E. M. S. Namboodiripad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1stChief Minister of Kerala | |
| In office 6 March 1967 – 1 November 1969 | |
| Preceded by | R. Shankar |
| Succeeded by | C. Achutha Menon |
| In office 5 April 1957 – 31 July 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Pattom Thanu Pillai |
| General Secretary ofCommunist Party of India | |
| In office 29 April 1962 – 11 April 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Ajoy Ghosh |
| Succeeded by | Chandra Rajeswara Rao |
| General Secretary ofCommunist Party of India (Marxist) | |
| In office 8 April 1978 – 9 January 1992 | |
| Preceded by | P. Sundarayya |
| Succeeded by | Harkishan Singh Surjeet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (1909-06-13)13 June 1909 |
| Died | 19 March 1998(1998-03-19) (aged 88) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India |
| Party | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (from 1964) Communist Party of India (before 1964) |
| Spouse | Arya Antharjanam (1937–2002)[1] |
| Children | 4[2] |
| Residence | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Alma mater | St. Thomas College, Thrissur |
| Known for | Co-founder ofCommunist Party of India (Marxist) |
| Website | Government of Kerala |
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (Malayalam:[eːlɐŋɡuɭɐmmɐnɐjkːɐlʃɐŋɡɐɾɐnn̪ɐmbuːd̪iɾipːaːɖə̆], 13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known by his initialsE. M. S., was an Indian communist politician, theorist, author and statesman who served as the firstChief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. As a member of theCommunist Party of India (CPI), he became the firstChief Minister in India not to be a member of theIndian National Congress. In 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form theCommunist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).
As chief minister, Namboodiripad pioneered radical land and educational reforms in Kerala, which helped it become the country'sleader in social indicators. It is largely due to his commitment and guidance that the CPI(M), of which he was Politburo member and general secretary for 14 years, has become such a domineering political force, playing a vital role in India's new era of coalition politics.[3]
E. M. Sankaran Namboodiripad was born on 13 June 1909, as the fourth son of Parameswaran Namboodiripad and Vishnudatha Antharjanam, atElamkulam, situated on the banks ofThuthapuzha River, inPerinthalmanna taluk of the presentMalappuram district. He belonged to a prominent MalayaliNambudiri Brahmin family. His two elder brothers died before he was born, and the third brother was intellectually disabled. He lost his father when he was five.
During the 1921Malabar rebellion he moved toIrinjalakuda as the belligerent attacked his house.[clarification needed] In his early years, he was a close friend of Sr. P. M. Mathew. He was associated withV. T. Bhattathiripad,M. R. Bhattathiripad and many others in the fight against the casteism and conservatism that existed in theNamboothiri community. He became one of the office-bearers ofValluvanadu Yogaskshema Sabha, an organization of progressive Namboothiri youth.
Namboodiripad graduated fromSt. Thomas College, Thrissur. During his college days, he was deeply associated with theIndian National Congress and theIndian independence movement. It is said[by whom?] he would walk 5–8 km to hear the firebrand Cochin politicianV. J. Mathai speak.[4]
Namboodiripad was well known for his stammer.[5] When asked if he always stammered, he would reply, "No, only when I speak."[6]
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In 1934, he was one of the founders ofCongress Socialist Party, a socialist wing within theIndian National Congress, and elected as its All India Joint Secretary from 1934 to 1940. He edited the Malayalam newspaperPrabhatham which was the organ of the Congress Socialist Party in Kerala.[7] During this period, he was also elected to theMadras Legislative Assembly (1939).
He remained committed to socialist ideals, and his compassion towards the working class led him to join theCommunist movement. TheIndian government considered him to be one of the founders of theCommunist Party of India (CPI) inKerala, forcing him to go into hiding.[when?] During the 1962Sino-Indian war, he was among leaders who aired China's view on the border issue. When theCPI split in 1964, EMS stood with theCommunist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). He was the leader of theKerala state committee of CPI(M). He served as a member of theCentral Committee and thePolitburo of the CPI(M) until his death in 1998. EMS becamegeneral secretary in 1977, a designation he held until 1992. AMarxist scholar, he influenced the development ofKerala, of which he was the firstchief minister.
| Election | Year | Party | Constituency | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madras Legislative Assembly | 1952 | CPI | Kozhikode | Lost |
| Kerala Legislative Assembly | 1957 | Thrikaripur | Won | |
| 1960 | Pattambi | Won | ||
| 1965 | Won | |||
| 1967 | CPI(M) | Won | ||
| 1970 | Won | |||
| 1977 | Alathur | Won |
ACommunist-led government under E. M. S. Namboodiripad resulted from the first elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1957, making him the first communist leader in India to head a popularly elected government.[8][9] It was the second ever communist government to be democratically elected, after communist success in the 1945 elections in theRepublic of San Marino, amicrostate in Europe.[10][11][12][13] On 5 April 1957 he was appointed as the first chief minister of Kerala.
His government introduced theLand Reform Ordinance andEducation Bill. In 1958, a period of anticommunist protest, theVimochana Samaram, began in response to the bills.
On June 22, 1959, Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru had a meeting with EMS, and others. Nehru made the visit to personally examine the collapse of the state's law and other after the "liberation struggle" (vimochansamaram) against the EMS government. The movement was led by Christian churches and Hindu caste organisations such as theNair Service Society (NSS) headed byMannathu Padmanabha Pillai. The movement saw widespread violence and counter-violence. All along the Nehru's route from the airport to the Raj Bhavan, crowds demanded EMS ministry’s dismissal by the centre. Nehru asked EMS, "How could you make so many enemies in such a short time?" Upon Nehru's return to Delhi, EMS government was dismissed on July 31.[14][15][16] Initially, Nehru was hesitant to dismiss a democratically elected government, but he was convinced by Congress President and his daughter,Indira Gandhi.[17][18]
Namboodiripad became the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second time in 1967 as the leader of a seven-party coalition (Saptakakshi Munnani) which included the CPI and Muslim League. Soon after becoming Chief Minister again, on 31 January 1968 he inaugurated a mechanized coir factory called Floorco in Pozhikkara, Paravur. This time Namboodiripad's tenure lasted for two and a half years, and the government fell on 24 October 1969 due to internal conflicts within the constituent parties.
Namboodiripad was the Leader of Opposition in theKerala Legislative Assembly from 1960 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1977. His vision of decentralization of power and resources (People's Plan) and the Kerala Literacy Movement influenced Kerala society. He authored several books in English and Malayalam. Chintha Publication, Kerala has published all his books under the title, "E M S Sanchika". He also was well known as a journalist.
During the 1962Sino-Indian war, other parties portrayed left-wing parties as pro-China, since both were communist. Namboodiripad stated that the left was focused on solving the border dispute through talks.[19]
Namboodiripad led two ministries in Kerala.
| Sl no. | Ministry | Date formed | Date dissolved | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry | 5 April 1957 | 31 July 1959 | Dismissed under Article 356 in the aftermath of the so-calledLiberation Struggle[20] |
| 2 | Second E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry | 6 March 1967 | 1 November 1969 | Tendered resignation as a result of internal dissensions and subsequent loss of majority.[21] |
Namboodiripad,Kesari Balakrishna Pillai,Joseph Mundassery,M. P. Paul andK. Damodaran were architects of "JeevalSahitya Prastanam", renamed Purogamana Sahitya Prastanam (Progressive Association for Arts and Letters). Though the party considered Kesari one of the visionaries of the Progressive Movement for Arts and Letters in Kerala, serious differences of opinion emerged between full-time Communist Party activists and other personalities, namely Kesari and Mundassery. In this context, Namboodiripad famously accused Kesari of being a "petit-bourgeois intellectual", an appellation he retracted. Namboodiripad also acknowledged some of the earlier misconceptions of the Communist Party with respect to the Progressive Literature and Arts Movement. This debate is known as "Rupa Bhadrata Vivadam", an important milestone in the growth of modernMalayalam literature.
Despite his age and failing health, Namboodiripad was still active in political and social fields. He actively campaigned during the1998 general election. Soon after the results were declared, he contracted pneumonia, and was admitted to the Cosmopolitan hospital inThiruvananthapuram, where he died at 3:40 p.m. (IST) on 19 March 1998, aged 88.[22] This was barely hours after he had dictated two articles forDeshabhimani, a CPI (M) daily, and replies to a few letters.[23]
The state government declared a seven-day mourning. His body was draped in the CPI (M) flag and was taken to AKG Centre in the city where members of his family paid their respects, before it was taken to Durbar Hall and was kept forviewing, where members of the public, and party leaders and workers paid their respects. Thousands of people joined the funeral procession and he wascremated with full state honours in Thycaud electric crematorium in Thiruvananthapuram.[23]
PresidentK. R. Narayanan condoled his death and stated: "A scholar, historian and journalist, he was above all an educator of the people as well as their leader. Unremittingly, for the last several decades, he analysed the socio-political scene from the firm-rootedness of his intellectual position and enriched Indian political thought to his very last days."Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee, who took office on the same day Namboodiripad died, recalled that Namboodiripad had brought to politics a sense of commitment and purpose and that he was a champion of the cause of the working classes and the downtrodden.[23]
Three more deaths occurred in his family within five years after his death, starting with his daughter-in-law Dr. Yamuna in August 2001, and later followed by his wife Arya Antharjanam in January 2002 and elder son E. M. Sreedharan in November 2002. E. M. Sasi, his younger son, died on 24 January 2022 after suffering from a massive heart attack.
Namboodiripad was married to Arya Antharjanam and had two sons – E. M. Sreedharan and E. M. Sasi – and two daughters – E. M. Malathy and E. M. Radha. His grandson (Sreedharan's son)Sujith Shankar is an actor.
He was a writer and author ofseveral literary works and his book on the history of Kerala is notable.[19][24]
In the 2014 filmVasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil,Sudheesh reprises the role of Namboodiripad.[25]
The first democratically elected communist-led government in India actually came to power in 1957 in the southwest-Indian state of Kerala. Two years later this government was undemocratically toppled-by the union government and the Congress-I party with Indira Gandhi in the forefront. But the communists were reelected and led several of the following state governments.
Nair Service Society organised a violent campaign in Kerala in 1959 to " liberate " that State from the Communists
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by (none) | Chief Minister of Kerala 1957–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Kerala 1967–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | General Secretary of theCommunist Party of India (Marxist) 1978–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Members |
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| Chief Ministers of Kerala | ||||||||
