Fiction

A Reply: Thottaikkattu Madhavi Amma

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Translated by J Devika

Thottaikkattu Madhavi Amma (1888- 1968) was born in Ernakulam. Her mother, Thottikkattu Ikkavu Amma was a well-known playwright whose play Subhadrarjunam won much critical acclaim in the late 19th century. Madhavi Amma gained proficiency in Malayalam, Sanskrit, English and other European languages and was known as a poet and commentator on poetry. Her major works are Hemapanjaram (a translation of Seeta Chatterjee’s A Cage of Gold), Saradamani and Tatvachinta. She was active in the Ernakulam Women’s Association and was nominated an unofficial member to the Legislative Council of Kochi in 1925. She was the President of the Women’s Conference held as part of the Nair Conference at Karuvatta in 1929. In 1932, she married the prominent Nair reformer, Mannath Padmanabhan. This short article was a response to a pen-portrait published by the Malayala Manorama in a series on the members of the Kochi Legislative Council. Continue reading “A Reply: Thottaikkattu Madhavi Amma” →

Womanliness: Parvati Nenminimangalam

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Translated by J Devika

[ Parvati Nenminimangalam (-  1947) was born in Irinjalakkuda in Thrissur district. She became active in the Nambutiri (Malayala Brahmin) reformist work after her marriage, and soon rose to be one of the most outspoken and radical female voices within it. She was one of the chief organisers of Ghoshabahishkaranam (breach of seclusion) actions of the Antarjanams (Malayala Brahmin women), which were of vital importance in their challenge to traditional restrictions. Continue reading “Womanliness: Parvati Nenminimangalam” →

Women’s Honour and the Travancore Census Report, 1941: T Narayani Amma Responds

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[This short speech, below, by T Narayani Amma who represented the constituency Women in the Travancore Sree Mulam Assembly was part of the debate over the Adjournment Motion moved by Puliyoor TP Velayudhan Pillai on 26 January 1943 which claimed that the Census Report of Travancore of 1941 contained scandalous untruths about Marumakkathayi women in the state (besides untruths about savarna opposition to the spirit of the Temple Entry Proclamation). The Census Report contained statements that claimed (rather colourfully) that many women had become economically insecure after the dismantling of the joint family system and so were resorting to loose arrangements in order to secure “their daily bread.” To establish this, the Census Commissioner cited the statistics of larger number of married females compared to married males. Pillai expressed “great pain, sorrow, and disappointment” at this statement as he moved the Motion. Several other male members, including Pillai, supported the Motion, vehemently opposing this alleged attack on “the chastity of the whole of womenfolk of Travancore” (Pillai’s statement) and many indignant speeches followed. In general, the Census Commissioner Narayanan Tampi was accused of denigrating the respectability of women in Travancore with any real data on it. In general, they were also convinced that Marumakkathayi women would never “swerve from the path of true honour and chastity” (Sadasyatilakan T K Velu Pillai). Continue reading “Women’s Honour and the Travancore Census Report, 1941: T Narayani Amma Responds” →

‘Malabarising’ the Indian/Hindu Family? Lakshmi N Menon in the Hindu Code Bill Debate

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Below is a long excerpt from the Rajya Sabha debate of 1 October 1955, in which Lakshmi N Menon put up a very strong defence of women’s property rights in the discussion of the Hindu Code Bill. It is brilliant intervention in debate, one which should make every Malayali woman proud. Continue reading “‘Malabarising’ the Indian/Hindu Family? Lakshmi N Menon in the Hindu Code Bill Debate” →

Activism, Married and Unmarried: K Devayani

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Translated by J Devika

K Devayani (1922-1999) was a well-known communist political activist from Travancore, Travancore who lived through the most turbulent times for the communist movement — the 1940s and 50s. She entered public life through the social reformist movement, the Atmavidya Sangham, and the became the secretary of several workers’ unions in the Alappuzha-Ambalappuzha area. She was one of the founders of the communist women’s organization the Mahila Sangham and a member of the Communist Party since 1942. Her remarkable memoir Chorayum Kaneerum Nananjha Vazhikal is one of the most widely read of the writings of the women of her generation.  But it also brings to light the serious limitations that even women who sought to be communist revolutionaries faced — it was as though the norms of female respectability would simply not change no matter what.

Below are excerpts from this memoir. Continue reading “Activism, Married and Unmarried: K Devayani” →

Remembering Mother’s Path: Komarakam Chinnamma in her Daughter’s Memories

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The most important dalit spiritual movement of the early 20th century was initiated by Poykayil Yohannan (widely called Poykayil Appachan by his followers), one of the most remarkable minds in the great social churning in Kerala of the early 20th century.  Born in the Pathanamthitta district and converting to Christianity, Appachan rose to great heights as a masterful speaker and preacher, but he soon was disillusioned by the persistence of caste discrimination in the Church. He left to form his own faith, the Pratyaksha Raksh Daiva Sabha which attracted very many dalit followers as an empowering community. Appachan was a brilliant poet, thinker, legislator, and speaker but he was constantly threatened by the casteist elites everywhere he went. It was the women followers of Appachan who protected him in such moments of danger. Komarakam Chinnamma was one such hero, a fearless, strong, spiritually elevated dalit woman of those time. Her daughter, from these words, is a masterly story-teller. Continue reading “Remembering Mother’s Path: Komarakam Chinnamma in her Daughter’s Memories” →

The Government’s ‘Women Visitors’ and Jailed Nationalist Women: Accamma Cherian

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Translated by J Devika

[Accamma Cherian (1909-1982), one of the foremost nationalist leaders in South Kerala, is best known for her daring leadership of the march on the royal palace in Thiruvananthapuram on 23 October 1938, but the manner in which she, one of the tallest nationalist activists in Travancore, was forced out of the Indian National Congress and politics itself by self-seeking, narrow-minded men in the 1950s is rarely discussed in Kerala. Once referred to as the Jhansi Rani of Kerala, Accamma left active politics in the 1950s devoting herself to constructive work. In the Congress she was known for her active advocacy of women in politics, and indeed, to their share of power in politics — which finally seems to have provoked patriarchal forces. She was born in Kanjirappally and was educated by her father who actively encouraged her and her sister, the noted politician Rosamma Punnoose. In 1926 she entered the St Theresa’s College, Ernakulam, and earned her degree in 1931 and became a school teacher for some time. Later, she moved to Thiruvananthapuram to study at the Teacher Training College in 1934, and it was then her interest in politics turned serious. She led the nationalist struggle in Travancore as the twelfth Dictator of the Travancore State Congress, leading a massive jatha towards the royal palace. Continue reading “The Government’s ‘Women Visitors’ and Jailed Nationalist Women: Accamma Cherian” →

Freedom from Forced Labour: Dakshayani Velayudhan

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Dakshayani Velayudhan (1912-1978), the only dalit woman member of the Constituent Assembly of India, was born in Kochi. She distinguished herself early in life as the first dalit woman in Kerala to obtain a college degree, which she remembers, was won in the face of continuing caste discrimination in college and outside. She worked as a teacher after her education and also served in the Cochin Legislative Council during 1945-48, actively participating in the debates. At the age of 34, she became a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly. Some of her legislative assembly debates have been included here,for example,this one. Continue reading “Freedom from Forced Labour: Dakshayani Velayudhan” →

Vignettes of the Memory: Lakshmi N Menon

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Translated by J Devika

Lakshmi N Menon (1899-1994) was one of the most successful Malayali women in Indian politics  despite the fact that she never really entered formal politics, though attracted to nationalism and international politics as a student abroad in the 1920s. Her father was the well-known reformer, educationist, and rationalist Ramavarma Thampan, (her mother was Madhavikkutty Amma) and her husband the educationist and scholar V K Nandana Menon — but she was one of the rare women who were better known than their male relatives. Lakshmi N Menon was educated in Thiruvananthapuram and she worked for a time as a teacher and later as a lawyer, growing closer to social activism in the 1920s and 30s especially associated with the All-India Women’s Conference. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha in the 1950s; she represented as the head of the India delegation at the UN in the 1950s and was a Minister of State in the 1960s.  She was nominated to the Committee on the Status of Women at the UN. Continue reading “Vignettes of the Memory: Lakshmi N Menon” →