About Nair Service Society (NSS) – History:
It may not be easy to trace out the exact date of the origin of Nairs. It is certain that they belonged to the Dravidian group, not the Aryan. It is believed that in the Aryan society the rulers were Kshatriyas. Chera rulers who ruled over Kerala from AD 130 to AD 1100 were not Kshatriyas. But they belonged this place. So it can reasonably be presumed that they were Nairs. Greek ambassador in the court of Chandra Gupta, Megasthenes refers in around 300 BC about the Nairs and the kingdom of Cheras, where there were female sovereigns, in his account of ancient India. There is no ample evidence to prove the advent of Aryans to Kerala or their establishment of kingdoms here. But there are clear evidences for the involvement of Nairs in the rule of the country. Wikipedia says that all the Cheras were Nairs and Kerala history is more or less connected to Nair caste.
The word ‘Nair’ was authoritatively recorded in the 9th century Thirukodithana (Trikodisthanam) command of Vijayaragadeven. Mention to Nair was also seen in the Thirunelli Pattayam of Bhaskararavi Varma. During the beginning of the 19th century Nair became a caste name in Venad. One finds mention of the Nairs during the reign of the King Rama Varma Kulashekhara (1020-1102) of second Chera dynasty, when the Cholas attacked the Chera Kingdom.
Whatever may be arguments on the origin of Nair community, it is an undisputable fact that Nairs were strong group of people having deep-rooted influence over Kerala. No other society had possessed their status or standard. They were deeply immersed with the history and culture of Kerala. Truly speaking, the history of Nairs is indeed the history of Kerala.
Nair Service Society (NSS), the flag bearing organization of the Nair Community in Kerala was established, under the dynamic leadership of Shri Mannathu Padmanabhan way back on 31, October 1914. Outstanding among the contemporary revolutionaries, Mannom was a great freedom fighter, a social reformer, an institution builder and a perfect ideologist. Mannom actively gave the leadership of the struggle for freedom and the right to worship to all sections of the Hindu society including the lower caste. It is well known that Mannom was in the forefront of the Vaikom Sathyagraha (1924-25) and the Guruvayoor Sathyagraha (1931) along with great freedom fighters like Shri Kelappan and Mahatma Gandhi.
Mannom had played a dynamic role in eradicating superstitions, unethical customs, values, beliefs and practices, and the inadequate socio-economic condition that prevailed among the Nair community during the pre-independence period. He assumed a pivotal leadership in transforming the community into a vibrant organization at the time of its own disintegration due to disunity, absolute poverty, misery and ignorance. His timely intervention helped the Nairs to unite under one banner and decide to abolish so many disparities that existed in the community and they also started working towards the development of the Nair community and the Hindu society as a whole.
In appreciation of his relentless efforts towards social reform and his valuable services to mankind the then President of India awarded him with the titles of Bharta Kesari (1959) and Padmabhusan (1966). Mannom the legend passed away on 25 February 1970.