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T. K. Madhavan | |
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| Born | (1885-09-02)2 September 1885 Karthikappally,Haripad,Kingdom of Travancore,India (present dayKarthikappally,Alappuzha,Kerala, India)[1] |
| Died | 27 April 1930(1930-04-27) (aged 44) |
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| Spouse | Narayani Amma |
| Children | 2[2] |
T. K. Madhavan (2 September 1885 – 27 April 1930), also known asDeshabhimani Madhavan, was an Indiansocial reformer, journalist and revolutionary, who was involved with theSree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP Yogam).[3][4] He hailed fromAlappuzha,Kerala and led the struggle against Social discrimination which was known asVaikom Satyagraha.[5][6][7]
Madhavan was born on 2 September 1885 atKarthikappally,Alappuzha, Kerala as the son of Kesavan Channar ofAlummoottil family[4] and Ummini Amma of Komalezhathu family.[8] Alummoottil family was one of the wealthiest and influentialEzhava families in the erstwhileKingdom of Travancore. His maternal uncle wasKomalezhathu Kunjupilla, his uncle's name "Komalezhathu" indicate his family name while Kunjipilla meaning "youngest child" (Not to be confused with the Kerala title, they have no connection to the Savarna title "Pillai."), he was a member of theSree Moolam Praja Sabha.[9][10][6]
In 1917, Madhavan took over the daily newspaper,Deshabhimani. He was involved in theTemple Entry Movement, which fought for the entry for all communities to the temples of Kerala. He fought for the right of temple entry for all.[8]
In 1918, Madhavan was elected to the Sree Moolam Praja Sabha, a legislative council ofTravancore. In the same year he made his maiden speech at the Sree Moolam Assembly in lieu of his uncle Komalezhathu Kunjupillai Chekavar. He presented a resolution seeking permission of temple entry and right to worship to all people, irrespective of caste and community. He moved the resolution for the eradication of untouchability in theKakkinada session of Indian National Congress in 1923.[11][12]
In 1924, Vaikom Sathyagraha started under the leadership of T.K. Madhavan,K. Kelappan, andK.P. Kesava Menon, to get the right of oppressed class of people to travel through the road in front ofVaikom Sree Mahadeva temple. Madhavan and Kesava Menon were arrested and imprisoned. Finally, theMaharaja of Travancore agreed to open the road to all class of people and the Vaikom Sathyagraha was a great success. However, he had to continue his struggle for the temple entry.[7]
In 1927, Madhavan was made the organizing secretary of the SNDP Yogam. T.K Madhavan formed a voluntary organization "Dharma Bhata Sangham" to strengthen the activities of SNDP Yogam.[13]
It was T.K. Madhavan who wrote the biography ofDr. Palpu.
T. K. Madhavan's meeting withGandhi on 24 September 1921 atTirunelveli was a turning point in the history of Kerala. Madhavan persuaded Gandhi to address the people of Kerala, regarding his stand against untouchability. He also persuaded Gandhi to visitVaikom and support the movement. Vaikom Satyagraha was a struggle of the backward class people of Kerala for establishing their right to walk through the temple roads ofVaikom, a small temple town in South Kerala. The centre of the movement was the Sree Mahadeva temple at Vaikom. Gandhi agreed to include the issue in the agenda of theIndian National Congress. Gandhi's visit to Vaikom made a significant impact and in November 1925, all includingEzhavas and other backward communities were allowed to walk on the temple roads.[5][7]
Madhavan died at his residence on 27 April 1930. A monument was raised in his honour atChettikulangara. In 1964,T. K. Madhava Memorial College was founded atNangiarkulangara.
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