SNDP or Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam is an Indian public limited company. Dr Padmanabhan Palpu founded SNDP in 1903. He founded it with the blessings and guidance of Sree Narayana Guru. SNDP is an MCA provider. A merchant cash advance, also known as MCA, is a company that provides alternative financing to a traditional small business loan. The company focuses on resolving social issues of the backward classes in Kerala society. SNDP is a company and organisation for the backward community from Kerala since 1903.
SNDP is an organisation that helps the backward community with the religious reform movement and achieve economic welfare and better educational opportunities. Since its formation, the organisation has played a significant role in Kerala's social and political activities.
The Sree Narayan Trust was inaugurated by the SNDP yogam with the vision of Narayan Guru. The trust manages educational, social, and economic institutions with the ideologies of Narayan Guru. The annual budget of the yogam and the trust combined is about Two Thousand Crores INR. Presently the organisation runs many hospitals, educational institutes, and other institutes too.
During the 1890s, Kerala’s caste system had the concept of untouchables. Dr Palpu was pained by this, and hence, he started working towards ensuring the rights of those backward communities.
Sree Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana Movement set an example for the regional movement that started from the conflict between the upper and the lower castes. The SNDP movement was founded by Sree Narayana Guru Swamy (1856-1928). He founded the SNDP among the backward class of Kerala, known as Ezhavas. Ezhavas are the backward class of toddy tappers who were considered untouchables and were denied entry into temples and denied a proper education.
During the pre-independence period, many backward classes started their movements. Those backward classes banned and boycotted the upper class, that is, the Brahmanas in particular, believing that they cornered much of the socio-economic benefits.
To resist the predominance of the upper cast Brahmanas and other upper castes in general.
To intensify the position of the backward classes in the caste hierarchy by enforcing upper caste lifestyles like higher education and distinguished occupation.
For removing caste injustice, Sree Narayana Guru coined the slogan “One Caste, One Religion, One God for All”.
Ethnic awareness and politicisation were then established as a result of the activities of the movement among various castes.
Religious Reforms
To streamline religious activities like worshipping God, marriage, and death, Sree Narayana Guru constructed many temples across the state of Kerala.
Sree Narayana Guru always desired to help his neighbours in both secular and spiritual things.
Sree Narayana Guru devoted his life to the needs of the backward class people. He travelled around Kerala for 15 years, assisting the backward class’s community members in developing social awareness and self-confidence.
Educational Reforms
The first educational aid is to help the Ezhava community, one of the depressed and neglected backward communities of Kerala.
Narayana Guru, with his broad perspective of providing education to all the backward classes, established several schools and institutions around Kerala to provide widespread education to society.
Sree Narayana Guru was the first secretary of SNDP from 1903 to 1928.
The headquarters of SNDP is situated in Kollam, Kerala.
Narayana Guru provided the momentum for the Vaikom agitation, which was aimed at temple entry in Travancore for the lower castes.
Presently, there are 22 branches under the SNDP union with many Women’s units and Youth Movement units.
Sree Narayana Guru was called the second Buddha by Sankara Kurup.