For the first time, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) held a state-level commemorative meeting for Chettur Sankaran Nair—a distinguished jurist and statesman from Kerala, and the only Malayali to have served as the national president of the Indian National Congress.
The decision to honour Nair came amid growing speculation that the BJP was attempting to appropriate his legacy. These concerns were heightened by recent political and cultural developments spotlighting his contributions, particularly with the release of the film 'Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh', which portrays his legal battle against the British Raj, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
On April 14, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Nair during a speech in Haryana, lauding his courage in resigning from the Viceroy’s Executive Council and speaking out against British atrocities. A week later, Union Minister and BJP MP Suresh Gopi visited Nair’s descendants. Sensing an attempt to politically co-opt Nair’s legacy, the KPCC swiftly organised the commemorative event.
Ironically, the occasion became a platform for veteran Congress leader and former KPCC president K. Muraleedharan to cast doubts on Nair’s nationalist credentials.
“Some of his actions at the time do not align with our views today,” Muraleedharan remarked.
“Just highlighting the positives isn't enough; we must acknowledge the negatives too. After becoming Congress president, Sankaran Nair accepted positions such as Advocate General, Judge, and later, a Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council. That raises questions, as freedom fighters then were boycotting courts and distancing themselves from colonial institutions.”
He went further, stating:
“The British even built a railway station for his convenience. So, did he compromise with the British after stepping down as Congress president? I have that doubt, and so will today’s younger generation.”
Sankaran Nair was also a notably-strong critic of Mahatma Gandhi. In his book 'Gandhi and Anarchy', he argued that Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement could plunge the country into disorder. According to Muraleedharan, the Congress may have refrained from honouring Nair nationally, not because he was outside the Nehru family, as the BJP alleged, but due to his ideological divergence from Gandhian values.
“Still, we cannot hand him over to the BJP either—because he wasn’t communal. He stood for religious harmony,” Muraleedharan said.
“That’s why I’ve said all this. Whether the facts are positive or negative, the new generation must know them objectively. History is a fact.”
