How we have forgotten Nairji !

S. Sivadas

Of the many communities and people that had made Delhi their home, perhaps one of the least remembered is C Krishnan Nair, who was called the 'Delhi Gandhi'. Nairji, as he was called, born in Southern Kerala was expelled from Maharaja’s College, Tiruvanthapuram, for taking part in the freedom struggle. He abandoned his studies and left for Wardha to join the ashram Mahatma Gandhi had set up there. He was among the first batch of 90 volunteers selected for the Dandi March, known as the Salt Satyagraha, (1930).

After Wardha, Nairji came to Delhi during the turbulence caused by partition. A grassroots organiser, he plunged into the relief work that Gandhiji had entrusted him with, looking after the needs of the refugees who poured in thousands following Partition. He provided exemplary leadership to the state at that time and later also.

Nairji was considered as father figure of the Congress party in the Capital, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, offered to make him the state's chief minister, or even a Cabinet post, but Nairji politely refused. Instead, he suggested the name of one his close followers, Chaudhary Brahm Prakash, who became the first chief minister.

A bachelor and used to a spartan life style, Nairji lived in the Gandhi Ashram where the Harijan Sevak Sangh is now situated. He was particularly interested in the development of Outer Delhi, the other side of the Yamuna, which was a marshy land at that time, and in particular the Narela region.

The Delhi of Nairji has expanded so rapidly and the Outer Delhi has developed into far and beyond. There are also so many roads and statues of leaders, and past rulers, and even foreign rulers who are no longer remembered even in their own countries, like Tito and Nasser. Would it be too much if a road be named after him or a statue be erected in the memory Nairji who gave his all and left without taking anything.

More prone to floods and the overflow from the Yamuna during the monsoon season, Nairji was always there to help the needy. and it was a familiar sight of him swimming the river with food tied to his turban.

To Nairji's credit goes the bill he presented in Parliament for setting up the Delhi Development Authority. Ironically, he never owned a house in Delhi. He married late, at the persuasion of friends, to a school principal.

The story goes that on the day of his marriage at the registrar's office, the groom was missing.

Anxious friends who went in search of Nairji found him busy supervising the digging of a canal in Narela and he was pulled from there.

The couple did not have any children. Sometime after his wife's death, he fell ill and was taken to a government hospital. When word spread that Nairji was in hospital, one of his disciples, HKL Bhagat , a Union Minister then, had him removed a to a private ward.

Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister, arranged to get him a two-room house in RK Puram as the single room where he was staying in Daryaganj was appropriated by the landlord. He died there after some time. Nairji left no property and left as he had come from distant Kerala.

Much later, when the Kerala Club, a cultural body, wanted to have portraits of eminent Malayalis who had made Delhi their home they could not find even a passport size photograph of Nairji.

The Delhi of Nairji has expanded so rapidly and the Outer Delhi has developed far and beyond. There are also so many roads and statues of leaders, and past rulers, and even foreign rulers who are no longer remembered even in their own countries, like Tito and Nasser. Would it be too much if a road be named after him or a statue be erected in the memory Nairji who gave his all and left without taking anything.



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT SIGNALS FROM UP SATRAPS IN SOUTH POLL BUGLE REALPOLITIK FRANKLY SPEAKING REFUGEES IN INDIA NEW RESERVATION AGRARIAN DISTRESS RURAL VISION HIMACHAL SCENE GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANNIVERSARY ESSAY ANI INTERVIEW RANDOM THOUGHTS HITS & MISSES GLOBAL AFFAIRS BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES GENDER EQUALITY A PAGE FROM HISTORY A SUCCESS STORY FASHION CREDO DELHI GANDHI ART OF LIVING Issue:January' 2018 Subscribe Now	DELHI GANDHI How we have forgotten Nairji ! S. Sivadas Of the many communities and people that had made Delhi their home, perhaps one of the least remembered is C Krishnan Nair, who was called the 'Delhi Gandhi'. Nairji, as he was called, born in Southern Kerala was expelled from Maharaja’s College, Tiruvanthapuram, for taking part in the freedom struggle. He abandoned his studies and left for Wardha to join the ashram Mahatma Gandhi had set up there. He was among the first batch of 90 volunteers selected for the Dandi March, known as the Salt Satyagraha, (1930). After Wardha, Nairji came to Delhi during the turbulence caused by partition. A grassroots organiser, he plunged into the relief work that Gandhiji had entrusted him with, looking after the needs of the refugees who poured in thousands following Partition. He provided exemplary leadership to the state at that time and later also. Nairji was considered as father figure of the Congress party in the Capital, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, offered to make him the state's chief minister, or even a Cabinet post, but Nairji politely refused. Instead, he suggested the name of one his close followers, Chaudhary Brahm Prakash, who became the first chief minister. A bachelor and used to a spartan life style, Nairji lived in the Gandhi Ashram where the Harijan Sevak Sangh is now situated. He was particularly interested in the development of Outer Delhi, the other side of the Yamuna, which was a marshy land at that time, and in particular the Narela region. The Delhi of Nairji has expanded so rapidly and the Outer Delhi has developed into far and beyond. There are also so many roads and statues of leaders, and past rulers, and even foreign rulers who are no longer remembered even in their own countries, like Tito and Nasser. Would it be too much if a road be named after him or a statue be erected in the memory Nairji who gave his all and left without taking anything. More prone to floods and the overflow from the Yamuna during the monsoon season, Nairji was always there to help the needy. and it was a familiar sight of him swimming the river with food tied to his turban. To Nairji's credit goes the bill he presented in Parliament for setting up the Delhi Development Authority. Ironically, he never owned a house in Delhi. He married late, at the persuasion of friends, to a school principal. The story goes that on the day of his marriage at the registrar's office, the groom was missing. Anxious friends who went in search of Nairji found him busy supervising the digging of a canal in Narela and he was pulled from there. The couple did not have any children. Sometime after his wife's death, he fell ill and was taken to a government hospital. When word spread that Nairji was in hospital, one of his disciples, HKL Bhagat , a Union Minister then, had him removed a to a private ward. Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister, arranged to get him a two-room house in RK Puram as the single room where he was staying in Daryaganj was appropriated by the landlord. He died there after some time. Nairji left no property and left as he had come from distant Kerala. Much later, when the Kerala Club, a cultural body, wanted to have portraits of eminent Malayalis who had made Delhi their home they could not find even a passport size photograph of Nairji. The Delhi of Nairji has expanded so rapidly and the Outer Delhi has developed far and beyond. There are also so many roads and statues of leaders, and past rulers, and even foreign rulers who are no longer remembered even in their own countries, like Tito and Nasser. Would it be too much if a road be named after him or a statue be erected in the memory Nairji who gave his all and left without taking anything.