SREE NARAYANA GURU AND THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION: A PRE-CONSTITUTIONAL VISION FOR MARGINALIZED EMPOWERMENT

This article examines Sree Narayana Guru’s educational philosophy as a pre-constitutional forerunner to India’s current framework for the right to education. A spiritual leader and significant social reformer in Kerala in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Guru saw education as a vital instrument for social liberation, especially for underprivileged groups facing caste-based marginalization. In addition to opposing the inflexible Brahmanical system, Guru established universal access to education through the founding of schools and the spread of his beliefs – “One Caste, One Religion, One God for Man” – long before Articles 45 and 21A of the Constitution codified this principle. The study contends that Guru’s vision aligns with and foreshadows the Directive Principles of State Policy and the Right to Education Act (2009), which legally guarantee free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14. The fundamental principles of fair education enshrined in the Indian Constitution are in line with Guru’s emphasis on inclusive, non-discriminatory education, skill development, and holistic empowerment. This research presents Sree Narayana Guru as a visionary educational thinker whose practice foreshadowed national legal requirements, in addition to being a reformist, via historical analysis, philosophical interpretation, and constitutional comparison. His legacy pushes contemporary politicians to reconsider education’s role as a vehicle for social justice and structural change in terms of inclusion, dignity, and access.