Let's strive for a United World Malayalee Council
BEING one of the founding members of the World Malayalee Council and the first Vice President, Administration, under T.N. Shehan as the first Global Chairman and K. P. P. Nambiar as the President, may I take this opportunity to exhort Malayalees all over the world to unite and make this organization a strong global body?
The World Malayalee Council, established on July 3, 1995, is in its 30th year of formation. We worked very hard to organize the first World Malayalee Convention, featuring 52 artistes from cinema, folk arts & others, 12 media persons, Kerala ministers, MPs and MLAs and a crowd of more than 3,000 Malayalees over the three days.
When we met on the final day to adopt the bylaws of the new organization, World Malayalee Council, and conduct the elections, Mr. T.N. Sheshan, then famous Chief Election Commissioner, offered to chair the meeting. Mr. K.P.P. Nambiar also joined.
Some of us could easily become the chairman or president, but we urged Mr. Sheshan and Mr. Nambiar to take the leadership and they agreed because they knew that it was an organization dedicated to networking global Malayalees and creating a Global Malayalee Community.
The initial bylaws passed did not have elections after the two-year term; processes were to select leaders through consensus. Later, bylaws were amended to conduct elections in all three levels of the multilevel organization, consisting of a local level called Province, a regional level for each continent and India and a global level.
I had the opportunity to serve the WMC as its Vice President, Administration, then as its Global President for four years, global chairman for four years and global advisory board chairman for two years. During this period, there were no divisions, even though some people tried to divide WMC when they could not get elected.
In 2010, a group of people left WMC and formed another group and named themselves WMC, even though there was one in existence. The new group amended the bylaws to expand their committees so that more people can be leaders, and with the amendment to the bylaws, they lost any claim to be the original World Malayalee Council.
In June 2025, a new group split away from the second group, claiming to be WMC, and the third group also calls itself the World Malayalee Council.
There can only be one World Malayalee Council, a continuation of the organization officially formed on July 3, 1995, in New Jersey, USA, when the first elections were conducted under the chairmanship of Mr. T.N. Sheshan. I urge the other groups to dissolve the World Malayalee Council they formed because it is illegal to use the name of an organization and then change its bylaws and structure. The second and third WMCs can change their names and use a different logo and continue as an organization.
There can only be one World Malayalee Council with its original logo and bylaws. All others using the same name and logo are urged to change their name and logo or dissolve their organization and join the original organization
If everybody wants to be part of the World Malayalee Council, I urge leaders of all three groups to come together and unite, relinquish their positions and select/elect new global, regional and provincial leaders who are 60 years or below and make it a strong organization uniting Malayalees all over the world.
It is a shame for us to be divided like this. When we formed WMC, we were all in our forties, some even in their thirties, and after 30 years, we should still not be at the helm. Let the new generation take over and run this organization with great vision. There can only be one global Malayalee community. Be part of it. Thank you all.
