When Gandhi visited Fort Kochi

He was impressed by the success of women-led agitation against toddy shops

Few people know that Mahatma Gandhi chose to visit Fort Kochi (what was then British Cochin) in 1925 following the success of the women-led agitation that led to closure of a dozen toddy shops in the locale.

The agitation was such a romping success that there were no toddy shops till the early 1960s in the locale which saw footprints of the Portuguese, Dutch and the English, said former Mayor K.J. Sohan, who is the convener of the Kerala chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). “Even post-Independence, people from Fort Kochi used to visit nearby Mattancherry to have toddy for drinking or use in appams,” he said.

His father, K.T. Joslin, was a volunteer captain of the anti-toddy satyagraha. Mr. Sohan spoke of how a Congress volunteer from Fort Kochi was the first to be arrested in connection with the Vaikom Satyagraha.