ALAPPUZHA: Almost a century after the path-breaking Vaikom Satyagraha, the Tamil Nadu government is all set to construct a monument to social reformer and father of the Dravidian movement Periyar E V Ramaswamy at Arookutty near Cherthala. This is to commemorate his prominent role in the agitation against untouchability along with Gandhiji in the 1924-25 period in Vaikom.
The state government handed over 58 cents of land from the revenue department to the Tamil Nadu government through an order (GO(MS)No 134/2024/RD) on July 19. Based on the order, the state government has directed the Cherthala taluk tahsildar to prepare a detailed sketch of the land on August 18.
Cherthala taluk tahsildar M C Anupaman said the taluk survey team has surveyed the land and prepared a detailed sketch, which has been handed over to the district collector. “There are no other hindrances to handing over the land to the TN government under revenue department,” he told TNIE.
The state government decided to hand over the land to the TN government without collecting any land tax to construct the memorial. The 58 cents near the old boat jetty of Arookutty will be handed over to Tamil Nadu authorities. The project report of the memorial will be prepared by the TN government. “Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin declared the project in the state assembly, but they did not disclose the details of it yet,” said an officer.
Arookutty was the border of the erstwhile princely states of Travancore and Kochi. The chouka (tax collection point), excise checkpost, police checkpost, and jail of the Travancore state were situated at Arookutty. In that jail, Ramaswamy and other leaders were jailed for participating in Vaikom Satyagraha. Periyar was jailed for more than three months in two terms for attending the agitation on March 30, 1924 and November 23, 1925. This is the reason why the Tamil Nadu government is constructing a memorial there.
Although the previous government took steps to construct a memorial on the plot, the state was not favourable to the project, After Pinarayi Vijayan came to power in the state and Stalin became chief minister of Tamil Nadu, the project was expedited. Last November, Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister E V Velu and Information and Publicity Minister M P Swaminathan visited the place and approved the project.
There is already a memorial for Periyar in Vaikom, where his bust can be seen. Meanwhile, Arookutty panchayat president Muhammadkutty Ashraf said the tourism department has already constructed a boat terminal near the land and asked the state to allot the land for the development of the terminal. “But they were not ready to hear us. If the entire land is handed over to the Tamil Nadu government, the development of the terminal which was constructed after spending `2 crore will be stalled,” he said.
Vaikom Satyagraha
The agitation, which began on March 30, 1924, and ended on November 23, 1925, was aimed at removing untouchability connected with the Vaikom Mahadeva temple. In those days, members of the lower castes were not allowed to enter the temple let alone use the roads leading to the place of worship. Congress leaders T K Madhavan, K Kelappan, K P Kesavamenon and others led the agitation. Gandhi also took part in the satyagraha. When K P Kesavamenon asked Gandhiji for a strong leader to lead the agitation, he recommended E V Ramaswamy, a Dravidian leader. In November 1925, Regent Sethu Lakshmi Bai of Travancore ordered the opening of all roads to people of all castes. Eventually, it led to the historic Temple Entry Proclamation in 1936.
PERIYAR E V RAMASWAMY
Born on September 17, 1879, Periyar was a social reformer who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is also known as the ‘father of the Dravidian Movement’. He opposed Brahmin hegemony and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu. He died on December 24, 1973.