Quit India struggle: Those bombs enter platinum year

KOZHIKODE: Keezhariyur, a a non-descript village  8 km off Koyilandy, occupies a special place in the Quit India movement as it was there that a few persons experimented with bomb-making to  fight the British rule.   The region is all set to celebrate the 75th year of that event with grandeur.  Keezhariyur was considered to be a safe place to make  bombs by the young turks of Indian National Congress. The idea was to destroy British government offices, rails and bridges with bomb explosions. Dr K.B. Menon, who  rubbed shoulders with  Jawaharlal Nehru and Jayaprakash Narayan,  was the brain behind the plan.

An experimental explosion was conducted at Maavatumala  but the news spread like wildfire and British police  charged a case that the accused tried to explode the bridge at Feroke and the registrar offices at Chemenchery and Naduvannur. “As many as 32 were in the accused list, including Dr K.B. Menon, Mathai Manjooran and seven from Keezhariyur. Five of them went underground. None of them is alive now,” says  C.M. Vinod,  general convenor of the organising committee. The  judge who delivered the verdict on  April 18, 1944 found 13 accused guilty. Of them, one was awarded imprisonment for 10 years and the rest were sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. 

Subhash Chandra Bose  wrote to Mr Menon asking about the bomb case and the same was mentioned in detail in the book, ‘Irumbazhikullil’ written by V.A Keshavan Nair. The anniversary is being organised by Vallathol library and ‘Ente Keezhariyur’ collective. Minister Kadannapally Ramachandran will inaugurate the event at Keezhariyur  at 4 p.m. on August 13.   Programmes include felicitating the family members of the freedom fighters and family members’ meet. Artists will make on-the-spot drawings about the event.