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Sree Narayana Guru’s influence, impact, and occurrence successful the lives of Dalits successful Kerala were arguably deeper and much transformative than that of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar successful bluish India, said Congress person and erstwhile Union Minister Shashi Tharoor astatine The Hindu Lit for Life successful Chennai connected Sunday (January 18, 2026).
Mr. Tharoor, who was successful speech with L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), The Hindu Group, connected the taxable ‘The Sage Who Reimagined Hinduism,’ said helium had grown up extracurricular Kerala and had lone a precise vague consciousness of Narayana Guru. When helium came to unrecorded successful Kerala afloat time, Mr. Tharoor realised the immensity of the Narayana Guru’s beingness successful the consciousness of each Keralite, peculiarly successful confederate Kerala, wherever the saint was born, grew up and practised overmuch of his work.
“For me, knowing that practically each neighbourhood and each country successful my [Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha] constituency person a shrine to Sree Narayana Guru. It was astonishing that specified a giant, who had done truthful overmuch to alteration Kerala nine and Hinduism, remained truthful wholly chartless extracurricular the State,” Mr. Tharoor said.
When a mates of Kerala’s starring newspapers conducted polls astatine the extremity of the millennium connected the top Malayalee of each time, Sree Narayana Guru won hands down, Mr. Tharoor said addng that his book was an effort to seizure the indispensable details of his singular beingness and the bonzer lessons, which were inactive incredibly applicable adjacent a 100 years later.
Responding to a question connected Narayana Guru’s attack to societal betterment erstwhile compared to different leaders, Mr. Tharoor said helium would fertile him successful the highest level due to the fact that of the mode helium transformed some the knowing of Hinduism arsenic a religion and the Hindu society, and thereby Indian society, peculiarly connected the contented of caste.
When Swami Vivekananda visited Kerala, helium was truthful appalled by the caste favoritism helium saw, and by its extent and extent, helium described the portion arsenic a lunatic asylum. Kerala has travel a agelong way, and that the top and astir seminal publication to that translation was that of Narayana Guru, Mr. Tharoor said.
Nehru, Ambedkar and Narayana Guru connected caste
Comparing Jawaharlal Nehru and Ambedkar with Narayana Guru, Mr. Tharoor observed that Nehru was little focused connected caste and much connected people and socio-economic disabilities, portion Ambedkar focused connected caste. “They had complementary insights into India’s transformation. What Ambedkar aboriginal articulated had already been said by Sree Narayana Guru,” helium said, recollecting what the saint had told Mahatma Gandhi — what is the constituent of state from overseas regularisation if determination was nary state wrong one’s ain society.
Mr. Tharoor besides said Nehru and Narayana Guru shared communal crushed successful their views connected economical transformation. While Nehru saw it done Marxist-Leninist ideas of people emancipation, Narayana Guru spoke of acquisition and endeavor arsenic ways for radical astatine the bottommost of the hierarchy to alteration their lives. Nehru focused connected self-determination, portion Narayana Guru placed large accent connected enterprise, handicrafts and business.
Speaking astir his doctrine of ‘one caste, 1 religion, 1 God for humankind’, Mr. Tharoor said Narayana Guru meant that each religions pb to the aforesaid divine. It was akin to classical Advaitic knowing preached by Adi Shankaracharya and aboriginal popularised by Swami Vivekananda, Mr. Tharoor said, referring to Swami Vivekananda’s code astatine the World Parliament of Religions successful Chicago successful 1893.
Sharing an incidental from the 1921 Census, Mr. Tharoor said that erstwhile the enumerator asked Narayana Guru astir his caste, helium replied, “Human”. He said Narayana Guru remains the archetypal idiosyncratic successful colonisation census past whose caste was recorded arsenic “Human”, reflecting his thought of castelessness.
Vaikom sathyagraha
Speaking astir the Vaikom Satyagraha, Mr. Tharoor described it arsenic a large lawsuit successful the nationalist struggle. He said the agitation began erstwhile ‘untouchables’ were denied entree to roads starring to a temple successful Vaikom. He said Gandhiji believed successful passive absorption by Satyagrahis who would beryllium successful beforehand of the barricades.
“While the followers of Narayana Guru fundamentally differed connected this point. Narayana Guru, felt they had to beryllium assertive, not violent, arsenic was misunderstood. Narayana Guru urged radical to ascent onto the barricades, locomotion into the temple and beryllium successful the mediate of the road. Their disagreement was tactical. Gandhi initially felt Narayana Guru was advocating violence, but aboriginal the Guru wrote to him explaining his position,” Mr. Tharoor said.
Mr. Tharoor said Gandhiji viewed the full workout arsenic a process of Hindu self-purification and believed it was the work of Hindus to expiate the misdeed of having practicised untouchability. Narayana Guru, however, believed that caste and religion acrophobic everyone and that each sections of nine had to participate.
During the conversation, Mr. Tharoor besides work retired a fewer lines from chapters successful his book, which were received with a lukewarm circular of applause from the audience.
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