Kundalassery and Vazhakkulam are two obscure villages in interior Kerala. Forget most of us, even those from these places may not know of their surprise connection to the legendary African leader Nelson Mandela and the historic anti-apartheid movement he led in South Africa.

The contributions of Mahatma Gandhi and several other Indians to South Africa's historic struggle against racism and institutionalised segregation are widely recognised. However, the Malayali roots of some of these figures remained virtually unknown until the publication of senior journalist G. Shaheed's recent book, Mandelayodoppam Poradiya Randu Malayalikal (Two Malayalis Who Fought With Mandela, Mathrubhumi Books, 2024). This groundbreaking work chronicles the lives of two of Mandela's most prominent comrades, revealing for the first time their hidden Kerala connections through a fascinating and meticulous exploration. Both leaders, born and raised in Africa, were also inspired by another defining passion of Kerala—Communism.

Billy Nair and Paul Joseph, born to Indian migrant workers in South Africa, fought against discrimination and persecution during the apartheid regime, enduring imprisonment, torture and deprivation. Nair spent twenty years in the infamous Robben Island prison alongside Mandela and passed away in 2008 at 79 after having won wide recognition and being elected twice to the South African parliament following the end of apartheid. Joseph, 94, now lives in London. Both were colleagues in the African National Congress (ANC), South African Indian Congress (SAIC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). They were also leaders of the armed guerilla group -uMhkonto wiSizew (MK)- that the ANC launched with Mandela as the Chief Commander, giving up its Gandhian non-violent resistance and joining hands with SACP. This shift by the ANC followed the shooting down of its 69 peaceful protestors by police at Sharpeville town (“South Africa’s Jallianwalla Bagh”) in 1960. The MK launched several bomb explosions during this time, triggering even more brutal repression by the government. Nair was MK’s provincial Commander in Natal.

Nair's father Krishnan Nair was from Kundalassery in Palakkad district and arrived in Natal, as a contract worker in a cargo ship during the 1920s. His mother Parvathi was the daughter of Kothanar Ramaswami Pillai, a migrant from Puthukkottai, Tamil Nadu. He had six siblings. Joseph’s mother Annamma had migrated from Vazhakkulam in Ernakulam district to South Africa as a young girl. His father Veerasami was a Tamil worker from Puthucherry in Johannesburg.

Both Nair and Joseph were among the 21 Indian activists who were co-accused with Mandela in the notorious Treason Trial of 1956.........

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