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The Temple Entry Proclamation was issued by
Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travanc ...
on November 12, 1936. The Proclamation abolished the ban on the so-called 'low caste people' or from entering
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temples in the Princely State of
Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
, now part of
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. The proclamation was a milestone in the history of Travancore and Kerala. Today, Temple Entry Proclamation Day is considered to be a social reformation day by the
Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decisio ...
.


History

Following the campaign to introduce social reform in
Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...
inspired by the teachings of
Narayana Guru Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritu ...
and others, a deputation of six leaders appointed by the
Harijan Sevak Sangh Harijan Sevak Sangh is a non-profit organisation founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 to eradicate untouchability in India, working for Harijan or Dalit people and upliftment of Depressed Class of India. It is headquartered at Kingsway Camp in De ...
toured the princely state to obtain support from caste
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
for so called untouchable people to be allowed to enter state-operated temples.


Vaikom Satyagraha

According to historian Romila Thapar, protests in 1924–25 against the prohibition of untouchables using a public road near a temple in
Vaikom Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The town is also noted for its role in the Indian independence movement for being the venue of Vai ...
were a significant precursor to the temple entry movement. Known as the
Vaikom Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...
, the protests sought equal rights of access in areas previously restricted to members of upper castes. The protests expanded to become a movement seeking rights of access to the interior of the temples themselves. These peaceful protests inspired the future 'it widely criticized that Temple Entry Declaration was done in order to prevent lower caste people converting in mass to Christianity. The then Travancore rulers feared that if Hindu majority is lost in the country, it will be difficult for them to manage.'
satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone wh ...
s'' of
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
.


Temple entry committee

In 1932, the Maharajah, Chithira Thirunal appointed a committee to examine the question of temple entry. This opened the possibility of reversing the opposition to the practice that had been shown by his predecessors,
Moolam Thirunal Sir Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (1857–1924) was Maharajah of the princely state of Travancore between 1885 and 1924, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Visakham Thirunal (1880–1885). Early life and education Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was bo ...
and Regent Maharani
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI (5 November 1895– 22 February 1985) was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her yo ...
. Subsequent to a meeting with Gandhi, Bayi had released those who had been imprisoned by Moolam Thirunal for involvement with the Vaikom Satyagraha and had opened the north, south and west public roads that provided access to
Vaikom Mahadeva Temple The Sree Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in Vaikom, Kerala, India. The temple, along with the Ettumanoor Shiva Temple and the Kaduthuruthy Shiva Temple is considered a powerful place of Shiva. The belief i ...
to all castes. She refused to open the eastern road to the temple because it was used by
Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
. She avoided acting on Gandhi's advice by pointing out that she was a regent for her minor nephew, Chithira Thirunal and so had no power to do so. Annoyed with this response Gandhi asked the 12-year-old prince, who immediately promised that it would happen during his reign. This incident was later quoted by K. R. Narayanan, the former
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...
, in his speech referring to the progressive mind of Chithira Thirunal. The Regent's refusal to act on temple entry rights attracted criticism from people such as
Mannathu Padmanabhan Mannathu Padmanabhan (2 January 1878 – 25 February 1970) was an Indian social reformer and freedom fighter from the south-western state of Kerala. He is recognised as the founder of the Nair Service Society (NSS), which represents the ...
, who accused her of being under the influence of the Brahmins and said that her excuse that she had no power to decide was a lie.


Royal proclamation and its aftermath

Chithira Thirunal signed the Proclamation on the eve of his 24th birthday in 1936.
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer (12 November 1879 – 26 September 1966), popularly known as Sir C. P., was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law ...
said of the decision that: In an open letter addressed to the maharajah, Gandhi said: Historians believe that it was Aiyar's legal skill that overcame the practical difficulties posed by the orthodox Hindus before the proclamation. He foresaw the objections that could be raised against temple entry and dealt with them one by one. He was also able to ensure that the actual declaration was known beforehand to few people. The Universities of
Andhra Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and Annamalai conferred D.Litt. degrees on the Maharajah, and life-size statues of him were erected in Trivandrum and
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. Sociologists believe that the Proclamation struck at the root of caste discrimination in Travancore and that by serving to unite Hindus it prevented further conversions to other religions. The Proclamation was the first of its kind in a princely state as well as in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Even though there were agitations in various parts of India as well as rest of Kerala for temple entry, none managed to achieve their aim.


Temple entry in Cochin And Malabar

The Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation did not have a serious influence in
Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
or British Malabar as the Maharajah of Cochin and the
Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited ...
were staunch opponents of temple entry for
dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
. The Cochin Maharajah went to the extent of declaring the whole people of Travancore as untouchables and forbade any Travancore citizen from entering temples under the control of the Cochin government. The Cochin ruler even forbade rituals like ''Arattu'' (holy bathing) and ''Para'' (holy procession) in Tripunithura and Chottanikkara temples. Eventually, a temple entry proclamation was issued in Cochin on December 22,1947 which came into force on April 14,1948. Even when universal temple entry was granted in 1947 the Cochin Maharajah made an exemption in the bill so as to keep his family temple, "Sree Poornathrayeesha", out of the purview of temple entry. The inhabitants of the Malabar region also finally received this right, as per the Madras Temple entry proclamation issued on June 12,1947. The Zamorin of Malabar had no wish to change the existing customs and usages in temples; on hearing the news of the Travancore Temple Entry proclamation he said that the Travancore Maharajah did not have the authority to do so as he was only a trustee of the temples which were under the supervision of Hindu Religions Endowment Board. He also sent a memorandum to the authorities claiming no one had the authority to take decisions regarding temple entry as they were private properties. Universal temple entry was only granted in Malabar region in 1947 after India's independence.


See also

* Kandoth assault


References


External links


www.india.gov.in/knowindia/state_uts.php?id=64








{{Narayana Guru Indian caste legislation Hindu law Hindu temples Kingdom of Travancore History of Kerala 20th-century Hinduism 1936 in India 1936 in law 1936 documents Social history of Kerala Ezhava Proclamations Hindu temples in Kerala Vaikom