Robert William d'Escourt Ashe (23 November 1872 – 17 June 1911) was the acting Collector and District magistrate of Tirunelveli district in

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 ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Ashe had played a significant part in bringing about the closure of the

Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company The Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) was one of the first indigenous Indian shipping companies set up during the Indian independence movement. It was started in 1906 by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai to compete against the monopoly of the Brit ...

, started by

V.O. Chidambaram Pillai Vo or VO may refer to: Businesses and brands * Austrian Arrows (2003-2015, IATA airline code VO) * VLM Airlines Slovenia (2016-2018, IATA airline code VO) * Seagram's VO Whiskey Language * Volapük language (ISO 639-1 code vo) * VO language, a ...

to take on the

British India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading partn ...

that had for long monopolised trade in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal. He had also been responsible for charging V.O.Chidambaram Pillai and a colleague, Subramanya Siva, for which they were convicted. On 17 June 1911 Ashe was assassinated 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 ...

at the Maniyachi railway junction, between

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

Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

. After the shooting, Vanchinathan ran along the platform and took cover in the latrine. Some time later he was found dead, having shot himself in the mouth. Vanchi was accompanied by a youth named Sankara Krishna Aiyar who ran away, but was afterwards caught and convicted.Documents in the Life of Sri Aurobindo
/ref> Ashe was the first and only colonial official to be assassinated in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

during the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. The British government built a memorial for him at Tuticorin in 1913. That memorial is currently in dilapidated condition. It is also because Ashe took action to ensure all people could bathe at the Courtallam waterfalls, which till then was exclusively reserved for the upper caste Indians and for bathing of idols of deities. This action opened up the waterfalls for the dalit people. Also he allowed to carry a lower caste women in the streets of Agrahara, place where upper caste lives, when she was sick and severely opposed caste discrimination in south districts of Madras presidency. This agitated the upper caste men and due to this Vanchinathan shot at Ashe. In recent times, dalit organisations have been paying homage to Ashe on his birthday, by offering floral tributes to his memorial and his grave which is located at the English Church, opposite the St. John's College, Palamcottah.

Personal life

Ashe was a Protestant from

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. He had two sons and two daughters. One of his sons was killed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while the other joined the Indian Army and served until 1947. His daughters died childless.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashe, Robert William d'Escourt Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Assassinated British people 1872 births 1911 deaths