THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s decision to rename the Victoria Jubilee Town Hall (VJT Hall) in the state capital after social reformer Ayyankali has not gone down well with a section of historians. The VJT hall is not just a historic relic, rather, a space which has several emotions and historic moments attached to it.
Changing its name is akin to erasing the history and emotions associated with it, they say. They feel the move is part of the government’s appeasement policy. Noted historian KN Panikkar said that he was against the government move. “VJT Hall will cease to exist as a memory and all the memories attached to it will be erased,” said Panikkar.
Terming it as a wrong tendency, he said for the past few years there has been a move to rename places, roads and localities in India and that it was being implemented in a big way. “You can’t do away with historical facts. Each monument and place has a history and memory attached to it. There are other ways to honour Ayyankali and this is not the way,” he added.
Terming the move as one which lacked sense, historian M G Sasibhooshan said that VJT Hall has huge historical relevance. “We don’t associate the space with Queen Victoria or Prince Albert. It has a great relevance in the history of Kerala. VJT Hall is a public space. Changing its name is akin to erasing its history,” said Sasibhooshan.
“Ayyankali is a great reformer and spoke up for the downtrodden at the hall. But the VJT Hall is also a public space, a place which has been witness to a lot of historical moments. It is a place where Tagore has come, where Gandhi came thrice. The move to rename the structure can just be viewed as part of the government’s appeasement policy,” he added.
As a person who has many personal memories attached to the place, he said it was the place where he first saw a drama by his father - noted critic S Gupthan Nair - a place where he first listened to his father’s speech and where his father’s mortal remains were kept for public viewing.
“There is a precedent to this move of renaming. In Chennai, it was decided to rename the districts after political leaders. The Supreme Court observed it was not right to change the names according to the whims and fancies of the government. Ayyankali deserves a memorial, but this is not how it should be. Let them name the secretariat annexe after him. The same logic can be applied to other monuments in the city. So the next government might decide to strike off the Napier in Napier museum and name it after a minister,” he said.
“It is an unprecedented move and I welcome it. With this move, we are not only erasing the colonial hangover but also giving due recognition to the strides taken by a reformer such as Ayyankali whose contributions have been largely ignored in history,” said Sunny M Kapikad, Dalit activist.
Ayyankali was one of the greatest reformers who spoke up for the downtrodden and the suppressed sections of the society. And so the decision to rename the VJT Hall after Ayyankali was to provide a memorial for the leader, according to the government. “It was here that his voice reverberated for the rights of the downtrodden. He spoke for free education, doing away with exam fees, mid-day meals in schools and giving land for the landless. There may not have been anyone who spoke with such vigour and courage as Ayyankali did,” according to the government.
The decision to rename a landmark which has much importance in history is not ideal, said the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce. To keep alive the effort taken by the noted reformer for the downtrodden is the need of the people of the city.
We believe that renaming VJT Hall after Ayyankali is equivalent to mocking him. The ideal way would be to rename either of the two annexes in the Secretariat after Ayyankali or give his name to any other prominent government building.