Maniyachchi is a township in the

Thoothukudi district Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the distric ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

situated approximately 40 km west of Thootukudi and some 30 km from

Palayamkottai Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani river, with the exception of its downtown area, wh ...

and

Kovilpatti Kovilpatti is an Industrial City and Special Grade Municipality in Thoothukudi District in the Indian States of India, state of Tamil Nadu. History The town already existed before 1876. Kovilpatti was a water stop for steam engines after the ...

History

From once being a sparsely inhibited village, Maniyachchi was a site of significance during the Anti-Imperialist struggle in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

and it was here where the tyrannical British Collector of Tirunelveli Robert Ashe was shot by

Vanchinathan Vanchinatha Iyer (1886 – 17 June 1911), popularly known as Vanchinathan or Vanchi, was an Indian independence activist. He is best remembered for assassinating Robert Ashe, the Tax Collector of Thirunelveli who was instrumental in closing ...

an Indian Tamil freedom fighter who would later commit suicide after having killed the British Collector. On 17 June 1911, Vanchi assassinated Ashe, the district collector of Tirunelveli, who was also known as Collector Dorai. He shot Ashe at point-blank range when Ashe's train had stopped at the Maniyachi station, en route to Madras. After the shooting, Vanchinathan ran along the platform and briefly took cover in the latrine. Some time later he was found dead, having shot himself in the mouth. His pocket contained the following letter: The

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

where the assassination occurred was named ''Vanchi Maniyachchi'' in the honor of Vanchinathan. Today, the station is one of an important junctions in the Southern Railway Zone where south-bound trains to both

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

and Thootukudi pass by.

References

{{coord, 8, 51, 47, N, 77, 53, 42, E, display=title, region:IN_type:city Cities and towns in Thoothukudi district