Singukandam, a village in Chinnakkanal panchayat in Idukki district with about 250 families, has been in the news for the decades-long struggle of the residents demanding title deeds for their land.
The history of the village suggests that the area derived its name from one Teja Singh who lived here in the 1960s. Born Ramankutty, he embraced Sikhism and went on to live here for decades as a Sikh.
N.M. Sreekumar, grandson of Teja Singh and Chinnakkanal panchayat president, says Ramankutty hailed from Cherthala in Alappuzha district. “After marriage, he reached Guruvayur and attempted to enter the temple pond, but authorities prevented him saying he was from a lower caste. He met a Sikh there and moved to Punjab before the 1940s and embraced Sikhism and returned to Kerala and entered the temple pond. It was way of his protest against the temple authorities,” says Mr. Sreekumar.
