M. R. Ry. The honorific prefix Maha Raja Rajya Shri (abbreviated to M. R. Ry or formerly M. R. Ry.) is a Style (manner of address), style that is used before the names of certain classes of south Indian nobility. Usage The abbreviation of the title is said ...

Chempakaraman Padmanabhan Kesava Pillai Avergal of Kandamath, Pillai of Kandamath (1830–1924), was an Indian

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

, one of the

jenmi Jenmi is the term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala. They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region during Medieval times, and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this ...

s of Travancore and a member of the

Sree Moolam Popular Assembly The Sree Moolam Popular Assembly in the erstwhile state of Travancore was the first popularly elected legislature in the history of India. Its predecessor legislative council was formed in Travancore in 1888 with eight appointed members. Sri Mu ...

Life

Early life

He was born in Vaikkom, Travancore, where his father, Brahmasree Neelakantan Namboodiripad was an ecclesiastical dignitary linked to the

Vaikom Temple The Sree Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hinduism, Hindu god Shiva in Vaikom, Kerala, India. The temple, along with the Ettumanoor, Ettumanoor Shiva Temple and the Kaduthuruthy, Kaduthuruthy Shiva Temple is considered a pow ...

. His mother belonged to the family of feudatory Chiefs of Kandamath. He inherited Kandamath from his uncle, the previous Mootha Pillai of Kandamath, Kanakku Chempakaraman Padmanabhan Pandarathil. The Pillais of Kandamath settled Kandamath in medieval times. According to popular lore and family-papers called ''Kandamukhathu Madom Granthavari'' (collection of palm-leaf documents), they settled at Kandamath on the banks of the Neyyar in medieval times having originally been nobles from Kandiyoor Matom, cadet branch of the ancient line of Odanad rulers of Kayamkulam Kingdom who sought refuge in their kinsmen of the Travancore Court.

Reforms

He was nominated for the seat of Neyyatinkara Taluk by the Maharajah in the newly formed Sree Mulam Council, representing his land-holdings. He took a liberal view on

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

, minor crimes and punishment of the depressed classes. He initiated various reforms for the education and general upliftment of the working classes. He allotted land to the Anglican Church Mission to build and run a church school at Palli Potta in Chenkal, Neyyattinkara. He was known for his vehement opposition to the changes to the

Marumakkathayam Marumakkathayam was a system of matrilineal inheritance prevalent in regions what now form part of the southern Indian state Kerala. Descent and the inheritance of property was traced through females. It was followed by all Nair castes, Ambalav ...

Laws of Succession. Due to the support he had given to the conservative faction within the court of Travancore, he was considered an old-timer after having failed to convince the Government from pushing the reforms through. However, this was far from the truth. Although claiming absolute loyalty to the crown, he was a staunch liberal and saw these proposed changes as an erosion of the rights of the common man against the state. This legislation created the division of family property possible in the landed families and affected the hegemony of the Nambudiri Brahmins, Rajas and upper class aristocratic Jenmi families.

Family

His remains were scattered into the Ganges at Benares from the

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

ghat. His niece, Janaki Amma, was the mother of Gopala Menon, a Judge of Travancore High Court who was presented to the King-Emperor, His Majesty King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

at the 1908 Royal Levee in London; and the future diplomat

K. P. S. Menon Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon Sr. (18 October 1898 – 22 November 1982), usually known as K. P. S. Menon, was a diplomat and diarist, a career member of the Indian Civil Service. He was appointed independent India's first Foreign ...

. Among sons, Neyyatinkara K. Padmanabha Pillai ("N.K." Padmanabha Pillai), was elected to the State Council and served as the second President of the Congress Party after

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai Raja Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (15 July 188527 July 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the chief minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' o ...

. Sreedharan Nayar Kandamath, held several provincial positions and was one of the founders of Travancore Urban Bank. His daughter, Sumathy Amma, married into the

Thachudaya Kaimal The Thachudaya Kaimals were a lineage of ruling chiefs in Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala. The Thachudaya Kaimal is a sacerdotal dignitary in Kerala and is considered the spiritual chief and temporal ruler of the Koodalmanikyam Templ ...

family of Mundanad.

Legacy

His ancestral estate of Kandamath at Chenkal, and most of his extensive landed properties, were lost to his heirs in the political turmoil following the introduction of land-reforms by Communists in Kerala. The family continues the many charitable endowments in health and education. His portrait is included in the collection held by the legislative library in Kerala, in the former barracks of the Nayar Brigade.Karunakaran Nair in Tharishuthala Kudumba Diary edited by K. Karunakaran Nair 2001 accessed from Kerala Council for Historical Research http://www.keralahistory.ac.in/test/family.htm See 45

References