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Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan has sparked a political controversy by referring to Kerala’s Muslim-majority Malappuram district as a “separate nation” and a “state for certain people”. His comments, made during a public meeting at Chungathara in Nilambur, have drawn criticism for being divisive and communal.
Natesan alleged that people belonging to the backward Ezhava community are unable to live freely or express their opinions in Malappuram, which he claimed is dominated by a particular community. “I know your issues and troubles. You live in fear… I don’t think that you can breathe freely in Malappuram. You cannot even live here after airing your opinions,” he said.
Natesan’s remark
“Malappuram is like a special country, a state of a special section of people,” he added, questioning whether backward communities in the region had received any tangible benefits from decades of independence.
Natesan further claimed that vote bank politics have marginalized the Ezhava community in the district. “Our only support here is the MGNREGA scheme. We don’t even have a single school where we can study or teach freely,” he said, adding that the community’s lack of political unity has contributed to their poor representation.
Citing the Nair Service Society’s establishment of a college in Manjeri as an example of upper-caste mobilization, Natesan urged the Ezhava community to introspect and unite politically. “While others mobilized themselves as vote banks, we failed to do the same,” he remarked.
The SNDP Yogam represents the socially and numerically significant Ezhava community in Kerala and has historically been involved in socio-religious reform and backward caste upliftment.
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