The Chennai River Restoration Trust recently launched an operation to cull tilapia in the 358-acre Adyar creek and surrounding areas, a move the state agency said is aimed at conserving native fish species. Originally from Africa, tilapia, particularly Nile tilapia, is known for its adaptability — it can live in freshwater and saltwater, making it easy to breed. It is also an affordable and rich source of protein, reasons why the fish is now bred in 135 countries.
It is also because of these very reasons that in the 1950s, Lourdhammal Simon, the first woman minister in the cabinet of former Chief Minister K Kamaraj (1957-1962), introduced the breeding of tilapia to improve the economy of inland fishermen. As a token of gratitude, the fishing community in Kanyakumari began referring to the fish as ‘Lourdhammal meen'. With the state govt's recent move to cull the species, the golden era of tilapia appears to have ended. And with it, the lesser-known legacy of the first woman minister from the fishing community has begun to fade.
Born on September 26, 1912, in the fishing hamlet of Manakkudy in Kanyakumari, Maria Lourdhammal Simon lost her mother young. Unlike most fisherwomen, she was lucky to attend school. She left the village when she married Alexander Manuel Simon, who worked in an Iranian oil company. The couple returned to Kanyakumari after a few years. Alexander started a printing press in Nagercoil, frequented by Congress leaders Marshal Nesamony and A Chithambaranathan. He developed an interest in politics and joined the Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress. This was a time when states were reorganised based on languages, so Kanyakumari was part of Kerala. That was how Alexander became a legislative member in Kerala for two terms, after winning from Vilavancode (1951) and Kollancode (1954).
Lourdhammal became active in the Young Women Christian Association, one of the earliest organisations for women empowerment in the district. She started the Kasturba Women's Welfare Association, training fisherfolk women in tailoring and crafts. When Alexander was imprisoned for fighting for Kanyakumari's merger with TN, Lourdhammal joined the Congress. By 1956, states were reorganised. During the 1957 Madras assembly election, Congress Chief Kamaraj, acting on Indira Gandhi's suggestion, sought a woman candidate. A J John, former Travancore-Cochin Chief Minister, introduced Lourdhammal to him.
Impressed by English-educated Lourdhammal's social work, Kamaraj nominated her to contest from Colachel. She beat out five contestants and won with 14,055 votes. Thus, Lourdhammal became the first woman minister of Madras state. She was given fisheries and local administration portfolios, and set up fishermen cooperative societies.
"The 1946 National Planning Committee recognised the socio-economic issues of fishermen and peasants, and the first Five Year Plan (1950-1955) came out with many village development programmes," says Kanyakumari-based writer Kurumpanai C Berlin. "Cooperative societies were formed, and villagers were given bank loans. As fisheries minister, Lourdhammal established fishermen cooperatives in every fishing village. More than 250 societies were set up across 12 coastal districts." In 1957, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation helped the fisheries department distribute 18ft boats under the Indo-Norwegian project, kickstarting use of mechanised and trawler boats in Indian waters.
"Lourdhammal launched the project at Colachel, allotting one boat per five cooperative members. Until then, fishermen used country boats, fearing diesel-powered ones would pollute the sea. To calm them, Catholic priests began explaining the benefits of modern fishing techniques in their Sunday sermons," says Berlin. But the move to mechanised boats angered some fisherfolk, leading to attacks on her home. Despite opposition and caste-based resistance (she belonged to the Mukkuvar caste, considered an oppressed community), Lourdhammal introduced new techniques and imported terylene nets from Japan and sold them at a 25% subsidy to support fishermen losing cotton nets at sea.
The introduction of tilapia in 1959 took the community to a new level, says fisherman Thiruthamil Devanar. "She introduced silver carp and grass carp, imported from China and Japan, and trained fishermen to produce fish feed. Tilapia, first used as feed due to its rapid breeding, was later distributed to inland fishermen and became an instant hit. That was how it got the name ‘Lourdhammal meen'. In those days there was no fear about overpopulation of this species, since everybody was making money out of it."
As local administration minister, Lourdhammal is also credited with enacting the TN Panchayat Act, 1958, which paved the way for implementing reservation in local bodies. "Lourdhammal's efforts to modernise fishing had its own problems which were not foreseen when they were implemented," says Vareethaiah Konstantine, former professor of the department of zoology at St Jude's College in Kanyakumari. "Fishing zones for different types of boats should have been regulated. Mechanised boats shouldn't encroach on areas meant for traditional ones. If the govt had a clear set of rules for such fishing practices many of today's problems would have been solved. Unfortunately, the fisherfolk didn't fully grasp the long-term benefits of modernised fishing. Had they understood, she might not have been defeated by her own people in the next election."
Around the time tilapia was introduced, the govt also planted Prosopis juliflora to support locals as the tree species can be used for firewood and to make charcoal, says Vareethaiah. "Both decisions are now viewed as missteps by Lourdhammal and Kamaraj." Lourdhammal died on May 5, 2002, at the age of 90.