VAIKOM
SATYAGRAHA - MODERN HISTORY
News:
Remembering Vaikom
Satyagraha: A movement that spearheaded social reforms in two States
What's
in the news?
●
Precisely a century ago, Kerala’s Vaikom
town which was then in the princely state of Travancore became the epicentre of
a historic non-violent movement against
untouchability and caste discrimination.
●
As the year 2024 marks the centenary of the Vaikom Satyagraha, Kerala Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin are to
jointly inaugurate the centenary celebrations, during a function to be held at
Vaikom on April 1, 2023.
Key
takeaways:
●
Vaikom Satyagraha that lasted for 604 days
(20 months) from March 30, 1924 to November
23, 1925 marked the dawn of temple entry movements across India.
Vaikom
Satyagraha:
Cause:
●
The people of the oppressed classes,
especially the Ezhavas, were
prohibited from walking on the four roads surrounding the Vaikom Mahadeva temple.
Originators:
●
Spearheaded by Congress leader T.K. Madhavan, who himself was an
Ezhava, an agitation was launched against this social injustice.
●
In 1923, Madhavan presented the issue as a
resolution at the Kakinada meet of the All India Congress Committee. Subsequently,
it was taken up by the Congress
Untouchability Committee formed by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee in
January 1924.
Leaders:
●
Madhavan,
K.P. Kesava Menon who was the then secretary of Kerala
Pradesh Congress Committee and Congress leader and educationist K. Kelappan (also known as Kerala
Gandhi) are considered the pioneers of the Vaikom Satyagraha movement.
Movement:
●
Around 7.30 am on March 30, 1924, the Satyagrahis
walked in procession towards the forbidden public roads.
●
They were stopped 50 yards away from the
place where a board (first put up in 1905) cautioning the oppressed communities
against walking on the roads, was placed.
●
Dressed in khadi and wearing khadi caps,
three young men namely Govinda Panikkar, a Nair, Bahuleyan, an Ezhava and
Kunjappu, a Pulaya, marched ahead, defying the prohibitionary orders. The
police who asked about their castes, stopped them when they answered. In
protest, the three men sat on the road and were arrested.
●
Then, every day, three volunteers from
three different communities were sent to walk on the prohibited roads. Within a
week, the leaders of the movement were all arrested.
Invitation
to ‘Periyar’:
●
George
Joseph, a Congressman hailing from Kerala and an advocate
who was then practicing in Madurai, briefly led the agitation when the pioneers
were behind bars.
●
He wrote to ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy who
was then the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee president, requested him to
be at the helm of the campaign.
●
Mahatma
Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) provided guidance.
●
Periyar reached Vaikom on April 13, 1924
after temporarily handing over party responsibilities to Rajaji.
●
From the day of his arrival, Periyar was
at the forefront of the struggle till its conclusion. Mobilising volunteers and
garnering public support, he visited villages in and around Vaikom,
Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil and delivered witty yet fiery speeches. Owing
to enthusiastic response, he was banished from Kottayam and Kollam.
●
He was soon called ‘Vaikom Veerar’ (hero of Vaikom), a term first used by Thiru. Vi.
Kalyanasundaram, a Tamil journalist, wrote Athiyaman.
Role
of women:
●
The participation of women, especially
those from the families of Satyagrahi leaders including Periyar’s wife Nagammai and sister Kannammal, empowered womenfolk
to play an unprecedented role in the fight.
Support
from Akalis:
●
The non-violent movement gained widespread
attention, with the Akalis (Sikhs) from Punjab extending support by opening a
community kitchen (langar) for the volunteers. However, it was soon closed down
following a directive from Mahatma Gandhi who wanted the agitation to be a
“Hindu affair”.
Solidarity
from Caste Hindus:
●
In a show of solidarity for the social
reform, a large group of caste Hindus, in November 1924, marched from
Travancore till the royal palace at Thiruvananthapuram, as advised by Gandhi.
●
They handed over a memorandum with 25,000
signatures of caste Hindus to Queen
Sethulakshmi Bai (Maharani Regent) of Travancore, demanding to open the
approach roads to Vaikom temple for all castes.
Arrival
of Gandhi:
●
Gandhi, who arrived at Vaikom in March 1925, held a series of
discussions with leaders of various caste groups and met Maharani Regent at her
Varkala camp.
●
The Vaikom Satyagraha was officially
withdrawn on November 30, 1925 after consultations between Gandhi and W.H. Pitt, the then police commissioner of Travancore. A
compromise was reached following the release of all prisoners and grant of
access to three of the four roads.
Temple
Entry Proclamation:
●
In November
1936, almost a decade after the conclusion of the Satyagraha, the historic
Temple Entry Proclamation was signed by the Maharaja of Travancore which
removed the age-old ban on the entry of marginalised castes into the temples of
Travancore.