Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Indian society is comprised of numerous social identities, however, it has the unique distinction of defining of social through caste. Groups located at the lowest rung of social categorisation began their quest for autonomy through movements of various nature. This paper considers the interaction of global and local by reviewing questions of individual and collective autonomy of people from Shanar community and their definition of new social. Inspired by the global Christian missionary teachings, Ayya Vaikundar successfully experimented with local practises to construct a new social through the Ayyavazhi movement. As the imagination and lived reality of social was defined by caste in India, this movement began with issues of individual autonomy by practises such as Kannadi Vazhipadu - mirror worship (worshipping themselves) that provided a new self to the community. Moreover, by establishing Samthuva Samajam - society for equality, it re-defined the established traditional meanings of equality for the community. With definitions of self and social, the Ayyavazhi community has shaped a new lived reality moving away from caste while offering individual and collective meaning in social life. This paper raises several significant questions including: Can a movement that occurred in a particular time and space provide us a meaning of new social? How does the new social replace the old social and in what way? What lessons of individual and collective autonomy we can seek from this movement? This study is based on field visits, narratives, literature review and archival material.