Libreation struggle (Vimochana Samaram)
In 1959 Catholics took to the streets of Kerala to protest against the first Communist Government in the state headed by E. M. S. Namboodiripad. This was known as Vimochana Samaram or Liberation Struggle. The confrontation was sparked by a state law that would have effectively taken over Catholic education facilities. In the same year, on 23 July, Kerala Police fired at the St. Anthony’s Forane Church on the part of Liberation Struggle. A memorial had been erected at the church courtyard then. The memorial says, Communist Government fired bullets to the Church here. The struggle of 1959 had led to the dismissal of the first democratically elect Communist Government in the world. The church structure as we see today was built in the typical Kerala architectural style during the period 1883-1893. It is conjectured that around 1953 or so, there were modifications done to the main church by the removal of the original facade and addition of a structure to the front portion on the western side. The church also withstood the historical ‘Vimochana Samaram’ in 1959, when bullets were said to be fired at the church, as mentioned in a plaque put up at the church.
