State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publications brings out concise encyclopaedia on Vaikom Satyagraha

Explore the concise encyclopaedia on the Vaikom Satyagraha, a pivotal event in Kerala's history, now available for purchase.

The State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publications (SIEP) has come out with a concise encyclopaedia on a seminal 20th century event that helped shape modern Kerala and transform the notions of equality, human rights and social justice—the Vaikom Satyagraha.

A century after the event, the 248-page Vaikom Satyagraham: Vijnanakosham attempts to place the historic 603-day struggle which opened on March 30, 1924, in a proper perspective. It chronicles the events that led to the agitation for equal access to the streets around the Vaikom Mahadeva temple and its aftermath that had impressive nationwide consequences for deeply ingrained ideas about untouchability, casteism and temple entry.

The publication of the concise encyclopaedia coincides with the 100th anniversaries of two events that had meaningful impact on the struggle—the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in Vaikom (March 9, 1925) and his meeting with Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri (March 12, 1925).

The SIEP describes Vaikom Satyagraham: Vijnanakosham as an attempt, 100 years down the line, to study and assess the multiple strands, individuals and roles played by social and political organisations. “The book is designed to serve as a reminder of this socially and politically significant episode in Kerala history. Furthermore, the coming together of people from different communities in an age of untouchability and social stratification at Vaikom is relevant to our times when the society is getting increasingly compartmentalised,” SIEP director Muse Mary George told The Hindu.

Following the Malayalam alphabetic order, the concise encyclopaedia opens with a chapter on the Akalis who arrived at Vaikom on May 3, 1924, extending their support to the struggle. The chapter has a faded, black-and-white photograph of the turbaned Sikhs. Their departure several months later was, however, under strained circumstances, the encyclopaedia notes. The community kitchen they ran for the Satyagrahis drew criticism from figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, who apparently wished to keep the Satyagraha a purely Hindu affair.

The book covers the social structure of early 20th century Kerala, untouchability and the important personalities who made the Vaikom Satyagraha happen, including its prime architect T.K. Madhavan and leaders such as K.P. Kesava Menon and K. Kelappan. The roles played Sree Narayana Guru, Mahatma Gandhi, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, Mannathu Padmanabhan and organisations such as the Indian National Congress and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam find extensive coverage in the book. It also dwells on important names such as Barrister George Joseph, Amachadi Thevan and Raman Ilayathu.

The book had chapters dedicated to non-Hindus and women who were at the forefront of this epic struggle, Prathyush Chandran, the editor of the volume, said. The latter included freedom fighter Easwari Ammal, P.K. Kalyani, Kayyalakkal Narayani Amma, social worker and women’s right activist Nagammai, and Barrister George Joseph’s wife Soosanna. The encyclopaedia also provides a timeline of events, transcripts of important documents and speeches, and a list of the individuals who underwent imprisonment in connection with the Satyagraha.