In a remarkable display of regional unity, the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu joined forces on Thursday (December 12) to honour the legacy of one of Tamil Nadu’s most esteemed reformists – Periyar.
At a ceremony in Vaikom, Kerala, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated the renovated Thanthai Periyar Memorial and Periyar Library, marking the conclusion of the year-long centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha.
In March 2023, Stalin had announced in the state assembly a year-long celebration to commemorate the centenary of the Vaikom struggle. “It was through this movement that E.V. Ramasamy emerged as Periyar. It is only fitting that this government is in place during the centenary of the Vaikom struggle,” he remarked at the time.
The Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 stands as a cornerstone in the history of India’s fight against untouchability and caste discrimination. Central to the success of the Vaikom Satyagraha was the involvement of Periyar, whose contributions transformed the movement and also helped shape the trajectory of social reform in India.
The Vaikom Satyagraha was a struggle to allow oppressed communities to walk on the roads surrounding the Mahadevar Temple in Kerala’s Kottayam district, which was earlier restricted to dominant-caste Hindus. In March 1924, the Kerala Congress Committee had announced plans for a procession by members of the oppressed communities through the restricted streets of Vaikom. The movement faltered after arrests and a lack of adequate leadership.
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Periyar’s involvement
Periyar’s involvement in the Vaikom struggle came at a crucial moment. When several key leaders were arrested in the procession, the Congress sought Periyar’s support. At that time, he was a prominent Congress leader from Tamil Nadu, known for his strong anti-caste stance and his ability to mobilise large groups of people.
“Periyar presented a strong and persuasive case for the satyagraha, using his distinctive wit and folk logic to dismantle the arguments of the orthodox and rally popular support. His speeches, which were monitored by both the secret police and the press, continue to captivate readers even nearly a century later,” says Pazha Athiyaman, author of Vaikom Porattam (Vaikom Struggle), a comprehensive account of the movement, published by Kalachuvadu publication in Tamil.
As part of the centenary celebrations, the Tamil Nadu government is also working on translating this book into multiple languages.
“As the campaign gained widespread enthusiasm, the government imposed prohibitory orders, banishing him from Kottayam and later from Kollam. Nevertheless, Periyar persisted in his efforts across the state, and on May 21, 1924, he was arrested. He refused to engage with the court, dismissing the trial as a mere formality, and boldly challenged the magistrate to impose any punishment,” Athiyaman recalls.
On May 22, 1924 Periyar was sentenced to one month of simple imprisonment, which he served at Arookutty jail. Upon his release, instead of returning to his hometown of Erode, he headed to Vaikom, much to the displeasure of the district magistrate, who rebuked the police superintendent. Periyar was arrested again on July 18 and sentenced to four months of rigorous imprisonment for defying the prohibition order and returning to Vaikom. He was placed in Thiruvananthapuram central jail, where he was denied the status of a political prisoner.
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Periyar’s involvement in the Vaikom Satyagraha spanned several months and was marked by multiple trips to the region during which he spent considerable time organising protests and facing imprisonment more than once. The movement also saw active participation from women.
He spent an estimated 67 days actively participating in the movement and 74 days in imprisonment, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the cause. Despite the oppressive measures taken against him, Periyar’s resolve remained steadfast. His leadership was crucial in maintaining the momentum of the struggle. In fact, Thiru. Vi. Kalyanasundaram, the Tamil scholar, esteemed journalist and labour leader, hailed Periyar as the “Vaikom Veerar,” recognising his important role in the Vaikom struggle.
The Satyagraha ended in partial success in 1925, and three out of the four restricted streets were opened to oppressed-caste communities after a compromise was reached with Regent Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. Periyar was, of course, critical of this kind of compromise.
Periyar during the self respect movement. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Victory still awaits
A partial victory came a decade later with the Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936. However, upon hearing of it, Periyar was not entirely pleased, says Athiyaman.
“Yes, we fought for temple entry, but the right to enter temples is only half of the victory for Dalits and backward classes,” Periyar said. He believed that economic liberation and addressing their economic needs would constitute a full victory.
The Temple Entry Proclamation was issued by the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, on November 12, 1936. Ironically, Athiyaman points out, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, by then a retired monarch, stopped visiting temples after the temple entry proclamation.
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In his seminal work, The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore, Manu S. Pillai writes: “But her [Sethu Lakshmi Bayi] traditionalism had sometimes contradictory layers: on the one hand she would freely touch Nair and Christian relatives and associates, despite injunctions of caste, while on the other she clearly held extreme convictions about low-caste communities expecting sacred shrines to extend similar liberties to them.”
This contradiction perhaps demonstrates the challenges of social reform and the limitations of formal decrees in confronting deeply rooted cultural norms. And in this context, Vaikom emerges as an iconic movement that set the stage for such transformative milestones.
“Vaikom is significant because it was a pioneer in the temple entry movements across the country,” Athiyaman says, adding that “The foundation of the Vaikom struggle was centred on transforming mindsets, a process that takes time. We have not yet fully realised the goal of securing entry into the sanctum sanctorum. When that happens, Vaikom will be completely victorious. But of course, that doesn’t mean it is not victorious now.”
Kavitha Muralidharan is an independent journalist
