Poykayil Yohannan

Poykayil Sreekumara Gurudevan
Poykayil Sreekumara Gurudevan
Born	Kumaran; 17 February 1879; Eraviperoor, Travancore, present day Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India
Died	29 June 1939 (aged 60)
Occupation	poet; social reformer;
Nationality	Indian
Genre	Poetry; theology; activism;
Spouse	V. Janamma (Ammachi)

Poykayil Sree Kumara Gurudevan (17 February 1879 – 29 June 1939), known as Poykayil Appachan or Poykayil Yohannan^[a], was a spiritual leader, poet, Dalit emancipator, renaissance leader and the founder of the Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha ("God's Society of Obvious Salvation") , a socio-religious movement dedicated to the spiritual liberation and social upliftment of the oppressed castes of Kerala.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Early life

Poykayil Appachan, born on 17 February 1879 in Eraviperoor near Tiruvalla in central Travancore (now Kerala ) grew up in a region which were dominated by upper-caste Hindus and Syrian Christians, which influenced his later efforts in organizing and uplifting oppressed communities.^[4] His parents were slave laborers for Christian families and they named the boy Komaran when he was a child, nicknamed Kumaran. He changed his name into Yohannan (Malayalam word for John). As a slave child, he learned letters and spread the message of equity and justice among fellow outcastes. He strategically used the Christian façade for spreading the word of salvation and liberation among the excluded. He broke the stereotype of Dalit Christian identity by rationally critiquing the very foundations of the teachings of the church and burning the Bible.^[5]

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. He then joined a new sect called the Brethren Mission where he faced similar instances of caste based discrimination. Yohannan concluded that Indian Christian communities continued to discriminate based on caste, and felt this defied the basic tenets of Christianity.^[6]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[7]^{[better source needed]}

Work as a legislator

Appachan was nominated twice, in 1921 and 1931, to the Sree Moolam Praja Sabha, the legislative council of the princely state of Travancore.^[8]

In popular culture

Mannikkale Maanikkyam - Drama written by V. V. Santha kumar that features life of Appachan^[9]
A documentary film titled Roopakam (Metaphor), directed by Prasobh Divakaran, also showcases the life and contributions of Poykayil Appachan. The film was selected for screening in the Focus category of the 12th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK).^[10]

References

Footnotes

^
Literal English translations;
- Poykayil Sree Kumara Gurudevan – The revered young spiritual teacher (Guru) from Poykayil.
- Poykayil Appachan – The respected father from Poykayil.
- Poykayil Yohannan – John from Poykayil (Yohannan is the Malayalam equivalent of John).

Citations

^ Philip, A. T. (1991). The Mar Thoma Church and Kerala Society. Juhanon Mar Thoma Study Centre. p. 96. One of the outcome was the booklet entitled Poikayil Yohannanum Veda vaipareethyavum (Poikayil Yohannan and antitheology). Yohannan is addressed as ' Appachan' by his followers.
^ Raj, Anandu (17 February 2024). "Poykayil Appachan : The Emancipator Of The Oppressed". Outlook India. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
^ V V, ABHILASH (3 March 2024). "Legacy of Poykayil Appachan is still a beacon of hope". The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
^ Sekher, Dr Ajay S. (18 February 2018). "Poykayil Appachan, practitioner of critique and co-option | Poykayil Appachan, practitioner of critique and co-option". www.deccanchronicle.com. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
^ Sekher, Ajay S. (2019). "The Politics of Spirituality: Dissident Spiritual Practice of Poykayil Appachan and the Shared Legacy of Kerala Renaissance". Practical Spirituality and Human Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore: 279. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-3687-4_16. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
^ 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
^ 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.
^ "Poikayil Yohannan: Leaders of Kerala Renaissance". PSC Arivukal. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
^ Simon, Steni (24 June 2019). "An ode to a Dalit icon". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 February 2025.

Bibliography

Ananta Kumar Giri, ed. (2019). Practical Spirituality and Human Development: Creative Experiments for Alternative Futures. Springer. p. 528. ISBN 9789811336874.