KOZHIKODE: The diary notes of P.N. Nambeesan, one of Malabar's prominent freedom fighters, were examined by the researchers of Calicut University history department during the archival clinic held at Cherukode KMM AUP School in Wandoor, Malappuram. They are detailed descriptions about the final years of the British Raj as well as the social movements and changes happened in Malabar.
Mr Nambeesan who had joined the British Indian Army at the age of 16 during World War II was arrested and imprisoned in Karachi after he questioned his colonial higher officers. A close friend of prominent freedom fighter and social reformer Muhammad Abdur Rahman, he was also an active trade union organiser. “The entries on the day of Mahatma Gandhi’s death give a picture of how the situation was at Kozhikode on January 30, 1948.
They also examined his communications with leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, A.V. Kuttimalu Amma and E. Moidu Moulavi. "These diary notes would immensely contribute to the study of modern Kerala history,” said the department head Dr P. Sivadasan. The three-day archival clinic and history workshop also examined many rare pre-Independence era documents from the ancient houses and temples in and around Wandoor for tracing and recording the local history. One of the major documents found was the rare manuscripts of the second Malabar district conference held in Kozhikode on April 23 and 24, 1917.
