Authors: Prathibha P Nair
Abstract: This research paper explores the profound intersections between Western Enlightenment ideals, introduced through English education, and the emergence of anti-caste consciousness during the Kerala Renaissance (കേരള നവോത്ഥാനം). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kerala’s highly oppressive, caste-ridden social hierarchy underwent a radical transformation. This paper argues that English education, brought primarily by colonial administration and Christian missionaries, served as a double-edged sword. While it was an instrument of colonial power, it simultaneously provided the marginalized and reformist intellectuals of Kerala with an alternative vocabulary of liberty, equality, and human rights. By analyzing key literary texts and socio-religious reform movements of the period—including the works of Oyyarathu Chandumenon, C.V. Raman Pillai, and the discourse generated by figures like Sree Narayana Guru and Kumaran Asan—this paper examines how the 'universal' ideas of the European Enlightenment were localized to dismantle indigenous caste hegemonies. Ultimately, the study demonstrates how English literature and education acted as catalysts in shaping a modern, egalitarian sensibility in Kerala’s cultural and literary landscape.
