The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organization created for the uplift and welfare of the Nair

Nair

Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...

 community. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu Padmanabhan. The NSS is a three tier organisation with Karayogams at the base level, Taluk Unions at the intermediate level and a central headquarters operating from Perunna in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India.

The Society owns and manages a large number of educational institutions and hospitals.

National Democratic Party

For a brief period, NSS sponsored a political party, National Democratic Party (NDP) which had at one time five members in the Kerala Assembly and had ministerial positions in the government led by Indian National Congress. This foray into the caste politics was later abandoned. From 1994 onwards, NSS is following an equi-distant policy from all political parties and fronts.

Branches

Taking the lead given by Mannath Padmanabhan (1878–1970), expatriate Nairs both in other states of India as well as in countries other than India have formed Nair Service Societies in their states and countries of domicile. Examples are Karnatka Nair Service Society with 30 karayogams, Kanyakumari Nair Service Society with 27 karayogamsand the Calcutta Nair Service Society. These Societies of Non Kerala origin retain the cultural uniqueness of the Nairs at the same time adapting many practices to the times and country of their adoption. Efforts are on to bring together all Nair groups the world over under an umbrella International Federation of Nair Societies. N.S.S. has also formed a branch in Rajasthan (in Udaipur

Udaipur

Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...

). There is a branch of NSS in Dilanipur, Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

. NSS Vidharbha, which unites Nairs living in the Vidharbha

Vidarbha

Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar . It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra...

 region of Maharashtra, is having branches in Nagpur

Nagpur

Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...

 and Chandrapur

Chandrapur

Chandrapur is city and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is also the headquarters of Chandrapur district....

. The organisation is reported to have branches in many other parts of India.

The First Gujarat Nair Sammelan was conducted on 2 February 2011. More than 5,000 Nairs from different parts of Gujarat attended the meeting conducted in Ahmedabad. Gujarat NSS leaders Adv. Manoharan Pillai, GN Pillai, Raveendran Pillai, Surendran Nambiar, Murali S Nair, BRG Nair, BK Mohanan Nair, SR Nair, GS Kurup and S Sasi Nair attended the meeting.

The Kasargode Nair Expatriates Welfare Association, headed by A Sasidharan Nair and Muraleedharan Nambiar is active in many of the Gulf nations, with significant North Malabar Nair diaspora.

Strength

• Number of Karayogams (village communities) : 5182
• Number of Vanitha Samajams: 4232
• Number of Bala Samajams: 2466

NSS has also started many schools under its supervision. Collectively named NSS HSS or NSS High Schools, these schools function in almost all parts of the state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

.

Given below is the strength as of 2006.

Sno.	Taluk Union	Karayogams (2006)	K. with buildings	Aided schools	Unaided schools	Temples	Vanitha Samajams	Bala Samajams
1	Neyyattinkara	178	94	1	5	13	142	88
2	Nedumangad	182	82	0	6	2	136	96
3	Thiruvananthapuram	158	123	0	28	29	122	83
4	Chirayinkeezh	138	67	1	1	14	75	36
5	Chathannur	73	56	2	0	21	68	46
6	Kollam	133	115	3	7	22	122	77
7	Chadayamangalam	101	59	2	7	6	78	52
8	Pathanapuram	133	93	3	8	20	117	72
9	Kottarakkara	139	99	14	10	34	95	67
10	Karunagappally	131	118	4	4	18	121	72
11	Kunnathoor	105	85	1	0	5	94	71
12	Adoor	91	75	2	1	14	84	63
13	Panthalam	75	64	3	6	14	69	34
14	Pathanamthitta	108	87	0	5	8	85	28
15	Ranni	47	39	1	0	7	45	18
16	Mallappally	49	42	2	1	4	46	35
17	Thiruvalla	85	72	5	3	37	70	27
18	Chengannur	105	103	6	8	37	94	34
19	Mavelikara	93	77	7	1	19	80	47
20	Karthikappally	90	80	8	2	13	85	55
21	Ambalappuzha	48	39	2	1	9	45	25
22	Cherthala	71	68	5	9	30	70	36
23	Kuttanad	71	62	5	3	20	70	39
24	Changanacherry	66	58	1	3	18	62	62
25	Kottayam	132	123	8	25	30	123	72
26	Vaikom	95	81	1	4	20	93	71
27	Meenachil	104	95	5	4	46	78	48
28	Ponkunnam	95	37	4	2	8	41	30
29	High Range	79	54	1	1	3	70	54
30	Thodupuzha	35	31	1	3	10	34	32
31	Kothamangalam	34	20	0	0	1	29	29
32	Muvattupuzha	59	44	0	7	9	54	41
33	Kunnathunad	93	69	3	4	22	80	60
34	Kanayannur	69	58	0	4	19	59	34
35	Aluva	66	50	0	0	4	57	43
36	North Paravoor	52	40	0	7	9	40	17
37	Kodungalloor	26	20	0	0	0	24	19
38	Mukundapuram	134	93	12	18	17	110	45
39	Chavakkad	48	12	1	0	0	33	12
40	Thrissur	122	61	0	0	6	82	41
41	Thalappally	131	43	0	5	1	52	29
42	Ottappalam	137	24	0	10	2	57	51
43	Alathoor & Chittor	96	45	0	10	2	57	51
44	Palakkad	73	24	0	2	1	40	18
45	Mannarkad	40	10	0	4	1	24	9
46	Eranad	135	23	1	7	3	42	22
47	Ponnani	45	4	0	4	1	3	0
48	Thirur	48	2	0	5	0	16	3
49	Kozhikode	80	15	0	7	0	42	19
50	Koilandy	61	1	0	1	0	12	3
51	Vadakara	61	4	0	0	0	18	6
52	Wythiry	34	4	0	1	0	20	5
53	Bathery	40	12	0	0	1	35	23
54	Mananthavadi	48	7	0	0	6	36	20
55	Thalassery	70	12	1	0	2	28	10
56	Kannur	52	6	0	1	0	27	14
57	Thalipparambu	93	23	0	1	3	53	27
58	Hosdurg	103	43	0	2	1	64	39

Former and current Presidents of the NSS

1. K. Kelappan
   K. Kelappan
   K. Kelappan was born in the small village Muchukunnu in Calicut in Kerala. He studied in Calicut and Madras and graduated from the University of Madras. He began his career as a teacher at in St. Berchmans High School, Changanassery and was the founder President of the Nair Service Society. Later...
   
   
2. Changanacherry Parameswaran Pillai
3. Vaikom Ramakrishna Pillai
4. Ambalapattu Damodaran Asan
5. Puthuppally S. Krishna Pillai
6. G. Narayana Pillai
7. Dr. Kunjan Pillai
8. Barrister K. P. Gopala Menon
9. Chalayil Dr. K. P. Panicker
10. Rajyasevaniratha K. G. Parameswaran Pillai
11. Sri. Mannathu Padmanabhan Nair
12. N. Govinda Menon
13. V. K. Velappan Nair
14. Ambalappattu Damodaran Asan
15. Dr. V. R. Narayanan Nair
16. Kalathil Velayudhan Nair
17. Makkapuzha P. S. Vasudevan Pillai
18. C. K. Sivasankara Panicker
19. Panampilly Raghava Menon
20. N. Bhaskaran Nair
21. K. P. Karunakara Menon
    K. P. Karunakara Menon
    K. P. Karunakara Menon was the president of Nair Service Society till his death in 2002. He was succeeded by Sri. P. V. Neelakanta Pillai. K. P. Karunakara Menon, who hailed from Thrissur was one of the few Nair outside Travancore to become the president of NSS...
    
    
22. P. V. Neelakanta Pillai
23. P. K. Narayana Panicker (current President)

Former and current General Secretaries of the NSS

1. Sri. Mannathu Padmanabhan Nair
2. V. Gangadharan, Quilon
3. Kondoor Krishna Pillai
4. M. P. Manmadhan
5. Makkapuzha P. S. Vasudevan Pillai
6. N. Parameswaran Pillai
7. Kidangoor. A. N. Gopalakrishna Pillai
8. R. P. Nair
9. P. K. Narayana Panicker
10. Sukumaran Nair  (current)

Founding members of the NSS

NSS was formed in 1914 October 31 under the leadership of K. Kelappan Nair

K. Kelappan

K. Kelappan was born in the small village Muchukunnu in Calicut in Kerala. He studied in Calicut and Madras and graduated from the University of Madras. He began his career as a teacher at in St. Berchmans High School, Changanassery and was the founder President of the Nair Service Society. Later...

 and Mannathu Padmanabhan Nair. The other founding members are as follows:

• K.Kelappan Nair
  K. Kelappan
  K. Kelappan was born in the small village Muchukunnu in Calicut in Kerala. He studied in Calicut and Madras and graduated from the University of Madras. He began his career as a teacher at in St. Berchmans High School, Changanassery and was the founder President of the Nair Service Society. Later...
  
   - North Malabar
• Mannathu Padmanabhan Pillai - Perunna, Chenganacherry.
• Kakkanattu Narayana Panicker - Veliyanadu.
• Kondoor Krishna Pillai - Thrikodithanam.
• Thaliyil Madhavan Pillai - Vazhappally.
• Pothuvadath Padmanabha Pillai - Vazhappally.
• N. C. Thrivikrama Kaimal - Ninadathu, Ernakulam.
• Mannathu Parvathi Amma - Perunna, Chenganacherry.
• Panaykkattu Parameswara Kurup - Vezhapra.
• Padinjarekoottu Krishna Pillai - Perunna, Chenganacherry.
• Kottanattil Padmanabha Pillai - Puzhavathu.
• Panamgottu Kesava Panicker - Muttar.
• Nagavallil Kochukunju Kurup - Ramankary.
• Pallipurathu Narayana Pillai - Thrikodithanam.
• Valparambil Velayudhan Pillai - Vazhappally.

Global Nair Service Society

In 2010 October, the Nair organizations from around the world decided to start an united organization. As a result, the Global Nair Service Society was formed after a meeting attended by thousands in New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

. Ministers Vayalar Ravi

Vayalar Ravi

Vayalar Ravi is a prominent Indian politician, currently the Union Cabinet Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs and Minister of Civil Aviation. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha.-Political Life:...

and K.V. Thomas attended the function, named as "Global Nair Conference".