Name Robert Escourt | Died June 17, 1911, Tamil Nadu | |
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Robert William d'Escourt Ashe (23 November 1872 – 17 June 1911) (Collector Ashe) was the acting Collector and District magistrate of Tirunelveli district during the British Raj. Collector Ashe recognised the social evils prevalent in India and did whatever he could to put an end to the oppressive measures against the untouchables. Apart from the Britons, upper caste members were alone allowed to take bath in the Courtallam waterfalls and the idols of deities alone were washed in the waterfalls while all other castes were not permitted. Ashe, who ensured equality in his office, put an end to this system and allowed everyone to take bath in the Courtallam waterfalls.On June 17, 1911, he was assassinated by Vanchinathan at the Maniyachi railway junction (between Tirunelveli and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu) and died within half an hour. His assassin Vanchi alias Sankara Aiyar of Shencotta in Travancore State committed suicide a few minutes after; he was accompanied by a youth named Sankara Krishna Aiyar who ran away, but was afterwards caught and convicted. Ashe was the first and only colonial official to be assassinated in South India during the Indian independence movement. The British government built a memorial for him at Tuticorin in 1913. That memorial is currently in dilapidated condition.
