Memorial for Malayali ICS officer KK Nair in Ayodhya temple premises

Alappuzha: Memories of KK Nair, the Kuttanad native who played a key role in the Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya will be cherished by the believers for now and forever on January 22, the day of the temple consecration ceremony. 

For his supporters, KK Nair’s efforts in bringing up the temple is a vital chapter in the country’s history. A memorial paying respect to Nair’s contributions is being erected in the temple premises. There will be a separate room where his statue and photograph will be installed. It should be noted that a colony in the Ayodhya civil lane has been named after him.      

70 years ago, KK Nair was the collector of the Faizabad district of which Ayodhya was a part. He had justified the installation of a Ram idol inside the Babri Masjid on December 22, 1949. Nair, who was also serving as the judicial magistrate then, secured the room and granted permission to devotees to conduct poojas and offer prayers to the idol in designated time intervals. 

However, Jawaharlal Nehru who was the Prime Minister of India during the time, and Govind Ballabh Pant who was serving as the chief minister of UP at the time of the incident intervened in the matter. The duo wanted ‘Sanyasis’ to be evicted from the masjid even if it involved the use of force.

But KK Nair was not ready to oblige to any of those instructions. He instead took over the affairs of the Babri Masjid and handed it over to the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation. 

As a repercussion of his actions, Nair was suspended from service following the incident. The man however approached the court and was eventually reinstated in service. He then quit his job and turned into a lawyer.

Later on, both KK Nair and his wife Shakunthala Nair secured tickets from the Jana Sangh party and were both elected to the legislative assemblies and the parliament. KK Nair remained active in the public sphere until his death in September 1977.

KK Nair was born as the son of Kuttanad couple Shankara Panicker and Parvathy Amma. He had studied at the Alappuzha SDV school and then at the Thiruvananthapuram University College. He then moved to London. At the age of 22, the man secured ICS and joined civil service. His first posting was in UP.

There is a trust functioning in Alappuzha in the name of KK Nair. Sunil Pillai, who is currently serving as both the president and chartered accountant of the trust has been invited for the Ram temple consecration. As part of the invitation, Sunil will be travelling to Ayodhya on the 19th of this month.

Controversial figure
While KK Nair is being celebrated by a certain section of the people as the ‘unsung’ hero of the Ram Mandir movement, his critics describe him as an ‘opportunist’ who always focused on political gains. He allegedly played a role in the events leading up to the planting of the idol in the Babri Masjid. His tenure in Faizabad reportedly involved in controversial actions, including acquiring land through various means.