K. Kumar (1894–1973) was an Indian orator, reformer and writer of the Indian pre-independence era. He was one of the earliest socio-political leaders to have brought Mahatma Gandhi's message and the spirit of the national movement to the erstwhile Travancore State.Freedom Fighters of Kerala - Government of Kerala - 1974A Social History of India By S. N. Sadasivan - Page 535K.C.Pillai, Avoor S. Gopalan Nair and others - 1974 - K. Kumarji Smaraka Grandham
A gifted translator, he traveled with Gandhi during his Kerala tours, interpreting his English speeches in Malayalam. He was also an Advisor to the Jawaharlal Nehru government. Kumar was the President of the Travancore Congress Committee and was also in charge of Gandhiji's Travancore tour more than once. He served on the AICC (All India Congress Committee) and on the working committee of the AICC (CWC or Congress Working Committee), TC-PCC/ KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) heading its Constructive Work Committee during crucial years of the freedom movement. He also functioned as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of Travancore
Kumar was also known as: Travancore Kumar, Elanthur Kumarji; Kumarji, Elanthur Gandhi and Kuzhikala KumarTrade Union Movement in Kerala ‘ K. Ramachandran Nair, Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment (in association with Manak Publishers) 2006- Page 12G. Ramachandran - "Memories of Kumarji" and other references quoted
Early life K. Kumar was born as K. Kumaran Nair as the eldest son of Kunju Pennamma and K. Padmanabhan Nair, in a traditional Nair family, the Kaduvinal-Thazhayamannil Tharavad, in Elanthur, Quilon District, Travancore (present-day Elanthur, Pathanamthitta, Kerala). ‘K’ in his name stands for his maternal house. Matrilineality was a tradition of Kerala and it was customary to attach the name of the maternal house to a child's first name as 'patronymic'. His father, K. Padmanabhan Nair, was a powerful social figure who also was a Revenue Officer of great standing under the Princely State of Travancore. K. Kumar's son K. Bhadrakumar, is a Developmental Educationist. His granddaughter Divya Bhadrakumar, is an Embedded System EngineerGovernment records pertaining to births, deaths etc
A close friend of the High-court-judge-turned veteran freedom-activist Changanassery Parameswaran Pillai (1877–1940),Changanassery Parameswaran Pillai and the Socio-political Evolution of Modern Travancore - K.R. Ushakumari - 2009 - Trivandrum and teacher-turned advocates and judges Sankaravelil Parameswaran Pillai and Vaikom Narayana Pillai, he shared a balanced outlook on the socio-political realities surrounding the British-driven Princely State. He was also a contemporary of Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai and helped him in making Nair Service Society a reality without being even remotely sectarian. Mannathu Padmanabhan also helped him back by participating in Kumar's political campaigns.The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 34, page 416 – letter from Gandhi to RajajiDr. G. Ramachandran ("Memories of Kumarji" - 1974)
Kumar had his early education at Paravoor English School and Mannar Nair Society High School in Quilon District in Kerala. He, then, moved on to Madurai American College for intermediate education and later, to Madras Presidency College for higher studies. Kumar was said to have been a bright student and among the earliest in the State to have received University Education. Patriotism and Gandhi's call for non-co-operation caused Kumar to plung himself into Gandhian work for 'social reconstruction' which affected his further studies. It was primarily North India that he chose for his early engagement.Sarva Vijnana Kosam (Malayalam Ecyclopaedia - article titled 'Kumar K - Kerala Government publicationArticle by K. Raman Nair in Kumarji Smaraka Grandham
Beginnings of Sociopolitical Involvement K. Kumar became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1912.List of Freedom Fighters, The Regional Records Survey Committee, Government of Kerala Inspired by Gandhiji, he later left higher studies at Presidency College and served the Congress from Trivandrum as one of its very few full-time workers of Kerala.K.C Pillai - K.Kumarji Smaraka Grandham - 1974Sarva Vijnana Kosam (Malayalam Encyclopedia), Government of Kerala
During the 1920s, Kumarji revived the ‘Swadeshabhimani’K.C Pillai on K. Kumar - 1974The History of Freedom Movement in Travancore, C. Narayana Pillai, Page 401Kumar.K: Sarva Vijnana Kosam (Encyclopaedia in Malayalam) - Government of Kerala) (the news-paper founded by Vakkom Moulavi and run and edited until 1910 by the deported Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai), as part of his effort to invigorate the political scene and set the tone for the national movement in Kerala. He also became the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the paper after Ramakrishna Pillai.K.C. Pillai°(See Note 1) and others - 1974- K. Kumarji Smaraka Grandham (Elanthoor)Nair Service Society: Suvarna Grantham (Malayalam) - 1964 - Page 666 It was considered a daring move that nearly froze the government. However, the government wisely chose not to react or retaliate immediately.
K. Narayana Kurukkal (author of the novels "Parappuram" and "Udayabhanu") and Barrister A. K. Pillai helped Kumar in his efforts. Kurukkal was a colleague and friend of Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai. Besides Narayana Kurukkal, R. Narayana Panikker, renowned political critic Raman Menon, S. R. Pillai's wife B. Kalyani Amma and other prominent writers, contributed articles to the paper on a regular basis. Kumar also used to write editorials and articles. K. Narayana Kurukkal and Barrister A. K. Pillai assisted Kumar to edit the paper which was headquartered at the present DPI Office (Office of the Director of Public Instruction, Government of Kerala) in Thycaud, Trivandrum.K.C Pillai on K. Kumar
Rabindranath Tagore's disciple and writer, K. C. Pillai, helped Kumarji with back-end office-duties. The paper was run on the lines of "Modern Review" published from Calcutta by Ramananda Chatterjee and used to carry articles besides regular editorials written by Kumar himself.
K. C. Pillai and Evoor S. Gopalan Nair opine that "Swadeshabhimani" remained a publication of the highest standards so long as it was under the leadership of Kumar.K.C Pillai's article in K. Kumarji Smaraka Grandham published from Elanthoor in 1974K. Kumar, the Epitome of Service and Sacrifice : Evoor S. Gopalan nair - Article 1974 It appears that the editorship of ‘Swadeshabhimani’ got passed on to A. K. PillaiCogressum Keralavum - AK Pillai by 1932. K. Kumar had an important role in at least two other influential nationalist papers of the era – the ‘Swarat’ run by A. K. Pillai himself and the ‘Mahatma’ run by the Amsi brothers.Dr G. Ramachandran -1974KC Pillai - 1974 Swadeshabhimani Ramkrishna Pillai's work had a serious impact on Kumarji. He thus chose Cannanore as one of his chief venues for breaking the Salt Law and became instrumental in erecting the statue of Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai in the capital city of Trivandrum and organising an annual commemoration of the deportation for a long time to come.Kumarji Smaraka Grandham - K.C Pillai and others - Elanthoor (1974)The History of Freedom Movement in Kerala (1885 - 1938) ORIGINAl from THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN – Government of Kerala (Government Press 1972) -P.K.K Menon – Page 197
Into the thick of Freedom Struggle During the thick of the freedom struggle, Kumarji was the President of the Travancore Congress Committee and was also in charge of Gandhiji's Travacore tour more than once. He served on the AICC and on the working committee of the TC-PCC/ KPCC heading its Constructive Work Committee during crucial years of the freedom movement.K. Karunakaran Nair - Freedom fighters of Kerala - 1975 (Pref original Michigan Edition)No Elephants for the Maharaja: Social and Political Change in the Princely State of Travancore (1921 – 47): Author: Louise Ouwerkerk, Editor: Dick Kooiman, Manohar Publishers 1994 – Original: University of MichiganMahacharita Samgraha Sagaram (A Compressed Encyclopaedia of the Renowned (in Malayalam)– Pallippattu Kunjukrishnan - SPCS and NBS - Pages 220 and 221Nair Service Society Suvarna Grantham - 1964
The Travancore State Congress was reconstituted with new objectives in 1938 under Pattom A. Thanu Pillai. Since the character of the newly constituted party was not to his taste, Kumar preferred to remain inactive from it.
Besides Mahatma Gandhi, Kumarji had close ties with Rajaji, Nehru, C. R. Das and other prominent leaders. He was a part of the leadership of the Salt Satyagraha (in Kozhikode, Tellicherry and Cannanore, the Civil Disobedience or foreign cloth boycott and picketing at Alleppey and other areasWomen's Movements in Kerala – Challenges and Prospects – Majula Devi's thesis work – page 140Keralathile Congress Prasthanam (Malayalam) - Perunna KN Nair and the prominent role he played in the Temple Entry Movement and eradication of 'untouchability',Gandhi's talk at Elanthoor on 20 January 1937Epic of Travancore - Mahadev Desai - Navjeevan Publishers - Page 37 the Vaikom Satyagraha, the Nagpur Flag Satyagrha" and other significant social unity moves.The Epic of Travancore - Mahadeva Desai, Navjeevan Karyalaya, Ahmedabad (1937) - Original from the University of Michigan – page 37 of First Indian EditionG. Ramachandran's article These earned him at least 21 months of imprisonmentNote: Arrived at from only pre-verified sources: His actual imprisonment may be many years more with 9 months rigorous imprisonment.Page 1214 entry number 9, Appendix VI vide answer of Chief Secretary to an interpellation (number 373 raised in the Travancore Legislative Council) on 12th June 1924 by member Sri V. Kunjukrishna Pillai of ChirayinkilCopies of the records maintained at the office of the Supdt. Of Jails of Cannanore, Vellore and Bellary (showing RI from 27-5-1930 to 26-2-1931)EMERGENCE OF THE TRAVANCORE STATE CONGRESS AND EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE PARTY -M. Sumathy "From Petitions to Protest - A Study of the Political Movements in Travancore 1938-1947" Thesis - Department of History, University of Calicut, 2004 The year-long agitation at Alleppey and Trivandrum brought about mass conversions to the Gandhian ideology and Khadi. His leadership of the Swadeshi Movement and Foreign Cloth Boycott at Alleppey also inspired many prominent, educated women to come to the forefront and offer mighty support of the national movement. The role of the wife of the last Diwan of Travancore and Kumarji's classmate P. G. N. Unnithan and the daughter of P. G. Govida Pillai, Government Pleader,see : P.G.N Unnithan, Wikipedia Article P. G. N. Unnithan wife of Swadeshabhimani T.K. Madhavan and M. Karthyayani Amma deserve special mention.K. Kumar and the Indian National Movement - Puthenkavu Mathan Tharakan - 1974The Epitome of Service and Sacrifice - Evoor S. Goplan Nair - 1974
Khadi, Harijan Welfare, Sarvodaya & Communal Harmony