As indicated in Chapter Ill there were shifts in favour of educational

Transcription

1 CHAPTER - RI SOClO - RELIGIOUS REFORM MOVEMENTS As indicated in Chapter Ill there were shifts in favour of educational and health care development in parts of Kerala as early as the beginning of the twentieth century. Firstly the details of this process have to be brought out. Secondly the factors that caused such a shift have to be analysed. These are attempted in this chapter. Since these developments (in favour of increased literacy and basic health-care facilities) occurred under colonial rule, the natural tendency will be to explain them in terms of the beneficial aspects of colonial rule itself. What prevents such an explanation is that it was in Travancore and in Cochin, two princely States which were only indirectly under colonial rule, that such a shift appears, and not in Malabar which was directly under British rule. Secondly, if it was the outcome of British rule, then it should have had an even spread across all British ruled areas. There are no evidences for the latter development. This prompts us to look for evidences which are mainly internal to the Kerala society. Continuing with the arguments presented in Chapter II, let us look at the development of human resources; particularly that of literacy and basic education; for which evidences are available from the turn of the century. As evident from TABLE IV.19, at the turn of the present century itself a caste-structured pattern of literacy development had already occurred in at least one part of Kerala; that is, in Travancore. That means the higher the caste or community is placed in the existing social ladder, the greater is their literacy rates. What seem to have happened is that though each caste and community was able to attain literacy variables it did not result in any fundamental alteration in the existing caste or 60

2 community order. At least initially there is a continuity between the earlier and later periods. Therefore, we have to look for a factor internal to the existing social order rather than a factor entirely external to it causing the initial spurt in literacy. Our search for such a development takes us to the various Socio-Religious Reform Movements which took place in among various castes and communities particularly in Southern Kerala or Travancore in early twentieth century and late nineteenth century. Table N.19 :PROPORTION OF EDUCATED BY CASTES, TRAVANCORE 1875 AND 1891 AND THE ORDER OF UTERACY AMONG SOME OF THE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES, TRAVANCORE, 1901 Malayala Brahmins Kanians Kankanies Vellalas (( Nair I I I I Sourco : Travanwre. Rewrt on Census Ch.10, pp.502-3, and V. Nagarn wa: Travancore State Manual 1906, Vol.11, Ch.VII, p.34.

3 The district-wise growth of literacy from 1901 to 1971 is given in Table as well as in TABLE and Two significant points emerge from those Tables. One is the relative backwardness of Malabar region. Second is the different periods around 1931 when the initial spurt occurred, for different regions of Kerala. The spread of literacy from 1875, in Travancore, Malabar and Cochin isgiven in TABLES and in Travancore and Cochin, as early as 1901 had literacy rates higher than other states and provinces of lndia'. There were factors promoting women's as well as lower-caste literacy around the turn of the century. Travancore abolished fees for girls in primary schools in Cochin did the same in Malabar, from 1871 onwards, never ranked lower than third in literacy among the districts of the Madras Presidency, and its literacy rate was always well ahead of the Presidency. Malabar's literacy rate was always well ahead of the Presidency and the all-india averages. In female literacy Malabar always led the Presiden$. In Travancore-Cochin there was a steady increase in female literacy with rather spectacular increase between 1911 and The differences between male and female rates of literacy have been narrower in Kerala than the rest of the country. If in 1890 the male-female ratio for all lndia was 17 to 1, in Kerala the ratio was only about 5 to 1. By 1951 male literacy was only about 1.6 times higher than female literacy in Kerala4. Travancore in 1896 offered incentives for schools established for the "backward castes'". In 1906 primary education was made free for lower castes. Cochin also made primary education free for lower castes in In Cochin, the proportion of lower-caste students increased from 7 per cent in 1911 to 12 per cent in 1920 and to 25 per cent in In Travancore, the number of "backward caste" students increased from 6500 to in

4 1906, and by 1910 they represented 10 per cent of enrolment6. Such provisions provided opportunities for only a minority from these castes. The really backward groups still suffered in relation to others in terms of literacy and education. The provision of free primary education facilitated greater participation at this level from even economically backward groups7. By 1968, literacy levels of all communities went up significantly; yet inter-communal differences persisted. It was in 1817 that a Royal Rescript, much acclaimed in the educational history of Keraia, was issued by the then Rani of Travancore accepting the responsibility of assisting village schools8. This indeed was a departure from traditional policy by which Royal or Governmental support was primarily for institutions of higher learning. In Cochin in 1818 government established 33 vernacular schoolsg. Apart from the indigenous schools which had a student strength not much less than 40,000 in , there were only a few English schools started by the government. Dewan Sir T.Madhava Rao who played a major role in the promotion of education in Travancore, himself, admitted the failure of promoting vernacular schools till then1'. From the second half of the nineteenth century increasing supply of educational services is reffected in high public outlays. The governmental expenditure on education was on the increase in Travancore and Cochin in this period. The participation by non-governmental agencies in building educational institutions was facilitated by the early introduction of grants-in-aid system. Christian missionaries who were the first to introduce modern education in these parts and indigenous Christian agencies derived benefits from government grantsi1.

5 Education of the lower castes, was an exclusive preserve of Christian missionary schools till around the turn of the century. Government and indigenous schools were largely inaccessible to them. Nagam Aiyai2 has pointed out that So far as educational facilities were concerned, the slave or lower castes were decidedly at a great disadvantage... On account of the prejudice and exclusiveness of caste, the government and private schools were shut against them, while the religious scruples prevented their joining the mission schools. Thus for long years they remained without receiving the rudiments of education. In Travancore it was in the wake of the Educational Rules and Grant-in-Aid Code of that the government took initiatives to establish 15 schools for educationally and socially backward castes and communities like Muslims, Ghavas, Pulayas, Marakkans and Kanis, followed in a year by another 15 such schools. Besides several incentives were provided for preparing teachers for such schools, in addition to fee exemption and special assistance for starting such schools. The Christian missionaries once again made most of such opp~rtunities~~. Jeffrey14 attributes the interest of Travancore government in backward caste education to their apprehension of the danger of driving them to the arms of the missionaries. In 1904 primary education of backward classes were declared to be free and schools were opened to Ezhava and other backward communities. In , the restriction on admission of Pulaya children, the caste considered to be the lowest, in government schools, was rernoved15. In , further incentives were extended to backward caste education. In , all schools in

6 Travancore except seventeen, were opened to all communitie~'~. In , there were 87,841 students in Travancore, belonging to the backward classes of whom 59,565 were boys and 28,276 were girls. In , there were 1,46632 backward class students of which 49,028 were girls1'. Meanwhile, in Cochin, the Education Code, introduced in 191 1, not only abolished fees at primary level, but also introduced scholarships to poor st~dents'~. In 1921 a Code Revision Committee recommended exemption of fees to the children of depressed classes and half fee concessions to Muslims, Ezhavas and other backward classes in English schools, and recasting scholarship rules by enlarging its scope to include girls, Muslims and other backward and depressed classesig. It was noted that in the Cochin Administration Re~ort [CAR1 in 1929 that "so far as boys are concerned, excepting some of the depressed and very backward communities, the State may claim to have succeeded in making elementary education well-nigh universal without resorting to compul~ion"~~. In Malabar, the government policy of promoting elementary education was not very strong. There was hardly any special programme for promotion of backward caste education which was mainly through missionary effort. In the 1930s there were some improvements in general educational levels because of the added efforts of local bodiesz1. Even in Travancore and Cochin education of the lower caste did not progress at par with the other castes. Two other communities also lagged behind. They were the Catholics-Syrian and Latin - and the Muslims. Since the 'modem' schools were founded by the Protestant Missionaries, to begin with, they were shunned by the Catholics. As a result in 1834, CMS Grammar School in Kottayam, one of the earliest 'English Schools' in

7 Kerala had out of a total strength of 60,41 non-christian Syrians, 17 Nairs, 1 Brahmin and 1 "Romo Syrianu*. But in the second half of the 19th century Syrian Catholic leaders made calls for educational development, which soon bore fruit. As a result, by 1908 itself the Catholics, particularly the Syrian Catholics, had the highest number of Christian schools in Travancore and Cochin. By 1932 they (Syrians and Latins together) managed the largest number of private schools in TravancoreZ3. Meanwhile, the Latin Catholics lagged behind in terms of number of schools and students. It was noted that while they had no schools in 1879, by 1906, they had 3 high schools, 35 English and Vernacular schools and 285 Pariah schools, besides being involved in girls educationz4. Even today, the traditional fisherfolk who constitute a considerable portion of this community are illiterate. The fact that one part of the Catholic community - the Syrians - quite quickly bridged the gap with other communities in terms of literacy is nevertheless interesting. The Muslim community in all three administrative divisions, and particularly in Malabar remained backward in literacy. Even in recent literacy survey conducted in connection with the mass campaign for literacy they are, and particularly Muslim women are found to be backward in litera@. In 1891 the -s2' FRC] said so about this community : The Mohammedans are the most obnoxious of all people to the influence of Civilization. In all the English schools of Travancore, there are only 33 Mohammedan pupils for a population of 158, 828 or 1 in 4,800. If we take the total number of Mohammedans "learning" (5,826) into calculation,

8 the proportion is 1 in 27. The Madras Administrative Re~ort 1890 gives 76,678 Mohammedan scholars to a total population of 2,250,386 or 1 in 29. In 1905, there were suggestions in the Travancore Assembly to introduce, like it has already been done in British India, a financial encouragement to promote Muslim education2'. In spite of all these the general literacy level of Muslims in Kerala as a whole did not rise perceptibly. In early 20th century itself female enrolment increased in Travancore. The Education Reforms Committee of 1932, advised coeducation and mixed staff with half-fee concession for girls, irrespective of their economic status, in all government and private schools. Similar developments are seen in Cochin too. In 1921 there was only one College, 11 High Schools, 11 Lower Secondary Schools, 68 Primary Schools and 10 Industrial Schools for girls2'. Several girls were also attending mixed schools. The number of girls receiving instruction rose from 13,824 to 1915 to 49,463 in 1929 an increase of 66.4 per cenp. Nevertheless, by 1930 it was observed with regard to Cochin that "as regards girls, though the steady increase affords room for gratification, there is still a considerable proportion outside the bale of our schools, the percentage of those in attendance being only 66.4 of the total school-going population of girl^"^. In Malabar, literacy was estimated to be 7 per cent by 1881 and by 1931 it rose to 15 per cent with female literacy being 6.4 per cent as against 0.08 per cent in The increase in schools which led to increase in literacy had to be credited more to the missionary or private institutions and local fund institutions. By 1936, the Malabar district Board ran twelve hundred schools, more than any other district in the Presidency. Though Malabar accounted for less than eight per cent of the Presidency's

9 population, it had 10 per cent of the schools; and more than 70 per cent of these schools were run, not by the provincial government, but by local managements receiving grants-in aid3'. In other words, Malabar in 1931 had started showing similar signs in literacy as Cochin had done after 1921 and Travancore after 19113'. This will further substantiate the fact noted earlier, of different time periods in which the spurt in extension of literacy occurred in different parts of Kerala. What we see in the forgone review is that governments in Travancore and Cochin took the initiative in spreading literacy and basic education by starting schools and offering grants-in-aid to private institutions from 19th century onwards. The Christian missionaries who had even earlier started 'western' type schools, made use of the grant-in-aid scheme to extend their school network. So did other non-governmental agencies who came up in the education scene by late 19th century. Government welcomed all who were prepared to accept some norms and standards in running schools; including the traditional indigenous schools which were integrated33 into the modern school system. Since the princely governments were keen to promote vernacular and primary schools, the private agencies invested mainly in vernacular schools. The missionaries were guided in this matter by their requirement of their primary evangelical discourse with Castes considered lowest in the existing hierarchy being in the local language34. The other private agencies followed suit because their requirements were for education in the vernacular which will qualify them for government jobs and equip them for running commercialised agricultural enterprises3=. The emphasis upon primary and vernacular education had direct impact upon literacy. Still it should also be noted that inter-community or inter-caste differences in literacy seem to have persisted even upto the time of national independence. Only one community, the Syrian Catholics, managed to overcome their early

10 handicap. Further, the inter-regional differences also persisted. Though there were earlier efforts at educational promotion it had effect only in the second half of the nineteenth century. Let us now review development in other sectors. Very early the demand for making vaccination compulsory was raised in Travancore. V.A.Ramakrishna Aiyer of Town Improvement Committee, Trivandrum, argued for making vaccination compulsory in Subsequently vaccination was made compulsory in the town of Trivandrum. A resolution demanding relaxation was withdrawn in the face of great resistance in the Legislative Council3'. In addition, various members simultaneously demanded the opening of hospitals and Vaidvasalas of other systems of medicine in the Popular A~sembly~~. In the year 1891, there were 137,880 sick people being treated in 33 medical institutions of Travancore. In the same year the TRC 1891 said3' it should be still remembered that only a fraction get the benefit of the Sircar medical institutions... In the case of the well-todo classes, by far the largest proportion of them believe in the efficacy of their native medicines and the native system of doctoring known as Ashtanaahridavam. The bulk of Nambudiri Brahmins as well as the Sudras [Nairs] and a good many of the middle classes follow the prescription of those Ashtanaahridavam Vaidvans. Many of these are mere quacks, but the popular faith in them remains yet unshaken... Even healthy persons are recommended to rub certain oils in their daily baths to remove impurities of blood, to promote digestion, and to present such common

11 diseases as cold; Doctors too, well versed in Ashtanaahridavam all over the country, and some lluva, Syrian Christians and also Mohamedan Vaidvans are known to claim proficiency in the native methods of treatment. There is n o m without its Vaidvan, and in thickly-peopled villages, old women act the part of Vaidvans in every day aliment, and the part of midwives in obstetric cases. Almost every Travancorean after a certain age takes to medicated oils prescribed for him by native w. The writer has not met a single native who totally disbelieves in the efficacy of these oil baths... The people wish that more encouragement was given by the Sircar to maintain this ancient system of medicine which they fear is fast dying out. What this indicates is that in health, like in education also, there were traditional institutions which were sustained by government's grant- in-aid and thus an integrated system was given shape quite early. Several measures were introduced under government initiative with regard to public health. In 1892, The Town Conservancv and lm~rovement Act was introduced4'. An initial notification in 1896 and a subsequent notification in 1906, were issued saying that destitute lepers will be housed, dieted and treated by the government and that the public should not give them alms and encourage them to wander in the streets. Grant-in-aid was made available to Avu~edic Vaidvasalas from 1896, and by 1929 there were 21 government hospitals, 52 dispensaries and 19 grant-in-aid4' institutions. The progress in this sector has been dependent not only on the supply of technology and services but also upon educated and socially conscious population being able to make demands upon the service infrastructure and to utilise them. Meanwhile, the growth rate of population in Travancore exceeded that in almost all other States, even during the period 1891-

12 1901; when the population in several other regions registered a decline and the growth rate for India as a whole came to only 1.6 per cent42. Yet another infrastructural service which got improved, especially in Travancore area, was transport and communication facilities. The commercial cultivation which took deep roots necessitated expansion of both water and road transpop. Most of the roads that were built in Travancore were from the plantation centres in the Ghauts in the east and from the non-plantation cash crop centres in foot hills, connecting the midland marketing centres and coastal port towns in the west. The commercial cultivation led to the creation of an elaborate system of inland water transport to bring export goods down to the little ports strung along the coasp. As a result the total length of canals and backwaters maintained for navigation purposes exclusive of the navigable rivers was 147 miles and the cost to the exchequer for maintaining them was nearly Rs.150 per mile at the turn of the centue. V.Nagam Aiya had pointed out in that calculating the area of the state at 7091 Sq. miles and assuming that one third of this area is unfit for human habitation or are sparsely populated it is found that for each Sq. mile of the remaining two-thirds of the country there exists nearly half a mile of cart road under maintenance. This is considerably greater for size than in any district of the Madras presidency. The roots of such a road network can be traced to the 19th century itself. The Makaram crop of Cardamom grown in the Ghauts were transported by bullock carts through cattle tracks and bridle paths in early 19th century to Vaikom through Thodupuzha and thence by boat to

13 Alleppey. The same route was converted to a road subsequentlf7. Instructions were issued that Public Works be done through contractors in 18814'. Second only to the British Planters, there were demands for roads in their areas made by representatives of peasant proprietors and merchants and from among the ranks of the reform leaders. They also stood to gain from expansion of such facilities. It is reflected in a resolution in the Travancore legislature moved by C.P.Tharakan to throw open all canals and tanks constructed or repaired at government cost, to all people; and in another resolution moved by A.J.John in 1926 to open up Sirkar Satrams [government rest houses] to all classes49. Besides several Christian priests initiated and led road building efforts to their parishess0. The Sirkar Anchal (postal service) was thrown open to the public in 186Is'. The Electric Telegraph Service was introduced in 1865 between Quilon and Trivandrum and the construction of the railway line between Tirunelvely and Quilon started in 190OS2. Such developments occurred in the context of the evolution of Socio-Religions Reform Movements [SRRMS]. Before we look into the possible causal relationship between the two developments, the process of evolution of Socio-Religious reform movements has to be looked at first. The detailed discussion of the process involved will give a comprehensive view which will allow a better understanding of relationships involved. Origin of the SRRMs in Kerala can be traced back to the second half of nineteenth century. These movements got expressed through various ways, different organizational structures, and through divergent campaigns; some related exclusively to social matters and some related to religious matters as well? Since the demarcation between purely social affairs and purely religious affairs is so difficult to make; and since on

14 occasions these organizations and campaigns tackled both aspects of human condition, it is better to term these movements as socio-religious movements. Depending upon the strength of the concerned communities, amidst which the movements were primarily working and the preoccupation with either social or religious affairs, the character of the movements also differed. For instance, the SRRM which was predominant among the Pulayas, the lowest in the caste hierarchy, had undoubtedly more social concerns. The predominant SRRM among the Ezhavas, a lower-middle level caste combined both social and religious preoccupations. On the other hand the SRRM predominant among the Syrian Christians was more preoccupied with religious affairs including their liturgy, rite of worship, and ecclesiastical administration. Nevertheless, all these movements had a common character of orientation towards reform of attitudes, practices, structures and institutions. One dimension of these SRRMs was that even though some of them were meant to transcend the borders of a particular caste or community, eventually they all got identified with one or other caste, community, sub- caste or denomination. The Sree Naravana Dharma Pari~alana Yoaam [SNDPY], was meant to be an organization of all backward castes I ~mmunities~~. That organization also got identified with Ezhavas alone. Similarly the Nauani Jathva Aikva Sanahom [NJAS] originally meant as a common organization of Catholic and non-catholic Syrian Christians did not remain so for long. Even the Travanwre Cochin Roman Catholics Maha Jana Sabha (TCRCMJS) organized to highlight the demands of all sections of the Catholics got delimited to eventually represent only the Syrian faction55. In the early decades of twentieth century, the major thrust of these SRRMs got crystallised into organized forms, on the basis of the

15 consciousness of caste or community. The SNDPY got organized in 1903, the TCRCMJS in 1905, the Sadhu Jana Pari~alana Sanaham [SJPS] in 1910, and the Nair Service Societv [NSS] in They were preceded by earlier and more limited efforts. The process of getting members of the same caste or community together and helping to communicate the perceptions and desires scattered throughout different groupings between and across larger groups helped to strengthen their sense of belonging to a particular community. On the other hand, this process weakened whatever particularistic perceptions that were held. Gradually there developed a community or caste consciousness of pan-regional proportions. In this process another factor which played a major role was that of the population Census. Once the Census started categorizing persons across simplified caste categories, there were attempts to position groups either into or away from broadly accepted caste/community categ~ries~~. One example of this is the case of the Nair caste. This broad umbrella category, the Nairs (or Malayali Sudras according to the Census) contained several sub-castes. By the time of the Census of Travancore 1875, at least 34 of such sub-castes were recorded5'. One declared objective of the NSS, the main organization of the Nair SRRM was to bring together Nairs of different sub-castes, in which they greatly succeeded. Gradually much of the identification on the basis of sub-castes got obliterateds8. The cumulative strength of such larger groups created through amalgamation were translated into bargaining points for higher social status. Even when these communities or castes achieved consciousness beyond their local identification, their community-based organizations did not resort to methods or characteristics of mass organizations. The TCRCMJS invited to their annual gatherings only persons of "substance", according to contemporary news reports. The SNDPYs initial membership

16 fees was kept so high that ordinary Ghavas could not aspire after membership. On the other hand, the SJPS could have had a claim of mass participation within the Pulaya community; because the community as such were not much differentiated on the basis of assets, income, or occupation. Even in this case those who were active tended to come from economically and educationally advanced groups. The NSS, since it tried to get together Nairs of all sub-castes, did reach out to poorer sections also. Nevertheless the caste consciousness created was on the basis of the higher ritualistic and social status the Nairs enjoyed. In other words, these organisations which were virtually the torch-bearers of SRRMs in Travancore, with the possible exception of the movement of the Pulayas (the caste considered lowest in the existing hierarchy) remained highly elitistic, in the begining. Community or caste consciousness develops on the basis of distinctive perceptions within each community/caste of their own needs, demands, status and accomplishments. In a non-industrialized society which still had various traditional under-pinnings, communities and castes were the easy and readily available means of social identification. Socio- economic and political developments which challenged this pattern decisively, were yet to appear in Travancore. Therefore, it was imperative that community and caste were the organising principles adopted by even the educated sections of the populati~n,~~ resulting in the emergence of various community - based organizations6". It was in the process of larger social identification and the bargaining for higher social status that the demands for schools, hospitals, dispensaries roads etc. came up. But before analysing the impact of the SRRMs upon the society at large, it is necessary to study the internal structures of these movements. Two dimensions of SRRMs are to be noted in this context. One was the attempt at socio-religious adjustments and

17 adaptations. The second was; as and when such attempts generated specific demands, the tendency to form organisations around them. Since the latter could not have emerged without the former, the organic link between the two are obvious. Therefore, an analysis of the latter should give insights into the former; which is attempted below. Syrian Christians appear in Kerala, from at least the 5th century A.D. By the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in late 15th century they had moved inland from the port towns and were engaged mainly in agriculture". Till this period the community did not have any religious divisions within it. They enjoyed a relatively high social position, as a reward for engaging in a vital and needed economic transaction i.e., trade in the economy of Kerala. With the arrival of the Portuguese, tensions emanating from theological disputes largely alien to Kerala Christians, crept into their communitys2. This resulted in divisions within the community into Catholics (paying allegiance to the Pope in Rome), and non-catholics (affiliated eventually to the West Asian Jacobite tradition). This was only the beginning of a series of further factionalism which led to various division^^^. There were several attempts starting from the 17th century, to throw off the yoke of ecclesiastical control initially established by the Portuguese missionariesm. In the 19th century the same old slogan of removing foreign control was revived but on entirely new premises. This case is of immediate interest to us. In late 1820's there was a move to raise a monastic order among the Syrian Catholics. The order eventually called the Carmelites of Marv Immaculate (CMI) managed to grow under the able leadership of their first Prior General, Chavara Kuriakose Kathanar (called in anglicized fashion as Rev. Fr. Cyriac Elias). They received monetary and organizational support from various quarters of the cornmunityas. This order became an

18 efficient medium to supervise and implement various aspects of the campaign to raise community consciousness. Their activities included the running of printing presses, educational institutions, newspapers etc. all over Travancore. By the middle of 19th century there were attempts to start a Seminary or training College for priests of the Syrian Catholic tradition'j6. In 1869 and 1870s a faction of Syrian Catholics managed to get West Asian prelates to Kerala as a rival source of authority to the western missionariess7. Though these two 'schisms" were curbed they remained a potential threat to the missionary dominance. Syrian Catholics won further advances towards self-rule which resulted in getting Bishops of their own tradition by Before proceeding further with the case of Syrian Catholics it is necessary to have a look at the non-catholic Syrians. By early 19th century the non-catholic (Jacobite) Syrians had a period of close association with British missionaries of the Anglican [Protestant] tradition who came to Kottayam in Travancore under the auspices of the Church Missionarv [CMS]. Such collaborations, which were very much in the interests of the Anglican missionaries who were in search of non-catholic Christians in Kerala, broke up around 1830 due to conflicting religious traditions and practice^^^. But this short period of association left its impact upon the Syrian Church which underwent in 1860's a kind of reformation based on principles propagated by the missionaries. The result was a split into denominations competing with each other for supremacy in not only the religious field but also in the social fieldss. By 1880's the Mar Thoma Church, the new faction, moved closer to the Anglican tradition leaving the Jacobite Syrian~'~.

19 Even before the split, Syrians of both factions realized the importance of modem education, first set into practice in this region by the Anglican missionaries. Under colonial paramountcy, government jobs were granted on the basis of modern educational qualifications. Thus, modern education became a major asset. This fact was realised by the non- Catholic Syrians earlier than any other community7'. Meanwhile the Catholic Syrians were learning from the experiences of non-catholics who stole a march over the Catholics in terms of educational qualifications and government jobs. The Catholics who were more prosperous as a than the others, were forced to put the blame for such affairs at the feet of their own missionary leadership who were non-english speakingt3. Further they also had a share of religious and civil disputes which were to be settled by modern courts. As already indicated Syrian Christians enjoyed relatively high social status even in the traditional caste based society. They were willing to respect the traditions, rules, and practices of a caste society. Even the Portuguese missionaries who had different ideas about caste distinctions, declined to put into practice those ideas, due to the pressure of circumstance^^^. By 19th century there were threats to this social position, because the Anglican missionaries, having based their religion upon entirely new concepts of personal equality, were not so accommodating towards the sentiments of Syrian Christians. Even the Catholic missionaries perceived a threat in the activity of Anglicans in enlisting converts from the lower castes. They became insistent upon common worship between Syrians and the converts, who were till then kept in separate churches. Such a negation of caste rules was not easily tolerated by the society and the Syrians had to face social repercussion^^^. By 1880's both factions of Syrian Christians were struggling to tackle effectively their loss of a preeminent social position due to association with lower caste converts. On the other hand, they could sense

20 that no more can lower caste converts be kept away and that they may prove useful in instances of counting numbers of their respective c~mmunities'~. The way out of such a predicament was found in the much coveted government service, for which modern educational qualifications were becoming a must. By 1885 the two factions joined together to form the NJAS. The Jacobite faction of NJAS was led by Metropolitan Pulikkottil Mar Divanios, an important religious leader, and supported among others by K.l.Varghese Mappillai, from the Thayyil-Kandathil family, which was very active in various modern enterprises of Travancore. The Catholic faction was led by Nidhirickal Mani Kathanar, one of the most respected Syrian Christian religious leaders and was supported by Ezhupunna Parayil Varkey Tharakan, another important lay leader from a family which figured prominently in various developments of the timesn. By way of its objectives this organization presents an interesting picture. They included the raising of capital to start a central bank through a lottery, the setting up of separate high schools for boys and girls in important Christian centres, in addition to a central College in Kottayam; (all to be financed by the proposed bank), and setting up of godowns in important Christian centres to keep agricultural produce till the market turns in their favour. Most significantly they had ideas of making use of the print media to propagate the ideals of the NJAS, as made clear in the editorial published in the very first issue of Nazrani Dee~ika, the oldest Malayalam daily now extant. The Nazrani Deeoika was intended to be the official organ of the association with Nidhirickal Mani Kathanar as its first editor7'. None of these objectives had any out-right religious flavour. They were all secular social obpchves. Only the persons they intended to serve were to be demarcated by their community. This way of community-based

21 demarcation itself was evidence of a highly accentuated community consciousness. On the basis of such community consciousness, they put forward several social objectives to upgrade Syrian Christians in the prevailing social hierarchy7$. They could raise such wider objectives because the Syrian Christians had at least partially won some of their internal and mainly religious objectives, such as a say in the ecclesiastical administration. The NJAS did not last long, allegedly due to interference by the still existing Catholic missionary leadershipa0. The two factions of Syrian Christians proceeded then on separate but similar waysa'. From among the non-catholic faction, another newspaper emerged in Kottayam itself, called Malavala Manorama with Varghese Mappillai as the editot2. On the Catholic side the responsibility of running the Nazarani Deeoika rested eventually upon the CMI order. The non-catholic faction organized under joint stock company rules into Mar Dionvsius Seminary [MDS] with the obvious intention of expanding their educational activitiesa3. Eventually in 1912 this faction also managed to transfer the See of the Catholicos of the East which lay vacant in West Asia to Kottayama4. Thus, this faction of Syrian Christians became autonomously organized. In 1905 the Catholic faction organized under the banner of TCRCMJS. This organization in due course got renamed as Akhila Kerala Catholic Conaress [AKCC]85. At first meeting the Secretary and President in their speeches referred to the example of the Japanese who in a matter of "less than 30 years" made great strides in "civilization, education, modern handicraft, and scientific knowledge" as to overtake even the EuropeanssB. Throughout the early decades of the 20th century this organization concentrated upon getting more government jobs on the basis of educational qualifications. They turned their attention eventually to the

22 demand for bifurcating the revenue department of the government into revenue and devasam departments. This was the biggest government department in terms of its capacity to grant jobs. But since devasom or temple administration was a responsibility attached to this department, neither low-caste Hindus nor non-hindu communities could aspire after any position in if". Since their interests coincided on this matter, both factions of Syrian Christians joined together with others like the Ezhavas, Muslims, Latin Catholics and Pulayas. This demand became all the more powerful when it was mediated through the Civil Rights Leagueaa (1919) and the Joint Political Congress (1930). Underneath such demands one can clearly see the desire of the Syrian Christians for a higher social position. What we see is a deep rooted desire for change in the ecclesiastical administration and in relative social status. Consequently the organized activities of this community mainly cantred around winning back higher social status on the basis of internal reorganisation claiming greater indigenous ecclesiastical control from western missionaries as well as from West Asian control. These efforts together qualify to be called by the generic term we have attributed to similar efforts in other cornmunity/castes in Travancore, that of Socio-religious Reform Movements. To gain higher social status, relatively independent and indigenous administration of Churches was necessary. They could not have put forward the demand for effective internal social status under the tutelage of non-english, European missionaries or West Asian prelates. The beginning of this SRRM is in the demand for indigenisation of Catholic hierarchy and for the transfer of the See of the Catholics of the East to Kottayam. These demands got strengthened in this period because of highly accentuated community consciousness which was caused by several factors; mainly modem education. Community consciousness was maintained and strengthened by the Syrian Christians being in an

23 advantageous position within a new and emerging mode of production; due to their control over cultivable land and laboupg. Their organized activities spread into bankingg0 and plantationsg'. They also tried hard not to allow their family assets to be divided among too many inheritors. They won a major victory in this regard by the passing of the Travancore Christian Succession Act of 1916 and the Cochin Christian Succession Act of mg2. The Ezhavas, a lower-middle caste in the social hierarchy of Kerala, had within their ranks persons of relative prosperity and social prominence. Since the distribution of such persons was uneven, their social position as a caste was also uneven within various local communities in the regiong3. Around 1870 some of them acquired. English education, though till the turn of the century, admission to government schools was effectively denied to themg4. Two brothers who managed to study upto the level of matriculation and beyond were from the capital city of Trivandrumg5. One of them, P.Palpu became a Licentiate in Medicine but was still not accommodated in Travancore Serviceg6. He went to Mysore where he found a job. He used to write in journals published from Madras bringing to light the extreme discrimination practised towards Ezhavas in Travancore. He was a signatory to the Malavali Memorial which was presented to the Government in 1891 demanding greater representation for "Malayalees" in Travancore government service. Soon after this Dr.Palpu himself initiated another Memorial presentation which came to be known as Ghava Memorial. Signed by 13,000 Ezhavasg7, the demands raised in this Memorial for more government jobs were rudely rejected. The then Dewan had already described the occupation of Ezhavas as toddy tapping and spinning of coipb at the time of Malavali Memorial.

24 These efforts of Dr.Palpu led him to organize a society called Ezhava Mahaiana Sabha [EMS] in 1896 (1071 ME) more or less in the style of other caste or community based organizations that were emerging in Travanmreg9. The main purpose of this society was to inculcate among the Ghavas a desire for modem educational qualifications, and to get admission in government schools. The ultimate purpose was to get more government jobs granted to the Ezha~as'~" Inseparable from such objectives was the fight for social equality and for putting an end to several "demeaning" social practices that were prevalent among Ezhavas as well as among other communities towards the Ezhavas. Such efforts did have only limited response from the Ghavas themselves. First of all, the membership of the EMS remained highly restricted. Secondly, the bulk of the Ezhava caste did not get fully inspired to challenge the barriers to social and cultural development. This was understandable, since among the Ezhavas, neither social resources nor economic resources had spread well enough by that timei0'. Meanwhile, the higher castes held such efforts in utter contempt. The response of the government was most disheartening since it reflected the prejudices and biases of the upper castes. A desperate Dr.Palpu was in search of a way out of this predicament when an inspiring and charismatic Sanyasin came to his notice. This Sanyasin was Sree Narayana Guru ( ) who had already made deep inroads into the Ezhava masses by several bold Scioreligious practices and precepts, including the solemnizing of a Sivalinaam in Aruvippuram near Trivandrum in 1888'02. Similar to the case of the Syrian Christians among whom Nidhirickal Mani Kathanar and Parayil Auira Varkey Tharakan and Pulikottil Mar Divanniyos and K.I.Varghese Mapillai, these two persons also merged together their charisma and

25 organizational abilities to give shape to the Ezhava SRRM. This resulted in the organization of SNDPY in They had, among others, another personality who became an asset to their efforts; that is, N.Kumaran Asan a young and influential poetlo3. The involvement of Sree Narayana himself in the Ezhava SRRM brought about three fundamental changes to the character of the rno~ement"'~. Sree Narayana's perception of the struggle was not confined to getting a few school admissions or a few government jobs. He advocated a struggle against the foundations of caste society which was the fundamental cause of social and cultural degradation of vast sections of the population, including the Ezhavas. The slogan that he raised. "one caste, one religion, one god for mankind" became the rallying point for all forces challenging the prevalent caste structure. Sree Narayana upheld that the struggle they were engaged in should no more be confined to the liberation of Ezhavas alone. On the other hand the whole movement was designed for the uplift of all backward and untouchable casteslo5. Since the struggle was to be based upon a total challenge to the prevalent caste structure, the caste distinctions practised between Ezhavas and other castes considered to be lower than them also had to be stopped. Due to the outstanding personal charisma of Sree Narayana Guru106 the Sree Narayana Movement, became a vanguard attracting several Ezhava-based organizations, not only in Travancore but also in Cochin and Malabar, into its portal^'^'. Several organizations and movements like the one led by C.V.Kunjuraman to eradicate extravagant domestic and social customs like mock marriages, puberty rituals etc, the movement for brotherhood of all persons called the, - S led by KAyyappan, the rationalist movement led by E.Madhavan, and even the early stages of workers' movement under its leaders like R.Sugathan, and

26 the movement for political rights led by C.Kesavan, were all at one time or other linked to the personality of Sree Narayana Guru for inspiration and sustenance. This organic link established with these divergent campaigns gave tremendous strength to the Ghava SRM, since they were all willing to be subjected to the arbitration and spiritual control of the Guru. As already indicated, Sree Narayana Guru's message of liberation from the caste system was timely and it got very wide support all over Kerala. The movement under his inspiration became in due course the most formidable SRRM in Kerala. It went far ahead of the Syrian Christian, the Nair, and of the Pulaya SRRMS. If other SRRMs had to work within the limitations of the times and the structures of society, the Ghava SRRM went far out of such orbits. By setting themselves up against the basic tenets of a hierarchically oriented society the Ezhavas threw up indications of a radical reordering of society; which was eventually taken up by secular political movements. Guru also founded a religious order of mendicants who became the vanguard in operating his Dharmalm. The message of the Guru had a special dexterity, and therefore was very communicable to even the most simple minded in its simplicity and forcefulne~'~~. His method of giving out most of his teachings in the form of Sutras was very effective. He also had disciples such as N.Kumaran Asan who could spread the message of the "new renaissance" through powerful poetry. Further, there were newspapers like the 'Desabhimani' and other journals which came up as carriers of the rne~sage''~. Since different kinds of movements were encompassed under the umbrella of Sree Narayana movement its effective reach was considerable. Sree Narayana's own religious philosophy was style of Vedanta with strong positivist connotations"'. He accepted a number of

27 religious practices all within the framework of existing and therefore a dominant pattern of religion. Therefore his religious practices had, rightly, the semblance of San~kritisation''~. But his teachings on social and religious practices were ultimately meant to deny caste hierarchy of all sorts. Though he himself dedicated several temples, ultimately he discouraged the founding of temples and advised that such money should be diverted to the founding of schools and indu~tries"~. This was a directive very much in the style of his other teachings on social affairs. He preached against ostentatiousness in celebrations, and instead advised simple rituals and pra~tices"~. He also discouraged practices which were demeaning by the very nature of that activity, like toddy tapping, and liquor sales. He spread the message of modern education, knowledge of crafls, aptitude for industries. He also upgraded the deities worshipped by his people'''. The most pressing problem, as perceived by the Ezhava and backward caste masses, was the prohibition to enter temples and even to walk on roads leading to important temple^"^. This problem was linked to several other cases of denial of civil and human rights in Travancore society and were taken up by the Civil Right League. The main demand of the movement was the separation of devasom from revenue department as we have already seen'". The demand was taken up most spectacularly in in the famous temple town of Vaikom. T.K.Madhavan who was secretary of the SNDPY was able to convince the Indian National Conaress [INC] the need to support such a demand. As a result Mahatma Gandhi himself gave his blessings to the movement, and came down to Vaikom'". Though this movement failed to get its immediate goals, it provided a great boost to the ideals of Ghava SRRM, other than having serious

28 impact upon other SRRMs as In a way 1925 was a watershed in the social history of Kerala, because from that time onwards the opportunity for further and more substantial changes within the social structure was enhanced. Moreover, T.K.Madhavan was able to achieve a greater level of democratisation within the SNDPY. During the campaign for Vaikom Satyagraha, he could increase membership from around 4200 to 50,000 organized into 255 local branches. These branches had a greater mass participation than earlier, and hence was susceptible to eventual politici~ation'~~. In an enquiry into the material conditions which prompted such a renaissant mood among the Ghavas of Travancore, the link with increasing economic prosperity among some sections of the Ezhava community becomes clear. Several factors such as varied occupation, and being associated with the production and processing of coconut products, for which by late 19th century, there was considerable demand in the world market, helped in the process1*'. As result there were attempts to recognize the system of inheritance which resulted in the Ezhava Regulation. This regulation streamlined family organization and kept family property fairly intact though subdivisions were allowed1". But it will not be possible to equate the Ezhava SRM with economic developments alone. There were other favourable factors such as their relatively 'advantageous' social position of being from the lower middle level caste. The Ghavas had some amount of control over social resources like formal knowledge and skills for artisanal production etc., besides the control over land, even in the traditional society. This gave the caste group a chance to advance demands of social upgrading. On the other hand, not being so down and out as the other lower castes, the socio-psychological hurt that they felt from persisting discrimination was more intense.

29 We can see several points of emphasis of the reform movement that developed within the Ghava community. First of all civil and human right questions were taken up boldly and assertively. This was partly a reaction of the elite of the community to the denial of their individual dignity in society. By extending such demands over a greater segment of the society, through taking up issues like the right of access to temple roads, it became the demand of all section of Ezhavas. Secondly, though as a demand it appeared earlier, there was the demand for ed~cation"~, social mobility, higher occupation, etc. These were perceived as sure and guaranteed avenues of social ~pgradation'~~. Thirdly, there were attempts to streamline and upgrade different socio-religious practices traditionally followed by the caste. They rejected exhibitive, mundane and nature bound deities for worship; in place of more equanimous divine expressions. All these perceptions at the level of ideas were translated into easily communicable format and were spread among the people through various organizational means, including the print media. Last in this list but most fundamental to the Ezhava SRRM was the ultimate challenge provided to the caste - based hierarchical social order. This challenge and the ability, in terms of material, organizational, and ideological factors, to carry it through, helped the Ezhava SRRM to break out of the limitations set by the times and structures of societyiz5. In the early 18th century when the State of Travancore was consolidated, a number of Nair families who traditionally held important positions were removed from those positions and new groups from within the same caste assumed similar positions. Due to the particular circumstances of the state formation process, the Nairs had to share these advantageous positions, particularly important bureaucratic positions with the Paradesi (foreign) Brahmins. By late 18th and early 19th century two outstanding personalities from this caste came to assume the highest

30 bureaucratic positions of the State. They were Raja Kesava Dasan [d.1799] and Thalakkulath Velu Thampi [Dewan ]'26. Raja Kesava Dasan laid the foundations of the modern mercantile policy of Travancore. He achieved this by following a clearly pro-british East India Company (EIC) policy. Though Velu Thampi also had a short period of close relations with the British, he soon fell out with them and led a revolt against them. This estrangement was inherent in the circumstances of his rise to prominence which was through another revolt against the exactions of the agriculturists of the Southern Travancore region. This revolt was instrumental in removing from positions of influence, of a coterie of persons who had come to Trivandrum from other regionslz7. Though these two persons differed in their interests as reflected in the policies pursued by them, their memories became rallying points to rouse the caste-consciousness of Nairs. Further, in the early 19th century there was the activity of Anglican missionaries all over Travancore and particularly in Southem Travancore. They obviously drew sustenance from colonial hegemony. Their interests got reflected in governmental policies, depending upon the whims and fancies of British representatives in the State1''. During the time of Colonel Munro who combined the functions of the Dewan and Resident, [Resident (Dewan ) major inroads into the traditional ways of the state affairs were madelz9. Munro took over on behalf of the State the administration of several temples along with their properties. This was a major set back for Nair preeminence in society because the Nairs were the integral part of the management of these in~titutionsl~~. Secondly, such an action was a clear negation of the sense of autonomy that was still retained in Travancore. Several of such actions became points of wide resentment among the ruling elite of Travancore, particularly the Nairs. The Nairs of Southern

31 Travancore, whose rice production was based upon bonded labour, were seriously challenged by the missionaries since they questioned the very premises of such labour exaction13'. Since there were practically no Syrian Christians (who at least could have claimed superior social standing) in Southern Travancore, Christianity got identified with converts from polluting castes132. In Northern parts of Travancore such sentiments were somewhat tempered because of the existence of the Syrian Christian But there also was a growing identification of the Syrian Christians with missionary ways because there were adoptions, either forced or voluntary, of the converted Christians into their fold. Such resentment against the Britishers making inroads into the autonomous way of social organization, with perceived missionary threat to all things held dear by them, helped forge the rudiments of a caste consciousness within Nairs. On the one hand, there was the growing tendency to highlight the "efficiency" of Kesava Dasan's and the "honesty" of Velu Thampi's administration. On the other hand, they perceived themselves differently from the Syrian Christians all over Travancore; particularly in the northem region where they both lived together with more or less the same social standing. In separating themselves from another community the Nairs had to be identified along a common indicator. There emerged the need to assert the essence of being a Nair, over and above the various sub-castes to which they belonged till then'34. Even while such resentment against "British" ways was gaining popular ground, after the Great Mutiny of , and after the modernizing regime of Sir.T.Madhava Rao, Dewan of Tra~ancore'~~ [I , there were growing perceptions among some Nairs that the new way of social organization has become a fait accompli and has to be accepted. When recruitment to government jobs was linked to educational

32 qualifications, many a Nair tarawad realized the opportunity to convert their traditional access to literate occupations into great advantage in terns of the coveted bureaucracy. Further, the amalgamation of temple administration into one of the functions of government (revenue) administration became a tool for asserting their ritual superiority as an exclusive basis for government recruitment. There were still two formidable obstacles to be tackled in asserting such claims by the Nairs. One of them was the virtual monopoly, still maintained by the Paradesi Brahmins over the highest paid and sensitive government po~itions'~'. Moreover, there was resentment against this group because of the role they played in furthering the cause of British administration in the State. Many a Karanavar or (head of the Nair tarawad) did not get duly convinced of the prospects of gaining government positions through modern education, and therefore, refused to grant money for educating younger members of the joint family. By late 19th centuty there were several instances of such disputes being taken to the Civil Courts'38. There was a third problem which had started registering by the last decade of the 19th century. This was a perceived threat from converted Christians and Syrian Christians (who were closer to the missionaries) making effective claims to government jobs on the basis of educational qualification^'^^. These three issues as faced by the Nairs of Travanwre, particularly by the educated Nair young men of Trivandrum and nearby places became the basis of the [MMM] of 1831'"'. This movement, has been recognized, and rightly so, as the pioneering organized political movement of Travancore and the first expression of Malayali nati~nalism'~'. Nevertheless, as we have pointed out, the major factor in this Malayali nationalism was the Nair caste consciousness. Yet,

33 it has to be seen that this caste consciousness accommodated other castes and communities in a united front in putting forward the demand for more appointments to Malayalees in Travancore Government se~ice'~'. In the wake of this effort two societies were formed among the Nairs of Trivandrum. They were the Malavali Social Union (MSU) and the Malavali Sabha (MS)143. Both these organizations were Trivandrum based, and the members were predominantly from highly educated circles. One person who played a leading role behind the scenes was a government official himself, C.V.Raman Pillai who made his mark upon Malayalam literature as the pioneer in historical romance writing'". Influence of these organisations did not last for long. Soon the whole leadership of the movement shifted away from Trivandrum to the northern parts of Travancore, and in 1914 another organization called the NSS was born. This shift of leadership was itself significant. The main reason behind it was the emergence of a new class of Nair young men equally well educated as the Trivandrum Nairs. These young persons from outside Trivandrum and its nearabouts did not exactly have the same advantages enjoyed by those within the ambit of influence and nepotism rampant in Trivandrum. Therefore these persons had to assert their rights vis-a-viz their own caste-counterparts in Trivandrum to acquire governmental positions. The NSS took up the demand for more government jobs, and more educational opport~nities'~'. They had to face the problem of Karanvars' non-cooperation, with regard to acquiring modern education. When the main demand of the MMM was granted, the Nairs' advantage to be recruited to the government service was once again reasserted. They as a caste still led others in literacy. So their renewed interests were in starting schools so that more Nair children could be educated. Thus they

34 tried to maintain the preeminence that was considered to be their inherent right within the context of their tradition. Another important objective of the NSS and therefore of the Nair SRM was the reform of customary rules regarding marriage, joint family and inheritance. There was resentment among the forward looking sections of Nairs against the prevailing system". The fact that Nair marriage was not considered to be legally valid, and the fact that one's own children were completely shut out of inheritance of property, were opposed on moral, ethical and pragmatic grounds. Further the fact that joint family property cannot be converted to individual property, and even subdivision according to Tharazhies (branches) was not allowed normally, were great deterrents to material prosperity in the context of commercialisation of agriculture. As a contemporary had observed the Nair property could be distinguished from Christian property by their overall neglect. The NSS' campaign for the removal of these obstacles, bore fruit when in 1925, the Travancore Nair Reaulation was passed14'. All these specific issues were taken up within the overall ideological emphasis of anti-british or anti-imperialist rule. One basic point on which their caste consciousness was nurtured was the belief that the British overlordship did put an end to their glorious past. Their resentment against British rule was transferred to the Christian missionaries who had exerted pressure on the government of Travancore through British bureaucrats. Part of such resentment also reflected upon the indigenous Christians when they closely identified with the missionary ways. This led to increased polemics with the missionaries and local Christians when the Christians themselves stepped up their ideological campaign against all "unbelievers1*. Opposition was not wholly free of accepting moral and ideological positions emanating from Christian for western attitudes. The

35 reform of family organisation and inheritance which led to assertion of unitary family formation over matrilineal joint family was one such. There the Nair position was laced with Christian concept of the ideal family'49. There were attempts to socially upgrade the rituals of marriage, modes of worship etc., within the framework of &c& rituals and practicesf5'. Such reforms were proposed by a leading Sanyasin Vidhyadhiraja Chattambi Swamigal ( )'5'. He was noted for the part he played in inspiring movements of social uplift and cultural self respect among non-brahmins. Though born into a Nair family, his concerns were not confined to Nairs alone. He actively questioned rigid caste barriersl5'. He was a contemporary of Sree Narayana Guru and exerted a similar influence upon the Nair SRM. His teachings on rituals, religious practices, as well as on education, etc., became the corner stone of various activities of the NSS153. It was under the twin effect of Chattambi Swamigal's ideological or philosophical inspiration and the brilliant organizational ability of Mannath Padrnanabhan, that the NSS became the sociepolitical force that it eventually became. Here once again we see the same pattern as seen in the case of Christian and Ezhava SRMs. The leadership is provided by a religious leader and a person of extraordinary organizational ability or immense wealth. Since the NSS's aim was to forge together all sections of Nairs into a common caste entity, the objectives and style of operation were to fit in with the aspirations of masses of Nairs. The link between the Nair SRM and the socio-economic developments cf the times is more complex than in the case of the Syrian Christians and the Ghavas. They were forced into a situation of socio-religious reform from pressures emanating from other castes and communities. When Christians and Ezhavas set about reforming their religious rituals and social practices and on that basis

36 became eligible for a greater share of social and economic positions, the Nairs also had to change internally. They had to ward off challenges from the Christians and Ezhavas in the field of education, bureaucracy and in the traditional polity based upon the concept of ritual purity. The greatest threat from these groups, as perceived contemporarily, was from the greater inroads made into economic prosperity by their shift to commercial agriculture and agro-pro~essing'~~. Therefore we can see that the same economic trends, forced a section of Nairs into the socio-religious reforms. In other words, it was in their efforts to adjust to the new system of production that the Nairs along with other castes \ communities set off on their SRRM. But their social position having been different, their immediate motives were to maintain the status quo at the social and political level. This led to a widespread misunderstanding of the nature of the Nair SRRM. They had to reform more or less the same social institutions and ritual traditions as others; to be able to be competitive in society. Further, they had to effectively challenge the preference shown to non-malayali Brahmins in the matter of bureaucratic selections. In the context of these concerns the Nairs also resorted to more or less the same organizational tools followed by others, including the resort to the print mediai55. One important thing to be noted in this sequence of events is that the Nair SRRM and particularly the NSS, in its political stance was more in favour of the nationalist movement and in opposition to the colonial domination. On the other hand in regional politics their position was one of utmost loyalty to the Maharaja and his regime based on a polity of ritualistic purity and social gradationis. Meanwhile, though the Christian and Ezhava organizations' deep rooted concern was not so much in the

37 anti-imperialist struggle but the regional question of reordering polity and society. The movement which led to the eventual liberation of the lowest castes from the social discrimination and oppressive conditions that they were subjected to, can be traced to the activities of Protestant Christian mis~ionaries'~~. Though the basic purposes of such missionary involvement was evangelical, it cannot be denied that the patronage extended by them did help atleast in partial improvement of the social conditions of the lowest castes. The missionaries made use of their personal familiarity with friendly British bureaucrats to further the cause of the lower castes'58. This process was enhanced by the missionaries' interest in education of the converts from lower castesisg. By the middle of the 19th century there were two major movements with regard to the rights of the lower castes in Travancore. Both of them, though in stages, eventually met with success under the patronage of the missionaries. These were the movements for the emancipation of the slaves, and for the right to wear upper clothes for women of lower castes. Though the main beneficiaries of both the movements were the Christian converts their benefits could not be denied to others as well. Those who were held and exchanged along with agricultural land were officially released from such bondage. They still remained for a long while more under the effective control of their former mastersts0. There were no alternative job opportunities for them in the 19th century economy of Travancore. This gap was filled to some extent by the opening up of plantations. But the plantation jobs were mostly made available to the tiny fraction of converts and EzhavasiBi. The development of job opportunhes in the Public Works Department (PWD) went mostly to the Ezhava communitytb2.

38 Along with missionary patronage, there were other forces operating among the lower castes. One such trend got crystallized into a concrete movement for social reform at the turn of the century. This movement was led by a remarkable personality, Ayyankali [ ]163. Sri.Ayyankali along with a few young men defied the most obvious points of caste discrimination in and around Venganur. In 1899 in Aralamoodu Bazar near Balaramapuram, he and his friends tried to assert the right of lower castes to travel on public roads. Though he had to face severe opposition, Ayyankali kept on travelling in Public roads in a decorated bullock cart'64. He and his friends also challenged the practice of the lower caste persons being served tea by shop owners in cattle sheds behind the shops and that too in earthen-ware pots and coconut shells. Such acts of open defiance led to several clashes all over Southern parts of Travancore. In the early years of his activities Ayyankali came 'into contact with Sree Sadanda Swami, a religious leader who propagated the preservation of Hindu dharma. Such propagation was found necessary in the circumstances of the activities of Christian Missionaries under the London Mission Service [LMS]. Ayyankali invited him to Venganur. There the Swami formed an organization called Brahma Nishta Madom Sanahom [BNMS] or Chit Sabha. Though for a while Ayyankali and his supporters operated under the framework of this organization, they soon found the organization not adequate for their purposes. They found out that that religious work alone is insufficient for effective liberation from their subaltern statuslb5. In 1907 another organization was formed, with Ayyankali as Secretary and under the name of Sadhu Jana Parioalana Sanaham [SJPSIiBB. This organization had around 1000 branches all over Travancore. Among them 54 branches were in and around

39 Changanacherry, the "gateway" to Kuttanad, one of the main paddy producing regions167. To propagate the ideas of this organization, a magazine was issued under the name of Sadhuiana Pari~alini, of which Kali Chothi Kurup was the editorq6'. This organization right from the very beginning had the characteristics of an organization of agricultural labourers for the simple reason that the Pulayas were holding agricultural labour as their traditional occupation. Ayyankali's supporters struck work demanding admission of their children to public schools, better wages, and freedom to travel by public roads. This boycott or strike movement lasted till During the period vast Padasekharams (Paddy fields) remained uncultivated. In spite of opposition from the land owners the boycott movement seems to have had some effect when a compromise was finally struck between the two groups'69. AS a result of the demand raised by SJPS, a Royal proclamation was issued in 1910, allowing lower caste children to government Still, depressed caste students were denied admission to schools close to temples for fear of pollution. A Kudi~allikudam was started in Venganur in 1905 by Ayyankaliq71 Following the publication of the Royal proclamation several low caste children were admitted to different schools. Ayyankali also organised attempts to break the tradition of Pulaya women being allowed only necklaces of cheap stones. They were encouraged to cover the upper parts of their bodies. These attempts led to another spate of clashes known as KollamPerinad Lehala. The activities of Ayyankali got recognized when he got nominated to the Sree Moolam Praja Sabha in

40 The most important thing with the reforms initiated by Ayyankali was that they were to be within the legal framework existing in the State. Even when he challenged the existing rules and regulations he did it with the final resort of appeal to the authority of the Maharaja of Tra~ancore"~. He never advocated conversion to Christianity or any other religion as a way out for his fellow caste-people174. Joining Christianity might have turned out to be of some help, because it was an organized religion with money and other resources. There was the added attraction of the fact that Christianity was the religion of the British colonialists. Ayyankali's movement had concentrated on social upliftment of the lowest castes. This was naturally so since their plight was so miserable that only a social revolution could have bettered their position. In matters of religion they were hardly organized. Their modes of worship and ritualistic traditions remained simple with very little elaboration in terms of resources and sub~tance"~. Even in such rituals there were attempts at social upgradation under the initiative of this SRRM. As part of this, there were tentative attempts to forsake 'inferior' deities. But this aspect of the reform was as much or more beset with various problems as everything else attempted by the Pulayas. They had to face widespread reluctance on the part of their own caste people to change1'=. Therefore, in an over-all assessment it is seen that the emphasis of the SRM was on social issues which were perceived to be more important for a subaltern group like the Pulayas. lnspite of the charismatic leadership of Ayyankali, his relative success in articulating the objectives of the movement, and the relatively well laid out organizational structure of the SJPS, the growth of the movement was still highly constrained by various factors. The first and foremost obstacle that this SRRM had to face was the lack of money and

41 other resources. Unlike other castes and communities which could raise money for their campaigns the Pulayas found it difficult. Secondly, their movement was not in a position to call upon the services of a band of well educated persons. This does not mean that the SJPS was ever short of devoted and enthusiastic workers'77. But their ability to articulate their grievances and make them heard effectively in public forums was highly restricted because of their very low literacy ~tandard'~'. The major limiting factor of any movement for social, cultural and economic uplift of the depressed castes was obviously their economic backwardness. Their economic backwardness was linked to their subaltern status in society further accentuated by lack of access to important resources like land. Realising this, Ayyankali concentrated on the demand for allotment of cultivable waste land and fresh (Puduval) land to Pulayas in his Assembly Spee~hes"~. The Pulaya SRRM had a vision similar to that of the Ezhava SRRM. But they were constrained from realising this vision in practise by the lack of material and related resources'80. Therefore, one had to wait for the period beyond 1930, when the socio- economic conditions underwent fundamental change, for such a movement to emerge from among the depressed castes. In paddy growing regions like Kuttanadu, technological changes and changes in methods of labour- use released labourers, bonded to the land and landowners. On the basis of these unbonded, casual labourers a different kind of movement could emerge effectively18'. The earlier movement, was limited by the inability to effectively challenge the subaltern status of the lowest castes. Therefore when the Nairs reasserted their right to governmental jobs through the Malayali Memorial, and when the Christians, Ezhavas and Muslims gained access to government jobs when the Revenue Department was bifurcated and a Public Service Commission (PSC) was set up; the Pulayas and Pariahs did not gain anything substantially.

42 lnspite of this, we have to take note of characteristics common to SRRMs in the case of the Pulaya movement as well. The leadership was provided by a charismatic and tremendously effective personality of great organizing ability. At least for a short time it is seen that he tied up with the religious leadership of Sree Sadanada Swami. Though his organization did penist in upgrading deities and religious socioeconomic questions. This strategy the actual conditions of existence of the P struggle for socioeconomic improvement, human and civil rights. The strategy fo depressed condition, was through, educati nt service and access to land. In order to assert their claims, their own caste consciousness was roused through rudimentary organization and with resort to the print media. Exceptions outside the SJPS can also be pointed out182. But in spite of such efforts the lowest castes remained socially depressed and economically backward; thereby maintaining the persistence of deep rooted distortions in society. The Muslim reform movement is relatively unnoticed in studies on the subject. One reason is that they were a small minority in Travancore society. Due to widespread illiteracy and lack of widely-read journals from among them, even an interesting instance of socio-religious reform championed by Vakkom M. Muhammed Abdul Khader Moulavi did not get the attention it deserved'83. Vakkom Moulavi [ as he is popularly known is remembered best as the founder and proprietor of Swadesabhimani, a newspaper which became in due course the vehicle for a new social and political movement. This newspaper was started in 1905, from Anchuthengu. Much of the reputation of the journal was legitimately the

43 credit of Ramakrishna Pillai, the editor who created an entirely new style in journalism, of radical criticism of prevailing evils in society, along with personal criticism of powerful personalities. This new style which got identified with the editor and the journal - and the two literally became synonymous - unleashed a movement which effectively restricted the very roots of entrenched political authority in Travancorela4. Thus it became the forerunner of other socio-political movements of later years. The Moulavi's greatness is in the fact that he backed the editor in all efforts even when the latter was banished from the State. It is revealing to note that the Swadeshabhimani under the editorship of Ramakrishna Pillai bore the caption of "the only Mohammedan Organ in Travancore and C~chin"'~~. For Vakkorn Moulavi the various journalistic ventures and literary efforts that he undertook had the primary aim of reforming the practice of the religion of Islam. His effort was to equip the religion for modern times. For this purpose he tried to popularise reformist principles of leading Islamic thinkers and preached modem education among mu slim^'^^. In the editorial written by the Moulavi in the first issue of Swadeshabhimani he very clearly indicated the desire to serve the Muslim community as well as other communities which "desires the goodness" (of the Muslims). The Swadeshabhimani's early issues are replete with several articles on Muslim education and other subjects related to Islam. In the editorial of Muslim another journal started by him in 1906, Moulavi wrote that since each comrnunlty was striving for its improvement, Muslims also ought to do the same. For that he advocated the rejection of false concepts of the ideals of Islam. He wrote about the early history of the Muslims, about educational advancements achieved among the Muslims in northern India and in countries like Egypt, and also statistical details about the poor educational standards of Muslims in Kerala. He

44 wrote several articles containing information on Islamic thought which were meant to facilitate a reform of religion. To penetrate among the Muslim masses who had very little knowledge of the Malayalam script, the Moulavi in 1918 started another journal called Al-Islam in Arabic-Malayalam script. Along with that he also started another journal called Deeokia. The Moulavi propagated his ideas about the meaning and objective of human life, the position of religion and religious consciousness in life, the distorting influence of false religious consciousness, and about the injustices prevailing in society and politics. His journalistic and literary work became the main-stay of a socio-religious reform movement. In spite of heavy financial setbacks the Moulavi consistently worked towards upgrading educational standards of the Muslims, and towards inculcating the desire to spread reformist ideas among the indigenous Ulernas. These were important in a social context in which ordinary Muslims were discouraged by their own religious leaders from resorting to modern educational institutions. Their only educational resource was in learning religious texts through Arabic letters. Vakkom Moulavi even published an article entitled "Nammude Sthreekal" openly advocating women's education in the Al-Islam in Another specific area to which his attention was drawn was the question of social organization. He argued that even if people are of varying abilities and diversities, they have to live together in community, and in relation to each other. Therefore, organization which is the objective expression of social relations becomes very important. He tried to reform local Jam - Aths and to make them active centres of secular organization and moral fervour. But such efforts did not succeed. The reason for his failure was the severe resistance that the ideas he preached had to face from within his own community. Though he was convinced of the failures

45 of the Jama-Aths in Kerala, he tried to revive them at least as cultural organizations. He travelled wide and addressed several gatherings for this purpose. Some organizations accepted the leadership and guidance of Moulavi. Among them particular mention should be made of Chiravinkil, - (CTMS) Leinthul Muhammadiva Sanahom Allep~ey, (LMSA) Muslim Avika Sanaharn. Kodunaallur (MASK) etc. As a result of such efforts at least some Muslim boys started attending non-religious Moreover Moulavi influenced the education department itself to teach Arabic in Schools. This policy attracted at least some Muslim pupils to schools. Among the Muslims of Travancore, Sulaiman Sahib from Alleppey and P.Habib Muhammed, the nephew of the Moulavi himself, acquired University degrees. The activities of Moulavi had a great impact at least among one section of the Muslim Community of Kerala. He had the advantage of combining the religiously sanctioned status of a Moulavi along with a socially well recognized personality of his locality. He carried the advantage to great effect. Still it can be seen that his efforts did not succeed as much as those of Sree Narayana Guru or Mannath Padmanabhan. The reason for this was in the extreme cultural backwardness that prevailed among the Muslim Community of Travancore at that timete9. Only a few persons were interested in social upliftment of the sort that was advocated by the Moula~i'~~. Nevertheless, the fact that such a movement emerged even within the Muslim community, which was culturally backward, was very significant Since their cultural backwardness was directly related to religion-based practices and attitudes it was in those fields that reforms were first requiredlg'. This would explain the preoccupation of the movement led by Vakkom Moulavi with religious reform. Along with the religious reform, education was perceived as a way

46 of social uplift. As already seen the Moulavi very clearly stated the need for social organization for general improvement of the community and for staking the claim for educational advancement. It was in this movement, more than others, that the direct pedagogical role of journalism was perceived. All the journals with which Moulavi was associated did bear the message of socio-religious reform. Apart from these SRRMs there were other social and religious movements which originated elsewhere in Kerala. A reform movement which led to social upliftment of the depressed castes particularly of the fisher folk castes was initiated by Pandit Karuppan in neighbouring Cochin State. Similarly a movement among the Namboodiries led by the Namboodiri Ywa Kheshma Sabha (NYKS) had its impact all over Kerala. All these movements have to be taken into account when we analyse their impact upon Kerala societyts2. There was also the movement started by Vagbhadananda Swamigal, which, like that of Sree Narayana Guru, rejected caste system. What the preceding survey shows is that there were various community - based or caste - based organizations campaigning for internal reform and for alteration of status relations at the inter-face between castes and communities. They were relatively stronger in Travancore than in the north of Kerala. These organisations tried to carry with them the whole community of fellow caste members. This is reflected in statements like the following from KC. Mamrnen Mappillai, a Syrian Christian reformist leaderts3. In matters affecting the social or religious interests of a community, nearly seventy five per cent of the community ought to decide whether the particular measure should be

47 enacted or not. The members of other communities should not interfere with the opinion expressed by the dominating majority of the members of that community. This tendency indicated the interest of the leadership of such movements in maintaining undifferentiated castes and communities. Castes and communities like Ezhavas and Syrian Christians who stood to gain from the commercialisation of the economy which was proceeding alongside, and the Nairs who had enough reasons to worry about these upwardly mobile groups were the strongest votaries of both social and ritual reform as well as for extension of basic services. Though they made use of regional level organisations, newspapers and legislative bodies to mobilise and mediate locally felt demands, their strategy was to keep their caste or community following intact. This brought out inherently negative attitudes towards further dissemination of basic services to still lower groups. Even the Sree Narayana Movement which had very effectively challenged the caste system, by the end of the thirties had started taking positions in favour of one caste alonets4. Robin Jeffreylg5 advanced the hypothesis that Kerala's culture and the activities of Governments were behind the spread of education; and hence according to the assumption made in this paper of other development indicators as well. This hypothesis can very well accommodate the unevenness and time lag in the spread of services. What could be the pressures which prompted two princely State governments and a colonial district administration, not weighed down by pressures of participatory democracy, to adopt such policies? R.N.Yesudasl* have argued that policies in favour of 'lower' castes emanated from colonial and missionary pressures. P.K. Michael Tharakantg7 has argued that the commercialisation of the agrarian

48 economy made changes in inter-community or inter-caste relations and it had opened up opportunities for organised pressure from socially mobile communities and castes for basic services, through which they aspired to attain greater social status. He has also argued that the demand, thus emanated, was harnessed and directed by the various SRRMs that developed among different castes and communities. It is in this context that MSA Raofg8 in a specific study of socially mobile groups in Kerala society and TM Thomas lssac and S.Mohan Kumar in a general reviewlg9, have stressed the importance of the empowerment of the potential beneficiaries. In this section we shall survey the ways through which the various SRRMs harnessed local level demands, including those from castes and communities considered lowest, and mediated them at the regional level. Among the earliest of organised movements which highlighted the need for expansion of educational opportunities in Kerala was the Malavali Memorial Movement in Travancore in The main demands of this movement was that disproportionate number of high salaried jobs in Government were occupied by Paradesi [foreign] Brahmins at the cost of equally qualified 'natives' or Malayalees and that it should be rectified. In connection with this demand community-wise educational statistics were produced to show how even qualified Malayalees were neglected. Members of educationally and socially backward castes were also signatories to the Memorial; and the cause of their educational advancement was deliberately linked to government jobs. In spite of Ezhavas joining with others in a general memorandum, against Paradesi employment, the immediate benefits of liberalisation of government's employment went more to the Nain than anyone else. The Nairs had educational levels higher than other communities and had within the casteridden society a tradition of government service. Sensing this, in May

49 1895, Dr.P.Palpu submitted another memorandum to be followed by a community memorial signed by Ezhavas. Various demands and efforts these demands were effectively mediated later under the umbrella of the movement led by Sri Narayana Guru. This development indicated the desire of this caste to move forward socially and economically. On the material basis what provided the Ezhavas the initiative to put forward these demands were the initial economic gains that sections of them had acquired from the commercialisation of the agrarian economy and the emergence of agro processing. The leadership of the Guru was the single most important factor in favour of the movement. With these favourable factors the Ezhava SRRM became the mst influential of its kind in Kerala. Initially at least this movement actively incorporated the demands of other depressed castes as well. Another community which signed the Malayali Memorial with the Nairs and Ghavas were the Syrian Christians belonging to the Catholic and non-catholic denominations. They also felt deprived with regard to government jobs in which they lagged very clearly behind the Nairs, within them, the non-catholic Syrians. The Jacobites and Mar Thomites, due to their association with Anglican missionaries were able to acquire modern educational qualifications and jobs within and outside the government, more than the Catholics. The Catholics posed this as an issue to rally their fellowcommunity members to demand education. In the second half of the 19th century two of their priests got elevated to the rank of Vicar General in the missionary dominated Church administration; Chavara Kuriakose Elias Kathanar and Nidhirikal Mani Kathanar [ who both very strongly advocated opening of schools, by the Mani

50 Kathanar introduced several ingenious methods of resource raising for funding of schools. The Nairs felt crowded out from both ends. On top there were the monopoly of Paradesi Brahmins over sensitive jobs and against which they were struggling. Once their struggles were providing results, they sensed new contestants from below; from Syrian Christians and Ezhavas. They still had an advantage in terms of their traditional position in the social hierarchy and their relatively high literacy. If the Ezhava and Syrian Christian movements stressed upward mobility the Nair movement showed defensive action to maintain their initial advantages. By 1929 there were 113 newspapers published in Travancore, of which 56 were from Trivandrum, 28 from Quilon and 29 from Kottayam Division. Among them 40 were published in Malayalam, 22 in Malayalam and English, 5 in Malayalam, Tamil and English, 7 in Anglo-Malayalam, 6 in Anglo-Vernacular, 2 in English and Tamil and 22 in English and 7 in TamilM'. All three SRRMS, the Ezhava, the Syrian Christian and the Nair, resorted to these newspapers to spread their views. Quite early in the century itself Newspapers and Samaiams (organisations) were perceived as two powerful means to communicate community and caste aspirations. Besides the newspapers and the Samaiams, there was yet another forum, not so much to spread ideas amng the people, but to mediate their aspirations at the regional decision-making bodies. It was the Legislative Council which was brought into existence in Travancore in 1888; considered the first institution of its kind in an Indian State. It was enlarged in 1898, then in 1919, and again in In 1904, a Popular Assembly called the Sri Mulam Praja Sabha was created. In 1933 the Popular Assembly was placed on a statutory basis and functioned as the lower

51 house of a bicameral legislature, the Legislative Council, i.e. the Sri Chitra State Council being the Upper housea2. Though of limited legislative power, these bodies provided effective forum for expression of popular feelings. Several prominent advocates of reform measures from each of these communities very strongly advocated them in the legislature. In making use of any one of these devices to communicate with the masses or with the decision-making bodies, i.e. Samaiams, newspapers, or the legislature; literacy skills were very important. Those who were literate in Travancore formed the universe from which the leading votaries of SRRMs arose. They consisted also of small land holders, landless labourers and workers in agro-processing. Among them were Ezhavas and Pulayas who by their caste background do not belong to the concept of middle class. However those who were literate in English, including the Ezhavas (the Pulayas still did not matter) could safely be called a "middle class", with most of their livelihood coming from government service, teaching, law, or clerical work. Jeffrey refers in the pre-1920 period to an "educated elite" and later to a middle classzo3. But even in post-1920 period it is difficult to identify a clear-cut class formation in Travancore society. The situation is made more confusing by the existence, (quite contrary to the general literature on colonial Kerala) of pronounced class heterogeneity that informed caste groupings with the possible exception of scheduled castes and tribeszo4. Even the use of middle class in the plural will not solve the problem completely. Yet one might use the term intermediate strata in the sense of a class which is not a class in the fullest sense2''. Not only will peasant proprietors figure prominently among this strata but the higher educated, including English educated, will naturally be eligible to be included in this category.

52 This was the strata from which the strongest demands for reforms came up under the aegis of several SRRMs. Whether they were emphasising abolition of the signs of social distance between groups, or transformation of family relationships, or demanding greater share in government employment, they had two common characteristics; they all emphasised the symbolic aspect of social reality with which caste system was directly related, and also upon the importance of State apparatus and Both were inevitable in the context of the transition in which religious or ritual factors formed the conte&07 and the weak development of the productive processes2os. Within these processes "a wider concept of caste [was] developing, as College educated men trying to involve their less wealthy and less educated caste men in a political community of such numbers and solidarity that the Princely Government would have to reckon with it"z0g. Ultimately, and quite paradoxically the end result was a highly increased' caste Even the poorest of the Ezhavas, Christians or Nairs, in spite of their lack of immediate gain, lent support to the socioreligious reform process. This happened in the context in which caste or community formed the structural basis of society. Only if we look at the caste system as a production system that made possible the extraction of an economic surplus from the immediate producers by a group of upper castes' then caste can be defined as the concrete historical form in which class relations manifested themselves. Changes in the economy and society not only altered the relative economic and political positions of many castes but also led to the internal differentiation of castes, as well as to the emergence of new classes outside the framework of castes altogethe?". Both these are found unevenly across regions in Kerala.

53 All these movements ranging from that among the Pulayas, which tried to socially uplift themselves from a highly repressive caste system; to that among the Nairs which tried to refashion their internal practises so that their community can be competitive vis-a-vis others; had one thing in common. Each of them, in their own way, had the effect of enhancing social consciousness of the people among whom they worked. This social consciousness was mediated through a newly created community\caste consciousness. This does not mean that communities in Travancore never had any consciousness of their community membership, status or rights earlier than this. Our contention is that whatever community consciousness that existed prior to the second half of nineteenth century were uneven across communities\castes, apart from being scattered. The SRRMs of the second half of 19th century and in the first decades of the 20th helped kindle and spread the comrnunity\caste consciousness all over the region. In other words, there was the emergence of a pan-travancorean consciousness of persons belonging to separate communities\castes. More importantly such consciousness, right from the very beginning was poised against each other, competitively. This aspect is to be looked at closely because of its obvious implications for diffusion of social indicators.

54 NOTES 1. P.K. Michael Tharakan, [1984], op.cit. p Robin Jeffrey, "Governments and Culture : How Women made Kerala Literate", Pacific Affairs, Vo1.60, No.3, Fall, 1987, pp Ibid. Ibid. J.W. Gladstone, Protestant Christianitv and Peo~le's Movements in Seminary Publications, Trivandrum, 1989, p,271. m, Ibid. p.274. P.R.Gopinathan Nair, Primarv Education. Po~ulation Growth and Socio-Economic Chanae A Com~arative Studv with Particular Reference to Kerala, Allied publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1981, p.49. P.K.Michael Tharakan, [I9841 op. cit., p C. Achutha Menon, The Cochin State Manual, Reprint, Government of Kerala, State Editor, Kerala Gazetteers, Trivandrum, 1995 [Govt. Press, Ernakulam, 191 I], p.291. Re~ort of the Administration of Travancore lratl , Trivandrum, p.46. A.Mathew, 'A History of Education and Development in Kerala', NIEPA, New Delhi, 1987, (mimeo), p.99. V.Nagam Aiya, The Travancore State Manual TTTSM], Govt. of Travancore, Trivandrum, 1906, Vol.ll, p.401. A. Mathew [I987 : op. cit., p.47. Robin Jeffrey, The Decline of Navar Dominance. Societv and Politics, Vikas, Delhi, 1976, p.81. V. Nagam Aiya, [I9061 op. cit., Vol.11, p.489. A. Mathew [I981 op. cit., p

55 Ibid. p.49. T.K.Krishna Menon [ed], Proaress of Cochin, Cochin Govt. Press, Ernakulam 1932, pp.172. Ibid. pp Quoted in Ibid. A. Mathew, [I9871 op. cit., pp P.K. Michael Tharakan : (1984) op. cit., pp A. Mathew [I9871 op. cit., p.168, P.K. Michael Tharakan [I9841 op. cit. P.K.Michael Tharakan, [I9901 op.cit., pp Travancore. Re~ort of the Census 1891, rrrcl Govt. of Travancore, Trivandrum, 1893, pp.365. Proceeding of the Second Meetina of the Sri Mulam Po~ular Assemblv of Travancore. [PSMSMPA of , Trivandrum, 1905, p.71. A. Mathew [A9871 op. cit., p.68. Ibid. p.68. T.K. Krishna Menon, [ed] [I9321 op. cit., p.183. A. Mathew; [I9871 op. cit., pp Robin Jeffrey, [I9871 op. cit., p.461. Ibid. P.K. Michael Tharakan [I9841 op. cit. Ibid. PSMSPA of T, [I9051 op.cit., p.75.

56 M.J. Koshy, K.C.Mammen MaDDilla. The man and the vision, Kerala Historical Society [KHS], Trivandrum 1976, p.18. PSMSPA OF T, [I9051 op. cit. TRC 1891, Trivandrum, n.d, para 7, pp T.K. Velu Pillai, The Travancore State Manual m, Government Press, Trivandrum [1940], p.479. The Travancore Administration Re~ort for FAR], Govt. of Travancore, Trivandrum, 1929, pp PGK Panikkar and CR Soman, Health Status of Kerala : The Paradox of Economic Backwardness and Health Develo~ment, CDS, Trivandrum, 1984, p.35. P. Ibrahim, "The Development of Transport Facilities in Kerala : A Historical Review", Social Scientist, Vo1.6, No.6, March, 1978, pp George Woodcock, Kerala : A Portrait of the Malabar Coast, Faber and Faber, London, 1967, pp V.Nagam Aiya, m, 1906, op.cit., Vol.lll. p.311. Ibid. Vol.lll. p.226. Ibid. Vol.lll, Ch. XII, p o f J T S O R ] Trivandrurn, 1932, p.698. M.J.Koshy, (1976) op. cit., pp Philip George (ed). TheKe (Malayalam), Changanachery, 1949, p.177. V.Nagam Aiya (1906) op. cit., Vol.1, p.544. Ibid. For discussion of how the religious factor came to be a major factor in the general response by different castes and communities in the transition from the earlier system to the new see Genevive

57 Lemercinier, "Relationship between Means of Production, Caste and Religion, The case of Kerala between the 13th and 19th century", Social Comoass, Vol.XXVlI, No.23, 1981, pp and Genevive Lemercinier, Reliaion and ldeoloav in Kerala, Sentry de Recherches de - Religieuses, Louvain-La-Neuse, Sree Narayana GUN the main source of inspiration behind the founding of SNDPY himself stated once that "we have no caste we are not an Ghava". He wanted the "Yogam not to be exclusively of one caste but a people's organisation without caste", Sree P.K.Balakrishnan (ed), Naravana Guru, (Malayalarn), no publisher, no place of publication, (Revised Edition) 1969, (1954) p See for instance, report entitled 'Thiruvithamcore Cochin Roman Catholica Mahajana Sabha", and the editorial under the same title in Nazarani Dee~ika, 1905 July 12. Wednesday. Read also Varakara Johnny, "Katholica Congress Charithrarn", No.3. Deeoika, 1965 May 20, Sunday. 56. The first scientific Census of Travancore in 1875 itself created a tendency among the educated persons to turn the categories used in the Report to their advantage in dealings with the administration. They turned to the Census and claimed to speak on behalf of 400,000 Nairs or 380,000 Ghava etc. See Robin Jeffrey, "Religious Symbolisation of the Transition from Caste to Class. The Temple- Entry Movement in Travancore, OU, Social Cornoass, Vol.XXVIII, No.2-3, In the case of Nairs, it is said that "Sometimes the distinctions (between groups) are so nice and capricious that the men and women of one house will not eat meals prepared by another; nor sit together in the same row". [words in bracket added by the author]. The principal subdivisions at the time were, (1) lllurn (2) Swaroopam (3) Pathamungalam (4) Tarnilpatham (5) Karivalum (6) ldashery (7) Madamby (8) Coorooppu (9) Kymal (10) Panickar (11) Ponnare Panickar (12) Veliyathoo Nair (13) Pattathoo Nair (14) Vathi (15) Kadakathoo Nair (16) Kapiare (17) Koolapare (18) Menon (19) Pandari (20) Vandicaren (21) Malanayer (22) Mangalathil (23) Kiriyathoo Nair (24) Pada Nair (25) Vathicooruppu (26) Tamby (27) Oonnithan (28) Nair (29) Dikhu Nair (30) Guru Nair (31) Val Nair (32) Pulikal Nair (33) Mana Nair (34) Malayathoor Nair, Reoort of t h e. 1RCT 18751, Government Press, Trivandmm, 1876, p.1978.

58 58. There were as many as 116 subdivisions among Nairs recorded in the It was noted that though "lnterdining was not permitted among the members of some of the sub-castes but of late there has been considerable advancement in that direction. Even inter-marriages are now common and meet with the full approval of society. The fusion of sub-castes advocated by the late Mr.C.Krishna Pillai and his colleagues with the support of organization like the Keraleeya Nair Samajam [KNS] and the Nair Service Society [NSS] is now an accomplished fact" - T.K. Velu Pillai; [1940],op.cit. p.858 as quoted in Vol.VII. Kerala. Part VID. Village Survev Monoara~hs. Alle~pey District "Bharanikavu", p It should be remembered that "these were all caste movements rather than class movements; in other words, what was at stake was primarily the status relationship between the groups and their internal organisations as communities rather than the position in the relations of production. The two aspects of course, were frequently combined and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between them completely, but the accent was definitely on the former. These movements functioning on the basis of caste solidarity addressed their members irrespective of whether they were rich or poor". Francoise Houtart and Genevive Lemercinier, "Socio-Religious Movements in Kerala : The Reaction to the Capitalist Mode of Production",, - Vo1.6, No.11 and 12, June -July 1978, Part 1-11, pp.3-34 and The term, community based organizations, is used to distinguish it from communal organizations viz-bodies organized on an exclusive religious group on the basis of hostility to one or more of other religious groups at the social level. Such hostility can be implicit in the exclusiveness of a group sought to be so organized even if its express purpose excludes a manifest hostility to other groups. (See Harbans Mukhia, "Communalism : A Study in its Socio-Historical Perspective", Social Scientist, Vol.1, No. I, August 1972, pp.4547.) In the latter respect the community-based organizations that emerged in Kerala might had. communal characteristics but they never led to open had communal clashes. See George Mathew, Communal Road to a Secular Kerala, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, Their main pre-portugese occupation was trade. See P.J.Thomas: "Kerala's Trading class", in Archaeoloaical Societv (JRVASL Vol.XIV, (Reprint 1980)., July 1947, Pp For further details see. J. Ferrolie : The Jesuits in

59 Malabar, Bangalore, 1939, Vol.1, and K.Rajan Gurukkal : 'Communal Harmony in Early Modem Kerala', Reliaion and Societv, Vol. XXXIV, No.1, March The initial period of cooperation between the Portugese and Syrian Christians broke down when their commercial interests diverged. See J.P.M. Van der Ploeg. O.P. The Christians of St. Thomas in South India and their Svriac Manuscri~ts, Dharmaram Publications, Bangalore, 1983, p Ultimately by the time of the Census of 1891 Christians were grouped under 11 heads which were Church of England (Anglican Protestant. Anglia Sabha, Church Mission and Church of England) Congregationalist, (London Mission), Episcopalian, Lutheran (Lutheran and Basel Mission), Methodist, Non conformist, Presbyterian, Protestant, Roman Catholic (Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Syrian, Roman Catholic Latin and Latin), Syrian (Syrian Christian, Jacobite Syrian and Jacobite) and not stated (not stated, Kirk and Saivite). See TRC 1891, op. cit., Part 2, p.99. [op.cit]. See also Susan Lewandonski, Miaration and Ethnicitv in Urban India, Kerala Miarants in the Citv of Madras , Manohar, Delhi, Chapter 5, p.135 for divisions of the Kerala Church. 64. In late 18th century two leading clergymen, Kariatty Ouseph Kathanar (later Archbishop) and Paremackel Thoma Kathanar (later Gubarnadore) were sent by a representative assembly of Syrian Catholics to Rome to petition the Pope. See Varthamana Pusthakam (Malayalam) ed. by Thomas Muthedan, Janatha Services, Thevara, The author was fortunate in consulting the original manuscript of this travelogue, which is in the private collection of late Sri.P.V.Urumese Tharakan, Ezhupunna Parayil. 65. The order which was originally called the Servants of the Immaculate Mother of Mount Carmel, was founded by two leading Syrian Christian cleric. and supported financially by the parishes of Kallukat, Koil-muck, Pulincunnu, Alleppey, Vadacara, Arakuzha, Anakallumkal, and Pallippuram, besides a donation from Parayil Kunjavirah, a prominent layman. the Carmelite Conareaation of Malabar (TCC o m, Thevara, 1932, p The earlier system of training aspirants for priesthood among Syrian Christians was through Mal~hanates, somewhat similar to the Gurukula svstem. By around the middle of 19th century the various Mal~hanates were stopped by the then Missionary authorities and only those trained in a proper college or seminary was to be

60 ordained as a priest. Syrian Catholics belonging to 55 parishes, collected Rs and another Rs was donated by Parayil Avira Varkey a prominent leader of the community and 40 acres of land with a bunglow was bought on behalf of the 55 parishes. For details, see. Thomas Puthiakunnel. Keralthile Serninarikal. Oru Charitravalokanam, (Malayalam), Janatha Book Stall, Ernakulam, 1986, especially Peediakkal Ouseph Kathanar : "Mangalapuzha Serninariyude Poorva Charithram", (originally pub. in Nazrani Dee~ika, February 24th and March 17th, 1933) reproduced as Ch.V, and the English translation of the Registered Deed of transferring the ownership of the Property of Mangalpuzha (original published in Ernakulam Missam, Vol.lll, August 1932, pp.21-24) reproduced as App Valerian O.C.D. Malankara Sabharnathavinte Oru Veera Santhanam,(Malayalam) St. Joseph's Press, Mannanam, See 'Report of the Rev. the Secretary of the Missionary Corresponding Committee CMS on the Kottayam Mission, February 1835, Part I, in 'Papers Relating to Kottayam College, ', in The CMS The Travancore-Cochin Mission (9 Vols), Indian Church Historv Archives, (ICHA), united Theological College Library (UTCL) Bangalore. One aspect of this brief missionary contact is pointed out by a later author as 'The spiritual fervour in-stilled by the contact with the missionaries introduced regular Bible reading to the Syrian Christians. It eventually resulted in the regular holding of the famous convention at Maramon from 1894" - see E.C.Abraham, "Maramon Convention", COI. 1961, Vol.ll. Kerala. Part VII B 0). Fairs and festivals of Kerala, 1966, Pp, Association with the religion of the colonial rulers, though strained at times, also led to privileges to the local Christians particularly converts, such as, summons being sent to Christian to appear before Magistrates on Sundays was prohibited by a Circular dated 16.8, 1060 (1885 A.D) and Sunday was declared as a general holiday by another notification of (1894 A.D). It was directed that Christian converts should not be questioned as to their previous caste names by a circular dated A.D) Selected Notifications bv the Government (From to 1925 AD), Sree Chitraodava Huzur Central Records Series ISCHCRS). No.2, Trivandrum ~t For details see Robin Jeffrey : (1976) op. cit. Ch.lV. 70. There were earlier disputes which led eventually into open split. "Notification dated (1848 A.D.)" Selected Notifications :

61 [I9391 op.cit., p.21. For further details see C.P.Mathew and ISPCK, Delhi, 1967, Ch.6 and 7. M.M.Thornas : Thelnd 71. This assumption is substantiated by the generalized association of Protestantism to literacy via the vernacular Bible as against Catholics who insisted on Catechesims in the place of Bible reading. Though exceptions to this can be seen in Lutheran Germany, this generally holds good for almost all parts of the world where Protestantism and Catholicism spread. In the specific context of Travancore, where there was close association of non-catholic groups with the colonial masters, the association was definitely in operation - See Richard Gawthrop and Gerald Strauss : "Protestantism and Literacy in Early Modern Germany", Present, No.104, August, 1984, Pp also Elizabeth L Eisenstein, 4 Communications and Cultural Transformation in Earlv Modern Europe, Cambridge University Press (CUP), New York, "It is well known that, among the Syrians, the Romo-Syrians are, on the whole, richer as a body than the other sections and that the richest among them is the Parayil family. But among the Puthencoore (non Catholic) Syrians of Travancore the richest family is that of the above contributor. (Kulangare Veedu of Parur). Further, while the Parayil family has no scion who has distinguished himself in higher English education, this contributor is a graduate in Arts and Law" - An Abridaed Enalish version of the Dissenting Minute of the Verv Reverend ID^ Thoma Kattanar. Non-official Member. (Dissenting Minute to Christian Committee), n.p.c. 1916, p Catholics generally did not seek English education till around the last quarter of the 19th century. Exceptions did exist like Eyyo (b.1825) of Palakunnel family of Kuthrapally and his son who got English education through their families' trading contacts with the Jews of Cochin and with the CMS Missionaries of Kottayam. P% l (Malayalam), Palakunnel Kudumba Charithram Editorial Board, Kottayam, 1983, Pp, In 1834 the CMS Grammer School at Kottayam had just. one "Romo Syrian" student, in a total of 60, which consisted of 41 non-catholic Syrians, 17 Nairs, and 1 Brahmin [Report of the Secretary CMS, 1835'. App.XX, Pp.114-5, CMS 38-40, ICHA, UTCC, Banglore]. As a result Catholics were considered to be most backward in educational development, [E.M.Philip : Historv of the Svrian Church in Travancore, Kottayam, 1908, Ch.XXIV, p.4041

62 making the Census of Travancore itself to note that the "Romo- Syrians and Mussalmans (who) may be said to occupy a mediocre station in life". [RCT 1875, op. cit. p The comparative backwardness of Catholics in education was a recurring theme in speeches delivered at the inaugural meeting of TCRMJS. Maliammavu Kunju Vareed one of the speakers pointed out that "those missionaries who can claim to share the religion of the Imperial royal family had instilled amongst the Protestants a desire for education, while the Jacobites following their example could arise in various walks of life much higher than us. We have no reason to be jealous of them". 'Thiruvithamcore Cochin Roman Katholic Mahajana Sabha', Report in the Nazarani Dee~kika, 1905, July 12, Wednesday. 74. See for instance the Malayalam translation of J.Wicki : "Die Historic do Malavar des p. Diogo Goncalves SJ", /Archivum Historicum Societatis Iscu, XIV, 1945, Pp.75-78) pub. under the title : "Jathibhedavum Manushathuvam, Jathi Vyavasthayepatti Pathinezham Nootandile Oru 'Kerala Charithram'. In John Arackel, M.V. Cyriac, and Abraham Koothottil, Krishthumatham Bharathathil; Charithra~aramava Chile Nirishananaalum Vilaviruthalukalum, Pushapam Pub. Alwaye, 1981, Pp Social alienation from castes of similar social status was the price that Syrians had to pay for associating with lower caste converts. Palakunnel Martha Mariam Kathanar says that Syrians rushed out of churches where they worshipped together with lower castes, to make purificatory ablutions. He was manhandled by Nairs and Syrians together for advocating association with the lower cases LPalakunnel... op. cit., App.l.p.21 Protestant Churches where all castes were freely admitted could be built only in places away from temples and public roads. [Samuel Matteer : Native Life in Travancore, London, 1883, p The further they got alienated from caste society the Syrians had to resort more to the arbitration of civil authority in disputes involving them. Though such a situation became severe only by the 19th century, there are reasons to believe that it originated in 18th century itself; as the legend about Pittappallil Mani Geevargheseachen ( ) resorting to his influence with Dewan Raja Kesava Dasan and Karthika Tirunal Maharaja in a dispute, shows m - 1 (Malayalam) Kothamangalam, 1981, p The earlier close social proximity between Syrians and Nairs is testified by several legends to that effect. The government was tolerant towards the Syrians. This fact was described in colourful language, as "... the fanatic Mussalaman, the wary Christian, and the cunning Jew have equally 121

63 enjoyed the protection, the friendship and sympathy of the government", by RCT 1875 [op. cit., p.1561 Among several legends supporting equal interaction between Hindus and Christians is one regarding a Christian family being appointed as Vedikar [in charge of fire works] of the Chettikulangara temple, believed to have been constructed after 1750 A.D. (See Varghese Kohapailil : "Kuthiyaottarn and Kettukazcha in the Chettikulangara Temple". in C of , Fairs and Festivals 1966 op. cit. pp.172) Another is regarding the gift of an amount collected from parties contracting marriages to the representatives of Makkokker Nair Family by St. Mary's Forona Church, Bharanangaman, (See "Feasts in the St.Maryls Forona Church, Bharananganam", in C of Fairs and Fairs and festivals, 1966, op. cit., p.179) The hypothesis that the close collaboration between Syrians and other Hindu castes of similar standing was later broken up was advanced by Susan Baily : "Hindu Kingship and the Origin of Community : Religion, State and Society in Kerala, , Modern Asian Studies, Volume XVIII, N0.2, 1984, Pp The preoccupation with counting heads originated with the Census. The attitude taken up by some forward looking elements among the Syrians is reflected in the very first editorial published by the Malavala Manorama advocating the education, social upliftment and wages commensurate with their work for Pulayas. V.K.B. Nair, "Oru ~ootandinte Katha", (Malayalam), Malavala ~anorama Centenary Su~~lement, March 23, See.N.K. Jose : Nidheerickal Mani Kathanar, (Malayalam), Prakasam Publications, Alleppey, 1979, Ch.VI. See also Abraham M. Nidhiry : Father Nidhirv A Historv of His Times, Deepika, Kottayam, See P.K. Michael Tharakan, [1984], op. cit. 79. For instance, Mr.T.C.Cheriyan, Member, Travancore & Cochin Christian Association, Kottayam, advocated in the Popular Assembly "that competent Christians should be elevated to the grade of Tahsildars. He argued that the duties of the Tahsildar in connection with temples chiefly consisted of supervision and inspection which a Christian could do as efficiently as a Brahmin". Further, he said that in Cochin, and even in Travancore in the past there were Christian Tahsildars. Ouseph Kunju Avira Tharakan requested in the same session that the Devasoms might be separated from the Revenue Department; so that non Hindus and lower caste Hindus also can aspire for such positions. 'The Fourth

64 Day", The 25th October, 1905, PSMSMPA of T. [1905], op.cit., p See CMI Sabhaude Charithra Samosheoam , St.Joseph's Press, Trichur, 1970, Pp The two Syrian factions came together again to form the Travancore and Cochin Christian Association (TCCA) with the objective of, "bringing to the notice of the government, the claims of Christians to preferment in the public service...". "Lt, fr. Dewan Peishkar to the Dewan, dt. August 15, 1900, Kottayam, (strictly confidential), in Cover Svstem File (CSF) No. 7189, General Administration Department (GAD) English Record Section (ERS), Kerala Government Secretariat Cellar (KGSC), Trivandrum. 82. For details, see, Moorkoth Kunhappa : Malavala Manorama, Samskara Taranaani, MM Pub. House, Kottayama, 1973, p In the Memorandum of Association of this organisation it was said that it intends "(a) to establish and carry on at Kottayam and elsewhere within the Syrian Archdiocese of Malankara Schools or Colleges where students may obtain on moderate terms a sound liberal Christian and General education of the highest order (and), (b) to provide for the delivery and holding of Lectures, Exhibitions, Public Meetings, classes and conferences calculated to directly or indirectly to advance the cause of education, whether general, professional or technical". The membership in this association was reserved for every Syrian Parish which can nominate a person provided that such parish church contribute not less than Rs per annum., Letter (Lt) dtd. 21st Nov. 1898, Trivandrum (TVM), From K.I. Varghese Mappillai to the Dewan", in L C C KGSC. Trivandrum. 84. A Jacobite Patriarch was brought down to Travancroe who "consecrated a metran of that party, Paulose Mar Ivanios, as 'Catholicos of the East'. This was a new office as far as the Malabar Church was concerned, but it was held (to) be a revival of an old one which had existed at Selucia on the Tigris". This party "Contended that the Malabar Church was now made independent for all practical purposes", and this bold move "proved to be of great significance latet". - C.P. Mathew and MM Thomas, [1967], op. cit., pp

65 See Lt. dt. 2nd May, 1905, Ezhupunna, Fr. Parayil K.C.S.S.G.C.S.G. Avira Varkey Tharakan, Nazarani Dee~ika, June 7, July 12, Wednesday, and Varakara Johnny : Katholica Conaress Charithram, (Malayalam), Dee~ika, May 30, 1965, Sunday. "Concluding Speech", As Reported in Nazrani Dee~ika, 1905, July 12, Wednesday, Pp.3-4. Even after such bifurcation was effected, low-caste Hindus and non-hindu communities felt discriminated against in the case of government appointments Tariathu Kunji Thommen moved resolutions in the Legislature in 1925 and 1926 demanding preferential treatment for Christians [See M.J. Koshy : [1976], op. cit. pp It was pointed out by the Civil Rights League that out of4,000 jobs in the revenue department more than 3,800 were held by caste Hindus, [P.K.K.Menon Historv of the Freedom Movement in Kerala, (HFMK) Part 11, Government Press, Trivandrum, 1972, p.2891 For further details, See K.K.Kusuman : The Abstention Movement, KHS, Trivandrum, See M.L.Prema : "The Civic Right League of Travancore" Journal of Kerala Studies, Vol. IX, Part 1-4, March-Dev. 1982, Pp For details See TC Varghese, Aararian Chanae and Economic Allied Pub., Bombay, ql See M.A. Oommen, "Rise and Growth of Banking in Kerala", in M.A.Oommen. Essavs on Kerala Economy, Oxford & IBH Pub. Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi etc. 1993, pp See Paul Erik Baak, "Out of the Shadow, into the Spotlights, The 'Indigenous' Aspects of Plantation Development; The Case of the Emergence of Syrian Christian Planters in Princely Travancore in the First Half of the Twentieth Century", Itinerario, Vol.XVII, No.2, 1993, pp The earliest government intervention in Christian personal law in Travancore was in 1864 A.D. when it was notified that christians guilty of bigamy may be prosecuted. (Notification dt ) In a letter dated 31st March, 1912, Dr.Thomas Kaurialacheri, Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Changanacherri, to the president of the Christian Committee, said that "According to our custom the unmarried daughter and the widow are entitled to maintenance only, while the married daughter

66 is entitled to her dowry at the time of marriage. There was a great anxiety and fear in the minds of the people when the courts of this country deviating from the custom, lately applied the Indian Christian Succession Act in certain decisions in the case of the widows. Indeed. it was this unrest that led to an agitation and to the consequent appointment of the christian cornmitt&. If the daughters are aiven share along with their brothers and the widow is allowed to have any claim whstever except maintenance in the property of her husband, it would destroy the domestic tranquillity, throw open the flood-gates of litigation, bringing all sorts of calamities and eventually ruin the community". 'Original Appendix No.l', Dissenting minute to the Christian Committee, c. 1916, Pp.ii-iv. 93. Ezhavas traditionally had a varied occupational structure consisting of activities related to coir-making, coconut trade, trade in coconut produce, trade and drawing of toddy and arrack, various handicrafts, head-load work, artisanal occupations, cultivation of palm trees, small trade, teaching, traditional medicine, and as astrologers. See. A Aiyappan : "lzhavas and Cultural Change". Bulletin of Madras Government Museum, VoI.1, January 1945, p The social position of Ezhavas in traditional society as determined by the caste system which in turn coincided with the agrarian hierarchy. This hierarchy is illustrated diagrammatically below. Priests, Rulers Jenmon Brahmins, Rajas Administrative (Ownership) Aristocratic Officials Rights in Land Nairs Militia, Petty Kanam Nairs and Officials, (Superior Nambiars Traders Lease) rights Syrian Petty Verum~attom Non-aristocratic Christians Producers, (Inferior lease) Nairs, Ghavas and Traders, Rights Muslims Artisans Dry Land labour Wet-land Labour Agricultural Serfs Pulayas, Cherumars and Pariahs

67 94. Dr.P.Palpu in the covering letter (fr.p.palpu Asst.Surgeon, Mysore Government Service, Bangalore, dtd. 13th May, 1895 to MRRy.S.Shungara Soobyer Avergai, FMU, Dewan to HH the Maharaja of Travancore, (WM), with the famous 'Elava Memorial' pointed out that "government schools in the state were all closed to them (the Ezhavas) till a few years ago; and although some have been since opened, yet owing to the absence of State patronage, even these slight educational facilities have not been as largely availed of as might be desired. Even as it is, the number of Tiyas returned in 1891, as educated is 25,000 or per cent of their male population, while the percentage in 1875 was only 3.15". [CSF No.3234lElava Memorial-1895, GAD (ERS), GSC, Tvm. p.21 K.N.Govindan one of the earliest Ezhavas to achieve high government positions such as Government Secretary, Dewan Peshkar and District Magistrate. was born in 1057 (1882) in Chirayinkil Taluk. He studied in schools run by Missionaries in Anchuthengu, Nagergoil, Madras. and Trichnapoly and passed BA in 1088 (1903) [Philip George (ed) : The Kerala Historical Directorv, op. cit., p.971. Anther prominent success story from among the Ezhavas was that of Mr.M.Govindran (b.1874) who became the first graduate and first District Munisiff (of Parur in 1908). He was a Director of the SNDPY and editor of Vivekodavam, the organ of the Yogam. Fhe Madras State Directorv 1929 (MSD) the Pearl Press, Cochin, 1929, p.301. Even as late as 1931, 9.2 per cent of the English educated and 8.9 percent of the vernacular educated Ezhavas were unemployed, COI. Travancore. 1931, Part 1, p See M. Govindan : 'Rao Bahadur P. Velayudhan' SNDP Yoaam Kanaka Jubilee Smaraka Grantham Pp For details about the life of Palpu see. V.Panikkassevry. Dr. Pal~u (Malayalam), Seena Pub., Engadiyur, Ezhava Memorial, 12 May 1895, Bangalore was signed by Dr.P.Palpu and submitted to S.Sankara Soobiar, Dewan of Travancore. The second one, a community memorial, was submitted to the Maharaja of Travancore, on September 1896 signed by Ezhavas under the leadership of Dr.Palpu1 CSF No.1231, GAD (ERS), G. Sect, Cellar, Trivandrum as given in TK Ravindran Eiaht Furlonas of Freedom. Light and Life Pub. Delhi, etc. 1980, p Dewan Rama Rao ( ) said that ''the Ezhavas were as a body uneducated preferring their own occupations... to going for such education as would fit them for the public services", and that

68 their social position was such that they could be scarcely eligible for public offices, "where a certain amount of respect is to be commanded". PKK Menon. HFMK, op. cit., p M.K. Sanoo : Naravana Guru Swamy, Vivekodayam, Irinjalakkuda, 1976, p.170 and Robin Jeffrey : "The Social Origins of a Caste Association, : The founding of the SNDP Yogam", South Asia, 4, October Pp On 19 July 1897, Mr.Herbert Roberts raised in the British Parliament the question of Ezhava disabilities in Travancore and the remedial steps adopted by the Govt. of Madras. The Secretary of State replied that 8% of the total number of the pupils in the State was constituted by Ezhava children. CSF 1231, See. No,.4591/G 3071, dt , (ERS, GAD, KGSC, TVM) and PK K Menon: op. cit. p.14. w, 101. In 1891, out of 3,87,176 Ezhavas of Travancore only 2 had passed university exams. (TK Ravindran, 1980, op. cit., Pp ) Their lack of education is reflected in the following statement : "Brahmins and Soodras had almost monopolized the places in the Census Department.. no prohibition.. to entertaining men of the lower castes. But the gross ignorance which generally prevails among them and the vast numbers available for public service among the Brahmins and high caste Soodras almost confine the privilege to the latter class" RCT op. cit., p It seems that his association with Sree Vivekananda to have convinced Dr.Palpu of the need for a religious leader. See V.Panikkasserry, Dr. Pal~u op. cit., 1970, Pp Also see M.K.Sanoo : 1976, op.cit. p.166, for details of Aruvippuram Prathishta see lbid Pp and MSA Rao : and Chanae, Popular Prakasan, Bombay, 1972, Pp Asan was the founding secretaly of the SNDPY. He had just returned from Calcutta under the spell of Bengal renaissance. Chinna Swami as he was known had by then already set on the course to become one of the greatest renaissance poets of Kerala. - See Thayat Sankaran : Assan Navothanathinte Kavi (Malayalam), NBS, Kottayam, 1978 (1973), p.66. Asan, represented the disabilities of the Ghavas in regard to admission into Government Schools, and to the Government service in the Legislative. He pleaded for state aid to Ezhava temples. PTMSMPA of 1, 1905, op. cit., p.73. Also see K.Surendran, Kumaran Asan, NBS, Kottayam,

69 1977 (1963), M.K.Kumaran and K.Sreenivasan; Kumaran Asan, Kumaran Asan Smaraka Committee, Thonnackal, See A. Aiyappan : op. cit., 1945, Pp In a statement of 1916 the Guru proclaimed that he had no caste and that it is years since he was without caste. See "Namukku Jathiyilla, Oru Vilambaram: 1091 Edavam 15, Alwaye Advita Ashram, Reproduced from Prabadha Keralam. No.1, Vol.1, 1916, Mithunam and Murkoth Kunhappa. "Sree Narayana Guruvum Athakritharum", Vivekodavam, Sree Narayana Guru Memorial Supplement, March, 1978, p.1, and Sree Narayana GUN was selected unanimously by a three member committee (interestingly representing three erstwhile sections of Kerala) as the most outstanding among the famous persons who contributed to the development of Kerala in last 100 years, chosen as part of a publication to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Malavala Manoram The Guru's moral authority became a source of legitimacy for the Ezhava dissenters who were coming up everywhere. [See MSA Rao: "Change in Moral Values in the Context of Social Cultural Movements", in Adrian C Mayer (ed) Culture and Morality, N.Delhi, 1981, p There were other symptoms of rising social consciousness all over Kerala. For instance, the All Kerala Thiyya Conference held at Calicut on 14 October 1918, formed the Thiwa Passive Resistance Leaaue (TRRL) to fight against untouchability and for temple entry - P.Chandramohan, Social and Political Protest in Travancore : A Studv of the Sree Naravana Dharrna Pari~alana Yoaam. ( ) M.Phil Dissertation, submitted to JNU, Delhi, 1981, For Further details See K.R.Achuthan : C.Krishnan, NBS, Kottayam, 1971 As, KR Achuthan wrote in Mithavadi "the period when under the shadow of Sree Narayana, in Travancore; Dr.Palpu, N.Kumaran Assan, T.K.Madhavan etc., in Cochin; E.K.Ayyakutty and KAyyappan, in Kozhikode; C.Krishnan, Rarichan Mooppan, in North Malabar; Kottiath Ramunni Vakil and Murkoth Kumaran, worked together for social upliftment was indeed a glorious period in the modem history of Tiya community". See M.K.Sanoo : op. cit., 1976, p See M.K. Sanoo : op. cit pp.190, 203. In 1908 in a letter to SNDP, the Guru gave his instructions regarding he reforms the wanted. (Ibid, p ) He instructed those disciples who were to go around spreading the Dharma to speak on (1) Religion (2) Good

70 11 1. The Positivist Philosophy is ably brought out in a short verse written by the Guru, Jati Mimamsa (A Critique of Caste). The mystical thought of this poem formed the basis of a social movement of wider impact in Kerala. [T.K.Ravidnran : 1980, op. cit., p.131 In most temples he founded the deities consecrated were Siva and Subramaniam. M.K.Sanoo, op.cit. [1976], p.186 and A.Padmanabha Kurup : "Sree Narayana Krithikalile Siva Sidhante Swadeenam", Malavaia Virnarsanam No.6,Jan-June 1987, pp For a detailed and in-depth discussion of the subject also see, C.R.Kesavan Vaidyer Sree Naravana Chinthakal [Malayalam], P.C. Books, Kottayam, 1995 and Geevarghese Mar Theyodosiyus, 9 Naravana Guru Darsanamaalil. Murukkum~uzhavude Paschathalathil Ow Padanam [Malayalama], D.C. Books, Kottayam, Conduct (Sadacharam) (3) Education and (4) Industries (Ibid., p ). The Sree Naravana Dhama Sanaham was registered in Sree M.Viswambharan : Naravana Guru, NBS, Kottayam, 1980, p Sree Narayana thought maintained certain flexibility which permitted creative interaction : leading to the instance of Sri E.Madhavan explaining that the Sutra "No caste, no religion, no god for man kind" was only a logical extension of the Guru Sutra that "one caste, one religion, one god for mankind" - See E.Madhavan: Swatantra Samudavam (Malayalam), Prabhat Book House, Trivandrum, pp Founded by Sri T.K. Madhavan in "Sree Narayana proposed a through Sanskritization of Ezhava observances and since the temples operated by the Brahmins were closed to them, he established a series of parallel temples, in which an orthodox ritual would be celebrated, but by an Ezhava priest". See George Woodcock : Kerala. a Portrait of the Malabar Coast, Faber and Faber, London, 1967, p M.K. Sanoo, op. cit., [1976], pp The Guru clearly discouraged ostentatious celebrations like Taliketty. In two personal letters he wrote in 1908 and He prescribed a simple ceremony for weddings. While replying to a testimonial by the Cheravil Viniana Vardhini Sabha in 1910, he gave two pieces of advice. One was to liberate through education

71 and the other was to improve through starting industries. He further pointed out that if one person alone cannot start an industry, several people should form a company to start industries. P.K. Balakrishnan : [1967], op.cit. pp As a result while there were Chatha-Chamundi temples in Travancore listed in the 1921 Census, their number came down to 9000 in [P.K.Balakrishnan, 1967, op. cit., p.271 The Ezhavas worshipped both Vishnu and Siva and the myriads of other minor Hindu Gods. In former days goddess "Aghora Sakti" or "Badrakali" had a special place in their religion. Animal sacrifice was highly popular among them. The teachings of Sree Narayana Guru in the first quarter of the century gave a definite re-orientation to their faith and method of worship. [COI Volume VII. Kerala. Part VI F, Villaae Su~ev Monoara~hs. Trivandrum District, Trivandrum, 1963, "Kadakkavur". Chapter 11, p.901. The influence of Guru was noted in this regard by Edgar Thurston who wrote about in 1909 itself referring to him to Nannu Asan (M.K.Sanoo : op. cit., 1976, pp ). In Kottar, Kadukkara area under the personal insistence of the Guru, the people themselves stopped animal sacrifice, stopped rituals involving meat and toddy. A statement regarding the deities removed in this area is available. TABLE IV.20 : Number of Deities Removed under the Influence of Sree Naravana Gum in Kadukkara area near Kottoor Madan Peedam Porthan Peedam Karuppan, lrulan etc. Vankara Madan Peedam Chudala Madan Peedam lsaki (Yakshi) Peedam Mallan Karunkali Peedam (Source : M.K. Sanoo : 1976, op.cit., p ) 116. "Moreover issues of Temples and religion were capable of arousing the interest of people from diverse educational and economic backgrounds". Robin Jeffrey : [1981], op. cit., p

72 117. For details see Robin Jeffrey : "The Temple Entry Movement in Travancore". In Social Scientist, Vo1.415, November, 1975, T.K. Ravindran : Vakkom Satvaqraha and Gandhi, Sree Narayana Institute of Social and Cultural Development, Tnvandrum, 1975, and P.K.Madhavan : T.K.Madhavante Jeevacharithram Pushtakam, D.C. Books, Kottayam, 1986 (1936), pp Several such issues were taken up at different levels by mainly Ezhava Organizations, leading sometimes to even communal riots like the Nair-Ezhava riots in 1903 (See P.S.Velayudhan :, - SNDP Yogam, Quilon. 1978, p ). Such moves got streamlined in 1919 when the CRL was formed. Eventually under pressure from the Paurasamtwawad~ Prakshobhanam led by E.J. John and T.K.Madhavan in 1922, the Government conceded the demand for bifurcation of dewaswam from the Revenue Department. (P.K.K.Menon : w, Vol.lll, Government Press. Trivandrum, pp and A. Sreedhara Menon : Kerala District Gazetteers Kottavam. Trivandrum, 1975 p, 40-1). The Memorial submitted to the Dewan by the CRL on requested that it "may be pleased to accord to all subjects of His Highness, irrespective of caste or creed, full rights of citizenship. (i) (ii) (iii) by throwing open all ranks in every department of the Public Service to all subjects of His Highness the Maharaja, irrespective of race or religion. by extending the benefits of all public Institutions equally to all Communities in the State, and, in so far as it lies within the province of Government, by removing the stigma of untouchability, which has been such an insurmountable obstacle in the path of the progress of the depressed classes of this country : [See K.K. Kusumam, [I op. cit., App.1, p The Cosmopolitan character of participants in the Vaikom Satyagraha is revealed in the "list of Sathyagraha leaders convicted" and "list of British Indians who were convicted in connection with Sathyagraha movement at Vaikom" and the list of ''the Leading Agitators of Travancore who have been so Convicted and who are likely to Visit British Indian to attend Political Conference and to Assist in Agitation", in T.K. Ravindran, 1980, op. cit., pp A later assessment has this to say : "However it must be submitted that even though Vaikom Satyagraha did not succeed in advancing

73 the religious or civic freedom by an inch, it did make progress in creating an atmosphere for free political discussion and action in Travancore". T.K.Ravindran, 1980, op. cit., p See P.K. Madhavan : op. cit., 1986 (1936) pp.330 and Robin Jeffrey: op. cit., See Robin Jeffrey : [1976], op.cit., ch.4. pp See M. Varkey lttycheria : Thiruvithamcore Ezhava Reaulation, 1101 le Moonnam Reaulation, Vidyabhivardhini Press, Trivandrum, 123. Number of English educated Ezhavas in 1891 was 30, it increased to 5202 by [P.Chandramohan, 1984, op.cit.,] The Story of Sri N.R.Krishnan epitomises the struggle and the eventual rise of several persons under the inspiration of the Ezhava SRRM. He was born in 1067 (1892) in Shertallai. He got educated in a school- Bharathi Vilasom - founded by Dr.Palpu near his house. He practised as a lawyer in Shertallai. He served as General Secretary of the Kara~~uram Ezhava Prathinithi Samaiarn founded by Sri Kumaran Asan. He was the custodian of the Kettuthenau system in Sherthallai founded by Sri Narayana Guru himself. He was eventually elected to the legislative Council, where he introduced the Ezhava Regulation Bill. Philip George (ed): [I9491 op.cit., "Who is Who", p There were various campaigns specifically against caste distinction and for social upgradation of lower castes. For instance the major campaign against caste was led by C.Krishnan ( ) and T.K.Madhavan ( ). Both were journalists, Krishnan being the editor of Mitha Vadi and Madhavan of Deshabhimani (Krishna Chaithanya - Kerala, N.B.T., Delhi, 1972, p.56). Paravur Kesavan Asan ( ) started Suiananandini in 1891 [See Paravur P.K.Damodaran : "Paravur Kesavan Asan", SNDP Yoaam Kanaka Jubilee, 1952, pp and C.V.Kunjiraman ( ) the Kerala Kaumudi, from Myanad in Both spearheaded the movement against caste. (S. Sreedhara Menon (Camp) KDG. QUilon, Trivandrum, 1964 p.149). Kochukunju Channar who considerably added to the wealth of his family between 1904 and 191 1, under the inspiration of Sri Narayana Guru campaigned to eradicate to eradicate several rituals found outdated among Ezhavas. He was the first Ezhava in Travancore to have bought, a norse and a motor car. (Philip George (ed) the KHD op., cit., p.45.1

74 125. For an innovative appraisal of this particular SRRM, read P.Chandramohan : "Popular Culture and Socio-Religious Reform : Narayana Guru and the Ezhavas of Travancore". Studies in History, Vol.lll, No.1, January-June, pp.8, wherein it is pointed out that this could be viewed as an intervention in popular culture For details, T.P.Sankaran Kutty Nair : A Traaic Decade in Kerala m, KHS, Trivandrum, 1977, pp and The Historv of Freedom Movement in Kerala (HFMK) Vo1.l The Regional Research Survey Committee, Trivandrum, 1970, pp and B.Sobhanan: Dewan Velu Thamoi and the British, Kerala Historical Society, 1978, Also See V.R. Parameshwaran Pillai : V A Thamoi Dalawa, (Malayalam) NBS, Kottayam, 1978, and Raia Kesava Das. (Malayalam) NBS, Kottayam, 1973; both emphasising the role played by the "betrayal" of the British in their political careers. For details of Raja Kesava Dasan's life and Career; also see V.NagamAiyah : [1906], op.cit., Vol.1, pp See for a particular interpretation R.J. Jesudas : "Travancore Rebellion of Its Anti-Christian Origin", Journal of Kerala Studies, Vol.1, March Nairs in general felt that "Travancore had "wonderful" Statesmen a hundred years before Madhava Rao and his kinsmen". See Robin Jeffrey [I9881 op. cit There were several instances of missionaries petitioning against the Travancore Government to the British authorities. For instance, a petition was forwarded to the Madras Governor, complaining about the Travancore police, courts, revenue department and also putting forward the case "of the native christians under (the missionaries) care". ["Petition of the missionaries to the Governor General in Council Fort St.George, 26 July 1855"; "Memorial of the missionaries to Sir C.E. Trevelyan, 18th July 1859 in R.N.Jesudas, [I9771 op. cit., App. IV & V, pp and It was only because the Resident intervened the Maharaja's Government issued instructions to see that requests for building Churches and Schools were speedily responded to [See Huzur Circular No.5223 dt. 1st Edavam 1035 M.E. (1860 A.D.), H.C.V.R.. T.S.O.R.,op. cit., pp The reluctance of the higher castes as well as Travancore government to accord the same privileges to the converts, majority of whom were Ezhavas and other lower castes, as the Syrian Christians, led to taking up this case by the Missionaries with British bureaucrats. For example See "Memorandum Explanatory of the Case of the Protestant Christians in North Travancore", (N.J.

75 Moody, Secretary, Madras Corresponding Committee (CMS) reproduced in R.N.Jesudas : [1977], op.cit., App. Ill, pp See T.K.Velu Pillai : [1940], op.cit, Vol.ll, Ch.lV, pp It was pointed out that through the declared policy of the East lndia Company was that their officers in lndia should not use their authority to advance the cause of Conversions; Munro did more for Christianity in Travancore than any administrator was able to do in any other part of lndia. (lbid.p.523) "Their close bond of union, with the Namboodiri Brahmins pointed to their unmistakable preeminence" - U.Balakrishnan Nair, "The Nairs : A Race of Hereditary Fignters". Malabar Quarterlv Review. Vol. I, No.2, June 1902, pp.834 as quoted in Robin Jeffrey, op. cit., (1976), p See K.K. Kusurnan, Slaverv in Travancore, KHS, Trivandrum, 1973 and Dick Kooiman, Conversion and Social Eaualitv in lndia. The London Missionarv societv in South Travanwre in the 19th Centurv, Manohar, Delhi For details see J.W. Gladstone : [1984], op.cit 133. "The Travancore Government, being reluctant to come in contact with the Missionaries, owing to its regard for the paramount power, desisted from taking active measures, and the result was that the Hindus and the Shanar converts and their respective supporters openly assumed hostile positions against each other. Such feeling existed between the parties frcm the earliest period of the Mission works in South Travancore... This circumstance must naturally have roused the jealousy of the Hindus, while the converts instead of keeping themselves within bounds, took advantage of their support by the Missionaries and began to prove themselves a source of annoyance to the Hindu portion of the people, by openly defying them wherever there was an opportunity. The system adopted by the London Mission governed more of the undue and illegitimate exercise of power than persuasion and well meant endeavours to impress upon people the truth of the principles of religion, and hence, the chief cause for the Hindus to be dissatisfied with them and to consider their proceedings offensive. That the Mission work of conversion in South Travanwre was mostly, if not exclusively, confined to the Shannars, Parayans, and other low caste people, who form but a minor portion of the population of the district, while conversions among the higher orders were seldom effected. At the same time, while the Church Mission Society in the

76 north did its work quietly and without endeavouring to introduce reforms violently, the London Mission in the South seemed to presume quite a different policy for nearly half a century". P.Sankunny Menon ; Historv of Travancore, Govt. Press, Trivandrum, 1983 (Reprint), (1878), p The debate on who is to be considered a Nair continued. It was reported that in a Nair Sammelanam in early decades of the twentieth century a resolution was moved to the effect that all who speak Malayaiam and follow "Malayali Customs" should be included in the Nair Caste. See P.K. Balakrishnan (ed), [1969], op.cit., pp There had come a situation in which, Lord Dalhousie, wrote a minute containing instructions to the Madras Government, to impress upon the Travancore Maharajah, the necessity of immediate reformation, and correction of the disorganized state of affairs, and accordingly, the Madras Governor, Lord Harris, sent a strongly worded communication to the Maharajah. (PSankunny Menon : 1983 (1878). op. cit., p.357) The threat passed as a result of the assistance rendered to the British in facing the Great Mutiny. [See PRK Menon. Vol:l , 1970, op. cit., p Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunal said that "What Pericles did for Athens, what Cromwell did for England, that Madhava Rao did for Travancore", and Sir Henry Fawcett M.P. described in the British House of Comns Sir Madhava Rao as the "Turgot of lndia" who left Travancore "a model State". For details of his life and career (see V. Nagam Aiya : [1906], op. cit., Vol.1, pp and South Indian Maharashtrians. Cultural and Economic Studies, the Marattha Education Fund, Madras, 1937). Nowhere else in South lndia had a statue of an Indian like that of Madhava Rao was erected at the time as it was done in Trivandrum. "It was a way of saying to the British rulers we too have statesmen. Anything you can do we also can do". Robin Jeffrey : "What the statues Tell, the Politics of Choosing Symbols in Trivandrum", Pacific Affairs, Vo1.53, No.3, 1980, pp Desarath Brahmins, or Maratha Brahmins provided nine of Travancore's thirteen Diwans, covering about seventy out of ninety years between 1817 and Besides there were number of Tamil Brahmins also who worked at different levels of government. See Robin Jeffrey : [1980]. op. cit.

77 138. See P.R.Sundara Aiyer: A Treatise on Malabar and Alivasanthanam - Law. (Revised by B. Sita Rama Rao) Madras Law Journal Office, Madras, 1922, pp % Though it has been generally noted that "the Nair aristocratic families were among the first to send their children to the new schools". - J. Puthenkalam : Marriage and Familv in Kerala, with Special Reference to Matrilineal castes, Univ. of Calgery, Calgery, 1977, p It should nevertheless be remembered that the Nair caste supplied the largest number of sircar servants. Their number was 10,545 against in the previous Census in 1881, 2024 was the number of Foreign Brahmins in the service, followed by 671 Vellalas, 262 Pandi Sudras in the same year. The proportion of the employed to the total caste are 15% among Foreign Brahmins, 11% among Pandi Sudras, 5% among Malayala Sudras (Nairs) and 3% Vellalas. See V. Nagam Aiya : Report on the Census of Travancore taken on the 17th Februarv 1881 AD, alona with the Imperial Census, (RCT) Government Press, Trivandrum, 1884, p For easy reference of the Malayali Memorial, Counter Memorial, Ezhava Memorial and Contemporary newspaper opinions on them. See M.J. Koshy : Genesis of Political Consciousness in Kerala, KHS, Appendices, pp For full text of the Memorial See "Malayali Memorial, Poorna Roopam" [Malayalam], Vinaana V01.22, No.7, July 1991, pp w, 141. This led the Government to prohibit government servants from participating in political movements by a notification on (1891 AD) : Select Notification, (19381, op. cit., p There was not a single Malayali drawing more than Rs.500 per month, and only 2 received more than Rs.300 each; from Government Service. Among the Ezhavas not one held any appointment of a salary of Rs.5 or more. According to the Travancore Almanac of 1891, there were 3407 government jobs on Rs.10 and above. They were distributed as follows : Malayala Sudras (Nairs) 1572 Nanjinad Sudras 75 Nazranis (Syrian Christians) 75 There were no Travancorean among the judges of High Court or among the Dewan Peishkars [P.K.K.Menon : HFMK , [1972], op.cit., Vol.ll, 1972, p.91

78 Table N.21 CastewiselCommunitv wise distribution of Government Jobs in Travancore Source : V.Nagam Aiya, Census 1881, op. cit., p

79 143. See Robin Jeffrey, [1976], op. cit This was also the period of mass oriented literary works such as novels, dramas and journalism. Four names are worth mentioning. They are C.V.Raman Pillai ( ) the novelist, who through various historical romances centred around Travancore history, gave popular dissemination of some ideal characters and characteristics. The second is that of Seadeshabhimani K.Radhakrishna Pillai ( ), who through his various journalistic ventures created a new style; that of radical criticism of prevailing status quo. He also published a short biography of Karl Marx. The third is Kumaran Assan, premier disciple of Sree Narayana Guru, who through his popular poems, spread his Guru's teachings. The fourth name to be mentioned is that of K.P.Karuppan (from Cochin State) who through his play Balakalesam (1914) advocated progressive measures of social reform in unmistakable terms and called upon the government to put an end to caste practises by law and to promote the education and upliftment of the lower classes. See K.Ayyappa Panicker : A Short Historv of Malavalam Literature, Department of Public Relations, Govt. of Kerala, Trivandrum, Sec. Ed. 1978, pp This trend was there already because, "Due to their martial tradition Nayars were relatively free of managing cultivation and hence during the 19th and 20th centuries most of them had a clearly articulated middle-class identitication. Since they were able to withdraw from the land whenever other employment made it possible". See Joan P Mencher and K. Raman Unni : "Anthropological and Sociological Research in Kerala, Past, Present and Future Directions", in Burton Stein (ed.) Essays on South India, Vikas, N.Delhi, 1975, p See, Mannath Padmanabhan : Ente Jeevitha Smaranakal, N.S.S., Changanacherry, See Ed, 1964, Ch The Travancore Nair Reaulation of 1088 (1912 AD) was passed by which the wife and minor children of a Nair were declared as entitled to be maintained by the husband or father. It also have the widow and children of a Nair wtio had undivided Marumakathavam heirs a right to half of his self-acquired and separate property left undisposed of on his death, and if there are no such undivided M m heirs the full right to such property. Consequently the Travancore Nair Reaulation of 1100 (1925 AD) was passed which stipulated that every adult member of a Nair tarawad is entitled to claim his or her share of the properties of the tarawad.

80 of , Vol.11, Kerala, Part VII, V & M, Alleppey dist. 1965, "Bharanikkavu", op. cit., p Indicating the changing times Mr.Kochappan Karthavu of Meenachil suggested in the Popular Assembly that while in many families the Karanavan might he qualified for election but could not represent the wishes of the people : they may be allowed to elect their educated Anandaravans as members of the Assembly. It suggested that "it was the duty of Government to harmonize law with the altered conditions of society". PTMSMPATT. 1905, op. cit., p.60-1 and See for instance, Shanrnughadasan (Chattambi Swamikal) : Christumatha Chethanam (Mal.), Viswa Hindu Book, Kottayama, 1982 (3rd Imp.) 149. P.K. Michael Tharakan, [1994], op.cit., pp Though the Purushantharam, the amount given in regularisation of inheritance was abolished bv Col. Munro bv a notification dt (1811 AD) Selected ~otifications*~o.2, Trivandrum, 1939, p.1, in 1905, there were further demands on this question as the argument raised in the assembly by M.Madhavan Thampi for the abolition of the custom of paying Adivara for regularising adoption in Marurnakathavam families. (See PSMSPMB of T, 1905, p.41.) shows. For a detail description of the Naits traditional rituals and customs see L.K.Anantha Krishnan lyer : The Tribes and Castes of Cochin, Volume II, Cosma publications, New Delhi, reprint, 1981, (1912) For details of his thought see Sri Vidyadhiraja Theerthapadha Paramapattara Sri Chattambi Swamikal : Vedanthikaraniru~anam, (Mal), Vidyadirajasabha Mahila Vibhagam, Quilon 1975 (1912) K.Bhaskara Pillai : Chattam~iswamikal, Sri Vidyadhirajasabha, Trivandrum, 1978, (1960), G.Sukumaran Nair : Chattambi Swamikal, KHA, Ernakulam, See, Ananda E Wood, Knowledge before Printina and After. The Indian Tradition in Chanaina Kerala, OUP, Delhi ; 1985, op. cit., p.134, He started inter-dining with Ezhavas, for instance, with Sri Parameswaran the elder brother of Dr.Palpu, (Ibid.. p.138). Among his disciples was Kumbalathu Sanku Pillai, prominent leader of the movement for Responsible Government Charles Heimseth in 'The Foundation of the Social Reformers, with Special Reference to Kerala", The Indian Economic and Social Historv Review, (IESHR) Volume 15, No.1, January-March 1978,

81 had argued that the NSS was a non-religious movement as against the SNDP which was characteristic of a religious movement. Though the NSS movement did not have any formal religious objectives it nevertheless had ritualistic reform objectives within the framework of social reforms, see also Geevarghese Mar Theodosiyus, (1994) op. cit., p "The idyllic "Community" of interest which should have characterized the tarawad began to crumble. Finding it difficult to raise Capital, and having fixed ideas about what constituted respectable employment, Nayars took little part in the commercial activities which allowed some Syrians, Ezhavas and Christian converts to improve themselves materially. It was the spread of a cash economy and the increased value of land which were perhaps most important, through least noticeable" factors in the transformation - Robin Jeffrey, [1976], op. cit., p For example the Malavala Raivam was founded in 1929 in Quilon by K.G. Parameswaran Pillai, a prominent leader of the NSS with C.V. Kunjiraman, the Ezhava leader as its editor. [See A.Sreedhara Menon : [1964], op. cit., p Kunjiraman's association which as long as it lasted was subject to controversial interpretations. Sri P.Damodaran Pillai (b.1907) was editor of both Malavalali another journal of the same genre and Malavala Raivam. He resigned the editorship when he married an Ezhava girl and moved to the editorship of Doura Dhwani of Kottayam, [See Philip George (ed) : [1949], op. cit., p There were noted exceptions to this, one being that of Changanacherry Parameswaran Pillai. Though an activist of the Nair Reform Movement and the NSS he was also active in restructuring internal Socio-political structure within Travancore. He led the agitation for reconstituting the Travancore State Legislative with an elected majority in 1920s. [See A.Sreedhara Menon : Trivandrurn, Govt. Press, Trivandrum, 1975, pp The Travancore State Congress Movement had many prominent Nair activists, most important being Pattom Thanu Pillai its President. But NSS was opposed to its activities till the end of their agitation "But for the Missionaries, these humble orders of Hindu Society will for ever remain untouched. Their material condition... will have improved with the increased wages, improved labour market, better laws and more generous treatment from an enlightened government like ours but to the Christian missionaries belongs the credit of having gone to their very humble dwellings and awakened them to

82 a sense of a better earthly existence". Travancore. Reoort of the Census Part II, Chapter 10, pp "In many instances it has been only after considerable moral pressure, both from public opinion and from the British representatives, that the native governments have yielded to accept the reforms urged upon them". - '[Samuel Mateer : The Land of -, p.66., as quoted in M.J.Koshy : [1976], p.4. For further details See R.N. Jesudas : [1977], op.cit., Colonel John Munro in Travancore, KHS, Trivandrum, 1977, and A People's Revolt in Travancore. A Backward Class Movement for Social Freedom, KHS, Trivandrum, Also see G.A. Oddie : Social Protest in lndia : British Protestant Missionaries and Social Reforms , Malabar, Delhi, Referring to the Report of the Missionaw Conference of South lndia and Cevlon for Nagam Aiyah wrote that "the country under the CMS is dotted with mission schools, chiefly attended by Syrians, Anglicans, Nairs and Chogans, There are separate schools for the Pulayars." (See ReDort on the Census of Travancore taken on the 17th Februarv 1881 AD: Alona with the lm~erial Census of lndia, Government Press, Trivandrum, 1884, Ch.lV. pp.151-2). Further Rev. W.J.Richards of the CMS said that "education among the neglected classes, which had long been a desire close to the hearts of Missionaries, has of late years been much helped by the grant-inaid made specially for the benefit of those classes by the government; which has properly directed the Inspectors to take due note of the exigencies of harvest time when naturally the schools are empty for some weeks. This help and the older system of grants-in-aid for vernacular education has been the immediate cause of the opening of many new schools". It has noted that there were 499 schools educating the lower classes viz., Ezhavas, Vedans, Kuravas, Paraiahs, and Pulayars etc. With the exception of 3 or 4 schools all others are maintained by the government grants, mostly teaching the first and second standards. (See Travancore. Re~ort of Census 1891, Part II, Ch, 10, p.475). The pioneers of English education in the country were the Christian Missionaries who opened two English schools, one at Kottayam and other at Nagercoil. in the years They were given substantial aid from the government in the shape of grant of land. The first government English school was started in 1834 in Trivandrum. vravancore Administration Re~ort (TAR) , Govt. Press, Trivandrum, 1931, p In government awarded full salary grants to 201 schools and also opened 20 special schools for the education of backward classes. There were

83 5591 backward class pupils in that year; break up of which was as follows : Pulayars 2266 Parayars 2252 Velars 457 Kuravas 340 Kaniars 220 Veddars 56 ['Dewan's Address', PTSM SMPASA of T. 1905: op. cit., p.181 Mr.Marthandan Tharnpi pointed out that "most of these grant-in-aid schools belonged to the Christian Missions. Pulayas and others could not desire the benefits of instruction in those schools without sacrificing their religion, which was not desirable". [PTSM SMPA of - T, 1905, op. cit., p "The Pulaya were regarded as even lower in rank than the Paraiahs. They used to be regarded as chattels and bought and sold as such till a few years back, when they were emancipated from slavery" (1854 AD). It was nevertheless noted that "in the majority of instances they have remained in the lands of their former masters and were happy and contented with their lot". (Census of Travancore. 1875, op. cit., p.206). The final word regarding slavery in Travancore was indicated to the Madras Government as late as October 28, 1937 through letter No.R.Dis lGenl. [Indexed as file No.R.Dis.1483 Genl. dated August 10, 1938 KGS, Trivandrum [quoted in M.J. Koshy, (19761, op. cit., p.83). The colonial impact and with in that of the missionaries with relation to the freeing of the slaves had two purposes : one an economic purpose: they needed to liberate a work force for the mines and the plantations and the second a humanitarian purpose; the prevailing liberal ideology dictated it. See Franwis Houtart and Genevive Lemercinier : [1978], op. cit., Part I, pp "Even in 1885, when planting was at its lowest ebb, there were still 300 Christians excluding Coolies on the hills all year round and more at crop time." See Robin Jeffrey, op. cit., [1976], p.126. For furtber details, see. Dick Kooiman (1989) op. cit As early as the PWD employed 10,000 Ezhavas and other low caste labourers on daily wages. The wage incomes increased from one and a half anna and one meal per day to four annas and