K. E. Mammen

Mammen was born into the Kandathil family on 31 July 1921 as the sixth child of K.C Eapen and Kunjandamma, in Thiruvananthapuram. His father was a manager of the Travancore National Bank, and they lived opposite the Kerala Government Secretariat where freedom fighters used to converge to make speeches. Mammen was a staunch follower of Gandhian ideals and led an austere life. He remained unmarried. == Activism ==

He became the president of the Travancore Students Federation while he was an intermediate student at College of Fine Arts Trivandrum. During this period, he was jailed for urging students to join the freedom struggle, during a public meeting held at Thirunakkara. The famous 'Kozhencherry speech' by C. Kesavan inspired Mammen to dedicate himself to social causes. The National Quilon Bank was closed by C. P. Ramaswami Iyer who was the then Diwan of Travancore. Mammen's father, K.C Eapen - the brother of K.C Mammen Mappillai, was among the officials arrested and ended up dying in jail. He died on 26 July 2017. ==References==