Vaikom Satyagraha: Struggle against Untouchability- Paragraph Questions
Kannur University
Common Course
Readings on Kerala (1A02ENG)
1. Describe the commencement of the Vaikom Satyagraha.
Three men namely Kunjappy, Bahuleyan, and Govinda
Panicker walked hand in hand towards the road around the Shiva temple at
Vaikom, to which members of the “polluting castes” were forbidden entry. The
policemen patrolling the road stopped them at a notice board that read,
“Ezhavas and other low castes are prohibited through this road”. The policeman
asked them to name their caste. Kunjappy declared his caste as pulaya.
Bahuleyan’s caste was Ezhava, and Govinda Panicker was Nair in caste. Kunjappy
and Bahuleyan were denied entry on the premise that they belonged to a lower
caste. Govinda Panicker was allowed entry into the temple as he was from an
upper caste. However, the three men did not move. They resolved to enter the
road and walk together. They were promptly arrested and later sentenced to six
months’ imprisonment. But the arrest did not weaken the determination of the
protesters. As each man got arrested, more Satyagrahis would take their place.
This was the commencement of the Vaikom Satyagraha, one of Kerala’s foremost
organized agitations for the eradication of the shameful practices of
untouchability and unapproachability.
2. Describe the role played by T K Madhavan in building
the movement in Vaikom.
According to K N Panikkar, the humiliating treatments
practised in the name of caste included observance of distance pollution,
exclusion from public places of worship and denial of the civil rights enjoyed
by upper castes. People who belonged to ‘lower castes’ had no access to public
roads near temples, could not be appointed to government jobs, and their
children could not be admitted to government schools. It was in this context
that T K Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and journalist, considered
rightly as the original architect behind Vaikom Satyagraha, moved a resolution
in the Assembly in 1918 and while doing so claimed that “temple entry is my
birthright.” The Diwan rejected this appeal citing the reason that it may
trigger religious disharmony in society. However, T K Madhavan met Gandhi at
Tirunelveli in 1923 to seek his advice and support for launching an agitation
for temple entry. Gandhi approved of the agitation and suggested non-violence
as the strategy. Gandhi also gave a message to the people of Travancore
emphasizing the untouchable’s right to worship in Hindu temples. After Gandhi’s
appeal, several upper caste reform associations supported the cause. The Kerala
Hindu Sabha, the Nair Service Society, the Yogakshema Sabha, etc are some of
them. T K Madhavan then took steps to establish closer links with the national
movement. He became a member of the Indian National Congress and participated
in the Kakkinada Session of 1923 as a delegate to attract attention to the
situation in Travancore. He eminently successes in this mission, as is evident
from the invitation extended to him to attend the Working Committee of the
Congress and to introduce a resolution providing for the formation of an
all-India committee for the eradication of untouchability. T K Madhavan also
became a member of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee.
3. The active involvement of Sree Narayana Guru also
served as a powerful source of inspiration
and guidance for the satyagrahis. Describe.
The active involvement of Sree Narayana Guru served as a
powerful source of inspiration and guidance for the satyagrahis. Guru tells the
satyagrahis that the will to suffer and sacrifice should be there. But there is
no need to get drenched or starved. Enter where entry is banned and face the
consequences. Take blows without giving them. If a fence is raised in your
path, don’t turn back, jump over it. Don’t stop with walking through the road,
enter the temple, every temple, every day, everybody. If the offering of rice
is ready, take it. Go to the place where free food is served in the temple, and
sit along with others. Guru tells satyagrahis to let the government be informed
of what they intend to do. One should not fight shy of laying down one’s life.
Those who think another’s touch pollutes him should not be left unmolested in
their so-called cleanliness. But let there be no violence or show of force. He
urges satyagrahis not to be disturbed by coercion. Guru visited and presided
over a public meeting held at the venue of satyagraha. During 1925 Gandhi
visited Sree Narayana Guru after visiting satyagraha. Both the great
personalities agree on the usefulness of nonviolence.
4. Summarize the conversation between Gandhiji and Sree
Narayana Guru about the mode of agitation adopted at Vaikom.
During March 1925, after his visit to the Satyagraha
site, Gandhiji visited Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri. Gandhiji inquired Guru
if he had any difference of opinion about the Satyagraha started at Vaikom.
Gandhiji also asks him if he wants to add or alter anything to the movement.
Sree Narayana Guru answers Gandhiji’s question by affirming that the satyagraha
at Vaikon is going smoothly. Guru also affirms that he does not want to make
any alterations. Gandhiji tells Sree Narayana Guru that some think that
nonviolent satyagraha is of no use and to establish right, violence is
necessary. He inquires Sree Narayana Guru’s opinion in this matter. Sree
Narayana Guru answers by stating that he does not think that violence is good.
5. How did the enlightened members of the upper caste and
their organizations respond to Vaikom Satyagraha?
In pursuance of Gandhi’s advice, a savarna jatha was
organized from Vaikom to Thiruvananthapuram under the leadership of Mannath
Padmanabhan, the founder of the Nair Service Society. The declared purpose of
the jatha was to present a memorial to the Maharani
Regent but its intention was more to arouse public opinion, particularly among
caste Hindus, against untouchability. The jatha,
which started from Vaikom on 1 November 1924, stopped at about two hundred
places on the way, where public receptions were organized and in which the
leaders of the jatha denounced untouchability in strong terms. This
was an important event, the first of its kind, in the public life of Travancore
and it influenced many people. After Gandhi’s appeal, several upper caste
reform associations supported the cause. The Kerala Hindu Sabha, the Nair
Service Society, the Yogakshema Sabha, etc are some of them.
6. Describe the outcome of the Vaikom Satyagraha.
Prof. K N Panikkar, in his essay, “Vaikom Satyagraha:
Struggle against Untouchability” narrates the history of the peaceful agitation
against the discrimination towards people of lower castes in Vaikom Shiva
temple. The satyagraha succeeded in making the problem of untouchability a
matter of public debate and had also created a climate of public opinion
against the oppressive practice. The authorities finally responded to this
pressure and decided to grant some concessions. Gandhiji’s interventions also
helped in arriving at a compromise. Consequently, the roads around the Vaikom
temple, except for two lanes leading to the eastern gopuram,
were opened to all castes without discrimination. Following the announcement,
the satyagraha was called off on 23 November 1925.
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