a similar act of defiance, he entered the marketplace at Nedumangad. These protests, which have been described by Nisar and Kanadasamy as "laying claim to the public space", strengthened the resolve of others from the oppressed communities of Travancore to shake off the shackles of social oppression, leading to further acts of protest elsewhere, such as in Kazhakkoottam. The outcome of the continued protest marches, which sometimes turned violent, became known as Chaliyar riots. By 1900, the Pulayars gained the right to use most roads in the state, although they were still barred from roads that led to Hindu temples. Later, in 1904, Ayyankali was inspired by the speech of the reformist Ayyavu Swamikal. He had been preaching the need to break caste divisions because he thought that doing so would limit the number of people who were converting from Hinduism to Christianity. A branch of Swamikal's Brahma Nishta Matam, an organisation, was established in that year by Ayyankali and some friends in Venganoor. Ayyankali also drew inspiration from the activities of Narayana Guru, a contemporary social reformer from the Ezhava caste, although the two men differed in their philosophy and the means of turning it into reality. The Ezhava and Pulayar communities did ally occasionally with each other on occasions, one of which was the campaign to gain access to the Hindu temple in Vaikom. Education Ayyankali also sought to improve access to education for the oppressed classes. A few Pulayars had gained access to schools set up by the Colonial Missionary Society and London Missionary Society from around the mid-nineteenth century. Conversion to Christianity was a prerequisite for attendance at such schools, and there were cases where Pulayars offered to contribute to the cost of supplying teachers for them. However, Ayyankali, who was illiterate, believed that education should be available to all children and this meant that government schools should allow access to untouchables. The government was already attempting to modernize its approach to social welfare. Several public schools were opened for "untouchable" communities after 1895 but the right to primary education was limited in scope. State funding of education became effective in 1904 but even after the government ordered schools to admit children "untouchable" castes in 1907, local officials found ways to refuse it. In that year, helped by the experience gained from organizing the Brahma Nishta Mattam, Ayyankali founded the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangham (SJPS) (Association