Nettur P. Damodaran

Sh. Nettur P Damodaran (14 May 1913, Tellicherry, India - 11 Oct 1978, New Delhi, India) was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha (1952) from the constituency of Tellicherry, which was part of the erstwhile Madras state. He represented the now defunct Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party.[1]. He was elected into the Lok Sabha with a thumping victory with 42.61% of the electorate voting in his favour, thanks to his relentless efforts towards the Indian freedom struggle from the Malabar region.[2] Nettur P, as he was popularly known had established his own image as a good Parliamentarian, journalist, philanthropist, reformer and writer. He graduated in Physics from Madras Christian College and it was here that his public life started when he was elected as the first Student Union Chairman of the College council in the late 1930s. Shri. Nettur P Damodaran had for a brief period worked as a journalist, first in Free Press Journal and later for Mathrubhumi in Bombay. He was a recipient of "Thamrapathra" from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in recognition of the sacrifices made during the independence struggle.

Early Years

Shri Nettur P was born to Shri K.P Kunhikannan and Smt. Thalu in a small hamlet called Nettur in the present day Tellicherry municipality. Nettur is also home to NTTF (Nettur Technical Training Foundation), a well-known Polytechnic institute started by Swiss missionaries. He did his early schooling from a middle school in Nettur which was established by the legendary visionary and philanthropist Dr. Hermann Gundert. He later on attended Basel Evangelical Mission Parsi High School(B.E.M.P), Tellicherry whose alma mater included A.K. Gopalan, K. Kelappan, Anandan Nambiar and C.H Kanaran. Incidentally four of them, including Shri. Nettur P were members of the 1st Lok Sabha between 1952-57. Soon afer graduating from Madras Christian College, he jumped into the Indian freedom struggle heeding to the clarion calls made by Mahatma Gandhi. He took part in The Quit India movement exhorting people of the Malabar region to boycott the British. To this effect he organised various public events at unscheduled venues and gave the slip to the police at will. However, he gave himself up at a preannounced public meeting, appearing on the stage in the disguise of a burkha clad muslim lady after having sneaked through the police cordon. He was immediately arrested. His arrest created a major upheaval in Tellicherry, raising the national spirits to soaring heights. He was quickly tried for waging war against the State and sentenced to two years imprisonment at Alipur Central Jail in Bellary. After having spent two years(1942-44) in jail, he actively involved himself in the freedom struggle till Independence was attained. Shri. Nettur P's political life began to slowly shape up after Independence when he was unepectedly chosen by Andhra Kesari T. Prakasam, then Chief Minister of Madras State as one of the first two 'Firka' (now known as Block) development officers as part of an all India experimentation on Firka development model. The zeal, vision and commitment with which Shri. Nettur P went ahead with this pioneering mission , Tellicherry Firka became a roaring success and a role-model for the whole country in developmental activities. In 1948, he married Smt. Leela Damodaran , who was an educationist and went on to becoming the District Education Officer of Cannanore district.

Literary works

Sh. Nettur P Damodaran also had a penchant for writing. In his heydays, he traveled extensively within India and penned down travelogues describing the local culture, people and practices. Some of his published works include :

• ' Naramdayude Nattil ’ ( In the land of Narmada ) - a travelogue covering the course of the Narmada river.
• ' Adivasikalute Keralam ' (The Tribals of Kerala) - an authoritative work on the Tribals of Kerala
• ‘ Anubhavachurulukal ' ( Curls of experience) - autobiographical sketches encompassing the freedom struggle and early years of freedom[3]

'Anubhavachurulukal' was republished in 2007 by Samayam Publications, Kannur.[4]

Reform Activities

Shri. Nettur P worked selflessly towards the upliftment of the backward classes of Kerala. He was Chairman of what came to be known as the 'Nettur Commission', formed to assess comprehensively the conditions that define backwardness of Social classes in Kerala. A report of the commission's findings was submitted to the Kerala Government which was subsequently published in 1970.[5][6][7] In 1978, he was tipped to be a member of the now famous Mandal Commission which was not to be because of his sudden and untimely demise due to a heart attack in New Delhi.

Cultural Activism

Shri. Nettur P played a pivotal role in popularising and promoting various art forms of the Malabar region. This primarily included 'Kalari Payattu', an ancient martial art of Kerala , 'Theyyam' ,a form of dance and 'Thira'. He was instrumental in organising various shows particularly in Northern India. He was encouraged further by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru after witnessing a private performance. Shri Nettur P had organised various Kalari performances for Shri C .V.N Nair, a Kalaripayattu maestro from Thalassery.[8]