Kochi: President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the concluding ceremony of the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Shri Ayyan Kali organized by the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha on December 20, 2013 at Kochi.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said Shri Ayyan Kali was a man who dedicated his life to the struggle against casteism and to achieving equality amongst all the people of India.
Shri Ayyan Kali and other social activists commenced the struggle against untouchability which then culminated in the freedom movement adopting it as one of its major goals under Mahatma Gandhi.
President said Ayyan Kali’s life was an incessant struggle and he never had any formal education. But he knew the value of education as well as women’s upliftment.
It is because of reformers like Ayyan Kali and Sree Narayan Guru that people of Kerala were able to develop their progressive outlook of today which is much admired across the country.
President said inclusion and equal opportunity for all communities is the foundation of a free, progressive modern India, persons of all castes, religions and regions are equal partners in the building of our country. He called for ensuring equal opportunity to all people to realize their potential and develop their talents to the full.
He further called upon people to invest their energies into the removal of all vestiges of disabilities from the lives of the Scheduled Castes, Tribes and Backward Classes. He said we must ensure creation of a society in which minorities can live in peace and do not have to fear or suffer deprivation.
President said we must help people overcome the handicaps they have suffered for years, and fight against every kind of deprivation, humiliation or lack of ability to take advantage of the rights under our Constitution. This is a duty we owe to leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Ayyan Kali who fought many obstacles and hurdles to achieve their goals.
Ayyan Kali’s courage and steadfastness will be an inspiration to the people of our country for generations to come. Ayyan Kali’s life and message will remain relevant as long as prejudice and bias exists in society.
Full text of President's speech: I am very happy to visit Kochi to inaugurate the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of the great revolutionary and leader of the dalits, Shri Ayyan Kali. I am glad that the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha has been organizing year long activities to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Shri Ayyan Kali and educate the new generation of his contributions.
Like Shri Jyotiba Phule and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Shri Ayyan Kali was a man who dedicated his life to the struggle against casteism and to achieve equality amongst all the people of India.
Pulayars, one of the many Dalit communities in Kerala, were ordered to keep at a distance of ninety-six steps away from a Brahmin, not allowed to cover themselves above the waist or below the knees, denied admission to public roads and subjected to endless oppression. Ayyan Kali challenged these brutal caste codes.
Untouchability was a blot on our society and civilization and the virulence of its practice was amongst the fiercest in Kerala.
Shocked by the indignities perpetrated on the lower castes, Swami Vivekananda went to the extent of describing Kerala as a ‘lunatic asylum’.
Vivekananda expressed his contempt and disgust at this in his famous words when he visited Kerala in 1892: ‘was there ever a sillier thing before in the world than what I saw in Malabar? The poor ‘Paraiah’ is not allowed to pass through the same street as the high caste man, but if he changes his name to hodge-podge English name or to a Mohamedan name, it is alright. What inference would you draw except that these Malabaris are all lunatics, their homes so many lunatic asylums and they are to be treated with derision by every race in India until they mend their manners and know better. Shame upon them that such wicked and diabolical customs are allowed.’
Shri Ayyamkali and other social activists commenced the struggle against untouchability which then culminated in freedom movement under Mahatma Gandhi adopting it as one of its major goals.
Gandhiji believed that freedom and equality are inseparable and that abolition of untouchability was his life’s real work.
When our founding fathers under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar drafted our Constitution, they made sure that not only was untouchability abolished but a comprehensive programme of affirmative action was included to support the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and to ensure that they rise above their historical deprivations.
Ayyan Kali’s life was an incessant struggle and he never had any formal education. But he knew the value of education as well as women’s upliftment.
He demanded the right for Dalit children to study in schools and when that was denied he started a school to teach Dalit children at his home town of Venganoor. The burning down of that school by upper castes did not deter him. He passed through the public roads of Venganoor on a bullock cart which was not allowed for the Dalits. Enraged by his boldness, the upper castes physically attacked him.
Ten years before the Russian Revolution, Ayyan Kali organized an agrarian protest in Kerala. He called for boycotting agricultural work and raised certain demands.
These included (a) stoppage of the practice of not giving tea in tea shops to Dalits who were given tea till then in coconut shells; (b) right to education for Dalit children; (c) resting time for workers during work hours; and (d) replacement of the system of wages in-kind by payment of cash.
The agitation lasted more than a year. Finally the upper castes realized that their families would starve to death if Ayyan Kali’s demands were not met. They, therefore, were forced to concede the demands of Ayyan Kali and his supporters.
Ayyan Kali founded the Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham in 1905, which succeeded in obtaining a six-day week for agricultural laborers.
He can be called the first labour leader of India. He pioneered the movement for democratizing public places and asserting the rights of workers much before the formation of workers organisations in Kerala. The amazing part of it is that he did all this in spite of his illiteracy.
Shri Ayyan Kali was nominated to the Sri Moolam Legislative Assembly of Travancore in 1910 by the then Ruler in recognition of his leadership of the Dalits.
The success of the movement initiated by him can be seen in the fact that by 1900, Dalits were given the freedom to walk on public roads, and, by 1914, Dalit children were allowed to join schools. Dalit women were allowed to cover their nakedness in public through his efforts.
Shri Ayyan Kali received the support of his great contemporary Sree Narayana Guru and other social reformers. Ayyan Kali could gather support for his cause even from members of the upper caste community.
Unveiling his statue in Thiruvananthapuram in 1980, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said, “he is the outcome of his people’s enthusiasm for equality. This great son of India was the one who sacrificed his life for the well being of his society. His qualities were too great to be contained in Kerala only. His ideas and ideals are still valid.”
It is because of reformers like Ayyan Kali and Sree Narayan Guru that people of Kerala were able to develop their progressive outlook of today which is much admired across the country.
Rajaram Mohan Roy, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Dayananda Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda etc. were Ayyan Kali’s contemporaries.
It is perhaps difficult for the Indians of today, especially the younger generation to even imagine the society into which Ayyan Kali was born and the courage and heroism with which he confronted the forces of caste supremacy and discrimination.
Disabilities have been removed in law. But, unfortunately prejudice, inequality and injustice still persists vis-à-vis scheduled castes in our country. The change in status and living conditions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes since adoption of the Constitution has been enormous but far from sufficient.
We must invest our energies into the removal of all vestiges of disabilities from the lives of the Scheduled Castes, Tribes and Backward Classes. We must ensure creation of a society in which minorities can live in peace and do not have to fear or suffer deprivation.
Inclusion and equal opportunity for all communities is the foundation of a free, progressive, modern India. Persons of all castes, religions and regions are equal partners in the building of our country. We must ensure equal opportunity to all people to realize their potential and develop their talents to the full.
We must help people overcome the handicaps they have suffered for years, and fight against every kind of deprivation, humiliation or lack of ability to take advantage of the rights under our Constitution.
This is a duty we owe to leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Ayyan Kali who fought many obstacles and hurdles to achieve their goals.
Ayyan Kali’s courage and steadfastness will be an inspiration to the people of our country for generations to come. Ayyan Kali’s ideas and message will remain relevant as long as prejudice and bias exists in society.
