Poikayil Yohannan (1879-1939)

(Poikayil Sreekumara Gurudevan)

Poikayil Sreekumara Gurudevan was born in 1879 at
father Kandan and mother Lechi, who belonged to
Sankaramangalam, a prominent Christian household
mysterious incidents associated with him which have
personality. He expired on 2 July 1939.
Eraviperoor, Pathanamthitta district. His
the Paraya community, were slaves at
at Eraviperoor. There are a number of
culminated in making him an intriguing

On completing his primary education, which was at a school run by Christians, Kumaran took up
work in the Sankaramangalam household, tending their cattle and fields. Young Kumaran was
always preoccupied. The harsh realities he found around him made him think about the plight of
the slaves. At the age of 17 Kumaran received baptism and became a member of the Mar Thoma
church. He read the Bible closely and began delivering sermons. Gradually, he came to be
known as Poikayil Yohannan Upadeshi. The name 'Yohannan', derived from the Aramic tradition,
means "One who liberates people from their sins by the grace of Yahweh".

Caste discriminations which prevailed even in the Christian churches disturbed Yohannan. He
considered it as sinful and condemned its evil influences. At the Maramon convention, which was
known to be the second largest theological gathering in Asia, Yohannan spoke: The Christian
doctrine that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who mourn and to those who are
persecuted, is a negation of truth. He disagreed with the belief that the Bible will provide
salvation to all and questioned the validity of the Holy Text. His argument was that people who
study the Bible are bound to it but the illiterate, who know no script, are not so. The text is
therefore not a way to salvation for the Dalits. These beliefs induced him to set fire to the Bible.
Yohannan was an eloquent orator and a prolific poet. His poems have been compiled in a book,
titled Ratnamanikal.

Yohannan is the founding father of the Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha (PRDS). Members of
this group believe that God appears from time to time to liberate His people and that Yohannan is
one such incarnation. The PRDS group changed the name of their Guru as Sree Kumara
Gurudevan.

Book: Ratnamanikal (Poems)

Vaduthala, T.K.C. (1921-1988)

T.K.C Vaduthala was the pen-name of Chathen T.K., a well known Dalit writer. He was born on
23 December 1921 at Vaduthala, Ernakulam district. He passed B.O.L Hindi Prabod examination
and later worked in the All India Radio and Kerala Public Relations District Information Office.
He has published a number of novels which reflect the inner world of the Dalit community.
Vaduthala expired on 1July 1988.

Changalakal Nurungunnu (Chains Break Apart -1979) , which casts some light on the life of the
Pulaya community is the magnum opus of T.K.C.Vaduthala. Kannappan, the central character of
the novel was born in a Pulaya family and brought up in an inland village in Kerala. He
completed his education at the local village schools and soon began his career as a teacher in a
government school.

Kannappan had heard tales of humiliation suffered by his forefathers on the basis of caste and
had learned of similar bitter experiences of his senior colleagues. It was unfortunate that he too
became a victim of the caste menace on his very first day as a teacher. His students were
contemptuous of him and treated him with disdain. On his way home he was ridiculed as
"Pulayan Sir!". He realized that the details about the community he belonged to had come
prologue to his own appearance there.

Crushed by the burden of his downtrodden community,Kannappan took it as a challenge and as

his responsibility to change this pathetic situation. It was providential that he got Ramakrishnan,
an Ezhava, as a colleague and as his friend. Both of them realized that the freedom movement in
India aimed at the liberation of the upper castes alone and that India could claim to be really
independent only if all her citizens enjoyed equal rights and benefits irrespective of the caste,
creed or religion they belonged to.

Kannappan and Ramakrishnan stood united in their fight against the caste system. They
organized demonstrations and protested against inequality and injustice. They fought for equal
rights everywhere-- to draw water from the public sources, to use the public streets and for higher
wages. Gradually, the movement turned into an armed struggle. The upper castes termed it as
Communist Movement. Kannappan, who preferred non-violent protests, had no means to follow
his choice as he too was pulled into the vortex of the agitations.

In their fight for this common cause, Kannappan and Ramakrishnan appeared almost as dual
identities. But, although Ramakrishnan happily accepted the ways of Communism, Kannappan
knew that the capture of political power by the Communist Movement would not be the solution
to his disgrace and the heinous system of untouchability . Rather unwillingly, he remained with
his friend, but only for a brief period. The end of the novel sees an anguished, disillusioned
Kannappan creeping away to the unknown, groping through the darkness, ardently hoping that
there may yet be that silver lining beyond the dim, dark horizon.

The novel exposes that Communism is not the be-all and end-all to uproot untouchability and
such other social evils. All the events narrated herein are the inner experiences of the author.
Quite a few characters in the novel are cast to resemble historical figures like Pundit
K.P.Karuppan, Sahodaran Ayyappan etc. The protagonist Kannappan is in fact an
autobiographical portrayal of the novelist.

Books: Changalakal Nurungunnu, Nanavulla Mannu, Hrithaya Thudippukal, Kattayum Koithum

etc.