Tamil Nadu Timeline

Martyrdom

13 events, 1801 to 2009; 2 marked as turning points.

  1. 1801

    1. 24 Oct 1801Tiruppathur, SivagangaConflict

      Execution of the Maruthu brothers

      Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu, rulers of Sivaganga and leaders of the 1800-01 rising, were hanged at Tiruppathur fort.

    2. 16 Nov 1801PanchalankurichiConflict

      Execution of Oomaithurai

      Oomaithurai, brother of Kattabomman, was captured and hanged at Panchalankurichi with Sevathaiah, ending the Second Polygar War.

  2. 1805

    1. 1805SankagiriConflict

      Execution of Dheeran Chinnamalai

      Dheeran Chinnamalai, a Kongu chieftain who fought the Company for several years, was hanged at Sankagiri Fort.

  3. 1911

    1. 17 Jun 1911ManiyachchiConflict

      Assassination of Collector Robert Ashe

      Vanchinathan shot dead Robert Ashe, Collector of Tinnevelly, at Maniyachchi railway station and then killed himself.

  4. 1914

    1. 22 Feb 1914JohannesburgDiplomacy

      Death of the young satyagrahi Thillaiyadi Valliammai

      Valliammai, a 16-year-old daughter of Tamil immigrants from Thillaiyadi, died after imprisonment in Gandhi's South African satyagraha.

  5. 1932

    1. 11 Jan 1932TiruppurProtest

      Death of Tiruppur Kumaran

      Freedom fighter Tiruppur Kumaran died of injuries from a police assault during a protest march, holding the national flag.

  6. 1939

    1. 15 Jan 1939 to 11 Mar 1939ChennaiProtest

      Deaths of Natarajan and Thalamuthu in custody

      Anti-Hindi protesters L. Natarajan and Thalamuthu died after being jailed, and were claimed as the first martyrs of the anti-Hindi movement.

  7. 1952

    1. 15 Dec 1952ChennaiProtest

      Potti Sriramulu dies fasting for Andhra State

      Potti Sriramulu died in Madras after a long fast demanding a separate Telugu-speaking state, prompting the creation of Andhra State.

  8. 1954

    1. Aug 1954 to 1 Nov 1956NagercoilProtest

      Travancore Tamil agitation for merger with Madras

      Tamils in southern Travancore-Cochin campaigned under Marshal Nesamony for the merger of Tamil-majority taluks with Madras State.

  9. 1956

    1. 27 Jul 1956 to 13 Oct 1956VirudhunagarProtest

      Sankaralinganar fasts to death for renaming the state Tamil Nadu

      Gandhian Sankaralinganar began a fast in Virudhunagar demanding that Madras State be renamed Tamil Nadu and died after 76 days.

  10. 1957

    1. 11 Sep 1957MudukulathurConflict

      Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran murdered

      Immanuel Sekaran, a Dalit activist and former soldier, was murdered amid caste tensions in Ramanathapuram district.

  11. 1964

    1. 25 Jan 1964TiruchirappalliProtest

      Chinnasamy self-immolates against Hindi imposition

      DMK member Chinnasamy set himself on fire at Tiruchi, the first of the language martyrs of the second anti-Hindi struggle.

  12. 2009

    1. 29 Jan 2009ChennaiProtest

      Self-immolation of K. Muthukumar

      Journalist K. Muthukumar set himself on fire in Chennai in protest against the killing of Tamil civilians in the Sri Lankan war.