N. Sreekantan Nair

N. Sreekantan Nair was a longtime Member of Parliament of Kollam, freedom fighter, trade unionist and writer.

Early life

He was born on 15 July 1915 as the only son of N. Neelakanta Pillai M.A. (Eng), (Mal), (Sanskrit). Pillai was a Principal of Government Sanskrit College, Trivandrum and authored several books in the three languages and JanakiAmma. He married activist Maheshwari Amma, daughter of freedom fighter K. K. Kunju Pillai. They have a daughter, Naja.

Education

Nair passed his S.S.L.C. from M.G.M High School, Thiruvalla in 1932. He joined the St. Berchmans College, Changanassery where he completed his Intermediate in 1934. He passed his M.A. degree in English with first class from Maharajas College (now University College, Trivandrum) in 1937.

Political life

He was a member of the State Congress in the erstwhile state of Travancore, and a founder of the Kerala Socialist Party which later merged into the Revolutionary Socialist Party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in the General Elections of 1952 from Quilon cum Mavelikara constituency, but lost the 1957 elections to V. P. Nair. He won the next four elections (1962, 1967, 1971, 1977) representing Kollam Parliament Constituency. He devoted his political life to the trade union sector in Kerala.

Writer

He translated the book 'Kayar'(Coir) of Jnanpith winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai to English. He was a board member of the Sahithya Pravarthaka Saharkarna Sanghom and member of Kerala Sahitya Akademi.

References

• Vekthiyum Prasthanavum Biography on him written by Navaikulam Sukumaran Nair
• Dynamics of Agrarian Struggle – Viśvambharanāyar Muraḷīdharannāyar – Google Books. Books.google.co.in. 1996. ISBN 9788174884435. Retrieved 31 May 2012.