§ Dr. Palpu (Padmanabhan
Palpu)was born on 2nd November 1863 at Pettah in
Thiruvananthapuram.
§ Dr. Palpu was
a relentless fighter for the cause of the Ezhavas in Kerala.
§ Sarojini Naidu
praised him one of the greatest revolutionaries in India.
§ He was the founder
of ‘Travancore Ezhava Sabha’.
§ It was the
efforts of Dr Palpu marked the beginning of the long drawn out struggle to be
waged by the backward classes within the Hindu community in Travancore for securing
social equality and justice.
§ He was the first
medical graduate from Ezhava community in Travancore.
§ As there was
no opportunity for him to serve in Travancore government service, he joined the
medical service of the neighbouring state of Mysore.
§ Dr.Palpu was
the third signatory in the Malayali Memorial (1891), a mass petition signed
by 10038 persons submitted before Sree Mulam Tirunal, the King of Travancore which
marked the beginning of the united social effort in the state to press the
demands of the backward classes.
§ On the
initiative of Dr.Palpu a mass memorial signed by 13176 members of Ezhava community
was presented to Sree Mulam Tirunal on 3rd September 1896. This document known
as Ezhava memorial of 1896 demanded that the Ezhavas should be made beneficiaries
of all those rights and privileges which were being enjoyed by their brethren
who had become converts to Christianity.
§ The
Government’s reply to the Ezhava memorial was too equally frustrating and reactionary
in tone and content.
§ Disappointed by
the attitude of the Government of Travancore, another memorial was submitted
before Lord Curzon, the Viceroy when he visited Travancore. This is known as Ezhava
Memorial of 1900.
§ This also was
not considered favourably. Thus the Ezhava memorials failed to produce any
tangible result.
§ Dr. Palpu took
initiative to establish Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam in 1903.
§ It was the
advice given by Swami Vivekananda to associate with some spiritual person in
his effort to fight for the rights of the Ezhavas that drew him to Sri Narayana
Guru.
§ Dr.Palpu spent
the major share of his income for the activities of SNDP Yogam.
§ He called
Kumaranasan as ‘Chinna Swami’.(‘Periya Swami’ was Narayana Guru)
§ He passed away
on 25th January, 1950.
§ Dr. Nataraja
Guru, who founded Sree Narayana Gurukulam for the propagation of the
ideals of Sri Narayana Guru was the son of Dr. Palpu.
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