CHAPTER-IV

FIRST PmSE O F THE TEMPLE ENTRY STRUGGLE

The temple e n t r y movement was s t a r t e d i n Travancore by

Mr.T.K. Madhavan who p r e s s e d t h e matter b e f o r e t h e 1 5 t h s e s s i o n

o f t h e S r e e Moolam Popu la r Assembly o n 1919 and h i s e f f o r t s

culminated i n t h e l e g a l success of Vaikom Satyagraha which

opened t h e Vaikom temple roads t o un touchables i n 1925.' F i v e

y e a r s a f t e r t h e Vaikom Satyagraha t h e r e was no o rgan i sed attempt

f o r t h e removal o f t emple e n t r y problem. I t was i n 1931 t h a t

t h e i s s u e o f temple e n t r y t o unapproachable c a s t e s w a s revived

i n Kerala by Sri.K. Kelappan under t h e a u s p i c e s o f Kerala

Congress Committee. I

THE DECISION OF KERALA CONGRESS COr4MITTF,E

The temple e n t r y m a t t e r of un touchable c a s t e s came t o t h e

d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e Kera l a S t a t e Conference h e l d a t Vadakkara i n

Kerala on t h e f i r s t week o f May 1931 under t h e P r e s i d e n t s h i p

of M r . Sen Gupta and t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f temple entry matter w a s

accep ted by t h e Kerala Conoress C o m l t t e e i n t h i s conference. 2

A cornittee w a s appoin ted i n t h e meet ing o f Kerala Congress

comni t t ee held on May 21, 1931 t o choose a p l a c e i n K e r a l a f o r

d e a l i n g temple e n t r y m a t t e r and sugges t ed t o submit an enqu i ry

2. Guruvayoor Temple E n t r S a t a r aha Golden J u b i l e e S o w e n i e r , 1982, (Malayalam), K . K e l a a uruvayoor Kshe t ra Pravesana Satyagraham m P.1

a S : : a k Sangh, Kera la BrancQ,

r e p o r t abod t it.3 The committee r n p m b e r s w e r e T.R. Kr i shna Swami

I y e r , Kuroor Neela Kantan Nambuthiri-ad, P. Achuthan and

K. Kelappan. The recommendation o f t h e connnittee was t o make

propanganda f o r temple e n t r y i n Cochin and Malabar and t o s ta r t

temple e n t r y Sa tyagraha i n Travancore by co-operat inq t h e

Travancore temple e n t r y Committee, S.N.D.P. Yogam and N a i r

S e r v i c r S o c i e t y .

M r . Kelappan informed t h e deCis ions taken by t h e Kerala

Conqress Committee and p r e s e n t e d t h e need o f temple e n t r y

Sa tyag raha i n Kera l a b e f o r e t h e A l l I n d i a Congress Cornnittee i n

i t s meet ing he ld a t Bombay on J u l y 7, 1931 and g o t t h e permiss ion

o f G a n d h i j i t o temple e n t r y Satyagraha; b u t Gandhi j i d i d n o t

f avour t o s t a r t Sa tyag raha i n p rov inc l a 1 state^.^ But Gandhi 's

op ln ion i n t h i s matter i s e v i d e n t from an a r t i c l e which Gandhi

wrote on o r h e f o r e J anua ry 3, 1932, and pub l i shed i n 'Young I n d i a '

d a t e d January 14, 1932 t h a t "The q u e s t i o n a s t o when t i m e i s

r i p e f o r o f f e r j n g Sa tyag raha i n a p a r t i c u l a r p l a c e is one

p r imar j l y f o r l o c a l Congress Comi ttees t o decide". Gandhi ' s

d i s f a v o u r of s t a r t i n g Sa tyagraha i n p r o v i n c i a l s tates might

have been t h e reason why temple e n t r y s a t y s g r a h a began i n the

3. i s .

4. i b i d . - 5. Government o f Indi a p11h1 i c a t i o n Div i s ion , N e w Delh i ,

C o l l e c t e d Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol.XLVIII (Navj ivan T r u s t , Ahamedabad, 1971) P.484

B r i t i s h Malab3r d i s t r i c t by c h a n g i n q t h e former deci.sion of

Kerala Congress Committee t o s t a r t it. j n Travancore. The

i n e v i t a b i l i t y of temple en t ry freedom i n Kerala pressed

Mr.Kelapnan and o the r s t o s tar t i t i n a l o c a l i t y of Kerala i n

snch a way as t o a t t r a c t t h e a t t e n t j o n of t he whole of iterala.

For t h i s purpose, they formed t h e Kerala Congress, Temple

Entry Satyagraha C o m m i t t e e with Sri.Mannathu Padmanabha P i l l a i

a s t h e pres ident , Mr.Kelappan as Secre tary , Mr.P. Achuthan a s

t r ~ a s u r e r , Mr.K.G. Gopalakrishnan a s C o S e c r e t a r y and

Mr.C. Kuttan Nair a s Pub l ica t ion o f f i c e r and a number of o t h e r

members.6 Thus, t h e prel iminary s t e p of temple e n t r y Satyagraha

was taken.

The Kerala Congress temple en t ry Satyagraha C o m m i t t e e m e t

a t Alleppey on September 21, 1931 .~ They decided t o conduct one

month's propaganda programme f o r satyagraha, from Travancore

t o north of nor th KeraLa and l a s t l y t o send a deputat ion t o

consu l t t h e temple a u t h o r i t i e s f o r c o n c i l i a t o r y at tempts , before

they s t a r t e d Satyagraha. They decided t o s t a r t satyagraha a t

Guruvayoor on November 1, 1931, i f t h e i r attempts t o en ter

Gun~vayoor temple, f a i l e d . They a l s o appol~nted a committee f o r

propaganda, comprising Dr.Rughmini Amma, M. Karthyayani Arrana,

6 . The Mathrubhumi News Daily, (Malayalam) , Ed.C.H.Kunchappa Nair, 9,160, (September 24, 1931, ~ o z h i k o d e ) P.3

7. ib id . , 9,160, September 2 4 , 1931, P.3 . -

Mannathu Padmanabha P i l l a , C.Kuttan Nair , Karoor Neelakandan

Nambudiripad, K.V.Kunjikrishnan and K.Kelappan. Thus t h e y

completed t h e p r e l i m i n a r i e s of t h e Guruyayoor Sa tyagraha as

a m a t t e r concerning Malaya l ies only.

A t t i t u d e o f Savarnas

Most o f t h e members of h i q h e r castes w e r e n o t a g a i n s t temle

e n t r y s a tyag raha b u t a few or thodox among them were a g a i n s t

t h i s movement. A grand meet ing o f t h e Savarna Hindus was held

a t Guruvayoor on September 20, 19'11 under t h e P r e s i d e n t s h i p of

Punnathoor Goda Sankara V a l i a Raja f o r d i s c u s s i n g t h e d e c i s i o n

of t h e Kerala Congress Comnit tee t o s ta r t Sa tyag raha on November

8 1, 1931. M r . Kelappan p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h i s meet ing by t h e

s p e c i a l i n v i t a t i o n o f t h e a u t h o r i t i e s o f t h i s conference. They

passed a r e s o l u t i o n r e q u e s t i n g t.he K e r a l a Congress Committee

to postpone t h e beg inn ing of s a t y a g r a h a till t h e r e t u r n of

Gandhi and Malavyaj i from t h e Completion o f Round Table conference

and t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n of t h j s m a t t e r w j t h t h e a u t h o r i t i e s . 9

They informed Kera la Congress Conunittee abou t t h e r e s o l u t $ o n

b u t Mr.Kelappan c lear ly d e s c r i b e d t h e s t a n d of Kera la Congress

Cornnittee abou t s a t y a g r a h a t o s t a r t on November 1 i t s e l f because

no th inq wjll be gained by pos tponing t h e Satyagraha.

8. i b i d 9, 158, September 22, 1931, P.3. -' 9. l b i d , -

The Kerala Conaress Satyagraha Committee made extens ive

proqrarmes f o r t h e rropaganda of temple en t ry satyagraha i n

Guruvayoor. Propoqanda of Satyaqraha had bequ:: f-rclz Tr5vandrurn

on October 1, 1931, ps,,5000/- aria 500 ~ o l ~ i ~ t ~ ~ i ' s a must

f o r s t a r t i n g satyagraha o n Novem'ber I , 1931 ili.... -',-i; I'c was decided i i

t o c o l l e c t these sources through propoqanda, T J h e ?e,m oE

propagaodlsts was d iv ided i n t o two p a r t i e s f o r t h e conwe~a ieac~

of Propaganda. They covered t h e whole p laces 5.n Travancore

and Cochin area wl t h l n f j € t e e n davs from October 1, and Malabar

area : ~ i t h i n t e n days from October 22 t o October 31. The main

proqrammes qf t h - i r propoganda covs i s ted of holdjng pub l i c

rneetlnqs and pub l ic speeches expla in ing t h e need of temple

e n t r y i n Kerala f o r t h e removal of i intouchabil i ty , and con tac t s

i n some houses. Satyaaraha fund was co l l ec ted from t h e p laces

where they t r a v e l l e d f o r propoqanda. They d id t h i s work with

t h e help of loca l congress committees, and they go t royal

recept ion i n many places. T'le propoganda team of t h e temple

en t ry satyaqraha committee qo t d i s f a v o i ~ r from t h e savarnas

of Kodungalloor where savarnas with t h e help of l e g a l

a u t h o r i t l e s prevented t h e meeting p l ace which was under t h e

possesslon of Devaswom: f o r t h e satyagraha Committee. 12

For t h i s reason, t h e Satyagraha Committee held t h e i r meeting

a t another p lace near t.he fcrmer place.

In, ibis, 9 , 172, Rctoher f i , 1933, P.R. 7

11. Ibid , P.4 . - 1 2 . E d , 9, 192, November 4, 1931, P. 2.

F o r t h i s reason, t h e Sa tyaqraha Comni t tee he1 d t h e i r m e e t j ng a t

a n o t h e r p l a c e n s a r t h e former p lace .

Route March

The most c o l o u r f u l programne o f t h e propaganda was t h e

r o u t e march of f i r s t v o l u n t e e r team from Cannanore t o Guruvayoor

o n t h e VIJAYA DASAMI d a y i n 1931. On October, 21, 1931, a t e a m

o f sjxteen v o l u n t e e r s s t a r t e d r o u t e march t o Guruvayoor from

a p l a c e n e a r t h e Congress camp of Cannanore under t h e l e a d e r s h i p

of S r i .T.Subramanfan T i rumumbu, Mr.A.K. Gopalan as Vo lun tee r ,

c a p t a i n , w i th t h e p r a y e r of 'Vande ~ n a t h a r a m ; ~ ~ r . ~ e l a ~ ~ a n ?d

a l a r g e number cf people wished them succes s , and Mr.Kelappan

fol lowed t h e r o u t e march t i l l t h e y reached Edakkad schoo l i n

T h a l a s s e r j . The temple e n t r y s a t y a a r a h a v o l u n t e e r r o u t e march

g o t h e a r t y welcome throughout t h e i r journey, from t h e people

a t v a r i o u s p l aces , a s w e 1 3 as a good collection of Sa tyagraha

fund.

From T j r o o r t o Feroke, t h e Sa tyagraha J a t h a reached by

t r a i n on Oetober 26 and t h e n marched t o Guruvayoor i n porinani

Taluk. l4 The Nambut i t ies o f Edapal r e c e i v e d t h e s a t y a g r a h a

teams ( j a t h a ) r o y a l l y and. qave them a t e a p a r t y , which was t h e

first t ea -pa r ty from t h e Nambuthiries t o t h i s Ja tha . 15

13. u d , 9, 182, October 23, 1931, P.2.

14. i b j d b - 15. s d , 9, 191, October 31, 1931, p.2.

They marched t o Gllruvayonr a n d reached Guruvayoor i n t h e evening

of October 31, 1931 by cover inq Rlottappadi n e a r Guruvayoor. 16

Then t h e s a tyaq raha committee members a l s o reached t h e r e .

The s a t y a g r a h a J a t h a P roces s ion was r e c e i v e d by a l a r g e number

o f people and was welcomed t o t h e house o f Dr.P.G.Nair. 17

Soon t h e v o l u n t e e r s marched t o t h e e a s t e r n nada n e a r t h e Arayal

bars w i t h i n t h e barbed w i r e f j x i n g and h e l d a p u b l i c meet ing -- t h e r e . I n t h i s mee t ing Mr.Kelappan made an impress ive l e c t u r e

which conta ined t h e aims c f s a t y a q r a h a dnd reques ted t h e

co-operat ion of neop le i n t h i s m a t t e r . t o f u l f i l l t h e attimi

of t h e sa tyagraha . Kelappan observed t h a t temples a r e f o r

t h e u s e of o r d i n a r y people i n c l u d i n g t h e un touchable caste

b r o t h e r s and t h e aim o f t h e s a tyag raha was t o e s t a b l i s h t h e

basic and jmportant r e l i g i o u s r i q h t of Hindus. 19

A few days b e f o r e t h e s a tyag raha , M r . Kelappan had reached

Guruvayoor and made p r e p a r a t i o n s t o b u i l d a Sa tyagraha Ashram

f o r t h e vo lun tee r s . 20 H e took a smal l h o r ~ s e and made arrangements

16. ibid, 9, 192, November 1, 1931, P.3.

17. The r e s i d e n c e of Dr.P.G.Nair n e a r Guruvayoor temple became a rest house f o r t h e s a t y a g r a h a v o l u n t e e r s and C o m j t tee members.

18. ibjd, 9, 192, November 1, 1931, P.3.

19. - 8 i b i d 9, 191, October 31, 1931, P.7.

20. i b i d , 9, 183, October 29, 1931, P.2.

f o r two 1 2 r g e sheds. The s i t e f o r s a t y a g r a h a ashram was given

by a member o f Thiyya Comnui ty . The temple a u t h o r i t i e s a l s o

made srrangements t o m e e t t h e s a tyag raha of Kelappan. The

p r o h i b i t i n g barbed w i r e f enc ings were l a l d i n t h e e a s t e r n ,

wes te rn nadas and i n f r o n t o f t h e South Kovilakam, i n f r o n t o f

t h e s h o r t c u t of t h e n o r t h t ank whjch was i n t h e n o r t h e a s t e r n

c0rne.r o f short.cut.. 21 The Devaswom authorities also r e c r u i t e d

some N a i r s a s guards t o p r e v e n t t h e e n t r y o f s a t y a g r a h i e s . The

p l ,ce nf sa tyag raha was b e f o r e t h e barbed w i r e f enc ings and t h e

p l a c e of t h e ant i -groups was w i t h i n t h e barbed w i r e f enc ings .

Purposes of Sa tyagraha

The main purpose o f t h e s a tyag raha was t o throw open t h e

Guruvayoor temple, persuade t h e o t h e r temple a u t h o r i t i e s i n

Kera l a t o throw open t h e i r temples t o untouchables and t h u s

make t h e achjevement of temple e n t r y freedom, a r e a l one i n

Kerala . The s logan of t h e temple e n t r y s a tyag raha w a s d i e or

success . 22 Sri.Manneth Padmanabhan P i l l a i proclaimed i n h i s

speech t h a t t h e Congress dec ided t o examine t h e openjng of

these temples f o r t h e removal o f p o l l u t i o n as an exper iment by

t h e weapon o f ~ a t ~ a ~ r a h a ? ~ Some e x t r a c t s o f Kelappan's l e c t u r e

21. U d .

22. i b i d 9, 192, November 1, 1931, P.4. -8

23. i b i d , 9, 1 7 2 , October 9, 1931, P.2 -

delivered in a publj c meeti vq at Guruvayoor on April 5, 1932 was

that this satyaqraha was for establishing the freedom of worship

to Hindus, satyagraha would continue ti.11 the establishment of

thj s freedom, not only 4 n Keral a but also in Bharata there was

not a section of people known as unapproachable castes; all the

people in Bharata are not unapproachable castes but all are

Hindus, so we must attain all the rights of a Hindu; no one

should give the freedom to us, freedom is developing in us,

continue the efforts Oil1 success and struggle with non violent

scheme. 24 The satyagraha aimed to get the right of worship to

all Hindus irrespective of thejr castes. The satyaqraha was

also intended for the spiritual awakening and development of

the lower classes like pulayas and so on, said Mr.Kelappan in

one of his public speeches. 25 To establish socio-religious unity

by allowing temple-entry to untouchable castes, became the aim

of the satyaaraha. In fact the real purpose of the satyagraha

was regajn the prpstlqious stat7.s of Hinduism through the weapon

of temple entry satyagraha by uniting the Hindus after removing

the practice of pollution.

24. ibid, 10, 21, April 10, 1932, P.7. - 25. ibid, 9, 192, November 3, 1931, P.7. -

At t i t ude of Zamorin towards the Decision of Kerala Congress

Committee.

A s a l a s t p a r t of t h e pre l iminar ies of t h e temple e n t r y

satyagraha, Mr.Kelappan wrote a 1ett.er t o t h e zamorin Raja as

t r u s t e e of the Guruvayoor Temple, request ing an in terview

with him. 26 Zamorin r ep l i ed t o t h i s l e t t e r t h a t he was n o t

well t o a t tend an interview: he was i n t e r e s t e d t o postpone

t h e satyagraha because t h e temple rites would be d is turbed i f

satyaqraha began there : t h e Zarnorln f u r t h e r conveyed t o Kelappan

t h a t t h e s t a t e Congress wi.th i t s committees woule be held

responsible f o r any damage t o the temple o r i t s p rope r t i e s

caused by the Satyagraha. 27 This was t h e s tand of Zamorin

towards satyagraha b u t t h e satyaaraha committee members d i d

not move a s t e p from t h e i r decision. The po l ice team a l s o

reached Guruvayoor before the beginning of t h e satyagraha.

The idea of Zamorin's f e t t e r t o KeBappan proves t h a t t h e Zamorin

Raja was averse i n g ran t jna temple e n t r y freedom t o untouchables.

I f Zamorin had allowed the interview * i th &lappan or

taken conc i l i a to ry s t eps t o g r an t temple e n t r y freedom t o a l l ,

t h e temple e n t r y satyaqraha would not have taken place. But

t h e obs t ina te , and conservat ive mind of zamorin Raja and a few

orthodox savarnas forced Kelappan t o s t a r t t h e satyagraha.

26. ib id , 9, 182 , October, 27, 1971, P.5. - 27 . i b i d . -

THE ROL,E gF 'MATHRCJRHUMI ' NKfZ; PAPER I N THE PROPAGANDA OF TEMPLE

ENTRY MOVZMYNT.

Before w e proceed t o t h e hegining of satyagraha, it i s

e s s e n t i a l t o know something about t he propoganda work done by

t h e 'Mathrubhumi' news paper from Kozhikode. The temple en t ry

propoganda movement of &lappan achieved a g r e a t success

throuqh t he leaves of 'Mathrubhurnil by s t rengthening pub l i c

opinion i n Kerala. The propoganda through 'Mathvubhumi'

provoked t h e conservat ives. One of t h e landlords i n Malabar

s a i d t h a t , t h e main reason f o r lkorld popula r i ty of Kelappan's

Satvagraha was t h a t t h e Satyagraha had a spec i a l newspaper and

a . l a r g e number of volunteers f o r propaganda work; and warned

t h e Zamorln t o s t a r t a newspaper and make some volunteers a s

an anti-group t o m e e t Kelappan's satyaqraha. 28 On November 1,

1931, 'Mathn~bhurni' published i n i t s e d i t o r i a l about t h e

Satyagraha tha t "November 1st is reached; temp1 e en t ry satyagraha

began today a t Guruvayoor, Gliruvayoor Satyaqraha began t o

remove t h e c rue l j n j u s t i c e i n Kerala and t o w r i t e a h i s t o r y

of new aqe on golden a lphabets , t h e emergency duty of t h e

K e r a l i t i e s was t o welcome the satyagraha with de l i gh t , t h e

Congress accepted t h e nnn-vlolent strumgle scheme of Mahatama

Gandhi, t h i s Satyagraha i s a n r e a t luck of Savarnas, w e a r e not

s u r e that t h e wri . t inq o f t h o s e 1jne.s by u s can be seen by t h e

zamorin who is then t h e t r ~ l s t e e of t h e G u n ~ v a y o o r temple whichever

it may be, may w e t e l l him a th ing : t h a t t o p rov ide t h e freedom

OF temple e n t r y t o t h e c l a s q e s who w e r e ye t den ied t h e r i g h t of

worshjp a t t h e G u r ~ ~ v a y o o r T e ~ p l ~ : i f you d i d s ' ich a t h i n q , t h e

futurz? h i s t o r i an vould r e s p e c t you a s broad minded and benign

Zamorin; i f you exonerate from your du ty , your s u c c e s s o r s

should hpve t h e possibility f o r c u r s i n g you till you r e a c h u p t o

your grave, because o f your bad act ion.29 Although t h i n g s

were i n such a c o n d i t i o n , t h e r e was n o t a l i t t l e move from t h e

s i d e nf q t ~ t h o r i t l ?s t o a1 low temp1 P e n t r y t o unt-ouchables.

On t h e ohher hand, t h e Devaswom a u t h o r i t i e s dec ided t o m e e t

t h e Satvaqraha. Many impor t an t puhl i c pe r sons wl shed t h e

s a tyaq raha f o r s u c c e s s t h r o r ~ q h 'Mathrubhumi8. Some o f them w e r e

Karnad Sada S i v a Rao, Y.J. Mehral i from Bombay and Padmavatl

Ashar from Thiruppoor, K.M. Munshl, Dr-Damodara S a r v a r k a r etc. 3 0 . PI<ACE OF SATYAGRRHA AND G'JRUVAYOOR TTMPLE

The camp of t h e s a t y a q r a h a v o l u n t e e r s was s j t u a t e d . s o m e y a r d s

away from t h e s o u t h e a s t e r n corner o f t h e E a s t e r n Gopuram o f

t h e G~l ruvayur Temple. 31 I t w i l l be advantageous t o s t u d y abou t

28. The Mathrubhumi Da i ly , 9, 192, November, 1, 1931, P.4.

30. i&d,q,192, November 3, 1931, P.3 .

31. Gopuram is t h e e n t r a n c e t o t h e temple w i t h doors.

t h e t hen s i t u a t i o n of t.he G l ~ m v a ~ o o r temple b e f o r e w e proceed

f u r t h e r . Guruvayoor temple i s an a n c i e n t temple b u i l t f o r

t h e God ~ u e e k r i s h k a which j s s i t u a t e d s j x t e e n m i l e s away from

ponnani. The temnle comnound is surrounded by roads "Towards

t h e n o r t h i t Croaa goes much l o n g e r because i t has t o t a k e

i n a l s o t h e t ank i n f r o n t o f t h e temple". 32 some p a r t s of

t h e s e roads w e r e n o t open t o t h e us? o f untouchables . The

r e s t r i c t i o n s on t h e a c c e s s t o t h e temple i n regard t o t h e l o w

c a s t e Hindus i s c l e a r l y i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e judgment o r d e r o f

J u s t i c e Ramesam r e l a t i n g t o G i~mvayoor temple roads i n 1932.

H e s a i d , "you are no doubt aware t h a t t h e p a t h s round t h e

temple and tank are c l o s e d t o a l l e x c e p t caste Hindus: t h i s

i s trlie a l s o nf t h e ~011th-rn nada, and t o t h e e a s t e r n nada

u p t o a c e r t j a i n p o i n t . The f e e d e r road i s open t o everyone,

and i s p r a c t i c a l l y a p u b l f c thorouoh fare. . . The u s e o f t h e

word p r a c t i c a l l y ' shows t h a t t h e temple a u t h o r i t e s c la imed it

t o be t h e i r own p r i v a t e r r ad , b u t a s t h e a r l t h o r i t i e s d i d n o t

impose any r e s t r i c t i o n s on t h e u s e o f it by t h e p u b l i c it is

d e s c r i b e d as p r a c t i c a l l y a p u b l i c th roughfare ' . 33 one of'

t h e w i t n e s s e s i n t h e above s a i d road case mentions t h a t a p l a c e

i n t h e wes te rn nada on t h e road where t h e r e i s a p l a t f o r m w i t h

a Gopuram was s p e c i a l l y r e se rved f o r o f f e r i n g s t o be made by

t h e t h e e n d a l castes who canno t b r j n g t h e i r o f f e r i n g s t o n e a r e r

p l a c e t h a n t h j s : and t h l 3 o f f e r i n g s should b e l e f t a t t h i s p lace:

32. I n t h e High C o u r t rif J u d i c a t u r e a t Madras, Crl.Revn Case No.291 of 1932,dat-d 1A.6.1932+&t,pej

33. i h j d , op.c i t ,pp 6-7. -

t h e temple a u t h o r i t i e s would t a k e them and thep&dam which is

t o be n iven t o them from t h e temple would be brought t h e r e . 3 4

The ent-ry o f lower c l a s s e s i n t o t h e tamples had been a l lowed

o n l y a t t h e t i m e of t h e Ekadasi F e s t i v a l t he re . T h i s was t h e

s i t u a t i o n i n connec t ion w i t h t h e e n t r y of low c a s t e Hindus i n

t h e Gumvayoor Temple.

I n administrative mstters, c n e o f t h e proceedings o f

J.A. Thorne, E s t a t e C o l l e d m r of t h e Zamorln d a t e d 21 September \*

1915 proves t h a t t h e Management o f t h e Guruvayoor devaswom

a f f a i r s w i l l be brouqht under t h e c o n t r o l o f t h e Cour t o f

"35 One o f t h e letters , wards w i t h e f f e c t from 17.6.15 (1915)...

(despatched d a t e 1 October 1915) of MaJabar C o l l e c t o r t o t h e

S e c r e t a r y t o t h e Cour t o f Wards a t Madras r e f e r r e d about t h e

Guruvayoor t-empl e t h a t "The Devasraom has immense p r o p e r t i e s

moveabJc? and immovable s i t u a t e d i n some of t h e Taluks i n t h e

36 D i s t r j ct". Again h e r e f e r s t h a t "The Zamorin Raja i.s o n l y

a Co-Uralan w i t h t h e M a l l i s s e r i Nambvdiri b u t under a k a r a r

of 1030 M.E. The mqnagement is p r a c t i c a l l y i n t h e hand? o f 1855 A-6. -3-1 - 2,

t h e Zamorin". Th i s s i t u a t i o n of Guruvayoor temple proves t o

be cont jnued a t t h e t j m e o f temple e n t r y movement.

34. i b i d , - PP 15+16*

35. BrR F i 1 . e ~ Estate-1915,Di sposa l ~ o . l / e s t a t e 15-dt.5.10.15, ~ o l . l e c t o r s O f f i c e Guruvayoor DevaswowRecording pape r s r ega rd ing t.he t a k i n q ove r o f Guruvayoor devaswom under Cour t of wards management. Read I e t ter R.O.C.Sl/Conf. 1.15.dated 11.9.15 from t h e c o l l e c t o r ( ~ e g i o n a l Archives Kozhikode)

36. i a d , l e t t e r s inned hy t h e C o l l e c t o r , undated; ( t h e d a t e be in? seen i n t h r re la t i nq docl~ment /s t h e despa tched d a t e on 1 October, 19 15) Op.ci t, P.5.

31. 3-

R E G I N T N G O F SATYAGRAHA

The temple e n t r y s a tyaq raha b ~ q a n on November 1, 1931.

The main p roo ramps o f t h e s a tyaq raha w ? s t h a t t h e v o l u n t e e r s

would get. till t h e b a r r i c a d e and s i n q nha jana Songs, each ba t ch

o f v o l u n t e e r s took t h r e e hours sa tyagraha-dur i nq mornjnq and

evening s e s s i o n s of temp1 e. 38 Thus t h e s a t y a g r a h a t imings

co lnc ided wi th t h e p r n g r a m e s o f t h e temple rites. D a i l y works

o f s a tyag raha v o l u n t e e r s w e r e t o t a k e p a r t i n t h e sa tyagraha, '

s p i n n i n g i n t h e s p i n d l e , t o t a k e p a r t i n t h e p r a y e r a t t h e

Ashram etc. and a l s o t o do a l l works i n t h e Ashram on an

arranqed b a s l s f n r each group of v o l u n t e e r s . They w e r e a lso

r e s p o n s i b l e t o keep t rn t -h , dharna and k indness and obse rve

s a n c t i t y which w a s e s s e n t i a l . f o r t h e sa tyagraha . Mr.Kelappan

t r i e d t o make a s e n s e among t h e s a t y a o r a h a tha t . t h i s templ~e

ent.ry sa tyagraha was n o t a s t r u n q l e a g a i n s t the barbed w i r e ,

temple guards, brahmins and temple rl~lers b u t w a s a movement f o r

reforming t h e Hindu Cul ture . 39 Two v o l u n t e e r s were r e g u l a r l y

r e c r u j t e d from t.he s a t y a g r a h a t o guard t h e Ashram a t n i g h t w i t h

a lamn and i n some t i m e s t w o v o i c e s w e r e made from them t h a t

"Vande" from o n e guard and i t s r e p l y "Matharam" from t h e o t h e r

guard . 40 The s t a r t i n g day o f s a t y a g r a h a w a s observed a s

39..The Mathrubhumi N e w s Dai ly , 9, 195, November 7, 1931,p.E.

40. i b i d . -

A l l Ke ra l a TempleEn t ry Sa tyagraha day, f o r awakening t h e

i n t e r e s t which was g e n e r a t ~ d a t t h e tlrne o f Vaikom Sa tyag raha 1

amonq the p ~ n p l r. The main n m q r a m m r s o f t h e temple e n t r y

s a t y a q r a h a day were r o u t e marches, p u b l i c m-etings w i t h speeches

of l e a d e r s r ~ q a r d i ng temp1 e e n t r y s a tyag raha , c o l l e c t i o n o f

s a t y a g r a h a fund and conduc t ing p r a y e r and Bhajanas f o r t h e

s u c c e s s of sa tyagraha . 4 1

On t h e morning o f November 1, 1931, t h e f i r s t s a t y a g r a h a

v o l u n t e e r team i n c l u d i n g Sri.Subramanian Tirumumbu, marched t o

t h e Guruvayoor temple from t h e Ashram, b u t t h e temple guards

p r o h i b i t e d t h e i r way a t t h e b a r r i c a d e . They s t o o d b e f o r e t h e

b a r r i c a d e and observed s a t y a g r a h a from t h e r e . The s a t y a g r a h a

cont inued p e a c e f u l l y w i t h o u t any o b s t a c l e s excep t t h e mumur ings

and d i s t u r b a n c e s from t h e temple guards towards s a t y a g r a h i s .

S r i . Subramani an Thirumumbu was a r r e s t e d on November 7, f o r

p u h l l s h i n g a poem i n 'Yuvabharatham' news Weekly, somp days

b e f o r e t h e s a t y a g r a h a f o r l ese -magjes t le . 42 On Movember 13,

one e l e p h a n t was taken i n t o t h e temple hy t h e mqhout th rouqh

t h e s a t 3 a g r a h l e s by touching them through t h e small e a s t e r n

g a t e w i thou t openjng t h e long ga t e . 43 But t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s

d i d n o t move a s t e p behind. The p o l i c e d i d n o t t a k e any a c t i o n

even s e e i n q t h i s a c c i d e n t a l behaviour . P u b l i c people became

d i s g r u n t l ed by t h i s l n c i d e n t and t h e i r favour t u rned towards

41. i b i d , 9, 184, October 25 , 1931, P.3. - 42. Guruvayoor Temple E n t r y Sa tyag raha Golden J u b i l e e Souvenier , - 982. S r i .T.Subramanl an 'xi rumumbu. 'Gt~ruvayoor Sa tyagraha S a r a t h i k a l ' , (Ma1 a,ml am) P.18.

4 3 . The Mathrubhumi News Dai ly , 9, 2 9 2 Novmber 15, 1 9 3 1 P . 4

t h ~ s a t y a q r a h i e s . S i n c e Nov~mber 15, people from v a r i o u s p a r t s

o f t h e coun t ry noured t o Gunivayoor f o r c e l e b r a t i n g t h e Ekadasi

Fes t - iva l which was on November 21. Th? r ~ g u l a r r ead ing of

Bhagavat G i t a by Sr i .Vishnu Bharatheeyan on t h e A l t h a r a

( S t o w f l o u r round t h e tree A1) had a t t r a c t e d many p e o p l e f o r

h e a r i n g it. 44 The p u b l i c favoured t h e s a tyag raha , day by day

and t h e v i s i t o r s o f t h e Ashram had g i v e n t h e i r c o n t r i h u t i o n s

t o s a tyag raha fund. O n November 16 th , one m e m b e r of t h e Thiyya

community came t o t h e temple f c r an o f f e r i n g c a l l e d 'Thulabharam';

he was in f luenced by t h e s a tyaq raha movement and c o n t r i b u t e d

t h e money f n r Thi~lsbhsrarn t o sa tyaq raha hundi. 4 5 On November

30, t h r e e persons came t o Guruvayoor f o r t h e o f f e r i n g o f

Chorunnu (t.he f i r s t r i re food o f a Hindu c h i l d from temple) . L

b u t t h e temple c l e r k made some o b s t a c l e s , s o t hey made t h i s

ceremony at. E a s t nada where t h e v o l u n t e e r s observed sa tyag raha ,

by. t h e hands o f S r j .Vi.shnubharatheeyan a t ml~d noon. 46

6';':

44. i b i d , 9, 2 0 3 , November 17, 1931, P.2 - 45. i b i d , 9, 205, November 19, 1931, P.3 . - 46. i b i d , - 9, 217, D e c e m b e r 3, 1931, P.3 .

Ekadasi F e s t i v a l

On t h e Fk?dasi day, some females observed forenoon s e s s i o n

of t h e temple e n t r y s a t y a g r a h a o n l y b u t Kelappan and few o t h e r s

observed a f u l l day f a s t sa tyagraha . Many l o w c a s t e Hindus

from v a r i o u s p t l r t s of Kera la came t o Guruvayonr temple a t t h i s

t lme f o r c e l ~ h r a t i n q t h e Ekadasl. f e s t i v a l . The low c a s t e

Hindrls had a r i g h t t o e n t e r Guruvayonr temple f o r worsh ip

a t t h e Ekadasi day. But t.he temple a u t h o r i t i - e s p revented t h e

s a t y a g r a h i e s t o enter t h e temple on Ekadas i day, which i n c i d e n t

provoked t h e neople. 47 They a l s o d i d n o t mske any arrangements

f o r t h e comfor tab le Fassaqe of t hepeop le i n t o t h e temple on

Ekadasi day and p e ~ p l e w e r e f o rced t o p a s s th rough t h e narrow

g a t e o f t h e temple t i l l t.he evening. The f e s t i v a l a l s o

c o n t f i b u t e d much money t o t h e s ? tyaq raha fund i n s t e a d of

o F f e r i n g it t o t h e Devaswom hundi. The Sa tyaqraha f a s t o f

Mr.Kelappnn and o t h e r s jn f luenced t h e devotees much. A f t e r

t h e f e s t i v a l s a tyao raha cont inued as u s u a l and t h e o f f e r i n g s

o f devotees t o t h e temple decreased da'7 by day. They o f f e r e d

to t h s sat-yagraha hr~ndi .

Within a month o f t h e beg inn in^ o f t h e S a t y a j r a h a w h i c h .

w a s observed a t t h r e e g a t e s o f t h e temple excep t t h e no r the rn

s i d e of t h e temp3e. I t had bronqht many changes f o r t h e removal

r . ?

-

47. iu, 9, 208, November 22, 1931, P.4.

o f u n t o u c h a b i l i t y a s compared t o i ts former p o s i t i o n . Be fo re

t h e s a tyag raha , t h e ~ i n t o u c h a h l e communites had a c c e s s o n l y two

f u r l o n g s away from t h e temple Nadas. T h i s f a r n e s s g o t reduced

from t h e temple nada u p t o h a l f fu r long . 48 Thus t h e untouchables

g o t a r i g h t t o walk a long t h e temple road up t o t h e gat.e n e a r

t h e t h o r n fences o f t h r e e s i d e s o f t h e temple excep t t h e n o r t h e r n

nada. The no r the rn g a t e was t e n f e e t away from. t h e no r the rn

tank. The devotees w e r e go ing i n t o t h e temp1.e by approaching

t h e lower c a s t e s a t y a g r a h i e s who s t o o d b e f o r e t h e nadas o f temple

w i thou t any h e s i t a t i o n o r f e a r of p o l l u t i o n . Thls was a g r e a t

achievement o f t h e s a t y a g r a h a w i t h i n a month.

SATYAGRAHA ON THE SEcOITn MONTH PMD THK CRIIFI, 'INCTDFNT AT THE

END O F THT MONTH

December 1, 1 9 7 1 was c e l e b r a t a d a s s a tyag raha day and

s a t y a g r a h a cont jnued by s t a r t i n g i t on t h e n o r t h g a t e of t h e

temple a l so . 49 The temple a u t h o r i t i e s p e v e n t e d A.K. Gopalan

and Ramakrishnan who were t h e s a t y a q r a h i e s a t t h r n o r t h e r n s i d e

then. On December 3, 1931, Unnikr ishanan an i ~ n t o u c h a b l e c a s t e

m e m b e r aged twelve was c r u e l l y b e a t e n by a savarna c a r d r i v e r . 50

Unnikri.shnan was one o f t h e s a tyaq raha v o l u n t e e r s o f t h e ba t ch

t iming 9.30 abm. t o 12.30 a.m. a t t h e e a s t e r n ga te . H e accep ted

48. i b i d , 9, 218,Decomher 4 , 1931, P.3. - 49. i b i d -4

50. i s , 9 , 22n, December 6, 1931, P.5.

t h e blow wi th a smi le , b u t d i d n n t move from hi.s seat.

'Mathnubhumi' wrote about i t i n i t s e d i t o r i a l t h a t , t h e c h i l d

has g o t t h e d i s t i n c t i o n of beinq f i r s t l y bea t en i n t h i s

s a tyag rah , a l though t h a t c h j l d was born i n an avarna community

which was cons idered by t h e s a v = r n a s a s untouchable , t h a t

c h i l d e x h i b i t e d much m 6 r e p a t i e n c e and wor ld ly s e n s e a t a

t e n d e r age than t h o s e o f t h e advanced sava rnas s e n i o r i n age

and p o s i t i o n . 5 1

The v o l u n t e e r s observed s a t y a g r a h a on December 10, i n heavy

r a i n and cool. 5 2 On December 21. Sr i .P . Krishan Pillai w a s

c r u e l l y punished by t h e templ e s ~ r v a n t s . 5 3

The reason w a s

t h a t S r j . P i l l a i e n t e r e d j n t o t h e templ e and rang t h e b e l l soon

a f t e r t h e Deeparadhana (evening p u i a wit)) o i l lamps and camphor

1 amps ). 54 Soon one N a i r came t o b e a t him and o t h e r s a l s o b e a t

him and pu l l ed him o u t of t h e temple. S r j . P i l l a m e t t h e a t t a c k

by say ing t h a t he had no complaint by g e t f i n o blow from a

Nair . The same i n c i d e n t was r e p e a t e d on t h e n e x t day and a t

t h i s ti-me, h e was p u l l e d o u t o f t h e temde and den ied t o e n t e r

t h e temple by t h e temple s e r v a n t s ; soon hp made a p i c k e t there .

52. i-, 9, 72, December 15, 1931, P.3. I t is s t a t e d i b t h e 'Da i ly R a i n f a l l Recorded i n t h e Madras p re s idency f o r t h e month of Dec~mher 1931 t , Trip f o r t . St.Genrge G a ~ e t t e , supplement t o Pt.11, da t ed March 15, 1932, P.1138-that t o t a l number o f r a i n y days i n t h e month w e r e two days and h e a v i e s t r a i n f a l J d u r i v q t \e month recorded as 1.68 a t c h o ~ ~ g h s t s t a t i o n i n t h - Ma1 a b a r d i s t r i c t .

53. u, 9, 236, December 25, 1931, P.5.

54. The r i n g i n g oF t h e bells i n t h e temples was o n l y t h e monopoly of brahmins du r i P? t h i s time.

He s topped h i s p i c k e t t h e r e by t h e r e q u e s t of Devaswom A s s i s t a n t

Manager who arranqed t o inform th1.s ~ a t t e r t o Zamorin. 5 5

On December 26, 1931, about 20 un touchable c a s t e m e m b e r s

g o t down and took hathe i.n t . h ~ wes te rn Chi r a (tankt: w i t h o u t

any o l l s t ~ c l e . 56 They went up t o t.he b a r r i c a d e o f eastern

Gopuram f o r p r a y e r and r e t j r e d from t h e r e . From t h i s day

onwards, some o f t h e Hindr~s i nc l udl nq v a r j o u s c a s t e s made i t a

r o u t j n e h a b i t t o g e t down t h e wes te rn Ch i r a and b a t h e t h e r e

w i thou t any h i t c h . A t t h i s time, t h e then Zamorln R a j a d i e d

and t h e co rona t ion o f new Zamorin Raja neared and t h e a m o r i n

dec ided t o come i n t o Meenchanda Kovi 1 akam a f t e r t a k i n g this

co rona t ion a t Kot takka l Kovilakam. About hundreds of p u b l i c

pop le removed t h e barhed w i r e h a r r j c a d e s a t t h e temple nadas

excep t t h e no r the rn nada, ~ e a c e f u l ly, i n t h e a f t e rnoon on

December 28. 57 A s a r e s u l t , all. harl flccess up t o t h e nadas o f

t e m p l ~ on t h r e e s l d r s and t h u s +.here was a chanfle j n t h e atmosphere

o f Gl~ruvayoor temple. T ~ P western Gopuram was c l o s e d s i n c e

? f t e r noon.

There was a cruel . i n c i d e n t On December 28. 58 Sa tyag raha

was postponed from a f t e r n o o n t o 6 p.m., f o r c e l e b r a t i n g t h e

day when Mahatma Gandhi came by s h j p a t Bombay. A r e l l y

p roces s ion from t h e camp went a t 3 . 3 0 p.m., t h e r a l l y marched

55. The Mathrubhumi News Dai ly , 9, 237, December 27, 1931, P.4. -

5 6 . i b i d . - 57. m, 9, 240 Deccmber 31, 1931, P.4.

5R. w.

t o sur rounding p l a c e s and r~;(chpCj Guri~vflyoor: he ld a pub1 i c

meetjng t h e r e . A f t e r wards +hey went t o observe sa tyagraha .

A t t h i s t j . m ~ , whpn t h ~ y march-d t o 017serve sa tyag raha , some

temple s e r v a n t s unexpec ted ly poked Mr-Gopalan i n s i d e t h e

b a r r i c a d e : som? surrounded him whi l e some othodox devo tees

p u l l e d him dotin, some m e m b e r s o f p a t t a r and ~ a ' k communities

had smited him down and thrown hjm o u t s i d e o f t h e temple ga te .

H e was t o o t i r e d by t h l s a t t a c k , even t o s t a n d b e f o r e t h e g a t e

till t h e s a tyag raha t j m e was over. A f t e r t h e s a t y a g r a h a

he was qiven medical t r e a t m e n t s and he was n o t w e l l even to

do h i s r o u t i n e works i n t h e A s h r a ~ . The p o l i c e c o n s t a b l e s d id

n o t t a k e any a c t i o n on s e e i n a t h e s e i n c i d e n t s . This inc i .den t

provoked t h e p u b l i c people b u t t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s asked them

t o he peacefu l . A march o f t h e v o l u n t e e r s from t h e camp ,

circumambulated t h e temple on t h e nex t day t o r e s e n t agaGi t

t h e c rue l i n c i d e n t and h e l d : ,a p u b l i c meet ing near t h e eastern

nada o f Guruvayoor temple.

Closj ng o f temple

A t t h i s t i m e , t h e n e w Zamorin Raja o rde red t h e Devaswom

Manaqer, t o make arran-ements f o r informirig him i f any a t t e m p t s

from t h e untouchables have taken p l a c e , t o e n t e r t h e temples;

and h e l p him f o r keepinq t h e a n c i e n t customs. 59 On December 31,

t h e r e was a sudden chanqe i n the atmosphere o f Guruvayoor temple.

On t h e e v e n i n g the t-emple q t a r d s d i d n o t p r e v e n t t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s

who had gone u p t o t h e Gopurams s i n c e t h e Gopurams were c l o s e d

by t h e a u t h o r i t jes.60 T h i s a c t i o n of a u t h o r i t i e s created

obstacles f o r o r d j n a r y d e v o t e e s t n t e m p l e and t h e r e w a s no p o o j a

s i n c e t h i s t i m e i n t h e temple . The main r e a s o n f o r t h e

c l o s i n q o f t he temple was t h a t t h e Devaswom manager t e l e g r a m e d

t h e Zamorin t h a t t h e n o n - s a t y a q r a h i u n t o u c h a b l e s were a t t e m p t i n g

t o e n t e r t h e temple . The zamor in r e p l i e d b y t e l e g r a m t o c l o s e

t h e temp1 e g a t e s till f u r t h e r o r d e r . 6 2 Probab ly , t h e Zam6rin

bacame a f r a i d on b e i n g . informed a b o u t t h i s by t h e Devaswom

manaqer: b u t Kelappan p r c m i s e d hfm t h a t t h e p u b l i c p e o p l e

would n e v e r b r i n g force t o e n t e r the temple. 63 A f t e r t h e close

o f t e m p l e t h e s a t y a q r a h i e s d i d P r a d a k s h l n a s ( C i r c u m b u l a t i o n )

w i t h Bhajanas: s u r r o u n d e d t h e temple u p t o 9. p.m. and c o n t i n u e d

t o make Rha janas Wi th p r a d a k s h i n a s e v e r y day u p t o i t s open ing .

They a l s o observed s a t y a g r a h a a t e a s t e r n and w e s t e r n Gopurams

u p t o J a n u a r y 28.

60. i&d, 9, 242, J a n u a r y 2, 1932, P . 4 .

61. Mat',rl~bhumi News d a i l , 9, 258, January 22, 1932, P.5- o n e r e p o r t e r r n d t h a t t h e p a l payasam Njvcdyam ( a k i n d of p r e p a r a t i o n w i t h rice, m j l k and s u q a r b a i l e d ) - a f n v o u r i t e - N i v e d y a m t o G o d Sree K r i s h n a in t h e Guruvayoor t e m p l e w-s t h e n r e g u l a r 1 y p e r f mrminq i n t h e pandamanqal am V i shnu t e m p l e a t K o t t a k k a l by t h e b e h e s t of Zamorin a t t h e t i m e of t e m p l e w a s c l o s e d .

62, i h i d , - 9, 243, J a n u ~ r y 3, 1932, P.6.

63. i b i d -* ' g a k 4 ~ a n u a r ~ I 7, 1932, P.8 .

SPTYAGRAHA ON TTlF THIRD MOVT!3 APrT) TTI" O R I G T N OF GURUVAYOOR

KSHRTRn ';ATYAGR hi-1A COMPITTTFE

J a n u a t y 1, w a s observed a s temple e n t r y s a t y a g r a h a day i n

Kera la a s u sua l wj th p u b l i c meetings a t v a r i o u s p l a e e s . On t h e

a f t e rnoon of January 5 t h , a r a l l y march w i t h dark f l a g s : from

t h e carrp w e n t t o resent a q a i n s t t h e arrest of Mahatma Gandhi

and S a r d a r p a t e l ; t h e r a l l y surrorlnded t h e ne i~ghbo l~ r ing p l a c e s

and ret.nrned t o Gllruvayonr e a s t e r n nada f o r ho ld ing p u b l i c

meeting. 64 Mr.A.K. G6paLan a1 s o p a r t i c i p a t e d 4.n t h i s meet ing

whlch was h i s f i r s t appearance i n r e q a r d t o s a t y a g r a h a a f t e r

t h e s e v e r e a t t a c k on him from t h e tomy1 e sp rvan t s . A s i n t h e

c a s e of r a l l y , s a t y a g r a h a w a s n o t observed i n t h e a f t e r n o o n o f

t h a t day.

A t t h l s time, I n d i a n Nqt ional Congress had become an

i l l e q ? ] committee. So t h e Kera la Congress Sa tyagraha Committee

under t h e ausp ices cf p r o v i n c i a l Kera la Conqress Committee w a s

d i smissed a t a p u b l i c meet?nq h e l d on January 6 , 1932 a t

Gr~ruvayoor. " "i new commi t t p p w a s appoi-ntpd wi th twelve members

known as G~iruvayoor Kshe t r a Sa tyagraha Cornmitk5e t o proceed

t h e s a t y a ~ r a h a w i t h o u t break. On J anua ry 7, A.K. Gopalan,

K. N. Kunhikrishnan and N.P. Damodaran w e r e a r r e s t e d because

they 1 e c t u r e d a t t h e p u b l i c mcetj.nq p r o t e s t i n g a g a i n s t t h e

64. - Jhid, 9, 216, January R, 1932, P.4.

65. j b i d , - 66. im 9, 249, Janllary 12, 1032, P.7.

67, i h l d , 0, 262 , Janusry 27, 1932, P.4. -

a r r e s t of Mahatma Gandhi s i n c e t h e y worked accord ing t o t h e

wishes nf t h e annul led Kera la Conqress Committee t h e i r a c t w a s

cons jde red 1 ~ s ~ - m a g j c s t i e . They were punished f o r s i x months

s e v e r e imprisonment. Smt.P.M.Kamalavati Anmah was appo in t ed

t o t h e p o s t of L d p k n i n , i n t h e absence o f A.K. Gopalan f o r

t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n nf sa tvagraha . 66

Mr.Kelappan humbly e n t r e a t e d t h e Zamorln Raja t o throw

open t h e Guruvayoor temple f o r a l l c l a s s e s of Hindus. %lappan

argued t h a t t h e Zamorin h a s a1 l t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s t han o t h e r s

i n Kera la to throw o?en t h e temples t o untouchabl.es, i f h e

wishes t o remove t.he S v i l p r a c t i c e s l i k e p o l l u t i o n i n Kerala. 67

So t h a t i.f he opens t h e G ~ ~ r u v a y o o r temple, o t h e r temples a l s o

would f o l l o w t h e model o f Zamorin by which a c t i o n , P o l l u t i o n

might b e wiped o u t from K e r a l a . Kelappan also r eques t ed him

t o use t h i s opnortuni t y f n r h r e a k j n ~ down t h e s l a v i s h f e a t u r e

o f un touchables and.preserve w i t h its immemorial f e a t u r e .

Opening of t h e temple

On January 2R, 1932, a t 5.30 a.m., Guruvayoor t e m p l & w a s

reopened a f t e r c l o s i n g f o r abollt a month ( 2 8 days) . 68 The

worship and tpmple rj tes were aga in s t a r t e d . The temple guards

a g a i n s t a r t e d t o p r e v e n t t h e s s t y a q r a h i e s mr~ch n e a r e r t o t h e

temple than t h p former 71 ace. 69 The o h s ~ r v a n c e of s a tyag raha .

66 . i b i d , 9, 249, Janua ry 17, 1932, P.7. - 67. m, 9, 2 6 2 , January, 27, 1932, P.l.

6R. I x d , 9, 265, Jantlary 30, 3932, P.5.

69. m, 9, 264, Janu2ry 29, 1932, P.3.

began a t t h ~ f o u r n a t e s a s ~ i sua ! . On 2 January, 29, S a t h y a g r a h a

began a t 4. a.m., and an i n c i d e n t t o o k p l - c e a t t h a t t i m e . 7 0

A t t h i s t i m e some aatives came t o p a s s t h r o u q h t h e w e s t e r n

Gopuram, and s t o o d a s i d e t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s f o r e n t e r j n g i n t o

t h e temp1 e. Then t h e 1 e g a l a u t h o r i t i p s r:anle t h e r e and ordered

the v e l u n t e e r s t o move a s i d e : b u t t h e y d i d n o t move: so t h e

t w o v o l u n t e e r s were a r r e s t e d by t h e p o l i ce. Then v n l u n t e e r l ,

c a p t a i n s e n t a n o t h e r two v o l u n t e e r s t h e r e . The circle I n s p e c t o r

ca l l t=d v o l u n t e e r c a p t a i n Smt.Kamalavat.hi Ammah f o r an i n t e r v i e w

t o se t t h e m a t t e r s r i q h t . A f t e r t h e i n t e r v i e w , t h e t w o arrested

v o l u n t e e r s w e r ? a c q u j e d w i t h i n Few r n i n r ~ t e s . They came to s t a n d

i n t h e i r f o r m e r p o s i t i o n . !.li t h t h e s e i n c j d e n t s t h e t h i r d

month nf t h e s a t v a q r a h a was over.

Febr l l a ry 1, was c e l e b r a t e d a s t e m p l e e n t r y ~ a t y a g r a h a ~ d a y

i n K e r a l a , b y h o l d i n g r o u t e marches and p u b l i c m e e t i n g s a t

v a r i o u s p l a c ~ s . I n t h e Ashram a l s o s a t y 7 g r a h a d a y w a s o b s e r v e d

w i t h r o r ~ t e march i n t h e s u r r o u n d i n g p l a c e s and p u b l i c m e e t i n g

w i t h t h e s p e e c h o f K.Kel a p ~ a n . Abollt F e b r u a r y 1st onwards ,

Government p r o c l ai.m-d t h e 5 t h o r d i n a n c e o f 1932 which p r e v e n t e d

t h e o b s e r v a n c e o f S a t y a q r a h a v i t h i n 50 y e a r d s from t h e Gopuram. 7 1

70. iu, 9, 267, Febru&ry 2, 1932 , P.8.

72. i b i d , 9 , 269, F e b r u a r y , d , 1932, P . 3 . -

Thi s o rd inance a f f e c t e d o n l y t ' w s a t y a q r a h i ~ s and n o t t h e p u b l i c

people . T h i s o rd inance was c r e a t e d on1 y t o p r e v e n t t h e p o l i t i c a l

s t r u g g l e towards Government. So Kelapnan argued through t h e

'Mathrubhumis news pape r t h a t a r e l i 7 i o n s matter, t h e temple

ent.ry sa tyaqrnha would not. f a l l w i t h i n t h e purview o f t h e

ordinance. 7 2 To p r e v e n t t h e s a t y a g r a h a through t h i s o rd inance

by t h e Government was nnr l i s t a t any r a t e . The impos i t i on o f t h e

o rd inance upon t h e s a t y a g r a h j e s r e v e a l s t h a t t h e Government

w i th t h e i r p o l i c e can suppres s t h e a t t e m p t s o f un touchables

t o e n t e r t h e temples.

The s a tyag raha con t i niled a s i ~ s u a l peacecul l y b u t &e

temple temple guards o f t e n r e s o r t e d t o pushing and p u l l i n g

s a t h y a g r a h l e s by b e r a t i n g them. A s a r e s u l t o f t h e above . P x

s a i d arguernent o f Kelappan about t h e i r n p o s i t i o n g E ~ ~ 5 k h o r d l n a n c e

o f 1932 upnn t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s , on Febriiary 13, 1932, Mr.T.B.Russa1

t h e new Col l ector summoned t h e temp1 e ? ~ i t h o r j t ies and sa tyag raha

a u t h o r i t i e s fvr disci lssJ ng abotit t h e 5 t h ord inance of 1932: and

i t r e s u l t e d i n t h e rpmoval o f t h ~ 5 t h ord inance of 1932.by

t h e d e c i s j o n o f C o l l e c t o r b e c a i ~ s e o f i t s unproper n a t u r e to

p r ~ v e n t t h e sa tyaqraha . 73 So j t would n o t be a crime a f t e r

t h i s d i s c u s s i o n t h a t t o ohserve t h e y t y a g r a h a n e a r t h e temple

72. i b i d . - 73. m, 9, 279, February 16, 1932, P.5.

71. i a d , 9, 289, February 27, 1932, P.4.

walls and t h e p o l l e e shou ld n o t p r e v e n t t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s .

Frnm F e b r ~ i a r y 10 onv~ards, t h r pub1 ic prop1 e h e w n t o walk

a long t h e road which was forh jdden t o them b e f c r e . B u t t h e

guards p u l l e d back t h e s a t y a q r a h i a s day by day. Some p u r i p i c a t o r y

ceremonies were s t a r t e d i n t h e temple due t o p o l l u t i o n by

s a t y a g r a h i e s . 74 The nroblem of e n q u i r y abou t Guruvayoor

temple roads a s p u b l i c roads , began i n t h e sub -d iv i s iona l

M a g i s t r a t e Cour t o f Pa lgha t . A f t e r an e n q u i r y t h e sub-divisional

M a g i a t r a t e passed an o r d e r p r o h i b i t i n q t h e lower c a s t e s from

u s i n g t h e Northern s e c t i o n o f t h e road. 75 On February 25

onwards, t h e s a t v a o r a h i e s were prevented frnm 100 to 120 y a t d s

away from western nada. 76 A t t h e t ime of A r a t t u f e s t f v a l i n

n i q h t two v o l u n t e e r s jn t h e n o r t h nada were fo rced t o t a k e

back t n 120 yea rds and a f t e r t h e end nf Ara t t l i t h e y were re taken

to the1 r former pos j tion. The eas t nada sa tvaq rah i e s a l s o w e r e

p revented f a r awav from 120 yeards from t h e temple Gopuram.

Thus t h e guards made many d i s t u r b a n c e s t ova rds t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s .

74. i b i d , 9 , 289, February 27, 1932, P.4. - 75. I n t h e High Cour t o f Jud jca t r l r e a t Madras, Order

Crl.Revn. Case No.291 o f 1932,P.4.

76. The Mathr~ibhumi News Dai ly ,9 , 291, Match 1, 1932, P.3.

March 1, w a s c e l e b r a t e d a s temple e n t r y s a tyag raha day wi th

u sua l ce l e h r a t i o n s and rwte marches. A meet ing was h e l d a t

Guruvayoor i n reqard t o t h e temple e n t r y day of March 1. One

of t h e p o i n t sa:d by Kelappan through a l e c t . , r e i n t h i s m e e t i n q

1' w a s t h a t t h e theenda l c a s t e s were n r e v ~ n t e d two f u r l o n g s from +

I

approaching t h e temple f o r worship: b u t t h e money g iven hy

t h e untouchabl e castes w a s taken i q k - 0 t h e temp1 e by t h e

brahmins wi thout any p o l l u t i o n f e r making g r a n t f e a s t s for t h e

e n j o - p e n t of hrahmins and o p t j m i s t i c a l l y procla imed t h a t

77 The rnuti-no works i n t h e s a t v a o r a h a !.!auld b e a success.

s a tyag raha Ashram and t h e l e b u r e c l a s s e s nf ~ r i . ~ a r a y a n a n

moosath wi th t h e adv ice basod on BhagavQt G i t a w a s go ing on

r egu la r ly . 78 The v o l ~ ~ n t e e r team f o r t h - propaganda work of

temple e n t r y s a tyag raha made 1 e c tUr~s a t vaikom and pu thuka t tu ..

kunnu temple premlses a t S h e r t a l l y , A l leppy, and some o t h e r

p l a c e s i n Travencore on March 1 2 t o 1 5 and c o l l e c t e d s a t y a g r a h a

fund from t h e re. 79 The Ernaktllam branch of t h e Ta ta company

c o n t r i b r ~ t e d 25 r a t h a l soay, and one t i n o f c o c o a ~ u t o i l as

monthly c o n t r i b u t i o n s to tho Ashram. R n

77. i x d , 9, 2 9 5 , March 5, 19.32, P.2.

78. i L d , 9 , 303, March 16, 1972, P.5.

79. i b i d 10, 1 March, 1 1932, P.7. -8

80. w, 10, 4 1 March 22 , 1 0 7 2 , P.4.

From t h i s month onwards, t.he templ P q11ards p reven ted t h e

v o l ~ ~ n t e e r s from dninn sa tyao raha a t u sua l p l a c e which l i k e d

and cnmmoued t h e s a t y a g r a h i es. S(' t h o sa tyag rah i e s d i d t h e i r

s a tyaq raha dr1t.y from t h e f o r b i d d i n g n l ace . On march 24 th

one v o l u n t e e r who observed sa tyag raha i n t h e n o r t h nada w a s

bea t en by t h e gusrds d rama t i ca l ly . 81 Because t h e v o l u n t e e r

went n e a r t h e Qepuram when t h e gl.lards were s l e e p i n g and

a f t e r t h e a t t a c k ho had taken medlclne. The s a t y a g r a h i e s

performed t h e s a t y a g r a h a duty a t t h e forenoon s e s s i o n on e 2

March 25, by s t a n d i n ? even i n a e r a i n . ,

A p r i l , 1st was observed a s temple e n t r y s a t y a g r a h a day

wi th u s u a l ceremonjes a t v a r i o u s p l a c e s and i n t h e Ashram,

r o u t e march and p u b l i c meet ings were h e l d f o r Yeques t ing temple

e n t r y t o untouchables . I n h i s l e c t u r e i n t h i s p u b l i c meetjng,

Mr.Kelappan nuoted t h e census accounts o f 1901 f o r making a

s e n s e amona t h e peop le abou t t h e popu la t ion s t r ~ n g t h o f t h e

untouchable c a s t e s . 83 A s a r e s u l t o f P a l g h a t Sub-Divtsional

Magj s t r a t e ' s o r d e r on A p r i l 5, onwards, t h e templ e guards .prevented

t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s b e f o r e t h e Gopurams and on t h e no r th , t h e n o r t h

eastern c o r n e r o f t h e n o r t h nada. Mr.Kelappan aga in wro te a n

open l e t t e r t o t h e Zamorin, r e q u e s t i n g him t o pe rmi t t h e fundamental

81. i b i d , 10, 7, March 25, 1932, P.5- - 82. i h i d , ln,10, March 29 , 1932, P.2' - R3.ibid, 10, 18, A - r i l 7, 1972, P.2. -

r i g h t s o f untouchables f o r worship i n t h e temple. A 4 The devotees

were provoked by t h e actj.on of templp guards who made o b s t a c l e s

a t t h e east .arn and wes te rn Gopurams and a t t h e narrow p a t h

f o r t h e devotees t n e n t e r i n t o t h e temple. On A p r i l 7, some

N a i r s e n t e r e d i n t o t h e temple w i t h i n the e a s t e r n Gopl~ram and

r a n g t h e b e l l : wa%ted prasadam i n t o t h e i r hands; t h e San th ika ran

gave it t o t h e i r hands. 85 A s a r e s u l t on A p r i l 9 , t h e e a s t e r n

and w e s t e r n Goprlrams o f t h e temple were closed. 86 On t h e

a f t e r n o o n o f t h a t day abou t hundreds o f untouchables i n c l u d i n g

p u l a y e r s and p a r a y e r s came up t o t h e e a s t e r n and wes t e rn

Gopurams f o r worship and s f t e r it l e f t t h e temple. S a t y a p a h a

cont inued a s u sua l on t h r e e s i d e s fr-m 3.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m.

and 4.p.m. t o 10 p.m. On A p r i l 24, t h e c h i l d r e n o f Sradhaflanda

Vidyalaya a t Payyol i had taken an impor t an t role t o ohse rve

t h e sa tyagraha . The aua rds d j d n o t p e r m i t t o l i g h t t h e

camphor lamp of s a t y a g r a h i r * ~ a t t h e f l o o r o f Gopuram a t t h e t i m e

o f u sua l Bhajan o f t h e S a t y a f l r a h i ~ s ,

84. i b i d , 10, l o , A p r i l 8, 1932, P.2, - RS. i b i d , 10, 21, A p r i l 10, 1932, P.4. - 8 6 . i b i d , 10, 22, A p r i l 12, 1972, P.3. -

May 1, was o b s e r v ~ d a s templr e n t r y s a tyag raha day w i t h

r o u t e marches and publ i c meet inns a t v a r i o u s pl aces i n Keral a,

i n c l u d i n g t h ~ sa tyag raha Ashram. A t t h i s t ime Mr.Kel appan

dec ided t o fnrm t h e p u b l i c op jn ion aboiit temple e n t r y m a t t e r

and appoi nted s o m ~ mpmbers f o r t h e nropaganda work. Sa tyag raha

cont inued a s usual on t h r p ~ s i d e s of t h e temple and t h e guards

cont inued t o com-move' t h - s a t y a g r a h i ~ s . 'Mathmbhumi' D k i l y

wrote i n i ts e d i t o r i a l on May 16, 1912Zhat i f temples a r e t h e

o b s t a c l e s f o r t h ~ development 6 nlan i n futur( , , t h e temples

vould f?13 down: s o i t i s e e s e n t i a l t o open t h e temples t o t h e

c l a iman t s f r r t h e e x i s t e n c p cf t -nn les . 87 The Propaaanda work

f o r n~ ib l i c on j n j on ended wi th a publ i c moeti n n he ld a t Nenmara

o n May 25. 88

June 1, was obs-rved a s temple-entry s a tyag raha day a l l

o v e r Kerala. O n June 22, A.K. Gopalan, N.P. Damodaran and K.V.Kunhi

Krishnan came t o t h e camp from ji1j I a f t e r t h e i r imprj sonment. R 9

A t t h i s t ime t h e judgement about t h e Guruvayoor temple roads

from t h e Madras High C r u r t i n mod1 f i c a t l on of t h e P a l g h a t

Si~b-Divis ional M a g i s t r a t e o rde r , came. The o r d e r s a y s t h a t so

f a r a s t h e ot-hpr roads (The o r d e r o f P a l g h a t M 3 g i s t r a t e w a s

87. i h i d , 10, 4 R , May 14, 1972, p.4 - 88. i 3 i d - 8 I n , 61, May 31, 1972, p.8

89. w, 10, 8 3 , J ~ l n e 25, 1 9 3 2 , P.3.

confirmed i n t h e c a s ~ cf nor thorn s e c t i o n ) a r e c o n c ~ r n e d , t h e

lower c a s t e s a r e p roh ib i t e d f mri i~s :nq t.hem excep t ( a ) on t h e

annual. Ekadasi festi.Wal day and ( 2 ) when they a r e i n v i t e d

e i t h e r by t h e temple a u t h o r i t i e s o r by t h e r e s i d e n t s o f houses

and t h e temnle f o r purposes i n c i d e n t a l t o t h e iise of t h e houses

o r temple, t h a t i s f o r repa iys , p luck ing of coccanuts , t r e a t m e n t

o f ? a t i e n t s e t c . T h i s o r d e r ran? a great. achievement i n t h e

removal o f ~ d o u c h a b i 1 i t y . M r . Kel apnan wrote an open l e t t e r

to t h e Zamorin Raja t h rouah t h e Mathrrlbhumi N e w s D a i l y by

s a y i n q t h a t Zamorjn has n o t obeyed t h e pr~bl jc op in ion i n

reqard t o t h e temple e n t r y freedom of ! ower c a s t e Hindus. 91

J u l y 1, was observed a s temple s a tyag raha day i n Kerla.

On t h e morning of J u l y 7, t h e v o l u n t e e r s who observed

sat.yaqraha &t t h e wes te rn Gopuram, t u rned t o t h e temple i n t h e

absence of glisrds and prayed t o t h e God: so t h e temple became

pol 1 ut.ed and was p1.11-l f J ed w i t h punyaham ( s p r a y of s a c r e d w a t e r ) . 9 2

On J u l y 16 ( ~ a r k i t a k a ~ ) t h e s a t y a g r a h i PS a1 so observed w i t h

Rhajan a s a spec ia l . pro9rarnme. i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e u s u a l . evening Bhajanas. On t h e morning of J u l y 26, t h e s a t y a g r a h i e s

90. I n t h e High Cour t o f ~ u d i c a t i ~ r e a t Madras, Order crl. Revn.case No.291 of 1932 ,da ted 14.6.1932, P.24.

91. The Mathrubhumi N e w s Da i ly , 10, 77, June 5, 1932, p.3.

92: m a , i n , g ~ , J U I V 13, 1932, p.7.

o f e a s t e r n Gopuram, w e r e c r l l e l l y b e a t e n by t h e gua rds : b e c a u s e

t h e s a t y a a r a h i e s a t t e m p t e d t o en te r i n t o t.he t e m n l e i n t h e

a b s e n c e o f q u a r d s who had d r a m a t i c a l l y d i s a p p e a r e d f rom t h e

s c e n e t h e n . 93 D l ~ r i n q t h e J u l y month a r e g u a l r H i n d i s t u d y

c l a s s was opened i n t h e Ashram and Sri.M. Nara.yana Menon w a s t h e

t e a c h e r . 9 4

Auqus t 1, was a l so o b s e r v e d as t e m p l e e n t r y s a t y a g r a h a

d a y a l l over K e r a l a w i t h u s u a l programmes. On t h e e v e n i n g o f

A u g u s t 2, a t t h e t j m e of P r a d a k s h i n a ( c i r c u m b u l a t l o n ) o f t h e

Bha jana team, s o m e o n e t h r e w a b a s a l t among t h e Bha iana t eam

f rom w i t h i n t h e t e m p l e w a l l s . 95 The basal t f e l l o n the

head nf Mr.S. Va-udevan, h u r t h i s head and b l o o d g u s s e d . Thus

m i g h t h e v e heen a c r e u e l a c t j o n of t h e t e m p l e servants. From

Augus t 2nd onwards B h a j a n a c o n t i n u p d t w o t imes-morning and

e v e n j n g . S a t y a g r a h a w a s o b s ~ r v ~ ~ d a t f i v e p l a c e s i n s p f t e of

t h r e e s i d e s , f n c l u d i n g t h e w e s t e r n and n o r t h e r n p a t h s g o i n g

t o t h e temple . 96 On A u q u s t 4, t h e e a s t e r n Gopuram w a s opened. 9 7

Thus t h e temple e n t r y Sa tva f l r aha c o v e r e d t e n months w i t h Borne

progress aga i n s t u n t o u c h a b i l i t y .

93. ii.. 10, 112, J u l y 29, 1932, P.4.

94. i b i d , - 10, 118, Augus t 5, 19'2, P.7.

95. i b i d , - 10, 117, A u q u s t 4, 1932, P.5

96. - ibjd, 10, 118, Auous t 5, 1932, P.6

97. i h i d . -

The marked p r o a r e s s of sa ty2graha f a i l e d t o make any

v j b r a t i o n o r movement of a s t e p from the sicle,af t h e Zamorin.

Hl.s wjshes were to p r e s e r v e t h e o l d customary usages i n

Kerala . I t might have heen t h e f e a r of l o s i n g h i s a u t h o r i t y

o v e r t h e temples. A f t e r Malabar came under Br i . t i sh Supremacy

h i s d u t y , m i g h t havs been t o 1.ook a f t e r t h e domest ic and

r e l t q ious m a t t e r s f o r t h e smooth workl ng~of cas te i sm,

because he was n o t an undducated man. He had a profund knowledge

abou t l e g a l a£ f a i r s . So it is a wonderful s t igma why he

f e a r e d to a c c e p t t h e npw t u r n i n g s of soc j . e ty f o r t h e w e l f a r e

o f t h e whole Hlndu comnuni-ty by a i v j n g a hand t o r a i s e t h e

down-trodden un touchable communities. During t h i s t i m e ,

n o t o n l y t h e h i s t o r i . a n s and ~ e o p l e o f Kera l a b u t a l s o t h e

whole o f f u t u r e Bharata wai ted i m p a t i e n t l y t o know t h e

conculs ion of t h i s peaceru l s t r u q g l a a t Guruvayoor between

two majour forces b u t d i f Fe ren t i n nowers.