A man of great contradictions… that is how the learned and venerable reformer and technocrat Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer is introduced in the second episode of The India Project with Josy Joseph. In the summer of 1947, Sir CP had drawn up an aggressive plan for independence… not of India, but of the princely state of Travancore, of which he was the Diwan from 1936 to 1947. 

As the clock ticked, it appeared as if Travancore would hoist its own national flag even before India would. Until one night in July, as Sir CP finished addressing the audience at a concert commemorating the anniversary of the former Maharaja and Carnatic music composer Swathi Thirunal, a sickle swished in the dark. 

Episode 2 of The India Project unravels the intrigues and covert correspondences leading up to Travancore’s eventual accession to the Union of India. Until the turning point — the attempted assassination of Sir CP.

The India Project, narrated by investigative reporter and author Josy Joseph, chronicles the formation of the republic through documents that shed new light on the genesis of Indian democracy and its institutions.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Seetal Iyer, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar

Acknowledgements:

YouTube | Tryst With Destiny — Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s address to the nation on August 15, 1947 

YouTube | Nagumomu- Abheri performed by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer | YouTube 

Thanks to Confluence Media for CP’s Letter to the Maharaja | Performed by Narayan Krishnaswamy

Music used from British Pathe