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 States and union territories of India, 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 ...

. 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 hi ...

community. His birthday (2 January) is observed as Mannam Jayanti every year. Padmanabhan is considered a visionary reformer who organised the Nair community under the NSS.

Early life

Mannathu Padmanabhan Pillai was born in

Perunna Perunna is a suburb of Changanassery, Kerala, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by ...

village in

Changanacherry Changanassery, () formerly Changanacherry, is a municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 I ...

Kottayam District Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

on 2 January 1878 to Easwaran Namboothiri of Nilavana Illam and Mannathu Parvathy Amma. Padmanabhan got his family name, ''Mannathu'', through

matrilineal succession Matrilineal succession is a form of hereditary succession or other inheritance through which the subject's female relatives are traced back in a matrilineal line. Systems *Matrileneal system is found in the Nayar community who ruled present Ke ...

. He began his career as a teacher in 1893 in a Government primary school.He was the former Headmaster of govt up school north mazhuvannoor.After a few years, from 1905 he changed his profession and started practicing law, in the Magistrates Courts.

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 (ISO 15919, ISO: ) 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, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

. He also received

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

in 1966. On 2 January 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 was a nonviolent agitation for access to the prohibited public environs of the Vaikom Temple in the Kingdom of Travancore that took place from 30 March 1924 to 23 November 1925. Kingdom of Travancore was known for its rigid an ...

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

Vaikom Vaikom () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala. It is located north of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, V ...

(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, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

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 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

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

Muthukulam Muthukulam is backwater village and census town near Haripad in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a major village between Kayamkulam and Haripad and headquarters of the Muthukulam Block Panchayat. Demographics India ...

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

. He was arrested for Indian Freedom Movement 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 Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

Ministry, which became known as the '' Vimochana Samaram'' (liberation struggle). The cause of the '' Vimochana Samaram'' 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 Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as E.M.S. Namboodiripad or simply by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of ...

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, 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 20th-century Indian educational theorists 19th-century Indian educational theorists Social workers from Kerala People from Changanassery History of Changanassery Kerala Congress politicians