While history remembers the movement’s iconic leaders, countless unnamed Dalit and backward-caste protestors who endured arrests, violence, and social ostracisation have largely faded from public memory.
Published Mar 12, 2025 | 7:14 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 16, 2025 | 6:07 PM
An illustration of Vaikom Satyagraha movement courtesy: Information and Public Relations Department, Kerala
Synopsis: The Vaikom Satyagraha, a 603-day-long civil rights movement in early 20th-century Kerala, was a historic struggle against caste discrimination, challenging the rigid hierarchies in the then Kingdom of Travancore. While the movement’s prominent leaders are well remembered, the thousands of ordinary protestors who endured arrests, brutal repression, and violence have more or less been forgotten. To honour their sacrifices, the Kerala State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publications has released Vaikom Satyagraham Vijnanakosham, an encyclopaedia dedicated to preserving the legacy of these forgotten heroes.
Over a century ago, an extraordinary battle for dignity and equality unfolded on the streets of Vaikom, in present-day Kottayam, Kerala.
What began as a simple demand – the right of lower-caste Hindus to walk freely on temple roads – soon evolved into a 603-day-long civil rights movement that challenged the entrenched caste hierarchies of the princely state of Travancore.
This historic movement, now known as the Vaikom Satyagraha, was one of the earliest organised struggles against caste discrimination in India.
It was a direct challenge to untouchability, a system so rigid that lower-caste individuals were barred from accessing roads near the revered Vaikom Mahadeva Temple, their presence deemed “polluting” by the upper-caste elite.
Vaikom Satyagraham Vijnanakosham
A formidable coalition of reformers and national leaders, such as MK Gandhi, E V Ramasamy (Periyar), Sree Narayana Guru, TK Madhavan, KP Kesava Menon, Mannath Padmanabhan, and K Kelappan, led the satyagraha.
The movement saw mass arrests, brutal crackdowns, and unyielding perseverance from thousands of ordinary people who risked everything for justice. While history remembers the movement’s iconic leaders, countless unnamed Dalit and backward-caste protestors who endured arrests, violence, and social ostracisation have largely faded from public memory.
To reclaim their stories and honour their sacrifices, the Kerala State Institute of Encyclopaedic Publications (SIEP) has published Vaikom Satyagraham Vijnanakosham, an encyclopaedia dedicated to reviving the legacy of these unsung heroes.
By bringing their names and narratives back into the public consciousness, this initiative serves as a reminder that the fight for equality was not waged by leaders alone, but also by ordinary individuals whose courage reshaped history.
Pratyushachandran M, editor of the encyclopaedia, described the challenge to South First:
“Compiling this encyclopaedia was formidable. As SIEP’s first-ever event-specific encyclopaedia, we aimed for unprecedented comprehensiveness. We delved deeply into the lives of unsung contributors, retracing their stories through archival records and family histories. This meticulous research brought their sacrifices back to life, making the encyclopaedia a holistic account of the Vaikom Satyagraha.”
The encyclopaedia details many remarkable individuals who willingly sacrificed their lives and liberties in the quest for social equity.
Among them were three key satyagrahis—Chathan Kunjappi, Bahuleyan, and Govindha Panicker—who, dressed simply in khadi and adorned with flower garlands, stepped onto a forbidden temple road on 30 March 1924, fully aware of the severe consequences awaiting them.
Kunjappi
Police immediately arrested them, sentencing each to six months in Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail, marking the official start of the satyagraha.
Chathan Kunjappi, from the Pulaya community, was a humble man from Mannar in Alappuzha, then in his fifties.
Bahuleyan, from the Ezhava community, was a resident of Thamaraparambu in Fort Kochi. Little is known about the two beyond these sparse details, yet both remained steadfast in their commitment to the cause until the very end.
Govindha Panicker, the youngest of the three, was just 25 years old. A Nair from Mannar, Alappuzha, he later became a prominent Congress leader and founder of Chennithala Mahatma High School. Despite alienation from his privileged caste, he remained committed to eradicating untouchability throughout his life.
Among the many individuals detailed in Vaikom Satyagraham Vijnanakosham, two stand out for their extraordinary sacrifices: Aamachadi Thevan and Chittedath Shankupillai.
Govinda Panicker
Thevan, a Dalit leader from Poothotta in Ernakulam, endured horrific torture. Upper-caste assailants blinded him using a mixture of quicklime and natural gum.
Before joining the Vaikom Satyagraha, Thevan had already participated in a protest at the Poothotta Sree Krishna Swamy Temple alongside TK Madhavan, who had moved a resolution for the eradication of untouchability at the Kakinada Session of the Indian National Congress.
The protest, known as the Poothotta Case, led to Thevan’s imprisonment. But that did not deter him from joining the Vaikom movement. Despite his suffering, his courage never wavered.
Chittedath Shankupillai, from a wealthy Nair background, rejected his caste privilege to serve as a volunteer captain, responsible for supplying food to protesters. He was brutally beaten by upper-caste assailants and succumbed to his injuries at just 38 years old.
His sacrifice was later honoured by MK Gandhi.
Like Govindha Panicker and Chittedath Shankupillai, many others renounced personal wealth and privilege for the cause of social justice.
Aamachadi Thevan
P W Sebastian and Raman Elayath, both from privileged backgrounds, defied the rigid caste hierarchy of their time to stand with the oppressed.
Sebastian, from a prosperous business family in Thrissur, had his worldview transformed after interactions with Congress leaders like Motilal Nehru in Mumbai.
Undeterred by the financial decline of his jewellery and textile businesses, he actively participated in the satyagraha, endured imprisonment, and was even falsely accused of being a “dangerous” communist from Germany.
Meanwhile, Raman Elayath, a progressive Brahmin from Muvattupuzha, sought to atone for caste injustices through social service. Upper-caste assailants blinded him in an attack, yet he remained dedicated to the cause.
Chittedathu Sankupillai
He died in obscurity in 1967, his body identified only by fellow protest leader Kuroor Neelakandan Namboothiripad.
SIEP’s work also shed light on a stirring anthem that resonated through the streets during the Vaikom Satyagraha, igniting the spirit of resistance among volunteers.
The powerful protest song Varika, Varika, Sahajare… was penned by Panavalli Krishnan Vaidyar, a prolific writer, medical practitioner, and social reformer.
His song became a rallying cry against caste discrimination, finding mention in the autobiographies of C Kesavan, Puthuppally Raghavan, and the biographical work of CR Kesavan Vaidyar.
Beyond writing the protest anthem, Panavalli also composed a prayer song for the satyagrahis and actively participated in the movement.
In 1930, during the Salt Satyagraha, poet Amshi Narayana Pillai borrowed the first three words of Panavalli’s anthem—Varika, Varika, Sahajare—to compose another powerful song, inspiring yet another generation of protesters in India’s freedom struggle.
A century after the Vaikom Satyagraha shook the foundations of caste oppression, the new encyclopaedia honours not only famous leaders but also the countless, courageous rebels whose bravery reshaped India’s social landscape.
