Educhat: 64.Release of ‘The Journal of Social Empowerment’

To honour and disseminate the writings of the Hindu sage and social reformer, Chattambi Swamikal (1853-1924), recently the Shri Vidyadhiraja International Study and Research Centre was set up in his birth place, Kannamoola, Thiruvananthapuram. Yesterday, Sep 05,2023, four books and two journals were released at a function held in the centre.

As Associate Editor, of the Journal of Social Empowerment, I had penned an article entitled ‘Empowerment initiatives for the public : Critical review of 100 years old official documents of the state of Travancore’.

Abstract

European and Indian historians who studied the lives of the people of Kerala have documented the plight of the backward communities particularly of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century. Thanks to social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamy and Sri Ayankali, a slow transformation happened in the lives of members of the backward communities. One significant contribution of these leaders was the attempt at sensitizing their communities to the need for education for empowerment.

There are several definitions of empowerment and writers like Adams have pointed out the perils of focusing on just one definition. A minimal definition of empowerment which one may adopt could be one which implies the capacity of individuals, groups and/or communities to take control of their circumstances, exercise power and achieve their own goals. (Wikipedia)

The investigator while attempting a review of narratives of empowerment in Kerala, noted the emergence of a pattern. Most such narratives seldom presented the empowerment process as the coming together of two parties- one desirous of empowerment and the external agency making the realization of empowerment a smooth process. For instance, narratives of empowerment particularly by the newly empowered attributed their success entirely to own sacrifices punctuated by struggle and oppression. Similarly there are narratives that project the view that it was solely by conversion to Christianity that certain depressed classes became empowered. And in modern times we have come across assertions that it was open resistance to the indignities of inequalities through grass root level political struggles that empowerment happened in Kerala. A critical reading of such narratives gave the investigator the impression that such narratives are slightly biased, or even lopsided.

But when the investigator stumbled upon certain official documents, published 100 years ago, in the southern state of Travancore, a completely different picture began to emerge. The entries in the documents underscored the enlightened vision of the rulers who assiduously attempted empowerment of own subjects through policies and legislations. This prompted the investigator to engage in a quest for historical truth.

This paper attempts a review of three significant official documents published one hundred years ago. The review besides providing an insight into the socio-economic conditions of the 19^th and early 20^th century, reveals how the vision, the passion and the sense of concern for the well-being of own people displayed by the rulers of the state of Travancore, opened up an avenue for empowerment. This along with the steps initiated for transforming the educational scenario led to a complete transformation of the socio-economic well being of the backward communities in Kerala. The investigator concludes by attributing the current status quo and the privileges which the once termed backward communities enjoy now, partly to the vision, initiatives and support provided by the rulers of the state of Travancore.