Person · Dalit social reformer
Ayyankali
Also known as Ayyan
Ayyankali (28 August 1863 - 18 June 1941), the Pulaya (Dalit) social reformer who led the 1898-1941 Travancore Dalit emancipation movement. Born at Venganoor village in Thiruvananthapuram district, Travancore, Ayyankali founded the 1907 Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangham (SJPS) and led the 1904 Chaliyar March — the first public assertion of the Pulaya right to walk on public roads (previously forbidden to Dalits by caste law). His 1914-15 school-entry agitation at Ooruttambalam opened Travancore government schools to Dalit children. He served on the Travancore State Legislature from 1912 onwards. The 1951 Ayyankali Memorial at Venganoor and the 1980 Kerala government's Ayyankali Day (18 June) honour his legacy.
- Date
- 1863–1941
- Function
- Social reform & movement
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- AnalogueMohandās Karamchand Gandhi
Ayyankali's 1898-1941 Travancore Dalit emancipation movement and Mahatma Gandhi's 1915-1948 all-India Dalit-Harijan movement developed in parallel across the colonial period. Ayyankali's 1914 Travancore school-entry agitation preceded Gandhi's 1932 Yeravda Pact Dalit politics by 18 years. Both leaders combined non-violent civil disobedience with mass agrarian mobilisation against the caste-based economic order.
Sources
Standard biography; regional historiography.
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