TN to conduct year-long celebrations to commemorate Vaikom Satyagraha's centenary

Chennai, March 30 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government would organise year-long celebrations to commemorate the centenary of the Vaikom satyagraha - the struggle for temple entry for the Dalits and other-so called lower castes at the Vaikom Mahadeva temple in Kerala's Kottayam, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Thursday.

Making the announcement in the Assembly, he also said that a 'Vaikom Award' would be presented to eminent personalities or organisations 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 E.V. Ramaswamy Periyar, commonly known as 'Thanthai APeriyar', and is marked as social justice day in Tamil Nadu.

Underlining the significance of Vaikom satyagraha that took place in 1924-25 in India's history of reforms, he cited the impact of Periyar's participation in the movement as a then leader of the Congress.

"Periyar is a leader not only for Tamils and Tamil Nadu. His thoughts and actions proved that he was a leader beyond languages and international boundaries.

"Self-respect, rationalism, equity, and social justice are universal philosophies. His thoughts form the base for yesterday's rebellions, today's efforts, and tomorrow's developments."

Stalin will be taking part in the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha to be held in Kerala's Kottayam on April 1 along with his Kerala counterpart 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. 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", written by scholar and researcher Pazha Adhiyaman in Tamil would be translated to Malayalam and also published in English, Telugu, and Kannada, he told the Assembly. He also said that a book on Vaikom movement would be published by the Text Book and Educational Service Corporation of the state government and added that competitions would be held in schools, colleges and universities in Tamil Nadu on elocution and essays on the Vaikom Satyagraha.

Stalin said that the state government was taking steps to issue a commemorative stamp to mark the centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha.

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