Kerala: Freedom fighter P Gopinathan Nair passes away

KOCHI: Freedom fighter and Gandhian P Gopinathan Nair died here on Tuesday. He was 99. He died in a private hospital at Neyyattinkara on Tuesday due to age-related ailments. He was the recipient of Padma Shri Award in 2016.
A devoted Gandhian, he spent his life disseminating the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Gandhian ways of life. He had participated in the Quit India movement in 1942 and had worked along with freedom activist Vinoba Bhave in Bhoodan and Gramdan movements.
When Gandhi came to Kerala, Nair got to see him from close quarters and was inspired by his scruples and emulated it in his life. A staunch advocate of peace, he was chosen as the mediator to abate Maradu riots by the state government. He had served as the president of Gandhi Sevagram Ashram for 11 years.
He was born in Neyyattinkara in 1922. His studies at Santhinikethan left a huge influence on him. He became a research student at Visva Bharati University in 1946-48. He started off his works in Kerala by being a part of Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, formed under renaissance leader K Kelappan in 1951. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of Nair. In his condolence message, Vijayan said that Nair was a link that connected the present age to the era of freedom struggle.
"He followed Gandhian ideals in his personal and public life. He owned a persona that was pure and transparent. With his demise, we have lost an exemplary personality who was an inexhaustible source of inspiration to Gandhian movements," said Vijayan.