E. M. S. Namboodiripad

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known by his initials 'E. M. S.' 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.

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad was born on 13 June 1909, as the fourth son of Parameswaran Namboodiripad and Vishnudatha Antharjanam, at Elamkulam, situated on the banks of Thuthapuzha River, in Perinthalmanna taluk of the present Malappuram district into a prominent Malayali Nambudiri 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 1921 Malabar rebellion he moved to Irinjalakuda as the belligerent attacked his house.

In his early years, he was a close friend of Sr. P.M. Mathew.

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 organization of progressive Namboothiri youth.

Namboodiripad graduated from St. Thomas College, Thrissur.

During his college days, he was deeply associated with the Indian National Congress and the Indian independence movement.

It is said he would walk 5–8 km to hear the firebrand Cochin politician V.J Mathai speak.

Namboodiripad was well known for his stammer.

When asked if he always stammered, he would reply, "No, only when I speak."

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.

He edited the Malayalam newspaper Prabhatham which was the organ of the Congress Socialist Party in Kerala.

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.

It was the second ever Communist government to be democratically elected, after Communist success in the 1945 elections in the Republic of San Marino, a microstate in Europe.

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.

) 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 1958, a period of anticommunist protest, the Vimochana Samaram, began in response to the bills. The central government of India responded in 1959 by invoking Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, suspending state government and imposing President's rule. Initially, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was hesitant to dismiss a democratically elected government, but he was convinced by his daughter Indira Gandhi. Involvement by the Central Intelligence Agency's in the ouster has been long suspected. Declassified CIA documents show that the establishment of communist state governments in India concerned them and "preventing additional Keralas became an important argument for augmenting U.S. assistance to India".

According to the biography of former US Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, "the election results rang alarm bells in Washington".

Namboodiripad was the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala 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".

During the 1962 Sino-Indian war, he was among leaders who aired China's view on the border issue.

In 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).

As chief minister, EMS 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 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.

When the CPI split in 1964, EMS stood with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).

He was the leader of the Kerala state committee of CPI(M).

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.

EMS became general secretary in 1977, a designation he held until 1992.

A Marxist scholar, he influenced the development of Kerala, of which he was the first chief minister.

Kerala Assembly Election Results

He served as a member of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the CPI(M) until his death in 1998.