V P Appukuttan Poduval

V. P. Appukuttan Poduval is a Gandhian who took part in India’s freedom struggle and has spent his life promoting khadi and village industries as a path to self-reliance. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of social work, from Kerala ^[1].

Meeting Gandhi

Poduval was born on 9 October 1923 and went to the Board High School in Payyanur, then part of Malabar district in Madras province, finishing school in 1942 ^[2]. He later took an MA in political science from Mysore University ^[2]. He met Mahatma Gandhi while still a schoolboy, joined the freedom struggle and was jailed for his part in it ^[2]. He also took part in movements against untouchability and caste discrimination ^[2].

Forty years for khadi

Poduval saw khadi as a way to fight poverty, give people work of their own and stand together against British rule ^[2]. In 1944 he joined the Akhil Bharat Charkha Sangh, which later became part of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission ^[2]. For about 40 years he travelled across India for the khadi movement, working from Lucknow, Madras, Bombay and Trivandrum ^[2]. His travels included the dacoit-troubled Chambal ravines of Madhya Pradesh, where khadi production centres were operating, and he also joined Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement ^[2].

Later years

In 1989 he co-founded the Bharatheeya Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in Payyanur and headed it for 15 years ^[2]. He has written on Gandhian thought and the Bhagavad Gita, including two books in Malayalam ^[2]. His awards include the Gandhi Smruthi Samman from the Central University of Kerala in 2003 ^[2].