Standing up to be counted

Former journalist KSR Menon talks about the reasons behind the setting up of the ‘Democratic Social Justice Party’, a party for the Forward castes  

Pics: KSR Menon; Photo by Arun Angela; KSR Menon (extreme right) with office-bearers and party members of the Democratic Social Justice Party 

By Shevlin Sebastian 

One night, former journalist KSR Menon stood at the living room window of his seventh-floor apartment in Aluva and stared at the Periyar River. He had just returned from a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram with his friend, Prof Konni Gopakumar and felt upbeat but physically tired. So, he was enjoying the summer breeze blowing through the window. Later, as his wife Radhika laid the dishes on the dining table, Menon said, “A group of us are planning to start a political party for the Forward castes.” 

This statement expectedly received a middle-class reaction. “What?” she said, her eyes widening. “Are you guys crazy?”  

“No,” Menon said. “We are serious.” 

Then he explained the reasons why. “If we have a political presence, those of our community members who are below the poverty line could get government benefits,” he said. “Because we are categorised as being a forward caste, we don’t get any benefits. We have to fight this. And we also need a political voice.” 

Radhika pondered over her husband’s remarks. Then she said, “Okay, but please don’t bring the party to the house.”   

Menon nodded, while Gopakumar gave a smile. When Menon called his children, son Ashwin in Seattle and Aishwarya, a lawyer in Delhi, both said, “Go for it Dad.” 

That was two years ago. Recently, after a lot of to-and-fro e-mails, the Election Commission of India has registered the ‘Democratic Social Justice Party’ (DSJP). “It took time because the guidelines are very strict,” says Menon. “You must have 100 founding members, an office and a constitution that adheres to the Indian Constitution. You cannot have objectives contrary to it. The office-bearers have to declare their assets.”

The office bearers include Menon as president, Gopakumar (who was a leader of the defunct National Democratic Party [NDP]) as the general secretary and businessman Mallelil Sreedharan Nair as the treasurer. The Chief Patron is Manjery Bhaskara Pillai, who heads over 100 Malabar Nair Samajam units in north Kerala and is also a director of the Global Nair Sewa Samaj. “He is very well known in the Nair community,” says Menon. 

As for a permanent symbol, it will be granted by the Election Commission only after the DSJP has participated in a few elections. 

Meanwhile, when asked about the definition of the Forward communities, Menon says, “The Nairs comprise about 80 per cent. Then there are the related communities like the Namboodiris, Nambiars, Marars, Poduvals, and Pisharodies.” 

For a while now, the DSJP leaders have been going all over the state giving speeches to community members. “The idea is gaining traction,” says Menon. “In the first meeting, we could see the people could not understand the concept of a political party. Our party, the NDP had been disbanded in 1996. Then the people said, ‘Why should we have a party?’ We replied that this will help us to fight our marginalisation in state politics.”  

Later, Menon, as well as the other DSJP leaders met G. Sukumaran Nair, the general secretary of the Nair Service Society, the leading community organisation and the latter said he would support the good work of the party.  

The people are also offering their support. After the speeches during a meeting at Kalamassery, an elderly woman came to the podium and said, “This is something we should have done a long time ago. Nobody cares for us. If there is an unjustified government transfer, we cannot appeal to anybody. I will work for the party till my last breath.” 

Another woman also came up. During the Sabarimala stir against women of a certain age being allowed to enter the temple, the 30-year-old poured kerosene on her body and was prevented from lighting up, in the nick of time, by the people nearby. “She also told us that she will work for the party till her last breath,” says Menon.  

The party is planning to contest the panchayat elections, next year, in segments where they are strong. “In Kollam, we are 30 per cent, Kannur 24 per cent, in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, the Nairs and other related communities are 18 per cent, Ernakulam is 10 percent while in Thrissur it is 8 percent,” says Menon. “If we do tactical voting we can make a big difference. And that is also the situation in 28 Assembly constituencies, which was won by a margin of less than 5000 votes during the last Assembly elections.” 

The party is willing to stitch useful alliances, with the BJP, the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, the constituents of the LDF, UDF, or the Kerala Congress. “We met [party supremo] KM Mani before he passed away,” says Menon. “He was very keen. He said that whenever the Kerala Congress aligned with the Nairs, both did very well, especially during the time of [NSS founder] Mannathu Padmanabhan (1878-1970).”

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A writing life 

KSR Menon grew up in Aluva, the son of a senior government official. He did his masters from Union Christian College at Aluva, and went to Delhi to do a one-year course on journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. Following that, he joined the Press Trust of India and worked there for 18 years. Thereafter, he was transferred to West Asia, where he covered the region based in Dubai. He worked in PTI for nine years. Then he quit and worked for a local newspaper followed by a freelance career that lasted nine years. He returned to Kerala in 2013.

In 2014, he published a novel, ‘Desert Hunt’. This was a gripping and fast-paced thriller about terrorists and security agents playing cat-and-mouse games in Dubai. 

(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode)