On 29th, it will be 100 years since Chapathi came to Kerala as part of Vaikom Satyagraha. Its centenary celebration will be held on Sunday at Mavelikara, the birthplace of Vaikom Satyagraha hero TK Madhavan.
The history of Chapathi reaching Kerala is as follows: King of Patiala and Sikhs got to know the news of Vaikom Satyagraha through Sardar KM Panicker, a Malayalee and Patiala State Minister. Punjab Prabandha Shiromani Committee announced support for Satyagraha. The king sent three containers of wheat from the port of Karachi to Kochi by ship to feed the protesters. Under the leadership of Kripal Singh and Lala Lal Singh, first 12 people and then a group of 60 people reached Kerala. The wheat stored in Kochi was then dried and ground into sacks and transported to Vaikat. Then on April 29, 1924, Kerala's first chapatti was baked in a food shop started in Vaikat. For 58 consecutive days, they cooked chapati and dal for free to the satyagrahis. Although the restaurant was closed on June 25, the chapati later became popular in Kerala.
Katha Sahitya Sanghatan is the organizer of the centenary celebration. MS Arunkumar MLA will inaugurate the conference to be held at Mavelikkara Raja Ravivarma Fine Arts College on 28th at 5 pm. Novelist KK Sudhakaran will preside. Raja Virendra Singh from Ludhiana, Punjab will be the chief guest.
