THILLAIYADI VALLIAMMAI? – I know, the Co-Optex showroom on Pantheon Road (Chennai Egmore). Hey, why this name? So long and difficult for non-Tamils! Whose name is it by the way?
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22nd February 1898
Johannesburg – the gold-city of South Africa.
Munuswamy and Janakiammal, a young immigrant couple from a small village called Thillaiyadi in Thanjavur had come here to work their way out of difficulty.
On this day a baby girl was born to them. The happy couple named her Valliammai.
She grew in an environment that was rather hostile to Indians. But the young child did not even know that it was not right to be segregated so…until she was in her early teens.
March 14th 1913
A law was passed that any marriage that is not according to the Church or according to the marriage law of South Africa would be held null and void.
Indians were hit. Wives lost rights over husbands’ property, husband’s protection. Children were to be nothing more than bastards. Doubts regarding inheritance of wealth of parents arose.
Mohandas Gandhi began his opposition. Young Valliammai joined her mother in the march by women from Transvaal to Natal – which was not legally permitted without passes. They talked the Indian miners of New Castle into joining the fight for rights. They struck work.
While crossing into Natal she, with many others, courted arrest. She spent 3 months in jail. She suffered a fatal fever and when she was released there was nothing more than skin and bones held alive together by her sheer grit.
She heard somebody tell: Why don’t you people register and become South Africans instead? Indians! India doesn’t even have a flag! What are you really fighting for?
If having a flag is what would give form to India, then here it is, she said, tearing off her saffron-white-green sari and she waved it triumphantly, MY FLAG! MY MOTHERLAND!
Gandhi met her and asked: Do you not regret having been to jail? Look at you!
If going back to jail again would add to the cause, I would do it again, she replied.
22nd February 1914
Valliammai’s 16th birthday. The one with a heart of steel breathed her last. Too early for her. Too early for us.
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She gave us our National flag (Gandhi designed the flag with the same three colours as her sari), a greater resolve (in his own words) to Gandhi’s freedom fight, undying fiery guts to women and a soul full of strength for her, our country.
When, on occasion of her 100th birth anniversary in 1998 it was asked of the Indian Govt. by Tamil leaders to release a stamp in her honour, it was not done, God knows why not…At least we shall continue to remember her.