Mannathu Padmanabhan: Kerala’s ‘Bharat Kesari’

A Nair leader marched thousands of upper-caste people to support a protest that another community had started. Thirty-five years later he led a mass agitation that brought down a government. Kerala remembers him as Mannam.

Mannathu Padmanabhan built one of Kerala’s strongest community groups. He also stepped outside his own community when justice called. Exams ask about both sides of his life.

1Who was Mannathu Padmanabhan?

Padmanabhan was born on 2 January 1878 in Perunna, near Changanassery, in the princely state of Travancore. His family followed the matrilineal system of the Nairs. Kerala marks his birthday each year as Mannam Jayanti.

He began as a teacher in 1893 in a government primary school. From 1905 he practised law in the magistrates’ courts. For some years he lived the ordinary life of a small-town lawyer.

Then he turned to community work. In 1915 he gave up his law practice to serve his people full time. The rest of his life belonged to reform.

Why does this matter? He did not come from a high post or great wealth. He built his influence by organising people, one school and one village at a time.

• Born 2 January 1878 at Perunna, Travancore.
• Teacher from 1893; lawyer from 1905.
• Left law in 1915 for community service.

2What was the Nair Service Society?

On 31 October 1914 Padmanabhan helped found a community body. It was first called the Nair Samudaya Bruthya Jana Sangha. In 1915 it was renamed the Nair Service Society, or NSS.

Its aim was to raise the Nair community through education and reform. Nairs were among the most dominant groups in Kerala, yet old customs held many families back. The NSS tried to change those customs from within.

It revived the village bodies known as Karayogams. It also opened schools and colleges. Over the years it grew into a large network that still runs institutions in Kerala.

In 1924 and 1925 the society pressed Travancore to pass the Nair Regulation. The law broke up the old joint family and let property be divided among all children. It changed how Nair families held their wealth.

Padmanabhan served the NSS as secretary for about thirty-one years, and then as president for three. Sources give a few small variations in the dates, so remember the pattern: long years as secretary, a short term as president.

Why does the NSS matter? It shows reform led from inside a community, not forced from outside. Many later groups copied the model.

• Founded 31 October 1914 as the Nair Samudaya Bruthya Jana Sangha; renamed NSS in 1915.
• Built schools and colleges; revived the Karayogams.
• Nair Regulation of 1924-25 reformed the joint family.
• About 31 years as secretary, then 3 years as president.

3Why did he back Vaikom?

The Vaikom Satyagraha began in 1924 in Travancore. Its demand was simple. People of every caste must be free to walk on the public roads around the Vaikom temple. Leaders of the Ezhava community had pushed it forward, with the support of Sree Narayana Guru.

Padmanabhan was a Nair, a member of a higher caste. Yet he led a march of upper-caste supporters, the Savarna Jatha. It walked from Vaikom to Trivandrum in November 1924, and its crowd grew along the way.

The marchers asked the ruler to open the temple roads to all. The NSS also joined in collecting signatures for the plea. A protest begun by one community now had help from another.

Later he took part in the Guruvayur temple-entry satyagraha of 1931. He even opened his own family temple to people of every caste. Words and deeds matched.

The long struggle led to the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936. In it, the Maharaja of Travancore opened the state’s Hindu temples to all castes. That was twelve years after Vaikom began.

Why does this matter? Upper-caste marchers backing an Ezhava-led demand showed that reform could cross the lines of caste. Exams love this point.

• Vaikom Satyagraha, 1924: roads around the temple for all castes.
• Padmanabhan led the Savarna Jatha of upper-caste supporters.
• Backed by Sree Narayana Guru and the Ezhava leaders.
• Temple Entry Proclamation, 1936.
• Read about Periyar, who also led at Vaikom.

4What was the Liberation Struggle?

In 1946 Padmanabhan joined the Indian National Congress. He took part in the agitation against the administration of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer in Travancore. He was arrested in June 1947 for his role in the freedom movement.

In 1949 he became a member of the Travancore Legislative Assembly. He also served as the first president of the Travancore Devaswom Board. He worked to revive temples that had almost stopped functioning.

In 1957 Kerala elected a Communist government led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Two years later, in 1959, Padmanabhan joined the Christian churches and others in a mass agitation against it. This was the Vimochana Samaram, or Liberation Struggle.

One trigger was a land reforms bill brought in by the ministry. Other groups objected to its education policy. The agitation grew through strikes and protests.

On 31 July 1959 the Centre dismissed the ministry. President’s rule began under Article 356. It remains a debated case, since some see a popular movement and others see the fall of an elected government.

After the success, Padmanabhan kept a promise. He had said he would tie a white horse at the Secretariat if the ministry fell. He did so, in a famous scene of the time.

In 1964 he helped bring about the Kerala Congress, an early regional party in India. Why does this section matter? It shows a reformer who also shaped state politics, for good or ill, as people argue.

• Joined the Congress in 1946; opposed C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer’s rule.
• Vimochana Samaram, 1959, against the Namboodiripad government.
• Ministry dismissed 31 July 1959; Article 356 used.
• Helped form the Kerala Congress, 1964.
• Read about E.M.S. Namboodiripad.

5How is he honoured?

In 1966 the Government of India gave him the Padma Bhushan. The President also honoured him with the title Bharat Kesari, which means “Lion of India”. Both came near the end of a long life.

He died on 25 February 1970, aged ninety-two. His memorial stands at the NSS headquarters in Changanassery. A postage stamp was issued in his honour in 1989.

The NSS still runs many schools and colleges in his name. Mannam colleges and schools dot central Kerala. That is perhaps his most lasting monument.

Why does this matter? Honours show how widely his work was valued. They also give exams two easy facts: the Padma Bhushan year and the title.

• Padma Bhushan, 1966.
• Title Bharat Kesari, “Lion of India”.
• Died 25 February 1970, aged 92.
• Stamp issued in 1989.

6What are the exam traps?

• Vaikom was started by the Ezhavas; Padmanabhan, a Nair, led the Savarna Jatha in support.
• Vaikom came in 1924; the Temple Entry Proclamation came in 1936.
• The NSS was founded in 1914; the Liberation Struggle was in 1959.
• The ministry dismissed in 1959 was E.M.S. Namboodiripad’s.