Poykayil Yohannan

Poykayil Sreekumara Gurudevan
Poykayil Sreekumara Gurudevan
Born	Yohannan; February 17, 1879; Eraviperoor, Travancore, present day Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India
Died	June 29, 1939 (aged 60)
Occupation	Dalit leader, poet
Nationality	Indian
Genre	Poetry, theology
Spouse	Janamma

Poykayil Sreekumara Gurudevan (17 February 1879, in Eraviperoor – 1939), known as Poykayil Appachan alias Poykayil Kumara Guru Devan, was a dalit activist, poet and the founder of the socio-religious movement Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha ("God's Society of Obvious Salvation").[1] His father was Kandan and mother Lachi. His original name was Kumaran.

Early life

Poykayil Yohannan was born on 1879 in Eraviperoor to low caste Paraiyar parents Kandan and Lechi working under Sankaramangalam family a Jenmi (aristocratic) Mar Thoma Saint Thomas Syrian Christian family in Eraviperoor.[2][3] Yohannan's ancestors worked for the Sankaramangalam family as agrarian labours for many generations.[4]

Religious work

Yohannan joined the Marthoma church, a reformist sect among the Syrian Christians, but realised the church treated Dalits as an inferior class, and so left it. (In fact backward castes and scheduled castes are victims of British's social stratification tactics).He then joined a new sect called the Brethren Mission where he faced similar instances of caste based discrimination. Johannan concluded that Indian Christian communities continued to discriminate based on caste, and felt this defied the basic tenets of Christianity.[5]

In 1909, Yohannan left Christianity and started his own religious protest movement named Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha. He was known as Poikayil Appachan or Kumara Gurudevan afterwards. Johannan advocated spiritual liberation, and sought to empower and consolidate the Dalits, promoting a creed in which the "dalit castes" would be free of discrimination.[6]

He was the first person to start an English medium school for the dalit community. [7]

Work as a legislator

Yohannan was also a member of the Dalit advocacy group Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham which was founded in 1907 by another dalit leader of Kerala, Ayyankali. Yohannan was also twice nominated, in 1921 and 1931, to the Sree Moolam Praja Sabha, the legislative council of the princely state of Travancore.[8]

Publications

Unknown Subjects: Songs of Poykayil Appachan. Translated from Malayalam by A.S. Sekher
Vadyakhoshangal Nadathunnavarum and Ente Vamshathepatti were featured in the Dalit Poem Collection named Kathal — published by DC Books

Media representations

Mannikkale Maanikkyam - Drama by V. V. Santhakumar features Yohannan

References

A. T. Philip The Mar Thoma Church and Kerala society 1991 "One of the outcome was the booklet entitled Poikayil Yohannanum Veda vaipareethyavum (Poikayil Yohannan and antitheology). Yohannan is addressed as ' Appachan' by his followers."
"Poykayil Yohannan: Dalit Hero of Kerala". Mission Kaali. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
"Poikayil Yohannan: Leaders of Kerala Renaissance | PSC Arivukal". www.pscarivukal.com. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
"പൊയ്കയിൽ യോഹന്നാൻ' അപ്പനില്ലാത്തവരുടെ അപ്പൻ, കുമാരഗുരുദേവൻ |". 16 February 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
J. W. Gladstone (1984). Protestant Christianity and people's movements in Kerala: a study of Christian mass movements in relation to neo-Hindu socio-religious movements in Kerala, 1850-1936. Seminary Publications. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
Poikayil Johannan Archived 1 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
"Poikayil Yohannan".
Dr. Alex Thomas; I.S.P.C.K. (Organization) (1 August 2007). A history of the first cross-cultural mission of the Mar Thoma Church, 1910-2000. ISPCK. ISBN 978-81-7214-969-7. Retrieved 30 March 2012.