KOTTAYAM: Former Additional Chief Secretary D Babu Paul has said that Mannathu Padmanabhan, the founding leader of the Nair Service Society (NSS), should not be confined as the leader of a community.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 140th Mannam Jayanthi celebrations at NSS headquarters, Perunna in Changanassery, on Monday. According to Babu Paul, Mannam, a dynamic leader who had initiated revolutionary steps for the progress of society, was an asset of the entire state. “Mannathu Padmanabhan should be considered as a benchmark when evaluating people,” he said.
Babu Paul also said that Mannam had taken a revolutionary step by allowing the ‘Harijans’ to enter a temple in his native place. “He made this possible even before the Temple Entry Proclamation. As per the writings of Mannam, this was done 10-20 years before the Proclamation. In fact, this incident opened the door for Dalits in other temples like Panmana as well.
His revolution continued by permitting a backward caste man to have lunch inside his house along with him. It was definitely a progressive move, when Mannam’s mother herself washed that man’s plate even at the peak time of untouchability. Moreover, by setting up the M G College in Thiruvananthapuram, Mannam became the first man to build a monument for Mahatma Gandhi in Kerala after his assassination,” said Babu Paul.
“Mannam was a dynamic personality as he launched a union of teachers when he was a teacher and organised advocates when he worked as a lawyer.” said Babu Paul.
At the same time, he said that interpretations should be revised periodically to move in tandem with the new era. “Mannam had put forward solutions for issues of that era and implemented them with extraordinary sense of values and dedication. Doing the same is not the need of the hour. Instead, the society should move ahead deriving energy from his teachings,” said Babu Paul.
NSS president P N Narendranathan Nair presided over. Ezhuthachan Award winner C Radhakrishnan and Sanskrit scholar Muthukulam Sreedhar were felicitated on the occasion. Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan, C Radhakrishnan and Muthukulam Sreedhar also spoke. NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair welcomed the gathering and treasurer M Sasikumar proposed the vote of thanks.