MADURAI: The wrinkles on the face of this 97-year-old veteran have many a story to tell - the stories of sacrifice, love for the motherland, and finally, freedom. But, the day he assumed charge as the Madurai District Collector in 1967, nearly 25 years after the British forces arrested him for taking part in the Quit India Movement and produced him before the then Madurai Collector, is the pick of the bunch.
Meet K Lakshmi Kanthan Bharathi--who likes to be identified as a freedom fighter and a Gandhian rather than the former Collector of Madurai district. He had picked up the baton of freedom struggle from his grandfather Somasundara Bharathiar, who headed the anti-Hindi imposition agitations and the protests for abolishing untouchability in the State, and parents S Krishnasamy Bharathi and mother Lakshmi Bharathi, who were jailed by the British in 1930.
“I was in school when my parents were jailed. Our house owner Kottaisamy in West Avani Moola street stopped collecting `30 rent when he came to know about it. Somasundaram Chettiyar and Vairava Chettiayar, a couple of other freedom fighters in Madurai district, arranged free medical treatment for those involved in the struggle. A lot of people were contributing in whatever ways they could,” he said.
The ‘Quit India’ movement happened when Lakshmi Kanthan was studying in the American College in Madurai. Carrying the spirit of dissent, he took part in the movement which resulted in his imprisonment and expulsion from the college. “Though I was in prison for just 60 days, the torture we faced was unexplainable. The cells were barely lit, the quality of food and drinking water was poor and at times, we had to control our urge to urinate. However, I am proud that I gave up studies for the nation. It took Former Governor-General of India, C Rajagoplachari, to write a letter to the vice-chancellor of Madras University for my readmission in college,” he recalled.
Lakshmi Kanthan, who took charge as the Madurai collector in 1967, said despite attaining independence from the British 75 years ago, the values of life and patriotic fervour among the youth were on the decline. “Our country has developed in all the fields, but Rajaji’s words in 1926, ‘One day India would attain freedom, but the people may suffer from corruption and other factors’, has been proven prophetic,” he added. Stating that it is essential to jog the memory of today’s generation, Lakshmi Kanthan said chapters on leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari should be added to the syllabus.