Swaraj

Mahatma Gandhi’s economic concept for free India was based on his ideology of Gram Swaraj. He believed that economic policies should not be thrust upon the people from above, but people in every locality must have freedom to decide what type of development they need. The present situation is that the Central Government at Delhi and respective State Governments decide what type of development is needed in various parts of the country. The decision makers have no touch with local realities and they are influenced by many powerful vested interests. The natural resources of the country like water, minerals, forest lands are grabbed and appropriated by a few powerful industrial corporates and a few privileged people. This gives rise to peoples’ agitation against many projects that come up in the name of development. Plcahimada in Kerala is an example. If people had been given the power of deciding what type of development projects to be taken up in their locality, many of the people’s agitations against various projects could have been avoided.

            Refreshingly the new nascent political party formed by anti-corruption activist, Arvind Kejrival, the Aam Aadmi Party, is based on the principles of Gram Swaraj of Mahatma Gandhi. (Read Arvind Kejriwal’s book Swaraj which was lauded by none other than Anna Hazaare as “This book is a manifesto of our times and for the anti-corruption movement, and an effective model for the nation to achieve true Swaraj”)

            Based on Arvind Kejriwal’s idea of Swaraj, I have convened a Janasabha of two divisions (Mission Quarters and Pallikulam) of Thrissur Corporation on Sunday 8^th December, 2013 to hear peoples’ complaints against Corporation administration and to discuss the local needs of the people of the area.

Narendra Modi, Not Vikas Purush, but Vinash Purush

At any time in the past, Indian society was never so much polarized, so much divided and so much vitiated by communal and sectarian virus as now and perhaps the only exception is the election time after the destruction of Babri Masjid. The cause for this communal polarization of India is the advent of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of BJP. He was handpicked from among the BJP leaders from his mentor and master, RSS.  Modi becomes a democrat before some people, vikas purush before others and hardcore hindutvavadi before Hindu communalists. He is fully backed by the Indian Industrial Corporates and the media owned by them in his attempt to conquer Delhi’s throne.

We know democracy is a product of capitalism. As time went on capitalism became corporate capitalism and then in recent times it became finance capitalism. And industrial and financial corporate houses began to control and manipulate democracy and democratic institutions. Even though democracy is the child of capitalism, capitalists allow it to function only as long as it is convenient and helpful for making unlimited profits, uncontrolled amassment of wealth and unbridled exploitation of the vital resources of the nation. The clear proof of this is the history of German Nazism. In the German election of 1933 in which Hitler’s Nazi party gained the reins of government in its hands, it was German corporate giants like Krupp, I B Farben, United Steels etc. that sponsored and financed Nazi Party knowing fully well that it will be the last democratic election in Germany. The same political situation prevails in India now:  a weak and corrupt government at the Centre and no credible leader to mobilize democratic forces against Modi backed by fascist RSS.

The quality of political discourse and propaganda has stooped to such lowest and dirtiest level in India since Modi came into the national scene. Blatant lies, unbaked untruths and half truths, and distortion of history are brandished at unsuspecting public. No scruples prevent Modi from distorting history and historical facts to his convenience. His greatest discovery recently was Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, leader of Hindu Mahasabha and founder of Jan Sangh, the former avatar of BJP, was a Gujarati. He calls Mahatmaji, a Gujarati by birth, as Mohanlal Gandhi instead of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Where is his Gujarati Asimitha if he even doesn’t know the correct name of the Father of the Nation who is a Gujarati? According to Modi the ancient Indian University Takshila was in Pakistan not in Bihar. Chandragupta belonged to Maurya dynasty and not Gupta dynasty. He says Jawaharlal Nehru didn’t attend Sardar Patel’s funeral which is a sinister lie. He confidently states that China spends 20 per cent of its GDP for education whereas the fact is that it is only 4 per cent. If this type of Goebbelsian falsification and distortion of history goes on, soon we will have to hear that it is not Naduram Godse who shot dead Mahatmaji, but Mahatmaji who shot dead Naduram Godse. 

Modi claims that his state is a model for development. What type of development is it?  Is the development of the Corporate houses that makes a state developed? Yes, it is undeniable that he has doled out more than enough for the industrial corporates. He has given unbridled freedom to them to exploit the land and natural resources of his state, that belong to all the people including the vagabonds in the streets of Gujarat. And these industrial houses show their gratitude by lavishly spending their money for his publicity and the media owned by them idolize him. The Gujarat government invested Rs.39179 crores in profit motivated enterprises and the average annual return is only 0.25% whereas the interest paid for this borrowed money is 7.75%. Where is the efficiency of the Modi Govt which Modi worshippers propagate from the house tops?

But the truth is that in most aspects, Gujarat is one of the least developed states in India. Neera Chandhoke points out in EPW “Gujarat’s performance in poverty reduction and human development has been poor compared to other states which are growing at a lower rate. According to the 2011 India Human Development Report, in the human development index the state slipped from the 5th rank in 1996, to the 9th rank in 2006. It is the worst performer in child malnutrition with 69.7% of children up to the age of five anaemic and 44.6% malnourished. Health indicators for the scheduled tribes (STs) are worse than that at the national level, and also poorer than that for other social groups in the state. According to the Global Hunger Index brought out by the International Food Policy Research Institute, India ranks 66 among the 88 countries listed. Among the five worst performers is Gujarat. Gujarat’s literacy rate is only marginally above the national average, and is extremely low in the tribal belt. In sum, Gujarat has proved to be one state where social welfare has not proved commensurate with increases in rates of economic growth.”

Kerala Chief Minister Oomman Chandy is reeling under a solar scandal, related to a bogus company Team Solar, for the last few months. Now Naredra Modi is also accused of a solar scandal in connection with his alleged unlawful snooping on a 30 year old lady architect in Bangalore. Modi government illegally allotted crores worth of solar energy contracts to a then unknown company, Gandhinagar Grid, under the ownership of the brother of this. Gandhinagar Grid didn’t have much previous experience in the field of generation of solar energy and strangely enough, this was the company which got the largest solar energy contract in India with no previous experience in the field, worth mentioning. The CAG has found irregularity in allotting solar contracts to a single company without competitive quotations by government institutions in Gujarat, thus resulting in loss of crores of Rupees of public money.

Subsequently the lady became estranged with Modi and fell in love with another person. During this period Modi arranged for snooping on the lady. In 2009 Mr.Amit Shah, then Home Minsiter of Gujarat under orders of Narendra Modi put the young lady under intense surveillance by Anti-Terrorist Squad flouting all norms and in blatant violation of various laws of the Land. The lady was relentlessly followed by Gujarat police across boundaries of states in shopping malls, restaurants, gyms etc., in her visit of relatives, when she went to see her mother in hospital, when she checked into hotels, when she took flights and practically  to every building she visited or stayed in. Her phones were tapped. This unlawful action of Modi is violation of Constitutional oath, negation of ‘Rights to Privacy’ enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, gross abuse of State power and misuse of police machinery. This is a cognizable offence that requires the State to file an FIR for the violation of Section 5.2 of the Indian Telegraph Act and Section 354 D(ii) of the amended Indian Penal Code. Modi-bhakts’ defense is that her dady asked for it. Didn’t they know privacy and civil liberties of a woman cannot be ceded to the State even by her father? Paradoxically the same people who complain of the Congress Bureau of Investigation (CBI) misused the Anti-Terrorism Squad to snoop on a young lady.

I warn the people of India, as I have done on many previous occasions,  that these are all the portents of the Modi Raj some people are enthusiastically waiting for. 

My View of Secularism

I believe that Pandit Nehru was a true secularist in the right sense of the word. Oxford dictionary says that the meaning of the word secular is "not concerned with religion or religious belief". I referred to Cabmbridge International Dictionary of English also. As per this dictionary ‘secular’ means "not having any connection with religion" and secularism is the belief that religion should not be involved with the ordinary social and political activities of a country. Pandit Nehru was a true secularist who believed in the western concept of secularism.
              We in India give an entirely different meaning and interpretation to secularism. We believe that secularism is giving equal consideration and equal encouragement to all religions and allowing them equal say in the social and political activities of the nation. This is a wrong notion which has done a lot of irreparable damage to Indian polity.
             One of my Hindu friends sympathetic with Hindutvavadis argues that Congress Party and the so-called secular brigades made Indian secularism "Muslims first, Muslims next and Muslims last". I beg to disagree with him and, on the other hand, believe that the so-called secular parties have placated the minorities and the majority alternatively for their political gains.
              My firm opinion is that the Shah Bano case of 1985 is a watershed in the history of Indian secularism. A poor Muslim woman, mother of five children, was divorced by her husband in 1978 and was subsequently denied alimony for her and her children’s maintenance. The Supreme Court of India ordered that the poor Muslim lady be given alimony. There was considerable debate and controversy across the country at that time and Muslim fundamentalists opposed this judgment of Supreme Court and described it as violating their personal law, Shariat. To dilute and annul the secular judgment of the Supreme Court, the Congress Government at the Centre headed by Rajiv Gandhi, with its two-third majority in Parliament,  passed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce Act, 1986) with retrospective effect to deny the right of alimony to a destitute divorced Muslim woman from her former husband. Paradoxically enough, Muslim Women’s Protection of Rights on Divorce Act was not intended for the protection, but destruction of the rights of  Muslim women .  Right minded Muslims should have opposed this bill more vehemently than persons belonging to other communities, but voice of the secular Muslims was feeble and was drowned in the hue and cry of the Muslim fundamentalists.
             RSS, which was lying low after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, caught hold of this God-given golden opportunity and whipped up Hindu sentiments and emotions on account of this constitutional amendment. With the ulterior motive to consolidate Hindu vote bank they poured oil in the simmering dispute about Babri mosque in the vicinity of mythological Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.  Then the Congress lost its courage and was anxious of the Hindu backlash in the Lok Sabha election of 1989.  So they wanted to placate Hindu communalists and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (Whatever his lapses and failures, nobody can brand him a communalist.) allowed Hindu communalists to perform Shilanyas in Ayodya. He also started his election campaign of 1989 General Election from Ayodhya. This was a calculated risk on the part of the Congress which estranged the Muslims in North India. The Congress lost the gamble and was defeated in the election.
              What I want to say is that the so-called secular political parties woo Hindus and Muslims alternatively for their electoral gains wherever and whenever it suits them. But BJP is an exception which placates only the Hindu Majority. The true secularists must see through the game. Dear friends, I claim to be a true secularist and not a pseudo secularist. My idea of secularism is more akin to western concept of secularism that stipulates, politics should not have any connection with religion and religion should not involve in political activities and policies and administration of the State. I will stand like a rock to defend my faith in the idea of secularism and fight to the last against all evil forces and political parties that harm the secular ethos of this great Nation. I will have no regret even if I have to sacrifice my life for this great cause.

P.S. The above article is a reply sent to one of my Hindutvavadi friends who criticized my stand against Narendra Modi and fascist RSS.

Madhav Gadgil Report and a Bunch of Lies

The hilly regions of Kozhikode District in Kerala were practically in flames yesterday. Incited by the Catholic Church and the Communist Party of India (Marxists), crowds of uninformed peasants under the leadership of political and church hooligans took to the streets, burning down and destroying valuable public and private properties including transport vehicles, government offices etc. All were in the name of the decision of the Union Government to implement some recommendations for environmental and ecological protection of the Western Ghats by Dr. K. Kasturirangan Panel.

                        The roots of the present uprising of the people of hilly regions of Kerala goes back to the decision of the Central Government to appoint a Committee under the chairman- ship of Prof. Madhav Gadgil to recommend ways and measures for the protection of ecologically sensitive areas of the Western Ghats. After detailed study the Committee submitted its report to the Government.  The vested interests, who were going on with the relentless and indiscriminate exploitation of the ecologically sensitive high ranges of Kerala and other states in which Western Ghats is situated, incited various groups of people including farmers, estate owners etc. etc. against the proposals of Gadgil Committee and instilled false and baseless fears in the minds of innocent people that all the farmers and cultivators will be evicted from these regions of the Western Ghats. There is no basis for this false and motivated propaganda. In the last few days while watching channel discussions on the matter, the impression I gained is that those who oppose Prof. Madhav Gadgil report haven’t actually gone through it. An impartial reading of the report is sufficient to convince an unbiased observer that the Gadgil report is not inimical to the cultivators of High Ranges.

                        In order to surmount the opposition of the influential Catholic Church and some political parties in the region towards the recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil Report, Central Government appointed Dr. Kasturirangan Panel to restudy and revise the proposals of Gadgil Report. The report produced by Kasturirangan Panel was a highly diluted and watered down version of the original Gadgil report. In fact if the Government is interested in the ecological and environmental protection of the Western Ghats it is not Kasturirangan Report but Madhav Gadgil Report to be implemented. The vested interests of the High Ranges are not even prepared to allow the implementation of this watered down version of Gadgil Report ie. the Kasturirangan Panel Report.

                        UNESCO has earmarked the Western Ghats as a reservoir of biodiversity and a world heritage. The existence of Kerala depends on the Western Ghats and we can’t imagine a Kerala without eco-friendly Western Ghats.  Out of 44 rivers of Kerala 41 originate from Western Ghats and flow into the Arabian Sea. Unauthorized quarrying, sand mining and widespread destruction of the ever green forests with the connivance of the political parties and religious outfits like Catholic Church are leading to the total destruction of this mountain range.  It will not be long before all the 41 rivers of Kerala will dry up as a result of wanton destruction of the High Ranges by quarry, land and real estate mafia. These mafia, backed by the Catholic Church (The richness of the Church and its clergy is due to the hefty generous donations of the mafia and using these funds, the bishops travel in luxury vehicles like Audy cars and live in luxurious splendor and fly from airport to airport. The new Pope Francis coined the term airport bishops for these people.) and now by vote-seeking CPM are behind the troubles of hilly areas of Kozhikode, Wynad, Idukki, Pathanathitta etc. I am so sorry to see CPM bartering the ecology of Western Ghats for a few votes that can be mustered by the Catholic clergy. The new political equation in the offing in Kerala, an alliance of the political face of the Catholic Church, Kerala Congress and the CPIM is behind this joining together of these two groups in the agitation against Kasturirangan Report.

                        Canards and lies are spread in the area against Gadgil Report by the quarry, sand mining and land mafia. Their propaganda is that all the peasants and farmers will be evicted from their lands. There is no such proposal anywhere in the Gadgil Report where as it says that agriculture and agricultural activity must be encouraged. But it recommends banning of unrestricted quarrying, sand mining and indiscriminate exploitation of forest wealth. Gadgil has suggested that traditional farming must be encouraged and pesticides like endosulphan must be banned in the area.  Genetically engineered seeds like  B.T.seeds should not be used. Big housing complexes, high rise multi-storey buildings and resorts must be discouraged. How will such proposals be anti-farmers?

                        Present violence in Kerala’s hill tracts are the creation of Christian, mainly Catholic, Chruch. The Catholic clergy are inciting people for their political gains. The CPM joins them for a few votes in the coming election.  A few weeks ago respectable V.S.Achuthanadan, the Leader of the Opposition stated that not watered down Kasturirangan Report but the original Gadgil report must be implemented. Yesterday he somersaulted and altered his statement that Kasturirangan report should not be implemented now without proper discussions and consultations etc.

                        In the last few weeks the Catholic Bishops and clergy of Thamarassery and Idukki dioceses were inciting their faithful with provocative speeches and pastoral letters against the Kasturirangan Report and this has resulted in the widespread violence and lawlessness in the State. The present political violence reminds me about the dark days of the so-called Liberation struggle in Kerala in 1958. The only difference is that then the Communist Party of India was at the receiving end and now the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Catholic Church are on the same side of the fence.  

            I am of the firm opinion that the bishops of Thamarassery and Idukki are incitors of the arson and violence going on in Kerala and they must be answerable for this. If the Government of Kerala has the requisite political will power at its command, I demand that these two bishops be arrested and imprisoned for inciting people for committing violence.  The land and quarry mafia is behind this strife and it is preplanned. The clear proof for this is that 12 tipper lorry loaded fully with hooligans hired by them were sent to Thamarassery for arson and looting. The local League MLA has admitted this fact. The files of the criminal cases against quarry and land mafia kept in the forest offices Thamarassery and Wynad were destroyed when these offices were burnt down.

                        I request all my friends who are interested in protecting the ecology and environment of Western Ghats to spread the message among the peasants in the area that the recommendations of Gadgil and Kasturirangan Reports are not against their interests but against the vested interests of quarry and land mafia.

Annaji, Please Don’t Allow Your Name to be Used to Kill Your Own Baby.

As a person who was in the forefront of Anna Movement in Kerala and in organizing a relay fast in front of Thrissur Corporation Office on all days of Annaji’s indefinite fast in Delhi for Jan Lokpal in August 2011, I am much shocked and pained by some remarks of Annaji leaked to the public against Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party. When AAP was formed I had my own doubts whether a political party is needed to fight corruption and bring in the much needed Jan Lokpal  even though the Congress was challenging many a time India Against Corruption movement to form its own party and test its support among the people. Arvind Kejriwal was ready to accept the challenge but some other leaders including Annaji was against the formation of the Party. Initially my support was with the latter group. My opinion was even if a party is formed to realize the ideals for which India Against Corruption stood, it should have Anna Hazare as its moral leader and Arvind Kejriwal, its executive leader as in the freedom struggle when Mahatma Gandhi  was its moral leader and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the executive leader.

                        Kejriwal invited Annaji to take the leadership of the party many a time. I also waited for a long time hoping Annaji will come to the leadership of the party. Then it became clear that some people are misleading Annaji and trying to insert a wedge between him and Arvind Kejriwal. From last week’s unfortunate remarks of Annaji  against AAP and Kejriwal it has become crystal clear that some vested interests are misleading Annaji. I have made a fervent appeal to Annaji not to be party in the evil efforts of those dark forces to kill his own baby in the womb. All the leaders and, rank and file of Aam Aadmi Party still consider Annaji as the father of the party and its moral leader. All are in the hope that someday in future he will come forward and assume the moral leadership.

                         I have no doubt in my mind that RSS and its political arm BJP are behind the leakage of some of Annaji’s private remarks  and his letter to Kejriwal. Everybody knows that AAP has eaten more into the political base of BJP rather than Congress in New Delhi and that is the reason for the leakage and the whispering campaign of the RSS and BJP going on in Delhi. RSS has proved in the past that they are masters of the tactics of whispering campaigns.

Are Indians Hobbesian? (culture of self interest)

Corruption in India is a cultural aspect.

Indians seem to think nothing peculiar about corruption .

It is everywhere.

Indians tolerate corrupt individuals rather than correct them.

No race can be congenitally corrupt.

But can a race be corrupted by its culture?

To know why Indians are corrupt ,

look at their patterns and practices .

First: 

Religion is transactional in India.

Indians give God cash and anticipate an out-of-turn reward.

Such a plea acknowledges that favours are needed for the undeserving.

In the world outside the temple walls, 

such a transaction is named- “bribe”.

A wealthy Indian gives not cash to temples,

but gold crowns and such baubles.

His gifts cannot feed the poor. His pay-off is for God.

He thinks it will be wasted if it goes to a needy man.

In June 2009, The Hindu published a report of Karnataka minister G.Janardhan Reddy gifting a crown of gold and diamonds worth Rs 45 crore to Tirupati.

India’s temples collect so much that

they don't know what to do with it.

Billions are gathering dust in temple vaults.

When Europeans came to India they built schools.

When Indians go to Europe & USA, they build temples.

Indians believe that if God accepts money for his favours,

then nothing is wrong in doing the same thing.

This is why Indians are so easily corruptible.

Indian culture accommodates such transactions morally.

There is no real stigma. An utterly corrupt Jayalalithaa can make a comeback, just unthinkable in the West.

Second -

Indian moral ambiguity towards corruption is visible in its history.

Indian history tells of the capture of cities and kingdoms after guards were paid off to open the gates, and commanders paid off to surrender.

This is unique to India.

Indians' corrupt nature has meant limited warfare on the subcontinent.

It is striking how little Indians have actually fought compared to ancient Greece and modern Europe.

The Turks’ battles with Nadir Shah were vicious and fought to the finish.

In India fighting wasn't needed, bribing was enough to see off armies.

Any invader willing to spend cash could brush aside India’s kings, no matter how many tens of thousands soldiers were in their infantry.

Little resistance was given by the Indians at the “Battle” of Plassey.

Clive paid off Mir Jaffar and all of Bengal folded to an army of 3,000.

There was always a financial exchange to taking Indian forts.

Golconda was captured in 1687 after the secret back door was left open.

Mughals vanquished Marathas and Rajputs with nothing but bribes.

The Raja of Srinagar gave up Dara Shikoh’s son Sulaiman to  Aurangzeb after receiving a bribe.

There are many cases where Indians participated

on a large scale in treason due to bribery.

Question is: Why Indians have a transactional culture while other 'civilized' nations don't?

Third -

Indians do not believe in the theory that they all can rise

if each of them behaves morally, because that is not

the message of their faith.

Their caste system separates them.

They don't believe that all men are equal.

This resulted in their division and migration to other religions .

Many Hindus started their own faith like Sikh, Jain, Buddha and many converted to Christianity and Islam.

The result is that Indians don't trust one another .

There are no Indians in India ,there are

Hindus ,Christians, Muslims and what not.

Indians forget that 400 years ago they all belonged to one faith.

This division evolved an unhealthy culture.

The inequality has resulted in a corrupt society,

In India everyone is thus against everyone else,

except God ­ and even he must be bribed.

THE SAD STORY OF A FREEDOM FIGHTER

When the tall, fair and handsome man in his white khadi kurta and dhoti walked around the main bazaar of Thrissur town, people made fun of him calling him ‘kanti pranthan’ ( Gandhi lunatic). Some others called him ‘Uyirppu Devassy’ ( Resurrected Sebastian).  These nicknames never bothered that great dedicated freedom fighter, P. W. Sebastian. He was known by his pet name Devassy among family and friends. He was one of the few leaders of the Freedom movement in the erstwhile Cochin State and was responsible for forming the Congress movement in Thrissur along with late Kuroor Neelakandan Namboodiripad.

                        At that time he was a rich businessman of Thrissur. He had a Jewellery and  textile shop known as Paris Hall in High Road, Thrissur. His enthusiasm for the freedom movement and love and respect for Mahatma Gandhi prompted him to jump into the ocean of freedom struggle even without considering the financial security of his family and the future of his business.

                        In those days the Catholic Church and its hierarchy were strong supporters of the British Raj and they opposed the struggle for independence lead by Mahatma Gandhi. They called Gandhiji as Anti-Christ. There is a belief among Catholics that an Anti-Christ will be born when the end of the Universe is near and the Catholic clergy thought Mahatma Gandhi was that Anti-Christ. Only when the church hierarchy became sure that the British would leave India and the Congress would come to power, they became enthusiastic supporters of the Congress.  Ignoring the opposition of the Catholic clergy against the Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi, P. W. Sebastian, a true catholic, joined the freedom movement even at the risk of becoming an outcast from the Church and thus he became the first Catholic to join the Indian National Congress. The Church authorities were angry with him for joining ‘Kanti Bhagam’ (Gandhi’s side).

                        It was accidental that P. W. Sebastian, the then well-known businessman of Thrissur, came into the freedom movement. It happened during one of his routine business tours to Mumbai for procuring gold jewellery and textiles. During this trip he met Motilal Nehru, father of the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and they became friends. After returning to Thrissur their friendship became stronger through regular correspondence. It was under the influence of Motilal Nehru, P. W. Sebastian became a member of the Indian National Congress in the Madras Session of the Congress in 1914. He was one among the twelve persons who took Congress membership in the Madras Session. They included  K.P.Kesava Menon (Founder editor Mathrubhumi News Paper), E.V.Ramaswamy Naikkar (Founder of Dravida Kazhakam former incarnation or avathar of DMK and AIDMK), Mannath Padmanabhan (Founder of Nair Service Society), Barrister George Joseph, R. K. Shanmugham Chetty (Former Diwan of Cochin State), C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer (Former Diwan of Travancore State) and Mirza Ismail ( Former Diwan of Mysore).

                        Subsequently R. K. Shanmugham Chetty, C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer and Mirza Ismail deserted Congress and sided with the British. They were rewarded for this by the British Rulers conferring  the hounour of Knighthood and could add the title ‘Sir’ before their names. They were also doled out the lucrative jobs of Diwans of Cochin, Travancore and Mysore States respectively. But P. W. Sebastian was never a person to fall into the trap of British temptation. Otherwise he also could have managed to get such honours and lucrative jobs under the British.

                        P. W. Sebastian was the leader of the foreign clothes boycott agitation in Thrissur. In 1920 he publicly burnt a heap of foreign clothes along with other volunteers in Thekkinkadu Maidan of Thrissur. This made him the target of the British Government and the Government marked him as its enemy. He started a Malayalam News paper from Thrissur along with Sri Kuroor Neelakandan Namboodiripad to spread the message of freedom movement. The name of the paper was ‘Lokamanayan’ and P. W. Sebastian was the printer and publisher and Kuroor Namboodiripad, the editor. The British Government confiscated the newspaper within a year and Sebastian and Kuroor, publisher and editor of the newspaper, were arrested and imprisoned in Viyyur Jail for 6 months. While in jail he organized other prisoners and started a fast against serving of bad quality food. The imprisonment strengthened his will power and motivation to do more for the national freedom movement. During this period he had regular correspondence with Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu etc.

                        The V.I.P. guests who visited Sebastian’s house in East Bazaar, Thrissur included Mahatma Gandhi, Deenabandhu C.F.Andrews and Sarojini Naidu. Kasturba Gandhi, Mahatma’s wife, stayed one night in his house.

                        He participated in Vaikom Sathyagraha and was arrested and jailed for 6 months in Trivandrum Jail. During his imprisonment in Trivandrum Jail discreet enquiries were made from the Viceroy’s Office in Delhi to Cochin and Travancore State Governments about Sebastian on  a British Secret Service information that he was a member of German Bolshevic Committee (German Communist Party). Travancore Government was warned that Sri Sebastian was a dangerous person.  After release from the jail he continued the struggle for freedom. His next arrest was in 1928 for participating in the agitation against and boycott of Simon Commission in Mumbai.

                        When Gandhiji visited Thrissur in 1927 P. W. Sebastian and Kuroor Namboodiripad were the leaders who arranged the reception of the Mahatma at the railway station. They entrusted a Harijan to garland Gandhiji when he got down from the train. A palm leaf umbrella was used to protect Gandhiji from the sun and he spoke to those assembled at the railway platform under this umbrella. During his visit to Thrissur Gandhiji visited Sebastian’s house on October 14^th 1927. The reception given to Gandhiji in his own residence provoked Catholic Church hierarchy and its cohorts and they branded Sebastian as ‘Kanti Pranthan’ (Gandhi  Lunatic).

                        He was a fearless leader and fighter.  Wherever in India there was a struggle, he was there. This kept him away from the family for months together. His letters to family were few and far between. Once a telegram was received by his wife with the message, ‘Sebastian expired’. There was no mention of where, when and how he died.  Under the initiative of Fr. Vadakkan, a progressive Catholic priest, a memorial service was conducted.  Three months his wife and four children spent in mourning. Then surprisingly one fine morning opening the front gate of his house the already ‘expired’ Sebastian returned home. Nobody could believe their eyes. They thought he resurrected from the dead and people started to call him “Uyirppu Devassy’ or Resurrected Sebastian. When he had gone underground during the Quit India Movement his wife Annam died. The relatives waited for him till next day midnight and only then her body was buried. He could come home only six days after his wife’s death.

                        By then his business and shops had become past history and nothing was left for a living. After Independence he supported Gandhiji‘s stand that Indian National Congress must be dissolved. This made him unpopular among, by then power-hungry Congressmen. P. W.  Sebastian, the great freedom fighter, really died on 27^th December 1969 unsung, unpraised and unremembered,  without the glare of publicity, without pension for freedom fighters or even without a Tamrapatra. No Congressman in Thrissur remembers him now. There are roads in Thrissur named after Christian Bishops who opposed freedom struggle, but there is no road named after this great freedom fighter. He has fully faded into the darkness of forgetfulness.

A Personal Note:  P. W. Sebastian is related to me. He married Annam, fondly known as Kunjannam in family circles, the younger sister of my own grandmother. As per our custom grandmother’s sister is  grandmother to me and her husband, grandfather. Thus P. W. Sebastian was my grandfather. His eldest son George after completing education left Thrissur and started an accounting firm in Calcutta.  When he visited our house in Thrissur again, even my mother had difficulty in recognizing her own cousin after so many years. It is years now since anything is heard from him. Sebastian’s third son Antony (Anties) died long ago. His daughter Baby was married to a noble family in Kothamangalam. His second son, Jose Poovathingal, lived for a long time in Thrissur in financial difficulties. I had the good fortune to extend occasional financial help to him.  I also could arrange an employment for his daughter in Elite Supermarket, Thrissur, thanks to its owner and my good friend Sri T. R. Vijayakumar. But, by then the family had shifted residence from Thrissur town to an interior place, the girl could not continue the job for long as it would be very late to reach home after work.  Soon Sri Jose Poovathingal died and unfortunately I lost contact with the family since then. I don’t even know where the family is now. This is the sad story of a freedom fighter who sacrificed his family, business and all good things in life for the freedom of the country.

            For the last fifteen years I used to deliver an Independence Day speech in my locality. (If you won’t consider me immodest, I have to reveal that my Independence Day speeches are popular among the people in the area. Hindus, Muslims and Christians flock to hear my speech even though other political leaders are there to speak. )  This year’s address was a memorial speech for P. W. Sebastian, the forgotten hero and freedom fighter of Thrissur. In my speech I hinted that he joined Indian National Congress disregarding the ban of the Catholic Church who supported the British Raj at that time. This provoked some faithful catholic sheep in the locality against me. Thrissur City Corporation is ruled by the Congress for a long time even from the days of being a municipal town and when I criticized the Congress Mayor and Councillors for not naming at least a road in memory of this great freedom fighter and one of the earliest  Congressmen who started the Congress movement in Thrissur, the Congress Councillors and Congressmen present in the meeting were a bit annoyed.