Vellappally Natesan Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Vellappally Kesavan Natesan
Profession(s)	Social Worker, Businessman
Known for	Being the General Secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam
Physical Stats
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black (semi-bald)
Career
Major Designation(s)	• Former General Secretary of SNDP Yogam (1996) • President of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (2015)
Political Party	Bharath Dharma Jana Sena
Award	Padma Bhushan (2026)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	11 June 1936 (Thursday)
Age (as of 2026)	90 Years
Birthplace	District Alappuzha , Travancore, British India
Zodiac sign	Gemini
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Alappuzha, Travancore, Kerala
Address	Vellappally House, Kanichukulangara P.O. Cherthala, District Alappuzha, Travancore, Kerala
Religion	Hinduism
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook • Twitter
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	13 July 1967
Family
Wife/Spouse	Preethi Natesan
Children	Son- Tushar Vellappally (politician) Daughter- Vandana
Parents	Father- Vellappally Kesavan Muthalali (businessman) Mother- Devaki Amma
Siblings	Brother(s)- 5 • Mohandas • Natarajan • Ramachandran • Sundaresan • Subakesan Sister(s)- 6 • Pangajakshi • Ambujakshy • Maniyamma • Vilasini • Vinodini • Kamalamma

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vellappally Natesan

• Vellappally Natesan grew up in Kanichikulangara.

• As a child, he became started participating in local community activities.

• His father, Vellappally Kesavan Muthalali, was a landlord in Kanichukulangara. He ran a coir related business.

• He was born in a rich environment.

• After the death of his father, his mother managed the needs of his family.

• While growing up, Vellappally Natesan used to visit different homes in the area to meet people and understand their problems.

• The local people the reportedly started calling him “Kochu Muthalali,” meaning a young or small landlord.

• After that, he started participating in activities which helped ordinary and poor people in his village.

• During his school days, he became a leader as Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) candidate.

• After completing his formal education, he started a bar and became known for his business. He also served as a civil works contractor.

• Vellappally Natesan once stated in a media talk that he became involved in organised social work when there were a few banks and societies in his area.

• He then formed a local family-based organisation and named it ‘Gram Swaraj Samithi,’ which took care of the coconut trees belonging to landowners and gave the income from them to people who needed support.

• When he was 26 years old, he entered local politics.

• He contested a panchayat election as a Communist Party candidate.

• Reportedly, the veteran Communist leader V. S. Achuthanandan had encouraged him to contest the election. Vellappally Natesan and Achuthanandan were once close friends.

• In 1903, the SNDP Yogam was established under the guidance of Sree Narayana Guru, Dr. Palpu, and Kumaran Asan.

• The main motive of the group was to improve the social and educational position of communities that had suffered discrimination and lack of opportunities.

• In 1996, Vellappally Natesan was appointed as the General Secretary of the SNDP Yogam. During that period, he served as a businessman and civil works contractor.

  

  An old picture of Vellappally Natesan

• Reportedly, some SNDP leaders and religious figures supported Vellappally Natesan because of his involvement in community issues.

• Earlier, he participated in protests related to the Sivagiri Mutt and issues affecting the Ezhava community.

• Under his leadship, the Sree Narayana Trust expanded its groups from around 40 institutions to more than 130 institutions. These included schools, colleges and technical education centres. The number of SNDP branches increased from about 3,000 to around 6,000.

• Vellappally Natesan also stared SNDP’s microfinance programme, which was designed to help women and families to get small loans and become financially independent.

• He often speaks about the political and social position of the Ezhava community, which is classified as an Other Backward Class in Kerala.

• In 2015, his son, Tushar Vellappally, became a leader of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), a political party associated with the Ezhava community.

• In June 2020, K K Mahesan, a senior SNDP Yogam leader, was found dead at the Kanichukulangara union office in Alappuzha. His family stated that he faced mental pressure and harassment over financial issues in the organisation.

• Later, Mahesan’s family approached an Alappuzha magistrate court for justice. After that, the court directed the police to register a case naming Vellappally Natesan as the first accused, along with others, in connection with the alleged abetment of suicide. However, Natesan denied the allegations and called them baseless.

• In April 2025, Vellappally Natesan faced criticism after he said in a public speech that Malappuram was like “another region” or a “different country.” Many people stated that the comment was offensive because Malappuram has a large Muslim population.
  

  Vellappally Natesan while delivering a speech

• After that, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) blamed him for creating communal differences and showing a wrong picture of the district. After his remarks, many protests, complaints, and public criticism happened.

• In January 2026, he criticised some political parties, including the Indian Union Muslim League. He accused them of using political powers and ignoring backward communities. He said that he believed the Left Democratic Front would remain in power in the upcoming Assembly elections. His comments received strong reactions from opposition leaders and some people from the ruling party.

• That same month, he called a television journalist an “extremist” during a press conference in Alappuzha. The journalist had questioned him about his earlier comments on Malappuram and other political issues.

• Reportedly, Vellappally Natesan became angry, pushed the microphone away of that journalist and later called him an extremist at a public event. He also claimed that the journalist had an agenda against him and had links with a Muslim student organisation.

• After that, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) criticised his remarks and said that journalists have the right to ask questions. It also said that such behaviour could affect press freedom and the social atmosphere in Kerala.

• On 23 June 2026, he received Padma Bhushan award from President Droupadi Murmu at the Padma Awards Investiture Ceremony in New Delhi.

• He serves as a manager at S.N. College Chempazhanthy, Thiruvananthapuram, India.