Aiyappan Pillai Madhavan Nair (1905–1990), also known as Nair- san, was closely involved with the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in Japan during

1920s File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the Eighteenth Amendment to ...

1940s File:1940s decade montage.png, Above title bar: events during World War II (1939–1945): From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching Omaha Beach on Normandy landings, D-Day; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of ...

History

Nair did his basic schooling in Trivandrum (present Thiruvananthapuram), the capital city of Kerala in southern India. Nair had to leave India at 18 as he led protests against the administrative steps taken by the education authorities in Travancore. At that time he had also spoken against the British. He studied engineering in Japan at

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

. After a short stint as an engineer he entered India's Freedom Struggle in his own individual capacity and soon teamed up with Rash Behari Bose. When Japan joined the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nair helped found the Indian Independence League in Japan under Rash Behari Bose and later he and Rash Behari Bose advised the Japanese Government to bring Subhas Chandra Bose to Japan. When Subhas came he helped him in various ways. In 1949, Nair founded an Indian restaurant in

Ginza Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...

, Tokyo. In 1982, he wrote his autobiography title ''An Indian Freedom Fighter in Japan: Memoirs of A.M. Nair'' (1982) Sole distributorship, Ashok Uma Publications　

Last years

Nair was awarded the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(''Zuihō-shō'') by Emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

in November 1984. He died on 22 April 1990.

Film

A film titled '' Nair-san'' starring

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

and

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

has been planned based on his life, directed by Alberrt Antoni. However, the film has been shelved.

Autobiography

*''An Indian Freedom Fighter in Japan: Memoirs of A.M. Nair'' (1982) Sole distributorship, Ashok Uma Publications　

References

External links

GINZA NAIR'S RESTAURANT, founded by A. M. Nair in 1949
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, A. M. 1905 births 1990 deaths Indian expatriates in Japan Kyoto University alumni People from Thiruvananthapuram Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian revolutionaries