Recent from talks
Temple Entry Proclamation
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Temple Entry Proclamation
The Temple Entry Proclamation was issued by Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma on 12 November 1936. The Proclamation abolished the ban on the backward and marginalised communities, from entering Hindu temples in the Princely State of Travancore, now part of Kerala, India.
The proclamation was a milestone in the history of Travancore and Kerala. Temple Entry Proclamation Day is considered to be a social reformation day by the Government of Kerala.
Following the campaign to introduce social reform in Travancore inspired by the teachings of Narayana Guru and others, a deputation of six leaders appointed by the Harijan Sevak Sangh toured the princely state to obtain support from caste Hindus for the backward castes to be allowed to enter state-operated temples.[citation needed]
According to historian Romila Thapar, protests in 1924–25 against the prohibition of Dalits using a public road near a temple in Vaikom were a significant precursor to the temple entry movement. Known as the Vaikom Satyagraha, it involved the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The protests sought equal rights of access in areas previously restricted to members of forward 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 backward caste people from converting in mass to Christianity. The then-Travancore rulers feared that if the Hindu majority is lost in the country, it will be difficult for them to manage.
In 1932, the Maharajah, Chithira Thirunal appointed a committee to examine the question of temple entry.[citation needed] This opened the possibility of reversing the opposition to the practice that had been shown by his predecessors, Moolam Thirunal and Regent Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. 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 to all castes. She refused to open the eastern road to the temple because it was used by Brahmins. 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, in his speech referring to the progressive mind of Chithira Thirunal.
During the Vaikom Sathyagraha, Mahatma Gandhi visited Kerala. At that time, Sree Chithira Thirunal was a young man, and had not ascended the throne. Gandhiji asked: "When you attain majority and assume full authority, will you allow Harijans to enter the temple?". The twelve-year-old Maharajah said without hesitation, "Certainly". This was not the result of anybody's advice. He spoke his own mind. It came from his own thinking and that is why I say, in spite of all the advice and influences in which he was enveloped, he had a mind and he had a policy of his own.
The Regent's refusal to act on temple entry rights attracted criticism from people such as Mannathu Padmanabhan, 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.[page needed]
Hub AI
Temple Entry Proclamation AI simulator
(@Temple Entry Proclamation_simulator)
Temple Entry Proclamation
The Temple Entry Proclamation was issued by Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma on 12 November 1936. The Proclamation abolished the ban on the backward and marginalised communities, from entering Hindu temples in the Princely State of Travancore, now part of Kerala, India.
The proclamation was a milestone in the history of Travancore and Kerala. Temple Entry Proclamation Day is considered to be a social reformation day by the Government of Kerala.
Following the campaign to introduce social reform in Travancore inspired by the teachings of Narayana Guru and others, a deputation of six leaders appointed by the Harijan Sevak Sangh toured the princely state to obtain support from caste Hindus for the backward castes to be allowed to enter state-operated temples.[citation needed]
According to historian Romila Thapar, protests in 1924–25 against the prohibition of Dalits using a public road near a temple in Vaikom were a significant precursor to the temple entry movement. Known as the Vaikom Satyagraha, it involved the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The protests sought equal rights of access in areas previously restricted to members of forward 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 backward caste people from converting in mass to Christianity. The then-Travancore rulers feared that if the Hindu majority is lost in the country, it will be difficult for them to manage.
In 1932, the Maharajah, Chithira Thirunal appointed a committee to examine the question of temple entry.[citation needed] This opened the possibility of reversing the opposition to the practice that had been shown by his predecessors, Moolam Thirunal and Regent Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. 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 to all castes. She refused to open the eastern road to the temple because it was used by Brahmins. 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, in his speech referring to the progressive mind of Chithira Thirunal.
During the Vaikom Sathyagraha, Mahatma Gandhi visited Kerala. At that time, Sree Chithira Thirunal was a young man, and had not ascended the throne. Gandhiji asked: "When you attain majority and assume full authority, will you allow Harijans to enter the temple?". The twelve-year-old Maharajah said without hesitation, "Certainly". This was not the result of anybody's advice. He spoke his own mind. It came from his own thinking and that is why I say, in spite of all the advice and influences in which he was enveloped, he had a mind and he had a policy of his own.
The Regent's refusal to act on temple entry rights attracted criticism from people such as Mannathu Padmanabhan, 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.[page needed]