CHAPTER I11 KERALA POLITICS: POWER GAMES, CORRUPTION...

CHAPTER I11

KERALA POLITICS: POWER GAMES, CORRUPTION AND COMMUNALISM

Ehnergence of Popular Governments in Travancore and Travancore-Cochin

The demands made by the people of Travancore for the

establishment of popular governments were realised in

1948. The Royal proclamation issued on 4 September 1947

was a landmark in the formation of popular government in

Travancore. In a Royal proclamation issued on 4 September

1947, the Maharaja declared the formation of a Constituent

Assembly on the basis of universal adult franchise. I

Accordingly elections were held in 120 constituencies from

2 February to 16 February 1948. The election results were t

as follows.

Election 1948

Party Seats

Congress

Tamil Nadu Congress

Muslim League

Independent

Source: Manorama Year Book 1994 (M), p. 205.

1. Manorama Year Book 1994 (M) (Kottayarn, 19941, p. 205.

The first session of the Constituent Assembly was

held on 20 March 1948. A. J. John was elected the

President of the ~ssembly .2 Though the Assembly started

functioning as a Constituent Assembly soon it was

transformed into a Legislative Assembly. The members of

the Constituent Assembly requested the Maharaja to declare

it as a Legislative Assembly. On the basis of the request

of the popular leaders, the Maharaja, through a Royal

decree, declared the Assembly as a ~egislative Assembly on

24 March 1948 . 3 Subsequently the Assembly decided to form

an interim government for Travancore. After reserving

certain departments the Maharaja handed over other

departments to the interim government.4 On 24 March 1948,

Pattom Thanu Pillai was sworn in as the first Chief

Minister of TraVanctore. A three member Cabinet consisting

of Pattom Thanu Pillai as Chief Minister and C. Kesavan

and T. M. Varqhese as ministers was sworn in on 24 March

1948 in the presence of the Maharaja at the Palace of

Kaudiyar. 5

The formation of Travancore Constituent Assembly was

remarkable in many respects. It sounded the deathknell of

2. Ibid.

3. R. Prakasam, C. Kesavan (M) (Trivandrum, 1990), p. 230.

4. Manorama Year Book, n. 1, p . 205-

5. R. Prakasam, n. 3, p. 230.

monarchy and the birth of democracy. Travancore got the

credit of conducting elections on the basis of universal

adult suffrage for the first time in an Indian state.

The election of the Constituent Assembly on the basis of

adult suffrage was the first of its kind in any Indian

state. 6

Fall of Pattorn Ministry

The first ministry failed to function effectively.

Lack of unity in the ministry, personality cult and

con~munal discord were responsible for its fall. The

Ministry which consisted of the trinity of the state

Congress could not function effectively for long .' Pattom-

Thanu Pillai began to show his autocratic nature. - ~nfortun'atel~, Pattom Thanu Pillai also began to take

policy decisions without consulting his Cabinet colleagues

C. Kesavan and T. M. ~ a r ~ h e s e . ~ This led to internal

dissensions in the Cabinet. But C. Kesavan and

T. M. Varghese did not resign from the ministry. They

(Varghese and Kesavan) did not quit the Cabinet and kept

the prestige of the Cabinet. It is a strange paradox

6. Ibid.

7. Perunna K. N. Nair, Keralathile Congress Prasthanam (M) (Cochin, 19851, p. 336.

8. R. Prakasam, n. 2, p. 231.

9. Ibid.

that C. Kesavan the champion of individual freedom

submitted himself to the autocratic nature of Pattom. 10

Dissensions in the ministry slowly came into the ranks of

the party. The All Travancore State Congress Committee

meeting held on 9 October 1948 decided to merge the state

Congress with Indian National Congress and to function as

Travancore District Congress Committee under the Kerala

PCC. It also passed a resolution demanding the

resignation of the ministry.'' But Pattom Thanu Pillai did

not resign. It was an open defiance of party discipline.

Pattom Thanu Pillai was not a leader having much of a

party discipline. 12

Communalism also played its own role in causing-

instability to the first ministry. There was a well

organised campaign against T. M. Varghese from certain

quarters. There was no other leader in Travancore who was

as misunderstood as T. M. Varghese. He was pictured as

communalist and cunning.13 But Kerala did not have a

political leader like Varghese who was the embodiment of

14 innocence, sincerity and love.

10. Ibid.

11. Perunna K. N. Nair, n. 7, p. 336.

12. R. Prakasam, n. 3, p. 244.

13. C. Narayana Pillai, Thiruvathamcore Swathantriya Samara Charithrarn (M) (Trivandrum, 1972), p. 969.

14. Ibid.

Since Pattom defied the party order the Congress

Committee had d~cided to summon a m~,eting of the

legislature party and to present a vote of no-confidence

in the legislature. Under these circumstances Pattom

resigned. Pattom resigned on 17 October 1949. 15

After the resignation of Pattom Thanu Pillai, Parur

T. K. Narayan Pillai was elected the leader of the

Congress Legislature Party. Under his leadership the new

Cabinet consisting of A. J. John, K. R. Elankath,

V. 0. Markose, N. Kunjuraman and E. K. Madhavan were sworn

in on 22 October 1948. 16 R. V. Thomas was elected as the

Speaker. l7 Pattom Thanu Pillai and his followers left the

Congress and formed the Democratic Socialist Party.

In December 1948, the Travancore State Congress merged

with the Indian Nabional Congress. A Travancore District

Congress Committee was formed under the Presidentship of

C. Kesavan.

As Chief Minister Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai tried

his best to ensure communal cooperation. He tried to

secure the cooperation and support of Nair and Ezhava

communities. For that on the advice of K. N. Sankunny

15. Manorama Year Book, n. 1, p. 205. - 16. Ibid.


Pillai, a member of the Legislative Assembly, he (Chief

Minister) appointed Mannath Padbhanabhan and R. Sankar to

the Devaswom Board. l8 But this did not yield any positive

results. They began to state that the government was

acting as if it was the government of the Christians.

With their inborn eloquence they pictured the government

as a Christian government. They organised the Hindus by

utilising their position as Devaswom Board members. Thus

they were able to evoke communal feelings in the state.

Thus factionalism on the basis of community began to show

its vicious effects on Travancore politics.

Integration of Travancore and Cochin

The Inteqration of Travancore-Cochin states took t

place on 1 July 1949, under the leadership of Sardar

Vallabhabai Pate1 and V. P. Menon. Several princely

states were integrated to India at that time. After the

Travancore Cochin integration on 1 July 1949, the joint

session of the Travancore and Cochin Legislative

Assemblies were held and Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai was

unanimously elected leader of the Congress Legislature

18. R. Prakasam, n. 3, p. 246.

19. Ibid.

Party. 20 The First Travancore Cochin Cabinet was formed

under the leadership Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai. E. John

~hilipose, N. Kunjiraman, Anne Mascrene, E. K. Madhavan,

Ikkanda Warrier, K. Ayyappan, panampilly Govinda Menon and

T. A. Abudlla were the other ministers. 21 After some time

E. K. Madhavan and Ikkanda Warrier resigned from the

Cabinet. Subsequently, T. A. Abdulla, Anne Mascrine and

K. Ayyappan also resigned. Anne Mascrene did also raise

certain allegations against John Philipose. In the

Cabinet meeting certain ministers demanded the resignation

of John Philipose. Since the Cabinet could not arrive at

a unanimous opinion, it resigned on 24 February 1951.

After the resignation of T. K. Narayana Pillai Ministry,

C. Kesavan was elected the leader of the Congress

Legislature Party on*28 February 1951. 2 2

As the leader of the Legislature Party C. Kesavan

tried his best to solve internal dissensions in his party.

He tried to reinforce unity in the party through

the Cabinet formation. C. Kesavan decided to appoint

T. K. Narayana Pillai, A. J. John and Panampilly Govinda

Menon, the ablest among the legislators for his Cabinet.

20. Perunna K. N. Nair, n. 7 , p. 340.

21. Manorama Year Book, n. 1, p. 205.

22. Perunna K. N. air, n. 7 , p. 341.

But C. Kesavan's aspiration was not fulfilled. A. J. John

and T. K. Narayana Pillai opposed the appointment of

Panampilly Govinda Menon into the cabinet. Panampilly

also could not think about the appointment of A. J. John

and Narayana Pillai in the Cabinet. 23 In this political

game C. Kesavan had to accept one of the two alternatives,

either to accept A. J. John and Narayana Pillai and to

reject Panampilly 'or to reject A. J. John and Narayana

Pillai and to accept Panampilly. He decided to accept

A. J. John and T. K. Narayana Pillai. Accordingly he

included A. J. John and T. K. Narayana Pillai in his

Cabinet. The exclusion of Panampilly caused the beginning

of a new type of faction fight in state politics viz.,

faction fight on the basis of region. The MLAs of Cochin

region ralliedagainst C. Kesavan. He declared that he

would appoint any MLA from Cochin to his Cabinet except

Panampilly. The MLAs of Cochin refused to join the

Cabinet and they requested the Congress High Command to

interfere in the issue. 2 4 The Chief Minister insisted on

his stand and the High Command did not interfere in the

issue. Subsequently, the 18 MLAs from Cochin region

23. R . Prakasam, n. 3 , p. 262.

24. Ibid., p. 263.

decided to vote against the government. But the

Democratic Party under the leadership of Mannath

Padbhanabhan and R. Sankar supported the government. The

dissidents from the Cochin region subsequently abandoned

their demand for the appointment of Panampilly to the

Cabinet and asked the Chief Minister to appoint anyone

from Cochin region and they stood for the removal of

A. J. John and T. K. Narayana Pillai from the Cabinet. 25

The Congress leaders felt that unity in the party as an

imperative need of the time. To reinforce unity in the

party a compromise was arrived at whereby A. J. John and

T. K. Narayan Pillai resigned from the Cabinet. In the

Cabinet reshuffle Kuttikrishna Menon and L. M. Pylee from

Cochin and K. M. Korah and G. Chandrasekara ~illai from

Travancore region we%e appointed ministers.

General Election of 1951-52

The first general elections in India on the basis of

universal adult franchise were held at the beginning of

1952. Accordingly elections were held in Travancore-

Cochin from 10 December 1951 to 5 January 1952. 26

25. Ibid., p. 266.

26. Manorama Year Book, n. 1, P. 206.

Elections were held in 108 Assembly seats and 12 Lok Sabha

seats. Election results were as follows.

Election 1951-52

Party Seats

Congress

Socialists

Independents

Source: Manorama Year Book 1994 (M), p. 206

Among the independents 25 belonged to the Communist

Party, 6 to the RSP, 8 to the Tamil Nadu Congress, 1 to

the KSP and 1 to the-Cochin Party.

With the support of the Tamil Nadu Congress and some

independents A. J. John formed a Cabinet. In the election

of Congress Legislature Party A. J. John defeated

Panampilly Govinda Menon by a margin of two votes. 2 7

Under the leadership of A. J. John the new Cabinet was

sworn in on 12 March 1952. In this Cabinet A . J. John

included Panampilly ~ovinda Menon, T. M. Varghese,

Kalathil Velayudan air, V. Madhavan and K. Kochukuttan.


He also included A.Chithambaranath Nadar, a representative

of the Tamil Nadu Congress in his Cabinet. 2 8

The A. J. John Ministry also did not last long.

Linguistic factionalism caused the premature fall of the

John Ministry. The Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress began

to demand the merger of southern Travancore to Madras.

The basis of their demand was that the majority of people

of southern Travancore speak Tamil language. As a prelude

to this reorganisation they demanded the formation of a

Congress Committee for southern Travancore under Kerala

PCC. *' But the then Travancore-Cochin Congress did not

accept it. The Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress withdrew

the support from the government and Chithambaranath Nadar

resigned from the Cabinet. When the vote of confidence *

motion introduced by the government in the legislature was

defeated the Assembly was dissolved. The Ministry

continued as a caretaker government. 3 0

Election of 1954

Elections were held in the 118 Assembly seats in

February 1954. The election fight was mainly between

United Front supported by the PSP and the Congress.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid., p. 344.

30. Ibid.

The United Front consisted of the Communist Party, the RSP

and the KSP. The election results were as follows.

Election 1954

Party Seats

Congress 4 5

Communists 2 3

PSP 1 9

Tamil Nadu Congress

RSP

KSP 3

Independents 6

Anglo-Indian 1

Source: Manorama Year Book 1 9 9 4 (M), p. 206.

Though the Congress was the single largest party it

did not have majority to form the government. The PSP

refused to continue the election understanding with the

United Front in the legislature. In this situation the

Congress gave its support to the PSP to form the

government. 31 Thus the PSP, a minority party in the

legislature, formed the Cabinet under the leadership of

Pattom Thanu Pillai on 16 March 1 9 5 4 . 3 2 A. Achuthan,

31. Manorama Year Book, n. 1, p. 206.

32. Perunna K. N. Nair, n. 7, p. 3 4 5 .

P. S. Nadaraja Pillai and P. K. Kunju were his Cabinet

colleagues.

The functioning of this government was also not

smooth. The ministry had to face opposition from the

Communists as well as from the Travancore Tamil Nadu

Congress. The Tamil Nadu Congress raised their earlier

demand for the merger of southern Travancore with Madras.

They started agitations against the government and that

led to police firing near Marthaandam which claimed 7

lives. The Congress withdrew its support from the

government following certain humiliating remarks of the

Chief Minister about Congress. A no-confidence motion was

passed in December 1954 and the PSP government resigned.

The personal rift between the PSP and Congress leaders and

ideological differences caused the fall of the ministry. 3 3

After the fall of the Pattom Ministry, Panampilly

Govinda Menon, the leader of the Congress Legislature

Party formed a Cabinet with the support of Tamil Nadu

Congress and two PSP members who resigned . from the PSP. A. J. John, A. A. Rahim, K. Kochukuttan and

K. I. Velayudhan were the other ministers. 3 4 This

government also could not complete its tenure. Certain

33. EMS Namhoodiripad, Kerala Charithram: Marxist Vikshanathil (M) (Trivandrum, 1990), p. 346.

34. Perunna K. N. Nair, n. 7, p. 348

vested interests began to work against the ministry. The

new government had to face challenges from both the Tamil

Nadu Congress and the Congress. 3 5 Two reasons prompted

the reactionaries to work against the ministry. One was

that the government did not yield to the demands of

certain vested interests including the NSS. The other

was that in the Travancore-Cochin Congress Committee

presidential election Chief Minister Panampilly Govinda

Menon supported A. P. Udhayabhanu against the Congress

veteran Kumbalath Sanku Pillai. 36 With the support of

6 Congress MLAs the Tamil Nadu Congress introduced a

no-confidence motion. It was passed on 12 March 1956 and

the ministry resigned.

Gandhi's Views'on Politics

For me there is no politics without religion--not the religion of the superstitious and the blind, religion that hates and fights, but the universal religion of toleration. Politics without morality is a thing to be avoided.[37]

For me politics bereft of religion are absolute dirt, ever to be shunned. Politics concern nations and that which concerns the welfare of nations must be one of the concerns of a man who is religiously inclined, in other words a seeker after God and Truth. Therefore, in politics also we have to establish the Kingdom of Heaven.[38]

35. Ibid., p. 347.

36. Ibid., p. 348.

37. M. K. Gandhi, "Young India", 27 November 1924, p. 391.

38. M. K. Gandhi, "Young ~ndia", 18 June 1925, p. 214

I do not divide life into watertight compartments. The life of a nation like that of individuals is an indivisible whole.[391

Formation of Kerala State

Under the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the

Travancore-Cochin State and Malabar were united to form

the state of Kerala on 1 November 1956. Some territorial

adjustments had necessarily to be made on reorganisation.

In this adjustment Kerala lost to Madras the taluks of

Thovala, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode in the

far south and Shencotta in the east, while it gained the

Malabar district and the Kasargod taluk of South Canara

district in the north.

Kerala State Legislative Assembly Election 1957

Party Seats - -

Congress

Communist Party

PSP

Muslim League

Independents (Communists)

Independent - - - - --


39. M. K. Gandhi, "Harijan", 29 February 1937, p. 13.

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the

reorganised state of Kerala were held on 28 February 1957

and on 11 March 1957. On 5 April 1957 EMS Namboodiripad,

the leader of the Communist Party sworn in as the

Chief Minister of Kerala. The Cabinet members were

T. V. Thomas, C. Achutha Menon, K. C. George, Joseph

Mundassery, A. R. Menon, K. P. Gopalan, V. R. Krishna

Iyer, T. A. Majeed, P. K. Chathan and K. R. Gouri.

The first EMS Ministry remained in power for twenty

eight months. The removal of the first elected Communist

Government of Kerala was caused by the ~iberation

Struggle. The genesis of the Liberation Struggle may be

traced back to the very day the Communists assumed power

in the state; ' It-may be rightly said that the seeds of

this historic agitation which ultimately proved fatal to

the Communists were sown by the Communist Government

itself. The rash and often ill digested policy

declarations of the ministers and party leaders and the

unconscionable haste with which the government attempted

to make use of its power to strengthen the Communist Party

and further party interests jolted the conservative

sections of the people and accelarated the pace of the

Liberation Struggle. 4 0

40. Cyriac Thomas, "The Church and Politics in Kerala 1947-72", Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, 1977, p. 125.

During the tenure of the Communist Government several

allegations were raised a g a i n s t the government and the

ministers. The Kerala ~ducational ill and the Kerala

~ g r a r i a n Relations Bill were subject to severe criticism

from different quarters. The Educational Bill paved the

way t o t h e L i b e r a t i o n Struggle which took place in the

June-July months of 1959. I t was t h e connecting l i n k

between the religious leaders and the leaders of different

communities. The Agrarian Relations sill a l r e a d y wounded

the landlords. 41 The Christian a n d Nair communities are

considered to possess the maximum of vested interests in

Kerala. Members of these t w o communities constitute

almost 90 per cent of the land owning class. It all

s t a r t ed w i t h the Nairs as the landlords and the Christians

as t h e ,tenants. In due course the Christians by t h e i r

incomparable a p t i t u d e for hardwork and unflinching

attachment to the soil acquired e n o u g h landed properties

by the sweat of their brow and managed t o establish

themselves a s a p a r t of the landed Aristocracy. The

Christian community also retains a special vested interest

in the sphere of education. The Christians consider

educational institutions almost as sacred as their places

of worship and had always taken care to establish a school

1 Cherian P h i l i p , Kaal Noothandu (M) (Kottayam, 1984), p . 5 4 .

next to almost every church. The church and the school

are so closely intertwined that t h e school i s called

'pallikkoodam' s i g n i f y i n g its r e l a t i o n t o 'palli' o r

church. Usually e v e r y school owned by the Christians is

managed by either the parish or the ish hop. The attempted

reforms of the Communist government in the s p h e r e of

education naturally upset the Christians and the land

reforms proposed by the Government p r o v o k e d the Nair

community. 4 2

Meanwhile the government had decided to purchase rice

from A n d r a Pradesh. T. 0 . Bhava , t h e t h e n Congress MLA

raised allegations of corruption against the government

in the r i c e deal. The government appointed Justice

P . T . Raman Nair t~ enquire into the deal. The enquiry

r e p o r t stated t h a t in the purchase of 5,000 t o n n e s of rice

the government had lost Rs. 1 . 5 lakhs. 4 3 Allegations were

also raised against the interference of party leaders in

the functioning of c i v i l service and j u d i c i a r y . T h e

ruling p a r t y i n t e r f e r e d in the functioning of judiciary

and civil s e r v i c e . 44 Police firing and l a t h i c h a r g e

intensified t h e emotions of the p e o p l e a g a i n s t the

4 2 . C y r i a c Thomas, n. 40 , p . 1 2 6 .

4 3 . Cherian Philip, n. 41, p . 60 .

4 4 . Perunna K. N. Nair, n . 7, p. 3 8 2 .

government. The struggle got leadership and funds from

the notables of the air and Christian communitie-s.

Special mention pay be made a b o u t t h e a b l e leadership of

Mannath Padbhanabhan in this regard. ~iberation Struggle

was started against the gove rnmen t u n d e r t h e l eade r sh ip of

Mannath Padbhanabhan. 4 5

According to the Communist leaders the ~iberation

Struggle was a conscious invention of the Congress leaders

both at the centre and in the state to oust the Communist

Government. The centre leadership of the Congress,

however, did not hide its displeasure at what happened i n

Kerala. Hardly had the new government been sworn in when

the General Secretary of the Congress, Sriman Narayan

discovered a sense of insecurity among the people of

Kerala. The formation of the new government it was

suggested, he ra lded a situation of serious danger to the

person and property of peace l o v i n g and law abiding

people. This line laid down by their all India l eade r was

f u r t h e r elaborated by the Congress leaders of Kerala who

unleashed a vicious campaign of lies and slanders. 46

The Congress, the PSP, the Muslim League and even the

smaller par , t i e s which were not represented i n the

4 5 . Malayala Manorama, n. 1, p . 2 0 7 .

4 6 . EMS Naatboodiripad, Kerala: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Calcutta, 1 9 6 7 ) , p. 222.

legislature thought it necessary to join their forces on a

firm anti-Communist united front. This anti-government

unity i n s i d e the legislature was supplemented by a unity

outside not only among these parties as parties but in the

columns of the newspapers. The majority of the newspapers

in the language numbering over 30, switched on to a policy

of distortions and l i e s i n t e n d e d t o defame and discredit

t h e ministry as a whole, as well as the ministers

individually. 47 For the removal of Communist Government

the central a n d the state l e a d e r s h i p of Congress adopted

extra constitutional methods. A comprehensive direct

action policy was framed by the President of the KPCC and

t h e representatives of the Congress High Command. 4 8

The ~ i b e r a t i o ~ Struggle started on 12 June 1 9 5 9 .

Har t a l s were organised throughout Kerala on that day. The

government decided to s u p r e s s t h e struggle by an i r o n

h a n d . Lathicharge a n d police firing took place in several

places. Severa l people lost their l i v e s in the police

firings at Anyamali, Vettukad, Pulluvila and Cheriathura.

In the Liberation Struggle 15 people lost their lives by

police firing. 4 9 In these circumstances majority of

- - - - -

4 7 . Ibid., p . 223.

48. EMS Namboodiripad, n. 33, p. 360.

4 9 . C h e r i a n philip, n . 4 1 , p . 7 6 .

muncipalities and panchayats, all t r a d e unions except

Communist trade unions, Bar ~ssociations and the Kerala

Bar Association passed resolutions demanding t h e

resignation of t h e government. The Congress party was

compelled t o take note of t h e changing situation in

Kerala. T h e KPCC w h i c h hitherto kept its own counsel, now

approached the centre leadership for g u i d a n c e . I n the

f i r s t week of May Congress president Indira Gandhi made a

f l y i n g visit t o the state t o make an o n the spo t s t u d y of

the situation. Indira Gandhi was shrewd enough to see the

political harvest the Congress could reap. She openly

supported the demands of t h e p r i v a t e school managers a n d

upheld the r i g h t of the people t o resist a law if it was

against the w i . l , l ofi the people. 5 0 O u t of t h e 30 daily

newspapers 26 directly supported the Liberation Struggle

a n d demanded the resignation of the government. After

making a tour of the struggle torn state K. M. Munshi,

famous c o n s t i t u t i o n a l expert and a former Governor of

Uttar Pradesh suggested the declaration of Emergency in

the s o u t h e r n most s t a t e of the Republic. He f u r t h e r

appealed, to the President to dismiss the government and

dissolve the legislature. In a press statement Congress

P re s iden t I n d i r a G a n d h i characterised the Liberation

Struggle as a just, l o g i c a l a n d constitutional a g i t a t i o n .

SO. Cyriac Thomas, n . 4 0 , p . 137.

T h e former Chief Minister of the State, panampilly ~ o v i n d a

Menon published an open letter t o t h e G o v e r n o r i n w h i c h

h e alleged that Jallian Wallabagh was being repeated

at Angamali. Close on t h e heels of t h e visit of

U. N. Dhebar, a former P r e s i d e n t of t h e Congress and Sad iq

Ali, the General Secre t a ry of the P a r t y , came t h e

announcement regarding the visit of Prime Minister Nehru

to the State. On the eve of Nehru's v i s i t the p o l i t i c a l

atmosphere in Kerala was electrified with tension, since

the Prime Minister was obviously making t h e t r i p to the

S o u t h for an on the spot study. 51 The Prime Minister on

his arrival realising t h e gravity of the situation and the

depth of t h e crisis advised C h i e f M i n i s t e r Namboodir ipad

t o seek a fresh' man.-date from t h e people . But the Chief

Minister rejected the Prime Minister's advice. 'The Hindu'

well-known for its, sober stand on matters political

advised the Communist g o v e r n m e n t to think twice before

rejecting t h e Prime Ministers a d v i c e . 5 2

I n these circumstances the central government

requested the state Governor to present a report about t h e

l a w and order situation in Kerala. The Governor reported

that there was a failure of constitutional machinery a n d

- - - - -- -

51. I b i d . , p . 144.

52 . Ibid., p . 1 4 6 .

serious law and order problems persist in the state and

favoured the dismissal of the s t a t e government. On the

basis of the report of the state Governor and according to

the Provisions of ~ r t i c l e 356 of t h e Indian Constitution,

the President of India dismissed the Kerala Government. 53

Whether the techniques used in the ~ i b e r a t i o n

S t r u g g l e had a n y resemblance of the Gandhian technique of

satyagraha is a debatable question. An analysis of the

Gandhian concept of satyagraha in the context of the

L i b e r a t i o n Struggle may b r i n g the truth. Satyagraha w a s

an important weapon at the h a n d s of Gandhi t o fight evils.

'Satya' means truth and 'agraha' means sticking on or

insisting on truth. Satya is truth, which equals love and

agraha, is firmness or force; satyagraha therefore means

t r u t h force or love force. 54 The Gandhian technique of

satyagraha may assume different forms. These are hartal,

non-cooperation, fasting, civil disobedience, boycotti

picketing and hijrat. To Gandhi satyagraha should serve

three purposes. It should purify the sufferer, it should

intensify favourable public opinion, and it should make an

appeal to the soul of the opponent. Satyagraha is t h e

53. Cherian Philip, n. 41, p. 85.

54. I. Sundaram, Gandhian Thouqht and Philosophy (New D e l h i , 1 9 7 9 ) , 9 . 2 6 .

vindication of truth not by infliction of suffering on the

opponent but on one's self. If words f a i l t o c o n v i n c e the

adversary perhaps purity, humility and h o n e s t y will. The

opponent must be weaned from error by patience a n d

s y m p a t h y weaned n o t c r u s h e d , converted not annihilated. 55

T h e word s a t y a g r a h a i s o f t e n most l o o s e l y u s e d and is made

t o cover veiled violence.

But as the author of t h e word I may be a l l o w e d to s a y that it excludes every form of violence, v e i l e d or u n v e i l e d and w h e t h e r in thought word or deed . It is a breach of'satyagraha t o w i s h ill t o an opponent or to say a h a r s h word t o him or of him with the intention of harming him. Satyagraha is gentle, it never wounds. It must not be t h e result of a n g e r o r m a l i c e . I t i s never fussy, never i m p a t i e n t , never v o c i f e r o u s . I t i s the direct o p p o s i t e of compulsion. I t was conceived as a complete substitute f o r violence.[56]

.L

Gandhi used these techniques of satyagraha i n South Africa

and i n B r i t i s h I n d i a where t h e r e were n o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l

means to correct the evils of administration. Gandhi did

n o t accept t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of a l l the above techniques of

satyagraha in a representative democracy such as o u r s

where people enjoy the right to remove a government

if it is inefficient, corrupt or tyranical, resort to

satyagraha is in principle illegitimate and r e d u n d a n t .

56 . M . K . G a n d h i , I n d i a of My Dreams (Ahamedabad, 1 9 4 7 ) , p . 8 3 .

In September 1947 Gandhi said:

In a democracy the individual will was governed and limited by the social w i l l which w a s t h e state, which was governed by and for democracy. If every individual took the law into own h a n d s there w a s no state, it became a n a r c h y . T h a t way l a y d e s t r u c t i o n of l i b e r t y , therefore they s h o u l d subdue t h e i r a n g e r and l e t t h e state secure justice.[57]

Indiscriminate resistance to a u t h o r i t y must lead t o

lawlessness and unbridled licence and consequent self

destruction. 5 8 According to Gandhi tolerance is the true

spirit of democracy. There must be no impatience, no

barbarity, no insolence, no under pressure. If we want to

cultivate a true spirit of democracy, we cannot a f f o r d to

be i n t o l e r a n t , . Intolerance betrays w a n t of faith in one's

cause. 59

That was why Jawaharlal Nehru the then Prime *

Minister of India could not favour the demand of the KPCC

l e a d e r s f o r ~iberation Struggle. When the state Congress

executive decided to take up the l e a d e r s h i p of t h e

a g i t a t i o n against the government, a deputation consisting

of R. Sankar, P. T. Chacko and Panampilly Govinda Menon

was authorised to meet Prime Minister Jawaharlal N e h r u to

seek his concurrance in the matter. They met the Prime

~ i n i s t e r at Oottaccamund and on their return to the state

announced that the Congress was joining the fray. It may

5 7 . I. Sundaram, n . 5 4 , p . 27 .

58. M. K. andh hi, n. 56, p. 8 6 .

59 . Ibid.

be mentioned that the Prime Minister was not well disposed

towards t h e agitation and was believed to have had some

mental reservations about the propriety of conducting the

agitation to oust a duly elected government. 60 N e h r u

spoke a n g r i l y t o t h e Congress leaders of Kerala who

demanded the dismissal of Kerala government. If I (Nehru)

accept this undemocratic policy what would be the reaction

of the world about me, Nehru asked the KPCC leaders. 61

An analysis of the ~iberation Struggle will compel one to

concede that the two dominant communities (Christian and

Nair) f o r g e d a u n i t e d front against the Communists not

because of their theoretical or dogmatic opposition to

Marxism but more because of the practical difficulties to

which these two communities were subjected under the

Communist regime.' The Nairs had been rather frank in

admitting this whereas the Christians had shown their

preference to fight the Communists in the g a r b of

doctrinaire opposition to Marxism. The attempt of the

government to make encroachments i n t h e sphere of

education scared the Christians in two ways. On the one

hand, they were a f r a i d t h a t their material vested

interests would be affected and on the other that their

younger g e n z r a t i o n might be brain washed by the Reds. 6 2

60. C y r i a c Thomas, n. 40, p. 141.

61. Cherian Philip, n. 41, p . 80 .

6 2 . Cyriac Thomas, n. 40, p . 1 2 9 .

S i n c e it is clear that the struggle was waged for t h e

realisation of selfish purposes it cannot be s a i d to be

Gandhian because Gandhism stands f o r total purity of means

and ends.

Birth of Coalition politics in Kerala

The first EMS Ministry was dismissed on 31 J u l y 1 9 5 9 .

New elections were h e l d to the State ~egislative Assembly

on 1 February 1960. In this prestigious poll the United

Front of Democratic p a r t i e s had a landslide v i c t o r y .

Though t h e strength of the Communist Party was r educed in

the legislature, the Communist P a r t y remained s t i l l

powerful outside. T h e 1960 election results of the

Legislative Assembly of Kerala were a s follows. *


party Seats

Congress

Communist Part.y

PSP

Muslim League

Independents

- -

Source: Manouama Year Book 1994 (M), p . 207.

On 22 February 1 9 6 0 under the leadership of Pattom

Thanu P i l l a i of the PSP, a Congress PSP coalition

government was formed R. Sankar of the Congress party was

the deputy C h i e f Minister. Though the Muslim League was an

election ally, the p a r t y was persuaded to remain outside

the government. K. A. Damodara Menon, P. T. Chacko,

P. P. Ummer Koya, K. T. Achuthan, E. P. Poulose,

K. Kunjambu, V. K. Velappan, D. Damodaran p o t t i and

K. Chandrasekaran were the ministers. Seethi Sahib , t h e

representat ive of the Muslim League was elected Speaker of

t h e Assembly. The Muslim League was persuaded to remain

outside the government in order to avoid a n y p o s s i b l e

embarrassment f o r the Congress in other parts of t h e

country. M u s l i m League agreed t o be a p a r t n e r of t h e

coalition with no share in the government.

The relationship among the coalition partners were

not cordial. The g r a n d coalition of 1 9 6 0 was basically

anti-communist, a n d it did not c o n s i s t o f ' p a r t i e s having

s i m i l a r o u t l o o k or ideology. It had o n l y the limited

objective of keeping the Communists at bay from the

threshold of power. Apart from preventing the Communists

from capturing power in the elections of 1960, the

coalition could not even sustain the anti-Communist tempo

g e n e r a t e d by t h e ~iberation S t r u g g l e . 6 3 The real t e s t of - - - -

6 3 . N . Jose C h a n d e r (ed.), D y n a m i c s of State Politics in Kerala (New D e l h i , 1 9 8 6 ) , p. 38.

t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between the Congress and ~ u s l i r n League

came at t h e demise of the Speaker Seethi Sahib. When the

Muslim League insisted that another leaguer should be t h e

n e x t speaker the Congress hesitated to consider the

demand. Congress was prepared to support a leaguer

provided he resigned from the p a r t y and filed his

nomination as an independent. The League determined to

retain the political respectability it had won in Kerala

for the first time after the parition of the country

swallowed another bitter pill. 64 Though the League

candidate Mohammed Koya resigned from the party and

contested the elections as an i n d e p e n d e n t the League c o u l d

never forget the humiliation. Subsequently, the League

withdrew from the coalition and fought the parliamentary

election in 1 9 6 2 w l t h a v e n g e a n c e t o defeat the Congress

Party. 65

The relationship between the PSP and the Congress was

also not cordial. I n the first phase of the coalition

t h e r e developed an a x i s between t h e Chief ~ i n i s t e r and the

H o m e Minister P. T. Chacko. This political alliance

effectively c o r n e r d the deputy Chief Minister Shankar who

belonged to t h e Ezhava community. T h i s led to t h e

beginning of f a c t i o n fig-ht i n the C o n g r e s s p a r t y f o c u s i n g

64. K. C. John, The ~ e l t i n q Pot (Trivandrum, 1 9 7 5 ) , p . 69.

65. N. Jose Chander, n. 63, p. 38.

on the Christian leader of Congress P. T. Chacko and the

Ezhava leader of Congress R. Sankar. The politics of

Pattom-Chacko axis had all the blessings of Mannath

Padbhanabhan t h e l eader of t h e air service society. For

many it was s symbol of Nair-Christian unity. Meanwhile

Pattom Thanu Pillai was appointed Governor of Punjab.

Pattom resigned from Chief Ministership on 25 September

1962 and on 26 September 1962 R . Sankar assumed office as

Chief Minister. As a protest to the removal of their

leader Pattom from t h e state, the PSP ministers resigned

from the Cabinet. Thus the coalition experiment ended

with a one party rule of the Congress. The rift between

Sankar and Chacko became more and more bitter. On 20

F e b r u a r y 1 9 6 4 Chacko resigned from the Cabinet. The

immediate cause o f - t h e resignation was the Peechi episode

of 8 December 1963. On that day P. T. Chacko, the Home

Minister, g ~ t involved in a car accident at Trichur

leading to much scandal. The minister was reportedly

proceeding to peechi, a holiday resort accompanied by a

Hindu lady. They were a lone i n the car and t h e minister

was driving. The disclosure of this gave a rude shock to

the general public a s Chacko had been enjoying a

reputation as a person of strong moral character. The

opposition and a fraction of the Congress who cried for

the blood of Chacko lost no time in demanding the

resignation of P. T. Chacko. After his resignation from

the ministry he contested for the presidentship of KPCC on

14 June 1964, K. C. Abraham defeated Chacko in the p a r t y

election. P. T. Chacko d i e d of a h e a r t - a t t a c k on 1 Augus t

1964.

I n t e r n a l dissensions in the Congress P a r t y

aggrevated. It resulted in t h e withdrawal of support of

15 MLAs, who were the followers of Chacko, t o t h e

government o n 2 September 1964. These MLAs decided to

work a s a s e p a r a t e group under the leadership of

K. M. George and this paved the way for the birth of a new

p o l i t i c a l party--The Kerala Congress. Immediately a f t e r

the defeat of Chacko in the KPCC election some followers

did request Chacko to form a new party. But he firmly

replied that he would remain a Congressman till his death

and he would'not~raise his hands against the Congress.

The ministers of the Sankar Cabinet were of unanimous view

that had Chacko been alive Kerala Congress would not have

been formed. 66 The e m e r g e n c e of Kerala Congress gave an

impetus to the growth of sectional i n t e r e s t s o n t h e bas i s

of community. It (Kerala Congress) got the support of t h e

Nair-Christian v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s . " The year 1964 also

witnessed the birth of a new political p a r t y . On

ideological grounds there took place a split in the

Communist P a r t y and as a result the CPM came i n t o being on

66. Cherian Philip, n. 41, p. 1 2 8 .

67, Ibid., p. 129.

7 J u l y 1 9 6 4 . As a r e s u l t o f t h e withdrawal of support by

15 MLAs of K. M. George group, t h e government lost its

majority. P. K. Kunju of PSP introduced a no-confidence

motion in t h e legislature and i t was passed on 8 September

1964. 68 R. S a n k a r resigned and t h e state came under

President's rule on 10 September 1964. Elections were

h e l d t o the L e g i s l a t i v e Assembly o n 4 March 1 9 6 5 . T h e

election r e s u l t s were a s follows.

Kerala State Legislative Assembly ~lection 1965

Party S e a t s

Congress

Communist Party (Marxist)

SSP ' t

CPI

M u s l i m League

Kerala C o n g r e s s

RSP

J a n Sangh

Swathanthra Party

KTP

Independents

Source: Manorama Year Book 1994 (M), p . 211.

- - - --

68. Perunna K. N. Nair, n. 7 , p. 3 9 0 .

Since no p a r t y could secure an absolute majority

in the legislature, none could form a government.

The President of I n d i a dissolved the Assembly on 24 March

1965. Next elections were held in March 1967. If the

1960 elections witnessed a broad based front against the

Communist P a r t y the e lec t ion of 1967 saw the emergence of

a c o a l i t i o n against the Congress. T h e election resu l t s

were a s follows.

Kerala S t a t e Legislative Assembly Election 1967

P a r t y Seats

Congress

CPM

SSP

CPI

PSP

Muslim League

Kerala Congress

RSP

Jan Sangh

Swathanthra Party

KTP

KSP

Independents

Source : Manorama Year Book 1 9 9 4 ( M ) , p . 211.

On 6 March 1 9 6 7 t h e seven p a r t y United F r o n t

government was sworn in u n d e r the l e a d e r s h i p of EMS

Namboodiripad. The front consisted of t h e CPM, the CPI,

the Muslim League, the PSP, the RSP, the KTP and the KSP.

K. R. Gouri, P. K. ~ u n j u , Imbichi Bhava, M. K. ~ r i s h n a n ,

M, N. Govindan Nair, T. V. Thomas, P. R. Kurup,

C. H. Mohammed Koya, Ahammed Kurukal, T. K. Divaka ran ,

B. Wellington and Mathai Manjooran were the ministers.

Disunity began to grow in t h e front. The CPI g a v e w a r n i n g

t o i t s followers a g a i n s t the b e h a v i o u r of the M a r x i s t s . 6 9

The RSP a l s o followed t h e path of t h e C P I . The death of

Murali, a p r e - d e g r e e student of S. H . C o l l e g e , Thevara by

pol ice atrocities inflamed t h e emotions of students

especially th6 KSU, t h e student w i n g of t h e C o n g r e s s .

Allegations and counter allegations raised against the

ministers t h a t undermined t h e stability of the coalition

government. On 13 February 1 9 6 9 , t h e SSP member

P L P. Wilson and Congress member K . T. George raised

serious allegations against t h e Finance M i n i s t e r

P . K . Kunju. T h e Chief Minister asked the F i n a n c e

Minister to resign and he r e s i g n e d from the Ministry.

The ISP ministers P. K. Kunju and P. R . Kurup had a n

anti-Marxist view. T h e Marxists were n o t in a position

to tolerate it, It is believed that it was the

6 9 . C h e r i a n P h i l i p , n . 4 1 , p. 1 7 2 .

CPM t h a t prompted Wilson to raise allegations of

corruption against P. K. Kun ju. 7 0 Meanwhile a minifront

was emerging in the front under the leadership of the CPI.

The ISP, the RSP and t h e Musl im League c o o p e r a t e d w i t h t h e

CPI through the minifront. The first operation of the

minifront was directed against B. Wellington. In the

Cabinet meeting M. N. Govindan air, the CPI l e ade r

demanded an e n q u i r y into the corruption charges against

8. Wellington. 71 The State ~egislature passed a

r e s o l u t i o n demanding a n enquiry about the allegations

against Wellington on 4 October 1969. The Chief M i n i s t e r

declared t h a t along with the enquiry related to

Wellington, allegations against M. N. Govindan Nair,

T. V. Thomas and P . ,R . Kurup would also be enquired. It is

said t h a t the Chief Minister delebrately e x c l u d e d the RSP

and Muslim League Ministers of the minifront to i n f l u e n c e

them. An emergency meeting of the minifront decided to

withdraw all their ministers from the Cabinet. When the

r e s o l u t i o n of T. A. Majeed which demanded enquiries into

the allegations of corruption against CPM ministers

K. R. Gouri, ~mbichibava and M. K. Krishnan was passed on

24 October 1969 the EMS M i n i s t r y resigned.

70. Ibid., p. 196.

71.. Ibid., p . 2 0 2 .

With the fall of the EMS Ministry, a new coalition

Ministry was sworn in under the leadership of C. Achutha

Menon on 1 November 1 9 6 9 . Along with the four

constituents of the minifront, the Kerala Congress also

joined the coalition. By the end of 1969 there took place

another split in t h e Congress a t the na t iona l level i n t o

Congress organisation and Indira Congress. The first

Achutha Menon c o a l i t i o n g o t the f i r m support of the Indira

Congress, P. Ravindran, K. T. Jacob, N, K. S e s h a n ,

0 . K o r a n , C. H. Mohammed Koya, K. A v a k a d a r k u t t y Naha and

K. M. George were the ministers. When N. K. S e s h a n and

two other MLAs joined t h e PSP the government lost

majority. The Chief ~ i n i s t e r advised the Governor to

dissolve t h e ,legislature on 26 J u n e 1 9 7 0 . Mid-term t

elections to the ~egislative Assembly were h e l d on 17

September 1970. The CPI, t h e RSP, t h e M u s l i m League and

the Congress front, the CPM, the KSP and the KTP f r o n t and

the Congress (organisation), t h e Kerala Congress and t h e

Jan Sangh front were the main contestants in the election.

The e lec t ion results were a s follows.

Kerala State Legislative Assembly E l e c t i o n 1970

Party S e a t s

Congress

CPM

SSP

CPI

PSP

Muslim League

Kerala Congress

RSP

ISP

KTP

KSP 1

I n d e p e n d e n t s

Source: Cherian Philip, Kaal Noottandu ( M ) (~ottayam, 1984), p. 2 4 4 .

The CPI led coalition government was sowrn i n on

4 October 1970 under the l e a d e r s h i p of C, Achutha Menon.

T . K . D i v a k a r a n , C. H . Mohammed Koya, N. E. Balaram,

Baby John , P.S. Sreenivasan, K . Avakadarkutty Naha,

P. Kw Raghavan and N. K. Balakrishnan were t h e ministers.

Following the resignation of N. E. Balaram, P. S.

S r e e n i v a s a n and P. K. Raghavan, M . N . Govindan Nair and

T. V. Thomas were sworn in as ministers. On 25 September

1970 the Congress joined the cabinet. In the ministry

K. K a r u n a k a r a n , K . T . George, Vakkom Purushotharnan,

K. G. Adiyodi and Vella Echaran r e p r e s e n t e d the Congress.

The coalition p a r t n e r s were t h e CPI, t h e RSP, the Muslim

League and t h e Congress. When C . H. Mohammed Koya was

elected to the Lok Sabha from t h e M a n c h e r r y Constituency

he resigned from the C a b i n e t . In t h e place of C. H.

Mohammed Koya, Chakkery Ahammedkutty was sworn in as

minister on 2 March 1973. In March 1 9 7 3 the then KPCC

President K. K . Viswanathan was appoin ted Governor of

Gujarat. A. K. Antony was elected t h e P r e s i d e n t of the

KPCC. The years 1974 and 1975 witnessed the emergence of

new political parties in Kerala. The NDP, the political I

w i n g ,of t h e Nair Service S o c i e t y and the SRP, t h e

political wing of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana

Yogam came into existence. " The year 1 9 7 5 w i t n e s s e d a

split in the Muslim League. Six MLAs of the Muslim League

withdrew support from the ministry. K. Moitheenkutty Haji

resigned from speakership on 8 May 1 9 7 5 and became t h e

leader of the dissident wing of t h e M u s l i m League.

Subsequently they organised a new party--the All India

Muslim League. 7 3 It was at this t i m e t h e original Kerala

- - - - - -

72. Perunna K. N. Nair, n. 7, p . 402 .

7 3 . Ibid., p . 403.

Congress was formed owing to a s p l i t i n t h e K e r a l a

Congress. T h e dissident group was known as the original

Kerala Congress. The three MLAs of the original Kerala

Congress rescued the government.

The Achutha Menon Ministry had to face severa l

challenges from the opposition, the vested interests in

t h e s t a t e and from the coalition partners. The Government

had to face opposition from the CPM over the question of

Land Reforms passed by the CPM government and implemented

by the CPI coalition government. The rift between t h e

Congress and the ~ u s l i m League over the question of

' B h a r a t h Ratna' a non-detailed t e x t b o o k at t h e h i g h school

level created tensions in the coalition. It was alleged

that the book contained certain n e g a t i v e r emarks about - Mohammed A l i Jinna, t h e founder of Muslim League. T h e

r i f t between the Congress and the CPI over the question to

the Thappar g r o u p to establish ~ i t a n i u m complex industry

also gave sufficient headache to t h e gove rnmen t .

The government had to face opposition from the

private college managers w h e n t h e government t r i e d t o

introduce some reforms in this regard mainly on admission

of students and appointment of t e a c h e r s . The government

and the management eventually a r r i v e d at an agreement by

which the management agreed to constitute a f i v e member

committee i n c l u d i n g t h e representatives of the management,

university and government for the selection of teachers.

The agreement also provided for some regulations to the

admission of students in the colleges. 50 per cent of

seats were reserved in the open merit quota, 10 per cent

to the community quota, 20 per cent to the Schedulde Caste

and Schedulde Tribes and 20 per cent seats to the

management. The government had to face in 1973 the NGO

strike. The rift between the KPCC President A . K . Antony

and Home Minister K. Karunakaran gave birth to faction

fight in t h e Congress. The Youth Congress and the KSU

strongly supported A. K. A n t o n y . The r e l a t i o n s h i p between

these two leaders came to its worst by 1 9 7 4 .

In spite, of a11 these, d u r i n g the Achutha Menon

Ministry the state witnessed tremendous progress in

different fields. For the introduction of developmental

programmes each government department competed with each

other. 7 4 The implementation of Land ~ e f o r m A c t , t h e O n e

Lakh House Programme, Programmes for the D e v e l o p m e n t of

Agriculture and Industry and public health attracted the

a t t e n t i o n of t h e ordinary people and made them support the

g o v e r n m e n t .

74. Cherian Philip, n. 41, p. 317.

The declaration of General Emergency in India on 25

June 1975 had its echo in Kerala politics also, The Chief

Minister began to strongly support emergency and he

faithfully followed the union directives and implemented

the policies and programmes of the centre. D u r i n g the

emergency K. Karunakaran began to gain more power in t h e

organisational and administrative fields as he was

emerging a confidant of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and

since he was a l s o holding the gowerful Home partfolio.

Elections to the Legislative Assembly which was to be

held in September 1975 was postponed for six months due to

emergency. On 3 October 1975 the government completed its

five y e a r term. On 26 October 1975 Kerala Congress

representatives K. M. Mani and R. Balakrishna Pillai were %

sworn in as ministers. After six months K. M e George

became the minister f o r transport in p lace of

R. Balakrishna Pillai. A n o t h e r split took place in t h e

Kerala Congress. K. M. George died on 11 December 1976.

Election was held to the ~egislative Assembly on 19 March

1977. The election results were as follows.


Party Seats

Congress

CPM

CPI

PSP

Indian Union Muslim League

Kerala Congress

RSP

NDP

J a n a t h a Party

All India Muslim League

Kerala Congress ( P i l l a i g r o u p ) 'I

Independent

Source : Manorama Year Book 1994 (M), p . 2 1 2 .

A Congress led c o a l i t i o n government u n d e r the

leadership of K. Karunakaran assumed office on 2 5 March

1977. P. K. Vasudevan Nair , J. Chitharanjan, K a n t h a l o t t u

Kunjambu, Baby John, K w Pankanjashan, C. H. Mohammed Koya,

Avukadarkutty Naha, E. John Jacob, K. M. Mani, Kw Narayana

Kurup, K. Sankara Narayanan, K. K. Balakrishnan,

M. K. Hemachandran a n d O o m m e n Chandy w e r e s w o r n i n as

ministers. The Congress, the C P I , the RSP, the Indian

Union Muslim League and the Kerala Congress were the

coalition partners. Following an adverse v e r d i c t in

t h e Rajan case, C h i e f M i n i s t e r Karunakaran resigned.

A. K. Antony assumed office a s C h i e f M i n i s t e r in December

1 9 7 7 . Meanwhile another s p l i t took place i n t h e Congress

P a r t y a t the national l e v e l . T h e followers o f Indira

Gandhi oryanised parallel Congress Committee in Kerala

u n d e r t h e l e a d e r s h i p of K . K a r u n a k a r a n . K. M. Chandy

w a s elected a s the P r e s i d e n t o f KPCC I n d i r a g r o u p .

On 2 7 October 1 9 7 8 A . K . A n t o n y r e s i g n e d from Chief

M i n i s t e r s h i p protesting t h e i n d i r e c t support of the

Congress Parliamentary Board in favour of Indira G a n d h i in

the ~ h ~ i k a r n a n ~ a i o r e , by-election. P. K. Vasudevan Nair of

the CPI assumed office of C h i e f M i n i s t e r o n 2 9 October

1978. The Congress m i n i s t e r s in this C a b i n e t were

S . Varadarajan Nair, A. L. Jacob, D a m o d a r a n Kalasserry

a n d M. K . Raghavan. T h e m i n i s t e r s of o ther parties in t h e

A . K. A n t o n y M i n i s t r y c o n t i n u e d i n t h i s C a b i n e t . On 1 5

November 1978 P. S. Sreenivasan and K. P . Prabhakaran were

sworn is as ministers in the place of J. Chitharanjan and

Kanthalottu Kunjambu. The split in the Kerala C o n g r e s s

i n t o Mani g r o u p and Joseph g r o u p took place a t t h i s time.

By this time t h e CPI and the RSP dec ided to join with the

Left Democratic Front. P. K. Vasudevan Nair's government

resigned on 7 October 1979.

The months of October, November and December 1 9 7 9

witnessed the worst type of p o l i t i c a ' l defection in K e r a l a

politics. Qn 12 October 1379 C. H. Mohammed Koya

was sworn in as the C h i e f Minister. When the Kera la

Congress(M) withdrew s u p p o r t from the government,

K . A . Mathew of Kerala Conyress(M) joined Kerala

Congress(J) and gave support to t h e Koya M i n i s t r y . On 22

November 1979 when P. K. Ittuppu of Janatha P a r t y w i t h d r e w

support from the government, K. Narayana Kurup and

Vattiyurkav Ravi of Kerala Conyress(~) joined era la

Conyress(J) and gave support to the government. when the %

Congress withdrew its support from the government,

Mohammed Koya ~ i n i s t r y resigned on 2 7 November 1 9 7 9 .

Elections to t h e L e g - i s l a t i v e Assembly were held on 2 1

J a n u a r y 1980. The election results were as follows.


P a r t y Seats

CPM

Congress (u)

CPI


RSP

Kerala Congress(M)

Kerala Congress ( ~ i l l a i )

Congress(1)

Indian Union Muslim League

Kerala Congress(J)

DSP

NDP

Janatha Party

Independent

Source: Manorama Year Book 1994 (M), p. 214,

T h e CPM l e d c o a l i t i o n government under the l e a d e r s h i p

of E. K. Nayana r was sworn i n on 25 J a n u a r y 1 9 8 0 .

K. M. Mani, Lonappan Nambad.an, P . C. Chacko, Ariyadan

Mohammed, Vakkom Purushothaman, A. C. Shanrnugadas, Baby

John, R. S. Unni, P. S. Sreenivasan, E . Chandrasekharan

Nair, A * Subha Rao, P . M. Abubekar, R . ~ a l a k r i s h n a Pillai,

T. K. Ramakrishnan, K. R . G o u r i and M. K. ~ r i s h n a n were

the m i n i s t e r s . The CPM, the CPI, t h e Kerala Congress(M),

the Congress(U), the RSP, t h e All I n d i a ~ u s l i m League,

Kerala Congress (Pillai group) were the coalition

partners.

Internal dissensions in the front began to undermine

the stability of the government. The Congress(U) f e l t

that t h e CPM humiliated them. The articles published in

the Deshabh i rnan i d a i l y by T h a y a t t u S a n k a r a n provoked them.

The Congress w i t h d r e w support from the government on 16

October 1981. When the Kerala CongresstM) also withdrew

support from the government, on 20 October 1981 Chief

Minister' Nayanar resigned.

A Congress(1) led coali.tion ministry under the

leadership of K. K a r u n a k a r a n assumed o f f i c e o n 28 December

1981. C. H. Mohammed Koya assumed the o f f i c e of d e p u t y

Chief Minister. Oohmen Chandy, K. M. Mani, P. J. Joseph,

R. S u n d a r e s a n Nair, C . M. Sundaram and K. Sivadasan w e r e

the m i n i s t e r s .

The coalition partners were the congress(^), t h e

Congress(A), t h e K e r a l a Congress(M), the Kerala

Congress(J), the NDP, the PSP and the RSP(S). The

government had to survive on the casting vote of t h e

S p e a k e r . When Lonappan Nambadan of the Kerala Congress(M)

withdrew support from the government, the g o v e r n m e n t lost

m a j o r i t y . On 1 7 March 1 9 8 2 the government resigned.

Fresh elections to t'he Legislative Assembly were held on

19 May 1 9 8 2 . T h e election results were as follows.


P a r t y Seats

Congress(1)

Congress(A)

IUML

Kerala Conyress(M)

Kerala Conyrcss(J)

N D P

SRP

PSP

DLP

Independent

CPM

CPM ( I n d e p e n d e n t )

CPI

C o n g r e s s { s )

RSP


Janatha Party

Kerala Congress (Socialist) 1

DSP 1


A Congress(1) led coalition government under the

leadership of K . K a r u n a k a r a n was sworn in on 24 May 1982.

K. K. Balakrishnan, M. P . Gangadaran, C. V. Padmarajan,

Vayalar Ravi, Cyriac John, K. P. ~oorudhin, C. H. Mohammed

Koya, E. Ahammed, U. A. Beeran, K. M. Mani, R. Balakrishna

Pillai, P. J. Joseph, T. M. Jacob, K. G. R. Kartha,

N. Sreenivasan, M. Kamalam, C.M. Sundaram and K. Sivadasan

were the ministers. The coalition partners were the

Congress(I), the Congress(A), the Indian Union Muslim'

League, the Kerala Congress(M), the Kerala Congress(J),

the N D P , the SRP, the Janatha(G), the PSP and the RsP(S).

The Congress(1) and the Congress(A1 decided to merge

and the merger took place on 20 November 1984. When the

Speaker Vakkom Purusho tharnan was elected to t h e Lok Sabha,

V . M; Sudeeran fr'brn Congress assumed office as Speaker.

Several allegations were raised against ministers like

R. Balakrishna Pillai, M.P. Gangadaran and N. Sreenivasan.

The allegation against Pillai was that he preached the

need for a Punjab model strike against the centre, in a

public meeting. M. P. Gangadaran and N. Sreenivasan

resigned from the Cabinet following adverse remarks from

the judiciary against them. The state politics also saw

certain unpleasant scenes following the election of

V. M. Sudheeran as Speaker. The removal of the Chief

Minister from the Privilege Committee and his ruling

against the too much insistance of the government on

Ordinances aggrevated the rift between the Chief Minister

and the Speaker. T h e reshuffle of t h e portfolios of

ministers and the r e s i g n a t i o n of Vayalar ~ a v i from

ministry b r o u g h t t h e coalition partners in a dilemma and

that got reflected in the next election. Elections to the

Legislative Assembly were held in the early months of

1 9 8 7 . The e l e c t i o n results were as follows.

Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 1987

Party Seats

CPM

CP I

Janatha P a r t y

Congress(S)

RSP

Lok D a ' l 't

CPM (Independent)

CPI (Independent)

Congress(1)

Muslim League

Kerala Congress(J)

Kerala Congress(M)

NDP

PSP

CMP

Congress (~ndependent)

Independent

Source: Manorama Year Book 1 9 9 4 (M), p 2 1 7 .

The CPM led Left Democratic Front government under

t h e leadership of E. K. Nayanar assumed office in March

1987. Baby John, K. Chandrasekharan, E. Chandrasekharan

Nair, K. R. G o u r i , T . K. Hamsa, N . M. Joseph, Lonappan

Nambadan, A. Neelalohithadasa Nadar, K. Pankajakshan,

P. K. Raghavan, V. V. Raghavan, T. K. Rarnakrishnan,

T. Sivadasamenon, P . S o Sreenivasan, V. J. Thankappan,

V. Viswanatha Menon, A. C. Shanmugadas and K O Sankara

Narayana P i l l a i were sworn in as ministers. The coalition

partners included the CPM, the CPI, the Janatha Party, the

Congress(S), the RSP and t h e Lok Dal.

During the tenure of this CPM led coalition Kerala

witnessed several far reaching c h a n g e s in their policies.

They accepted' th-e importance of t h e private sector and

invited private industrialists to the state. The

government allowed more educational institutions in the

private sector. To make decentralisation of power

District Councils were organised. Elections to the

District Councils were held on 29 J a n u a r y 1991. In 1991

the LDF decided to face elections to the ~egislative

Assembly dreaming better prospects. Results of 1991

elections were as follows.

Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 1991

P a r t y Seats

Congress(1)

Muslim League

Kerala Congress(M)

Kerala Congress(B)

NDP

CMP

Independent

CPM

CPI

Janatha Dal

Conyress(S) - '

RSP

Kerala Congress(J)

Independent

- -

Source: Manorama Year Book 1994 ( M ) , p . 218.

A Congress(1) led coalition government was sworn in

u n d e r the leadership of K. Karunakaran on 24 June 1991.

The formation of the ministry was n o t an easy t a s k . T h e

C h i e f Minister r e f u s e d to accommodate V . M. Sudheeran in

the Cabinet. Oomman Chandy, P . P . George, C.V. ~ a d m a r a j a n ,

N. Rarnakrishnan, Pandalam Sudhakaran, M. D . Padma,

T o H . Musthafa, M. R. Reghuchandra Bal, K . P. Viswanathan,

P. K. Kunjalikutty, E. T. Mohammed Basheer, P. K. K. Bava,

C . T . Mohammed Ali, K.M. Mani, T. M. J a c o b , R . Balakrishna

Pillai, R. Ramachandran Nair and M. V. Raghavan were the

ministers. The coalition partners were the Congress(I),

the Muslim League, the Kerala C o n g r e s s ( M ) , the Kerala

Congress(B), the NDP and the CMP.

I n t e r n a l d i s s e n s i o n s i n t h e Congress Party that

started in 1991 are s t i l l continuing. T h e p a r t y is now

d i v i d e d i n t o Karunakaran and Antony groups. T h e defeat of

A. K. Antony in the KPCC Presidential election widened the

gap between the t w o g r o u p s . T h e Congress group politics

took another-furn,by the resignation of Oomman Chandy and

K. P. Viswanathan o f the Antony g r o u p f rom the Cabinet.

The joint move o f the Antony group and the coalition

partners compelled Karunakaran to r e s i g n . One 16 March

1995 K. Karunakaran resigned and A. K. Antony assumed

o f f i c e as C h i e f M i n i s t e r on 22 March 1995.

An examination o f the functioning of c o a l i t i o n

governments in Kerala from 1960 to the present reveals t h e

simple fact that the principle of expediency rather than

i d e o l o g y guided the coalition partners. Gandhi gave

w a r n i n g a g a i n s t seven e v i l s i n the society. The first

warning--politics without principle becomes a reality

under the coalition experiment. Gandhi w a r n e d us against

seven evils--politics w i t h o u t principle, l u x u r y w i t h o u t

ha rdwork , w i s d o m without charac te r , science w i t h o u t

h u m a n i t y , c o m m e r c e w i t h o u t m o r a l i t y a n d worship without

sacrifice. Today our leaders are afraid of t h i s warning.

Most of them think that these are not evils. That is why

we do not have peace of mind. 7 5 Gandhism went into the

backyards of t h e politics of the country. Gandhi and the

Gandhian v a l u e s were almost completely ignored in India.

The first opposition leader in independent India was

Mahatma G a n d h i . 76

Kerala came under the rule of 15 coalition

governments from 1960 to 1995. The Congress l e d seven

coalition governments, the CPM led three coalitions, the 9

CPI l e d three coalition governments, the PSP led one

coalition government and the Muslim League l e d one

coalition government. The Congress led seven coalitions,

and t h e p a r t y b e c a m e partners and s u p p o r t e r s in the Pattom

led PSP Ministry and i n t he Achutha Menon led CPI

m i n i s t r y . I n t h e P . K . V a s u d e v a n Nair led CPI coalition,

in the Mohammed Koya led Muslim League coalition and in

the E. K. Nayanar led CPM coalition government ( 1 9 8 0 ) t h e

Congress(A) group became a p a r t n e r .

7 5 . G. Kumara Pillai, "Bhashaposhini" (Kottayarn, October 19941, p m 10.

( K o t t a y a m ) , March

The Congress cannot escape from the responsibility

for the utter denial of the application of Gandhian values

in the politics of Kerala. The Congress Party is supposed

to carry out andh hi an principles because it is regarded as

the heirs of Gandhian heritage. The principle of

expediency guided the Congress leaders and were compelled

to seek cooperation from small and minor p a r t i e s who

represented sectional interests which did much harm to

value based politics in the state. The CPM a l s o d i d t h e

same. Compared to the Congress, the CPM seems perhaps

more justified in this regard since they believe in t h e

Marxian doctrine that 'the end justifies the means'. Some

of the policies a n d programmes of the CPM led government

reflect some 'of the principles of Gandhism. The Land

Reforms Acts, the formation of District ~ouncils, etc.

enabled them to realise some of the principles of Gandhian

economics and decentralisation.

The G a n d h i a n v a l u e s I a c q u i r e d d u r i n g my early political life made me a Communist, and I am proud of it. I consider the prolitarian politics I practice in my life is a more higher form of the " D h a r i d r a N a r a y a n a Seva" of Mahatma. In t h a t I consider myself a s a Communist who could assimilate the personality a n d thinking of Gandhi.[77]

77. EMS ~arnboodiripad, "Bhashaposhini" (Kottayam, October 1994), p . 6.

CHAPTER I11 KERALA POLITICS: POWER GAMES, CORRUPTION...

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