The Nair Service Society has withdrawn from the proposed Hindu unity front with the SNDP Yogam, calling the move politically motivated and impractical. (File Photo)
The call for Hindu unity in Kerala — mooted by backward Ezhava community leader Vellappally Natesan — suffered a setback on Monday after the upper-caste Hindu outfit Nair Service Society (NSS) decided to backtrack.
The decision came a day after the Union government conferred a Padma award on Natesan, general secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, who has recently been in the thick of a political storm over his anti-Muslim comments. After a meeting of its director board, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair said in a release that the organisation had decided against forming a ‘Hindu unity’ front with the SNDP.
“The unity is not practical. NSS-SNDP Yogam unity had failed to take off several times in the past. The present political atmosphere indicates that the latest unity move will fail. Hence, another attempt for NSS-SNDP Yogam unity is not practical, especially considering the equidistant stand of NSS towards all political parties. NSS wants to be in harmony with the SNDP, as it is with all other communities,” he said.
Sukumaran Nair later told the media that the organisation backtracked from the unity “because we have realised that there is a political intention behind that”. “We have doubts about their approach. They (SNDP Yogam) have deputed an NDA leader to hold discussions with us,” he said.
On January 21, the SNDP Yogam general council had adopted a resolution backing the Hindu unity plan, with Natesan’s son Thushar Vellappally tasked with holding further discussions with the NSS. Sukumaran Nair had promptly welcomed the resolution and announced that he would meet Thushar to work out the nitty-gritty of the unity.
Natesan had spoken of a wider unity, saying Christians would also be part of it — a move politically construed as mobilisation of the Hindu majority against Muslims. With around 27% of the population, the Ezhava community is the single largest segment in Kerala, while the Nair community accounts for around 14%.
A unity between the NSS and SNDP Yogam was seen as politically significant as it was expected ahead of the Assembly elections. A common factor favouring the move was the opposition of both Natesan and Sukumaran Nair to Opposition leader V D Satheesan, who is leading the Congress-led UDF in the elections. Satheesan has been critical of the “divisive politics” of Natesan targeting Muslims, while Nair was unhappy with Satheesan’s view that community leaders should not call the shots in Congress affairs.
While the Hindu unity call unsettled the UDF camp, the CPI(M)-led front — in a bid to consolidate Hindu support — read political intent behind the developments. While Natesan backs the CPI(M), his son Thushar is president of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, an ally of the BJP in Kerala and NDA convener, making the move politically intriguing.
The Ezhava community has traditionally been pro-CPI(M), while the NSS has largely been seen as pro-Congress. At the same time, both communities have faced pressure from the BJP’s efforts to expand its Hindu vote base.
Curated by Shiv Shakti Mishra
