VSK Chennai Sandesh

Chennai Sandesh

--------------------------- 

27, January, 2014

Historic Halls Road is now history

Not many know that Mahatma Gandhi’s son Hiralal Gandhi embraced Islam and became Abdullah Gandhi with the purpose of earning some money to meet his liquor bills. On one fine evening in 1930s Abdullah Gandhi was arrested for drunken brawl on the Halls Road. A magistrate imposed a fine Re.1 and let him off, keeping in mind the stature of the offender’s illustrious family. Halls Road in the heart of Chennai was in the news last week. The name was changed by a State Government Order into ‘Tamil Salai’ (Tamil Road), to point out to the existence of an office of Tamil Development Department along the road. Welcoming this name change, Ramagopalan of Hindu Munnani wondered whether names of roads and other places bearing colonial memories should have been changed in entirety the moment we became independent. 

An interesting story about Kottai Ameer

Among the several awards being annually given away to citizens by the State Government on republic days, is ‘Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award’. This has been instituted in the name of Ameer who opposed the brutal actions of Muslims terrorists and strove for communal harmony in Coimbatore. He was murdered in 1997 by terrorists belonging to now banned Al-Umma. This year (2014), the award was given by the Chief Minister Jayalalitha to one Ayub Khan of Kumbakonam. Ayub is reported to have worked for communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims for the last 20 years. 

In memory of a Dalit Sadhu

It is not quite frequently that we come across a Sanyasi hailing from Dalit community and that too serving his community for decades. Swami Sahajananda of Chidambaram is one such. In 1930s he founded Nandanaar institutions named after the great Shaivaite saint Nandanaar in Chidambaram. People remember him even today. Read on: The city of Chidambaram witnessed a solemn procession by disciples of Swami Sahajananda carrying a palanquin mounted with a decorated portrait of great Sadhu. It was his 124th Birth anniversary. Sahajananda did not neglect the portals of power. As an MLA (1952 and 1957), he enabled benefits from the Government reach the deserving dalits.