1.
Untouchability
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Untouchability is a status of certain social groups confined to menial and despised jobs. It is associated with the Hindu caste system, known as Dalits, but similar groups exist outside Hinduism, for example the Burakumin in Japan and the Hutu and Twa in Rwanda. At the beginning of the twenty-first century there were over 160 million untouchables on the Indian subcontinent, the earliest of the Hindu books, written by scholars, envisage a society divided into four theoretical varnas, Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudras. The idea is developed in the Laws of Manu. The first three varnas are known as the twice-born, all of whom undergo a ceremony in their youth admitting them formally as students of the Vedas, which was the foundation for a later high status. While the varnas were theoretical, idealistic categories, jatis, meaning by birth were the thousands of tribal, post-tribal and occupational groupings that actually existed, a jati is an endogamous group, sharing many customs and often an occupation, usually based in one language area. Some scholars believe that Jatis were a social division of society which. Beliefs about pollution generally regulated relations between all the castes, violations of these rules entailed purificatory rites, penalties and sometimes expulsion from the caste. This differentiated society was often justified with traditional Hindu religious beliefs about samsara, a persons position in this life was determined by his or her actions in previous lives. Persons who were born in a Brahman family must have performed good deeds in their earlier lives, being born a Shudra was punishment for the sinful acts committed in previous lives. Shudras were confined to menial labour and despised or polluting jobs, working as laborers, handlers of unclean animals such as pigs. Burning ghat workers and executioners are two of the occupations considered most polluting, the seventh century Chinese traveler Xuanzang listed butchers, fishermen, public performers, executioners, and scavengers as marked castes living outside the city. Anything to do with a cow or its hide is the work only of untouchables. A caste of ritual drummers in the known as the Parayan contributed the word pariah to English. In many parts of the country Untouchables Marriages are generally arranged between persons of the same caste, toward the end of the nineteenth century, the British began recording and codifying caste, and more untouchable castes based usually on occupation emerged. However, occupation is not always a reliable guide, laundrymen may be untouchables in the south, where even the Pariahs looked down on them, but not in the state of Maharashtra. For the 1931 Census, another terminology Exterior Castes was applied to this group, in 1935, the new term scheduled castes, those on a list or schedule, was applied to 429 castes. By 1993, in independent democratic India, the number had grown to 4,635, including subcastes, harijan became the most popular word for the general public, replacing the terms depressed classes, exterior castes, outcastes, and untouchables
2.
Ayya Vaikundar
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Ayya Vaikundar, also known as Incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was a 19th-century social reformer and iconoclast who worked for the upliftment of downtrodden people in the Kingdom of Travancore. He is central to the Hindu denomination of Ayyavazhi, as per holy scripture, Akilattirattu Ammanai says that he was Lord Vishnu. In order to attain human form, Vishnu used the body of previous avatar for the incarnation of Ayya Vaikundar, kept in Parvatha Ucchi Malai after the completion of the Krishna Avatar. In order to attain natural growth of the body, Vishnu used the soul of Sampooranathevan a deva also called Mudisoodum Perumal. The exact date of birth of Mudisoodum Perumal or Muthukutty is unknown and it is mostly placed in either 1810 or 1809, while others follow the view of Akilam. He was born in 1809 to Ponnu Madan and Veyilal Amma at Poovandanthope in the Kanyakumari District and they initially named the child Mudisoodum Perumal, meaning Lord with a crown. But the people complained to authorities about the name and they forced the parents to change his name to Muthukutty, Muthukutty was a religious boy who had special interest in Vishnu. The holy book Akilam mentions that he set a pedestal for Lord Vishnu in his house, at age seventeen, Muthukutty started to live with Thirumalammal from the nearby village of Puviyur and she lived with him only to serve him during his public activities. Thirumalammal had been married, but left her husband to marry Muthukutty. According to quotes found in Akilam, they had a male child, Muthukutty earned his living as a Palmyra palm climber and as an agricultural laborer. Ayyavazhi scripture Akilam tells of a legend of a child who was born dead, next, immediately the soul of Sampooranathevan was installed into the body, kept in Parvatha Ucchi Malai after the completion of the Krishna Avatar. According to the legend, the found the child still for a time immediately after birth. Thereafter, that boy grew up called Muthukutty in human history, Ayyavazhi followers believe that Ayya Vaikundar transformed during an encounter with a deity. In his twenty-fourth year, Muthukutty was struck by illness and suffered for a year and his mother took her sick son to the temple at Thiruchendur, during a festival there. He went into the sea and disappeared, the parents searched for his body for one day. According to legend, on the day, Lord Vishnu appeared on the sea-shore. On seeing him, Muthukuttys mother mistook him for her son and he told her that he was no longer her son, but the son of Supreme Lord Narayana. Then he started walking towards Detchanam and this place became a holy place for the devotees of Ayyavazhi and they erected a temple there named Avatharappathi
3.
Chattampi Swamikal
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Sree Vidyadhiraja Parama Bhattaraka Chattampi Swamikal was a Hindu sage and social reformer. Chattampi Swamikal denounced the orthodox interpretation of Hindu texts citing sources from the Vedas, Swamikal along with his contemporary, Narayana Guru, strived to reform the heavily ritualistic and caste-ridden Hindu society of the late 19th century Kerala. Swamikal also worked for the emancipation of women and encouraged them to come to the forefront of society, Swamikal promoted vegetarianism and professed non-violence. Swamikal believed that the different religions are different paths leading to the same place and he strongly opposed the conversion activities of the Christian missionaries but was not against Christianity. Chattampi Swamikal throughout his intellectually and spiritually enriched life maintained a number of friends from different regions of Kerala. He authored several books on spirituality, history, and language staying with these friends, Chattampi Swami was born on 25 August 1853 at Kollur in southern Travancore. His father was Vasudevan Namputhiri, a Nambudiri Brahmin from Mavelikkara, and his mother was Nangamma and he was formally named Ayyappan but was called by the pet name of Kunjan - meaning small male baby - by all. As his parents were not able to him formal education, he learned letters. Also he learned Sanskrit by overhearing the classes at a Brahmin house nearby, knowing his thirst for learning an uncle took him to the traditional school conducted by Pettayil Raman Pillai Asan, a renowned scholar and writer who taught him without any fee. It was there that he earned the name Chattampi on account of his assignment as the monitor of the class, in the 1870s Raman Pillai started a scholarly group named Jnanaprajagaram with experts on different subjects with progressive attitude. It served as a place for many scholars of that time. He also could learn Tamil from Swaminatha Desikar and philosophy from Professor Manonmaniyam Sundaram Pillai during his participation in Jnanaprajagaram, Kunjan Pillai was introduced into the science of yoga by the Thycaud Ayyavu Swamikal a scholar and yogi who used to give lectures at Jnanaprajagaram. While so a wandering sadhu who came to his village temple initiated him into spiritual world by giving the Balasubramanya Mantra, mastering this mantra gave him a new vigour and zeal and he assumed the name Shanmukhadasa due to his deep devotion of Subramanya. As the burden of supporting the family fell on him, Kunjan Pillai took to many manual works, for many days he served as a labourer carrying building materials for the construction of Government Secretariat building in Trivandrum. For some time he worked as a document writer and also as an advocates clerk and he stood first in a test for clerical posts in Government Secretariat Trivandrum conducted by Sir T Madhava Rao the then Divan of Travancore State. But he left the service after a short while as it curtailed his freedom and prevented his wanderings for spiritual exploitations, both were impressed by the other and Kunjans wish to learn at Kalladaikurichin under him was granted. He spent many years learning under Subba Jatapadikal, there he acquired deep and extensive mastery of all sastras in Tamil and Sanskrit. He also learned Siddha medicine, music, and martial arts, during this period he was greatly influenced by the works of Kodakanallur Sundara Swamikal a great Advaitin
4.
Narayana Guru
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Narayana Guru, also known as Sree Narayana Guru, was a social reformer of India. He was born into a Kerala family in an era when people from such communities and he led a reform movement in Kerala, rejected casteism, and promoted new values of spiritual freedom and social equality. He stressed the need for the spiritual and social uplift of the downtrodden by their own efforts through the establishment of temples, in the process, he denounced the superstitions that clouded the fundamental Hindu cultural convention of caste. There are many surrounding the life of Narayana Guru but a few certain facts until his rise to prominence in 1887. He was born probably in 1856, the son of an Ezhava peasant, Madan and his wife Kuttiyamma, to tide over the sheer poverty of his family, Little Nanu, as he was affectionately known, worked as a cowherd for a wealthy neighbour. Once, Kummanpallil Raman Pillai Asan of Mavelikara spotted young Nanu with his neighbours cow, asans sympathy turned Nanus entire future. He made arrangements for Nanu to join the school run by Moottha Pillai Asan and he was educated in part by Moottha Pillai Asan and later for 6 years by Raman Pillai Asan himself with free food and accommodation at his own residence near Mavelikara. Raman Pillai Asan was the Headmaster of a Sanskrit school at Kayamkulam as well as a faculty of the Sanskrit schools at Kazhakoottam. Little Nanu was deeply influenced by Vedanta and by the ideas of social equality, Nanu taught religion and Sanskrit to local children and studied yoga with notable ascetics such as Chattampi Swami, who too was a disciple of Raman Pillai Asan. He was an itinerant yogi for some time and later immersed himself for the upliftment of people from the strata of the society. As a youth, Narayana Guru turned away from the rituals of his local village and travelled widely, living an ascetic lifestyle. He eventually became a schoolteacher and then a religious reformer, around 1897, he composed Atmopadesa Satakam in Malayalam, widely regarded as a literary and philosophical masterpiece. In 1904, he settled at Sivagiri to pursue his Sadhana and he also opened a Sanskrit school in Varkala, where poor boys and orphans were taken under his care and given education regardless of caste differences. Temples were built at various places–Thrissur, Kannur, Anchuthengu, Tellicherry, Calicut, a temple was built for Sharada Devi in 1912 at Sivagiri. In 1913, Narayana Guru founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva, Aluva also became the venue for a Conference of Universal Brotherhood in 1921, and a Conference of All Religions in 1924, both conducted under his guidance. He also stressed the need for a Brahma Vidyalaya for a study of different religious faiths. The trio of Vallabhasseri Govindan Vaidyar, T K Kittan Writer, though the proposal was approved by Narayana Guru as early as 1928, it was not until 1932 that the first pilgrimage was undertaken from Elavumthitta in Pathanamthitta District. Narayana Guru stated the goals of the pilgrimage to be the promotion of education, cleanliness, devotion to God, organization, agriculture, trade, handicrafts, and technical training
5.
Ayyankali
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Ayyankali was a social reformer who worked for the advancement of those people in the princely state of Travancore, British India, who were treated as untouchables. His efforts influenced many changes that improved the social wellbeing of those people, in November 1980, Indira Gandhi unveiled a statue of Ayyankali at Kowdiar square in Thiruvananthapuram. Ayyankali was born on 28 August 1863 in Venganoor, Thiruvananthapuram and he was the oldest of eight children born to Ayyan and Mala, who were members of the Pulayar community of untouchables. Members of the Pulayar community generally were rural slaves at this time, the Pulayars were regarded as the lowest group of people in the kingdom and they suffered badly from oppressive discrimination, in particular from members of the powerful Nair caste. Robin Jeffrey, a professor specialising in the history and politics of India, quotes the wife of a Christian missionary. A Nair can approach but not touch a Namboodiri Brahmin, a Chovan must remain thirty-six paces off, a Chovan must remain twelve steps away from a Nair, and a Pulayan sixty-six steps off, and a Parayan some distance farther still. A Syrian Christian may touch a Nair but the latter may not eat each other. Pulayans and Parayars, who are the lowest of all, can approach, suffering from this social injustice caused Ayyankali to join with like-minded Pulayan friends. These young people gathered at the end of their workday to sing, some joined him in forming a group that challenged and threatened members of the upper castes whenever an opportunity arose, sometimes attacking them physically. His popularity earned him the names of Urpillai and Moothapullai, both the act of purchase and that of travelling on a road that was traditionally the preserve of the upper castes amounted to a significant challenge. In a similar act of defiance, he entered the marketplace at Nedumangad, later, in 1904, Ayyankali was inspired on hearing a speech given by the reformist Ayyavu Swamikal. A branch of Swamikals Brahma Nishta Matam organisation was established in year by Ayyankali. Ayyankali also sought to access to education. Some Pulayars had access from around the century, mostly through the activities of the Colonial Missionary Society. Conversion to Christianity was a prerequisite for attendance at such schools, however, Ayyankali, who was illiterate, believed that education should be available to all children and this meant that government schools should allow access to untouchables. The government was attempting to modernise its approach to social welfare in an attempt to impress on the British colonial administration that there was no need for the region to be annexed. Several public schools had opened to untouchable communities after 1895. State funding of education became effective in 1904 but even after the government ordered schools to admit these untouchable people in 1907 and this attracted support from both Hindus and Christians
6.
Pandit Karuppan
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Pandit Karuppan was a poet, dramatist, and social reformer who lived in Kerala, India. Pandit Karuppan emerged from Ernakulam of Cochin State as a crusader against untouchability. He was called the Lincoln of Kerala for steering socio-economically and educationally backward communities to the forefront, hailing from a community of inland fishermen who engaged in localised fishing in backwaters and rivers, Karuppan became a Sanskrit scholar, poet and dramatist of repute. As the first human rights activist of the Cochin State, he used his skill and organizational ability to combat illiteracy, social injustice, casteism. He campaigned for the rights of people, who at that time were not even permitted to enter Ernakulam. Karuppan was born on 24 May 1885, at Cheranelloor, near Ernakulam into a middle class family of Dheevara fishermen community to Paapu. The family was known for its skills in toxicology and for treating snakebite victims, the Malayalam meaning of Karuppan is person of black colour, but, ironically, Karuppan had a very fair complexion. Though Karuppans childhood name was Sankaran, the name Karuppan was given to him by a Tamil Gosai who was a family friend and he predicted that the boy would become a great scholar and suggested the name Karpan, which later turned into Karuppan. Karuppans formal education began at the age of five under Azheekkal Velu Vaidyan, subsequently, Vadakke Valath Appu Asan, a local guru, taught him Amarakosham, Sidhdharoopam and Sreeramodantham, the basics of Sanskrit. A prolific reader, Karuppan also read the Itihasas and Puranas, the prodigy took his gurus by surprise when he wrote Lankamardanam at the age of 12 with slokas styled in Shardoolavikreeditham. Karuppan studied Sanskrit Kavyas under Mangalappillil Krishnan Asan of Cherai and returned to Cheranelloor to study with Annamanada Rama Pothuval, there, as was the prevailing custom, upper-caste Hindu students did not allow him to sit along with them and hence he sat alone in a corner. He studied the Kavyas Makham and Nyshadham and Bhoja Chambu from Rama Pothuval, the most significant period of his education was at Kodungalloor. The Kodungallur Kovilakam was a place of learning, due to the resident luminaries, Karuppans famous work Jathikummi, which criticised the prevailing caste system, was written in 1904 during the period of his study at Kodungallur Kovilakam and it became popular among the poor. Jaathikkummi is an attempt in Malayalam literature questioning the caste system. Kumaran Asans Duravastha was published 10 years later, though most of Karuppans writings were in scholarly Sanskrit, Jaathikkummi employs simple, everyday Malayalam that illiterate people from the local communities were able to understand and propagate. Karuppans talents in Sanskrit came to the notice of Rajarshi Ramavarma Raja, the Maharaja of Cochin, bhattan Thampuran introduced Karuppan to the King. The Maharaja was impressed and invited Karuppan to his palace in Tripunithura, the meeting was a turning point for Karuppan. The Maharaja arranged for Karuppans advanced study of Sanskrit under Sahridayathilkan Rama Pisharody, Karuppan studied Sidhantha Koumudi, Manorama and Sahithee Darpanam from Rama Pisharody
7.
Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai
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Mannathu Padmanabhan was a social reformer and a freedom fighter from the State of Kerala, India. He is recognised as the founder of the Nair Service Society, Padmanabhan is considered as a visionary reformer who organised the Nair community under the NSS. Mannathu Padmanathan was born in Perunna village in Changanacherry, Travancore, British India on 2 January 1878 to Eswaran Namboothiri of Nilavana Illam and he began his career as a teacher in 1893 in a Government primary school. After a few years, from 1905 he changed his profession and started practising law, on 31 October 1914 with the help of a few others, he established the Nair Service Society. His main ambition was to uplift the status of the Nair community, from 1915 onwards, he gave up law practice and became full-time secretary of the Nair Service Society. Mannam revived and reshaped the old concept of village societies, the Karayogams and he fought for social equality, the first phase of being the Vaikom Satyagraha, demanding the public roads near the temple at Vaikom be opened to low caste Hindus. In 1924 he took part in the Vaikom and Guruvayoor temple-entry, as the first president of Travancore Devaswom Board he revitalised many temples which had almost ceased to function. In 1949 Padmanabhan became a member of the Travancore Legislative Assembly, in 1959 he along with Christian Churches led a united opposition against the State Communist Ministry, which became known as the Vimochana Samaram. M. S. Namboodiripad on 31 July 1959, the consequence of this was the beginning of President’s rule in the state under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution. He was honoured with the title Bharata Kesari by the President of India and he also received Padma Bhushan in 1966. In 02 January 2017 Nair Service Society celebrated the 140th Mannam Jayanthi at NSS headquarters and he died on 25 February 1970 at the age of 92, after age related complications. Mannam memorial is located at NSS Headquarters Changanacherry and he is regarded as the reformer and moral guide of Nairs. Brief Biography by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of INDIA Mannathu Padmanabhan-Indian Post
8.
V. T. Bhattathiripad
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Bhattathiripad was born on March 26,1896 to Thuppan Bhattathiripad and Sridevi Andarjanam in Kaippilly Mana at Mezhathur on the banks of river Nila in south Malabar. He belonged to the family of Agnihothri on his fathers side and had the lineage of Adi Sankara on his mothers side and he encouraged widow marriage in the Brahmin society and tried to reform the conservative practices of the Namboodiri community in particular and the society at large. He conducted the first mixed-race marriage in the Brahmin society and his drama Adukkalayilninnum arangathekku was a turning point in this context, The year 1929 is most significant in the sense that V. T. Bhattathiripad wrote his play Adukkalayil Ninnu Arangathekku. The V. T. Bhattathiripad College in Sreekrishnapuram, Palakkad district, is named after him, E. M. S. Namboodiripad M. R. Bhattathiripad Premji V. T
9.
Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai
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K. Ramakrishna Pillai was a nationalist writer, journalist, editor, and political activist. He edited Swadeshabhimani, the newspaper became a potent weapon against the rule of the British and the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. His criticism of the Diwan of Travancore, P. Rajagopalachari, Ramakrishna Pillai was arrested and exiled from Travancore in 1910. K. Ramakrishna Pillai was born in Athiyanoor on 25 May 1878 and he was the youngest son of Chakkiamma and Narasimhan Potti, a temple-priest. The patriarch of the family had saved the life of Prince Marthanda Varma from his enemies. When Marthanda Varma became king or Maharaja of Travancore, he gifted the family 50-acre of land, Ramakrishna Pillai was born over a century later. Following the matrilineal Nair tradition, Ramakrishna Pillai spent much of his boyhood with his maternal uncle and he had his early education at Neyyattinkara English Medium School and Rajagiyamahapadashala, the Royal school, Thiruvananthapuram. He was a shy and silent student, kattupana Naganathaiyer, K. VeluPilla and R. Keshavapilla were his early teachers. Ramakrishna Pillai utilized his less restricted life in Thiruvananthapuram to acquaint himself with new books, newspapers, new places and he passed his matriculation exam at the age of 14. While studying for F. A, Ramakrishna started taking a keen interest in newspapers, an avid reader, he read almost every newspaper published from Travancore, Malabar and Kochi States. This inspired him to write articles for news papers and his excessive passion for writing and newspapers, earned the wrath of his uncle and family. He passed in the F. A. exam in 1898, however, on the directives of his uncle, he joined for BA degree course at University College, Trivandrum. Ramakrishna Pillai and other newspaper-enthusiasts had felt the need of a Malayalam newspaper, Kerala Darpanum and Vanjivibhujhika were already being published since 1900. Though his friends and well wishers persuaded him to take up the editorship of Kerala Darpanum, it was difficult to manage studies, due to the resistance of his uncle Keshava Pillai, Ramakrishna had to leave home to take up a job. Degree with first rank and received the Keralvarmamudhra, an award for academic excellence. Ramakrishna Pillai began writing strongly against age-old malpractices and ill-customs of those days and he believed in action than words. He challenged customary practices by marrying Nanikutti Amma, Thoopuveetil, Palkulangara, Thiruvananthapuram, a relative of Nanikutti Amma, Shri Prameshvaran Pillai, was the owner of Kerala Darappanum. Later, however, Ramakrishna Pillai and Prameshvaran Pillai got into litigation, in 1901, Kerala Darappanum and Vanjivibhujhika merged to form Keralapanjhika
10.
Chempakaraman Pillai
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Chempakaraman Pillai, alias Venkat, was an Indian-born political activist and revolutionary. Pillai lived in Germany for most of his years. Pillai was born into a Tamil family in Trivandrum, capital of the kingdom of Travancore in the modern state of Kerala. Pillai had a sister named Paappaathi Ammal and she married a sculptor named Chatrapathi Pillai, whose sculpture, Kuravan Kurathi, is in the Trivandrum Museum. Paappaathi Ammal had four daughters, one of whom resides in Trivandrum. Pillai attended a technical institute, pursuing a diploma in Engineering, after the outbreak of the First World War, he founded the International Pro-India Committee and based its headquarters in Zürich, appointing himself president in September 1914. During the same period an Indian Independence Committee was formed in Berlin by a group of Indian expatriates in Germany, lala Har Dayal was also persuaded to join the movement. Soon branches sprang up in Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Washington, as well as in other parts of Europe. The Indian Independence Committee ultimately became involved in the so-called Hindu-German Conspiracy along with the Ghadar Party in the United States, the German foreign office under Kaiser Wilhelm II funded the Committees anti-British activities. Chempakaraman and A. Raman Pillai, both from Travancore and both students at German universities, worked together on the Committee, Pillai later joined with Indian National Congress chief Subhash Chandra Bose. Pillai coined the Jai Hind slogan, many of Pillais letters to A. Raman Pillai, then a student in the University of Göttingen, were kept by Raman Pillais son Rosscote Krishna Pillai. However, the defeat of the Germans in the war shattered the hopes of the revolutionaries, during this time, the Germans were helping the Indian revolutionaries from their own motives. In 1931, Pillai married Lakshmi Bai of Manipur, whom he had met in Berlin, unfortunately they had a short life together, as Pillai soon fell ill. There were symptoms of poisoning and he went to Italy for treatment. He died in Berlin on May 28,1934, lakshmibai bought Pillais ashes to India in 1935 where they were later ceremonially immersed in Kanyakumari with full state honours. They Too Fought for Indias Freedom, The Role of Minorities
11.
Kumaran Asan
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N. Kumaran Ashan, also known as Mahakavi Kumaran Ashan, was one of the triumvirate poets of Kerala, South India. He was also a philosopher, a reformer and a disciple of Sree Narayana Guru. Kumaran Ashan initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry in the first quarter of the 20th century, deep moral and spiritual commitment is evident in Ashans poetry. His works are an eloquent testimony of poetic concentration and dramatic contextualisation, Asan was born in a merchant family belonging to the Ezhava community in April 1873 in Kayikkara village, Chirayinkeezhu taluk, north of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, south India. Named Kumaran, he was the son in a family of nine children. His father, Narayanan Perungudi, was versed in Malayalam and Tamil. His mother. Asan inherited his taste for Kathakali and classical music, kumaru trained in mathematics and Sanskrit for which he had a passion. He undertook a studentship in poetry under Manamboor Govindan Asan and he wished to learn Yoga and Tantra and worked as an apprentice in a Muruga temple at Vakkom. He composed a few songs for the benefit of regular worshippers at this temple. In 1917 Asan married Bhanumathiamma, the daughter of Thachakudy Kumaran – younger brother of Padmanabhan Palpus father, Bhanumathiamma, who was an active social worker, later remarried after Asans death and died in 1975. Kumaran became a disciple of Narayana Guru, some of the earlier works of the poet were Subramanya Sathakam and Sankara Sathakam, wherein Asan voiced his devotional aspirations. His short poem Veena Poovu is a literary classic and it paved the way for a new movement in Malayalam literature. His elegy Prarodanam mourns the death of his contemporary and friend A. R. Raja Raja Varma and his Khanda Kavyas like Nalini, Leela, Karuna and Chandaalabhikshuki won critical acclaim as well as popularity. He wrote the epic poem Buddha Charitha for which he got inspiration from Edwin Arnolds Light of Asia, while in Duravastha, he revealed his revolutionary zeal for fighting caste distinctions, a few other poetic works had a distinct Hindu/Buddhist slant. He died aged 51 as a result of a accident in January 1924 while travelling to Kollam from a function in Alappuzha. The boat capsized at Pallana and all on board drowned, except Ouseph Kurian Mappila Thannikuzhiyil Kanjirathanam, kumaranasan was the only poet in Malayalam who became mahakavi without writing a mahakavyam. The Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture at Thonnakkal was founded in 1958 in his memory, sthothrakrithikal This is a collection of poems. The poems published in volume are longer than those published in Manimaala
12.
C. V. Raman Pillai
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Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai was one of the great Indian novelists and playwrights and pioneering playwright and journalist in Malayalam. He is often called and known as C. V, V. s mother, Parvathi Pillai, was a scion of an ancient matriarchal family. Degree from the Madras University in 1881, securing the 7th rank in the Madras Presidency and his foray into journalism was pioneering. Gifted alike in English and Malayalam, he was a builder of Keralas Fourth Estate. His sharp and incisive pen brought forth first, The Kerala Patriot, then the Malayali, Raman Pillai, popularly known as C. V. is classed with the greats in Indian literature like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in Bengali and Hari Narayan Apte in Marathi. In the grand sweep of his great classics, Marthandavarma, Dharmaraja and Ramarajabahadur. In world literature, he ranks with Dostoevsky and Shakespeare, modern Malayalam drama traces its origins to C. V. s works. His very first attempt at literary creation, was the first original play in Malayalam, candramukheevilasam was written in 1884 and was staged for four days successively in 1887 at His Highness Maharajas College, Trivandrum. This was also the first staging of a play in Malayalam by educated amateur actors, in fact, original Malayalam drama in prose began with his eleven farces, nine of which were published. They set the tone and paved the way for the Kerala theatre that it is now, Keralas folklore and Kathakali became an integral part of his literary metier. He drew out myriad forgotten episodes from his countrys history and the genius in him wove them into unforgettable epics. It was published by Addison & Co. in Madras in 1891 only after Indulekha by Chandu Menon was brought out in 1889, marthanda Varma, however, was an instant hit and editorially hailed by The Hindu of Madras, on 21 December 1891. It continues to be a classic even today and has gone through more than 125 editions. For nearly twenty years from 1891, C. V. did not produce any literary work. 1909 saw the production of his comedy, Kurupillakalari. The novel marked him out as a craftsman in fiction. In 1915 he wrote a novel, Premamritam which is the first satirical fiction in Malayalam. C. V. s masterpiece, however, is Ramarajabahadur, published in 1918, V. V. in his four novels and nine published farces
13.
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
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Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, popularly EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala state in 1957–59 and then again in 1967–69. As a member of the Communist Party of India, he became the first non-Indian National Congress chief minister in the Indian republic, in 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form the Communist Party of India. As chief minister, EMS pioneered radical land and educational reforms in Kerala, in his early years, he was associated with V. T. Bhattathiripad, M. R. Bhattathiripad and many others in the fight against the casteism and conservatism that existed in the Namboothiri community. He became one of the bearers of Valluvanadu Yogaskshema Sabha. During his college days, he was associated with the Indian National Congress. He was well known for his stammer, when asked if he always stammered, he would reply, No, only when I speak. He was a writer and author of literary works and his book on the history of Kerala is notable. He described Mahatma Gandhi as a Hindu fundamentalist, in 1934, he was one of the founders of Congress Socialist Party, a socialist wing within the Indian National Congress, and elected as its All India Joint Secretary from 1934 to 1940. During this period, he was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly. He remained committed to socialist ideals, and his compassion towards the class led him to join the Communist movement. The Indian government considered him to be one of the founders of the Communist Party of India in Kerala, during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, he was among leaders who aired Chinas view on the border issue. When the CPI split in 1964, EMS stood with the Communist Party of India and he was the leader of the Kerala state committee of CPI. He served as a member of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the CPI until his death in 1998, EMS became general secretary in 1977, a designation he held until 1992. A Marxist scholar, he influenced the development of Kerala, of whom he was the first Chief Minister. It was one of the earliest elected Communist governments, after Communist success in the 1945 elections in the Republic of San Marino. )It was also the first time for a party in India to win state elections. On 5 April 1957 he was appointed as the first chief minister of Kerala and his government introduced the Land Reform Ordinance and Education Bill. In 1959, the Central Government dismissed his government through the controversial Article 356 of the Indian Constitution following The Liberation Struggle, indira Gandhi convinced Nehru, who was hesitant to dismiss a democratically elected government, to make such a decision. Central Intelligence Agencys involvement in the ouster has been long suspected, declassified CIA documents show that the first Communist government concerned them and preventing additional Keralas became an important argument for augmenting U. S. assistance to India
14.
Sree Narayana Trust
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Sree Narayana Trust, also known as the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana or Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, has been an educational organisation in the Indian state of Kerala since 1952. It is named after Narayana Guru, the institutions operated by the Trust follow his footsteps, trying to create strength through organisation and to seek liberation through education. The Trust aims to realize the ideals of its namesake. It was formed by a former Chief Minister of Kerala, R. Sankar, in 1952 to manage the Sree Narayana College, later, educational institutions were started in other parts of Kerala for the upliftment of the socially and educationally backward strata of society. Today, the Trust runs numerous educational institutions and hospitals, SNDP founded schools and colleges in the independent India. Previously the only private colleges were those managed by the church, the movement started with Sree Narayana College in Kollam. Many educational institutions were started under leadership of SNDP yogam, but soon it became quite difficult to maintain many such institutions by the Yogam, whose main objective was the propagation of Narayana Gurus vision among the masses. Under such circumstances, under the leadership of Sankar, the Sree Narayana Trust was started, though these educational institutions were started to help socially and economically backward sections of the society. Sivagiri, Kerala Bharath Dharma Jana Sena Jeffrey, Robin, the social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905, The founding of the S. N. D. P. South Asia, Journal of South Asian Studies, sivagiri Website Sree Narayana Guru By Prof. Omana
15.
Nair Service Society
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The Nair Service Society is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in kerala state. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, the NSS is a three-tier organisation with Karayogams at the base level, Taluk Unions at the intermediate level and a central headquarters operating from Perunna in Kerala, India. The Society owns and manages a number of educational institutions. The Nair Service Society was formed on 31 October 1914 as a reaction to perceived communal slights in the state of Travancore in south India. The first caste association of this type to have formed in the region was the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana. In 2010 October, Nair organisations from around the world decided to form a united body, as a result, the Global Nair Service Society was founded after a meeting attended by thousands in New Delhi. As of 2010 the NSS comprised, Taluk Unions,58 Karayogams,5300 Vanitha Samajams,4232 Bala Samajams,2466 NSS has also started many schools under its supervision. Collectively named NSS HSS or NSS High Schools, these function in almost all parts of the state of Kerala. Past presidents include K. Kelappan who was the first president of NSS, list of Educational Institutions of Nair Service Society MMNSS College Kottiyam MMRHSS, Trivandrum Notes Citations Nair Service Society
16.
Maharaja
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Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a great ruler, great king or high king. It has also been the title of emperors, including Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire, the female equivalent, Maharani, denotes either the wife of a Maharaja, and also in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajmata queen mother, Maharaj Kumar generally denotes a son of a Maharaja, but more specific titulatures are often used at each court, including Yuvaraj for the heir. The form Maharaj indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, the word Maharaja originates in Sanskrit and is a compound karmadhāraya term from mahānt- great and rājan ruler, king). It has the Latin cognates magnum great and rex king, the Sanskrit title Maharaja was originally used only for rulers who ruled a considerably large region with minor tributary rulers under them. Since mediaeval times, the title was used even by monarchs of smaller states claiming to be the descendants of ancient Maharajas, the word Maharaja may be understood simply to mean ruler or king, in spite of its literal translation as great king. The word, however, can also mean emperor in contemporary Indian usage, two Rajas who became Maharajas in the twentieth century were the Maharaja of Cochin and the legendary Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. Variations of this include the following, each combining Maha- great with an alternative form of Raja king, so all meaning Great King, Maharana, Maharawal, Maharawat, Maharao. Maharajah has taken on new spellings due to change and migration. It has even been shortened to Mahraj and Maraj but the most common is Maharajah, despite its literal meaning, unlike many other titles meaning Great King, neither Maharaja nor Rajadhiraja, nor even its equivalent amongst. Maharaja, Maharajadhiraja, never reached the standing required for imperial rank, dharma-maharaja was the devout title of the rulers of the Ganga dynasty. In the Mughal Empire it was common to award to various princes a series of lofty titles as a matter of protocolary rank. The british would, as partamaount power, do the same, Maharajadhiraja, Great Prince over Princes, a title of honour, one degree higher than Sawai Maharaja Bahadur. Sawai Maharaja Bahadur, a title of honour, one higher than Sawai Maharaja. Sawai Maharaja, a title of one degree higher than Maharaja Bahadur. Maharaja Bahadur, a title of honour, one higher than Maharaja. Maharaja itself could also be grahted as a personal, non-hereditary style, like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars. g. The Diwan Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad, held such a Maharaja-title, Maharaj Kumar means son of a Maharaja or Heir-Apparent, the female equivalent is Maharaj Kumari, daughter of a Maharaja
17.
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma
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He reigned under the regency of his maternal aunt, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, until he came of age and was invested with full ruling powers on November 6,1931. The period of Sree Chithira Thirunals reign witnessed many-sided progress and he enacted the now famous Temple Entry Proclamation in 1936, established the University of Travancore in 1937. The Women Studies Journal Samyukta reports that, 40% of the Travancores revenue was set apart for education, historians like A. Sreedhara Menon credit him for the industrialization of Travancore as well. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, would represent the aspects of Sree Chithira Thirunals reign. Upon Indias independence from the British on 15 August 1947, Sree Chithira Thirunal initially chose to keep his domain an independent country, as this was unacceptable to the Govt. Of India, several rounds of negotiations were held between the Maharaja and the Indian representatives, finally an agreement was reached in 1949 and Sree Chithira Thirunal agreed to merge Travancore officially as a part of the Union of India. In 1949, Travancore was united with Cochin, and Sree Chithira Thirunal served as the first, Sree Chithira Thirunal was an Hon. Major General with the British Indian Army and the Colonel-in-Chief and the Supreme Commander of the Travancore Military and of the Travancore-Cochin State Forces, for the period 1924–56. Colonel in the Indian Army since 1949, as the Travancore Military was integrated by him into the former, as the 9th, after the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, he was stripped of his political powers and emoluments from the privy purse by the Indira Gandhi government. At the age of 78, after suffering a stroke, he fell into a coma for nine days, along with the Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, many other charitable trusts were established using the funds, land and buildings provided by him. Sree Chithira Thirunal also sponsored the education of a young K. R. Narayanan who went on to become the 10th President of India. He was born on a Deepavali day on November 7,1912 and his siblings were Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi and Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. Sree Chithira Thirunals mother, Sethu Parvathi Bayi, was related, by birth. In 1900, following the absence of heirs in the Travancore Royal Family, she had been adopted by her maternal great-aunt. His early education in Malayalam and Sanskrit was imparted by the eminent scholar of the time, Sri Attoor Krishna Pisharody, later he had his higher education under Captain G. T. B. At the age of 16, also began his training in State Craft and Administration, the head tutor of Sree Chithira Thirunal, Captain. Harvey, quoted in his report to the Travancore government that, His Highness is an intelligent and willing pupil and his Highness continued to make very satisfactory progress in his studies and that mental progress and expansion of personality have been marked and rapid. The establishment of a household, has resulted in much greater self-reliance, initiative
18.
Hindu
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Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
19.
Travancore
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The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævəŋkɔər/, Malayalam, തിരുവിതാംകൂർ Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, the official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell at its center. In the early 19th century, the became a princely state of the British Empire. When the region was part of the Chera empire, it was known as Thiruvazhumkode. It was contracted to Thiruvankode, and anglicised by the English to Travancore. In course of time, the Ay kingdom, part of the Chera empire, which ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became independent, the Aayis controlled the land from present day Kollam district in the north, through Thiruvananthapuram district, all in Kerala, to the Kanyakumari district. There were two capitals, the one at Kollam and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur. The kingdom was also called Venad. Kings of Venad had, at times, travelled from Kollam and built residential palaces in Thiruvithamcode. By the time of King Marthanda Varma, the half of the kingdom had become dominant. During his reign, it absorbed the north and Thiruvithamcode or Travancore became the official name, Travancore was located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, Travancore was divided into three distinct regions, the eastern highlands, the central midlands, and the western lowlands. Venad was a state at the tip of the Indian Subcontinent. Till the end of the 11th century AD, it was a principality in the Ay Kingdom. The Ays were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, who, at their zenith and their capital during the first Sangam age was in Aykudi and later, towards the end of the 8th century AD, was at Quilon. Though a series of attacks by the resurgent Pandyas between the 7th and 8th centuries caused the decline of the Ays, the dynasty was powerful till the beginning of the 10th century, when the Ay power diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the Second Chera Kingdom. An invasion of the Cholas into Venad caused the destruction of Kollam in 1096, however, the Chera capital, Mahodayapuram, also fell in the subsequent Chola attack, which compelled the Chera king, Rama varma Kulasekara, to shift his capital to Kollam. Thus the end of the Second Chera dynasty in the 12th century marks the independence of Venad, the history of Travancore began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign
20.
Kerala
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Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
21.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
22.
Government of Kerala
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The Government of Kerala headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Kerala, India. The state government is headed by the Governor of Kerala as the head of state. The state government maintains its capital at Thiruvananthapuram and is seated at the Kerala Government Secretariat or the Hajur Kutcheri. The Government of Kerala was formed on November 1,1956 after merging of State of Travancore-Cochin with the Malabar district of the Madras state as part of States Reorganisation Act,1956, the Governor is appointed by the President for a term of five years. The executive and legislative powers lie with the Chief Minister and his council of ministers, the Governors of the states and territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level. Only Indian citizens above 35 years of age are eligible for appointment, P Sathasivam is the present governor. The Governor enjoys many different types of powers, Executive powers related to administration, appointments, Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature. Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the Governor, the legislature comprises the governor and the legislative assembly, which is the highest political organ in state. The governor has the power to summon the assembly or to close the same, all members of the legislative assembly are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the eligible voters who are above 18 years of age. The current assembly consists of 140 elected members and one nominated by the governor from the Anglo-Indian Community. The elected members one of its own members as its chairman who is called the speaker. The speaker is assisted by the deputy speaker who is elected by the members. The conduct of meeting in the house is the responsibility of the Speaker, the main function of the assembly is to pass laws and rules. Every bill passed by the house has to be approved by the governor before it becomes applicable. The normal term of the assembly is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. But while a proclamation of state of emergency is in operation, the High Court of Kerala is the apex court for the state, it also hears cases from the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. It is a court of record and has all the powers of such a court including the authority to punish an individual for contempt of court. Like all other High Courts of India, this court also consists of a Chief Justice, at present, the sanctioned Judge strength of the High Court of Kerala is 27 Permanent Judges including the Chief Justice H. L. Dattu and two additional judges
23.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
24.
Dalit
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Dalit, meaning oppressed in Sanskrit is the self-chosen political name of castes in India which was untouchable. Though the name Dalit has been in existence since the nineteenth century, Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna system and formed the unmentioned fifth varna, they were also called Panchama. Use of the word dalit for a person or group has been outlawed, in India, the legal terms are scheduled caste, other backward caste or scheduled tribe. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes exist across India, and do not share a language or religion. They make up 16. 6% of Indias population, according to the 2011 census, to prevent harassment, assault, discrimination and other criminal acts against these groups, the Indian government enacted the Prevention of Atrocity act on 31 March 1995. In 1932, the British Raj recommended separate electorates to select leaders for Dalits in the Communal Award, when Mohandas Gandhi opposed this, negotiations produced the Poona Pact with B. R. Ambedkar. From its independence in 1947 and expanded in 1974, India provided jobs, by 1995,0. 2% of Government sector IVth class jobs were held by Dalits. In 1997, India elected K. R. Narayanan as the nations President, many social organisations have promoted better conditions for Dalits through education, healthcare and employment. While caste-based discrimination was prohibited and untouchability abolished by the Constitution of India, sC/STs and similar groups are found throughout South Asia, in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. SC/STs have emigrated to the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, the word dalit is a vernacular form of the Sanskrit past participle adjective दलित. In Classical Sanskrit, this divided, split, broken, scattered, derived from the meaning of the verbal root दल भेदे. This word was repurposed in nineteenth-century Sanskrit to mean not belonging to one of the four Brahminic castes and it was perhaps first used in this sense by Jyotirao Phule, in the context of the oppression faced by the erstwhile untouchable castes of the twice-born Hindus. According to Victor Premasagar, the term expresses the Dalits weakness, poverty, the term Dalit has become a political identity, similar to the way African Americans in the United States moved away from the use of the term Negro, to the use of Black or African-American. Dalits today use the term Dalit as they believe the term is more than being broken and is in fact an identity born of struggle, Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are the official terms used in Government of India documents to identify former untouchable individuals and groups. After the order, the Chhattisgarh government ended the use of the word Dalit. Mahatma Gandhi adopted the word Harijan, translated roughly as people of God, the name was disliked by Ambedkar as it emphasised the Dalits as belonging to the Greater Hindu Nation rather than an independent community like Muslims. It is also considered prepostorous as Dalits for any years had been banned from entering Hindu temples, in Punjab Dalits are also known as Ad-Dharmi and Mazhabi Sikh. These words, particularly the prefix of Adi, denote aboriginal or indigenous identity, Dalits are considered by upper castes to be outside the traditional Hindu varna order
25.
Romila Thapar
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Romila Thapar is an Indian historian whose principal area of study is ancient India. She is the author of books including the popular volume, A History of India. She has twice been offered the Padma Bhushan award, but has declined both times, after graduating from Panjab University, Thapar earned her doctorate under A. L. Basham at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London in 1958. She was a reader in Ancient Indian History at Kurukshetra University between 1961 and 1962 and held the position at Delhi University between 1963 and 1970. Later, she worked as Professor of Ancient Indian History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and her historical work portrays the origins of Hinduism as an evolving interplay between social forces. Her recent work on Somnath examines the evolution of the historiographies about the legendary Gujarat temple and she attributes the decline of the Mauryan empire to its highly centralised administration which called for rulers of exceptional abilities to function well. Thapars first volume of A History of India is written for a popular audience, Thapar has been a visiting professor at Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the College de France in Paris. She was elected General President of the Indian History Congress in 1983 and she was awarded the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 1976. Thapar is an Honorary Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and she was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009. In 2004, the US Library of Congress appointed her as the first holder of the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South, in January 2005, she declined the Padma Bhushan awarded by the Indian Government. Thapar had declined the Padma Bhushan on an occasion, in 1992. To the President, she explained the reason for turning down the award thus, I only accept awards from institutions or those associated with my professional work. She is co-winner with Peter Brown of the prestigious Kluge Prize for the Study of Humanity for 2008 which comes with a US$1 million prize. Thapar says this communal history is extremely selective in choosing facts, deliberately partisan in interpretation and does not follow current methods of using multiple. She questioned whether the changes were an, attempt to replace mainstream history with a Hindutva version of history, other historians and commentators, including Bipan Chandra, Sumit Sarkar, Irfan Habib, R. S. Sharma, Vir Sanghvi, Dileep Padgaonkar and Amartya Sen also protested the changes and published their objections in a compilation titled and she contended that while Hindus have a legitimate right to a fair and culturally sensitive representation, some of the proposed changes included material that pushed political agenda. Journalist Praful Bidwai criticised the petition as an attack by communalists who are not even minimally acquainted with her work. A number of academics sent a protest letter to the Library of Congress denouncing the petition as an attack on intellectual, the Communist Party of India supported her appointment by calling her a liberal with a scientific outlook
26.
Vaikom
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Vaikom is a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Vaikom is the oldest township in Kottayam district, and among the oldest in South India, Vaikom is also very close to the popular tourism destination Kumarakom. It is 37 from Ernakulam and 32 km from Kottayam and about 60 km from Kochi International Airport, the Vaikom Shiva Temple, known as Thekkan Kashi, is the heart of the town, and is remarkable for the Vaikom Ashtami celebrations during November. It is notable as the venue of the Vaikom Agitation for achieving for the lower castes the right to walk on the surrounding the temple. The temple was built in 1594, Vaikom is administered by a municipality and is the seat of a munsiffs court. Vaikom assembly constituency is reserved for Dalits and is part of Kottayam parliamentary constituency, Vaikom was believed to be a part of a kingdom called Venmalanadu in the past. When Venmalanadu was split into Vadakkumkoor and Thekkumkoor, it part of Vadakkumkoor dynasty. Later in 1742, it part of Travancore when the then Maharajah of Travancore, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma. Vaikom gained its fame on a national level during Vaikom Satyagraha, the traditional economy has been based on coconut and rice crops, and fishing, more recently, crops like nutmeg, black pepper, and latex have been introduced. Tourism and software are also pursued as a means to livelihood, hindustan Newsprint Limited is situated in Velloor near Vaikom. As per the 2001 census, Vaikom has a population of about 22637 and this region has a literacy rate of 92%. Population density of the region is 2496 per square km, as per the 2011 census, The Vaikom municipality has a population of 23,234 of which 11,304 are males while 11,930 are females. The population of children under age 6 is 1807, which is 7. 78% of the population of Vaikom. In Vaikom municipality, the sex ratio is of 1055 against the state average of 1084. The male child sex ratio in Vaikom is around 960, compared to the Kerala state average of 964, the literacy rate of Vaikom city is 96. 84%, higher than the state average of 94. 00%. In Vaikom, male literacy is around 98. 30% while female literacy rate is 95. 47%
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Satyagraha
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Satyagraha — loosely translated as insistence on truth or holding onto truth or truth force — is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term satyagraha was coined and developed by Mahatma Gandhi and he deployed satyagraha in the Indian independence movement and also during his earlier struggles in South Africa for Indian rights. Satyagraha theory influenced Martin Luther King Jr. s and James Bevels campaigns during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, someone who practices satyagraha is a satyagrahi. The term originated in a competition in the news-sheet Indian Opinion in South Africa in 1906, mr. Maganlal Gandhi, grandson of an uncle of Gandhi came up with the word Sadagraha and won the prize. Subsequently to make it clearer, Gandhi changed it to Satyagraha, Satyagraha is a tatpuruṣa compound of the Sanskrit words satya and agraha. Satya is derived from the word “sat”, which means “being”, nothing is or exists in reality except Truth. In the context of satyagraha, Truth therefore includes a) Truth in speech, as opposed to falsehood, b) what is real, as opposed to nonexistent and c) good as opposed to evil, or bad. This was critical to Gandhi’s understanding of and faith in nonviolence, asatya, meaning untruth, also means nonexistent, and satya or truth also means that which is. If untruth does not so much as exist, its victory is out of the question, and truth being that which is, can never be destroyed. This is the doctrine of satyagraha in a nutshell, for Gandhi, satyagraha went far beyond mere passive resistance and became strength in practising non-violent methods. In his words, Truth implies love, and firmness engenders, in September 1935, a letter to P. K. Rao, Servants of India Society, Gandhi disputed the proposition that his idea of Civil Disobedience was adapted from the writings of Thoreau, the statement that I had derived my idea of civil disobedience from the writings of Thoreau is wrong. The resistance to authority in South Africa was well advanced before I got the essay of Thoreau on civil disobedience, but the movement was then known as passive resistance. As it was incomplete, I had coined the word satyagraha for the Gujarati readers, when I saw the title of Thoreau’s great essay, I began the use of his phrase to explain our struggle to the English readers. But I found that civil disobedience failed to convey the full meaning of the struggle. I therefore adopted the civil resistance. Non-violence was always a part of our struggle. Gandhi described it as follows, I have also called it love-force or soul-force, for what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other
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Mahatma Gandhi
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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights, the honorific Mahatma —applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa—is now used worldwide. In India, he is also called Bapu and Gandhiji and he is unofficially called the Father of the Nation. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, Gandhi famously led Indians in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for years, upon many occasions, in both South Africa and India. Gandhi attempted to practise nonviolence and truth in all situations, and he lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn hand-spun on a charkha. He ate simple food, and also undertook long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest. Eventually, in August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab, eschewing the official celebration of independence in Delhi, Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to provide solace. In the months following, he undertook several fasts unto death to promote religious harmony, the last of these, undertaken on 12 January 1948 when he was 78, also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan. Some Indians thought Gandhi was too accommodating, among them was Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, who assassinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948 by firing three bullets into his chest. Mahatma Gandhis birthday,2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday and his father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi, served as the diwan of Porbandar state. The Gandhi family originated from the village of Kutiana in what was then Junagadh State, in the late 17th or early 18th century, one Lalji Gandhi moved to Porbandar and entered the service of its ruler, the Rana. In 1831, Rana Khimojiraji died suddenly and was succeeded by his 12-year-old only son, as a result, Rana Khimojirajjis widow, Rani Rupaliba, became regent for her son. She soon fell out with Uttamchand and forced him to return to his village in Junagadh. While in Junagadh, Uttamchand appeared before its Nawab and saluted him with his hand instead of his right. In 1841, Vikmatji assumed the throne and reinstated Uttamchand as his diwan, in 1847, Rana Vikmatji appointed Uttamchands son, Karamchand, as diwan after disagreeing with Uttamchand over the states maintenance of a British garrison. Although he only had an education and had previously been a clerk in the state administration
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Moolam Thirunal
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Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was the ruling Maharajah of the Indian state of Travancore between 1885 and 1924, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Visakham Thirunal. Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was born on 25 September 1857 to Prince Raja Raja Varma of the Changanassery Royal Family and Maharani Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore and his mother died when he was only a few days old. The Maharajah had a brother, Hastham Thirunal. After the usual vernacular Malayalam studies, the two princes were placed under the tutorship of Annaji Rao B. A. and later under Raghunath Rao B. A. at a house built specially for the purpose. Hastham Thirunal soon had to stop his studies owing to ill health and he was initially taught subjects such as history, geography, arithmetic and grammar. His great grandmother was the Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore, the Travancore Legislative Council was established in 1888, three years after Moolam Thirunal became Maharajah. This was the first Legislative Council for a state in the history of India. It was later succeeded by the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, the first legislature in Indian history to have elected members, in 1886 a proclamation was issued relieving people of the requirement to pay of penalties on documents executed on unstamped government cadjan leaves. In 1887, the penalty for non payment of duty was reduced as it was found to be a huge burden. In 1888 the Anchal post system was improved with stamps of new values introduced, Moolam Thirunals reign also saw major changes in the transport sector in Travancore. The first bus began in 1908 on two routes starting from Trivandrum. Ten years later in 1918, the first train reached Trivandrum as the Chenkotta-Quilon railway was extended to Trivandrum, one of the major accomplishments of Moolam Thirunals reign was the progress made in the area of agriculture with major reclamation activities taking place in the Vembanadu Lake region. Two of members of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, Pallithanam Luca Matthai and their efforts helped Kuttanadu become the rice bowl of Travancore. They were also instrumental in the reclamation of more than two-thirds of the lands in Kuttanadu, several other reforms were also brought in by Moolam Thirunal in fields including education, medicine, law and order and the civil service. Sanitary departments were opened and female education progressed, changes were brought in the management of prisons and the public works department was reorganised. A life insurance system was introduced by the Maharajah. In 1898, in recognition of his accomplishments, the British rewarded Moolam Thirunal with the grant of a salute of 21 guns. All through the reign of Maharajah Sir Rama Varma he was assisted by able men as Dewans or Prime Ministers and these most illustrious personalities included, Dewan V. Ramiengar Dewan T. Rama Rao Dewan S. Shungrasoobyer C. I. E
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Sethu Lakshmi Bayi
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Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI was the regent of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her cousin, Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, were adopted into the Travancore Royal Family and were the granddaughters of the celebrated painter. In 1924, Maharajah Moolam Thirunal died and his grand nephew, a regency became necessary, since the Maharajah was still a minor. Since Travancore royal family followed the system, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was the head of the family. It is to be noted that she was a monarch in her own right as per matrilineal law. Sethu Lakshmi Bayis regency continued the administration of Travancore Dynasty. Her meeting with Mahatma Gandhi resulted in a proclamation by which all the public roads to Vaikom Mahadeva Temple were opened to all castes. She also amended the Travancore Nayar Act in relation to the Marumakkathayam system of inheritance, eventually in 1928, the matrilineal system was altogether done away with, introducing patrilineal nuclear family system among Nairs. She was also criticized for formulating the notorious Press Regulation Act in 1926 which gagged the Press, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was born on 19 November 1895 to Ayilyam Nal Mahaprabha of the Utsavamadhom Palace in Mavelikara and Kerala Varma. Her mother belonged to a branch of the Kolathunad Royal Family that had settled in Travancore towards the end of the 18th century and was one of daughters of the artist Raja Ravi Varma. In the prevalent matrilineal system of inheritance known as Marumakkathayam, the presence of females to continue the line, the Senior Maharani decided to adopt the daughters of her nieces, Mahaprabha and Kochukunji of Mavelikara, into the Travancore Royal Family. Subsequently a daughter was born to Mahaprabha in 1895, the child was named Sethu Lakshmi, the next year in 1896, Kochukunji gave birth to a daughter who was similarly named Sethu Parvathi. In 1900 Maharani Lakshmi Bayi formally petitioned Maharajah Moolam Thirunal for the adoption of her nieces, to perpetuate the ruling line. Within a year of the adoption of the Princesses in 1900, thus at the age of six, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi succeeded her as Senior Maharani of Attingal while Sethu Parvathi Bayi became Junior Maharani of Attingal. Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran, consort of the late Senior Maharani Lakshmi Bayi, was appointed the guardian of the 2 minor queens and tutors were appointed to teach them. In 1906, when she was ten years old, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi was married to Sri Rama Varma. Four years later in 1910 the marriage was consummated and the couple started living together, in 1910 she became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage. In 1912 having passed her minority, the Maharajah granted her the rights to control of the Sreepadom Estate
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Vaikom Temple
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The Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a temple for the Hindu god Shiva in Vaikom, Kerala. The temple, along with Ettumanoor Siva Temple, Kaduthuruthy Thaliyil Mahadeva Temple is considered a powerful trisome, the belief is that if a devotee worships at these three temples before Ucha pooja, all the wishes are fulfilled. The Vaikom Mahadeva temple is one of the few temples which is held in reverence by both Shaivaites and the Vaishnavaites, vaikom’s Shiva is fondly called Vaikkathappan. The Shiva Linga here is believed to be from the ‘Treta yuga’, kharasura on receiving the Shaiva Vidya Upadesh from Malyavan went to Chidambaram, and did severe penance and Tapasya for the attainment of Moksha. Pleased with his penance Lord Siva granted all the boons he asked, assuring that He will ever be present in them, Lord Siva disappeared, asking Khara to worship the Lingas to attain Moksha. When Khara was returning south from Himalayas with the three Lingas, one in his hand, one in left hand and other by the neck. After rest when he tried to pick up the lingas, they wouldn’t budge and he realized that it was Shiva’s maya and when called unto, the heavens spoke thus, “I shall remain here giving Moksha to whom so ever * take refuge in Me”. Khara having attained Moksha entrusted the holy Lingas to the custody of Maharshi Vyaghrapada who had followed him invisibly and asked the sage to protect and worship them. Belief is that the Siva Linga placed by Khara Asura by his hand is being worshipped at Vaikom, the one in left hand at Ettumannoor. The Linga carried by Khara with his neck is believed to be at Kadathuruthy, the fact that the distance from Vaikom to Kadathuruthy and from there to Ettumanoor is more or less the same, gives credence to this legend. So the Darsana of all these three Lingas on a day is considered as good as the Siva Darsana at Kailas – the Abode of the Lord. On a *Vritchika - Krishna paksha – Ashtami dahy, the Lord of Lords, the Lord proclaimed, “This place shall be known as Vyaghrapadapurma”, and disappeared. The world famous Vaikkathashtami and all connected holy festivals are observed even to this day on the same Vrichika – Krishna*- Ashtami. Vyaghrapada Maharshi continued the Pooja in most esteem and devotion for some time and went on pilgrimage. Months, sri Parasurama – the Chiramjeevi was going by the sky one day. Seeing good omens alighted here and saw a Holy Siva Linga emerged in water emitting heavenly rays and he could understand that it was the Siva Linga placed by Khara. Sri Parasurama thought himself that, the holiest and noblest Siva Chaitanya could be a refuge for the devoted who wish to attain Moksha. He consecrated the auspicious Linga here with His earnest Prayers and recitation of Siva Manthras, the most benign Lord Siva at once appeared with his consort Parvati Devi before Parasurama. He was so pleased that the Linga was consecrated with the Manthras by Parasurama – an avatar of Vishnu, the kind Lord Siva said to Parasurama, “From now onwards I shall stay here as Shaiva-Vaishnava Chaithanya granting all blisses and Moksha to all devotees”
