Kilvenmani massacre

The Kilvenmani massacre (or Keezhvenmani massacre) was an incident in Kizhavenmani village, Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state in India on 25 December 1968[1] in which a group of around 44 people, the families of striking Dalit village labourers, were murdered by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords.

The incident helped to initiate large-scale changes in the local rural economy, engendering a massive redistribution of land in the region.

In 1968, the agricultural labourers of unified Tanjore district formed a union seeking better working conditions and higher wages.

[8] The Paddy Producers Association, representing the local landlords, organised external labourers to continue the harvest.

[9] According to eyewitness accounts, on 25 December 1968, at around 10 p.m., the landlords and their 200 henchmen came in lorries and surrounded the hutments, cutting off all routes of escape.

Of six people who managed to come out of the burning hut, two of whom were caught, hacked to death and thrown back into the flame.

[8][15] Names and (age) of the victims as per the documentary Ramiahvin Kudisai (The Hut of Ramiah)[16] The massacre led widespread demand for changes in land ownership and to attitudes regarding caste.

[18] The Communist Party of India (Marxist) organises an annual "Venmani Martyrs Day" to commemorate the massacre.

Foundation stone for memorial was laid by Jyoti Basu in 1969 when he was Deputy Chief Minister of West Bengal.

A plantain bud "carved out of monolithic red granite mounted on a platform serves as a memory of the dead".

It comprises 44 granite pillars, representing each of the victims, surrounding a large building functioning as a museum and centre of commemoration.