பனனலனன மறபககம பதனததல சமக சமததவதத நககய பரடடஙகளம தரவகளம / Struggles and Solutions Toward Social Equality in Ponnelan's Novel Marupakkam

In the Travancore areas, the Tamil people are downtrodden due to the language problem are denied even the common privileges of the society and suffer many atrocities. They are shown in the novel “Marupakkam” written by Ponneelan. They are treated as untouchables, are not allowed to enter the temples, and are not allowed to use the ponds and rivers. Even the wages for the labour are denied by the landlords. They were treated in a very bad manner. Their lands were grabbed from them and lived without any resources. On having no land of their own, they have to work for others on other people's lands as workers for food and shelter. Women were also taxed for wearing clothing and taxes were collected for covering their breasts. The Tamil people suffer as an underdeveloped society where the youth are denied the opportunity to study and get government jobs. The Tamil people conducted various protests such as the Abolishment of Untouchability, Thol Seelai Protest, Temple Entry Protest, Slavery Abolition Protest, Kumari district formation protest etc to ensure their rights. In the end, these problems were brought to the attention of the London missionaries and solved before independence.