Com.N.P.Padmanabhan, the Architect of Kerala P&T Movement

5th March 2016 is the 22nd death anniversary of Com. N.P.Padmanabhan, former Secretary, NFPTE and the Convener of the powerful Co-ordinating Committee of P and T Unions, Kerala, for a tumultuous period of more than 10 years. Meetings will be held in all centres in Kerala to pay homage to this great leader.
Com. Padmanabhan, who was respectfully called Pappettan, even by his elders, was a charismatic and revolutionary leader.

Com.Padmanabhan was born in 1926 in Eramala Pachayat in Badagara Taluk of Malabar district. Shri Gopala Kurup and Smt. Ammalu Amma were his parents. After passing matriculation he joined Brennen College, Tellicherry  and passed FA.

Padmanabhan was appointed as a Postal Clerk at Calicut in 1945. He became very active in the union without delay. Along with Coms.T.M.Janardhanan,  N.O.Anandan Master, P.Narayanan, K.Bhaskaran Nair and others, Com.N.P.Padmanabhan led the Central Government employees strike of 1960 July in the Malabar area which was part of the Madras P and T Circle. He was arrested from the Panoor Post Office, where he was employed at that time and was punished with 6 months rigorous imprisonment for participation in the strike.

In the Kerala P and T Circle union formation Conference held at Trivandrum in 1961, Com.N.P. was elected as Asst. Circle Secretary of Postal Class III Union and in 1966 Kollam Conference as the Circle Secretary. Next year at the Palakkad Conference, he was elected as the Convener of the Circle P and T Co-ordinating Committee.

Many militant struggles were organized by the Circle P&T Co-ordinating Committee under the leadership of Com. N.P.Padmanabhan. Local struggles were organized on the important issues of the workers. These included the ‘Food Agitation’, Strike against police verification, for regularization of EDA/RTP/Casual employees, against police atrocities, Kanjirappally and Baliapattam Telephones agitation etc. etc.
The Historical One Day Strike of 19^th September 1968 for Minimum Wage and grant of Dearness Allowance according to cost of living index became a battle ground between the Central Government and Communist Government in Kerala. Central Government wanted all state governments to crush the strike of the Central Government employees with an iron fist using the drastic Essential Service Maintenance Act (ESMA). But Kerala Government led by Com. E.M.S.Namboodiripad bluntly refused to implement the ESMA against the striking employees. Enraged, the Central Government was proposing to dismiss the state government. However, this did not happen. But the Indira Gandhi Government at Centre saw to that maximum victimisation was imposed on the employees of Kerala. Hundreds of criminal cases were filed, thousands of Rule-14 Charge Sheets issued, 290 workers terminated and hundreds of employees suspended. Even in 1960 strike, such victimisation did not take place.
The situation was tense. All the Circle and district leaders were either under suspension or termination. To face this brutal attack was not easy. The P and T Co-Ordinating Committee under the leadership of Com. N.P.Padmanabhan organised sustained and continuous struggles against victimisation. The union organized relief fund to pay salary to the terminated employees. It took about three years to take back all the terminated employees and to reinstate the suspended. During the entire period the terminated employees were given relief. Even if full salary could not be paid in the last few months, the relief continued till their reinstatement as per the judgment of the Kerala High Court. However Com. Padmanabhan who  was dismissed from service was not reinstated despite High Court order to that effect. It was only after the Janata Government came in the centre that he was reinstated.

The P and T House, the office of P and T Unions at Trivandrum, became the centre point of many unions to get advice and support for their struggles. It was a period of militant struggles.  Many such struggles including the strike of CRPF in Trivandrum which continued for months was fully supported and guided by Com. Pappettan and made it a success by getting most of the striking personnel reinstated.

There used to be a joke at that time that it is ‘Three Padmanabhans’ who controlled Trivandrum – Com.N.P.Padmanabhan, Convener of P and T Co-ordinating Committee, Com.E.Padmanabhan, General Secretary of the mighty Kerala N.G.O.Union and Shri Padmanabhan, the deity of the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple. The joke was an indication of the high influence that Com.Pappettan was having in Trivandrum.

N.P.Padmanabhan was a powerful speaker and mingled freely with everybody. His strategy to face the post-strike situation and victimization of large number of employees was appreciated by all.

Com. Pappettan was elected as the Secretary of  NFPTE in 1978 and shifted to New Delhi. He continued in that position till 1981.
As the Secretary of NFPTE, he, along with Coms.K.G.Bose, N.J.Iyer, K.Adinarayana and other leaders continued the inner fight in the organization against the reformist policy of Com.O.P.Gupta, Secretary General NFPTE and inspired thousands of workers all over the country for adopting a progressive policy in the organization. His health started deteriorating due to the hard work and strain and went back home to Kannur in the late 1980s. He continued his activities from there.

On 5th March 1994, Com. N.P.Padmanabhan left us forever. He was ailing for some time. He is survived by his wife Smt. Sasikala, son M.C.Sathyraj (Retired from Postal Accounts) daughter M.C.Subhashini, employed in Department of Posts and married to Com. Janardhanan, who is working in BSNL. N.P.Balagopalan, brother of Pappettan worked in Deshabhimani paper during the 1940s.

In respectful memory of Com.Padmanabhan, the Conference Hall in P and T House, Trivandrum is named as “Com.N.P.Padmanabhan Hall.”
Since 1958, when I joined the P and T and got transfer to Cannanore(Kannur) from Kottayam, Com. Pappettan had been my leader and guide. It was under his indomitable leadership that we all went on in the Glorious  Five Days strike of 1960. I had the opportunity to work with him at Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) during my tenure as Circle Secretary.
Com. Padmanabhan was a real leader in all respects. The entire P and T movement and especially Kerala comrades lost a revolutionary leader in his early death.

His body was cremated in the Payyambalam Beach, Kannur, where a memorial is constructed for him among the memorials of leaders of the working class like Coms. A.K.Gopalan, E.K.Nayanar and others. Whenever I get an opportunity to visit Kannur, I make it a point to visit the memorial and pay my respectful homage.

Red Salute to Com. N.P.Padmanabhan, the Revolutionary leader! His memory will always be with us.