Ezhava is a sect among the Hindu community in India. Ezhavas are mainly based in India's southern state of Kerala. They are the major community in Kerala, making up about 25% of the population. They are the middle rung caste in the Kerala caste hierarchy.In the ancient times, that is before the period of Namboothiris,they were rich and powerful.

Origin and history

The Ezhava sect came into being as a result of transformations that took place within southern part of India.Upto the sixth century , a sizeable number of people among the population of Kerala, were Buddhists who converted to Buddhism from among the elite and scholarly. When the priests started asserting their authority over the administrative matters of the state, they started segregating the followers of Buddhism.

Ezhavas/Tiyyas do not normally use any surnames along with their name but for few who were given "stanam" by the King or the community around. You can find surnames like Panicker, Ashan, Chanar, Vaidyar etc in the late 19th and early 20th centuaries. Panicker was used by people who were rich. Asan was used by educated Ezhavas. And Vaidyar by ayurvedic physicians.

However they emerged dramatically mainly due to the role played by Sri Narayana Guru, a great saint and social reformer who preached a message of self-help, self-improvement, and self-esteem. A devout Saivite monk and Sanskrit scholar, the Guru's goal was not to destroy Hinduism, but to purify it and improve it; he suggested to all that they appropriate Hinduism: that it was theirs, too -- Hinduism belongs to all.

During Guru's time, he exhorted people to educate

The Guru established his own temples. When challenged about His right to consecrate a Shiva image, he replied, that it was an Ezhava Shiva that he had consecrated! He established schools and colleges, open to any one. With the help of wealthy patrons, he encouraged the development of cottage industries.

But never once did the Guru attack Hinduism. He never advocated hatred for any faith or its priests.'No matter what the religion, man must improve,' he said. He personally believed the core of the Vedanta teachings was eternal and truthful and universal. The social excrescences that had attached themselves to those sublime philosophies could and would be excised.

Within a single generation, the Guru's efforts helped transform all the less priviledged of Kerala. Today, they are fully aware of their rights, and prepared to fight for them. In 1936 CE, the Maharaja of Travancore, in the epoch-making Temple Entry Proclamation, threw open the doors of all Hindu temples to every Hindu in Travancore. Like the Buddha, and Martin Luther King later, Narayana Guru had at last reformed people.

An order of monks called the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) was established by Guru. SNDP Yogam has gained immense popularity as one which nurtures the material and spiritual welfare of the community at large.

Sree Narayana Guru and SNDP Yogam

Narayana Guru (1856-1928), who was born into a religious Ezhava family, was a great sage and social reformer of India. He transformed the social face of Kerala. He founded SNDP Yogam, a social movement in Kerala for the upliftment of the community.

Ezhavas today

Due to their hard-work and sheer determination, Ezhavas are today fast improving, spiritual, gaining strength economically, culturally and politically. In the 19th and 20th centuries they were called Aashan for Acharya, Vaidyar for Ayurvedic physicians, Chaanar for the martial traders, and Panicker for the wealthy.

List of famous Ezhavas

List of famous Ezhavas

References

• William Logan: Malabar Manual
• Robin Jeffrey: The Decline of Nayar Dominance