Introduction
The princely State of Travancore had its own struggles and agitations of a political character from the very beginning of the British period. The agitations which took place in the early period had for their aim the establishment of good government and those of the later period the achievement of political rights like the association of the people with the various levels of administration. Towards the closing decades of the 19th century the educated middle class in Travancore asserted itself. There was widespread resentment among the educated classes against the government’s policy of importing persons from outside, particularly Tamil Brahmins to hold the most important posts in the public service even when persons with similar qualifications were available inside the State1. The resentment of the people found expression in Malayali memorial and Ezhava memorial which demanded fair quota of natives in government appointment.
Genesis of Nivarthana Agitation in Travancore
The thirties began with one of the stormiest agitations in the history of modern Travancore 2. It is known as the Nivarthana or Abstention in Travancore. The genesis of this movement lies in the policy of discrimination being followed by the government of Travancore in providing representation to various castes and communities in the Legislature and public services. Since 1888 when the Legislature first came into existence in Travancore the number of members elected to that body from among the Ezhavas, the Christians, the Muslims etc was negligible. The membership of the Legislature and public services was the monopoly of the savarnas like the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and the Nairs3 who constituted only the minority of the population. The bulk of the Hindu community comprised of the Ezhavas, Depressed classes etc together with the Christians and Muslims were denied the privilege of representation in the Legislature and public services in proportion to their numerical strength.
The main qualification for franchise or vote in the elections to the Legislature was payment of a prescribed amount as an annual tax on property. This property qualification restricted the franchise right to members of the advanced communities like the Nairs. The vast majority of the people who belonged to the Avarna communities and religious minorities got practically little or no representation at all. Under such circumstances the aggrieved communities demanded the abolition of property qualification and introduction of adult franchise. Also there arose the demand for communal electorates or reservation of seats for particular communities in the joint electorates in proportion to their numerical strength4.
Formation of All Travancore Samyukta Rashtriya Samiti
The Legislative Reforms Act 1932 promulgated by Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma the Maharajah of Travancore, pertuated the property qualification for franchise and thereby facilitated the Nairs and other upper caste Hindus to monopolise the majority of electoral seats as before5. The passing of the Act was the signal for the beginning of a State wide agitation for reservation of seats to different communities, sects and sub sects in proportion to their numerical strength in the population. The dissatisfied sections of the Ezhava, Muslim and Christian communities joined together and formed the All Travancore Samyukta Rashtriya Samiti. Their leaders held a meeting in the L.M.S. Hall Thiruvananthapuram on December 17, 1932 and drafted a memorial embodying their demands.
As the response of the government to the demands contained in the memorial was not encouraging another meeting of the samiti held at the same venue on January 25, 1933 with E.J.John in the chair, took the momentious decision that the Ezhava, Christian and Muslim communities should abstain from participating in the elections to the Legislature under the new Reforms Act 6. Thus was bom the abstention agitation. C.Kesavan, N.V.Joseph and P.K.Kunju emerged as the leaders of the agitation. The Samyukta Rashtriya Samiti assumed a new name, All Travancore Samyukta Rashtriya Congress as the Joint Political Congress7. The SNDP yogam expressed its solidarity with the agitationists. A meeting of the All Travancore Ezhava League which was held at Kollam on July 31 1932 with C.V.Kunjiraman in the chair, decided to boycott the elections till the demands of the joint political congress were met 6.
The agitation being carried on by the Joint political congress gathered momentum in due course. The most important episode connected with the abstention movement was the famous speech delivered by C.Kesavan at a meeting held at Kozhencherry on May 11 1935 with George Jospeh in the chair. C.Kesavan was arrested and tried for sedition. The arrest of C.Kesavan only intensified the agitation and eventually the government was forced to accept all the demands of the abstentionists7.
A public service commissioner was appointed in 1935 in order to ensure fair representation for all communities in the public services. Efficiency combined with preference on communal basis was to be the basic principle governing appointments to government service in certain categories of posts8. The communities to which preference was to be given were to be listed. As far as appointments to the posts at the lower level were concerned the recruitment was to be made on communal basis by the adoption of a system of rotation. The Legislative Reforms Act was suitably amended9. Franchise was widened by reducing the property qualification. Electorates were re-constituted by providing for multiple seats. A specific number of seats was reserved for the Ezhava, Christian and Muslim communities in the Legislature. These changes helped to reduce the number of Nair representatives and ensure better representation for the Ezhava and other backward communities. Another indirect result of the Nivarthana Agitation was the famous Temple Entry Proclamation issued by the Maharaja on November 12, 1936 throwing open the temples in the state to all Hindu irrespective of caste 9.
Impact of Nivarthana Agitation
The final outcome of these changes was to break up the monopoly of political power enjoyed by the upper caste Hindus particularly the Nairs and to secure for the backward communities and religious minorities their legitimate place in the government and politics of Travancore 10. The Nivarthana movement also marked the end of constitutional agitations and the beginning of direct action in the politics of the State. The government had to bow to the pressure of public opinion and to take concrete steps to concede the demands to the agitationists.
Elections to the reformed Legislature were held in April-May 1937. These election results vindicated the stand taken by the protagonists of the Nivarthana Agitation. All the Ezhava candidates put up by the SNDP yogam and Muslim and Christian candidates sponsored by the Joint Political Congress were elected to the new Legislature11. The Ezhava community got their representation in the Travancore Legislature for the first time through election. T.M.Varghese was elected as the Deputy President of Sri Moolam Assembly.
Conclusion
The Nivarthana Agitation was truly a mass movement which brought together for the first time the under privileged sections of the population on a common platform to fight for their grievances. This movement is the first of its kind in modern India such virulent socio political agitation never witnessed in any other part of British India except Travancore. Abstention movement brought the issue of responsible government in Travancore. It was felt that the Joint Political Congress had fulfiled its objective and a more broad based organization embracing all classes of people should be formed to launch a people’s agitation aimed at the achievement of responsible government on the basis of adult franchise.
– Dr. Anand Lali Seena
Assistant Professor of History, Sree Ayyappa College for Women, Chunkankadai.
References
1. Ramakrishnan Mundakkara, Malayali Memorial-Ezhava Memorial, Trivandrum, 2009, p.16.
2. A.Sreedhara Menon, Kerala and Freedom Struggle, Kottayam, 1997, p.98.
3. Proceedings of Travancore Sri Mulam Assembly, Vol. XI, No.3, 13 July 1938, p.157.
4. K.K.Kusuman, The Abstention Movement, Trivandrum, 1933, p.84.
5. A.Sreedhara Menon, Survey of Kerala History, Madras, 1994, p.303.
6. Proceedings of Travancore Sri Mulam Assembly, Op.cit.
7. A.Sreedhara Menon, Trivandrum District Gazetteer, Trivandrum, 1962, p.235.
8. C.Narayana Pillai, Thiruvithamkorile Swatantriya Samaram (Malayalam), Trivandrum, 1992, p.432.
9. File No. 750/1933/C.S English Records, Government Secretariat, Trivandrum.
10. B. Suresh Kumar, Political Evolution in Kerala, Travancore 1859 – 1938, New Delhi, p.134.
11.G. Krishnan Nadar, Down Trodden Movemention in Kerala, Trivandrum, 2007, p.104
12.E.M.S Namboodirippad, KeralaYesterday Today, Calcutta, 1968, p. 178.