Padmanabhan Palpu

<!-- Deleted image removed: -->

Padmanabhan Palpu LMS, DPH (Cantab) FRIPH (London) is one of the immortals of the Indian Renaissance. He was by profession a bacteriologist - a fighter of germs. Circumstances made him a social revolutionary - a fighter of manmade social evils. Towards this end he waged a long, heroic and selfless battle, with his mighty pen. It was mainly against the official and priestly sections of the contemporary society. In the face of all their organized opposition and ill-treatment, he stood apart as an apostle of liberty and unfailing champion of the oppressed classes.

He was born on November 2, 1863 in Petta, Trivandrum part of Indian princely state of Travancore, present-day Kerala, from a wealthy Ezhava family. Dr. Palpu was a contemporary and follower of Narayana Guru. He was a prominent Indian literary, physician, and philanthropist during the Indian Independence Movement. He was father of Nataraja Guru, who was the direct disciple of Narayana Guru. A London trained physician who later abandoned his profession, he abandoned that calling to create social and spiritual reform within his community.

Early life

He remains ever an example of the persecution that the backward communities suffered in Kerala in those days. In 1884 Dr. Palpu appeared for the pre-qualification entrance examinations conducted by the Travancore State Government and was ranked fourth. However, he was denied a seat to study medicine due to his lower caste which was a...
Read More