Foundation Laid for Periyar Memorial at the Jail in Arookutty
The Vaikom struggle was a forerunner for several temple entry protests that happened later both in the Madras Presidency and the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. Vaikom was then part of Travancore and Periyar had gone there to spearhead the protest at the invitation of local leaders.
Chennai: A foundation stone was laid on Friday for a memorial for Periyar E V Ramasamy at the old jail in Arookutty in Kerala, where the Dravidar Kazhagam founder was imprisoned for one month when he took part in the Vaikom Satyagraha, protesting against a ban on common people using the roads around the Mahadevar temple in Vaikom in 1924.
The initiative for the memorial, measuring 1141 square feet and costing Rs 3.99 crore, was taken by Chief Minister M K Stalin, who made the demand to his Kerala counterpart, Pinayari Vijayan, on December 12, 2024, which led to the handing over of the 0.58 cents of land to the Tamil Nadu government, an official press release said on Friday.
The Vaikom struggle was a forerunner for several temple entry protests that happened later both in the Madras Presidency and the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. Vaikom was then part of Travancore and Periyar had gone there to spearhead the protest at the invitation of local leaders.