Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. As a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), he became the first non-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).
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the national parties of India. The party emerged from a split in the Communist Party of India (CPI) on 7 November 1964. As of 2022, CPI(M) is a part of ruling alliances in three states — the Left Democratic Front in Kerala, Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, and the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. CPIM has representation in the legislative assemblies of 8 states.
Erambala Krishnan Nayanar was an Indian politician who served as the 9th Chief Minister of Kerala from 1980 to 1981, 1987 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2001. He served in that position for a total of 10 years, 11 months and 22 days, thus making him the longest-served Chief Minister of Kerala. He was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
S. Ramachandran Pillai is a communist politician from Kerala, India, Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was the former General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha and Currently the vice president of the organisation. He has been imprisoned on many occasions, such as during the Emergency 1975–1976.
Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan, popularly known as A. K. Gopalan or AKG, was an Indian communist politician. He was one of 16 Communist Party of India members elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952. Later he became one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Malayalam journalism encompasses journalism published and broadcast in the Malayalam language. Modern Malayalam journalism can be traced to the publication of the Raajyasamaachaaram and the Pashchimodhayam under the direction of Hermann Gundert in June 1847. Kerala has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English and Malayalam.
Madhyamam is a Malayalam-language newspaper published in Kerala, India, since 1987. It was founded by Ideal Publications Trust run by the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind wing in Kerala. It has nine editions in India and its Persian Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has nine in the Middle East.
Moolayil Narayana Menon Vijayan, popularly known as Vijayan Mash was an Indian academic, orator, columnist and writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his leftist ideals and oratorical skills, Vijayan was the president of the Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham and served as the editor of Deshabhimani. He published a number of books of which Chithayile Velicham received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism in 1982.
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was an Indian politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was the secretary of the CPI(M) Kerala State Committee from 2015 to 2022. He stepped down from the position of state secretary due to his failing health. He was the Chief Editor of the Malayalam newspaper Deshabhimani.
Janmabhumi is an Indian Malayalam-language daily newspaper, owned by Mathruka Pracharanalayam Ltd. and headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It was launched as an evening paper from Kozhikode on 28 April 1977. From 14 November 1977 onwards it was upgraded to a daily newspaper publishing from Ernakulam. Currently Janmabhumi has nine editions. The newspaper is politically aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Communism in Kerala refers to the strong presence of communist ideas in the Indian state of Kerala. In addition to Kerala, the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura have had multiple democratically elected Marxist governments, and change takes place in the government by regular multiparty electoral processes. The communism of Kerala has provided Indian communist stalwarts such as M. N. Govindan Nair, C. Achutha Menon, K. Damodaran, T. V. Thomas, N. E. Balaram, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, A. K. Gopalan, K. R. Gouri Amma, P. K. Vasudevan Nair and C. K. Chandrappan.
Cherukad Govinda Pisharodi, commonly known as Cherukad, was a Malayalam-language playwright, novelist, poet and political activist, associated with the Communist movement in Kerala state, India.
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, popularly known as 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).
Malappurath Raman Chandrasekharan, popularly known as M.R. Chandrasekharan or simply M. R. C., is a Malayalam literary critic and author from Kerala, India. Chandrasekharan has published more than 50 books in different literary sections like literary criticism, translations, politics, social etc. He also works in the field of journalism and education. He won the 2010 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism.
The Politburo or Polit Bureau is the highest body of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The members of the Politburo are elected by the Central Committee in the immediate aftermath of a National Party Congress, which is held every three years.
In 1964 a major split occurred in the Communist Party of India. The split was the culmination of decades of tensions and factional infighting. When India became independent in 1947, differences arose of how to adapt to the new situation. As relations between the Nehru government and the Soviet Union improved, a faction that sought cooperation with the dominant Indian National Congress emerged within CPI. This tendency was led by S.A. Dange, whose role in the party hierarchy became increasingly controversial. When the Sino-Indian War broke out in 1962 Dange's opponents within CPI were jailed, but when they were released they sought to challenge his leadership. In 1964 the party was finally divided into two, with the left faction forming the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The split had a lot of regional variations. It also impacted other organizations, such as trade union and peasant movements. The split has been studied extensively by scholars, who have sought to analyze the various domestic and international factors involved.
P. Varkey Varghese Vaidyar was a Communist Party of India (Marxist) politician from Kerala, India. He represented Sulthan Bathery Assembly constituency in 10th Kerala Legislative Assembly.
K. P. Gopalan (1908-1977) was a Communist Party of India politician, minister, freedom fighter and a trade unionist from Kerala, India. He was first elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952. During his term as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, he was appointed the first Minister for Industries and Community Development of the state.
P. K. Kunjachan was a Communist Party of India (Marxist) politician from Kerala, India. Before formation of Kerala state he was a member of the Tirukochi Legislative Assembly during the period 1954-1956. After formation of the state, he represented the Mavelikara constituency in the first and second Kerala Legislative Assemblies and the Pandalam constituency in the Third Legislative Assembly. Kunjachan was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1973–79 and 1988-91.
Prabhatham was a Malayalam-language weekly newspaper published from Shoranur in Malabar, British India. Founded in 1935 and edited by E. M. S. Namboodiripad, it was the organ of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) in Malabar, Travancore and Cochin. The newspaper was subjected to censorship right from its inception. It had to close down due to the heavy security imposed on the paper for publishing a poem on Bhagat Singh's death. The newspaper resumed publication in April 1938. It shifted to Calicut and continued as a weekly until the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. Prabhatham was a short-lived newspaper both because of the colonial repression and because the CSP had lost its relevance after the formation of the Communist Party of India. The newspaper was instrumental in spreading socialist and communist ideologies in Kerala.
