Profession Activist Religion Christianity Name Titusji Titusji | ||
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Alma mater Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences | ||
National Programme of Features: Titusji- Bapu's Foot Soldier
Titusji was the only Christian among the 78 marchers selected by Mahatma Gandhi to take part in the 1930 Dandi March, to break the salt law. He served as governing secretary for Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram milk project near Ahmedabad. Mr. Gulzarilal Nanda (who later became Prime Minister of India) was the secretary of another unit. Both of them were trusted friends of Gandhi. His given name was Titus Theverthundiyil, while "Titusji" was the honorific given to him by Mahatma Gandhi.
Contents
- National Programme of Features Titusji Bapus Foot Soldier
- Early life
- Salt march to Dandi
- Gandhis visit to Kerala
- Later life
- References
Early life
Titus was born on 18 February 1905 to a farming family at Theverthundiyil, Maramon, in Travancore.He was a member of the Maramon Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church Parish. After his high school graduation, he taught in a school in Vadasserikkara (a village about 20 km away from Maramon), for a few years and then joined the Allahabad Agriculture University and cleared an Indian Dairy Diploma course with distinction. Titus married in 1933. His wife, Annamma, also joined the Sabarmati Ashram and she donated her gold wedding ornaments to it.
Salt march to Dandi
The Salt Satyagraha was a campaign of non-violent protest against the British salt tax in colonial India which began with the Salt March to Dandi. It was the first act of organised opposition to British rule after Purna Swaraj, the declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress.
When Mahatma Gandhi decided to break the salt law, Titus was one of the 78 people he chose to accompany him. On 12 March 1930. Gandhiji, Titusji and the others marched from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi beach, in Gujarat to make salt in the symbolic way. Titus was the only Christian in that group.
A growing numbers of Indians joined them along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws in Dandi at the conclusion of the march on 6 April 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians. Gandhi and the others were beaten up and arrested by the British.
During one of his visits to Kerala, Titusji burnt the British clothes (foreign clothes) in Kottayam and gave a fiery speech to thousands of Keralites.
Gandhi's visit to Kerala
On 15 March 1925, Mahatma Gandhi visited Titusji’s house in Maramon (Theverthundiyil) on his way to the famous Hindu temple in Aranmula near Chengannur. This was considered one of the greatest events in Central Travancore. In and around Maramon, thousands witnessed his visit.
Later life
After Independence, Titusji settled in Bhopal. In 1970, he published the book "The Bharat of my Dreams".
He died on 8 August 1980, at the Kasthurba Hospital in Bhopal.