A C N Nambiar, unsung freedom fighter

KOZHIKODE: Arathil Candath Narayanan Nambiar, aka A. C. N. Nambiar (1896-1986), is an unsung hero of  the Indian independence movement.  Born in Thalassery as the  son of the erstwhile Malayalam litterateur, Vengayil Kunjiraman Nayanar,  he spent much of his life serving the independence movement in Europe. A book on this little known diplomat has been brought out by V. Balachandran,  former RAW special secretary. Titled  ‘A Life in Shadow: The Secret Story of A.C.N. Nambiar—A Forgotten Anti-Colonial Warrior,’  the book sheds light on Nambiar’s life that was  spent mostly  at  international venues like Berlin, London and Prague amid Nazi invasion and the Second World War.

He was a  close aide of Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose and worked as a left wing journalist for some time. “He utilised all his foreign relations to fight the imperialists,” said Balachandran, who had worked closely with Nambiar. Nambiar first met Nehru in Brussels in 1927 at the venue of the Anti-imperialist Congress. In  February,  1933, he was arrested by Gestapo in connection with an arson case in Reichstag. Nambiar met Bose in Prague in 1934. Though both differed on the relations with Nazis, their friendship blossomed.  They  jointly floated the Free India Centre and the Indian Legion in Berlin for India’s independence.

V. Balachandran.

After the surrender of Germany in the Second World War in 1945, British army captured Nambiar from Germany. Post-1947, upon Nehru’s persistence, he returned to India in 1948 and worked as a diplomat. He was  appointed Indian ambassador to Scandinavia and in 1951 the first Indian ambassador to  the Federal Republic of Germany.  Awarded Padma Bhushan in 1958,  he finished his career as European correspondent of the Hindustan Times. In 1984, he settled down in New Delhi with Balachandran, who was appointed  by Indira Gandhi.  He passed away on   January 17,  1986.

British Intelligence records and Bombay special branch files were vetted by Balachandran to produce the book. He dismisses the claim that Nehru didn’t care for Bose’s family after his mysterious disappearance. The book has reproduced 18 letters written by Indira Gandhi to Nambiar, in which she addresses him as  ‘My dear Nanu’  and ends them with the words,  “by a  loving and affectionate Indu.” Born in the feudal family at Eranjoli in Thalassery, Nambiar married Suhasini Chadopadyaya, the first woman communist member in India and   the sister of Sarojini Naidu.   V. Balachandran  from Ottapalam  is the grand nephew of the late V.P.Menon who played a vital role in India’s political integration under Sardar Patel's guidance.