Nawab Rajendran

Social activist

T.A. Rajendran popularly known as Nawab Rajendran (b. 1950 - d. October 10, 2005) - Social activist and journalist from Kerala who by his sensational newspaper Nawab and through his numerous Public interest litigations stirred the conscience of the society for nearly three decades.

T.A. Rajendran was born in 1950 as the son of Kunjirama Poduval and Bhargaviamma at Payyanur. Nawab shot to fame by the publication of a daily named Nawab which mostly brought out news about the social evil of corruption that was rampant along the corridors of power. Later on, inadvertently, the name of the publication got stuck to the publisher and T.A. Rajendran came to be known as Nawab Rajendran.

But along with fame, Rajendran became the target of many big guns of the society who considered him a threat. Subsequently he had to close down the publication of the Nawab and was even assaulted on the streets and even behind the state prison bars. Amidst these fights he broke a few bones and lost many more dentures to the bleak dungeons of the police stations.

When his crusade against corruption came to a dead end following the forced closure of his newspaper, Rajendran turned to another weapon i.e., the Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Soon, Nawab Rajendran with his bohemian dress and unkempt goatee became a regular feature of the judicial corridors.

The most well known cause for which Rajendran fought was his relentless court battles against the veteran politician K. Karunakaran including the followup of the famous Thattil John murder case.

The Congress Party "Leader" K. Karunakaran's role in the destruction of this journalist's life and career is widely known. Rajendran's biography talks about the elaborate plans the Crime Branch Police under DIG Jayaram Padikkal had chalked out to get some incriminating documents, which otherwise would have ruined the "leader's" political career.

The police did get the incriminating documents, but the biography states that during later years Director General of Police (DGP,retd.) Padikkal did repent for the "wilful destruction of a good man's life and career", and the unorthodox methods used against him.

Nawab Rajendran's is said to be the inspiration behind the Malayalam movie Vakkalathu Narayanankutty. Besides the said movie, the life of Nawab continues to inspire young men like Joemon Puthenpurackal, K.N. Chandran also known as Nawab Chandran, Stephen Rozario, and so on to follow a similar path.

Towards the end of his life, Rajendran was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. On October 10, 2005 he died after being found in a coma in a hotel room. Within days after Nawab Rajendran's death, a controversy raged about the hasty cremation of his body against his last wish of donating it to the medical college.

Rajendran's life stands as a mute testimony not only to the gallant fight of a social worker but also to the punitive immunity that could be bought by the high-ups through the clever maneuvering of the callous vote bank.