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{{Short description|Indian Nationalist and friend and colleague of Subhas Chandra Bose}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Subhas Bose with Emilie, Nambiar, and others, Bad Gastein, Austria, December 1937.jpg
| caption = l.t.r.: A. C. N. Nambiar, Heidi Fülöp-Miller, [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], [[Emilie Schenkl]] and [[Amiya Nath Bose|Amiya Bose]], [[Bad Gastein]], Austria, December 1937
| office = [[List of ambassadors of India to Germany|Ambassador of India to Germany]]
| termstart = 1955
| termend = 1958
| name = A. C. N. Nambiar
| birth_date = {{birth year |1896}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1986|01|17|1896|df=yes}}
| predecessor = [[Subimal Dutt]]
| occupation = Journalist, diplomat
| spouse = {{marriage |[[Suhasini Chattopadhyay]] |1919|end=div}}
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]] (1958)
}}

{{Given name hatnote|Narayanan Nambiar|Arathil Candeth|lang=Malayali}}'''Arathil Candeth Narayanan Nambiar''' (1896 – 17 January 1986)<ref>Sonia Gandhi, ''Two Alone Together'', page xxvii, Penguin Books India, 2004 {{ISBN|0143032453}}.</ref> was an Indian Nationalist and a friend and colleague of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]. Originally from [[Thalassery]], [[Kannur]], [[Kerala]],<ref>Jan Kuhlmann, ''Subhas Chandra Bose und die Indienpolitik der Achsenmächte'', page 170, 2012 {{ISBN|3844237364}} (in German).</ref> Nambiar spent much of his life serving the [[Indian independence movement]] in Europe.<ref>Bose, Sugata. ''His Majesty's Opponent''. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2011.</ref>

== In Europe ==
[[File:A_C_N_Nambiar.jpg|thumb|left]]
Nambiar had been working in Europe as a left-wing journalist for some time when the [[Second World War]] broke out. In the 1930s he had been beaten up by Nazi stormtroopers, imprisoned, and then deported, at first to [[Prague]]. At the outbreak of war he was working in Paris.<ref name=Hayes>Romain Hayes, ''Bose in Nazi Germany'', Random House India {{ISBN|8184002351}}.</ref>

According to [[MI5]] documents that remained classified until 2014, the British believed Nambiar was a [[Soviet spy]] before the war. The documents show that a Soviet defector in the 1950s said Nambiar had been an agent of the [[GRU (Soviet Union)|GRU]] in the 1920s. Nambiar had visited Moscow in 1929 while active in Indian communist organisations. (The declassified documents also included correspondence between Nambiar and Bose captured after the surrender of [[German submarine U-234|German submarine ''U-234'']].)<ref name=dna/>

In January 1942 he joined the [[Free India Centre]] as second in command to Bose. This organisation was set up by Bose to promote Indian independence and to assist the enemies of the British Empire, namely [[Nazi Germany]], the [[Empire of Japan]], and the other [[Axis powers]]. Nambiar was a reluctant recruit; his anti-Nazi politics put him in an uncomfortable position, but he finally succumbed to Bose's persuasiveness and moved to Berlin. Nambiar established a branch of the Free India Centre in Paris before leaving. The Berlin Centre was given the status of a foreign mission by Germany and ran [[Azad Hind Radio|a propaganda radio station]]. It also controlled and recruited the [[Indian Legion]]. This had been founded by Bose and was mainly recruited from Indian prisoners of war and officered by Germans. It was originally intended to use it to fight the British in India, but it was eventually deployed to defend the French coast. It was never a significant military force, never consisting of more than a few thousand men.<ref name=Toye>Hugh Toye, ''Subhash Chandra Bose: The Springing Tiger'', Jaico Publishing House, 2007 {{ISBN|8172244010}}.</ref>

In January 1943 Bose secretly transferred by submarine to the Japanese theatre of war, leaving Nambiar in charge in Germany. There was more potential there for recruitment to Bose's cause amongst Indian prisoners; large numbers had been taken in the [[Fall of Singapore]]. The attitude of Bose and Nambiar towards Nazi Germany slowly transformed from seeing it as a convenient way of obtaining material support for their cause to believing that German victory was essential for them to succeed. As a consequence, they more and more accepted use of the Legion in the German cause as opposed to exclusively in India. In April Nambiar had to deal with a mutiny in the Legion, who were reluctant to move to the Netherlands as ordered. They had believed they would be fighting in India or somewhere from where they could attack towards India such as North Africa. By August the Centre's operations became severely disrupted by Allied bombing and Nambiar's own house was destroyed. Most activity was moved out of Berlin, but Nambiar remained there as Bose's official representative. In March 1944 Nambiar was appointed [[Minister of State]] in Bose's Provisional Government.<ref name=Toye/>

In August 1943 the Legion, now with a strength of three battalions, was moved from the Netherlands to [[Bordeaux]] where they found the climate more agreeable. However, as the threat of Allied invasion started to loom morale severely deteriorated. In a tour in April and May 1944 Nambiar concluded that morale could only be improved by action. He persuaded the reluctant German commander of the Legion (Lieutenant Colonel Krappe) to allow a small contingent into action as an experiment. The 9th Company was sent to Italy, where some Legion personnel were already being used in intelligence and propaganda roles. The experiment was a complete failure. They were positioned opposite a Polish force. The initial reconnaissance party immediately deserted, followed by the entire company refusing to go into action on the grounds that the Poles were not their enemy.<ref name=Toye/>

== Post-war ==
Nambiar was imprisoned after the war for collaboration with the enemy. He escaped to Switzerland and, against the wishes of Britain, was given an Indian passport by [[Nehru]]'s [[Interim Government of India|Interim Government]].<ref name=Cho>Joanne Miyang Cho, Eric Kurlander, Douglas T McGetchin, ''Transcultural Encounters Between Germany and India'', page 148, Routledge, 2013 {{ISBN|1317931645}}.</ref> He then worked as a counsellor at the Indian Legation in Berne. He was appointed Indian ambassador to Scandinavia,<ref name=dna>''dna'', [https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-netaji-subhash-chandra-bose-deputy-jawaharlal-nehru-aide-was-soviet-spy-british-documents-2029048 "Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose deputy, Jawaharlal Nehru aide was Soviet spy: British documents"], 25 October 2014</ref> then, in 1955 he was appointed the second Indian Ambassador to the [[Federal Republic of Germany]], succeeding Subimal Dutt.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Serving India. A political Biography of Subimal Dutt (1903-1992)|last=Das Gupta|first=Amit|publisher=Manohar|year=2017|isbn=978-93-5098-163-4|location=New Delhi|pages=244}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1958. Nambiar finished his career as European correspondent of the ''[[Hindustan Times]]''.<ref name=dna/>

== Personal life ==
He was the fourth son of writer [[Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar]] and Arathil Candeth Kallyani Amma. Nambiar got his family name, ''Arathil Candeth'', through [[matrilineal succession]].

He married [[Suhasini Chattopadhyay]], the sister of [[Sarojini Naidu]], and the first woman Communist member of India in 1919. Later they separated.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/entity/acn-nambiar A.C.N. Nambiar materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]
*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-lpj12&cid=1-1-74#1-1-74 Arathil Candeth Narian Nambiar: collaboration with Nazis; activities in Europe; refusal of passport facilities Jan 1946-Jan 1949] in [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm UK National Archives]
*[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-lpj12&cid=1-1-73#1-1-73 Arathil Candeth Narian Nambiar, Indian Information Bureau, Berlin: assault and detention by Nazis and deportation from Germany Mar 1933-May 1939] in [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm UK National Archives]

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1954–59}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambiar, A.C.N.}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Sweden]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to West Germany]]
[[Category:Azad Hind]]
[[Category:Indian collaborators with Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Indian collaborators with Imperial Japan]]
[[Category:Indian exiles]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:People from Thalassery]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service]]

A. C. N. Nambiar - Revision history

TeresitaPennell at 20:01, 22 January 2026