Is Onam a Hindu festival? The moral imagination that underpins its secular appeal
type
Op-ed
source publication
The Indian Express
Abstract
This article discusses the politics of morality that underpins the secular appeal of Onam, Kerala’s official state festival. It argues that Onam’s popularity across different sections of people is not because of any religious origins, but due to its twentieth-century reinvention within the moral aspiration for equality articulated by anti-caste struggles and communist political movements in Kerala’s hierarchical society.
Year
9-5-2025
Recommended Citation
Paleri D, ‘Is Onam a Hindu Festival? The Moral Imagination That Underpins Its Secular Appeal’ (The Indian Express, 5 September 2025)
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