Kerala & TN CMs honour Periyar’s legacy at Vaikom Satyagraha centenary. What the movement was about

Kerala & TN CMs honour Periyar’s legacy at Vaikom Satyagraha centenary. What the movement was about


Chennai: Sharing the stage with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan praised the Vaikom movement as a prime example of interstate cooperation. He called for all states to unite, as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have traditionally done, in the face of increasing infringement on their autonomy.

“The Vaikom movement saw cooperation beyond boundaries. The same spirit continues between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Both states are a testimony for cooperative federalism,” Vijayan said at the event organised in Kottayam district’s Vaikom beach Thursday.

Considered one of India’s first non-violent movements against untouchability, the Vaikom Satyagraha took place in Kottayam’s Vaikom from 30 March, 1924, to 23 November, 1925. Originally a local protest for non-Brahmins to claim public spaces, the agitation drew national attention, with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi joining in. Social reformer Periyar also played a key role, enduring two imprisonments during the movement. He later became known as Vaikom Veerar (the Valiant of Vaikom).

Praising Periyar’s efforts in the movement, Vijayan said that Periyar viewed the issue not just as a local problem faced by the people of Vaikom, but as a national issue.

The agitation, however, became one of the reasons behind the deepening of the ideological rift between Periyar and Gandhi, ultimately leading to Periyar’s departure from the Indian National Congress. He then launched the Self-Respect Movement, which eventually led to the dawn of Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking at the event, Stalin remarked that the Vaikom movement marked the beginning of numerous other social reform movements in India.

“Periyar believed that social reformation was the first priority for the nation,” Stalin said, adding that both Tamil Nadu and Kerala believe in building a society rooted in social justice and equality.

Earlier in the day, Stalin inaugurated the Periyar Memorial in Vaikom, renovated by his government at a cost of Rs 8.14 crore and spanning 84 cents of land. The memorial features a statue of Periyar, a children’s park, an open stage, a library, and a museum dedicated to the reformer. Stalin also presented the Vaikom Award—instituted by his government to honour individuals working for the welfare of oppressed communities outside Tamil Nadu—to Kannada writer Devanoor Mahadeva.

The Tamil Nadu government is also building another Periyar memorial in Alappuzha district’s Arookutty, where Periyar was imprisoned during the Vaikom Satyagraha. The Kerala government had transferred 54 cents of land to Tamil Nadu in October for the same.

The event Thursday saw the participation of Tamil Nadu ministers Duraimurugan, E.V. Velu, M.P. Saminathan, DMK ally VCK’s chief Thol Thirumavalavan, and Kerala ministers V.N. Vasavan, Saji Cherian, and Kottayam MP K. Francis George. Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani was the chief guest.

According to Tamil Nadu-based political commentator Sathya Moorthy, an event commemorating anti-caste struggle is part of the socio-political agenda of DMK, which has its roots in similar agitations.

“Given that the Hindutva discourse is doing the rounds in Tamil Nadu, an event promoting the anti-caste struggle will also begin a discourse about social justice,” he said.


Also read: Kerala Left is becoming indistinguishable from Right—turncoats, ideological erosion, hypocrisy


History of the satyagraha

While the Vaikom agitation took physical shape in 1924, Kerala’s struggle for equality began decades earlier. In 1865, the princely state of Travancore—which governed southern Kerala districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta, as well as parts of southern Tamil Nadu, including Kanyakumari—allowed individuals of all castes and religions to use public roads. However, many roads remained inaccessible to non-Brahmins.

The roads surrounding the Vaikom Shiva temple were lined with posters prohibiting access to non-Brahmin castes. This discriminatory practice prompted T.K. Madhavan, editor of the Malayalam daily Deshabhimani and a member of social organisation Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, to launch a campaign against it.

In September 1921, T.K. Madhavan met Mahatma Gandhi in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli and secured his support for the cause.

Then, in 1923, Madhavan, along with State Congress leaders K.P. Kesava Menon and K.M. Panicker, raised the issue at the All India Congress Conference held in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, on 23 December.

“The discussions during the conference revealed that situations similar to that in Kerala existed in many South Indian states. Nonetheless, the Kakinada resolution generated more enthusiasm in Kerala than in other states,” says a paper titled Vaikom Satyagraha: Dawn of new era, released by the Kerala government in March 2023.

Following the Kakinada Conference, Congress leaders in Kerala planned to launch the agitation for the abolition of untouchability. On 20 January, 1924, they formed a committee to lead the movement. Guided by Gandhi’s principles of non-violence, the planned agitation faced a harsh government crackdown. Leaders were arrested even before it officially began. However, on 30 March, 1924, three participants from different communities—Kunjappi, a Pulaya; Bahuleyan, an Ezhava; and Govinda Panikkar, a Nair—walked the road leading to the Vaikom Shiva temple, launching the movement.

Periyar’s role in the Vaikom Satyagraha is as pivotal as the movement itself. Then a member of the Congress, he arrived in Vaikom from neighboring Tamil Nadu on 12 April, 1924, accompanied by 17 volunteers. The following day, he delivered a powerful speech condemning both caste discrimination and British rule, leading to his arrest and a month-long imprisonment.

“Periyar’s participation and conviction inspired support for the agitation in Tamil Nadu,” says Tamil Nadu-based historian and author Meenakshi Sundaram. After Periyar’s arrest, the Tamil Nadu government passed a resolution in the assembly ensuring freedom of movement for all. Periyar later brought his wife, Nagammal, his sister-in-law, Kanakammal, and his stepmother to Vaikom, boosting women’s participation in the agitation.

Vaikom movement witnessed participation from people across castes, religions, and genders. According to a Kerala government document, support even came from Tamil Nadu’s Nagercoil and Kanyakumari regions. As the movement gained national attention, Mahatma Gandhi visited Vaikom on 10 March, 1925. The document also highlights backing from Punjab’s Akali Dal leaders and the Khilafat movement.

But the ideological differences between Gandhi and Periyar were growing.

“Gandhiji believed that it (caste discrimination) was a problem within Hinduism. He wanted reformation, but also wanted to preserve the varna system. But, Periyar wanted to annihilate the system and abolish the caste system to bring reformation,” Sundaram said.

However, the movement and its growing support forced the Travancore government to act on it and on 5 February, 1925, a motion was moved in the assembly by a member, N. Kumaran, to allow access to roads to all communities.

All the discriminatory boards were removed from Vaikom by October 1925 and on 25 November, after 603 days of agitation, the protesters announced the suspension of the strike following positive assurance from the government.

The struggle had significant impacts in the state and beyond. Seven years after the movement, the same leaders united again for the freedom of worship in Guruvayor temple, and in 1936, the state saw the historic temple entry proclamation by the Maharaja of Travancore that ended the ban on lower castes from entering Hindu temples in the state.


Also read: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin bats for reservation in judiciary at social justice conference


 



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