For generations, it has served as a monument that evocatively celebrates one of the most radical moments seeking social equality. But at a time when the country celebrates the 75th anniversary of Independence, this memorial appears stuck in the middle of a political row.
The Indamthuruthi Mana at Vaikom, Kottayam, which holds a significant place in the historic Vaikom Satyagraha, has been in the cross hairs of a controversy that continues to rage between the Communist Part of India (CPI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The episode began to unfold with BJP State president K. Surendran ramping up a rhetoric questioning the ownership of the site by the CPI.
The remark drew an instant reaction from the CPI which asked the BJP, and particularly its State president, to at least get some idea on the history of social struggles before commenting on it. Mr. Surendran, however, continued to fashion his narrative in even more inflammatory terms and even accused the Left party of converting the monument as a toddy shop.
“Since it is the CPI that holds the Revenue ministry, it is rather easy for the party to hand it over to the government and receive the cash,” reiterated Mr. Surendran while addressing the media in Kottayam last week.
In a swift reaction, the CPI organised a ‘freedom protection meet’ at the site on August 14 which witnessed participation from most parties across the broad spectrum of the two major political arrangements – the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). Not to be left behind, the BJP launched a scathing attack on the Left during a rally and described its existence as the office of toddy tappers union as an affront to Mahatma Gandhi.
“The Sangh Parivar appears be wary of the very existence of this historical structure, which has long served as a vital spur for progressive politics. We are not surprised too since the saffron organisation always stands in favour of the caste Hindu,” responded V.B. Binu, secretary of the CPI Kottayam district unit.
The Indamthuruthi Mana, where Mahatma Gandhi had been denied entry because of being a non-Brahmin, hosted the famous three-hour conversation between him and Devan Neelakandan Namboothiri, leader of the caste Hindu camp, in connection with the Vaikom Satyagraha in 1925.
The CPI purchased the Mana, a traditional Kerala house with a courtyard, in May 1964 and renovated it in 2019.
