‘Vaikom Poraattam’: On Periyar’s role, Gandhi’s strictures

The Kerala government has planned a year-long event to commemorate the centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha, which took place March 30, 1924 – November 23, 1925. The historic agitation was launched with the prominent demand to open the streets around the Lord Shiva Temple in Vaikom in the Kingdom of Travancore to the oppressed communities such as Ezhavas and Pulayars, who were till then prohibited from entering them.

As the contribution of Tamils to this struggle was quite immense, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has also been invited and honoured.

The protest was held under the aegis of the All India Congress Committee to ensure social justice for communities regardless of social, political and economic status, by allowing all to use the public space.

E V Ramasamy (EVR), who was then a leader of the Tamil Nadu Congress, contributed immensely to the success of the agitation. It was on account of his relentless struggle to eliminate caste-based inequalities in society that he was fondly called ‘Periyar’ and honoured with the moniker ‘Vaikom Veerar’.

Yet the present generation has still been raising doubts about Periyar’s contribution to the Vaikom Satyagraha. By way of clearing the doubts and refuting criticism from Periyar detractors, a detailed book in Tamil packed with verified data and information, Vaikom Poraattam (Vaikom Agitation), has been authored Pazha Adhiyaman.

Adhiyaman has collated all the documents from newspapers and archives of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom and checked their veracity. He put in a lot of hard work and perseverance in analysing the impact and course of the protest.

What happened in Vaikom was not a mere temple entry protest but also a massive agitation vocal in its demand that there should be no discrimination in using the public streets around the temple.

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The first part of the book records what happened every day during the period of the struggle from March 30, 1924 to November 23, 1925, based on the reports published in magazines of the time.

The second part reconstructs the factors, the initiatives and the provocations which powered the satyagraha.

The third part talks about Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to the struggle. Although Gandhi did not plunge into the agitation directly, he played the role of an advisor. In March 1925, when there was a crisis, he appeared on the scene of the agitation and held talks with the queen of the Travancore kingdom and top police officers. All details about the dialogue have been painstakingly recorded in the book.

The way orthodox Brahmins stuck to their guns and threw a spanner in the works of the satyagraha contributed to the build-up of the agitationists’ steely resolve.

The fourth part deals with the role of Periyar in the struggle, tracing the circumstances that led to his participation in the struggle and the sufferings he underwent in the process.

The book also quotes from the research done by Mary Elizabeth King, an American researcher, about the non-violent Vaikom struggle.

A statement from Rajaji on the agitation and a report written by S Srinivasa Ayengar are given in full in the book. The background of the large-scale participation of Tamils in the struggle in the Malayalam-speaking state of Travancore is well described and vividly traced.

Also Read: At Pondy, Bharathi poured scorn on Dravidian movement

As soon as the protest began, three people would stand in the ‘prohibited’ area near the temple only to be arrested by the Travancore government. As the arrests continued over the days, the government decided to arrest the leaders behind the protest T K Madhavan, K P Kesava Menon and George Joseph.

The Vaikom Satyagraha faced a crisis as no leader was left in the field to lead the agitation further. Then the Congress decided to invite leaders from Tamil Nadu such as E V Ramasamy, who was then the Tamil Nadu Congress president.

The book, backed up by documentary evidence, traces EVR’s role in steering the agitation and his subsequent imprisonment, showing how the rationalist leader was performing as per consultations with Gandhi.

Moreover, the book also documents how Gandhi did not support the hunger strikes and the blockade as part of the satyagraha, how he did not permit non-Hindus to take part in the agitation and how he banned the supplying of food to the agitationists from Punjab.

This treasure  of documents and data on a historic milestone in the age-old journey towards social justice has been published by Kalachuvadu Publishing House.