Temple Entry Movement

Significant work in this direction had already been done by reformers and intellectuals like Sree Narayana Guru and

N. Kumaran Asan. T.K. Madhavan, a prominent social reformer and editor of Deshabhimani, took up the issue of temple entry with the Travancore administration. Nothing transpired. In the meanwhile, Vaikom, in the northern part of Travancore, became a centre of agitation for temple entry. In 1924, the Vaikom Satyagraha led by K.P. Kesava, was launched in Kerala demanding the throwing open of Hindu temples and roads to the untouchables. The satyagraha was reinforced by jathas from Punjab and Madurai. Gandhi undertook a tour

of Kerala in support of the movement.

Again in 1931 when the Civil Disobedience Movement was suspended, temple entry movement was organised in Kerala. Inspired by K. Kelappan, poet Subramaniyam Tirumambu (the ‘singing sword of Kerala’) led a group of sixteen volunteers to Guruvayur. Leaders like P. Krishna Pillai and A.K. Gopalan were among the satyagrahis. Finally, on November 12, 1936, the Maharaja of Travancore issued a proclamation throwing open all government-controlled temples to all Hindus.

A similar step was taken by the C. Rajagopalachari administration in Madras in 1938.