Vaikom Satyagraham - Protests By Ezhavas

Protests By Ezhavas

The Ezhavas first took up issue in 1905. The Ezhava representatives in the Travancore Legislature (Kochu Kunjan Channar, Kunju Panicker and Kumaran Asan) raised the question of use of the public roads around the temples by avarnas. The authorities remained adamant and refused to take up the matter even for discussion as it was considered a religious question. In 1920-21, representative Asan also raised the question and it was decided to shift the notice boards a little, so that some parts of the roads would be accessible to the avarnas.

T. K. Madhavan, the organizing secretary of the SNDP, became a member of the Travancore Legislature, and felt that Asan and the others has accepted a humiliating compromise. Madhavan wanted to demand outright temple entry, but he was denied permission to even introduce the resolution in the Legislature. Madhavan met the then Divan Raghaviah at his residence and requested him to reconsider his decision. The Divan refused; Madhavan then requested for permission to make a representation to the Maharaja himself which was denied. Frustrated and enraged, Madhavan raised his voice of protest before the Divan, proclaiming We are denied the right to present our problems to the legislatures, and we are denied permission to represent to the Maharaja. How are we to resolve our problems? Are we to leave Travancore? The Divan retorted, You may leave Travancore to solve your problems.

While Madhavan's main objective was to achieve unconditional temple entry, he understood that the right to use the public roads around the temples was the first step. He already had the idea of launching an agitation at Vaikom against the forbidding of roads around the temple, as an activity of the SNDP Yogam. He discussed the matter in detail with Sardar K.M.Panikkar. Panikkar told that the Ezhavas, under the leadership of Sree Narayana Guru, "had united and uplifted themselves, and have become a formidable force in the socio-economic-political atmosphere of Kerala." Although the SNDP has become a mouthpiece for all downtrodden people and the standard bearer of social revolution, the issue at Vaikom needs handling at a higher and wider level. Instead of being just a fight for gaining access to road, Panikkar suggested making it a symbolic battle against atrocities in the name of caste, giving it a national and cosmopolitan look to gain the attention of the entire world. To do that, it was necessary to include it as an activity of the Indian National Congress, and get Mahatma Gandhi to approve it.