Thrissur, Sept. 19 -- Two Malayalees who had worked shoulder-to-shoulder with South Africa's iconic figure Nelson Mandela in the fight against British domination were little known to Keralites until recently.
Billy Nair and Paul Joseph were born in Durban and Johannesburg respectively, as their father and uncle had migrated to South Africa in the 1920s in search of jobs.
Billy's father was Krishnan Nair, a native of Kundalassery village in Palakkad, while Paul Joseph was the son of Annamma, who had gone with her uncle Varkey from Vazhakuman village, about 60 km from Cochin city.
Attracted by Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, both joined the struggle against the apartheid policy of the British. They were brutall...