Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker, Early Life, Social Reforms

Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker was a 19th-century social reformer and anti-caste activist from Travancore (present-day Kerala) who worked for the upliftment of oppressed communities. 

Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker’s Early Life 

Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker was born in 1825, into a well-off family of merchants in Kerala’s Alappuzha district.  He belonged to the Ezhava community, which faced severe caste-based restrictions under the rigid social hierarchy of Travancore.

Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker Social Reforms

During the 19th century, Kerala society was deeply hierarchical, and lower castes were denied basic rights such as access to public roads, temples, education, markets, and even the right to cover their upper body. Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker led the following social reform movements against these oppressions: 

Anti-Caste Movements

• He challenged the rigid caste hierarchy and domination of upper castes or ‘Savarnas’ in Kerala. He opposed practices that denied dignity and equal rights to marginalized communities. 

Temple Reforms 

• In Travancore temple entry was strictly restricted to upper castes, Velayudha Panicker, in 1852, constructed the Mangalam Shiva Temple at Arattupuzha and opened it to people of all castes and different religions.

Women’s Dignity Movements

Velayudha Panicker played a transformative role in improving the social status and dignity of marginalized women through a series of social protests:

• Achipudava Samaram Strike (1859): He led the strike at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha, demanding that women of backward communities be allowed to wear a lower garment that extended beyond the knees. 
• Ethappu Samaram (1859): Through this agitation, he demanded the right of lower-caste women to wear upper cloth, challenging humiliating dress codes imposed by the caste system.
• Mukkuthi Samaram (1860): He supported the right of marginalized women to wear nose studs and gold ornaments that were previously restricted to upper-caste women.

Advocacy for Labour Rights

Velayudha Panicker organized the first agricultural labour strike (Karshaka Thozhilali Samaram) in Kerala, highlighting issues such as unfair wages and oppressive labour conditions faced by agricultural workers. 

Cultural Democratization and Social Inclusion

• In 1861, he established the first Kathakali Yogam for the Ezhava community, enabling members of backward communities to learn and perform Kathakali. At that time, Kathakali was largely restricted to upper castes.

Apart from his work as a social reformer, Panicker was a master of Kalaripayattu, the traditional martial arts practised in Kerala, which is also considered the oldest of its kind in India. In 1869, he successfully captured the famous outlaw Kayamkulam Kochunni, who had stolen a sacred Salagramam (holy stone) from a Brahmin priest. In recognition of his bravery, the King of Travancore honoured him with the title “Panicker”, a respected title given to warriors and martial arts masters symbolising bravery and leadership.

He excelled in other sports as well, including wrestling, swimming and horseback riding. Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker was murdered by a group of upper-caste men in 1874 at the age of 49. This makes him the ‘first martyr’ of the Kerala renaissance. 

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