Ambedkar Ignored Gandhi in Vaikam Sathyagraha
The treatment was done by Panavally Krishnan Vaidyar ( 1877-1937) at Panavally near Aroor in Alapuzha district.I had read in an article by N S Madhavan in Granthalokam,November,2016,that Ambedkar had come with his son just before Vaikam Sathyagraha.He had mentioned the place name as Pakapally,near Aroor.It is not true.
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| Krishnan Vaidyar |
My enquiries have revealed that Yashwant was treated by Panavally Krishnan Vaidyar of Chittayil family,Panavally near Aroor.It is one of the traditional families in Kerala,where Ayurveda treatment started during the late 18th century with the famous Sanku Vaidyar and his father.Panavally Krishnan Vaidyar, the elder son of Sanku Vaidyar is one of the authentic and pioneering figures in the history of Ayurveda in Kerala especially in Panchakarma treatment. The contribution of Krishnan Vaidyar in the gamut of Ayurveda is immense. As a traditional Ayurveda practsioner his fame crossed the borders of the country and contributed much to the popularity of Panchakarma. His book Vasthipredeepam is an authentic text on Panchakarma, especially Vasthi therapy.P S Varier of Kottakal ( 1869-1944 ) learned Vasthi from Vaidyar;the family still keeps the silver vasthi yanthra used to do vasthi on Narayana Guru.
Vaidyar's Sanskrit Guru was Keralavarma Valiya Koyi Thampuran ( 1845-1914),who resided at Ananthapuram Palace,Harippad.Vaidyar was a close associate of Prayikkara Govindan Vaidyan.
Krishnan Vaidyar was enlisted among official Vaidyars of the princely families of Travancore and Kochi kingdoms. He had an array of successful disciples in this genre of Panchakarma all over India. Krishnan Vaidyar was a social reformist, writer, political activist; one of the prominent leaders of the historic Vaikam Sathyagraha, industrialist, and an ardent follower of Narayana Guru. He was twice nominated as member of Sree Moolam Prajasabha in the early 1910s.
Krishnan Vaidyar was the man behind peopling the coir industry in the coastal Kerala. He introduced the brick, clay industries in Southern Kerala and a lot more under the influence of Sree Narayana Guru and the reformative spirit of that time. Krishnan Vaidyar was Vaidya of Narayana Guru and was with his mentor till the time of Guru’s death. He treated luminaries like Thanthaiperiyor E V Ramaswami Naykar.
The treatment to Yashwant was done at a seven acre island,Anchamthuruth,an island off Panavally.The island was gifted to Vaidyar by a Sait of Kochi,probably Ismail Sait,father of Isa Ismail Sait aka Kanmani Babu who produced the Movie,Chemmeen.Vaidyar had cured Sait of a disesase.The island is still with the family that runs the CKV Hospital at Poochakal.Vaidyar died in 1937.He had two sons,who were vaidyas-Raghavan and Padmanabhan.
The family holds the view that Krishnan Vaidyar wrote the fanous marching song,Varika Varika Sahajare,Sahana Samara samayamai...( Come on, come on, time for hard struggles) was written by him.When I pointed out that it is included in the name of Amsi Narayana Pillai in the book,Padayalikalude Pattukal,Vaidyar's grand son Dr V R Suresh ( son of Raghavan ) said:"It was written by my grand father for Vaikam sathyagraha,and was sung there;the welcome song also was written by him."
Records do show that Vaidyar wrote the prayer song,Sivasambho,Sambho,Sivasambho....
I had been to Amsi Narayana Pillai's ancestral home at Thengapattanam,in present day Kanyakumari district,in 1995 to write on him and the marching song!
Gandhi's first visit to Kerala was for one day to Malabar in 1920,during Khilafat agitation.The second visit was during Vaikam Sathyagraha in 1925, from 8-19 March.Gandhi met Narayana Guru at Varkala.Gandhi again came to Kerala in 1927,1934 and 1937.
Gandhi wrote to George Joseph on 6 April 1924:
"As to Vaikom, I think you shall let the Hindus do the work. It is they who have to purify themselves. You can help by your sympathy and your pen, but not by organizing the Movement and certainly not by offering Satyagraha. If you refer to the Congress resolution of Nagpur, it calls upon the Hindu Members to remove the curse of untouchability. I was surprised to learn from Mr Andrews that the disease had infected even the Syrian christians".
The Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation, as Ambedkar cautioned, was “not the be-all and end-all of social reforms.” Nor did things dramatically change for the better for Dalits immediately after 1936. But there is no doubt that the Proclamation indeed was a big step in establishing the rights of the lower castes in Kerala, and indeed the nation as a whole.
"The blood-curdling atrocities committed by the Moplas in Malabar against the Hindus were indescribable. All over Southern India, a wave of horrified feeling had spread among the Hindus of every shade of opinion, which was intensified when certain Khilafat leaders were so misguided as to pass resolutions of congratulations to the Moplas on the brave fight they were conducting for the sake of religion"...
"There occurred in that year in Malabar what is known as the Moplah Rebellion. It was the result of the agitation carried out by two Muslim organizations, the Khuddam-i-Kaba(servants of the Mecca Shrine) and the Central Khilafat Committee. Agitators actually preached the doctrine that India under the British Government was Dar-ul-Harab and that the Muslims must fight against it and if they could not, they must carry out the alternative principle of Hijrat. The Moplahs were suddenly carried off their feet by this agitation. The outbreak was essentially a rebellion against the British Government. The aim was to establish the kingdom of Islam by overthrowing the British Government. Knives, swords and spears were secretly manufactured, bands of desperados collected for an attack on British authority. On 20th August, a severe encounter took place between the Moplahs and the British forces at Thirurangadi. Roads were blocked, telegraph lines cut, and the runway destroyed in a number of places. As soon as the administration had been paralysed, the Moplahs declared that Swaraj had been established. A certain Ali Musaliyar was proclaimed Raja, Khilafat flags were flown, and Ernad and Walluvanad were declared Khilafat Kingdoms. As a rebellion against British Government, it was quite understandable. But what baffled most was the treatment accorded by the Moplahs to the Hindus of Malabar. The Hindus were visited by a dire fate at the hands of the Moplahs. Massacres, forcible conversions, desecration of temples, foul outrages upon women such as ripping open pregnant women, pillage, arson and destruction – in short, all the accompaniments of brutal and unrestrained barbarism, were perpetrated freely by the Moplahs upon the Hindus until such time as troops could be hurried to the task of restoring order through a difficult and extensive tract of the country. This was not a Hindu-Muslim riot. This was just a Bartholomew. The number of Hindus, who were killed, wounded or converted, is not known. But the number must have been enormous.”(Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, pages,183-184.).
Vaikom Sathyagraha (1924–25) was a social protest in erstwhile Travancore against untouchability and caste discrimination in Hindu society of Kerala. The movement was centered around the Sri Mahadeva Temple temple at Vaikom, in the present day Kottayam district. The Sathyagraha was aimed at securing freedom to all sections of society to pass through the public roads leading to the Sri Mahadeva Temple.
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| Ambedkar with son Yashwant |
Gandhi wanted only caste hindus to be on the fore front of the Vaikam Sathyagraha-hence he ordered Barrister George Joseph who was very much there to lead it,to exit from the scene.
Panavally is a serene village on the northern end of Alappuzha district. It spans from Arookutty on the northern side to Poochackal on the southern side Arookutty was the northern frontier of Travancore which separated it with old Kochi. The old customs house and the summer palace of Travancore King, which is overlooking the backwaters are still there. Different branches of the backwaters of Vembanad surround the village.The soil and other eco system show, like many regions of Kerala, that this part of the land has emerged from the sea, few centuries ago.
T K Madhavan met Mahatma Gandhi at Tirunelveli on 23 September 1921 and apprised him of the conditions of the Ezhavas and their achievements through the SNDP. Because they had already achieved admission to school, Mahatmaji agreed that the time was ripe for temple entry. Mahatmaji promised to write to the State Congress Committee to take up the issue.
Madhavan attended the Kakinada AICC meet (1923) in the company of Sardar Panikkar and K. P. Kesava Menon. Madhavan got a pamphlet printed: A request to the Indian National Congress on behalf of the untouchables of India. Madhavan tried with all his might to convince the members of the need to eradicate untouchability. The Congress agreed to include the eradication of untouchability in their constructive programs and resolved to lend full support to the Vaikom Movement, and authorized the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) to undertake the task.
In accordance with the Kakinada Congress resolution, the KPCC met at Ernakulam on 24 January 1924 and formed an Untouchability Abolition Committee (UAC) consisting of K. Kelappan (convener), T. K. Madhavan, Kurur Nilakantan Namboothiripad, T.R. Krishna Swami Iyer, and K. Velayudha Menon. A Publicity Committee of five members including T. K. Madhavan was also formed.
The KPCC, the UAC and the Publicity Committee reached Vaikom on 28 February 1924. The struggle began.
On November 12, 1936, the Maharajah of Travancore signed the historic Temple Entry Proclamation, and “in one bold stroke, the age long injustice of barring lower castes from entering temple was removed.” And, a “tidal wave of joy and rejoicing passed through every nook and corner” of Travancore. The action attracted attention and admiration from the whole country.
Travancore may not have been the first State, nor its Maharaja the first person, to throw open temples for Dalits. The northern and western parts of India had made a small beginning earlier. But, as the Manchester Guardian observed then, such a concession had never been made on such a large scale before.
The impact of the Temple Entry Proclamation was immediate and far-reaching. Not only were temples under the control of the Travancore Maharaja thrown open, but even private temples heeded the call for change. Outside of Travancore, temples in Malabar and the rest of the Madras Presidency felt the cascading effects.
Such an ‘epoch making' event was the culmination of two decades of struggle. In 1919, T.K. Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and the Editor of Deshabhimani, the Malayalam newspaper ( not the Marxist one ), took up the issue of temple entry with the Travancore government. So did Kunju Panicker in 1920, and again Madhavan in 1921. But none of this had any effect on the government.
Gandhiji, who was anguished by the ‘very feeble response' of south Indian temples to reform efforts, agreed with Madhavan, during a meeting in 1921, that Kerala was ripe for a temple entry agitation. He insisted on peaceful protest and found there is “no swifter remedy than a real satyagraha properly handled.”
Travancore may not have been the first State, nor its Maharaja the first person, to throw open temples for Dalits. The northern and western parts of India had made a small beginning earlier. But, as the Manchester Guardian observed then, such a concession had never been made on such a large scale before.
The impact of the Temple Entry Proclamation was immediate and far-reaching. Not only were temples under the control of the Travancore Maharaja thrown open, but even private temples heeded the call for change. Outside of Travancore, temples in Malabar and the rest of the Madras Presidency felt the cascading effects.
Such an ‘epoch making' event was the culmination of two decades of struggle. In 1919, T.K. Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and the Editor of Deshabhimani, the Malayalam newspaper ( not the Marxist one ), took up the issue of temple entry with the Travancore government. So did Kunju Panicker in 1920, and again Madhavan in 1921. But none of this had any effect on the government.
Gandhiji, who was anguished by the ‘very feeble response' of south Indian temples to reform efforts, agreed with Madhavan, during a meeting in 1921, that Kerala was ripe for a temple entry agitation. He insisted on peaceful protest and found there is “no swifter remedy than a real satyagraha properly handled.”
In 1865, the Government of Travancore had published a notification that all public roads in the state were open to all castes of people alike. In July 1884, the Government by a fresh notification reaffirmed the policy laid down in the previous order and enjoined that any violation of these orders would be visited with the severest displeasure of the Government. This notification came up for a judicial review before the High Court. The High Court then considered it expedient to draw a distinction between Raja Veedhis (King's Highways) and grama veedhis (village roads). The court decided that the public roads mentioned in the notification of the Government were intended to mean only the Raja veedhis and not grama veedhis. The roads around Vaikom Temple were considered ‘ grama veedhis and consequently even after 65 years of Government proclamation, they were barred to the Avarnas and a unit of police (consisting of Savarnas) was stationed in the vicinity to enforce the custom.
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| T K Madhavan |
The first-ever attempt at entry into the temple was made by a group of about 200 Ezhava youth in 1803-4. Avittom Thirunal Balarama Varma was the king of Travancore and Velu Thampi was the Dalava.They gathered near Dalava Kulam (a pond), about 150 meters east of the temple beyond which they were not permitted to move towards the temple. This pond, originally a small one meant for pilgrims to take bath before entering the temple, was renovated by Ramayyan Dalava in the 1750s and hence the name "Dalava Kulam". Kunju Kutti Pilla had collected about a dozen Nair soldiers from the locality. In the following conflict between the soldiers and Ezhavas rebels, many Ezhavas were killed and buried in the pond near the temple. This incident later came to be known as ‘Dalavakulam Massacre’.
Madhavan attended the Kakinada AICC meet (1923) in the company of Sardar Panikkar and K. P. Kesava Menon. Madhavan got a pamphlet printed: A request to the Indian National Congress on behalf of the untouchables of India. Madhavan tried with all his might to convince the members of the need to eradicate untouchability. The Congress agreed to include the eradication of untouchability in their constructive programs and resolved to lend full support to the Vaikom Movement, and authorized the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) to undertake the task.
In accordance with the Kakinada Congress resolution, the KPCC met at Ernakulam on 24 January 1924 and formed an Untouchability Abolition Committee (UAC) consisting of K. Kelappan (convener), T. K. Madhavan, Kurur Nilakantan Namboothiripad, T.R. Krishna Swami Iyer, and K. Velayudha Menon. A Publicity Committee of five members including T. K. Madhavan was also formed.
The KPCC, the UAC and the Publicity Committee reached Vaikom on 28 February 1924. The struggle began.
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| Periyar and Gandhi at Vaikam |
The Akalis of Punjab came to Vaikom to open a free kitchen for the Satyagrahis. Non-Hindus like barrister George Joseph , Bhajematharam Mathunni and Abdul Rahman (the Editor-in-Chief of The Young India) came forward to offer Satyagraha. But Gandhiji did not accept any of these. Gandhiji wrote in Young India on 24 April 1924, and 1 May 1924 against accepting outside aid.
Gandhi wrote to George Joseph on 6 April 1924:
In March 1925, Gandhi arrived in Vaikom, held public meetings, bolstered the satyagrahis, met the Maharani regent, and confronted the head of the Nambudiri priests in a three-hour conversation.
Before journeying to Vaikom he had written in Young India (19 Feb 1925): 'The Vykam satyagrahis are fighting a battle of no less consequence than that of Swaraj'.
Before journeying to Vaikom he had written in Young India (19 Feb 1925): 'The Vykam satyagrahis are fighting a battle of no less consequence than that of Swaraj'.
On 12 March, accompanied by two southern allies, EVR (E V Ramaswamy Naicker) and CR (C Rajagopalachari), Gandhi called on Narayana Guru who reiterated his endorsement of the sathyagraha.
Towards the end of Gandhi's nine-day visit, the princely authorities climbed down, yet it was only months later, in November 1925, that all, including Ezhavas and the 'untouchables', were able to walk on the temple roads.
Only on three of them, that is. The fourth road was made a 'Brahmins only' path from which Christians and Muslims too were excluded.
Destined to be venerated himself as the rationalist Periyar, EVR played a significant role in the satyagraha and suffered imprisonment for it. In November 1925, he presided at a large public assembly in Vaikom where the struggle's participants and supporters accepted the terms that Gandhi's visit had secured.
Future critics would call the terms inadequate, but the response at the time was of joy and triumph. A year earlier, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, thirty-three at the time, called the Vaikam satyagraha 'the most important event' for the country's 'untouchables'.
Only on three of them, that is. The fourth road was made a 'Brahmins only' path from which Christians and Muslims too were excluded.
Destined to be venerated himself as the rationalist Periyar, EVR played a significant role in the satyagraha and suffered imprisonment for it. In November 1925, he presided at a large public assembly in Vaikom where the struggle's participants and supporters accepted the terms that Gandhi's visit had secured.
Future critics would call the terms inadequate, but the response at the time was of joy and triumph. A year earlier, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, thirty-three at the time, called the Vaikam satyagraha 'the most important event' for the country's 'untouchables'.
Ambedkar could assess it becuase he had Kerala in his radar from the time of the Mappila Jihad of Malabar in 1921.I have quoted Gandhi's journey to Vaikam from Rajmohan Gandhi's book,Modern South India:A History from the 17th Century to Our Times.Even Ambedkar's quote on Vaikam is from that book.
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Ambedkar had responded about the Mappila Jihad thus:
" Any person could have said that this was too heavy a price for Hindu-Muslim unity. But Mr. Gandhi was so much obsessed by the necessity of establishing Hindu-Muslim unity that he was prepared to make light of the doings of the Moplas and the Khilafats who were congratulating them. He spoke of the Mappilas as the "brave God-fearing Moplahs who were fighting for what they consider as religion and in a manner which they consider as religious ".
Ambedkar wrote:
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| Ambedkar Visit programme in Kerala,1950 |
The shocking reaction of Annie Besant on Mappila Jihad ,which was published in New India, 6 December 1921,would have stirred the mind of Ambedkar.Annie Besant wrote:
“Wilful murders of Hindus and arson were first begun in my own place. This contagion began to spread like wildfire and we began to hear of murders daily. Within a fortnight cold-blooded murders of Hindus became very common......A pregnant woman carrying seven months was cut through the abdomen by a rebel and she was seen lying dead on the way with the dead child projecting out of the womb. How horrible! Another, a baby of six months was snatched away from the breast of his own mother and cut into two pieces. How heart-rending! Are these rebels human beings or monsters?”.
“Wilful murders of Hindus and arson were first begun in my own place. This contagion began to spread like wildfire and we began to hear of murders daily. Within a fortnight cold-blooded murders of Hindus became very common......A pregnant woman carrying seven months was cut through the abdomen by a rebel and she was seen lying dead on the way with the dead child projecting out of the womb. How horrible! Another, a baby of six months was snatched away from the breast of his own mother and cut into two pieces. How heart-rending! Are these rebels human beings or monsters?”.
During Vaikam Sathyagraha,Ambedkar,for removing difficulties of the untouchables and placing their grievances before government. In order to bring about a new socio-political awareness among the untouchables, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar established"Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha" on 20 July 1924 at Bombay. The founding principles of the Sabha were. "Educate, Organize and Agitate".Ambedkar convened a meeting on 9 March 1924, at the Damodar Hall, Bombay, to consider the desirability of establishing this Sabha.
After Ambedkar’s return from London in 1923, he had to fend for his family, which included his wife, his children, his sister-in-law and nephew. He wanted to practise law but for that, he needed to be registered with the Bombay High Court. He did not have the money to pay the registration fee. His friend Naval Bhatena came to his rescue and gave him the requisite Rs 500. In 1923, he was admitted to the Bombay Bar Council and began his practice. He pleaded in the Bombay High Court as well as in the district courts of Thane, Nagpur and Aurangabad. But soon, the economist Ambedkar overwhelmed the lawyer Ambedkar. He wanted to do social work but had no time to spare. In order to pursue his career as a lawyer, he had turned down the offer of a Rs 2500-a-month job in the British Government. He had also refused to join the Kolhapur State Services. Ambedkar wanted to have an office but again he lacked finances. With the help of his friends, he rented a small room at the Social Service League, Poyabaodi, in Bombay, and later moved to the first floor of Damodar Hall, Parel. A portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte hung from his office wall.
In the dozens of letters he wrote to the organizers over the duration of the life of the Vaikam Sathyagraha, Gandhi communicated the philosophical, tactical, and strategic aspects of Sathyagraha. He also wrote often and in detail about Vaikam in Young India, a bi-weekly he published in English. The Mahatma was the sathyagrahis' guide and teacher in the art and science of nonviolent resistance. In a lengthy article titled "Vykom Satyagraha," he stressed that
Satyagraha is a process of conversion. The reformers ... do not seek to force their views upon the community; they strive to touch its heart— It beho[o]ves the organizers, therefore, to set even the most orthodox and the most bigoted at ease and to assure them that they do not seek to bring about reform by compulsion (Vykom Satyagraha] is... a movement to purify caste by ridding it of its most pernicious result.
In another communication, he advised the sathyagrahis "not to overawe the orthodox." As before, Gandhi eschewed direct confrontation of Hindu orthodoxy. The essentials of Sathyagraha that Gandhi was passing on to the sathyagrahis, at Vaikam were largely ignored by Ambedkar and his followers in the Dalit-led Sathyagraha campaigns. Nonviolence was never "a way of life" for Ambedkar.
"We do not want that 'Jantu' (creature).I did not say 'Jantu' but Hindu. He will do no good to the Ezhava, Christian and the Musalman. When I say this I do not see any play of protest in the countenance of any one of you. It is after the arrival of this gentleman here that such a bad name about Travancore state has spread outside. Unless this man leaves the country, no good will come to it. We have achieved these things by the joint organisation of our three communities."
Ambedkar married his first wife Ramabai ( 1898-1935 ) in 1908 in a very simple ceremony in the vegetable market of Byculla, Mumbai. At the time, Babasaheb Ambedkar was aged 15 and Ramabai was nine. His affectionate name for her was "Rāmu", while she called him "Saheb".
Ambedkar and Ramabai had five children – Yashwant, Gangadhar, Ramesh, Indu (daughter) and Rajratna. Apart from Yashwant (1912–1977), the other four died in their childhood.Yashwant was 24 when he reached Kerala for treatment.Yashwant Bhimrao Ambedkar (1912–1977), was the only survived son of Babasaheb and Ramabai Ambedkar. He was a social activist, editor, Buddhist activist and politician. He was the second President of the Buddhist Society of India.Yashwant married Meerabai. They had four children – Prakash, Rama (daughter), Bhimrao and Anandraj. Rama married Anand Teltumbde, a scholar, social activist and professor.
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| C Kesavan,T M Varghese and Barrister George Joseph |
Inspired by the Indian National Congress's resolution which called upon its "Hindu members to remove untouchability," caste Hindus, a Syrian Christian Barrister George Joseph, and untouchables in Vaikom village in Travancore State aided by the District Congress Committee leadership made arrangements in early 1924 to start a Sathyagraha campaign to remove the restrictions on the use of public roads that went alongside the local temple. Gandhi, who had recently been released from prison and was recuperating from an illness, supported the Sathyagraha campaign from a distance.
In the dozens of letters he wrote to the organizers over the duration of the life of the Vaikam Sathyagraha, Gandhi communicated the philosophical, tactical, and strategic aspects of Sathyagraha. He also wrote often and in detail about Vaikam in Young India, a bi-weekly he published in English. The Mahatma was the sathyagrahis' guide and teacher in the art and science of nonviolent resistance. In a lengthy article titled "Vykom Satyagraha," he stressed that
Satyagraha is a process of conversion. The reformers ... do not seek to force their views upon the community; they strive to touch its heart— It beho[o]ves the organizers, therefore, to set even the most orthodox and the most bigoted at ease and to assure them that they do not seek to bring about reform by compulsion (Vykom Satyagraha] is... a movement to purify caste by ridding it of its most pernicious result.
Barrister George Joseph,who had distanced himself with Gandhi,had corresponded with Ambedkar in 1935,according to the biography,George Joseph,The Life and times of a Kerala Christian Nationalist by his grandson George Gheverghese Joseph.
On 13 May 1935,the Joint Political Conference held a meet at Kozhencherry under the President C Kesavan,on the backdrop of the Tangassery agitation.Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer wanted to incorporate Tangassery into Travancore,whereas the Christian inhabitants there wanted a British Protectorate.George Joseph presided over the Kozhencherry meet.In his challenging address,Kesavan made critical references to the Nairs' monopoly of the general administration,roundly condemned the policy of of the government for discriminating against other communities and hinted at the intention of the Ezhavas to leave the Hindu fold.At the same conference,a request was made to the King of Travancore to dismiss Sir C P as his legal and constiturtional advisor ( Sir CP was made Dewan only in 1936) on the ground that his continuance was inimical to communal harmony.Kesavan said:
Calling one a Jantu ( animal ) was a statement of hatred,not of criticism.
A week later,Kesavan was charged under section 117 of the Travancore Penal Code for exciting contempt and feelings of disaffection towards the Government.George Joseph was appointed the defence counsel.He was to make a journey from Madurai to argue the case and return there on the completion of the hearings.Since it was believed that George Joseph's arrest was a strong possibility,the Kottarakara railway station was the only safe venue for the discussion of the case and the political events of the day since the railway stations constituted British territory and thus were outside the jurisdiction of the Travancore authorities.Kesavan was found guilty and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a payment of a fine of Rs 500.
Kesavan's conviction aroused some of his Ezhava community friends even more and a section among them sought mass conversion to Christianity.They approached George Joseph on this matter.According to the biography,George Joseph's attitude was some what ambivalent.While any addition to the Christian fold was welcome to some one with his recently acquired Christian convictions,he was uneasy about the non-religious motivation underlying the intended mass conversion.He counselled caution when a number of Christian organisations wanted to take a more active role in promoting this project.This was also the time that he corresponded with Ambedkar regarding the efficacy of mass conversion as a political weapon to improve the status of the untouchables.However more favourable circumstances,notably the Temple entry Proclamation led many Ezhavas to reconsider the original plan of embracing Christianity.
The book claims that this conversion movemet had the approval of SNDP Yogam-it can't be true becuase Sir C P had made several Ezhavas including Kumaran Asan Sree Moolam assembly members and eventually before Sir C P left Kerala,SNDP Yogam held farewell meetings in honour of him.R Sankar was a close friend of Sir CP.Sir CP allotte 27 acres of prime land to build the SN College free of cost,at the heart of Quilon town.Sankar and associates expressed their gratitude to Sir CP.Kesavan who was an atheist and anti Hindu, instead of condemning the Sabarimala Temple burning,applauded it by saying that destruction of temples would eradicate superstitious beiefs in society.
Incidentally it was Narayana Guru,renaissance leader and life long President of SNDP Yogam and Kumaran Asan,the Illustrious General Sceretary of SNDP,who vehementally opposed the conversion move of a group of upstarts and insisted that there is no religion equal to Hinduism in providing spiritual freedom and enlightenment,in a well known article,titled,Mathaparivarthana Rasavadham,a treatise on religious conversion.
George Joseph,who had supported Fascism as a rival to Communism after he left Gandhi,began to preach Christianity among the depressed classes and in 1937,a manifesto was issued by 14 Indian Christians including him,for conversion of the depressed classes to Christianity.George Joseph,a soldier of Christ,who had become an evangelist wanted to convert the depressed classes who constitute a majority of the Hindu population as a prelude to forming a Christian theocratic state in India.
"India was fortunate to have a crop of great leaders during this century. I would put Ambedkar on the same level with them, with Gandhi, Nehru, and others. As you know there are many differences and great debates among these leaders, but all of them were united on two things – freedom for India and the Unity of India."
R Velayudhan was elected to Lok Sabha as independent from Quilon cum Mavelikara reserved constituency in 1952. Son of Raman Kelan; born on March 23, 1911; educated at Middle School, Uzhavoor, High School, Kurvilangad, C.M.S. College, Kottayam, Arts College, Trivandrum and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay; married Dakshayani Velayudhan, September, 1941; 4 Sons and 1 Daughter.; Political Worker and Journalist; Labour Welfare Officer, Tata Oil Mills, 1941—45; Information Officer, Government of India, 1945—48; Social Worker especially among Scheduled Castes of many years standing, also interested in amelioration of proletariat classes.Wrote a book,“Gandhi or Ambedkar”.
Velayudhan's wife,Dakshayani Velayudhan ( 1912 – 1978) was an Indian parliamentarian and leader of the Depressed Classes. Belonging to the Pulaya community, she was among the first generation of people to be educated from the community. She holds several distinctions including becoming the first woman from her community to wear an upper cloth, the first Scheduled Caste woman graduate in India, a science graduate, a member of the Cochin Legislative Council and of being one of nine female members of the Constituent Assembly of India.
Dakshayani was born in the Mulavukad village of the Ernakulam district in 1912. She completed her B.A. in 1935 and went on to complete her teachers' training course from the Madras University three years later. Her studies were supported by scholarships from the government of the Cochin State. From 1935 to 1945 she worked as a teacher at the Government High Schools in Trichur and Tripunithura.
In 1945 Dakshayani was nominated to the Cochin Legislative Council by the government of the State.
Her wedding was held at Sevagram in Wardha with Gandhi and Kasturba as witnesses and a leper standing in as the priest. The couple had five children Dr. Reghu (previously doctor for Indira Gandhi), Prahladan, Dhruvan, Bhagirath [Secretary General, The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)] and Meera.
Although a staunch Gandhian, Dakshayani sided with Ambedkar on many issues relating to the Scheduled Castes during the Constituent Assembly debates. She agreed with Ambedkar giving up the demand for separate electorates arguing instead for 'moral safeguards' and the immediate removal of their social disabilities.
On 8 November 1948, after Ambedkar introduced the draft Constitution for discussion, she expressed her appreciation for the draft while calling for greater decentralisation. She also suggested that the final draft of the Constitution should be adopted following a ratification through a general election.
She intervened again on 29 November 1948, during discussions on draft Article 11, which aimed at prohibiting discrimination on the basis of caste, and was permitted to exceed the time limit by the Vice President of the Constituent Assembly who said, "It is only because you are a lady I am allowing you." Velayudhan called for implementation of non-discrimination provisions through public education and pointed out that it would send a great public signal if the Constituent Assembly were to endorse a resolution condemning caste discrimination. "The working of the Constitution," she said, "will depend on how people conduct themselves in the future, not on the actual execution of the law.
Ambedkar visited Kerala during 8-11 June,1950,as Law Minister.He had come to discuss the Hindu Code Bill with the Hindu leaders in Travancore and Cochin.He travelled in a special sloon in the Trivandrum Express and reached Trivandrum on the night of 8 June from Dhanushkodi.He was welcomed in the railway station by the Thiru-Kochi Chief Minister Parur T K Narayana Pillai and other leaders.He spoke on the Constitution in the assembly hall.
The State Archives has 210 pages of documents on Ambedkar's Kerala Visit.He could not visit the first dalit colony at Sachivothamapuram,Kurichi,though the Commissioner for the advancement of Backward Communities had suggested it.The file notes that Ambedkar had no programmes at Kottayam.
Aliyasanthanam Law resembles to a great extent the Marumakkathayam law and the common element in both the systems is that the inheritance under which the property descends is in the line of females. P.R.Sundara Aiyar in his book Malabar and Aliyasanthana Law mentions that Aliyasanthanam Law is the exact Canarese equivalent to the term Marumakkathayam. Aliyasanthana system of law is mostly followed by non-Bhrahmin communities in Tulunada or otherwise known as Canara and mostly speak Tulu. The word corresponding to Marumagan in Tulu is Marumaya. It is believed that the rules of Aliyasanthana Law has its origin in Canarese pamphlet known as Bhutala Pandya's Kattu Kattalai. In fact the Bunts, the Billawas and the non-Priestly class among the Jainas in Kanara are governed by this system.
1.Dhananjay Keer.:Dr. Ambedkar, Life and Mission
K R Narayanan,former President of India,remembered Ambedkar in an article in the newspaper "Implanter" from Shillong, on May 18, 1985:
"I recall the brief meeting I had with Ambedkar in New Delhi in 1943 when he was a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council. After taking my first degree from Travancore, I had gone to the north in search of a job. I had a letter of introduction to Ambedkar from one who had known him in Travancore. I took a room in a cheap hotel in Delhi, put my luggage there and then went to Ambedkar's residence at Prithvi Road with the introduction letter. He read the letter and asked me "Where are your 'Samaans', your luggage?" Obviously, he was thinking of putting me up at his residence. That was the kind of a human being he was. Though I was a stranger coming from a remote corner of Kerala, he wanted to put me up in his house.
"India was fortunate to have a crop of great leaders during this century. I would put Ambedkar on the same level with them, with Gandhi, Nehru, and others. As you know there are many differences and great debates among these leaders, but all of them were united on two things – freedom for India and the Unity of India."
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| R Velayudhan |
Narayan obtained his B. A. (Honors) and M.A. in English literature from the University of Travancore (1940–43) , standing first in the university,thus becoming the first Dalit to obtain this degree with first class in Travancore. Though Narayanan has not named the personal friend of Ambedkar in Travancore,I guess it was none other than R Velayudhan,a relative of Narayanan.Velayudhan was 10 years elder.
R Velayudhan was elected to Lok Sabha as independent from Quilon cum Mavelikara reserved constituency in 1952. Son of Raman Kelan; born on March 23, 1911; educated at Middle School, Uzhavoor, High School, Kurvilangad, C.M.S. College, Kottayam, Arts College, Trivandrum and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay; married Dakshayani Velayudhan, September, 1941; 4 Sons and 1 Daughter.; Political Worker and Journalist; Labour Welfare Officer, Tata Oil Mills, 1941—45; Information Officer, Government of India, 1945—48; Social Worker especially among Scheduled Castes of many years standing, also interested in amelioration of proletariat classes.Wrote a book,“Gandhi or Ambedkar”.
Velayudhan's wife,Dakshayani Velayudhan ( 1912 – 1978) was an Indian parliamentarian and leader of the Depressed Classes. Belonging to the Pulaya community, she was among the first generation of people to be educated from the community. She holds several distinctions including becoming the first woman from her community to wear an upper cloth, the first Scheduled Caste woman graduate in India, a science graduate, a member of the Cochin Legislative Council and of being one of nine female members of the Constituent Assembly of India.
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| Dakshayani Velayudhan |
Dakshayani was born in the Mulavukad village of the Ernakulam district in 1912. She completed her B.A. in 1935 and went on to complete her teachers' training course from the Madras University three years later. Her studies were supported by scholarships from the government of the Cochin State. From 1935 to 1945 she worked as a teacher at the Government High Schools in Trichur and Tripunithura.
In 1945 Dakshayani was nominated to the Cochin Legislative Council by the government of the State.
Her wedding was held at Sevagram in Wardha with Gandhi and Kasturba as witnesses and a leper standing in as the priest. The couple had five children Dr. Reghu (previously doctor for Indira Gandhi), Prahladan, Dhruvan, Bhagirath [Secretary General, The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)] and Meera.
Although a staunch Gandhian, Dakshayani sided with Ambedkar on many issues relating to the Scheduled Castes during the Constituent Assembly debates. She agreed with Ambedkar giving up the demand for separate electorates arguing instead for 'moral safeguards' and the immediate removal of their social disabilities.
On 8 November 1948, after Ambedkar introduced the draft Constitution for discussion, she expressed her appreciation for the draft while calling for greater decentralisation. She also suggested that the final draft of the Constitution should be adopted following a ratification through a general election.
She intervened again on 29 November 1948, during discussions on draft Article 11, which aimed at prohibiting discrimination on the basis of caste, and was permitted to exceed the time limit by the Vice President of the Constituent Assembly who said, "It is only because you are a lady I am allowing you." Velayudhan called for implementation of non-discrimination provisions through public education and pointed out that it would send a great public signal if the Constituent Assembly were to endorse a resolution condemning caste discrimination. "The working of the Constitution," she said, "will depend on how people conduct themselves in the future, not on the actual execution of the law.
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| Report on Ambedkar's Speech in Kerala,9,June,1950 |
Ambedkar visited Kerala during 8-11 June,1950,as Law Minister.He had come to discuss the Hindu Code Bill with the Hindu leaders in Travancore and Cochin.He travelled in a special sloon in the Trivandrum Express and reached Trivandrum on the night of 8 June from Dhanushkodi.He was welcomed in the railway station by the Thiru-Kochi Chief Minister Parur T K Narayana Pillai and other leaders.He spoke on the Constitution in the assembly hall.
The State Archives has 210 pages of documents on Ambedkar's Kerala Visit.He could not visit the first dalit colony at Sachivothamapuram,Kurichi,though the Commissioner for the advancement of Backward Communities had suggested it.The file notes that Ambedkar had no programmes at Kottayam.
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| From Ambedkar's office to Kerala,May,1950 |
The archival document,no Dis.12412/50/CS is from the political section of the Chief Secretarial Department of the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin.The document bears the scroll that it was supposed to be destroyed in 1971.Thankfully,it still survives.
K V K Sundaram,Secretary from the Law Minister's office had written on 13 May 1950,to Chief Secretary K G Menon,of Ambedkar's visit.It says:"He would like to take advantage of the visit to discuss with selected persons the application of Marmakkathayam and Aliasanthanam Laws and other local laws affecting Hindus generally in that area."
Ambedkar was accompanied by his wife Savita and private secretary M Massey.Union Minister of Railways K Santhanam also joined him.His train was to arrive at Trivandrum at 6.45 pm on 6 June 1950,and according to the programme,he left Trivandrum for Madras by air at 12.45 pm after an early lunch on Sunday,11 June.
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| Kerala Govt Note on Ambedkar visit,1950 |
At the railway station,apart from the Chief Minister,ministers,speaker,DCC president,Chief Secretary,Advocate General,Deputy speaker,Mayor,Magustrate and IG were present.Ambedkar had asked for a discussion with the AG.Ambedkar stayed at the Residency guest house,visited Chithralayam,Museum,zoo,Acquarium,School of Arts and Institute of Textile Technology and Padmanabhapuram Palace,enroute to Kanyakumari.Ambedkar met Rajapramukh Chithira Thirunal.
The file has a letter to the government from P M R Pillay,private assistant of Ambedkar.
The file has this interesting note to a department:"To arrange for the issue of permits to purchase two bottles of whisky from Messrs Spencer & Co,Quilon,and remove them to Trivandrum,if strong drinks are to be served to the guests."
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Reference:
2.Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Pakistan or The Partition of India. Samyak Prakashan. 2013
3.Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar:Writings and Speeches,Dr Ambedkar Foundation,2014
4.Gandhi,Ambedkar and Eradicatin of Untouchability/Sudarshan Kapur
5.Ambedkar and His writings:A Look for the New Generation.Raj Kumar
© Ramachandran
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