Why in the News?

On his Jayanti (August 28), PM paid tribute to Mahatma Ayyankali.

About Mahatma Ayyankali:

Birth: August 28, 1863, in Venganoor, Travancore (present-day Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala).
Community: Belonged to the Pulayar caste, among the most oppressed and excluded groups.
Background: Faced severe caste discrimination despite family owning land; denied access to temples, schools, roads, and public spaces.
Legacy: Remembered as a Dalit leader of modern Kerala and a pioneer of social justice, education, and labour rights.

Caste Defiance: Famous Villuvandi Yatra (1893) – ox-cart ride on caste-restricted roads, triggering riots but also mass mobilization for Dalit rights.
Education Movement: Demanded access for Dalit children to public schools; Travancore government issued 1907 order allowing entry, implemented by 1910.
Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangham (SJPS): Founded in 1907 to promote Dalit education, legal aid, and social upliftment; expanded into hundreds of branches.
Legislative Role: In 1910, became the first Dalit member of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly (Travancore Legislative Council).
Labour Reforms: Fought for higher wages and dignity for agricultural labourers.
Social Reforms: Campaigned for Dalit women’s right to cover their upper bodies in public, a practice denied earlier.
Temple Entry Movement: Early campaigns from 1895 onwards contributed to the 1936 Temple Entry Proclamation, ending exclusion of Dalits from temples in Travancore.
Recognition: Admired by Mahatma Gandhi, who called him the “Pulaya King”. Indira Gandhi later hailed him as “India’s greatest son”.

[UPSC 2025] Who among the following was the founder of the ‘Self-Respect Movement’?

Options: (a) ‘Periyar’ E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker * (b) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (c) Bhaskarrao Jadhav (d) Dinkarrao Javalkar