Nagappan Padayatchi or Swamy Nagappan Padayachee (1891 – 6 July 1909) is a South African Satyagraha martyr from India.

Early life

Nagappan Padayatchi was an Indian born in Mayiladuthurai in Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu.

Involvement in Satyagraha

Nagappan involved in Satyagraha with Mahatma Gandhi on 1909. He was sentenced to 10 days hard labor on 21 June 1909 during the first Satyagraha campaign.[1][2]

Death

Nagappan was about 18 years old when he was sentenced on 21 June 1909 to the three pounds or ten days imprisonment with hard labor. After spending a night at the Fort he was made to walk to the Jukskei Road Prison Camp, 26 km away. He was discharged from the camp on 30 June and died on 6 July of double pneumonia and resultant heart failure. His body was full of bruises and weals. Fellow prisoners reported that he had been physically abused in prison by at least one warden, and that his illness was neglected by the prison authorities and he was still expected to carry out his hard labor sentence, this ultimately led to his death. Despite all the evidence, the official enquiry exonerated the prison officials and rejected the allegations of the appalling conditions in the Camp.[3]

Memorial

In 1914 Mohandas Gandhi unveiled memorial tablet to Padayachee, as for Gandhi, they were inspirations, "like a lighted match to dry fuel".[4] Struggle stalwart Walter Sisulu unveils a tombstone for Nagappan, 20 April 1997, in Gandhi Hall. The hall is located on the corner of Ferreira and Marshall streets in down town Johannesburg. It was built by the Transvaal Hindu Seva Samaj in 1939, and was used as a meeting place by the ANC and other anti-apartheid groups.[5] [6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-25-0-000-10-Web/JSS-25-1-2-3-000-10-Abst-PDF/JSS-25-1-3-071-10-1152-Hiralal-K/JSS-25-1-3-071-10-1152-Hiralal-K-Tt.pdf
  2. ↑ "Forbes India Magazine - Print".
  3. ↑ "Swami Nagappen Padayachee | South African History Online".
  4. ↑ "Gandhi out of Africa - Forbes India News - IBNLive". ibnlive.in.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Gandhi | Mandhata Global - Mandhata Patel Global Community Website".
  6. ↑ http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-25-0-000-10-Web/JSS-25-1-2-3-000-10-Abst-PDF/JSS-25-1-3-071-10-1152-Hiralal-K/JSS-25-1-3-071-10-1152-Hiralal-K-Tt.pdf
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