only to create further obstacles in the way of tracing out the genesis and development of the plot in which he played the foremost and blackest part. So far as the Tinnevelly district is concerned, Mr. Ashe knew it well and had apparently no reason whatever to suspect any plot to murder him or any others. His administration since he was placed in charge of the District was quite efficient and sympathetic and from all that we have heard, he was moving on the best of terms with the people and the educated classes, often visiting their club of which he was an honorary member, and mingling quite freely with them. No immediate motive, either of a political or of a personal kind could have been fancied by the murderer or his accomplices. The murder under the circumstances whether it partakes of the nature of a political crime, as it is suspected to be, or not, is the most wanton and unprovoked outrage which has upto now been recorded in the history of these disgraceful outrages that have tarnished the fair name of the country before the civilised world. The noxious growth of anarchical crime so entirely foreign to the instincts, sentiments and cherished convictions of the people of this land is not, it is to be hoped, entering into this peaceful Presidency. It is the duty of the people as that of the Government, to strive their best to see that it does not obtain a foothold in this Presidency. The danger of the anarchist to the peace, order and well-being of the people must be manifest to the meanest understanding. The anarchist, with his false and traitorous patriotism is a much greater danger to the mass of his countrymen than to the ruling class or to the constituted authority. The negation of law and order and the substitution of the anarchist’s own judgment, means and weapons for those of constituted authority, is fraught with far graver danger to the community than to the agents of administration who could easily take care of themselves, if they have not to take care of the community, too. When they have not to do both the task is an extremely difficult one, and while it is necessary that they should not adopt measures in a panic which would harm the peaceful and law abiding citizens in the attempt to put down this species of violent crime, it is equally necessary that the people and their leaders should strive their utmost to assist the authorities to weed out of this country this strange, cruel and un-Indian movement. It is indeed to be devoutly hoped that the crime at Maniyachi will turn out not to be of an anarchical character. Meanwhile, the hearts of all Europeans and Indians alike will go out towards the bereaved widow, who thus finds herself deprived, under circumstances so tragical, of her husband in a strange land. The esteem and regard in which the late Mr. Ashe was held in Tinnevelly was duly testified to by the leading men of Tinnevelly, who attended the funeral last evening and by the resolution of sympathy with Mrs. Ashe which was passed by the Tinnevelly Club yesterday. The Government, in their Press Note issued, have recorded their appreciation of Mr. Ashe’s work as an officer and have offered a reward of Rs. 1,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the other culprits.
Reference:
The First 100
A Selection of Editorials, 1878-1978, THE HINDU, VOLUME I