KOCHI: Indirectly criticising the Vaikom Satyagraha centenary celebrations jointly organised by the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments, Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai on Friday said the contributions of Sree Narayana Guru were ignored while the organisers credited a leader from the neighbouring state for the fight against caste discrimination.
Pillai was speaking after inaugurating the 40th state conference of the ABVP at Saraswathi Vidya Niketan in Kochi. He said Kerala succeeded in removing caste discrimination and inequality due to the positive reformation spearheaded by social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru.
He said Guru had endorsed Sanatana Dharma and the spirituality of Sree Sankaracharya.
“All 70 books written by Guru discussed spirituality. The 42 temples he established follow Sanatana Dharma,” Pillai said. “Compared to neighbouring states, Kerala succeeded in removing inequality and caste discrimination, thanks to the reformation movement led by leaders like Guru.
The organisers of the Vaikom Satyagraha centenary celebrations ignored his contributions and credited a leader from the neighbouring state for the protest. It was ‘Gurudevan’ who inspired the agitation and contributed Rs 1,000 for the purpose,” Pillai said.
He said Guru represented positivity, which was the secret behind the success of the reformation movement in Kerala.
“He did not blame any community for the social evils that prevailed in the state and never passed any negative remarks. However, the leader credited for the success of Vaikom Satyagraha hailed from a state where negativity was spread in the name of reformation, which ignited an atmosphere of riot. That is why caste discrimination still prevails in that state,” he said without naming either Tamil Nadu or Periyar E V Ramaswamy.