Sbahin at 10:35, 1 January 2025

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{{short description|Indian social reformer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1863|10|25}}
| birth_place = Mallappally, Perumpally, [[Thiruvalla]], [[Travancore]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1934|10|16|1863|10|25}}
| death_place = Kerala
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| other_names =
| occupation = Social reformer, dalit activist, Sree Moolam Popular Assembly member
| alma mater =
| spouse =
| domesticpartner =
| children =
| parents = {{ublist|Kanthan|Mani}}
| notable_works =
| website =
| awards =
}}
'''Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran''' was a social reformer and [[Sree Moolam Popular Assembly|Sree Moolam Prajasabha]] member from [[Kerala]], [[India]]. He was a member of the Sree Moolam Prajasabha from 1915 to 1932. In 1911 August 29 he founded the organization ''Brahma Pratyaksha Sadhujana Paripalana Parayar Sangam''.
{{Renaissance of Kerala}}

==Biography==
Kandan Kumaran was born on 25 October 1863, the son of Kandan and Mani, in the Kavarikulam family, a backward family in Perumpatty, a remote village near Mallapalli, in the [[Thiruvalla taluk]], which was part of the then [[Travancore]] kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=അനിരുദ്ധന്‍ |first=ആര്‍ |date=2024-02-05 |title=കാവാരിക്കുളം കണ്ടന്‍ കുമാരന്‍: പറയ സമുദായത്തില്‍ പരിഷ്‌കരണവും പുരോഗതിയും സാധ്യമാക്കിയ വിപ്ലവകാരി |url=https://www.mediaoneonline.com/mediaone-shelf/analysis/kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran-244600 |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=www.mediaoneonline.com |language=ml}}</ref>

Kumaran's family has been tenants and dependents for generations.<ref name="Keralakaumudi"/> The parents' job was farming and plowing.<ref name="Keralakaumudi"/> He told his parents that he want to study, but they were helpless.<ref name="Keralakaumudi"/> His neighbor Kittu Pillai Asan secretly taught him [[Malayalam]] and [[Sanskrit]]. While others tried to stop it, Kumaran did not back down. He learned to read, write and preach well by his own efforts.

Kandan Kumaran was involved in community reform by founding the organization ''Brahma Pratyaksha Sadhujana Paripalana Parayar Sangam''.<ref name="Deshabhimani">{{cite news |title=കാവാരികുളം കണ്ടന്‍ കുമാരനും ദളിത് പ്രശ്നവും |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/special/news-13-10-2019/827465 |work=Deshabhimani |language=ml |access-date=2022-01-18 |archive-date=2021-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211004635/https://www.deshabhimani.com/special/news-13-10-2019/827465 |url-status=live }}</ref> He started the organization on 29 August 1911 to overcome the challenges faced by the [[Paraiyar|Paraya]] community.<ref name="ManoramaOnline"/> The goal of the organization was "land, education and government jobs" for the community members.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/> The weekly Bhajan Maths were converted into night schools.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/> Recognizing the importance of personal empowerment in organizational work, he called to strengthen the mind through meditation and the body through exercise.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/> He not only established and operated 52 one-teacher schools but also sought to gain access to public schools for children from his own community.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/> The schools he started in [[Travancore]] were later taken over by the government and converted into government welfare schools.<ref name="ManoramaOnline">{{cite news |title=കാവാരിക്കുളം കണ്ഠൻ കുമാരന്റെ ജന്മദിനാഘോഷം നാളെ |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/district-news/kollam/2021/10/23/kollam-kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran.html |work=ManoramaOnline |language=ml |access-date=2022-01-18 |archive-date=2021-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210173932/https://www.manoramaonline.com/district-news/kollam/2021/10/23/kollam-kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kumaran was a member of the Sree Moolam Prajasabha from 1915 to 1932.<ref name="ManoramaOnline"/> He had been walking for days to reach the Prajasabha meeting in [[Thiruvananthapuram]].<ref name="ManoramaOnline"/> Kandan Kumaran was the first in the Prajasabha to demand that poor students be given lunch and a lump sum grant.<ref name="ManoramaOnline"/> He brought to the notice of the Prajasabha the issue of scholarships for students, barriers to getting employment in the government service, and the problems of laborers.<ref name="ManoramaOnline"/> Among the backward castes, after [[Ayyankali]], Kandankumaran was the longest serving (14 years) Prajasabha member.<ref name="Keralakaumudi">{{cite news |last1=Daily |first1=Keralakaumudi |title=അറിവിനെ ആയുധമാക്കിയ പോരാളി |url=https://keralakaumudi.com/news/news.php?id=418850 |work=Keralakaumudi Daily |language=ml |access-date=2022-01-18 |archive-date=2021-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210183722/https://keralakaumudi.com/news/news.php?id=418850 |url-status=live }}</ref> His historic speech in the Prajasabha on 22 February 1917 is noteworthy for a number of reasons.<ref name="Janmabhumi">{{cite news |title=ചരിത്രത്തിന്റെ ഈടുവയ്പായ പ്രജാസഭ പ്രസംഗത്തിന് ഫെബ്രുവരി 22ന് 103 വയസ്; വിദ്യാഭ്യാസത്തിലൂടെ ഉണര്‍വേകിയ കണ്ടന്‍ കുമാരന്‍ |url=https://www.janmabhumi.in/news/article/103-years-of-age-on-february-22-for-the-eloquent-praja-sabha-speech-of-history-kandan-kumaran-aroused-by-education |work=Janmabhumi |language=ml |access-date=2022-01-18 |archive-date=2022-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118073240/https://www.janmabhumi.in/news/article/103-years-of-age-on-february-22-for-the-eloquent-praja-sabha-speech-of-history-kandan-kumaran-aroused-by-education |url-status=live }}</ref> "The upper castes oppose the admission of children from my community to government schools, even though the education code does not prohibit it. Therefore, my community runs 52 schools in Kunnathoor, [[Mavelikkara]], Thiruvalla, [[Ambalappuzha]], [[Changanassery]] and Peerumed taluks" he said in his speech.<ref name="Janmabhumi"/> The literacy rate of the Parayar community, which was only 0.05 per cent in the 1911 census, has risen to 23 per cent in the 1931 census, is a perfect example of Kandan Kumaran's unique and enduring campaign.<ref name="Janmabhumi"/>

He died on 16 October 1934.<ref name="ManoramaOnline"/>

==Legacy==
Inaugurating Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran Memorial Trust, then Kerala finance minister [[T. M. Thomas Isaac|Thomas Isaac]] said that Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran was a man who has made significant contributions to the history of the [[Kerala reformation movement|Renaissance in Kerala]].<ref>{{cite news |title=കാവാരികുളം കണ്ഠൻ കുമാരൻ നവോത്ഥാന ചരിത്രത്തിൽ മായാത്ത വ്യക്തിയെന്ന് മന്ത്രി ഐസക് |url=https://www.rashtradeepika.com/kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran-thomas-isac/ |work=RashtraDeepika |date=3 May 2019 |access-date=18 January 2022 |archive-date=18 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182844/https://www.rashtradeepika.com/kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran-thomas-isac/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Books on him==
His biography named ''Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran: orucharithra padanam'' (Meaning: Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran: a historial study), published by the [[Kerala Bhasha Institute]] and written by Prof. S. Kochukunju, a history teacher and eminent writer was published on 15 May 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=കാവരികുളം കണ്ടൻകുമാരൻ ഒരുചരിത്രപഠനം പുസ്തകം 15ന് മന്ത്രി ജെ.മേഴ്‌സിക്കുട്ടി അമ്മ പ്രക... |url=https://www.marunadanmalayalee.com/bharath/keralam/kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran-book-146719 |work=www.marunadanmalayalee.com |access-date=2022-01-18 |archive-date=2022-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118214808/https://www.marunadanmalayalee.com/bharath/keralam/kavarikulam-kandan-kumaran-book-146719 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The book ''Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran jeevithavum Prajasabha prasangangalum'', {{ISBN|9780000118097}} (Meaning: Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran Life and Prajasabha Speeches) edited by R. Ramakrishnan and published by Mythri books was published in May 2019.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://210.212.229.146/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=31048&shelfbrowse_itemnumber=42699 |title=കാവാരികുളം കണ്ടന്‍ കുമാരന്‍: ജീവിതവും പ്രജാസഭ പ്രസംഗങ്ങളും |date=2019 |publisher=മൈത്രി ബുക്സ് |editor-last=Ramakrishnan |editor-first=R. |location=തിരുവനന്തപുരം}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandan Kumaran, Kavarikulam}}
[[Category:Indian anti-caste leaders]]
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:1934 deaths]]
[[Category:Dalit activists]]
[[Category:Members of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Travancore]]
[[Category:Activists from Kerala]]

Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran - Revision history

Sbahin at 10:35, 1 January 2025