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Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Why did Kerala forget its Gandhi translator?
By: Rajesh M Rajagopalan Ente Sathyanweshana Pareekshakal', the first Malayalam translation of Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth', has sold in the hundreds of thousands and is still in print. The translator, however, largely remains in obscurity. A quick internet search for Koothirezhi Madhavan Nair, better known as Madhavanar, yields scant results. His name hardly resonates even in Vallikunnu of Kerala's Malappuram district — his native village. Now, 45 years after his passing, the 50-year-old Jwala Library is set to change that by inaugurating a memorial building in his name. Madhavanar played a pivotal role in the freedom struggle by being at the forefront of the Beypore and Kozhikode Salt Satyagrahas. A staunch social reformer, he also participated in the Guruvayur Satyagraha led by K Kelappan — a historic movement demanding temple entry rights for backward classes and Dalits. Gandhiji maintained regular correspondence with Madhavanar, who served as secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee at the time. In a letter dated June 5, 1931, written from Sabarmati, Gandhiji advised him on strategy: 'My Dear Madhavanar, I have your letter about picketing. At the present moment, I cannot give you better advice than to ask you to discuss the whole thing with Syt. Rajagopalachari and act in consultation with him. I am sure that if orders under 144 are passed, for the time being at any rate, you should obey them.' Madhavanar, along with fellow Gandhians, played a key role in facilitating Gandhiji's later visit to Kozhikode. A close associate of C Rajagopalachari, Madhavanar remained in touch with him even after Independence. He contributed articles to 'Swarajya' magazine, which was under Rajagopalachari's patronage. Born in 1903 in the Koothirezhi family of Vallikunnu, Madhavan Nair was a diligent student. He earned a graduate degree in chemistry from Madras University and began his career at TISCO, Jamshedpur, with a princely salary of Rs 100. But the nationalist movement soon drew him away from scientific pursuits. He journeyed from Jamshedpur to the Himalayas, exploring Badrinath and Kedarnath — a trip that inspired the first-ever Himalayan travelogue in Malayalam. 'Oru Himalaya Yathra', published in 1927, became widely read and is still in print. 'Madhavanar was a true-blue Gandhian who practised what he preached. A staunch opponent of casteism, he once invited a Dalit boy to the Koothirezhi tharavadu, an audacious act for that time. He was also instrumental in introducing EMS Namboothiripad to the AICC and AK Gopalan mentioned him in his autobiography,' said Koothirezhi Harish Kumar, a retired teacher and nephew of Madhavanar. He was also one of the most prominent Malayalam journalists of the pre-Independence era. He served on the editorial board of Mathrubhumi Daily for several years. 'He would leave the Mathrubhumi press only after the first copy came out. A Mathrubhumi vehicle en route to Malappuram would drop him at Feroke, and he would walk nearly 10km in pitch darkness to reach home,' Harish Kumar recalled. Madhavanar was a respected figure in the Kozhikode literary circle. Renowned writer SK Pottekkatt was a regular visitor to Eledathil House, Madhavanar's residence in Vallikunnu. He also maintained close ties with writer Thikkodian. Madhavanar remained a bachelor all through his 1964, he had a bitter brush with local politics. He contested the panchayat election and lost. The idealist Gandhian was not cut out for the shifting political landscape. 'He was very close to my father. When I once asked about his sabbatical from writing, he said he had limited time left but countless books to read. Reading was his greatest passion,' recalls Prof. Shantakumar Mookkamparambath, who used to visit him during his twilight years. He found childlike delight in filling his shelf with new books and took immense pride in his vast home library. Madhavanar passed away in April 1980. Power politics was not his forte, and knowingly or unknowingly, he faded from public memory. Jwala Library's Madhavanar Memorial Building will be a fitting tribute to the man who cherished books. The memorial will remind future generations that a man of remarkable greatness – a valorous freedom fighter and a gifted writer – once walked this land. (The writer is a creative director who runs an ad agency in Thrissur) Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
News18
29-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Why Did Mahatma Gandhi Cut Off Ties With His Eldest Son Harilal?
Last Updated: Bright, articulate, and full of ambition, Harilal Gandhi dreamt of following in his father's footsteps by travelling to England to study law and becoming a barrister. Few examples in history of a father-son fallout are as complex as the rift between Mahatma Gandhi and his eldest son, Harilal. What unfolded between the two was not merely a family disagreement but a profound ideological and emotional chasm. Harilal Gandhi, born in 1888, was the eldest of Gandhi's four sons. Bright, articulate, and full of ambition, Harilal dreamt of following in his father's footsteps by travelling to England to study law and becoming a barrister. But his aspirations clashed sharply with his father's evolving philosophy. By the early 20th century, Gandhi had begun to distance himself from Western values and formal education systems, increasingly advocating for indigenous practices, self-reliance, and spiritual discipline. For Gandhi, sending Harilal to study in England would be tantamount to endorsing the very colonial mindset he sought to free India from. Harilal, however, saw this denial not as idealism but as personal betrayal. To him, it was an unjust suppression of his dreams. The father-son bond began to fray. The first signs of rebellion were private disagreements, but soon, Harilal began publicly opposing his father's principles. He refused to participate in Gandhi's freedom movements and instead wrote critical essays in newspapers, accusing his father of hypocrisy, championing justice for a nation while allegedly denying it to his own kin. Gandhi, in turn, became increasingly exasperated with his son's defiance. In The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Gandhi briefly touched on this emotional fracture. Over the years, Harilal drifted further from his father's world. He descended into alcoholism, financial ruin, and scandal. He borrowed money in Gandhi's name from businessmen, social leaders, and even extended family, leaving behind a trail of embarrassment. At one point, Gandhi had to publicly declare that Harilal had no right to use his name for personal gain. Then came the incident that stunned not only the Gandhi family but the nation at large. In 1936, Harilal converted to Islam and adopted the name 'Abdullah Gandhi'. The move, splashed across newspaper headlines, was widely interpreted as a symbolic rejection of his father's legacy. Though Harilal later reconverted to Hinduism, the damage was irreversible. Ramachandra Guha, in his book Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, writes that the Mahatma was devastated by the conversion, which he saw not merely as a spiritual decision but a final severance of familial ties. 'You are my biggest failure," Gandhi once wrote to Harilal, words heavy with sorrow and disillusionment. Harilal later went on to marry Gulab Gandhi, a woman of quiet resilience who endured years of hardship, including his spiraling addictions and unstable behaviour. Despite her efforts, she succumbed to the plague in 1918. Harilal was left with five children, most of whom led lives marked by financial and emotional instability. By the time of Gandhi's assassination in 1948, Harilal was a broken man, living in poverty and near-anonymity on the streets of Bombay. He died just months after his father, from complications related to his alcoholism and declining health. Few attended his funeral. Today, the story of Harilal Gandhi stands as a somber testament to the emotional toll that ideals and expectations can exact within families. First Published:
