Krishnammal Jagannathan: a symbol of Gandhian model of empowerment

The images of the 100-year-old Krishnammal Jagannathan sitting under a peepal tree at Gandhigram, Dindigul, at the beginning of the documentary, and her standing beside a well without a drop of water at the end, quietly trace the arc of her life’s journey.

The movement she spearheaded, along with her late husband Jagannathan, spread like the peepal tree itself, taking root across villages and securing land for the landless. Yet, the dry well reflects another reality — the growing scarcity of idealism-driven movements, both political and non-political, in Tamil Nadu.

A Gandhian who draws inspiration from Vallalar Ramalinga Adigal — the saint who could not bear even the sight of a withering plant — Ms. Krishnammal turns to prayer with disarming simplicity. Standing beside the parched well in Gandhigram, she seeks divine grace, hoping it will, one day, brim with water again.

“The well remains dry and my mind is in agony. There will come a time when the well will be desilted. Ayya, by your mercy, let the well overflow with water,” she prays in a trembling voice in the documentary Nilam+Needhi=Krishnammal Jagannathan, directed by Ravi Subramanian.

Two major strands

She represents one of the two major strands that fought for the empowerment of landless labourers in Tamil Nadu — the Gandhian movement inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave, and the Communist-led agrarian struggle.

Though emerging from different ideological traditions, the two movements often intersected at several moments in history. The film captures one such meeting point through a long conversation between Ms. Krishnammal and K. Balabharathi, former CPI(M) MLA and a full-time worker of the party.

In fact, Ms. Krishnammal and Jagannathan, who had worked with Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan Movement in several parts of the country — including in Bihar where nearly 30,000 acres of land were distributed to the poor — entered the composite Thanjavur district to organise landless peasants in the aftermath of the 1968 Keezhvenmani massacre, in which 44 Dalits, including children, were burnt alive.

Reflecting on her lifelong struggle, Ms. Balabharathi holds Ms. Krishnammal’s hand and tells her: “Your life itself is history. Born in an ordinary family and subjected to the oppression of caste, you stood firm in your struggle to secure land for people on the margins of society. In a way, you have done what we too set out to do.”

Early encounter

Life was anything but easy. Even at The American College in Madurai, where she studied, fellow students kept their distance from her because of her caste. Her encounter with Soundaram Ramachandran — founder of the Gandhigram Rural Institute, which later became a deemed university — set Ms. Krishnammal firmly on the Gandhian path.

“I was asked by Soundaram Amma to take care of Gandhi during his three-day stay in Madurai,” recalls Ms. Krishnammal, remembering the moment that shaped the course of her life.

She also acknowledges how her husband Jagannathan, born into a wealthy family, stood firmly by her side and went on to found Land for Tillers’ Freedom (LAFTI). Together, they worked to transform the lives of poor and landless peasants.

She also records the support extended by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who met her and facilitated the registration of identified lands in the names of landless farmers.

“No conflict with landlords; no compromise with anyone. Our only aim should be to liberate women from the hands of landlords,” she says.