Two Malayalee men — Billy Nair and Paul Joseph — stood shoulder to shoulder with Nelson Mandela in South Africa’s long battle against apartheid. Both played vital roles in the African National Congress (ANC), enduring imprisonment, exile, and persecution in the fight for freedom.
For decades, they were simply known as Indians of South African origin. But a new book by Cochin-based writer G. Shaheed, published by Mathrubhumi, has now revealed their little-known ancestral roots in Kerala. Billy Nair’s family hailed from Kundalassery village in Palakkad district, while Paul Joseph’s family traced its origins to Vazhakulam in Ernakulam district.
With Nelson Mandela — Billy Nair (left, in wheelchair) and Paul Joseph (right). (Photo: Supplied)
Billy Nair, born in Durban in 1929, and Paul Joseph, born the same year in Johannesburg, were the sons of Malayalee migrants who had moved to South Africa in search of work. Both men played crucial roles in the African National Congress (ANC), which spearheaded the fight against colonial rule and apartheid.
Billy Nair endured over 20 years of imprisonment, including long spells in the notorious Robben Island prison, where Nelson Mandela himself was jailed for 27 years. After South Africa’s independence in 1994 and the first democratic elections, Mandela became the country’s first Black president, and Billy Nair went on to serve as a Member of Parliament of South Africa. He passed away in 2008.
Paul Joseph, also persecuted for his role in the struggle, faced police brutality, imprisonment, and false charges. When the ANC was banned in 1960, he left South Africa for London, where he still resides at the age of 96.
The discovery of their Kerala ancestry was made almost by chance. During a visit to Robben Island museum, a visitor from Kerala, Sudhakar, noticed Billy Nair’s name among those who had been imprisoned and suspected a Malayalee connection because of the surname “Nair.” This led to years of painstaking research.
The breakthrough came when Kalyani Nair, Billy’s elder sister living in Germany, confirmed their father Krishnan Nair’s origins in Kundalassery, Palakkad. Krishnan Nair had migrated to Durban in 1920 and married Parvathy, of mixed Tamil heritage. Paul Joseph’s family, meanwhile, traced its roots back to Vazhakulam in Ernakulam.
G. Shaheed – Author
This newly uncovered connection by G. Shaheed highlights Kerala’s little-known role in the global struggle against apartheid, placing two obscure villages from God’s Own Country on the map of world history.
Leave a Reply