T. K. Madhavan

In Kerala, T.K. Madhavan was a social reformer and a freedom fighter. He was born on September 2, 1885, in the Karthikapally district of Alappuzha into an Ezhava family of low caste. He dedicated his life to the elimination of untouchability in Kerala. He was a passionate supporter of Gandhi, and he met Gandhiji in Tirunelveli in 1921 and told him about Kerala's offensive caste system and the state of lower caste communities. In 1917, he founded the Deshabhimani newspaper in Kollam and later rose to the position of editor. He pushed for the removal of harmful social norms like untouchability. Thus, his stage name was Deshabhimani T. K. Madhavan.

It is said that Gandhiji and the Indian National Congress got compelled by T. K. Madhavan to include the abolition of untouchability in their national agenda. In 1923, he took part in the Indian National Congress session with Jawaharlal Nehru to move a resolution for the elimination of untouchability. He rose to prominence as a leader in the Ezhava community's social reform organization, Sree Narayana Darma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam. He began the Vaikom Satyagraha in front of the Vaikkom Mahadeva Temple to fight for the freedom of the oppressed and lower caste individuals.

Gandhiji traveled to Vaikom in 1925 in support of the Vaikkom Satyagraha. People from far-off places joined in on this agitation, which got widely discussed throughout all India. The Queen of Travancore and supporters of agitation eventually agreed to allow members of underprivileged communities to cross the streets in front of the temple. He passed away on April 27, 1930.