Decolonizing the Divine: The Jurisprudence of Inner Sovereignty (Sree Narayana Guru’s Temple Reform as Constitutional Praxis)

This article examines the ritual and symbolic interventions of Sree Narayana Guru as transformative acts that redefined the relationship between religion, society, and justice in early twentieth-century Kerala. Guru’s consecration of alternative idols, his opening of temples to marginalized communities, and his embedding of civic virtues within ritual life challenged the Brahminical monopoly over sacred authority and offered an ethical framework grounded in equality and dignity. While these reforms are often interpreted within the regional context of Kerala’s caste struggles, this study situates them within a broader global history of ritual reform. Comparisons are drawn with Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation in Europe, the Buddhist rejection of Brahminical ritualism in ancient India, the role of Latin American Liberation Theology, and South African churches under apartheid. Through these parallels, the article highlights the universal struggle to reclaim sacred spaces from exclusionary practices and to transform them into platforms for emancipation. The analysis also brings Guru into conversation with decolonial theory and constitutional morality. His praxis anticipates Boaventura de Sousa Santos’s Epistemologies of the South and resonates with global debates on gender inclusion, education, and social justice. Contemporary issues such as caste inequality, the Sabarimala case, India’s National Education Policy, and diaspora temple practices demonstrate the enduring relevance of Guru’s vision. By placing his reforms in a transnational frame, the article argues that Guru’s interventions represent not only a milestone in Kerala’s social history but also a contribution to global conversations on ritual, justice, and decolonial futures.