Swami Anand Thirth: Sannyasa for the Sake of Outcastes

The second chapter of Swami Anand Thirth: Untouchability, Gandhian Solution on Trial places Swami Anand Thirth’s early life within the wider social, political and religious transformation that was taking place in Kerala during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel surveys the emergence of anti-caste movements, educational reforms, missionary activity and the growth of nationalist politics, showing how these developments created the context in which Anand Thirth came of age.

The chapter then turns to Anand Thirth’s childhood in an educated Gowda Saraswat family at Tellicherry, tracing the religious influences, family background and educational experiences that shaped his outlook. It also examines his early attraction to spiritual life, his contact with the Indian national movement, his association with Sri Narayana Guru and the formative experiences that ultimately led him to dedicate his life to the struggle against untouchability.

The text of the “Sannyasa for the Sake of Outcastes” section is reproduced below. Note: Obvious OCR recognition errors and a small number of clear typographical errors affecting names and readability have been silently corrected. Historical spellings, transliterations and terminology used in the original publication have otherwise been preserved.

Full Text: Sannyasa for the Sake of Outcastes

The cultural renaissance of Kerala had its fountainhead in the anti-slavery and educational activity of the Christian missionary societies of the 19th century.1 The first decade of this century saw the oppressed sections themselves taking up leadership roles in the struggle for religious and social reform. In 1903, Sri Narayana Guru started the Sri Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) which led the major battles for social change in the first three decades of this century.2 Sri Ayyankali, the undisputed leader of untouchable communities, founded the Sadhu Jaria Paripalana Sangham in 1905 for the welfare of the lowliest.3 Sri K.P. Karuppan organised associations around 1910 to promote the interests of the fishermen’s community to which he belonged. In response to the agitation and representations of the SNDP, in 1905 Government schools were opened for the first time to the lower castes, when V.P. Madhava Rao was the Dewan of Travancore.4 In 1910, Government girls’ schools were opened to Christian and Ezhava girls.5 Sri Narayana Guru had extended his reformist activities to the Malabar region as well. The Srikantesvara temple in Calicut was founded in 1910 in pursuit of his plan to establish places of worship without Brahmanical priesthood.6 An association called Vidya Sangham, made up of a few higher caste and backward class people who had been influenced by liberal western education and Hindu reform movements of the second half of the 19th century, came into being.7 The first district Congress Committee in Malabar was formed in 1908.8

The Basel Mission had quite effectively established itself in all the main centres of Malabar with its churches, mission centres, schools and industrial ventures.9 Special schools were established in Madras Presidency for the education of Panchamas by Dr. Duncan’s order of 1st February 1893, which was hailed as the “Magna Carta of Panchama education.”10 According to the 1901 census, there were 22 primary schools for Panchama children with 908 pupils in Malabar.11 In short, the age of reason had dawned on a society blighted by untouchability, religious conformism and the deadwood of custom and ritualism. Social reform began to be perceived as a value.

This was the socio-cultural scene when Swami Anand Thirth was born at Tellicherry on 2nd January 1905. His father was Rao Sahib Ramachandra Shenoy, Port Conservator at Tellicherry, “the entrepot for the pepper trade.”12 Ramachandra Shenoy was a prominent figure in the Gowda Saraswat community, as he was the president of the managing committee of the Narasimha Temple in Tellicherry. Anand Shenoy was the 5th child in a family of seven children. His mother, Devi Ammal, was described by the Swamiji as “a great devotee of God.” Her habit of taking food only after her prayers greatly impressed him as a child. Later in life we find this kindly lady supporting his work, though she used to tease him with the question, “How is it that a Pulayan was conceived in my womb?”13 The Swamis of the Arya Samaj visited his house; he was attracted to them and other Sannyasins who, he thought, were leading self-less lives. He recollected: “I was very attracted by the story of Prahlada. In my younger days I used to go to the Siva temple and pray there that the ‘I’ in me may die. Whenever I approach a man, a saint, I try to know if there is egoism in him or not. The saint who has no ego attracts me. That is how I was attracted to Ramana Maharshi, Aurobindo Ghosh, Ram Das, Sivananda Paramahamsa. I chose to be a disciple of Sri Narayana Guru. Both his work and life attracted me.”14 The only contact he had as a child with low caste people was with a servant woman belonging to the Kudumi community, who did all the domestic chores but was never admitted into the kitchen.

Anand studied at the Brunnan Government High School cum Junior College, named after a Collector of Malabar residing in Tellicherry, from where he passed the SSLC and Intermediate examinations with distinction. During this period, political unrest was growing in Malabar as a result of the activities of the Home Rule and Khilafat movements. The first convention of the Malabar District Congress was held at Palghat as early as 1916 under the chairmanship of Dr. Annie Besant. District conventions in one of the major cities in Malabar became a regular annual feature, and the branches of the Congress were founded in small towns of the district. On 18th August 1920, Gandhiji visited Malabar, preaching non-cooperation and supporting the Khilafat movement. In 1921, the Mappilla Rebellion broke out with all its tragic consequences.

Coming from an educated, upper class, high caste family, Anand already had relatives and acquaintances involved in the national movement. While studying for the SSLC, he became a friend of Sri Chidambaranath, son of a district judge from Travancore, who was in charge of the Congress office in Tellicherry.15 Under his influence Anand started wearing khadi and became a regular reader of Young India.16 Young India was supplied to him by Gandhi Narayana Mallar who was a clerk in a wholesale depot close to Anand’s house in the same street. Anand also came in contact with Mr. N. Krishnan Nair who later became the manager of Matrubhumi, a largely circulated daily started by Congressmen on 17 March 1923 with K.P. Kesava Menon as Editor, and with the objective of promoting the cause of national freedom and resurgence.17

The incidents reported from his school days reveal the courage with which Anand held on to his convictions as well as his uncompromising temperament, which were characteristic of him throughout his life. He wore Khadi clothes and used a palm leaf umbrella to go to college while his colleagues were dressed in European fashion, current in those days. One day in the history class while the teacher was lecturing on Clive’s conquests, he stood up and shouted “Clive was a robber.”18

In his Memoirs he confesses, “While I was a student at Brennan College, Tellicherry, I was ignorant of untouchability and caste discrimination but I was interested in the national movement.” This is not surprising if we remember that at that time the Indian National Congress had no programme against untouchability and other social injustices against the avarna castes. In the district Congress meeting in 1916, a resolution protesting against the customary ban on avarna castes using public roads was disallowed on the ground that it did not come within the scope of the assembly. At the same time, the meeting passed a resolution protesting against the treatment meted out to pilgrims from Malabar in the Rameswaram temple in Tamilnad. In the following year a resolution was passed which described the ban imposed on the use of public roads by certain castes as “cruel and unjust” and requested the religious authorities and the public to explore ways of removing such social disabilities. All the same, most Congressmen had no interest in these programmes. As a result, leaders of the backward and depressed classes who were interested in social reforms, like C. Krishnan in Malabar and Sahodaran Ayyappan in Cochin, kept themselves aloof from the National Congress.19

Anand had a brilliant academic record. For scoring the highest marks in the SSLC examination he was awarded the Greg Memorial Scholarship.20 In 1923 he passed the Intermediate examination securing a first class and entered the Presidency College in Madras. He opted for physics as his main subject under the guidance of Dr. Savur, head of the department.

Political activism was very much alive in his college days. Some of the students once wanted to put the photo of the hostel warden, S.E. Ranganadan,21 in the Victoria Hostel. Anand and his close colleague, H.V. Kamath,22 opposed it and wanted instead to put up Gandhi’s picture. In the end, a compromise was arrived at, everyone agreeing to have no photo put up. Anand also attended political meetings and participated in the political activities of his home town, Tellicherry. C.H. Kunjappa23 fondly remembers his acting with Anand in 1925 as a volunteer in the Congress meeting at Tellicherry. It was presided over by S. Srinivasa Ayyangar and was addressed by S.K. Kombrabail, a great Congressman in North Malabar, who broke the caste barriers by marrying a Tiyya girl named Kamalam.

While at the Presidency College, the movement led by Sri Narayana Guru seriously engaged Anand’s attention. The Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam at its 17th annual meeting held on 13 May, 1920 passed the following resolution: “All public temples belonging to the Government should be open to all Hindus regardless of caste.”24 The Yogam decided to make the necessary representation to the Government. At the same meeting, T.K. Madhavan moved another resolution:

Whereas it is deemed that the social disabilities being borne by the Ezhavas will be solved by change of religion and whereas the Government and the so-called higher castes are not helpful in the removal of these disabilities, this Yogam is of the opinion that the community should take steps to embrace Christianity en masse.25

This resolution sent shock waves through the Hindu leadership in the Congress. The Nair Service Society in its official organ disclaimed jati (caste) as part of Hinduism and called for reform.26 T.K. Madhavan, the mover of the resolution, himself a Congressman, met Gandhiji and other Congress leaders, and the Kakinada All India Congress Committee in 1923, adopted a resolution that temple entry is the birthright of all Hindus.27 As a result, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee met at Ernakulam on 20th Jan. 1924 and formed a special committee for the eradication of untouchability under the chairmanship of Sri Kelappan with T.K. Madhavan and others as members. This committee organised the historic Vaikom Satyagraha which demanded for the lower castes the right to use public roads near high-caste temples.

In his Memoirs, Swami Anand Thirth writes:

In 1922 while I was studying at Brunnan College, Sri Narayana Guru visited Jagannath Temple in Tellicherry. I didn’t desire to meet him as I thought he was the religious guru of a particular community. It was while studying at Madras I came to read about Vaikom Satyagraha led by Sri Kelappan, T.K. Madhavan, T.R. Krishnaswamy and others and learned that even the right to use public roads was denied to the untouchable and backward classes. Only then I realised Sri Narayana Guru was the originator of the movement against untouchability. The movement had a great appeal to me. I also read the press report on the meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev. My reverence towards Gurudev grew as a result of this.28

At the meeting, Gandhiji asked Narayana Guru about salvation in Hindu religion and the need for conversion to other religions. But Narayana Guru in his reply said that salvation was available in other religions too and pointed out the fact that people were more concerned about their freedom in this world than in the other, thus implicitly referring to the untouchables in Hindu religion.29

An incident in this period of his life reveals that Anand had taken immediately to heart the teaching of Sri Narayana Guru: “Let none ask another his jati, let him not tell it (if asked), let him not think of it (even in thoughts).” He had visited the temple town Guruvayur as his brother, Sri Ganesh Shenoy, a civil engineer, was supervising repairs to the temple. The shopman in the bazaar where Anand had gone to buy certain articles asked his jati. He declined to answer him. Only then did he realise that Thiyyas were forbidden entry in the shopping area. He was again asked to reveal his jati when he entered the temple to bathe. Anand persisted in his refusal and the result was that he was severely beaten and taken to the Devaswom office. The Devaswom officer recognised him and saved him.30

The books he read and the contacts he cultivated during this period show that his interests were growing in another direction in addition to his political and academic pursuits. He used to visit the Ramakrishna Mission in Madras every Monday during his college days.31 The books of Swami Vivekananda, the Imitation of Christ, Gandhiji’s My Experiments with Truth, and the writings of Swami Rama Thirth were some of the other books he remembers to have read. “The ethical religion espoused by Gandhiji had an appeal to me.”32 He cultivated a habit of reading every day a portion from the Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. After having read Vivekananda’s description of caste-ridden Kerala society as a “lunatic asylum,” he revolted mentally against untouchability. He had the opportunity to closely associate himself with some of the Swamis of both the Ramakrishna Mission and of the Arya Samaj. He was even contemplating joining the Ramakrishna Mission, moved by Vivekananda’s call to “Go to the untouchables and work for them.” But he finally gave up the idea because of the Order’s soft attitude towards the problem of caste. This is made clear by a letter he wrote in 1957 to K.S. Shivam. “I had an idea to join the Ramakrishna Mission after my college career. But I found that the mission had not the guts to fight untouchability or caste. Till 1947, the Harijan students were not admitted in the Ramakrishna Students Home in Madras. Even now Harijan students would not be admitted in the Ramakrishna Students Home in Mangalore.”33

He had seen the work of the Salvation Army among the untouchables. He saw untouchables in Salvation Army uniform. One day he approached a Christian missionary. He wanted to become a Christian.

The missionary asked him : “Do you believe in Christ?”
Anand : “I believe in Christ and recognise him as a prophet. I do not want to continue in the caste-ridden Hindu society.”
Missionary : “Do you believe in Christ alone?”
Anand : “That is not possible for me.”
Missionary : “Then you cannot be a Christian.”34

In 1926, Anand Shenoy passed B.Sc. Hons. in physics with a second rank in the Madras Presidency. He had by this time made up his mind to associate himself with the national resurgence and freedom struggle. He wrote a letter to Aurobindo Ghosh in Pondicherry expressing his desire “to live without ego in complete self-effacement.” Aurobindo in his reply advised him to seek another Guru as “my yoga (path) is not self-effacement. My yoga is Sat-Chit-Ananda.” He paid visits to Ramana Maharshi and Siddharuda Swami of Mysore. He saw Siddharuda Swami being fed and worshipped by others. His heart was not satisfied.35 After having read the writings of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ramana, he strongly felt social reform had priority over national freedom and he wanted to work for freedom through social work. He therefore wanted to go and spend some months in Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram and sought the advice of Rajaji.36 Rajaji encouraged him to go instead to Sabari Ashram in Palghat,37 started by T.R. Krishnaswamy Ayyar soon after the 2nd State Congress Convention held there in May 1923. It was at this Convention, Sri Kelappan and T.R. Krishnaswamy Ayyar organised intercaste dining for which the latter was boycotted by his community.38

On 10 September 1926, Anand joined Sabari Ashram. According to Swamiji, Sabari Ashram was started with the aim of propagating Gandhian ideals and training Satyagrahis for independence struggle. When Anand joined the Ashram, it had 19 boys from castes such as Cheramar (untouchable), Ezhava, and Nair and two Muslims. The Muslim children later left the ashram. In July 1927 two Brahmin children were admitted. This resulted in employing a Brahmin cook. But the Brahmin children were fed separately from the others. Anand was not happy with this arrangement, but hoped it would change gradually as advised by T.R. Krishnaswamy.

The Arya Samajists led a struggle in 1926 in Kalpathi Agraharam for the Avarna castes’ right to use public roads. They were associated with the ashram as they were sending destitute children to Sabari Ashram and paying Rs. 4 per child. Anand joined the agitation till the roads were finally opened to all. But he faced severe opposition when he started taking out untouchable children through the streets and bylanes in the neighbourhood of the ashram. On several occasions they were abused and insulted. All the same there were houses where the children received hospitality.

On Sivaratri day in Feb. 1927 the children wanted to go to the fair in the market-place opposite the temple at Kaliayagulangara in Palghat. The traders were mostly Muslims but the place was not open to untouchable castes. He writes in his Memoir: “On seeing the untouchable children, the orthodox (Hindus) stopped us. They mercilessly beat me up for bringing the untouchable boys. ‘If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer him your left’. Remembering these words of Jesus Christ, I received blows on both cheeks in plenty. It was through this incident I experienced the cruelty of untouchability.” “The incident helped the Gandhi devotees of Akatetara to open their eyes; but no one had the courage to protest openly; such were the times.”40

While working at Palghat, Anand came in contact with the Nayadi community. He wrote in his Memoir: “They were denied the right to use public roads. One could see them spreading a cloth by the roadside and move out into some paddy field. From there they would call out to the passers-by to drop a coin on to the cloth. I was moved to tears by their sad plight.”41 He confesses in his Memoir that it was situations like this whereby he came to know the Nayadis, “people who pollute by sight,” that led him to recognise in Sri Narayana Guru a divine incarnation, and to start meditating on him.42

In Kuzhalinandam there was a large colony of Nayadis. A local feudal chief, Nallapully Balakrishnan, sent four Nayadi boys to Sabari Ashram. But they had to be brought to the ashram in a covered bullock-cart, after the manner in which Muslim women travel, because of people’s opposition to the Nayadis using public roads. They were welcomed with great joy by the inmates of the ashram and were treated with special consideration; but unfortunately, the children ran away from the ashram after a week’s stay. It was Dr. Carlstone, Sub-Collector of Malabar who, on Swamiji’s petition, enforced the right of Nayadis to walk through the public streets. Accompanied by a police force and while he himself held a gun, Carlstone led a group of Nayadis through the streets of Kuzhalmandam. In the light of his disappointment later with Gandhians, Swami Anand Thirth gratefully remembers that Carlstone had greater concern for Nayadis and supported wholeheartedly Swamiji’s work.43 Anand’s concern for the untouchables attracted him to Narayana Guru. In September 1927, the first opportunity to meet his beloved Guru came when the latter visited Coimbatore. Anand was introduced to the Guru who was happy and said: “It is very good to take care of the children of the poor.”44

In the first half of October 1927, Gandhiji made an extensive tour of Kerala, starting from Trivandrum. Wherever he went he had the same message which he termed, at Alleppy, “the threefold duties,” namely: to boycott liquor shops, to eradicate untouchability, and to produce and wear Khadi clothes. In Malabar, he visited Sabari Ashram. Anand raised with Gandhiji the question of the separate feeding of Brahmin children in the ashram. Gandhiji was happy to know of the inclusion of Brahmin children among the boys but he wanted all of them to be treated in an equal manner. As a result of this, T.R. Krishnaswamy Iyer sent away the Brahmin boys and gave charge of the ashram to Anand.45 Gandhiji praised Sabari Ashram in his speech at Calicut:

I am sure you have heard of Sabari Ashram. They have given me this beautiful piece of Khadi cloth. The little fingers of the young boys in the ashram made this. I say it is beautiful not because it is finer and softer than the mill cloth you people wear. I say it is beautiful because the vision behind it is beautiful. This piece of Khadi brings us closer to these children. Khadi binds us with millions of villagers.46

Sri Narayana Guru came to Palghat in the third week of October 1927. He was staying at Dr. Krishnan’s House. As soon as the news reached Anand, he went and invited the Guru to visit Sabari Ashram. Sri Narayana Guru came to the Ashram. He exhorted them to develop the habits of cleanliness and diligent study. At the close of prayers he distributed bananas to the children. Anand returned with the Guru to Dr. Krishnan’s house where the Guru asked him to sit by his side at the meal served outside in the shade of a mango tree. In the afternoon, Narayana Guru distributed bananas to the Nayadis who came to see him. Anand was sent back to the Ashram by the Guru with a promise to meet again.47

In February 1928 Anand undertook a pilgrimage to Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat “after the manner of a Parivrajaka, without touching and asking for money.”48 Most of the journey he covered on foot; the rest by hitch-hiking in lorries, and by train for which someone would purchase a ticket for him without handling the money. On the way he visited Bababudan giri, a place holy to Hindus and Muslims, Siddharuda Swami at Hubli, Rajaghat and Sumaghat, places associated with the memory of the great Shivaji.

On his way through the Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra an interesting experience happened to him. Exhausted by thirst, he went to the untouchable quarters of a village and asked for water. They refused, saying that it was a sin to offer water to a high caste man. When he went to their well to draw water for himself, they stopped him. Anand thereupon proceeded to the quarters of the high castes from where he was driven away on the ground that he had gone to the untouchables. Finally, he went to a Muslim house in a far corner of the village. An old Muslim kindly received him and served him rice and curry left over in the house. Only after he started eating did he realise that the curry was made of fish, something he had never tasted. Without showing any hesitation he finished the meal. It was for the first and last time that he ate fish in his life. After describing the event in his Memoir, he comments as follows: “It came as a big surprise to me that a Muslim had to give refuge to a man driven away both by caste Hindus and untouchables because he was not observing jati. It made me realise that the most important thing in the religion of Hindus was caste and untouchability.”49

Anand reached Sabarmati Ashram in May and returned to Palghat by train the following month, the money for which was sent from his home.50

In July 1928, a messenger from Sivagiri came with a letter from Swami Dharma Thirth,51 Secretary of Dharma Sangham, written under instructions from Sri Narayana Guru, in which the Guru wanted him to reach Sivagiri as early as possible. Anand himself was thinking of going to Sivagiri and therefore felt very happy. He reached there on the night of 31st July.

In his Memoir, he writes:

Saturday the following morning; I duly took a bath and presented myself before Swamiji. ‘Arrived?’ said the Swamiji with a smile. After paying homage to him, I expressed my desire to become a disciple of his holiness. “Good, we have to consult the members of the Dharma Sangham,” was his reply. The following morning while I was with Swamiji, representative of the Dharma Sangham also arrived. They were of the opinion that I should have a period of initiation for one year before joining the Sangham. Swamiji said, “No need to delay so much. If you approve of his entry, we can have it tomorrow itself. We know him well. It would be good if we admit him to Dharma Sangham.”52

On 3rd August 1928 at noon Sri Narayana Guru was carried on his bed from Vaideeka Mutt to Sarada temple. Anand appeared with a shaven head before his Guru. At noon the naming ceremony began with the giving of Thirtham and saffron clothes to Anand by Narayana Guru. “When I was asked my name, I replied ‘Anand Shenoy.’ ‘Then let it be Anand Thirth’ was the Swamiji’s reply.”

On 4th August, Swami Anand Thirth called on his beloved Guru. The Guru gave him a cup of coffee after having drunk from it. Then he said, “Now you can return, do not fear; there is plenty of work to do.” Reflecting on these words Swami Anand Thirth said that he took these words as the final message of the Guru. The words “do not fear” and “plenty of work” he cherished as prophesying his mission against untouchability. His motto in life was “do or die.” “Fear no man on earth, fear only animals.”54 Swami Anand Thirth was happy to return as he was alone in charge of Sabari Ashram, and left Sivagiri on 5th August.55

In 1929 Swami Anand Thirth spent some months at the Sraddhananda Vidyalaya56 at Payyoli, a residential school for untouchable children started by Kelappan in 1924. Kelappan who led the Vaikom Satyagraha was the president of the KPCC and chairman of the special committee for the eradication of untouchability. He was the most distinguished Congressman in Kerala and was also genuinely concerned about the integration of untouchables within the Hindu fold. He had established a Harijan colony and school as early as 1921 at Madadi, his birthplace.

While staying at Sraddhananda Vidyalaya, Swamiji went with some Harijan boys to the nearby Chaliya street. He was savagely beaten up by the Chilayas for bringing untouchable boys to their street. Sri Kelappan publicly condemned the attack on Swami Anand Thirth in Matrubhumi as he had much earlier realised that the freedom movement and the Congress won’t have much popular base unless the uplift of the Harijans was taken seriously.57

In 1930 the Congress launched the Civil Disobedience Movement, and preparations began for the historic Salt Satyagraha all over the country. Swami Anand Thirth toured south Malabar with Sri Kesavan Nair from the Vidyalaya, mobilising people for the Salt Satyagraha. A delegation with Swamiji from Sabari Ashram went to join the Vedaranyam march at Trichinopoly led by Sri Rajagopalchari. Swami Anand Thirth had the honour of being the standard bearer leading the jatha. En route he was a member of the special group assigned to visit Harijan cheris. He tried to take Harijan children to bathe in the public ponds along with the other satyagrahis. In most places the children didn’t have the courage to go with them as they were afraid of the local caste Hindus. In a few places they were allowed to take bath with the other volunteers. It helped him to realise the “pitiable condition of Harijans in Tamilnad.” He wrote in his Memoir: “At the meetings held en route the Harijans were seated separately far away from the public. I asked Rajaji whether they could not be seated with the rest?”

“Rajaji: ‘I would approve of it; but when we leave, it may lead to problems. Do you want to stay here and solve these problems or come with me.’“58

Rajaji allowed the volunteers if anyone so desired to sit with the untouchables. In a letter written to Swamiji a friend of his reminisces what the former did on that march in the following way:

On more than one occasion I have noted while we were on the 1930 March that you are very much attached to the Harijans, and I have a clear perception of a scene when you sat among the Harijans holding a child on your lap, which I will never forget in my life.59

On the 1st of June 1930, the Satyagrahis were arrested at Vedaranyam. In the court:

The magistrate asked the Swamiji : “Have you anything to say?”
Swami Anand Thirth : “I live for two things: the first is the death of caste.”
Magistrate : “Well and good.”
Swami Anand Thirth : “And the second, the end of British rule.”
Magistrate : “We cannot agree to that.”
Swami Anand Thirth : “So I am willing to go to prison.”60

The Swamiji was treated well by the police who had observed his concern for the Harijans during the march. As a Deputy Superintendent of Police told him: “That is why we did not hurt you.”61 But the police came down severely on some others like K. Santanam and G. Ramachandran.62

Swami Anand Thirth was imprisoned in Vellore which also had as inmates many prominent Congressmen, like Sri Kelappan, Sri Rajagopalachari, Sri L.S. Prabhu, Sri Madhavnar, Sri Kongattil Raman Menon, all from different parts of South India. Swami Anand Thirth wrote:

In Vellore Jail, we discussed the problem as to why the depressed classes oppose the freedom movement. The most important reason we felt is the denial of their social rights and their exclusion from caste temples. This conviction led him (Kelappan) to start the temple entry movement as soon as he came out of jail.63

Swami Anand Thirth narrated to his jail-mates his experience at Guruvayur and pleaded with Kelappan to start a Guruvayur satyagraha.64 He had meanwhile understood that political freedom for the country should also mean social freedom for its people. “My conception of ‘freedom’ made me understand that caste was an injustice.”65 Another incident in the jail revealed that he was not just against caste differences. A dinner meeting was arranged between A and B class political prisoners at the request of Swamiji.

In February 1931, the prisoners were freed in the wake of the Gandhi-Irwin agreement. On release from prison, Swami Anand Thirth took a leading role in organising the Sri Narayana Satyagraha camp at Tellicherry. It was the first of its kind in North Malabar and its main objective was to train satyagrahis for picketing liquor shops, to boycott foreign clothes and propagate khadi. Untouchable children from Sraddhananda Ashram were brought to the camp. But when these children went with the Satyagrahis to bathe in Tiruvangad temple, the orthodox Hindus did not even allow them to bathe in the temple pond. Similarly, the children were not allowed to sit with high caste people for Hindi classes organised by the Satyagrahis.66

On 1st November 1931, the Guruvayur satyagraha for temple entry began. Swami Anand Thirth went about recruiting volunteers for it. About this time, A.K. Gopalan and Keralyian led a jatha of Harijans through the public road in front of the Tiyya Shrine (Palliyara) at Kandoth, near Payyanur. The local Congressmen boycotted the jatha. A.K. Gopalan, Keraliyan and the Harijans were very badly beaten up by the Tiyyas. Swami Anand Thirth visited A.K. Gopalan and others in the hospital. “It had saddened me,” he wrote “that freedom to travel through the public roads was denied to Harijans.” The attitude of the majority of local Congressmen made him realise that though they were fighting for national freedom from Britain, they had not the same concern as he had for extending the benefits of freedom to the untouchables. As this realisation dawned on him, he began to lose interest in politics and resolved to dedicate himself to fight against untouchability, the great mission of his guru and master. In this work he saw himself as the instrument of God working for the spiritual renaissance of India. He wrote:

The Harijans have been victims of an age-long oppression and suppression. Socially they are lepers, economically they are worse than slaves and religiously they are most neglected and forlorn…. The gross neglect and ill-treatment of this helpless class of humanity would probably be the blackest shame of the people of India. God is the protector of the helpless and the weak and He in his inscrutable way is working for their cause in the world…The real solution to the problem of the Harijans lies in a religious renaissance in our country.67

For him, religion did not mean “sectarian organisations” but “the understanding and practice of the universal principles of love, service and sacrifice.” He added, “In India, social and political reforms have always been effected through the teachings of great saints.” Quoting the teaching of the Gita, he said that teachers of humankind have appeared from time to time to preach true religion, to establish dharma and to alleviate the miseries of the suffering class. He mentioned Ramdas and Sri Narayana Guru as examples of divine work in our age and pleaded that social reformers should consider themselves as humble instruments of the thought forces generated by these sages.68 In a speech delivered at a meeting of Tiyyas in 1935, he said that he looked upon Sri Narayana Guru as a divine incarnation as he stood for the destruction of caste, and therefore ‘dedicated my life to the ideals of Sri Narayana Guru.’69 He later wrote to a friend,

It is only when I wandered in the village here that I personally experienced the many different humiliations these people are subjected to by the Hindus. I therefore resolved to dedicate myself to this cause, the removal of the injustice perpetuated in the name of Hinduism.70

His work for the uplift of Harijans was so total that he completely dissociated himself from politics. He wrote:

We learn that Mahatmaji is going to start a big campaign shortly. But, I have decided not to associate myself with politics. Our uplift work is sufficient for us. It is a heavy responsibility which we have to discharge faithfully irrespective of the political movement in the country.71

Notes

  1. P.K. Gopala Krishnan, A Cultural History of Kerala, Trivandrum, The State Institute of Languages, 1974, p. 503. ↩
  2. A. Aiyappan, Social Revolution in a Kerala Village, Bombay, Asia Publishing House, pp. 137, 148. ↩
  3. P.K. Gopala Krishnan, op. cit., p. 509. ↩
  4. Ibid., p. 511. ↩
  5. Ibid. ↩
  6. C.K. Moosat Kelappan, The Great Man, (Malayalam) Kottayam, Sahitya Pravarthaka Cooperative Society, Ltd., p. 37. ↩
  7. Ibid., pp. 37-38, 73. ↩
  8. K. Saradamoni, Emergence of a Slave Caste, People's Publishing House, New Delhi, 1980, p. 171. ↩
  9. Reports of the Basel Mission Society: ↩
  10. James S. Dennis, Christian Missions and Social Progress, Vol. III, p. 36. ↩
  11. Imperial Gazetteer, Vol. XVII, Malabar, p. 71. ↩
  12. Imperial Gazetteer, Vol. XVII, Malabar, p. 57. ↩
  13. Personal interview with Swami Anand Thirth (SAT) 9-13 January 1980. ↩
  14. Ibid. ↩
  15. Sri Chidambaranath later entered the Ramakrishna Mission with the name Tyagisananda, and died at Bareilly. ↩
  16. Young India was started by Jamnadas Dwarkadas in 1919 from Bombay and subsequently came under the editorship of Mahatma Gandhi and was published from Ahmedabad. It was the official organ of the Congress and Non-Cooperation Movement under Gandhi. It ceased publication when Gandhi started the new journal Harijan from 11th February 1933. ↩
  17. C.K. Moosat, Kelappan op. cit., p. 74. ↩
  18. Personal conversation with SAT, December 1983. ↩
  19. P.K. Gopala Krishnan, op. cit., p. 538. ↩
  20. K.P. Karuvan. Shashtyabdapurti Souvenir of Swami Anand Thirth, 1965, p. 27. ↩
  21. Sri S.E. Ranganadan later became Sir Samuel Ranganadan, High Commissioner for India in Britain. ↩
  22. H.V. Kamath, Member of Parliament, well-known freedom fighter. ↩
  23. Sub-editor of Matrubhumi, husband of Kelappan's niece. Souvenir 1965. ↩
  24. N.K. Jose, Pulaya Revolt, (Malayalam) Kottayam, Prakasam Publications, p. 178. ↩
  25. Ibid., p. 179. ↩
  26. "This is true Hindu religion," editorial, NSS Magazine, 1095 (1920), cf. C.K. Moosat Kelappan, p. 75. ↩
  27. N.K. Jose, op. cit., p. 179; "A short note on Temple Entry movement in Kerala" by SAT, 1965. ↩
  28. Swami Anand Thirth, Memoir (Malayalam), Swami Anand Thirth 75th Birthday Celebration Committee, Tellicherry, 1975, p. 9. Hereafter it is referred to as Memoir. ↩
  29. P.K. Gopalkrishnan. op. cit., p. 532. ↩
  30. Memoir, p. 20. ↩
  31. Personal interview, 3-9 July 1980 and December 1983. ↩
  32. Personal interview, 7 January 1980. ↩
  33. SAT to K.S. Shivam, 28 October 1957. ↩
  34. Personal interview, December 1983. ↩
  35. Personal interview, December 1983. ↩
  36. Memoir, p. 17. ↩
  37. "Reminiscences, Sabari Ashram," short article manuscript by SAT. ↩
  38. C.K. Moosat Kelappan, op. cit., p. 75. ↩
  39. SAT, Memoir, p. 17. ↩
  40. SAT, "Reminiscences, Sabari Ashram," Olavakod. ↩
  41. SAT, Memoir, p. 13, cf. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of South India. ↩
  42. SAT, op. cit., p. 10. ↩
  43. Personal interview, December 1983. ↩
  44. SAT, Memoir, p. 10. ↩
  45. Personal interview, December 1983. ↩
  46. C.K. Moosat Kelappan, op. cit., p. 90. ↩
  47. SAT, Memoir, p. 12. ↩
  48. Personal interview, December 1983. ↩
  49. SAT, Memoir, pp. 12-13. ↩
  50. V.K. Kunhiraman, Swami Ananda Thirthan (a small booklet in Malayalam), 1971, p. 17. ↩
  51. Swami Dharma Thirth alias Krishna Menon, author of Hindu Imperialism, later became a Christian with the name John Dharma Thirtha. He was a close friend of Swami Anand Thirth for several years. ↩
  52. Memoir, p. 13. ↩
  53. Personal interview, 9 January 1980. ↩
  54. On 17 December 1983, talking about the memorial to be erected to honour his name, SAT made this remark. ↩
  55. Memoir, p. 13-84. ↩
  56. The school was named after Swami Sraddhananda, an Arya Samajist, known earlier as Lal Munshi Ram, who visited Vaikom Satyagraha camp and donated Rs. 1000 for temple entry movements, cf. C.K. Moosat Kelappan, op. cit., p. 82. ↩
  57. C.K. Moosat Kelappan, op. cit., p. 109. ↩
  58. SAT, Memoir, p. 19, and personal interview. ↩
  59. N. Ganapath letter to SAT, 9 June 1983. ↩
  60. Personal interview, December 1983. Swamiji was given a Tamrapatra on 15th August 1972 as a freedom fighter when India celebrated the Silver Jubilee of Independence. ↩
  61. Personal interview, 7 January 1980. ↩
  62. Sri K. Santanam, Central Minister and Governor; Sri G. Ramachandran, Director of Gandhigram, M.P., was for some time secretary of Harijan Seva Sangh in Kerala. ↩
  63. An article on Kelappan, by Swami Anand Thirth. ↩
  64. SAT, Memoir, p. 20. ↩
  65. Interview with SAT, 7 January 1980. ↩
  66. Memoir, p. 20. ↩
  67. Swami Anand Thirth, Payyannur, The Problem of Harijans, 1936. ↩
  68. Ibid. ↩
  69. Speech given to the Tiyyas, 1935. ↩
  70. SAT to Dr. C.R. Kamath, 3 December 1941. ↩
  71. SAT to Dr. C.R. Kamath, 20 July 1942. ↩

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