Chennai , Mar 30 (BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu government would conduct one year long celebrations to commemorate the centenary of Vaikom satyagraha in Kerala. This was announced by the Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K.Stalin in the legislative assembly on Thursday.
It may be noted that the Vaikom satyagraha was an uprising for temple entry for the Dalits and other so called lower castes at the Vaikom Mahadeva temple in Kottayam district of Kerala.
Stalin said that a ‘Vaikom award ‘ would be awarded to eminent personalities or organizations who work for the betterment of downtrodden people beyond the borders of the state.
The Chief Minister also said that the awards would be given away on September 17, which is the birth anniversary of the Dravidian ideologue , EV Ramaswamy Periyar commonly known as ‘Thanthai Periyar’.
The day is marked as social justice day in Tamil Nadu. The Chief minister also underlined the significance of Vaikom satyagraha that took place in 1924-25 in Vaikom , Kerala in India’s history of reforms. He also talked about the impact of Periyars participation in the movement as a then leader of the Congress party.
Stalin said ,” Periyar is a leader not only for Tamil and Tamil Nadu. His thoughts and actions proved that he was a leader beyond languages and international boundaries.” He said “ Self respect, rationalism,equity and social justice are universal philosophies. His thoughts form the base for yesterdays rebellions ,today’s efforts and tomorrow’s developments”.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will be taking part in the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha to be held in Kottayam, Kerala on April 1 along with the Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan.
Stalin also told the assembly that the Tamil Nadu government would spent an amount of Rs 8.14 crore to renovate the Periyar memorial at Vaikom in Kerala. He also said that the government would take efforts to set up a memorial at Aruvikutti where Periyar was first jailed.
The book ‘ Vaikom Protest’ in Tamil written by scholar and researcher Pazha.Adhiyaman would be translated in Malayalam and published in English , Telugu and Kannada, Chief minister informed the assembly. He also said that a book on Vaikom movement would be published by the Text Book and Educational Service corporation of the government of Tamil Nadu and added that competition’s would be held in schools, colleges and universities in Tamil Nadu on elocution and essay writing on Vaikom Satyagraha.
Stalin said that the government of Tamil Nadu was taking steps to issue a commemorative stamp to mark the centenary of Vaikom satyagraha.
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