PATHANAMTHITTA
Pathanamthitta is a combination of two words Pathanam and Thitta which
mean an array of houses on the river side. This district was formed on Ist
November 1982 in the interest of the hastening process of development. It is
presumed that the regions presently under the district were formerly under
the Pandalam reign which had connections with the Pandya Kingdom.
The district have given rich contribution to the struggle for freedom.When
Mahatma Gandhi visited Travancore in 1937, he
asked his follower Khadar Das T.P. Gopala Pillai to spread the message of
Khadi and Charka. Inspired by Gandhiji he founded the 'Mahatma Khadi Ashram'
at Elanthoor 1941. He launched a scheme for mobilizing funds for khadi
activities known as 'ek paise fund'in order to ensure the participation of
the whole people
in the khadi movement. There was strong protest in Travancore against the
British in connection with the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1921. In
1922, a student's strike was held which instilled a lot of spirit and
enthusiasm among the freedom fighters. During the same period, Congress
leaders like Ponnara Sreedhar and K. Kumar, the participants from Kerala in
the flag satyagraha at Nagapur were arrested and beatenup by the police. |