E. M. S. Namboodiripad

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E. M. S. Namboodiripad
E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg
1st Chief Minister of Kerala
In office
5 April 1957 – 31 July 1959
Preceded by office established
Succeeded by President`s rule
In office
6 March 1967 – 1 November 1969
Preceded by President`s rule
Succeeded by C. Achutha Menon
General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist)
In office
April 8, 1978 – January 9, 1992
Preceded by P. Sundarayya
Succeeded by Harkishan Singh Surjeet
Personal details
Born (1909-06-13)13 June 1909
Perintalmanna, Madras Presidency, British India
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Political party Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (before 1964)
Spouse(s) Arya Antarjanam
Children Two sons, two daughters
Residence A house at Thiruvananthapuram, that the Communist party rented for him
EMS with Romanian President Nicolae Ceauşescu in 1979.

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala state in 1957–59 and then again in 1967–69. As a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), he became the first non-Indian National Congress chief minister in the Indian republic. In 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM).

As chief minister, Namboodiripad pioneered radical land and educational reforms in Kerala, which helped it become the country's leader in social indicators. It is largely due to his commitment and guidance that the CPM, 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.[1]

Personal life

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad was born on 13 June 1909, as the son of Parameswaran Namboodirippad, at Elamkulam, in Perintalmanna taluk of the present Malappuram district into an aristocratic upper-caste Brahmin family. In his early years, he was associated with V. T. Bhattathiripad, M. R. Bhattathiripad and many others in the fight against the casteism and conservatism that existed in the Namboothiri community. He became one of the office bearers of Valluvanadu Yogaskshema Sabha, an organisation of progressive Namboothiri youth. During his college days, he was deeply associated with the Indian National Congress and the Indian independence movement.

He was a writer and author of several literary works and his book on the history of Kerala is notable.[2][3] He was well known for his stammer.[4] When asked if he always stammered, he would reply, "No, only when I speak."[5] He described Mahatma Gandhi as a Hindu fundamentalist. [6]

Socialism

In 1934, he was one of the founders of Congress Socialist Party, a socialist wing within the Indian National Congress, and elected as its All India Joint Secretary from 1934 to 1940. During this period, he was also elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly (1939).

He remained committed to socialist ideals, and his compassion towards the working class led him to join the Communist movement. The Indian government considered him to be one of the founders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala, forcing him to go into hiding. During the 1962 Sino-Indian war, he was among leaders who aired China's view on the border issue. When the CPI split in 1964, Namboodiripad stood with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). He served as a member of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the CPI(M) until his death in 1998. Namboodiripad became general secretary in 1977, a designation he held until 1992. A Marxist scholar, he influenced the development of Kerala, of whom he was the first Chief Minister.

Election to state government

A Communist-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.[7][8] It was one of the earliest elected Communist governments, after Communist success in the 1945 elections in the Republic of San Marino (a city-state surrounded by Italy).[9][9][10][11][12]) It was also the first time for a regional party in India to win state elections. On 5 April 1957 he was appointed as the first chief minister of Kerala. His government introduced the Land Reform Ordinance and Education Bill. In 1959, the Central Government dismissed his government through the controversial Article 356 of the Indian Constitution following "The Liberation Struggle".

Indira Gandhi convinced Nehru, who was hesitant to dismiss a democratically elected government, to make such a decision.[13][14] Central Intelligence Agency's involvement in the ouster has been long suspected. Declassified CIA documents show that the first Communist government concerned them and "preventing additional Keralas became an important argument for augmenting U.S. assistance to India".[15] According to the biography of former US Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, "the election results rang alarm bells in Washington"[16][17]

He became the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second time in 1967 as the leader of a seven-party coalition including the Muslim League. He wooed the Muslim League by promising them a district of their own. This time his tenure lasted for two and a half years, and he created a separate district called 'Malappuram' during this term as per prior agreement. Soon after becoming Chief Minister again, on 31 January 1968 he inaugurated Asia's first mechanised coir factory called Floorco in Pozhikkara, Paravur.

Namboodiripad was the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 1960 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1977. His vision of decentralisation 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.

Sino-Indian war and split in the Communist Party

During the 1962 Sino-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.[2]

Association with Progressive Movement for Arts and Letters

Namboodiripad, Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, Joseph Mundassery, M. P. Paul and K. Damodaran were architects of "Jeevat Sahitya 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 modern Malayalam literature.

Death

The E.M.S. Memorial Co-operative Hospital in Perinthalmanna

Namboodiripad died on 19 March 1998, aged 89. He was married to Arya Antharjanam and had two sons and two daughters.

Bibliography

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Main article: E. M. S. Namboodiripad bibliography

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi, p 294
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ London Review of Books, http://www.lrb.co.uk/v19/n15/letters, "Pankaj Mishra’s Diary (LRB, 19 June) was an absorbing read, but he is a trifle too kind to the Economic and Political Weekly and Frontline as voices of genuine radical dissent. Both are of Stalinist-Maoist pedigree and should the country’s Communist Parties achieve exclusive power at the national level, neither journal is likely to promote the right of dissent it enjoys in India today. One Frontline columnist, the octogenarian Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader E.M.S. Namboodaripad, described Mahatma Gandhi as a Hindu fundamentalist."
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Moynihan, Dangerous Place, 41
  14. ↑ Godbole, Public Accountability and Transparency: The Imperatives of Good Governance, 84.
  15. ↑ [1]
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Schaffer, Ellsworth Bunker: Global Troubleshooter, Vietnam Hawk, 67

Further reading

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Political offices
Preceded by
(none)
 Chief Minister of Kerala
1957–1959		 Succeeded by
Pattom Thanupillai
Preceded by Chief Minister of Kerala
1967–1969		 Succeeded by
C. Achutha Menon
Party political offices
Preceded by General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
1978–1992		 Succeeded by
Harkishan Singh Surjeet
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