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{{short description|Socio-cultural movement in Kerala}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Renaissance of Kerala}}

The '''reformation movement in Kerala''' refers to a socio-cultural shift that began in the late 19th century, resulting in significant transformations in the social fabric of the southern Indian [[States and union territories of India|state]] of [[Kerala]].

==Background==
The foundations of social change in Kerala can be traced back to the 16th century. The emergence of the [[Bhakti movement]] and the development of the modern [[Malayalam]] language and the influence of figures like [[Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan]] led to the breaking of [[Brahmin]] dominance over literature and knowledge.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The arrival of European powers, including the Portuguese, Dutch, and English, played a significant role as catalysts for these changes. The arrival of missionaries from Europe contributed to the establishment of educational institutions in Kerala.

The political landscape of Kerala underwent significant changes with the establishment of centralized monarchies in [[Travancore]] and [[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]], leading to the decline of the feudal order. The [[Mysorean invasion of Malabar|Mysorean invasion of Kerala]] (1766–1792) further disrupted the existing caste hierarchy. Although the Mysoreans attempted to establish an [[Islamic state]] in Malabar, their advances were ultimately thwarted by the British.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Christo-Racist Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Are Gaining Ground in Kerala |url=https://thewire.in/religion/kerala-syrian-christians-caste-anti-muslim-rhetoric |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003161517/https://thewire.in/religion/kerala-syrian-christians-caste-anti-muslim-rhetoric |archive-date=3 October 2022 |access-date=2021-06-15 |website=The Wire}}</ref><ref name="Innes2">{{cite book |last=Innes |first=Charles Alexander |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.358941/mode/2up |title=Madras District Gazetteers Malabar (Volume I) |date=1908 |publisher=Madras Government}}</ref>

Unlike the four-fold ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'' division seen in other parts of India, Kerala's social hierarchy was based on caste. The [[Malayali Brahmins]] occupied the top priestly class.<ref>{{cite book |title=Nâyars of Malabar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eF-pMrcqw5UC |page=185 |author=F. Fawcett |publisher=Asian Educational Services |date=1 February 2004 |isbn=9788120601710}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Kerala District Gazetteers: Palghat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x1lwAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Department of Education, Superintendent of Government Presses, Kerala |author=A. Sreedhara Menon |year=1976 |page=159}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OM5TDwAAQBAJ|page=167|author=Sebastian R. Prange|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=3 May 2018|isbn=9781108424387}}</ref> Apart from the [[Hindu]] Brahmins, all other castes, were considered lower in hierarchy. These castes had to abide [[untouchability]] and ritualistic pollution norms enforced by the upper castes. Some castes like [[Nair]] were exploited by Namboothiri Brahmins as their servants and through exploitative relationships. [[Nairs]] were not allowed access to education by the [[Namboothiri]] community.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Sasilekha S.S. | first1= | last2=Joel, T. Wins | first2=Dr. | title=Namboothiri – Nair Alliance: Is It Holy or Not? | journal=Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research | date=May 2019 | volume=6 | issue=5 | pages=249–255 | issn=2349-5162 | url=https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905V94.pdf }}</ref> Though the Namboothiris held the highest position in Kerala society from the 12th to the 20th century, their women were exploited by Namboothiri men. This included child marriages in which young girls were married to very old Namboothiri men, and the confinement of women within their homes, denying them freedom to go outside.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Santhan |first=Sunitha |title=From Subjugation to Liberation: The Plight of Namboodiri Women and the Reform Movements in Kerala |journal=ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=1082–1088 |date=July–December 2022 |issn=2582-7472 |doi=10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.4194 |url=https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.4194 |publisher=ShodhKosh |access-date=27 October 2025|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Manjalloor |first1=Dr. Michael |title=Case Study of the Dalits of Kerala, India |journal=[[CORE (research service)]] |date=November 2015 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56365374.pdf |access-date=24 December 2022}}</ref>

Prominent reformist leaders such as [[Narayana Guru]] and [[Ayyankali]] hailed from castes that were deemed lower in the social hierarchy of ancient Kerala. Consequently, leaders like Guru and Ayyankali focused on the abolition of the caste system rather than its reformation.<ref>{{cite web |last=PANIKKAR |first=K. N. |date=15 February 2017 |title=Three phases of Indian renaissance |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/three-phases-of-indian-renaissance/article9541139.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428211440/https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/three-phases-of-indian-renaissance/article9541139.ece |archive-date=28 April 2021 |accessdate=4 March 2019 |website=Frontline.thehindu.com}}</ref>

The winds of reformation were set in by the [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christian]] priest [[Suriyani Malayalam|(kathanar)]] [[Kuriakose Elias Chavara|St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara]]. The first Sanskrit schools for the lower caste Hindus were set up by Chavara in 1846.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Column {{!}} A Malayali saint, Sanskrit school and socially inclusive education |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/lifestyle/keralaspora/2021/08/08/kuriakose-chavara-sanskrit-school-mannanam.html |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=Column {{!}} A Malayali saint, Sanskrit school and socially inclusive education |language=en}}</ref> The revolutionary concept of a school along with every church (''palliyum pallikoodavum'') was also implemented by Chavara.<ref>{{Citation |title=Kuriakose Elias Chavara |date=2024-12-15 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuriakose_Elias_Chavara |access-date=2024-12-31 |language=en}}</ref> He also initiated the practice of a mid-day meal scheme in schools.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roshni |date=2017-03-02 |title=malayalam: Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara as an eminent social reformer |url=https://roshnikma.blogspot.com/2017/03/fr-kuriakose-elias-chavara-as-eminent.html |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=malayalam}}</ref> In contrast to northern India, the reformation in Kerala was driven by the lower castes.

==Leaders==
Prominent leaders of Kerala reformation include :

* [[Kuriakose Elias Chavara]]
* [[Narayana Guru]]
* [[Chattampi Swamikal]]
* [[Ayyankali]]
* [[Sahodaran Ayyappan]]
* [[Padmanabhan Palpu]]
* [[Kumaran Asan]]
* [[Mannath Padmanabhan]]
* [[Ayyathan Gopalan]]
* [[Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi]]
* [[Vagbhatananda]]
* [[Nitya Chaitanya Yati]]
* [[Nataraja Guru]]
* [[VT Bhattathiripad]]
* [[C. V. Kunhiraman]]
* [[Sayyid Sanaullah Makti Tangal]]
* [[Vakkom Moulavi]]
* [[Pandit Karuppan]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Pandit Karuppan |date=2024-10-22 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandit_Karuppan |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=en}}</ref>
* Kurumban Daivathan<ref>{{Citation |title=കുറുമ്പൻ ദൈവത്താൻ |date=2022-09-10 |work=വിക്കിപീഡിയ |url=https://ml.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%B1%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%AE%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%AA%E0%B5%BB_%E0%B4%A6%E0%B5%88%E0%B4%B5%E0%B4%A4%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%BE%E0%B5%BB |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=ml}}</ref>
* [[Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Kavarikulam Kandan Kumaran |date=2024-06-29 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavarikulam_Kandan_Kumaran |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Poykayil Yohannan]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sekher |first=Dr Ajay S. |date=2018-02-18 |title=Poykayil Appachan, practitioner of critique and co-option |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/180218/poykayil-appachan-practitioner-of-critique-and-co-option.html |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=www.deccanchronicle.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Pampady Joseph]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Oommen |first=George |title=Dalit Liberative Identity as Amalgam: Kerala's Pulaya Christians and Communist Movement in the Mid-Twentieth Century |date=2019-03-28 |work=Religious Interactions in Modern India |pages=0 |editor-last=Fuchs |editor-first=Martin |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/32287/chapter-abstract/268506541?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=2024-12-11 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-808168-5 |editor2-last=Dalmia |editor2-first=Vasudha}}</ref>
* [[Mithavaadi Krishnan|Mithavaadi krishnan]]

== Major events ==

# [[Channar revolt]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Channar Revolt: Using Clothing As A Tool Of Repression |url=https://clpr.org.in/blog/the-channar-revolt-using-clothing-as-a-tool-of-repression/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=Centre for Law & Policy Research |language=en-US}}</ref>
# Consecration at Aruvippuram <ref>{{Citation |title=Ezhava Siva |date=2024-10-14 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezhava_Siva |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=en}}</ref>
# Formation of [[Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Irschick |first=Eugene F. |last2=Jeffrey |first2=Robin |date=1977 |title=The Decline of Nayar Dominance. Society and Politics in Travancore, 1847-1908. |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/2756149 |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=150 |doi=10.2307/2756149 |issn=0030-851X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
# Villuvandi Samaram
# [[Kallumala Samaram]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Kallumala Samaram |date=2024-01-11 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallumala_Samaram |access-date=2024-12-11 |language=en}}</ref>
# Education agitation by Mahatma Ayyankali <ref>{{Cite book |title=Life as a Dalit: views from the bottom on caste in India |date=2013 |publisher=Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-81-321-1777-3 |editor-last=Channa |editor-first=Subhadra |location=Thousand Oaks}}</ref>
# [[Vaikom Satyagraha]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ranjani |first=Lalitha |date=2023-03-30 |title=Remembering Vaikom Satyagraha: A movement that spearheaded social reforms in two States |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/remembering-vaikom-satyagraha-a-movement-that-spearheaded-social-reforms-in-tn-kerala/article66679378.ece |access-date=2024-12-11 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
# [[Guruvayur Satyagraha|Gurvayoor Satyagraha]]

==See also==
*[[Caste system in Kerala]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* R.Ponnu, Sri Vaikunda Swamigal and the struggle for Social Equality in South India, Madurai, 2000.

[[Category:Anti-caste movements]]
[[Category:Social history of Kerala]]

Kerala reformation movement - Revision history

Showbiz sportlight at 20:43, 9 February 2026