In a reflection of the growing political solidarity between the ruling dispensations of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin jointly inaugurated the centenary year celebrations of the anti-caste struggle Vaikom Satyagraha on Saturday.
Addressing the massive gathering at the venue here , Mr. Vijayan said the Vaikom Satyagraha highlighted the need for standing together during tough times. Tamil Nadu and Kerala had stood together throughout the struggle, he said.
“That same need to fight together will emerge again. This feeling will be escalated into a sense of great brotherhood,” he said.
Monument at Vaikom
On the occasion, Mr. Vijayan also declared that the State government would soon erect a monument at Vaikom in memory of the Satyagraha. Without spirited messages from the likes of Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambiswamy, and Ayyankali, there would not have been a progressive movement like the Vaikom Satyagraha, he said.
“Vaikom Satyagraha was a battle cry against the evil practice of Chaturvarnyam. It was the series of struggles that followed the Vaikom Satyagraha that paved the way for revival movements including temple entry,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Stalin spoke about his camaraderie with the Kerala Chief Minister, stating that both shared the same thoughts. “While speaking at the venue of the 200th anniversary of the ‘Thol Seelai Porattam’ (Channar revolt) in Nagarcoil on March 6, I had told Mr. Vijayan about the need to convene a joint celebration on the centenary year of Vaikom Satyagraha. He agreed to it and invited me to Vaikom on that stage itself. Even though we are separate with our bodies, we are one in our thoughts,’’ he said.
Tributes paid
The Chief Ministers had reached the venue after offering tributes at the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Periyar, T.K. Madhavan, and Mannath Padmanabhan at Valiyakavala in Vaikom and also at the specially prepared ‘smriti mandapams’ of Satyagrahis and reformists like Kunjappi, Bahuleyan, Govinda Panicker, Amachadi Thevan, and Raman Ilayath. Minister for Cooperation and Registration V.N. Vasavan presided.
