Reimagining Resources: Analyzing the Politics of Dalit Land Struggles in Kerala, India with Special Reference to Chengara

This article explores the history of land alienation in Kerala, the representation of land in social reform movements and the ongoing land struggle in Chengara. The movements discussed in the present study have similarities in terms of the nature of social mobilization, which transcended the Brahmin-imposed sub-caste fragmentations and provided common platforms for the assertion of rights of the deprived sections. Even though the reform movements orchestrated by Ayyankali and Poykayil Appachan unified the slave castes around the issues of common concern, subsequently the ruling class succeeded in thwarting the movement by employing the strategy of sub-caste fragmentation. Similarly, the Chengara movement has also been facing the same plight. The Sadhujana Vimochana Samyukthavedi, inspired by Ayyankali’s movement, succeeded in constructing a Dalit identity around the issue of land. However, the ruling class, with ardent support from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), tried hard to destroy the movement. The sub-caste issues played a vital role in the weakening of the movement. Therefore, the study observes that the guidance of a charismatic leader is significant in social mobilization, particularly in a caste-ridden society, for building trust and unity among the deprived sections and countering the maneuvers of the ruling class.