KERALA MEMORIAL TO DRAVIDA HERO
Kottayam: A life-size statue of Periyar EV Ramaswamy has been set up at Vaikom as a memorial to the founder of the revolutionary Dravida Kazhagam movement.
It was the former Tamil Nadu chief minister, M.G. Ramachandran, a Malayali Nair, who hit upon Vaikom, famed for the valiant struggle of 1924- 25 for human freedom, social justice and removal of caste-based brahminical tyranny, as the fiting site for the Periyar memorial.
It was Periyar who provided the leadership for the Vaikom satyagraha, describing it as the outburst of the Dravidians against Aryan domination.
Besides the statue, there is also a public library, an open-air theater and a children’s park – total cost Rs. 15 lakhs.
Sikh support: This was also the first anti-Aryan struggle in the country which ended in a victory for the oppressed Untouchables. Ezhavas, Pulayas and Paryas who were denied the right to use the roads near and around the Mahdevar temple there. Singhn boards and tablets warning that the Untouchables were forbidden to use particular roads were also set up. Those seeking to eradicate untouchability approached M.K.Gandhi, the self-styled Aryan saviour of Untouchables, but he opposed the idea.
The Ezhava leader, Sri Narayana Guru, also plunged headlong into the struggle. But the Brahmin priests remained adamant and so a satyagraha was finally launched on March 30, 1924. The Sikhs came all the way from Punjab and set up free kitchen (langar). The satyagraha attracted the attention of Periyar who with a group of followers came to Vaikom on April 12, 1924 and actively took part in the struggle. To further strengthen the movement, a new committee consisting of Periyar, Nair leaders like Mannath Padmanabha Pillai and Chittettu Sanku Pillai and the Muslim leader, Abdul Rahim of Coimbatore, was formed. But today the same Nairs are with Brahmins.
The roads were thrown open to all castes except the one in front of the last gate of temple. Finally, the satyagraha was called off in Nov. 1925.
So, who is proved greater – Gandhi or Periyar ? History says Periyar.
