Syllabus: GS1/Modern History
Context
- Periyar and other reformist leaders like him played a pivotal role in the struggle against untouchability.
About Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
- Periyar E. V. Ramasamy (1879–1973) was a social reformer, rationalist thinker, and political activist from Tamil Nadu, best known for leading the Self-Respect Movement and laying the ideological foundations of Dravidian politics.
- He rebelled against Brahminical dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu.
- E.V. Ramasamy promoted the principles of rationalism, self-respect, women’s rights and eradication of caste.
About Vaikom Satyagraha
- Cause: The movement was initiated against the practice of untouchability.
- In Vaikom in the erstwhile Travancore princely State, members of the lower castes, particularly Dalits, were denied the right to walk on roads leading to the Vaikom Shiva Temple.
- Leadership: It was led by T.K. Madhavan, K. Kelappan, and other prominent leaders.
- Mahatma Gandhi also supported the cause, sending his advice, although he did not physically participate in the protests initially.
- E.V. Ramasamy Periyar also lent support to the movement.
- Protest: Participants in the Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) demanded the right of Dalits to use public roads and approach the temple like other castes.
- They engaged in peaceful marches and acts of civil disobedience, despite facing violent opposition from upper-caste groups.
- Outcome: After over a year of protest and negotiations, the Government eventually allowed Dalits to use the public roads leading to the temple, marking a victory for social equality and the end of caste-based discrimination in the region.
- Significance: The Vaikom Satyagraha played a vital role in the social reform movement in Kerala and was an important part of the broader struggle against untouchability and caste oppression in India.
- It also marked the first major organized movement against untouchability in the Indian independence movement.
| Post- Independence Abolition of Untouchability – Article 17 of the Constitution (enforced on 26 January 1950) legally abolished untouchability. – To operationalise this constitutional guarantee, the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was passed. – In 1976, the Act was comprehensively amended and renamed as the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, to reflect its focus on the enforcement of civil rights. |
Source: TH
