Poykayil Yohannan (17 February 1879, in Eraviperoor – 1939), known as Poykayil Appachan or 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.
Poykayil Sreekumara Gurudevan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yohannan (1879-02-17)February 17, 1879 Eraviperoor, Travancore, present day Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India |
| Died | June 29, 1939(1939-06-29) (aged 60) |
| Occupation | Dalit leader, poet |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Poetry, theology |
| Spouse | Janamma |
Poykayil Yohannan was born on 1879 in Eraviperoor to Tamil 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]
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. 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.[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.[6]
He was the first person to start an English medium school for the dalit community. [7]
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]