Mannathu Padmanabhan (2 January 1878 – 25 February 1970) was an Indian social reformer and freedom fighter from the south-western state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He is recognised as the founder of the

Nair Service Society The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in the state of Kerala in Southern part of India. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu ...

(NSS), which represents the

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histo ...

community that constitutes 15.5% of the population of the state. Padmanabhan is considered as a visionary reformer who organised the Nair community under the NSS.

Early life

Mannathu Padmanabhan Pillai was born in Perunna village in

Changanacherry Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era d ...

Kottayam District Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the A ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on 2 January 1878 to Easwaran Namboothiri of Nilavana Illam and Mannathu Parvathy Amma. He began his career as a teacher in 1893 in a Government primary school. After a few years, from 1905 he changed his profession and started practicing law, in the Magistrates Courts.Mannathu Padmanabhan (1878-1970) - MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING, Govt of India
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Nair Service Society

On 31 October 1914, with the help of a few others, he established the

. His main ambition was to uplift the status of the Nair community. From 1915 onwards, he gave up law practice and became the secretary of the Nair Service Society. Mannam revived and reshaped the old concept of village societies, the Karayogams, which practically set the tenor of family and village life. In 1924-25 the NSS persuaded the Travancore Government to enact the Nair Regulation which broke up the matriarchal joint family providing for paternal and maternal property to be divided among all the children. Padmanabhan was involved with the

as its secretary for 31 years and as its president for three years. He was honoured with the title ''Bharata Kesari'' by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

. He also received

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 1966.

On January 2, 2022,

celebrated the 145th Mannam Jayanthi at NSS headquarters, Perunna in Changanassery.

Political life

He fought for social equality, the first phase being the

Vaikom Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha, from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925, was a Nonviolence, nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple in the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore. Kingdom o ...

, demanding the public roads near the temple at Vaikom be opened to low caste Hindus.He took part in the

Vaikom Vaikom, , is a municipal town and a capital town of Vaikom Taluk, situated in the northwest of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The town is also noted for its role in the Indian independence movement for being the venue of Vaikom ...

(1924) and

Guruvayoor Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

(1931) temple-entry Satyagrahas; the anti-

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 ...

agitations. He opened his family temple for everyone, irrespective of caste distinction He became a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

in 1946 and took part in the agitation against Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer's administration in Travancore. As the first president of

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1200 temples in southern part of India. The regular operations of one of the major temples of India, Sabarimala temple, works under its guidance. History and Administra ...

he revitalised many temples which had almost ceased to function. On May 25, 1947 Padmanabhan delivered his famous Muthukulam Speech at

Muthukulam Muthukulam is backwater village near Haripad in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics India Census, Muthukulam had a population of 20,740 with 9,474 males and 11,266 females. Population of Children with age of 0-6 ...

, Alappuzha. He was arrested for

Indian Freedom Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

on 14 June 1947. In 1949, Padmanabhan became a member of the Travancore Legislative Assembly. In 1959, he along with Christian Churches led a united opposition against the State Communist Ministry, which became known as the ''

Vimochana Samaram The Liberation Struggle in Kerala (1958–59) was a period of anticommunist protest against the first elected state government in Kerala, India, which was led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad of the Communist Party of India. Organised opposition to ...

'' (liberation struggle). The cause of the ''

'' was the introduction of Land reforms Bill by the Minister KR Gowri , and this movement caused the dismissal of the Communist government under E. M. S. Namboodiripad on 31 July 1959. After the success of the movement he famously tethered a white horse at the Kerala Secretariat building as he had challenged to do if the dismissal was successful. The consequence of the dismissal was the beginning of President's rule in the state under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.‘Liberation’ struggle - Kerala's First Government
In 1964 he was instrumental in the formation of Kerala Congress, the first regional party in India

Death

Padmanabhan died on 25 February 1970 at the age of 92, after age related complications. Mannam memorial (or ''Samādhi'') is located at NSS Headquarters

. He is regarded as the reformer and moral guide of the members of Nair community.

Notes

References

*Postage stamp issued details o
Mannathu Padmanabhan
* V. Balakrishnan &

R. Leela Devi Dr. R. Leela Devi (13 February 1932 – 19 May 1998) was an Indian writer, translator, and teacher who wrote in English, Malayalam, and Sanskrit. She was from the state of Kerala. Profession Writer and translator Dr. R. Leela Devi wrote an ...

, 1982, Mannathu Padmanabhan and the revival of Nairs in

, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi.
Brief Biography by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of INDIAMannathu Padmanabhan-Indian Post

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, Mannathu Padmanabha Indian independence activists from Kerala Malayali politicians Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work Politicians from Kottayam 1878 births 1970 deaths Indian social reformers Social workers 20th-century Indian educational theorists 19th-century Indian educational theorists Social workers from Kerala People from Changanassery History of Changanassery Kerala Congress politicians