"Explore the rich tapestry of the Malabar region, where centuries of history, culture, and tradition come together.
University of Calicut,
Edapally - Panvel Hwy, Thenhipalam,
Kerala 673635, India
Karuthodiyil Madhavan Nair, also known as K Madhavan Nair (1882 – 1933) was a freedom fighter from Malabar and one of the renowned personalities to spearhead the efforts to start Mathrubhumi Newspaper. When the newspaper started publication on March 18, 1923, he served as its first managing director.
Biography
Madhavan Nair was born on December 2, 1882 to an eminent journalist Mohandas Radhakrishnan in Kauthodi Tharavad of the present-day Malappuram district of Kerala. He passed the F.A. examination from C. M. S. College, Kottayam in March 1904, B. A. examination from Thiruvananthapuram Rajas College in 1906. After graduation, he worked at M.G.M High school of Thiruvalla for a short while until he went for further education and completed the B.L examination in 1909. Further, he moved to Manjeri and Kozhikode and began practising there as a lawyer. After his relocation to Kozhikode in 1915, he became more involved in political affairs. In 1916, he became an active worker in the home rule movement that started in Malabar. In 1917, he participated in the movement against the ban of lower castes in Thali Kshethra road. He travelled the area along with Keshavamenon, Manjeri Ram Iyer and Krishnan Vakkeel. This movement had put an end to the practice of untouchability, giving access to the road. In April 1920, he led the Malabar district conference in Manjeri, which forged paths for the Khilafat struggle and the noncooperation movement to come together in Malabar.
An ardent supporter of the Non-Cooperation Movement and Khilafat agitation in Malabar, he was instrumental in forming the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee and became its first secretary in January 1921. In 1920, Madhavan Nair translated Gandhiji’s speech into Malayalam when he visited Calicut.
Also, during the Malabar rebellion of 1921, he put his efforts into peace-building and relief activities. In 1921, he was arrested in relation to the visit of Khilafat leader Yakoob Hassan to Malabar.
In 1923, when the Mathrubhumi newspaper was started, he served as its managing director. In 1924, he took an active role in organizing and conducting the Vaikom Satyagraha, was arrested in 1930 and imprisoned for five months.
He became the first president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (K.P.C.C.) in 1925 and later a member of the All India Congress Committee as well. He participated in the Tenants’ Conference and Nattu Rajya Praja Sammelanam (People’s National Conference) held in Ernakulam in 1928 and also served as the director of the Temple Entry Referendum of Guruvayoor.
Moreover, his poems were published in Kavana Kaumudhi and Mathrubhumi and he has also authored a famous book, Malabar Kalapam (Malabar Rebellion), written shortly after the rebellion of 1921 held in Malabar.
He died on September 28, 1933, at the age of 51 due to illness.
