Dr. T Madhavan Nair (Dr. TM Nair) – A Multifaceted personality

Doctor, Administrator, Journalist, Social reformer, and Politician (1868-1919)

This was a man who never had any qualms about taking on any establishment, faction, or individual if he felt they were wrong. Hailing from the Tharavath ancestral home in Palghat, he chose the field of medicine, became a well-known doctor in Madras, then decided that social work was equally important, got involved in all kinds of civic and social matters. During this period, irked by the Brahmin stronghold on jobs and their control over the bureaucracy, he took them on, starting what we know today as the Anti-Brahmin or Dravidian movement, and later co-founding the Justice party. Alongside came the much written about confrontation with Annie Besant and Leadbeater, but before he could become an even more popular leader, he passed on, while visiting Britain, in 1919. That was Dr. T.M. Nair.

In the British times, in the Madras presidency, a lot of people made a beeline for Madras, its capital, leaving their traditional occupations such as agriculture, to get educated and pick up a new trade, such as medicine, engineering, law, or whatever. And there were a rare few who ventured beyond, mainly to Britain.  Most of them rose to become noteworthy administrators and wrote their memoirs, some did not. This portly, domineering, barrel-chested and heavy mustachioed doctor, reminding you of a professional wrestler, was omnipresent in Madras during his times, and when he talked (his tongue was even more mordant than VK Krishna Menon’s) or wrote, people stopped what they were doing and took notice. That was Dr. Tharavath Madhavan Nair, or simply TM Nair, the doctor from Malabar. Strange is the fact that Nair died from complications of the very disease, he was considered an expert on – namely, Diabetes!

Madhavan Nair belonged to the Tharavath Tharavad in Vadakkanthara, Palghat, and was born in Jan 1868 (Tirur), to Munsif Chingicham Shankaran Nair hailing from Koduvayur, and Tharavath Kummini Amma. He did his initial schooling at the Municipal High School at Palghat and proceeded on to Madras, to continue his college education where he obtained an FA from the Presidency college. Madhavan Nair's elder brother Sankaran Nair had studied law and served as Deputy Collector while his sister Taravath Ammalu Amma became a notable Sanskrit and Malayalam scholar. Deciding to become a doctor, Madhavan joined the Madras Medical College but moved on to complete the course at the University of Edinburgh where he obtained his MB&CM in 1891 and later an MD in 1896. He completed his midwifery exam in 1893 and his house surgency at the Sussex hospital in Brighton. He also spent a while in Paris and Vienna, and along the way, learned Greek and Sanskrit and specialized in the ENT field, obtaining his MS and eventually the MD.

Early on in his student days, he took to civic duties, he was a member of various associations and societies. Mastery of the pen came with his position as one of the editors of Edinburgh University Liberal's magazine "The Student". He also spent a while in London as a Secretary and later Vice-President of the London Indian Society which was led by Dadabhai Naoroji. During a decade in Britain, he became what they called, ‘a thorough gentlemen’ with poise and a great education.

The anglicized Malayali

Nair was quite adept at Sanskrit and Malayalam, but English was his natural language, especially so after the British sojourn. Karunakaran Menon explains an incident before Dr. Nair’s departure for England in 1889 when “a few of us took a group photo ... A lady in England on seeing the photo enquired whether he had been once in petticoats and on that he tore the photo to pieces not to keep it any longer, as evidence of the garb in which he had been at that time dressed.”. After his return from Britain, he spoke in public only in English, was considered an anglophile and reputed to be the first South Indian speaker who introduced the “modern style of eloquence" by which it meant he had style, force, and humor, not just rambling on for hours using flowery phrases and unintelligible words like many others did.

Nair the Doctor

As a doctor, Nair presented numerous papers and participated in many committees, represented India on numerous occasions, chaired many groups, and was considered to be the first to study diabetes and write extensively about it. It is said that his book on Diabetes is still taught at some Indian universities. His ENT clinic in Madras bustled with patients and Dr. Nair had a lucrative practice. He was involved in the study of tropical diseases (Filaria, Leprosy) while practicing in India and frequently collaborated with his counterparts in Britain, often publishing the findings. As a member of the Municipal Corporation representing Triplicane, he used to take a keen interest in public health and often referred interesting cases to his counterparts abroad. According to Deborah Brunton (Health, Disease, and Society in Europe, 1800-1930: A Source Book) TM Nair endorsed wholly Western medicine, but was critical of the British for not doing more to give – or allow- India the benefits of science and sanitation.

Return to Madras, Journalism

Writing seems to have taken a grip of him, for we see his involvement in the Kerala Patrika, a newspaper started by Kunhirama Menon supporting the national movement (he used to contribute articles while in Britain) and later in the Madras Standard, then under the editorship of Congressman G. Parameshwaran Pillai. Pillai became editor of the Madras Standard in 1892 and Nair’s friendship with Pillai perhaps influenced his championship for the rights of the lower castes and the downtrodden.

Nair as Councilor of Triplicane

Nair decided to take a plunge into the socio-political scene and was soon the councilor for Triplicane in the Madras Corporation, a position he served from 1904-1916. He gave lectures on municipal governance in 1906 and again in 1915, and in 1912 he was elected to the Madras Legislative Council.

The quality of potable water in Madras was a favorite subject of his and he often took umbrage with FC Molony who headed the Madras Corporation.  Molony was responsible for public water supply and Nair vehemently attacked the decision by Molony to supply what was known derisively as ‘Molony’s mixture’ (Molony clarifies that it was P Rajagopalachariar who coined the term) an adulterated mix of filtered and unfiltered water (i.e., the terrible stuff) to create an unpopular derivative.

Nair soon found another nemesis, Pitti Theagaroya Chetty (Chettiar), on water issues. When Nair ordered that washing of clothes in the Triplicane tank should be stopped forthwith and that the locals be taxed for maintenance, Chettiar opposed it and won the vote which ensued. Chettiar had previously wanted free water for his temple, but Nair would not allow it. Matters would have remained thus, and the two quarreled in public all the time, but finally, Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar, a forerunner in supporting the non-Brahmin community’s problems, brokered peace between the two. These three worked in tandem after this and until Nair’s death.

The working man’s friend

During the discussions around revising the Factory act, we can see Dr. Nair, representing the Indian worker, working ceaselessly as a member of the labor commission, issuing an oft-quoted and strongly critical Minute of dissent in 1908 (Parliamentary Papers, Volume 74) focusing on the medical as well as economical aspects. He complained about the poor air quality in the mills and high humidity, irking their owners, and had no qualms in stating that Indian employers fared worse (he however singles out Tata and Sons as an exemplary employer) and treated their laborers badly. Nair’s opinions, well backed up by evidence and strongly worded, were respected and taken seriously by the British, throughout his life.

Nair’s minority report and dissent note was the basis behind the final act of 1911. It resulted in many changes, securing a weekly holiday for all factory workers, restricting working hours to eleven for women, a mandatory hour and a half rest, prohibiting working women and children at night, raising the working age of children, and restricting their work hours, to name a few.

Antiseptic Magazine and Wartime work

Antiseptic, a monthly journal of medicine and surgery, the first of its kind in India, edited by him appeared in May, 1904 with Dr. U Rama Rao as its proprietor and manager. Later versions featured articles about Diabetes and other subjects, which were of high quality, often picked up by journals overseas. The magazine continued publication for almost 16 years.

TM Nair served on the hospital ship HS Madras (originally SS Tanda a steamship owned by BI Steam navigation Company to transport Chinese from Calcutta to the Far East) maintained with volunteer War funds during WW 1 as a full-time surgeon, and rendered medical service to wounded soldiers at Mombasa, Zanzibar, the Persian Gulf, and Europe, until 1915, after which he resigned and came back to Madras. His report on gunshot wounds is quite an interesting read.

Nair, Annie Besant & Leadbeater

Though a medical journal, Nair used to slip political articles into his Antiseptic magazine. Annie Besant had by this time, living in Madras and anchoring the popular Theosophical society, started championing the Home Rule for India. Her emphasis on the Brahmanical past of India, a base of the Theosophy ideology, placed her as the main opponent of the Dravidians or the non-Brahmins and started a massive political dispute. Natesan, Chettiar, but mainly Dr. Nair, spearheaded the opposition’s response.

One of the articles Dr. Nair published was about child abuse. Nair alleged that Besant’s associate Charles Webster Leadbeater imposed homosexual tendencies on some of the boys in his care, under the guise of “initiating” rites. Besant sued Nair in 1913, for defamation, but lost the case. Besant appealed to the Privy court in Britain but lost again. The story, covering Besant, Leadbeater, Narayanaih, his two sons (Jiddu Krishnamurthy the purported messiah, was one who later became famous), is a long and sordid one. Nair covered much of it in his Antiseptic magazine, later collated and published as a book. There was no love lost between Besant and Nair and they fought each other ferociously, on many fronts. One can assume that the home rule ideology met its end due to the efforts of Dr. Nair and the justice party.

Anti-Brahmin agitations, Dravidian movement

Madras at that time, had a strong Brahmin lobby, comprising three groups - namely the Mylapore, Vambakkam (relatively minor), and Egmore groups. The Mylapore Group, the strongest, comprising high profile lawyers and journalists, kept Congress in its moderate camp with regards to its political demands and manifesto. Many non-Brahmin Hindus and the depressed classes, for this reason, criticized the Indian National Congress for being the representative of Brahmin interests leading to the rise of a retaliatory faction, i.e., the Egmore Group - which took a more extremist stand on various subjects. The “Egmore group” comprised both Brahmans and non-Brahmans. C. Sankaran Nair and Dr. T. M. Nair were among many other prominent brahmins.

Dr. Nair was a regular at the Indian National Congress gatherings until 1916 starting as a volunteer, he even presided over the North Arcot Congress conference at Chittoor in 1907. However, he blamed it and the Brahmin lobby for his loss in a 1916 election (a seat to the Imperial Legislature in Delhi), due to it not backing him sufficiently. He left Congress, in a huff. Another wounded ego was that of Thiyagaraya Chettiar, who was denied a seat on the podium at a temple festival, as a lower caste, even though he had been the biggest donor for the celebration. The common grouse of both Nair and Chettiar was thus the Brahmin posturing at the prime position in the caste ladder, something they would not tolerate. Everything they did later, was to bring down the pillars of this caste hierarchy. Notwithstanding all that, Nair also cared about the common man and the Swadeshi movement was something he stood for, and in 1905, he referred to the exemplary decision by the Irish house of commons to use locally made apparel and furniture.

Even though Nair was not anti-brahmin and did admire some of their educated and good qualities, he maintained that the non-Brahmin who could be as good, or better, was unnecessarily kept down. His opinion put eloquently was – The brahmins toiled not, neither did they spin – The sweating slaves supplied them with everything, and they, in turn, cultivated spirituality. Soon Nair was frequenting stages with his popular and strident anti-Brahmin tirade which many thousands attended, which was the start of the Dravidian movement of 1916.

Nair’s tenure in the Justice party

In Nov 1916, some 30 odd leaders, including T M Nair and P Tyagaraja Chettiar, met at the Victoria Public Hall in Madras to form a joint-stock company, the South Indian People's Association, to publish newspapers in English, Telegu, and Tamil to express non-Brahman grievances. Within a month, they issued the 'Non- Brahmin Manifesto' and announced the formation of the South India Liberal Federation with explicit ideological and political lines. That was the start of the Justice Party. Nair never attacked religion but always focused on representation. Heavily funded, the party had no difficulty taking off. The party ran an English newspaper called The Justice, with Nair editing it, until his death in 1919. At that time many opined that the Justice Party was supported by Montague to get support for his reforms, and people had a feeling that the Justice party was too pro-British, augmented by the fact that Justice condoned Gen Dyer for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and also opposed non-cooperation. The Justice Party also supported the relative continuance of British rule in return for a proportionate reservation of seats in the Madras Legislative Council. Even though they did a lot of good for the local non-Brahmin populace, they were often accused to be British puppets, and in nonconformance with the national movements led by Congress.

Montford reforms

Dr. Nair was the only non-Brahman leader who made a strong impression on Montagu. Montagu concluded that Dr. Nair was “most eloquent, rather impressive, and a vigorous personality, but he has obviously got a bee in his bonnet, because he explained that the Home Rule movement was financed by German money, nevertheless pointing out that he was very fierce on communal representation. Montford reforms – a usage coined by Nair (Montague Chelmsford) covering the introduction of self-governing institutions, gradually in British India, was not very popular upon release and felt to be insignificant. Nair did not agree to its meager non-brahmin representation and eventually got a chance to go and argue his case in Britain, in 1918. His connections with Britain and his ability to speak forcibly were of critical importance in the demand for communal representation from Parliament, and the reason for the party’s choice as their spokesman.

A furor erupted when he was issued a passport - Tilak was not issued a passport, but Nair was, resulting in rumors that it was because the Justice party supported the British. A new report said – The Government had granted a passport to, of all persons - Dr. T. M. Nair, the anti home ruler, the political renegade, on the allegation that he (the sturdy, stalwart, stupendous Madras doctor) had become such a physical wreck - as to require attention in Britain. The British administration clarified that they granted it only due to health reasons. In reality, he was in poor health and suffering badly as a result of advanced diabetes.

Final visit to Britain, death

Nair’s trip to London in 1918 was a success, he spoke well and his arguments were listened to carefully. Upon his return to Madras, he was convinced that modified reforms would pass.  But the situation did not change and the representation demands did not pan out.  Things went from bad to worse and Nair was deputed again to go to London and argue the case. Nair quite ill by now knew that his return to India from that trip was no longer certain. On reaching London, preparations for the speech started, Nair finalized the draft and provided key contact details to his team, as his health was failing rapidly.  Eventually, he passed away in his sleep, on July 18^th, 1919, and was cremated at Golden Green. KPS Menon studying at Oxford attended. Many obituaries were written, and his passing left the Justice party rudderless, for a time.

It was during the 1918 trip that KM Panikkar, then studying at Oxford, met him. He records this in his autobiography - Dr T. M. Nair was a very different type. There never was a manlier Malayali. A leonine face, a long curving moustache, massive chest, a somewhat portly figure and powerful arms made up his impressive physical presence. His intellect and powers of expression were equally uncommon. One had only to talk to him for a couple of minutes to fall under his spell. In the most eminent company. he achieved effortless primacy. I have never seen an Indian to equal him as a conversationalist. Although T. M. Nair achieved fame as a skilled physician, his astonishing intellect could master any subject with equal ease. As leader of the Madras Corporation, he was ready to discuss engineering with engineer and law with lawyers. In civic administration, he had no peer in South India. As an editor and orator, he was matchless. Above all, he was eminently sociable. He was a connoisseur of food and drink, with unerring taste for wine, tobacco and good cuisine. A bon vivant, Nair was always open-handed with his money. In spite of this cosmopolitanism, Dr Nair never ceased to be a Malayali and I have often heard him quote Nambiar and Ezhuthachan in conversation. People remember him today as the founder and leader of the non-Brahmin movement. Although the force of the movement has now waned, T. M. Nair will not be forgotten by Madras. Nair had come to London to lobby against the Montague-Chelmsford reforms. Although I had no sympathy for his views, I was eager to meet such an eminent personality. I was introduced to him by Sir Frank Brown, an assistant editor of The Times. We were close friends for about three or four months and I used to meet Dr Nair almost daily in the period just before my return to India. He returned to India a month after I did, but ironically, we were not able to meet in India.

Post Nair years – Justice Party

After his death, the party declined to cooperate with the Southborough committee which had been appointed to draw up the franchise framework for the proposed reforms, due to Brahmin presence in the committee. After negotiations, a compromise ("Meston's Award") was reached in 1920. 28 of the 63 general seats in plural member constituencies were eventually reserved for non-Brahmins.

The Government of India Act 1919 implemented the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms, instituting a Diarchy in Madras Presidency.  The diarchal period extended from 1920 to 1937, encompassing five elections. Justice party remained in power for 13 of 17 years, save an interlude 1926–30. After Justice won the election and got into power, they initiated several egalitarian moves such as the upliftment of women and the marginalized, access to water (for the lower castes) from public ponds, women’s suffrage, abolishment of the Devadasi system, regulation of college admissions, etc.

Nevertheless, many of Dr. Nair’s ideals were forgotten after his death. Social injustice perhaps dropped lower in the list of concerns, and party infighting ensued. Neither Brahmins nor Muslims supported Justice and membership declined when some lower castes also left the party in a huff. Eventually, the party was voted out of power and remained in the political wilderness until the arrival of Periyar EV Ramasamy in 1938 who transformed it into the Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944. 

Though there are roads, medals, and schools, still around, instituted in Nair’s honor, nobody quite connects those to the persona who once was a byword in Madras. In his heydays, any luminary visiting Madras made it a point to call on him and a notable mention is that of the great painter Ravi Varma and his uncle, who called on him often when they visited Madras in 1902, recording the event. Many papers and booklets authored by him are testament to his brilliant mind, medical, social or political.

Kerala forgot Dr. Nair a long time ago and only a few in Palghat still connect to the name. The Tharavath home is a Kalyana mandapam these days. But I think this essay may go on to remind some that a great man once lived a short life, fought for the repressed and for their equality, always standing up and talking to the British, on equal terms.

Major References
Politics and Social Conflict in South India - By Eugene F. Irschick
The Justice party – Dr P Rajaram
Parliamentary Papers, Volume 74
The non-Brahmin movement and Dr. T.M. Nair – T.P Sankarankutty Nair
Dictionary of national biography vol.3, TM Nair – TK Ravindran
An Autobiography - KM Panikkar

Intach Palghat - Arun - for articles on TM Nair ( K Vipinkumar) and RK Pillai (V Shanmugha Das)

On a lighter vein

AV Menon contributing to a Khushwant Singh’s joke book has this to add - Dr. T. M. Nair, a well-known politician of Madras of the early nineties, while in London used to frequent a particular pub in the East End. His usual drink was a cocktail of vermouth and gin, the code word for which between, his regular waiter and himself was ‘virgin’. Once in the absence of the regular waiter, the one substituting for him came to take Dr. Nair's orders. "The usual virgin", Dr. Nair said. After a minute or two, the waiter came back and whispered into the ear of his client, "One cannot be found in London at present, Sir."

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Nayadis – An accursed lot from the Malabar of Yore

The Nayadi has always remained a constant reminder of the still prevalent caste rigidity in Kerala. I recall the visits to our ancestral home at Palghat and to this day, the guttural howls of the invisible Nayadi, begging for alms, resonate in the deep recesses of my mind. We would hear the plaintive cry announcing his arrival, the Nayadi would then run and hide in the bushes near our homestead, waiting for his alms. A servant from the kitchen would be tasked to deposit some gruel, rice, and other grains into his bowl, which she would quickly do and hasten back to the kitchen. He would trudge away, to the next homestead, a little distance away, to continue the begging rounds. It would repeat the next day, and the day after, for the Nayadi was not permitted to do anything else, all he could do was beg. Tragically, even after many from the lower castes managed to blur the caste borders and come up in this modern world, the Nayadi still remained at the bottom rung or even below it, as always, wallowing in the muck.

Swami Vivekananda visiting Kerala, after meeting Dr Palpu in 1892, compared it to a “lunatic asylum'' because of the all prevalent and oppressive caste system existing since the early medieval. I had written about this earlier (see link). He added - What inference would you draw except that these Malabaris are all lunatics, their homes so many lunatic asylums, and that they are to be treated with derision by every race in India until they mend their manners and know better. A district collector of Malabar TB Russel concurred - Nowhere in India, perhaps nowhere in the world, are the distinctions of class insisted upon so stringently as in Malabar. If one admires her aristocratic traditions, it is at the same time permissible to criticize her innate snobbery. Namputiri, Nayar, Tiyan, Cheruman, Nayadi, one has but to mention the names to realize how intolerant the one class is of the next below it and how that class keeps up the traditions by its intolerance of the next, until at last we get to the unfortunate Nayadi who has nobody but animals to look down upon.

Getting back to Palghat and our childhood - We children would still rush out despite dire warnings from the elders not to, for the Nayadi was not just untouchable, but also one you should not look at. Almost always there would be nobody around the gate, and he would be hiding. We would get admonished severely, and ordered never to repeat the attempt. Later after the coast was clear, the Nayadi would come and pick up his bowl. One day I did see the chap, he was no different from anybody else. A bit darker from all the wandering around in the sun and rather disheveled in looks & attire (a single tattered towel round the waist) that was it. If you did wonder if I suffered from any ill luck after seeing him, let me assure you, none at all...

Now how and why did the Nayadis become an untouchable and an un-seeable community? Let’s find out a bit about them, drawing from the seminal anthropological research conducted by Dr A. Aiyappan, over eight decades ago. Interestingly while some anthropologists believe them to be a regular hill tribe, hunters by nature, many a legend connect their origin to outcaste Namboothiri’s who intermixed with hill settlers, eons ago.

Let’s, therefore, start to check out some of those legends, by going to a Malabar which Dr Aiyappan describes using a proverb- Malabar was a heaven for the Brahmins, but a hell for others – where at the turn of the 20th century, the weight of caste tyranny on the lower castes was the severest. It was a time where the motto of the native rulers was primarily to protect the Brahmins and the cows, but leave all others to flounder and wallow, in their dirt.

Most early references point out that they were hunters and even though a pollution distance had to be kept between them and the upper castes, they did accompany them for hunts deep in the jungles of Malabar, closest to the hills. One of the first Europeans to work with them effectively was the eminent Thomas Baber who used them as runners and trackers, for his hunts. Welsh writing about them (but terming them Nairee - I.e., Naidee) – explain they hardly wore any clothes, had no houses, and spoke an unintelligible dialect. He names two Nayadis named Kelu and Kannan who accompanied Baber as bushmen in those jungle hunts. Francis Buchanan one of the earliest to mention them said - A wretched tribe of this kind buffeted and abused by everyone, subsisting on the labour of the industrious is a disgrace to any country; and both compassion and justice demand that they should be compelled to gain a livelihood by honest industry and be elevated somewhat more nearly to the rank of men.

In 1931, there were just about 600 Nayadis in Malabar, one among the 16 hill tribes and loosely grouped as one of the four Nattu Neechanmaar, the others being Parayas, Pulayas and Ulladans. Over time, the Ulladans and the Nayadis got mixed up in studies, though they are quite different and keep apart from each other, never inter-dining or inter-marrying. They fall below the Cherumars in the caste hierarchy and used to add the word Molayan (Muttappan for Izhuvas, Thampuran for Nairs) to the Cheruman’s name as a mark of respect, while calling them. The Nayadis eat food cooked by Cherumars, but not by the Parayas since Parayas eat carrion or meat of dead animals. The Keralolpatti also terms the Nayadis as Chandalas, but this is incorrect - for a Chandala is the offspring, where the mother is of a higher caste than the father. The lower castes of Malabar do not meet this definition and cannot, therefore, be termed Chandalas, though that is how they were termed. Some historic mentions say the name comes from ‘dog (naya) eaters’ which is quite incorrect for they do not eat dogs, while others connect it to Nayattu or hunting. Rat catching, quite important in Palghat due to paddy cultivation, is a profitable occupation for the Nayadis. Rats are caught from the mounds or nadavarambu’s separating the fields, quite critical before the harvests.

Almost all stories of their origin point to Nambudiri outcastes. There is the story of the Namboothiri marrying the Malayan girl and the resulting progeny becoming the Nayadis. Another relates to a Namboothiri who would not bathe in the pond with his caste brethren, resulting in them outcaste-ing him, and one mentioning a Namboothiri lost and hungry in the forest, eating a mango which had been half-eaten by a monkey, resulting in his ex-communication – all resulting in them founding the Nayadi tribe. Another curious story mentions that an excommunicated Namboothiri in one legend was asked to stand on one leg to expiate his sins and for that reason, many Nayadis can be seen standing on one leg! Then also the legend of a few Namboothiri’s who were expert archers (in the past they too bore arms, not just Kshatriyas) and killed a number of animals wantonly, after which the society excommunicated them, and thus came about the Nayadi tribe of hunters! Finally, there is the mention that the Ulladan tribe was connected to a Namboodiri girl who had once been excommunicated for adultery. While all of these are extant, the general opinion is that they were one of the aborigine peoples from the Western Ghats. Perhaps there is some truth about Namboodiri exiles intermingling with these tribes, for the rest of their lives. Of course, one may ask why upper-caste intermingling did not improve the linguistic and other abilities of the entire community, for which I do not have a satisfactory answer. But it is also felt that the Nayadis by virtue of their eating habits are considered the Brahmins among chandalas, and that the term illam used for their houses, signifies some higher caste connections!

The story of Palghat Iyers is also connected to the Nayadis, a very interesting tale narrated by the eminent LS Rajagopalan. As the story goes, the Palghat Raja is enamored seeing a pretty Nayadi girl and desires her. The minister sets up a physical tryst at a distant hunting lodge between the Nayadi and the king on condition that the room is pitch dark, that they do not speak, and goes on to surreptitiously arrange for the king’s wife to be in position (not the Nayadi girl), so as to avoid terrible repercussions.  The king has a satisfactory session and the following day, the minister explains what happened. But the king feels terribly guilty saying that in his own mind, he had the physical liaison with the Nayadi girl (the mental feeling was in his opinion more important) and so he did not any longer have the right to enter the Hemambika temple again, before sitting on the throne, like he did traditionally every day. Word spread that the king would not enter the temple, and eventually, the Namboothiri priests protest and left Palghat en-masse. That apparently was the reason why the Raja and the minister invited Iyers from Tanjore to come and take care of the priestly work. Thus, came about the PI migration to Palghat.

An interesting case in 1802 is narrated at the Namboothiri’s site where two Namboothiri lads under trial for a caste issue decided to approach their high priests to get to a verdict. The decision was that they could either become Chakiars, or prove their innocence through the oil ordeal. The younger opted to be a Chakiar, but the elder one was ready for the trial, even though failure would mean becoming an out-caste Nayadi, quite humiliating in those days. During the Kaimukkal, Narayanan Nambuthiripad’s palm did not get burnt, though some nearby persons did get burns as he shook his hand after removing the silver ox replica from the boiling ghee. Thus, he proved his innocence and avoided being ex-communicated. So, it is quite clear that the outcasted Namboothiri could end up as a Nayadi and I guess you can now understand the absolute fear and terror, a person from the upper castes had when it came to ex-communication and outcaste-ing.

Going back to pre-British times, we can note from one Keralolpatti, that hunting is the profession allotted by Sankara to the Nayadis, though as time went by, they hardly hunted on their own and served as beaters in hunting parties organized by upper castes. It is mentioned that their skill as beaters and trackers was excellent and that they manufacture top-class hunter’s ropes. On can even note that their hunting songs induced sleep in wild boars and other game animals. The Malaidaivam protected them from carnivorous wild animals like the tigers and the Nayadi’s usually worshipped Sasta or Ayyappan (Aiyanar). An old record adds – The distribution of the meat of the game killed is a formal matter and has to be done in the manner traditionally prescribed. In the Walluvanad taluk, the head of the animal is given to the villagers, one of the hindquarters to the Nayadis, the other to the Nayar chief of the locality, one of the sides to the man who shot the animal first, the other to the person who shot it second, if a second shot was needed. Some meat is also given to the carpenter and blacksmith of the village. What remains is given to the other people who partook in the hunt. The urpalli (a place in the jungle duly consecrated to the hunting deity Ayyan or Ayyappan) was the place where by custom, the game must be broken up, as above.

As time went by and the caste lines became even more rigid, the Nayadis found menial work in Moplah and Christian homes, out of necessity. In Valluvanad, the Thindal Para (Pollution rock) half a mile away from the village, could not be crossed by the Nayadi. If at all you saw one or were polluted, you had a tough time - you should bathe in seven streams and seven tanks, and then let out a few drops of blood from a little finger! Just imagine, the Nayadi had to maintain 74-124’, the Cheruman 64’, the Izhuvan or Tiya 32’ and the Nairs 7’ from a Nambuthiri in those days, to avoid pollution! The Nayadi could not use roads used by others or bathe in a pond used by others, lest it lose its purificatory power! The Pulapidi tradition, connected to them, as related to stealing high caste babies and girls (duly noted by Barbosa) during a certain month in the year, is a topic which I will take up, separately.

Now seen mostly around Palghat (there were also a few in old Travancore), they have little work to do other than make ropes and other minor artifacts for sale, but begging is usually their mainstay. They lived in their illams – mostly hovels, with their Mannu (stone objects for worship) and small joint families in tow. Most anthropologists note their free and easy communication across generations, without strains of age and unnecessary respect. A document of 1924 accounted that they cover their nakedness by tying around the waist strings of leaves and plants. They even wrote about the fact that Nayadi husbands and wives (Nayadichi’s) went together to a toddy shop to drink. They had a Moota Nayadi to take care of law, order, and administration. In the old times, the Nayadis were spread across 18 nadus and the Moota Nayadi, was a hereditary head ruling over them. Interestingly, Nayadis of yore buried their dead (but elderly dead are sometimes cremated) and their marriage ceremony was more like a formal business transaction. They believe in the existence of the spirits of the dead and in some places the community elder is called a Samutiri (like the Zamorin). As we noted previously, they worshiped the Malai deivam, their elders (Muthappan), Bhagavati and Ayappan (Shastan or Chattan). In the old times, they were also credited with the knowledge of black magic.

Special days are fixed for giving charity to the Nayadis as we can take note—Saturdays and Wednesdays in the Palghat taluk, Fridays in other parts of Malabar. In addition to these, there are also special days such as the twelfth days of both the waxing and waning phases of the moon, and important festive days such as the Onam Vishu etc. When it comes to begging which was their main trade, we can see that he stands at a great distance from each house to which he goes and cries out ‘Tamprane, Tamprane’ (Oh Lord, Oh! Lord) in his loud voice till one of the inmates hears him and brings something for him; it may be a couple of handfuls of husked or unhusked rice, while he remains hiding. The Nayadis remember the asterisms under which all the important men and women of their particular villages were born and have a wonderful memory of them. When a child is born, they enquire and make mental notes of its name, the star under which it was born, etc. In the following year they remember to visit the house and standing at the usual distance cry out, “Today is the birthday of so-and-so. May the little tampran live long.”

Of greater importance economically to the Nayadis are the gifts which are given them to ward off death. Such gifts arc known as kala-danam, Kala being the god of death. The hour of death is supposed to be presided over by Gulika, the son of Saturn and the object of the offerings made to the Nayadis is to avoid death by placating Gulika, Saturn, and other demons.

Joseph Mullens writing about the Missions in S India states - A humane gentleman, of the name of Conolly, deeply sympathized with the miserable condition of the Nayadis, in the forests beyond Ponnani. Mr. Conolly applied to the Basel Mission for assistance around 1850, and Missionary Fritz was sent to the chief town of Malabar, and a native catechist stationed among the Nayadis. These poor people rank in the community even below purchased slaves. They live only in the jungle, like wild animals, they sleep in the branches of trees, and at the most only build the poorest hut for themselves. They are looked upon by other branches of the community with the greatest contempt. If a Brahmin comes in their way, they must move off at least sixteen paces; and they must never dare to touch any one of a superior caste. Mr. Conolly formed a plan for drawing some of this degraded class within the bounds of civilization. He built them (at Kodakal) houses, set apart some ground for them, and gave them fields to cultivate. The Government after a time relinquished this effort, and the Basel missionaries took it up. They persevered in spite of the almost hopeless apathy and idleness of their protégés, and at last two or three were baptized. The Mussulmans, however, some three years back, made up their minds to proselytize the little colony. Suddenly the whole of the people left, with the exception of the three converts, and were received into the Moplah community. Quite a few of them subsequently became capped or Toppiyitta Nayadis.

As time went by, reclamation and rehabilitation schemes by successive governments helped the small community survive and develop, albeit slowly. Colonies at Kunnamkulam, Olavakkot, Kuzhalmannam, Manjeri and Chaliyam resettled them with some other lower castes. At Kuzhalmannam however, the other lower-caste communities refused to mingle with the Nayadis and finally one Mr Carleston who formed the ‘Carleston Nayadi home’ at Kuzhalmannam - Palghat, issued a proclamation in 1932 which formalized some rights for them, for the very first time.

The Right of the Nayadis. Not being certain that the recent Government Order establishing the rights of the Nayadis has been brought to the notice of all the public, we hereby make it known to everyone:  The Nayadis have as much right of using public roads, market places and other public buildings as any other castes, and anyone who interferes with their right will be liable for criminal action.

Along the way many social reformers took note of them, though nobody did more than Dr A Aiyappan, who penned his seminal study about them, visiting each and every Nayadi settlement and home in Malabar. Earlier we saw how TH Baber tried to do some service to them, employing a few as runners in his hunts, then we saw how HV Conolly tried to help them by creating a settlement close to Calicut, but that experiment failed when these Nayadis were wooed into the fold of Islam. The story of the Tiyya doctor, Dewan Bahadur Dr K Krishnan who was appointed to Palghat may be recalled by some, where the upper castes of Palghat strenuously objected to his appointment as a government apothecary, and how he later worked tirelessly for the Nayadis pf Palghat.

Gandhiji had this to say (Jan 10th 1934 when he visited Kuzhalmannam -Palghat) - "Early in the morning, I entered Malabar—with due deference to our friends who call themselves sanatanists—the land of iniquities. As I was passing by familiar places, the face of a solitary Nayadi, whom I had seen during the previous visit, rose before my eyes. It was about ten or eleven in the morning when, in the midst of a discussion about untouchability, and unapproachability and invisibility, all forms of which are found in no part of the world except in Malabar, a shrill voice was heard. Those who were talking to me said, 'We can show you a live Nayadi.' The public road was not for him. Unshod he was walking across the fields with a noiseless tread. I went out with my friends and saw the Nayadi. I requested him to come and talk to me. Evidently, he was frightened and he did not know when a blow would descend upon him.

The previous 1927 visit to Palghat diary record mentioned Gandhi saying - Within an hour after we reached Palghat, Mr. C. Rajagopalachari came to me and asked me whether I was hearing any strange sounds. I told him, yes. And he straightway asked me whether I knew what it was. He told me that that was the voice of a Nayadi. On hearing that he was within a stone's throw I hastened out to see who this man could be, who was making all that sound. He was not walking along the road, but he was at some distance from the hedge that guarded the road. I asked him to come near and he came near but not at the roadside of the hedge and told me that he dared not come on the roadside.

Tremblingly he talked to me. I told him that the public road was as much for him as for me. He exclaimed, 'It cannot be so; I may not walk on the public road.' I close that scene and ask the sanatanists or anybody else to show me the authority in defense of this inhuman conduct. You will find me smiling with you, laughing with you, and cracking jokes with you, but you may also know that, behind all these jokes and smiles and laughs, the face of the Nayadi and that scene will keep haunting me throughout my tour in Malabar.

He added though, the solemn message - "I have come to Malabar to speak out of the very depths of my soul. There are many things in Malabar over which, as you know, I have gone into raptures. You have here scenery which is second to none in the world. Man, if he behaves himself, can live an easy life in Malabar. Woman in Malabar is the freest in India. All the women I have seen in Malabar have a majesty which has commanded my respect. But there is nothing to be proud of in the Malabar untouchability. It is the vilest thing on earth. I want you to wipe out this shame of untouchability from Malabar. If you can do it, the whole of India naturally will follow; and you can do it if you will. I have entered Malabar in high hope. It is for you to fulfill it or frustrate it. Only write down this prophecy of mine in your hearts that, if untouchability as we practice it today lives, Hinduism perishes”.

It was around 1930 that a young Nayadi of the Olavakkot colony, Teyyan by name was appointed as an 'attender' in the court of the District Munsif of Palghat and went on to do well. Needless to mention that he had a very tough time and was almost always shunned by others at the court. Nevertheless, other Nayadis followed his example, gave up begging and got into government jobs.  Today even though there is some amount of acceptance, you will still come across Nayadi beggars, and most of the 2,000 -5,000 large community is struggling to get along, fighting with marginalization, alcoholism, and what not. Sadly, it may take centuries before they are fully integrated into the larger community.

No writing about the Nayadi community would surpass the lovely novel (based on real incidents), titled Nooru Simhasanangal (One Hundred Thrones) penned by B Jeyamohan, who retells powerfully, the story of a Nayadi Civil services officer named Kappan and his travails. The administrative officer who comes up in life, is later well established in society, becomes a family man, but has a turbulent relationship with his unbalanced mother who refuses to leave begging, her lowly traditions and fears society. The short read will stir your conscience without doubt and introduce you to the yawning disparity between the Nayadi community and the rest of nation. It is available online and I would encourage anyone who can read Malayalam, to read it. It is most of all, a study in humanity, if not anything else, and will remain deeply etched in your mind, for a long time.

Thank you Jeymohan, for writing it.

References
Social and physical anthropology of the Nayadis of Malabar - A. Aiyappan (Dec 1937)
Prachina Kauthuma traditions of south India: letters from L. S. Rajagopalan, 1985-1988 - Wayne Howard
Mahatma - Volume 3 [1930-1934]- D. G. Tendulkar
Continuing untouchability: the case of Nayadis of Kerala – K Rajan
Nooru Simhasananagal – B Jeymohan (a novel without copyright)

Nooru Simhasanangal – Audiobook (if you can understand, but do not read Malayalam)
Episode 1 
Episode 2 
Episode 3 
Episode 4 

Videos
A documentary
Their dances 
Their music 

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K Sankaran Nair – The legendary spymaster of RAW

Shanks - The sleuth from Ottapalam

This is another name most of you may not have come across, Sankaran Nair was the man who headed RAW some time ago, the very man who left the unit in a huff after a tiff with Morarji Desai. Today you can switch on Hotstar and watch a debonair Kay Kay Menon play the role of the sleuth named Himmat Singh (Tele Series – Special Op’s), a RAW section head with a large overdraft account, totally at home with the latest technology and taking on the Pakistan ISI. Should you ask KayKay if he knew KS Nair, he might even be flummoxed. Anyway, I will try to fill you in on some background about Nair as we go through interesting high-profile cases involving him such as the Kahuta affair (which Morarji botched up during his loose and indiscrete chat with Zia) and the liberation of Bangladesh. It would be fitting, for this is the 50^th year anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation.

Nair, never mincing words or wanting to paint a picture of his larger-than-life, had this to say about himself (after Dryden) – I have been a cop, a spook, and ambassador, but mostly a buffoon, I guess!

Kinattinkara Sankaran Nair, the man who so desperately wanted to join the ICS, but could not clear the exams even after two attempts, later went on to excel working for the police and win a Medal for Meritorious Service. Why on earth would he use the operational cover name Col Menon? All of these present an interesting story, the story of a proud and self-righteous man who served many bureaucrats, but on his terms while sleuthing in the IB and later for the Indian Research and analysis wing - R&AW.

Born on 20^th Dec 1920, (101 years ago to the day, as I post this) to Lakshmikutty Amma and Narayanan Nair, Sankaran Nair schooled in Convent schools at Trichy, Vizag, Cannanore, and Madras, but had to abandon plans of getting into the merchant navy through HMS Dufferin (negated by parents), before joining for higher studies at the Loyola college Madras, and later graduating from the Law college, around 1942. Many luminaries like Bobby Mugaseth, the Calicut Parsi, and Manek Cashu Dadabhoy, later Bobby’s brother-in-law (their story is beautifully narrated by Raghu Karnad in his fascinating book - Farthest field), Lambert Franklin, P Mukundan, and so on were his batch mates. Meanwhile, Sankaran Nair’s fleeting mind tried to take him to different vocations - a pilot (was negated by his mother), then an engineer which he himself gave up due to its math requirements. Not a bookish youngster, Nair was a keen cricket player, captaining Loyola.

Nair joined the Imperial police at Vellore, after failing to secure an ICS spot despite multiple attempts, moving on to become an Assistant superintendent in 1942. Pretty soon this tough cop was serving in Andhra, as the DSP for East Godavari and earning a ‘tough cop’ name after the capture of a number of criminals and Maoists using unique and sometimes very direct methods, instilling fear in a hitherto lawless territory.

By 1950, he was bound for Delhi, to serve under Bhola Nath Mullick in the IB – Intelligence Bureau (it was previously the Thugee office!), having been promised a post in Paris. That was not to happen and Mullick tried to move him to Burma which Nair refused demanding that he be sent back to the police cadre at Madras. After some years, he was deputed to create an intelligence agency in Ghana, when his predecessor and confidante Ramji N Kao had given him the required fillip. Returning to Delhi in 1963, he took over the Pakistani desk at the IB and was soon an authority on the ways and happenings across the borders, working through a network of informers.

During the 1965 war, Nair informed the army about the extra armored division Pakistan had secreted (without US knowledge) as well as other details of the impending assault, but the top brass refused to believe the IB report (commenting that Patton tanks can’t operate in sandy areas). According to Yadav’s book, it was only due to the bravery of other officers who defied the general, that a debacle like 1962 did not occur, when the tanks appeared. After the 1965 war, when an attempt was made to discredit him, but Nair was not cowed (or flattened like VK Krishna Menon had been), he sent copies of the 65 reports he had provided, to the PMO, disproving them.

In 1968, the R&AW was formed and he moved along with Kao as his deputy there. His work in RAW has been chronicled by his peers and successors, in many an article and a few books. Nair’s involvement in uncovering Pakistan’s nuclear research at Kahuta, obtaining the advance information of Pakistan’s bombing plans in Dec 71, the training and arming of the Mukti Bahni as a prequel to the 1971 war of liberation, are just some of the feathers in his cap. Nevertheless, due to personal differences with Sanjay Gandhi, he was not chosen as the successor of Kao and one Shive Mathur took his place.

But when Morarji Desai managed to finally plant himself in the PM’s chair, Nair faced a multitude of problems. First, he, Kao and the RAW was accused of being the hammers for Indira Gandhi during the emergency. Furthermore, Morarji was hell bent on finding dirt on Indira, digging deep to uncover apparent mismanagement of funds, if only for political purposes. The very same Morarji who had scuttled any chance of strengthening the Indian army by denying them the required financial budget before the 1962 China war, was back with a vengeance against the Congress.

Nair headed the RAW for just 3 months in 1977 after Kao’s retirement, before Morarji hounded him out and decimated the rank and lines of the RAW. Nair’s involvement in ‘Operation Casino’ identifying the kickbacks, so also his refusal to close down operations abroad including Pakistan as ordered by Morarji, resulted in the furious PM demoting Nair. That was the last straw and the illustrious spymaster left RAW for good, in 1978. However, Nair did play a smaller role in restructuring R&AW after the return of Indira Gandhi to power in 1980.

A number of lesser posts followed, but at each juncture, he refused to tread established lines and support sycophancy. He worked with the minorities commission, and finally with the organization of the Asian games 1981-82 skillfully and received a Padma Bhushan for it. His last posting was as the high commissioner of Singapore. By 1988 he had retired and moved first to London and thence to Bangalore, and after a lonely period and undergoing two bypass surgeries, Nair passed away in 2015, aged 96.  Seeing Kashmir getting manipulated to become a hotbed for insurgents, the Kargil conflict in 1999, followed by the 2002 parliament attack, and later the 2008 Mumbai attacks, were all events that would have got this aging snoop, furious.

Many of his action-filled days are fleetingly mentioned in his own memoirs, bereft of any details, so also in the book on Kao and in the few on the RAW itself by others. In almost all of them, Nair is a shadow, Col Menon, behind the curtain. So many interesting personnel passed by through those pages as I perused them, one being the senior police officer Eric Stracey whom I had mentioned in a previous article (the article about Cyril Stracey). Other interesting events dot his memoirs,  his attempts at learning how to glide, his fondness for Siamese cats, and how golfing became a passion.

Let’s now see how he and his team engineered some of the more famous intelligence coups of his life, though one must note these things are never individual exploits and that one’s actual role is in later accounts is always quite diffused. But as Raman introduces him, this suave, blunt in words and ‘hard-hitting in action’ RAW officer, was well respected and considered a master of HUMINT. As the years rolled by, as TECHINT and ELINT took over, technology exchanged places with brave humans out in the field, though wisely not replacing them entirely. It was no longer Nair’s domain, and his move out, perhaps a wise choice.

The arming of the Mukti Bahni and the Agartala Case

The role of Indian intelligence in the Agartala case which was a prelude to the 1971 war and the liberation of Bangladesh is briefly known, though not necessarily the R&AW machinations behind the scenes. The key person who worked behind the scenes in 1967, before the uncovering of the case, the elusive Colonel Menon, was none other than Sankaran Nair. A meeting was convened in Agartala sometime in 1962-63, between the IB foreign desk operatives and the Mujib faction. The Bangla group indicated to ‘Col Menon that the ‘group’ was eager to escalate their movement. Nair and his team thus became involved with organizing the arming and training of the Mukti Bahni.  Working under the cover of Col. Menon, he succeeded in creating a group comprising a few Bangladeshi Navy employees as well as other activists of the Awami League. Nair was planning the next step of arming them, but these agents in a moment of unnecessary haste tried to raid the Pakistan Army armory on their own. They were arrested and a sedition case named the Agartala Case was registered. Directly implicating Mujibur Rehman later in 1968 was a ploy engineered by Ayub Khan the Pakistani PM. This was later dubbed as the Agartala Conspiracy Case. The case was later withdrawn on 22 February 1969, after one of the accused, Sgt. Zahurul Haq of the air force was shot dead in prison. Nair admitted to handling various agents during the Bangladesh freedom struggle but reconfirmed that he never met Sheikh Mujib, famously known as Bangabandhu.

The case had huge repercussions. Some 1,500 Bengalis were arrested in this connection. The West Pakistani government’s keenness to prove that Sheikh Mujib was an Indian agent and a separatist backfired and a mass movement erupted demanding immediate withdrawal of the case and the release of all prisoners. The news of the killing of air force officer Sgt. Zahurul Haq led to riots and eventually, the government withdrew the case.

R Yadav in his book states - Sankaran Nair was working undercover as Col. Menon. Nair confirmed that P.N.Ojha, a Deputy Central Intelligence Officer of IB was his junior who was interacting with these East Pakistanis which included some Navy employees, Police officers and some political activists of Awami League party. Nair met these agents on border near Agartala few months prior to their arrest in East Pakistan. These agents were warned by Nair not to raid the armory to capture arms from the Pakistan Army, which they did after some time. Rather, Nair suggested to them that IB would send arms to them on a barge down the river from Agartala and they could collect these arms at suitable destinations for the insurgency against Pakistan Army. Nair also suggested them some separate ideas for their insurgent activities but they were aggressive and wanted some immediate action against the Pakistan Army. They ignored the warning of Nair and raided the armory which resulted in their subsequent arrest and this sedition case named as Agartala Conspiracy case was filed against them by the Pakistan Government.

Yahya Khan took over, became the dictator of Pakistan, and surprisingly held open elections only to find the rebel Mujibur Rehman winning most of the seats, 141 of them and talking about secession from West Pakistan.  Not something they or friends from the Western world wanted. Yahya ordered the terrible operations - Blitz and later Searchlight in East Pakistan, to suppress dissent using the army, which led to many atrocities, massacres, and a massive exodus of some 10 million refugees into India.

At that point in time, the R&AW team again provided intelligence to the insurgency’s policymakers, training the freedom fighters and creating training camps, also publicizing the Pakistani massacres and the plight of the refugees and supplying rebels the Mukti Bahni, with small and medium weapons. All-out war between India and Pakistan, to liberate Bangladesh, then took place in 1971.

Incidentally, the involvement of MKB Nair in Bangladesh is sometimes confused with SK Nair’s (both were RAW officers) role. Brigadier MBK Nair was the head of RAW’s technical division. According to Yadav - Brig. Nair opened many monitoring stations of R&AW at these check-posts and inside the Pakistani territory also to provide speedy information to the Calcutta office of R&AW and to its headquarters in New Delhi about the training of Mukti Bahini cadres and movement and action of the Pakistan Army. R&AW prepared a technical network and encircled East Pakistan on all vantage points which proved of strategic importance for the phase one action, to train the insurgents, of the Indian Government and ultimately in the decisive liberation war of December 1971.

Pakistani Mole handler – The Dec 1^st SNAFU

Nair, as we read before, was in charge of the Pakistan desk while at the IB. He had built up a network of moles and informers within Pakistan and during the tense situation in 1971, he received word from a mole in the last week of November 1971, that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) intended to launch a pre-emptive strike on Indian airbases during the evening of December 1st. Nair sent the words to the high command but nothing untoward happened on the 1st nor the 2nd. An irritated IAF, having kept the pilots on high alert for 48 hours wanted to call it off, but Nair asked them to hold on since he was quite sure that the attack was coming.

The Pakistani’s launched their attack on the evening of December 3rd, which was quickly thwarted by the IAF who had been waiting. It was later discovered that the coded message from the mole had stated the date as December 3rd, but the decoders in the R&AW headquarters had incorrectly decoded it as December 1st!

The Kahuta affair

Kahuta in Rawalpindi was where Project 706 i.e., the Khan laboratories were set up to develop Pakistan’s enrichment units between 1972-1983. When Pakistan started to stockpile Uranium, the US responded with sanctions, but with the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, the US needed Pakistani support to reduce any communist insurgency. Even though Pakistan crossed the enrichment threshold with Chinese assistance in 1980, it was not until much later in the 90’s, i.e., after the Russian withdrawal, that the US reimposed wide-ranging sanctions.

As the story goes, RAW operatives in Pakistan obtained leads about the Kahuta facility and were surveilling scientists. They collected hair samples from local barbershops which were frequented by these scientists and got the samples across the border to India. Test results proved that these samples exhibited radiation making it clear that Pakistan was operating centrifuges.

Tragically this coincided with the fall of the Indira Gandhi government and the arrival of Morarji on the scene. Kao was gone, and soon Nair followed his steps, leaving the R&AW for good. The new government did not support further steps. Morarji did not want any interference in Pakistani internal affairs and denied support. Also, in an unguarded moment when talking to Zia ul Haq, Morarji Desai revealed that India was aware of the enrichment happening at the Kahuta facility. This had disastrous effects, Nair’s highly placed agents were captured, and created a huge setback for RAW operations.

Operation Casino

During the Indira government, the responsibility to hand courier a 6 million dollar check to be deposited in a numbered account in Geneva, was entrusted to KS Nair. Originally, he was asked to carry five suitcases of $100 currency notes, but he refused, fearing its and his safety. This was organized by the ministry of external affairs after clearance by the finance ministry and the PM.  Nair flew to Geneva and had the check deposited, but had no clue what it was for, until much later, at which point it had become a scandal. Morarji had become the PM and he was hunting for the skeletons in the many closets around Delhi. Assuming that Nair was Indira’s henchman, sent out to deposit Sanjay’s ill-gotten wealth, Morarji launched an investigation after Luther of the RBI hinted to him that it was Sanjay Gandhi’s money.

Nair (as stated in his memoirs) got to know the reason at this juncture, and found out from his finance ministry counterpart that the deposit was actually a kickback to an Iranian financier who had with the help of the sister of the Shah of Iran, brokered for India a 250M$ soft loan (India was facing sanctions after the Pokhran test), and had it tagged it together with the loan for the Kudremukh iron ore plant, to tide over India’s foreign exchange crisis.  Anyway, the case was closed in parliament, without further inquiries being made into the matter

I am sure there are many more stories that have not been told, but I think we can conclude with all this that Nair was an upright administrator, a keen intelligence agent, and a splendid complement to Ramji Kao during their years. As Hormis Tharakan who later headed the R&AW stated in an interview with ‘The Week’ - Kao and Nair were two personalities totally different from each other. However, they got along splendidly and complemented each other. Kao was suave, perfectly turned out, highly religious, soft-spoken, a teetotaler and an introvert. Nair was tough and rough, and did not mince words. Though he had a great sense of humor, he did put the fear of God into his subordinates. The planner and the implementer together built up a great organization in no time, overcoming apparently insurmountable difficulties.

On the day we completed our training, Nair came to address us. He asked us if we had assimilated all the dirty tricks we had been taught. We said yes. Then he told us, with the gravitas that he summoned whenever needed: “You shall never use these tricks in pursuance of your personal needs. These are meant solely to be employed in the service of the nation.” Operationally, there was no one to match Nair in the organization. He commanded much respect internationally, too, in the shadowy world of spooks.

Nair after his posting as the Indian High commissioner to Singapore spent his last days after 1988 in London and later at Bangalore. Nair who called himself with dry sense of humor and self-deprecating style - ‘the idiot I am, the rolling stone which gathered moss’, passed away aged 96, in 2015.

As for the people of Ottapalam, I doubt if any of its youngsters today have the slightest idea of who Shanks, the master spook was. Maybe this little article will tell them.

References
Inside IB and RAW – K Sankaran Nair
Mission R&AW – RK Yadav
R.N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster – Nitin Anant Gokhale
Inside RAW: The Story of India's Secret Service – Asoka Raina
The Kaoboys of R&AW – B Raman

 

Pic – Courtesy @maverikmusafir - Twitter, Dec2020

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Ganesha’s curse

The tragic tale of Harriet Quimby, America’s pioneer aviatrix

This is yet another incredible story, and the latter part will be better understood by an Indian. Now you may wonder how Ganesha the elephant-headed God, so revered by Indians, could have anything to do with a woman named Harriet Quimby in America, that too, early in the 20th century. Well, I am gliding into the flying arena again, if you recall my article on Mohan Singh. Harriet Quimby was the first woman to gain a pilot’s license in the United States in 1911, the first to fly a monoplane, the first to do a night flight, and was the first woman to fly across the English Channel in 1912. Starting out as a journalist, she evolved into writing for magazines, doing critiques for dramas, and screenplays, even acting in Hollywood. Quimby then took to flying in 1911 but lost her life a few months later. This is the story of those few months, and of her misadventure with the Hindu God, recounted in her own words.

Most Indian Hindus adore and worship the mischievous, elephant-headed, potbellied god Ganesha. Connected with good luck, chanting of the Ganesha Mantara (Vakratunda mahakaya, surya koti samasthutha – nirvighnam Kurume deva, sarava karyesu sarvada - O Lord with Curved Trunk, one with the huge body, one with the radiance of a million suns, please ensure my actions face no trouble) is a must before doing anything of importance. We seek his blessings before entering a new home, or before commencing any major event or performance. Now how would this aviator be connected to Lord Ganesha, that too as early as 1910, when Americans had little idea about India? That is the incredible story we will get to, but before all that let’s get to know fearless, independent, beautiful, and confident personality - Harriet Quimby.

At a time when the western world lived under Victorian morals, where women stayed at home, cooked and looked after children, Quimby drove a car, wielded a camera, and flew an airplane, much to the consternation of frowning men, who simply disapproved it and resented her actions as well as her entry into an all-male domain. Sadly, for 80 years after she left us, nobody bothered about her exploits and it was only in 1991 that a postage stamp was issued in her honor. While some loved her, many feared her liberated outlook, and a lot ignored this fascinating lady, during her heydays.

In the late 18^th century, a few Frenchwomen had taken to ballooning and, in the 19^th, we see a few instances of American women doing likewise. But the concept of flight became a reality when the Wright brothers proved its feasibility in 1903 and in March 1910, Raymonde de LaRoche of France became the first lady pilot to get a flying license. Those were the pioneering days of flight, which Quimby was exposed to.

Born to William Quimby and Ursula Cook at Michigan in 1875, Harriet found herself with her parents at Arroyo Grande in California, where they labored on a farm. The 1890s were bad years and William was in and out of jobs, the farm never prospered and her mother, took over the family reins, starting a little herbal potion business and molding Harriet into becoming a journalist. She did become a successful one at that, caricaturing San Francisco and its sights and sounds into very readable articles! Readers took note of the beautiful journalist and even had her portrait hung in the Bohemian club. As the 20th century beckoned, Harriet shunned marriage and drifted Eastwards, to New York, which was the go-to place with its bright lights and its cosmopolitism.

Arriving at the Penn Station in New York in Jan 1903, Harriet quickly got her bearings, and found accommodation in a boarding house, simultaneously figuring out that one had to be street smart to survive in that teeming city. She found gainful employment at the Leslie’s illustrated weekly as a part-time freelance writer and learned to use the typewriter, a device used only by men, in those days! Six months later, after writing theatre reviews and other stories, she had moved into better lodging and had her aging mother move in with her.

Footloose and fiercely independent, she wrote initially about the immigrant communities, the Chinese, the Italians, Germans and Irish, and soon started to travel and become the magazine’s travel correspondent. Visiting Cuba, Europe, the Caribbean, Egypt, South America and Africa, she started to add photographs taken with her camera, to her reports (one photo report of the Hindu coolies in the Caribbean is quite arresting!). It was her experience riding a racing car with a male driver that took her to the edge as one could term it from a risk perspective. In 1906, she then convinced somebody to give her driving lessons, and purchased a car (in those days called a runabout), and drove to work, all unimaginable things for a working girl. The reader should now note that it was a time in history when unladylike acts such as smoking in public, could lead to fines and arrests.

Always on the lookout for newsworthy and unique stories, Harriet Quimby befriended a small group of pioneering aviators at Belmont Park in Long Island NY, in 1910, with the help of her friend Matilde Moisant. At an air show event, she saw a frail wooden plane being flown about, so also dirigibles, monoplanes and biplanes piloted by 24 of the world’s greatest pilots, American, British and French included. Glen Curtiss, whom I had introduced in the Mohan Singh article, was there as well.

At a later airshow, she was introduced to Matilde’s brother John Bevins who happened to be a daredevil pilot. Seeing and writing about his incredible antics convinced her that she too could pilot a plane. John had in the meantime opened an aviation school and both Harriet and Matilde were allowed to join in Spring 1911. Tragically John died in a Dec 1910 air crash, but the two thirty-something ladies did not give up and started classes in May 1911. They had to be disguised as men and trained early in the morning.

But one nosy reporter did espy this intrepid trainee and wrote of a “willowy brunette Dresden China aviatrix with blue eyes” who was learning how to fly, an incredibly controversial topic of that time. A woman trying to fly? Unimaginable! Well, the girls put in the $500-$1,000 fees, a deposit of $1,000-1,500 towards any damages, and spent five weeks learning how to fly the rickety wooden framework plane. No helmets or protective gear were available those days and castor and engine oil spray drenched their faces and dress as they flew along in the cold air, wearing a man’s leather suit and goggles. Her first test in July 1911 went well, but her landing was 100’ off the takeoff location (planes then did not have brakes, to stop motion), and the Aero Club officials were relieved they did not have to pass her.

Determined to succeed, she went at dawn the next day for a retest, undeterred by the low fog on the ground. After a long wait, the fog lifted, but the winds had picked up. Eventually, she took off and completed the various elements of the test admirably. A license had to be issued to this woman, and well, they did, on August 11th, 1911, the first American woman to become a licensed pilot and the 37th pilot in the world. But it must also be mentioned here that there were some women who did fly planes, such as Blanche Scott (later a test pilot for Glen Curtiss) flying since Oct 1910, but who had never applied for licenses. 12 days later Matilde Moisant also got her license, going on to become an equally proficient and daredevil pilot.

I took up flying, " Quimby told reporters, “Because I thought I'd like the sensation. I haven't regretted it. I like motoring but after seeing monoplanes in the air, I could not resist the challenge. The airlanes have neither speed laws or traffic policemen and one need not go all the way around Central Park to get across to Times Square.  Then too, it’s good to be the first American woman to earn a pilot’s license!

Even though it proved difficult, she managed to acquire her own plane from the Moisant factory and in Sept 1911 started flying for a fee, at professional meets, also flying her first night flight, but mind you these were all pretty short flights lasting a few minutes since those early monoplanes were quite difficult to control. In October she became the first person to land a plane in Mexico! But they had to return to the US quickly as a revolution took root and Zapata was gunning for Madero.

It was in Mexico that Harriet decided to try the English Channel crossing, but in secret, as a Miss Craig, lest somebody beat her to the draw. She sailed for Britain with Leo Stevens, a friend and her new manager, in March 2012 and convinced the London Daily mirror sponsor and cover the event in return ($5,000 was offered by a private sponsor) for exclusive rights over the story. A 50HP Louis Breliot XI monoplane would be used for the crossing and she would order and take a 70HP machine back to the states. If the plane was lost, Stevens was to pay Bleriot the cost for the spindly, rickety contraption, considered a fast plane and with many innovations, such as an enclosed fuselage, engine in front of the pilot, assembly in 30 minutes, and so on, rivaling the only other design, the Curtiss monoplane.

As she waited for the weather to clear, Eleanor Trehawke Davis flew across the channel, but as a passenger, taking out some of the novelty. Davis became the first woman to cross the channel in a plane, literally. Quimby, disappointed, was certain that somebody in the Mirror had ratter her out.

Meanwhile, Matilde retired and fortunately for her, the last flight ended with her narrowly escaping death as the plane caught fire after a heavy landing. When WW1 started and her request to fly for the US air force was negated, she joined up with the Red Cross, as a nurse in France. For some reason, Harriet and Matilde till then very thick friends drifted apart.

On April 16^th 1912, Harriet took off from Dover and climbed up. Down below in the sea, a tugboat with the Mirror’s reporters followed. In the plane which was by now enveloped in fog, Harriet struggled to read the compass held between her knees, which she was using for the very first time. As she rose to 6000’, the hot water bag around her waist, placed under two layers of silk and woolen suits, hardly helped, but the excitement made her disregard the icy cold. After a harrowing flight of an hour and nine minutes, the plane crossed the 22-mile stretch! Missing Calais, she landed at the village of Hardelot. Hot tea and food were served by the excited fishermen rushing to the spot and a telegram was sent to London. Soon the reporters from the Mirror arrived and a champagne bottle was popped. The English Channel had been conquered.

But it was all not to be. As the reports were being compiled, heralding Quimby and her feat, the press was still busy reporting the mega-disaster - the April 14th tragedy when the ‘unsinkable‘ ocean liner Titanic stuck an iceberg and sank, and 1573 lives were lost. There was no front-page space for Harriet Quimby’s feat! No welcome parade awaited her in London, and she quietly came back to the states. The American press was not too enthusiastic stating that her feat was second to men who had already done it before. Nevertheless Harriet got some press and later became the spokeswoman for Vin Fiz grape soda, and was depicted in articles wearing her trademark purple satin flying suit.

The next event she participated in, was the Boston air meet in July 1912. Blanche Scott had registered too, so also many others, but the top draw was Harriet, the queen of the Channel crossing, flying her new 70HP Bleriot. It was a tricky plane to fly, with a heavy engine up front, and equilibrium was key. Sandbags behind the pilot kept it on even keel. During practice flights, Quimby did have some dangerous movements, but she seemed to have managed to learn the machine’s quirkiness. She was confident and believed also that her many lucky talismans would ward off any ill luck. As you can imagine, flying in those days was a very risky business and the planes were very frail and cumbersome. Aviators, therefore, tended to be quite superstitious and Quimby too wore a number of bracelets and necklaces to protect her from mishaps.

As usual, that July, she fingered her good luck charms nervously when she came in, but there was one object which had not accompanied her this time. In fact, she had penned a lengthy article about that object, a little brass idol of Lord Ganesha, just a few weeks ago. She had picked it up at London, before the Channel crossing, it had previously been owned by a French pilot, who had bad luck with it, who then gave it to another man, who too had ill luck and finally, it was sent off to the Daily Mirror’s office, for disposal.

So, let’s see what she had to say about the idol. Quoting Harriet Quimby….

It is a curious thing but all women flyers are superstitious. And again, it isn’t so curious either. All people who follow a calling in which chance enters largely are superstitious. My superstition is Ganesha, a little ancient brass idol. He brought me such bad luck and was such a misbehaved person that I simply had to kill him. So, he had his little brass head sawed off and he's been wonderfully behaved ever since. You must not laugh when I tell you that I think there is something to the little beast. He looked so grumpy and so eerie that he used to give me the shivers, although the beast was quite likeable at first. The idol had an elephant head, on a man-like body, with two legs crossed and a third leg very conveniently stuck out of his elbow. He also had three arms, all busy, and a very fat stomach. Unlike Buddha, who sits and broods over the earth, Ganesha showed his potential for a lively disposition. One hand held an axe, another a hook, and the third a stone. The free foot looked as if it might kick out from the shoulder at any moment

When first I saw him, it was in the office of the London Daily Mirror. He was in with other talismans and idols who had brought their owner’s bad luck. The Daily Mirror decided to round up these misbegotten omens of ill-luck. Thousands poured in from all over the city. This Saturday afternoon when I retrieved the little brass idol, he was ready for the funeral pyre. At the time I did not know of his unsavory past.

I tied him to my Bleriot on my Channel crossing. As I said he was so likable at first, I wished him to be my good luck charm, but I also wore my jewelry. Perhaps he was the cause of the foul weather over the Channel and my difficulty with the engine. Thinking back my lucky jewelry probably neutralized his power during my flight.

Harriet then goes on to explain the reverses - The Ganesha idol had been tied to the 50 HP Bleriot. She thought that her problems handling the plane initially, as well as the foggy weather, were due to the idol. She also assumed that the matter of Davis beating her to the draw as well as the fact that the man who offered her $5,000 for the crossing had also gone back on his word, were all due to Ganesha. Later on, she had problems clearing the new 70HP Bleriot at US customs and that was when she really started to suspect Ganesha.

"I believe he meant to do things I accused him of, it seemed to me that way, So I spanked him and set him out as a paperweight, a humiliating position for one so ancient. It was no use. He simply would not behave, His tricks were just as mean and unfriendly, Then I took a hammer to him, but your true aristocrat is tenacious of life and I couldn't dent him anywhere." Quimby then took strong and irrevocable action, "I decided he should die after holding court over him and rehearsing his evil actions, in this Court of convenience, he did not even have the benefit of counsel or a Jury trial. He had to die. Afterward I was sorry for him, but law is law, and the sentence had to be carried out. But how?"

Obviously, he could not be electrocuted or hanged, nor poisoned nor shot for his misbehaved soul was solid brass. In the midst of my problem a reporter suggested that Ganesha should have his head cut off. That is a fitting end for any gentleman, and according to ancient custom quite the proper thing. In the engraving room of the newspaper are some glittering circular saws that go through brass like a knife through cheese.

So, I took Ganesha into the darkened engraving room that was to be his death chamber and had a worker hold him in front of the saw. Nervously I noted him lying on the steel table as the saw's sharp teeth tried to do their work. Suddenly the saw stopped cutting. Ganesha was not willing to die. The workman examined Ganesha, he demanded to know what kind of brass went into this stubborn little aristocrat. I could not tell except that it must be very tough, quite appropriate to Ganesha’s disposition. It took two saw blades before the shrieking stooped and his head flew off. He was too hot to touch for a while, but when I cooled him off in water, he seemed a sorry sight. Now I still have him on my desk as a paperweight. When he behaves he can have his head back, but the minute he starts any of his old tricks, I‘ll take his head away from him.

Since he lost his head a week ago, things have gone splendidly, now maybe it is, and maybe it isn't, his former influence, but just the same, things are going better. I am going to let him wear his head a full day, sometime soon, to see if I have cured him of his unsavory ways.

July 12th - 1912 – Boston – Harriet Quimby emerged from the hangar in her plum outfit, talked to reporters, grandly stating that she had no plans to crash the plane into the icy waters.  The mechanic and her manager gave the thumbs up on the plane, all seemed OK. William Willard, the manager of the Boston air meet decided to ride pillion behind her. Soon the plane was off, for a 27-mile ride. After the circuit around Boston light, she looped back, gliding sharply from 5000’ to 2000’. Suddenly the plane’s tail rose sharply and Willard was tossed out of the aircraft. The plane was quickly unbalanced, and Quimby, fighting for control, tried to get the nose back up. The nose did rise up and for the onlookers below, it seemed Quimby had regained control. A split second later, the tail again kicked up, the plane went into a nosedive, and Quimby was thrown out of her aircraft. The two bodies continued their death plunge into the shallow waters, while the Bleriot righted itself and quietly glided itself to a stop in the mud. Blanche Scott, the other woman pilot who was in the air, witnessed the tragedy from above.

Had there been seat belts, the accident could have been avoided. Onlookers, including Stevens, opined that the impulsive 190lbs Willard had leaned forward to speak to Quimby, unbalancing the plane. But that was just theory, like others who said it was due to too steep a glide, a gust of wind, broken rudder wires, lifting tailplanes and what not.  Anyway, Harriet Quimby, the pioneering pilot, the bird woman, the bluebird (her costume was actually purple and designed by herself) the typewriter lady, the one who could repair her car herself, was no more. A terrible newspaper headline, echoing the times and showing an incredible lack of respect, stated - Little Miss Dresden China Broken at Last!

Tragically, the pioneering pilot’s life was snuffed out in this accident, and most people forgot her, till the stamp was released in 1991. As Joshua Stoff of the Air and Space Museum stated - Harriet Quimby was clearly a risk taker in all aspects of her life and career, a gutsy, passionate, beautiful woman with fire in her eye and a backbone of steel-living in a man's world and loving every minute of it-but always keeping her striking femininity firmly intact.

Matilde Moisant never flew again and died in 1964. Blanche Scott retired from flying in 1916 and worked in the films as a scriptwriter and later did radio shows. On September 6, 1948, Scott became the first American woman to fly in a jet when she was the passenger in a TF-80C piloted by Chuck Yeager. She died in Jan 1970. Stevens went back to creating and patenting safety equipment for pilots including the parachute, became an army instructor. He passed away in 1944.

Aftermath

The article Harriet Quimby wrote about her Ganesha and excerpted verbatim was published in the World magazine two weeks after her death, with one of her later biographers opining that it was perhaps originally written so, for publicity. Some believe that the Ganesha Hoodoo story was concocted later.

Quimby had apparently placed Ganesha’s head back on the damaged idol before she left for that fated Boston flight, for the Ganesha was found sitting, head restored, on her desk at Leslie's Weekly, after Quimby had fallen to her death. It is not clear what happened to the idol after that, but most likely it found its way to a local trash heap.  

While those who do not believe in such things might say that her ill-luck returned after she replaced the head on Ganesha’s severed neck, detractors would say that she should never have disrespected the holy idol. However much admirable her story and character are, any Hindu would affirm without any doubt, that her callous attitude to the idol, resulted in misfortune.

Then again, this is what happened, and you can draw your own conclusions.

Hard to believe, isn’t it?

References and inputs from...Acknowledged with many thanks.

Her mentor was an Albatross – The autobiography of pioneer pilot Harriet Quimby – Henry M Holden
The Harriet Quimby Scrapbook – Giacinta Bradley Koontz

Mohan Singh – The enigma 

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