Jailed at Three During Emergency, Now NCW Member: Keralam’s Adv Nivedita Subramanian Begins a New Journey

Adv. Nivedita Subramanian, the newly appointed National Women’s Commission member, was the youngest prisoner during the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi. She was three when her mother, Radha Balakrishnan, a prominent Bharatiya Jan Sangh leader in Malabar, was arrested for participating in the nationwide Sathyagraha against the Emergency. Nivedita then spent the jail term with her mother. Therefore, she is known among Sangh and BJP circles as the youngest political prisoner in the history of Kerala. She was in jail for two months. Even though the police tried their best to separate the child from her mother, she did not comply, and hence, she went to jail. Nivedita’s father, Balakrishnan, was also a prominent Jan Sangh leader. Her late brother, Unni, was a Sangh Pracharak.

The Sathyagraha was launched by the Lok Sangharsh Samiti from November 14, 1975, to January 14, 1976. The entire Sathyagraha was organised by the underground organisation of the RSS, which was banned during that period.

Since Nivedita’s parents were active workers of the RSS and Jan Sangh, she could interact with their workers from her childhood. Radha Balakrishnan was the first state president of Bharatiya Mahila Morcha. Nivedita also had to serve a jail term in connection with the Sabarimala agitation of 2018.

Nivedita was an active ABVP worker during her studies. After starting her career as a lawyer, she became an active worker of Bharatiya Abhibhashaka Parishad, the Kerala chapter of the Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad. She became an active BJP worker after she contested from the Guruvayoor Assembly constituency in 2016 as a party candidate. Despite it being her first contest, she made her presence felt in the election. Later, she contested from the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency. There too, she put up a good contest. She has served as the vice president of the Chavakkad Bar Association.

Nivedita was the main organiser of the Vanita Samgamam (Women’s Conference) held on January 3, 2024, in Thrissur. Two lakh women participated in the programme. She was with the Prime Minister during the roadshow, on board his vehicle, along with Suresh Gopi and K. Surendran. At that time, she was the state president of Bharatiya Mahila Morcha, a position her mother had held in the past. She is now the Thrissur North District president of the BJP.