Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the renovated Thanthai Periyar Memorial at Kerala’s Vailkom on Thursday, December 12, in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The memorial, owned by the Tamil Nadu government, was renovated at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore by Tamil Nadu government to honour EV Ramasamy Periyar, a social reformer and Dravidian ideologue known for his relentless struggle for social justice.
Vaikom Satyagraha, a non-violent movement which fought for Dalits and other lowered castes to access the roads around the Vaikom temple in the erstwhile Travancore kingdom, which took place from March 30, 1924, to November 23, 1925. Periyar was one of the leaders who led the struggle.
After the inauguration, Stalin began his speech in Malayalam, and said, this is a historic day that should be inscribed in gold. “Now we build a memorial to Periyar at the same place where he was once prohibited to enter. Once, Periyar was arrested and jailed in Vaikom, and now both the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments are jointly celebrating this event at the same site. This is Periyar's success,” says Stalin addressing the people at the Vaikom beach. He also expressed his gratitude to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and other officials for granting permission to construct the memorial.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan recalled Periyar's memory and said Periyar gave selfless leadership to Vaikom struggles. He also emphasised the importance of mentioning Annai EVR Nagammai, the wife of Periyar, when discussing his contributions.
On April 13, 1924, Periyar took leadership of the Vaikom Satyagraha after barrister George Joseph and KP Kesava Menon wrote to him requesting to take the leadership of the struggles. He was later arrested and imprisoned in Arookutty jail. Then, his wife, Nagammai, also arrived in Vaikom and took over leadership of the Satyagraha along with other women.
Stalin arrived in Kerala on Wednesday, December 11, at the Cochin International Airport. The Ernakulam District collector and other officials welcomed him, and then he travelled to Kumarakom Lake Resort. Tamil Nadu ministers E V Velu, Ministers Durai Murugan, and M P Saminathan also arrived in Kerala to attend the function.
According to reports, the two Chief Ministers would conduct a meeting in the evening to discuss Mullaperiyar.