Chapter – IV

K.L.S. SANTHANAM AND THE POLITICAL LEADERS

After the early activities in school and intermediate days

K.L.S. Santhanam ventured into public life. The Congress Socialist Party had

great thinkers, intellectuals and revolutionaries and he was attracted towards

their ideology. The party to him was mighty enough to shatter the imperialism of

the British through its ideology. He also ended up as a Communist like most of

the socialists of this era.

K.L.S. Santhanam lived with a clear conscience throughout his political

life. He was with the Socialist Party initially.1 Later he transformed himself into

a communist under the influence of Comrade P. Jeevanantham popularly known

as “Jeeva”, a veteran political leader of Kanyakumari district. Throughout his

life K.L.S.Santhanam has tried to perfect his ideas and ideals following the

footsteps of Comrade Jeevanantham.

Quit India Movement 1942

The Quit India Movement was a great watershed in Indian politics. The

Working Committee of the Indian National Congress met at Warda on 6 July

1942 adopted the famous Quit India resolution.2 All India Congress Committee

(AICC) meeting held on 7, 8 August 1942 at Bombay accepted the resolution

with certain modifications. Quit India Movement resulted in divided loyalties in

1. R. Aandi, En Ezhuthukal, Nagercoil, 2000, p. 54. 2. K.S.K. Velmani, Tirunelveli District Gazetteers, Chennai, 2002, p. 270.

101 the struggle for the Responsible Government in Travancore. The Travancore

State Congress and its student organization besides the labour unions under the

leadership of N. Srikantan Nair extended support to the Quit India Movement

and merged state politics for a short period, with national politics.

The State Congress Working Committee meeting held on 17 August 1942

at Trivandrum decided to join the Quit India Movement and “to follow the anti-

Government policy adopted by the Indian National Congress” and dissuade the

people from helping the British in their war efforts.3 The government feared that

the State Congress might “exploit the emotion and idealism of young, school

children and college students.4

The arrest of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and other Congress leaders

provoked the students to agitate. Students notably in Trivandrum, Alwaye and

Nagercoil took the lead.5 On 12 August 1948 students of the Scott Christian

College, Nagercoil boycotted classes and marched in the town imploring the

students of other educational institutions to leave their schools and colleges.

When the schools were reopened on 31st August, the students of

Desikavinyagar English High School, the S.L.B. English School and the Scott

Christian College, boycotted their classes and jumped into the bandwagon of the

3. Inspector of Police District Magistrate, Trivandrum, 18 August 1942, C.S. File No. 69/45, Kerala State Archives. 4. District Magistrate Kottayam, D.O. Circular to Subordinate officer, 12 August 1942, C.S. File No. 1107/44, Kerala State Archives. 5. S. Raimon and Co, The History of Freedom Movement in Kerala, Trivandrum, 2006, p.86.

102 agitation cauldron. They were arrested and detained.6 K.L.S. Santhanam, who

was in Desikavinyagar School, joined the movement boycotting classes resulting

in police arrest and remand. This first incident of involvement in agitation for a

common public cause in life was a turning point leading him into a life dedicated

to the cause he believed. After Quit India Movement he ventured into full blown

political life from school itself.7

Bhagath Singh Youth Federation

Bhagath Singh, rebel and revolutionary with his companions decided to

attack the Central Legislative Council deriding the passage of Public Safety Bill

and Trade Dispute Bill intended to serve as instruments of oppression and

suppression. He died at the age of 23 as a martyr in the gallows at the hands of

the British colonial enslavers of India for throwing bomb into the Council Hall.

His life and martyrdom dazzled like a blazing star on the banner of the Indian

National Liberation struggle and inspired generations to fight for liberty and

justice.8 Bhagat Singh and his comrades were part of a new generation of

revolutionaries who came to the fore in 1920s and 30s in the background of the

entry of vast sections of the masses into the arena of the freedom struggle. The

disillusionment with the colonial rule made many of them revolutionaries.

Bhagat Singh whose name has become synonymous with the battle slogan

of ‘Inquilab Zindhabadh’ or ‘Long Live Revolution’ was the most outstanding of

6. Inspector General Police of Chief Secretary to the Government, R.O.C.G. 295/SR/42, 7 September 1942, KSA. 7. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam dated 12-6-2010. 8. P.M.S. Grewal, Bhagat Singh Liberations Belaying State, New Delhi, 2007, p.15.

103 these revolutionaries.9 The new generation of revolutionaries represented by

Bhagat Singh and his comrades evolved, over a period of time, to make a break

with the earlier revolutionary terrorist tradition.

B.T. Ranadive has succinctly described this phenomenon in the following

words. “No revolution, no revolutionary ideology can succeed without

individual heroism; by outstanding individuals arousing the people by their

courage and scarifies, by their readiness to face the gallows and the

executioner’s axe. No revolutionary ideology can succeed without intense hatred

for the enemy to be overthrown, without an all sided war on the enemy his

institutions and instruments. Bhagat Singh combined the hatred for the British

rule with immense personal heroism and became the symbol of the struggling

nation, the embodiment of its hatred for the foreign rule”.10

This symbol still enlivens the hearts of the Indian people can be seen

from the fact that there is no part of the country where one does not see his

posters, photographs, sketches, etc. There are thousands of youth clubs in the

country named after him. In 1944 one such youth club “Bhagat Singh Youth

Federation”11 was formed by S. Nagarajan, editor of the newspaper ‘Voice’ at

Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district.

K.L.S. Santhanam joined the Bhagat Singh Youth Federation when he was

in the fourth forum. The Congress leaders Muthu Karuppa Pillai, Theroor

9. Ibid., p.16. 10. B.T. Ranadive, Forward to Selected Writings of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Delhi 1986, pp. viii-ix. 11. S. Nagarajan, op. cit., p.147.

104 S. Sivan Pillai and T.M Sundaram lauded this incident in their public meetings

and made it popular as lore in Nanjil Nadu.

Socialist Party

The formation of the Socialist Party in May 1934 was an important step

in the development of socialism in India. The Congress Socialist Party was

formed by those younger congressmen who during their long terms of

imprisonment in the civil disobedience movement came into contact with

Marxian ideas.12Those who thought alike met together at Patna and Bombay in

1934 and the Congress Socialist Party was launched with Jayaprakash Narayan

as its General Secretary. Acharya Narendra Deva, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia,

Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, Yusuf Meherally, Minoo Masani and S.M.Joshi

were the other leaders.

All Travancore Youth League founded in 1931 functioned in close

co-operation with the State Congress in its agitation for ‘Responsible

Government’ was the initiative of some enthusiastic youngsters like Ponnara

Sreedhar and N.P. Kurukkal. It functioned as an extremist section in the

Travancore State Congress. The Youth League eventually came to be dominated

by young men and women who believed in the Communist ideology.13

In 1951 K.L.S. Santhanam joined the Socialist Party. During 1952-53 he

became the secretary of South Travancore Socialist Youth League. At that

period Kavilaur Prabhakaran Nair was the president of the Socialist Youth

12. V.D. Mahajan, Modern Indian History, New Delhi, 1990, p.630. 13. A. Sreedhara Menon, Political History of Modern Kerala, Kottayam, 1987, p.39.

105 League in Travancore. S. Chandra Sekhar was the secretary of the All India

Socialist Youth League. In 1953 K.L.S. Santhanam visited the South Travancore

areas with Kavilaur Prabhakaran Nair for propaganda meetings where he spoke

in Malayalam frequently. He also toured Quilon, Alleppey and Trivandrum;

where also he spoke in Malayalam.14

All India Socialist Youth Wing Secretary S. Chandra Sekhar who later

became the Prime Minister of India, made a nationwide Padyatra in 1952. He

visited Kanyakumari and attended a meeting in Nagercoil where his speech in

English was translated into Tamil by K.L.S. Santhanam receiving appreciation

from him.15

Communist Party of India

The word communism, a term of ancient origin, originally meant a

system of society in which property was owned by the community and all

citizens shared in the enjoyment of the common wealth, more or less according

to their need. The “utopian” socialist of the 19th century also founded

communities though they replaced the religious emphasis with a rational and

philanthropic idealism. In 1948 the term ‘communism’ acquired a new meaning

when it was used as identical with socialism by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

in their famous Communist Manifesto.16 They, and later their followers used the

term to depict a late stage of socialism in which goods would become so

14. Andiappan, op. cit., p.27. 15. Ibid., p.21. 16. William Benton (ed.), Encyclopedia Britannica, Macopedia.Vol.4, New York, 1943-73, p.1020.

106 abundant that they would be distributed on the basis of need rather than of

endeavour. The Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers

Party, which took power in Russia in 1917, adopted the name All Russian

Communist Party in 1918, and some of its allied parties in other countries also

adopted the term communist. Consequently the Soviet State and other states

governed by Soviet type parties are commonly referred to as communist and

their official doctrines are called “Communism” although in none of these

countries has a communist society yet been established. The word communism is

also applied to the doctrines of Communist Parties operating with in states where

they are not in power.17

The First World War was the culmination of inter imperialist struggle for

the red vision of world markets and terrorists. As such it brought about a

sharpening of political and social contradictions in India and other colonies.18

With the October Revolution, world social contradictions entered a qualitatively

new stage with new contradictions. The contradiction between socialism and

world capitalism came to the force as the central social contradiction,

influencing all other social contractions. The correlation of class forces within

India was also directly affected. Consequently the post 1917 era saw the

unfolding of an unpresented mass upsurge, leading to a qualitatively new turn in

the National Liberation Movement.

17 . Ibid. 18. Members of History Commission, History of the Communist Movement in India, New Delhi, 2005, p.25.

107 The Indian National Movement as an anti-colonial movement in which the

primary condition put the entire society against colonialism, peoples’ movement,

a multi-class mass movement which represented the anti-imperialistic interests

of all classes and strata. It did not, therefore, have to have a specific,

predetermined, necessary or inevitable or fixed class essence or to bear ‘a direct

or necessary relationship to classes.19

Indian communism really sprang, from roots within the National Movement

itself, as disillusioned revolutionaries, Non-cooperators, Khilafat tests and labour

and peasant activists sought new roads to political and social emancipation. Its

founder was M.N. Roy, who came into contact with the Bolshevik Mikhail

Borodin in Mexico in 1919, helped to found a Communist Party, there, and went

to Russia in the summer of 1920 to attend the second Congress of the

Communist International. There he embarked on a celebrated and significant

controversy with Lenin and urged the necessity of broad support to the

predominantly bourgeois-led National Movements in the colonies and semi-

colonies. Roy with the enthusiasm and sectarianism of a new convert argued that

the Indian masses were already disillusioned with bourgeois nationalist leaders

like Gandhi and were ‘moving towards revolution independently of the

bourgeois – nationalist movement’. The attitude towards the ‘national

bourgeoisie’ and the nationalist mainstream in general would remain the basic

19. Bibin Chandra, Indian National Movement- The Long Term Dynamics, New Delhi, 2008, p.93.

108 issue in Communist controversies in India and elsewhere down to and even

beyond independence.20

In October 1920, M.N. Roy, Abani Mukerji and some ‘Muhajirs’ founded a

Communist Party of India in Tashkent, together with a political – cum – military

school.21 The inaugural meeting also adopted the principles proclaimed by the

Comintern, and decided to work out a programme of the CPI suited to the

conditions of India.22 By the end of 1922, through emissaries like Nalini Gupta

and Shaukat Usmani, Roy had been able to establish some tenuous and often

intercepted secret links with embryonic communist groups which had emerged

from out of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat experience in Bombay, Calcutta

and Lahore.

The Communist Movement in India developed and took an organized

shape in the midst of turbulent period of the freedom struggle. Communism in

India was a product of the radical impetus coming out of the national liberation

struggle catalyzing with the impact of the October Revolution in Russia. Though

the Communist Party of India was first organized abroad, in Tashkent, by émigré

Indian revolutionaries, the formation of the party was not an isolated event,

unconnected to developments within the country. The seeds of class politics and

the ideology of scientific socialism sprouted in the soil of the subcontinent once

the message of the October Revolution reached its shores. The awakening of

20. Ibid. 21. Members of History Commission, op. cit. p.47. 22. ‘Muharjis’- a group of pan of Islamists who left India in search of British defence of Turkey and its Caliph.

109 national consciousness and the realities of colonialism prepared the social and

political grounds for embracing the theory of Marxism – Leninism. The

developments in India, the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, had

attracted the attention of Marx and Engels when they were engaged in

formulating the theory of scientific socialism.

After its formation in 1919, the Communist International (Comintern) took

special interest in Indian affairs. The world communist movement came out in

open and unqualified support for the struggle of the Indian people and sought to

mobilize opinion around the world in support of the national liberation struggle.

The Comintern’s role in support of the Indian freedom struggle was consistent,

even though it failed in the early period to fully grasp the role of various classes

in the independence struggle and formulate an appropriate strategy. In fact, the

Comintern and the fledgling communist groups within the country demanded

complete independence for India even earlier than the Indian National Congress.

In 1920, the Communist Movement yet to take shape on Indian soil, it was

primarily Roy, with the political and organizational help of the Commenter, who

was the moving force behind the commenter’s recognition of the importance of

India as a key element in the strategy of revolutionary struggle in the colonies.

The formation of the CPI in Tashkent was gradually followed by the emergence

of communist groups initially small and scattered, in different parts of India,

mainly in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lahore and Kanpur. The British colonial

regime sensed the danger posed by the rudimentary communist activities and the

revolutionary message coming from Moscow. From the very outset, the British

110 rulers unleashed repression upon the communist groups and activists. The

conspiracy cases against the communists in Peshawar, Lahore and Kanpur were

meant not to crush an organized movement but to suppress the very possibility

of communism taking its root in India. In fact, no other stream in India’s national

liberation struggle suffered from colonial repression as much as the

communists.23

From the beginning, the communist movement brought with it its strong

ideological moorings and it aided the process of the political maturity of the

national struggle. In other words, the communist movement influenced virtually

all other streams, particularly the radical ones. It contributed immensely to the

rise of radical trends even inside the Congress in the post First World War

period. The militant and consistent anti- imperialist stand of the communists

attracted the various revolutionary currents and fighters to join their ranks.

Among them were the Gadhar fighters of Punjab, the colleagues of Bhagat

Singh, the revolutionaries of Bengal, the militant working class fighters of

Bombay and Madras presidencies and radical anti – imperialist Congressmen

from different parts of the country.

Communists played the principal role in transforming the demand for

independence from the vaguely-enunciated idea of Swaraj to a pro-people

concept of freedom not just from the colonial regime, but also from social and

economic exploitation and sectarian strife. In this manner, communists brought

about a fundamental change in the framework and agenda of the freedom

23. Ibid., p.212.

111 struggle. Despite its organizational limitations, the CPI, guided by the Comintern

forced attention on the class exploitation of workers and peasants. The

communists were the first to organize these classes. It was the CPI which played

a pioneering role in linking India’s national struggle to the world-wide anti-

imperialist movement which added a new dimension to the movement.

However, the communist movement could have achieved more in its early

phase but for its mistakes in working out the correct relationship with the

national bourgeoisie, especially in the late 1920s. These sectarian stands of the

communists restricted the Party’s growth. The left-sectarian stand of the

Comintern, particularly after the Sixth Congress in 1928, had a negative impact

on the Indian communist movement and isolated the party from the main current

of the anti-colonial movement. The party lost some vital opportunities to

intervene in popular movements such as the Civil Disobedience Movement and

thereby put its alternative agenda before the masses. Though discarded by the

Sixth Comintern Congress, the experiment of organizing worker’s and peasant’s

parties in the second half of the 1920s helped to prepare the ground for a nation

–wide communist movement.

The Meerut conspiracy case implicated all the prominent communist

leaders of the period. The trial provided a common platform for all the

communist groups to sit together for a relatively long time and to initiate the

process of self-introspection. The Meerut Solidarity Movement showed the

potential might of the working class in defying the colonial system. The party

took a new turn politically and organizationally at a time when the Civil

112 Disobedience Movement had failed to yield desired results. It took nearly

thirteen years, after 1920, to organize a workable All India Party Centre. The

reorganization of the CPI central committee at the fag end of 1933, after the

release of the Meerut detenues, was crucial not only for the communist

movement, but also for other streams of India’s freedom struggle at a time of

irreversible transition. The national movement itself entered a new phase after

1933-34, and the communists, despite severe governmental oppression and the

ban, contributed immensely to it.

It is relevant in this context to deal with the rise and growth of the

Communist Party and its role in the political upheavals in South Travancore. The

Communist Party in Travancore was led by T.V. Thomas, R. Sugathan,

P.T. Ponnoose and M.N. Govindan Nair. In South Travancore Jeevanantham

was the leader.

A chance meeting with P. Jeevanantham attracted K.L.S. Santhanam

towards the communist ideology. He joined the Communist Party on 16 August

1954 in the presence of comrade P. Jeevanantham24 who was a great labour

leader and a staunch puritan communist. K.L.S. Santhanam attended many

public meetings in Kanyakumari district along with comrade P. Jeevanantham.

Since he identified himself with the working class and due to the burning ideals

for the upliftment the poor and down trodden, his young mind turned to the

24. Communist Party of India membership card.

113 vociferous appeal of comrade Jeevanantham and became a spirited communist

party worker.25

After joining the Communist Party of India K.L.S. Santhanam had come

into contact with the leaders of All India Trade Union Congress such as

S.A. Dange, M. Kalyana Sundaram, P. Ramamurthy, K.T.K Thangamani,

K.M. Sundaram, R. Nallakanu and T.Pandian.

Split in the Communist Party

The world communism lost its monolithic character in the beginning of

the 1960s. The process started after the death of Stalin (1953) though the schism

between Russia and China were visible from 1950 onwards. It led to clear-cut

divisions in most of the communist parties.26 There was a split in the Communist

Party of India after the Vijayawada Congress of 1961 where Ajay Ghosh

continued as General Secretary. On his demise S.A Dange was elected Chairman

and E.M.S. Namboodiripad as General Secretary. The split in the Communist

Party happened in April 1964. 32 members of the National Council walked out

and a special convention was held at Thenali from 7 - 11 July 1964 and

Communist Party of India (Marxist) was born. Communist Party continued

under the leadership of S.A. Dange. The claim of the CPI (M) was that it was the

25. Comrade S.A. Rahim; “Comrade K.L.S. Santhanam is an Epitome of Comradeship considering his Treasure of knowledge in Labour Laws, he is to be conferred with Doctorate for the same”, K.L.S. Santhanam Manivizha Malar, p.98. 26. S.A.Palekar, Constitution and Parliamentary Democracy in Contemporary Indian, Jaipur, 2002, p.302.

114 only party which stands firmly and consistently for socialism rejecting the

“parliamentary road to socialism.”27

The CPI (M) was allegedly drawing their inspiration and receiving their

instructions from Beijing. CPI (M) countered this by publishing what are known

as the Dange letters, which revealed that he had agreed to act as an agent of

British imperialism in return for certain concessions. Dange denied this

vehemently. The rift in the party was also reflected in the mass organizations

controlled by them, and more particularly in the AITUC. In several states, the

leadership was with the CPI, but the rank and file were mostly with CPI (M). In

some centres rival unions were formed by the CPI (M) against the CPI

controlled unions.28

In the last session of the AITUC held in Bombay in 1966 Dange managed

to maintain his secretary ship of the organization, but it became evident that a

substantial section of the AITUC was leaning towards CPI (M). Although the

AITUC was not split though it was obvious that it was being torn between the

two rival factions. A formal split was always on the cards.

A staunch follower of S.A. Dange and a communist from the core of his

heart, K.L.S. Santhanam led by conviction and force in reinforcing the

prominence of the Communist Party of India in Kanyakumari District after the

split.29 K.L.S. Santhanam along with Peer Mohammed, who was one of the

senior leaders of CPI, met M. Kalyana Sundaram, a former Member of 27. V.D. Mahajan, Modern Indian History, New Delhi, 1990, p.629. 28. G. Ramanujam, Indian Labour Movement, Delhi, 1990, p.182. 29. S.A. Rahim, op. cit., p.98.

115 Parliament and a CPI stalwart, to strengthen the party in Kanyakumari district.

His efforts made both his followers and detractors address him affectionately as

Dange of Kanyakumari District.30

Merger Movement of Kanyakumari with Tamilnadu

K.L.S. Santhanam was very much associated with the merger movement of

Kanyakumari with Tamil Nadu. In 1929 a meeting of the ‘State People’s

Conference’ was held at Trivandrum presided over by Sri. M, Visveswariya, a

veteran administrator of the Mysore State. This conference demanded the

establishment of responsible Government in the State.31 The Travancore State

Legislature passed the Legislative Reforms Act of 1932 which made the right to

vote a prerogative of few land owners. So the minority communities who did not

own much property, agitated against this clause. They formed a party known as

Joint Political Congress and pressed their demands by launching agitations.32

The formation of the State Congress in 1938 set in motion a series of

agitations in the state, demanding a responsible Government. The primary object

as declared in its first meeting was the attainment of a responsible Government

in the State by all legitimate and peaceful means with universal adult franchise

and adequate safeguards for protection of the interests of the minorities.33

Eventually the State Congress split and resulted in the formation of a new party

called the ‘Youth League’ which was founded at Trivandrum.34

30. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 15-09-2009. 31. P. Ramachandran, A.C Sundaram Pillai’s Life and Works, Nagercoil, 1988, p. 3. 32. A. Sreedhra Menon, Political History of Modern Kerala, Kerala, 1987, p.44. 33. M. Gopalakrishnan, op. cit., p.95. 34. Ibid.

116 In 1942 the Indian National Congress started the ‘Quit India Movement’

demanding the English to get out of India immediately, which echoed in

Travancore State and particularly in Kanyakumari district where there was

unrest and as a result the leaders were arrested and jailed.

When India was perambulating towards independence, in many parts of

British India and native states linguistic and parochial movements were gaining

ground which blown out to riotous situations in post independent India. The

South Travancore area (the present Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu) had

been under the rule Travancore Kings and later was part of Tiru-Kochi State.35

The fear that the Tamils living in South Travancore would be reduced

permanently to the position of the minority in a predominantly Malayalam

speaking state resulted in the demand for merging the area with the erstwhile

state of Madras. The Travancore State Congress, on 18th November 1945,

passed a resolution in favour of the formation of a united Kerala state through

merger of the states of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. The Tamilians, who

were predominant in the southern taluks of Travancore, resented the resolution.

So the Tamil language, which was recognised as one of the state official

languages of Travancore, was de-recognized and Malayalam remained as the

only official language in the State. This was felt as an insult to Tamils, and they

came to lose their hold in social, economic and political spheres and became a

35. A. Sreedhara Menon, op. cit., p.45

117 discontent lot.36 However the political aspirations of the Tamils who numbered

about 15 lakhs in predominantly Malayalam region did not weaken.37

A conference of the Tamils was convened on the 16 December 1945 at

Nagercoil. Tamil leaders Sam Nathaniel, K. Nagalingam, R.K. Ram, G.S.

Moni, and K.L.S. Santhanam graced the function.38 A resolution to form a

political party to fight for the cause of the Tamils was passed and as a result the

All Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress was born on the 30th June 1946 with

Nesamony as its president.

Marshal Nesamony hailed from Palliyadi in the Vilavancode Taluk. He

started his life as a teacher after the completion of degree later he studied law

joined as a lawyer at Nagercoil Session Court. He was made Neyyoor district

secretary in 1933 and in the same year was elected to the Travancore Mission

Council. In 1959 he became the Vice-President of Kanyakumari Diocese CSI. In

1943 he was voted to the position of President of Nagercoil Lawyers

Association, that year itself he was also appointed as the chairman of the

Nagercoil Municipal Council. He had been the member of the Sri Moolam

Assembly of Travancore, Madras State Assembly and Lok Sabha. On 8

September 1947 around two hundred Advocates under his leadership had

assembled at Allen Memorial Hall. Muthukaruppa Pillai was a member of the

State Congress who also represented his party. According to him as Travancore

36. The Travancore Administration Report 1940-1941, Trivandrum, 1942. 37. M. Gopalakrishnan, op. cit., p.96. 38. Menon, V.P., The Story of the Integration of the Indian States, New Delhi, 1956, pp.265-266.

118 State Congress was the only organization which represented both Malayalees

and Tamilians in the States so a new organization to look after the welfare of the

Tamilians specifically was not required. Others argued that Travancore Tamil

Nadu Congress was the only group which worked for the welfare of the Tamils

so all Tamil speaking people should join to strengthen the same. Both these

resolutions were put to vote. Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress was considered

as the representative body of the Travancore Tamilians. Under Nesamony`s

leadership, the organization was made popular among the Nadars. Travancore

Tamil Nadu Congress gathered people in the southern Taluks to explain its

objectives. Their main intention was to form a Tamil state with full autonomy

under Maharaja`s authority.

In 1947, All Travancore Tamil Congress held a conference at Iraviputhur

in which leaders like S. Thavasi, Chitamparam, T.Nagalingam and others

participated. The Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress continued its agitation for

the merger of the Tamil speaking area of Travancore with the Madras state.

Jeevanantham and K.L.S. Santhanam collaborated with the movement as

representatives of CPI. Agitation clamouring for the merger spread throughout

the region resulting in police oppression. Almost all the leaders were jailed.

Jeevanantham and K.L.S. Santhanam went underground as has been the practice

of communists to avoid arrest. K.L.S. Santhanam hid himself in a drain during

the Marthandam firing which was the pinnacle of police repression and escaped

119 to Valliyoor in a lorry from where he along with Jeeva raised funds to sustain the

movement.39

The Travancore State Congress then in alliance with the Travancore

Tamil Congress formed a ministry headed by Panampalli Govinda Menon, but

this ministry did not last long and hence President’s rule was promulgated in

Travancore - Cochin State in 1956. Till 1956 the Kanyakumari district was a

part of the erstwhile Travancore state and the political activities of the people of

the state were mainly influenced and guided by the State People’s Conference

convened at the initiative of the Indian National Congress.40 The Indian

Parliament, based on the recommendations of the State Reorganisation

Commission, passed the State Reorganisation Act in March 1956.The four taluks

of Agastheeswarm, Thovalai, Kalkulam and Vilvancode were grouped together

to form the new district “Kanyakumari.”41 On the 1st of November 1956,

Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu emerged with Nagercoil as its

headquarters.42 Some trade unions started functioning even before the formation

of Kanyakumari district but after 1956 the trade union movement gathered

further momentum under the leadership of K.L.S. Santhanam.

Activities in CPI

The history of Communist Party of India in Kanyakumari district and that

of K.L.S. Santhanam are intertwined. After he met labour leaders Manali

39. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 10-12-2009. 40. M. Gopala Krishnan, op. cit., p.96. 41. Ibid. 42. Ibid.

120 Kandasamy and Murughanandam his vision has had undergone a sea change and

he tirelessly toiled to strengthen the Communist Party of India in Kanyakumari

district. His activities in the party were mainly on the trade union front.

In the political sphere to spread the ideals of the party he along with other

stalwarts Somu, Neelakandan, Pandaram Pillai and Peer Mohammed strived

hard by organising meetings and conclaves. He travelled to other parts of South

India like Guntur, Madurai, Trivandrum and Kollam to participate in party

functions. He was the prominent ideologue who spoke in the public meetings of

the party. The State Conference of CPI was held at Nagercoil during

1975 – 1976 where he played a major part as the organiser. His foray into active

politics of parliamentary sphere is less when compared to activities in trade

union arena.

In the general elections of 1980CPI and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra

Kazhagam (AIADMK) were in alliance. K.L.S. Santhanam was on the stage

along with other coalition leaders including M.G. Ramachandran who later

became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Crowd enthusiasm gave way to some

unruly behaviour resulting in police lathi charge. In the commotion the crowd

and the leaders ran helter shelter except K.L.S. Santhanam. Later he went to the

District Collector43 in his auto to sent telegrams to the State Governor and police

higher-ups. As shown in the above anecdote his empathy to the common man

not leaving them to the vagaries of force entangled him to the trade union milieu

rather than to the electoral politics.

43. Ibid.

121

Relationship with Other Leaders

K.L.S. Santhanam continued to maintain a warm personal rapport with all

the leaders. He had the privilege and fortune to work or associate with the senior

political and trade union leadership of his period. S. A Dange plunged into

nationalist movement against the British rule in India.44 He was born in Nasik

District in Maharashtra. He was expelled from college for organizing a

movement against compulsory teaching of the Bible. While in work, he was

exposed to the miserable conditions of workers when he undertook voluntary

work in the textile mill areas of Bombay.45 He became interested in Marxism

while following the Russian Revolution of 1917 the period also coincided with

influence of Bolshevist ideas. Following the Russian Revolution an international

organization (Comintern) founded in Moscow in March 1919. Dange was one of

the founding members of the Communist Party of India and a stalwart of Indian

Trade Union Movement. The first conference of AICP was held in Meerut.46 He

turned up uninvited to the Meerut conference and took charge of the new party.

He was elected general secretary of the party. In 1929 he was presided the

Bombay strike after he was the leader of Girnikamgar union.47 In 1944 he went

to England and participated the British Communist Party seventeenth congress.

In 1945 he attended the World Federation of Trade Union conference in Paris

and also he was elected as a vice-president of that Federation. In 1946 he was

elected as a member of Bombay Legislative Council. In 1947 February the 44. Riepe Dale, Marxism in India, 1977, p.41. 45. Ibid. 46. Das Guptha, Jagadish, Gopal, S.A.Dange, A Fruitful Life, Kolkata, 2002, p.101. 47. S. Bhaskaran, Trade Union Rangathe Adhiyapathikar (Mal), Trivandrum, 2004, p.77.

122 AITUC Calcutta conference again elected Dange as the president of AITUC.48 In

1948 he was arrested under the ban of Communist Party. After the death of Ajay

Goash, Dange became the chairmen of Communist Party till 1978. He was

expelled from the CPI in 1981.

In Kanyakumari district the AITUC and CPI leader K.L.S. Santhanam

followed the policy of Dange and worked for its propagation in Kanyakumari. In

1964 the party was split when Santhanam was called the leaders like Manali

Kandaswamy, Kalyanasundaram, S.A. Muruganantham to Kanyakumari district

to strengthen the base of CPI in Kanyakumari district. So he was known as

“Kumari Mavatta Danage.”49 After the expulsion of S. A. Dange from the CPI

K.L.S. remained in the CPI.

P. Ramamurti

P. Ramamurti, a prominent trade unionist was born in Chennai. During

Indian Independence movement he joined the Congress Socialist Party. In 1927

P. Ramamurti emerged in the political scene with the protest against the Simon

Commission. He joined the Communist Party of India and was one of the

founding members of the party in Tamil Nadu. In 1936 he began organizing

trade unions. In 1953, at the 3rd CPI party congress he was elected to the Central

Committee and the politburo of the party. In 1964 he was amongst the leaders of

the CPI (M)50 when the party broke away from CPI. In 1970 he became the first

general secretary of the CITU. In that time K.L.S. Santhanam became the 48. Ibid. 49. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 12-10-2009. 50. Prakash Karat People’s Democracy Vol. XXXI, No.38, (Weekly organ of the Communist Party of India) Comrade Ramamurti Birth Centenary – “An Exceptional leader” 28 September 2008.

123 AITUC leader in Kanyakumari district. K.L.S. Santhanam who was in the trade

union front as a formidable leader of AITUC worked in tandem with

P. Ramamurthy for the cause of the working class.

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai

Pattom Thanu Pillai a socialist leader and first Chief Minister of Kerala was

born on 15 July 1885 at Trivandrum. After completing his graduation he was

appointed as Deputy Chief in the State Agriculture Department, from there he

studied law simultaneously. After graduating law, he started legal practice in

Trivandrum which proved to be a turning point in his political career. Under his

leadership, lawyers protested against the cruel police brutality meted out to

students agitating against Diwan’s rule. He was elected as the State President of

the Travancore State Congress.51

After India’s Independence, the first democratic government in Travancore

was formed under the Chief Minister ship of Pattom Thanu Pillai. Due to

difference of opinion within the party, he served ties with the Congress and

formed the Praja Socialist Party. In 1954 he formed a new front against the

Congress Party with the help of the Communists, Revolutionary Socialist Party

and Kerala Socialist Party. He became the Chief Minister during 1954-1955. He

was elected to the Ist Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1957 from Trivandrum

constituency and he became the Chief Minister of Kerala on 22 February 1960.

51. S. Raimon, The History of Freedom Movement in Kerala, Vol., III (1938-1948), Trivandrum, 2006. p.3.

124 He was appointed as the Governor of Punjab in 1962. He was also the Governor

of Andhra Pradesh from 1964 to 1968. He passed away on 27 July 1970.

In the course of the Pattom ministry the relationship between the Tamils

and the Malaylees further aggravated. The Tamils held a series of protest

meetings in a number of places challenging the Malayali domination in the

political and official bureaucracy of the Government The Tamil Nadu State

Congress leaders exhorted the people to revolt against the Government and

started a no tax campaign.52 The Tamil agitation was intensified following the

arrest and six weeks imprisonment of Nesamony and others at Munnar, when

they defied the prohibitory orders.53 Protest meetings were held throughout the

Tamil areas of Travancore. K.L.S. Santhanam was in the forefront of this

movement.54 Under the leadership of K.L.S. Santhanam and others were

arranged the protest meetings. On 11 August, 1954 the “Deliverance Day” of the

Tamils throughout the Tamil areas of Travancore State and a complete hartal

was held.55 In the course of the police firing, five persons lost their lives. At

Putukadai the causalities were six and the numbers wounded were many56. Many

people were arrested including Jeevanandham and K.L.S. Santhanam were

arrested. Protesting against the police atrocities T.S. Ramasawmi Pillai of the

Praja Socialist Party introduced a no confidence motion against the ministry in

February 1955. The Assembly adopted the resolution and Pattom Thanu Pillai

52. C.K. Kareem, Kerala District Gazetteers, Trivandrum, p.16. 53. Dinamalar, 20 May 1953, p.3. 54. The Hindu, 8 July 1954, p.6. 55. Ibid. 56. Confidential Section, File no. R. Dis 15643 of 1954, Kerala State Archives.

125 tendered resignation.57 Pattom Thanu Pillai’s policy was opposed by K.L.S.

Santhanam and he resigned the Socialist Party membership and joined into

Communist Party in 1954.58

T. S. Ramasamy

T. S. Ramasamy was drawn into the Socialist Movement at a young age.

He was born in 1918 in the village of Theroor near Suchindram in Kanyakumari

district. He completed his school education in Nagercoil and completed law in

Trivandrum.59 In 1942 he was elected the vice president of Students Federation.

He established close contacts with leaders like P. Ramamurthy, P. Jeevanantham

and M.Venkataraman in trade union front. He started Salt Pan Workers Union in

Kanyakumari District. K.L.S. Santhanam joined him and they worked together

since in many fronts. T.S. Ramasamy and K.L.S. Santhanam together started

trade unions for workers of shops and commercial establishments, scavengers,

Pioneer Bus Transport and Municipality as well as Mineral Company at

Manavalakurichi. In the year 1957 T.S. Ramasamy contested the State

Assembly elections as an independent candidate for Thovalai constituency in

South Travancore. T.S. Ramasamy Pillai was one of the cofounders of the first

trade union in the Transport sector in Travancore. K.L.S. Santhanam led the

campaign of T.S. Ramasamy, as the representative of Communist Party of

India.60 In a public meeting held in Erachakulam, K.L.S. Santhanam delivered a

57. PTSCSC. Vol. XI, No. 13, p.1242. 58. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 05.01.2011. 59. RamachandranNair, op. cit., p. 464. 60. T.S.Ramasamy op. cit., p.30.

126 marathon speech of six hours from 6.30pm to 12.30pm.61 T.S. Ramasamy got

elected. The counting was held at Sucheendram. On declaration of result, the

victory procession started from Sucheendram to Nagercoil led by

K.L.S. Santhanam. On their way K.L.S. Santhanam and others were physically

assaulted by the opposition party members near Ashramam.62 Though

T.S. Ramasamy urged him to complain to the police he refused. His legs were

damaged and he was never able to walk on the legs again. He also sustained

abdominal injuries. His movements were restricted to wheel chair and auto

rickshaw. T.S.Ramasamy and K.L.S. Santhanam worked together in the

separation movement of Tamil areas from Tiru-Kochi which resulted in both of

them parting ways with Praja Socialist Party (PSP). T.S.Ramasamy was a friend,

philosopher and guide to K.L.S. Santhanam.

K.T.K. Thangamony

K.T.K. Thangamony, an active trade unionist was born in November

1914 in Madurai.63 During his college days in 1932, K.T.K.Thangamony

participated in the freedom movement. He studied law in England with Jothy

Basu, Indrajith Gupta and Bubesh Gupta. He returned to India and joined

Communist Party. In 1943 he forayed into trade union activities. He participated

in the 12th All India Trade Union Conference in Gundoor, Andra Pradesh.

K.L.S.Santhanam was also there and they returned together. In 1971-77

61. S. Padmanabhan, “Sathanaigal Paddaitha Santhanam” K.L.S. Santhanam Mani Vizha Malar, Kottar, Nagercoil, 1992, p.158. 62. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 18.01.2009. 63. S. Baskaran, op. cit., p.78.

127 K.L.S.Santhanam was the President of District Transport Employees Association

and K.T.K.Thangamony was the President of State Transport Employees

Association.64 They worked together in the trade union front throughout.

E.M.S. Namboodiripad

KLS Santhanam remained a strong admirer of E.M.S. Namboodiripad

especially through his writings. E.M.S. was born on 14 June 1909 in the

Elamkulam Mana in a Namboothiri family steeped in rituals and practises. The

early 1920’s was a period when a new age of change was going on Malabar

consequent on, and in tandem with, the social reforms taking place in the states

of Kochi and Travancore. He began his school education in 1925; by joining the

III form of the Perinthalmanna High School, after a period of private tuition at

home for a little more than a year. The school days gave him opportunities for

coming into contact with political activities and nationalist activists and leaders.

Having passed the Matriculation examination he joined St. Thomas College,

Thrissur, for his intermediate studies. The childhood and early adolescent

period of E.M.S. Namboodiripad was one of the social changes. Important

among the proposed changes in the Namboodiri Community were those relating

to marriage custom, the rights of inheritance and disposal of family property. His

foray into the public arena started with reform movement of the community. The

orthodox sections of the community were trying hard to stall the reforms for fear

of losing their unlimited sway, privileges and influence. The raging

controversies of the time had a profound influence on the young 64. K.L.S. Santhanam Manivizha Malar, op. cit., p.54.

128 E.M.S. Namboodiripad and sharpened his awareness of and attitudes to social

problems. He wrote an article and it was published in the paper Paasupatham.65

In addition to the Yogakshemam daily and the Unni Namboodiri monthly, two

more papers namely Sudarsan and Paasupathm dealing with the social reform of

the Namboodiri community had started publication. Many of his articles were

published in Yogashemam.66 From his college days in 1939, his active social

work began. In January 1932 he left college to participate in the civil

disobediences movement, and he was actively involved in the Youth

Organization of the Namboodiri Welfare Association. From the wide ranging

reading which E.M.S. Namboodiripad did during his college days and from his

contact with rationalist thinking, people, he slowly turned into an atheist,

rationalist and a revolutionary. The Salt Satyagraha of 1930 proved a landmark

in the life of E.M.S. Namboodiripad, for it was then that he avowed to take

active part in political struggles. The Congress Socialist Party officially came

into existence in 1940 and it was the fore runner of the Communist Party, which

transformed individual lives and the political scenario of Kerala altogether.67

E.M.S. became a member of the Madras Presidential Legislative Assembly

as a Congressman in 1937. He was elected to the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of India in 1943. In 1957 he headed the first communist

ministry of Kerala. His ministry came into existence on April 5, 1957 which was

dismissed invoking article 356 of the Constitution in 1959. He became Chief

65. E.M.S. Namboodiripad , How I become a Communist, Trivandrum, 1976, p.77. 66. Ibid., p.79. 67. Kutton Mahadevan, The Great Leaders of India, Vol.1, Chennai, 2007, p. 127.

129 Minister for the second time on March 6, 1967. His second ministry also had to

go out of office due to differences in the coalition partners. Communist Party

of India had split into in 1964 and E.M.S. Namboodiripad had aligned himself

with CPI (M). K.L.S. Santhanam got the chance to meet E.M.S. Namboodiripad

and work with him during their CPI days for the South Travancore people.68

A.K. Gopalan

Being an active trade unionist, K.L.S. Santhanam gathered great

inspiration from the leaders like A.K. Gopalan who was born in October 1904 in

North Malabar.69 His early name was Ayillyath Kuttiar Gopalan Nambiar. But

he has known as A.K. Gopalan. He studied at Tellichery.70 He worked for about

two years as teacher at the Board school at Paralaserry. In that time he took part

in the Khlaifat movement. A tenant rights agitation, developing in Malabar from

1916, was taken up by the Khlaifat movement after the Manjeri conference of

April 1920.71 Peasants were encouraged to air their grievances at Khlaifat

meetings, in that time A.K. Gopalan also participated in that movement after he

became a staunch social and political reformer.

In 1927 he joined in the Indian National Congress and playing upliftment of

Harijans. Gradually he was drawn into the vortex of the freedom struggle

Gandhiji had started his Dandi March, turning it into a mass movement all over

the country. In Kerala a march was taken out from Calicut to Payyanoor under

68. Interview with K.L.S Santhanam, dated 07.02.2010. 69. A.K. Gopalan, In the Cause of the People Renaissances, Bombay, 1973, p.1. 70. Ibid., p.5. 71. Sumit Sarkar, Modern India 1885-1947, New Delhi, 1983, p.216.

130 the leadership of K. Kelappan, who became famous during the independence

struggle as “Kerala Gandhiji”. Inspired by the speech made by Kelappan A.K.

Gopalan resigned his job and went from Calicut to Cannanore to offer

Satyagraha. He was arrested and jailed the same day.72 It was his first jail term.

When the Satyagrahis were released from jail following Gandhi Irwin Pact, he

came out of prison. Thereupon he began to devote himself to the Congress

Movement which at that time mainly centered on propagation of Khadi and

boycott of foreign goods.

Under these circumstances, the Congress decided to wage a struggle against

untouchability and other similar social evils Kelappan decided to table a

resolution on temple entry Satyagraha at the Kerala Pradesh Congress

Committee meeting. The KPCC meeting at Guruvayoor adopted this resolution

and authorized Keleppan to conduct the Satyagraha, he was enjoyed that “a

struggle against die hard conservation was in the offing. In that the Guruvayoor

Satyagraha had such a tremendous impact on the spread of the national

movement that the British government in January 1932 decided to crush it with

an iron hand. Congress leaders were arrested, and A.K.G. was one among them.

A.K.G. was sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment and sent to

Cannanore jail. The second term in jail proved to be a harrowing experience for

him. It also brought him into contact with many revolutionaries and he could

discuss many political issues including the implications of the Russian

72. Kuttan Mahadeven, op. cit., p.147.

131 Revolution, with them.73 After a few days, he was transferred from the

Cannanore jail to Cuddalore jail.

After 1933 he was beginning to lose heart in Gandhian Satyagraha and

ahimsa as a means of liberations. There were many others who thought along

these lines, and they together formed what came to be called the Congress

Socialist Party (CSP) in Kerala.74 The CSP concentrated on workers and

peasants who kept aloof from the national movement. Hardly had the party came

into being when A.K.G. immersed himself wholly into the activities of the

party. The socialists got involved in organizing workers in every industry in

Kerala and A.K.G. was there everywhere.

When the Second World War broke out difference arose within the CSP and

the result was the expulsion of the Communists from the party. Sooner than later

the Socialist Parties of Malarbar, and many other places started functioning as

the units of Communist Party. In that time he was arrested and sent to Vellore

jail in 1941.When the whole of India was celebrating the Independence Day on

15 August 1947, he found himself in solitary confinement in Cannanore jail

unable to celebrate the freedom which he had fought tooth and nail for. He was

one of the few leaders who helped to shape the face of Indian Communism and

make in popular course. In 1952-53 K.L.S. Santhanam was the Secretary of

Socialist Youth League in South Travancore. During those days K.L.S. met

A.K.G. from whom K.L.S. got the advice to join the Communist Party and work

73. Ibid., p.148. 74. Ibid.

132 for the working class in the different arenas. From there they were together in

the formative days of the party to build up in South Travancore.75

C. Achutha Menon

K.L.S. Santhanam got the opportunity to associate himself with C. Achutha

Menon who started his political career by associating himself with the State

Congress, and actively took part in the congress meeting held at Thirssur. He

subsequently became a member of the Kochi Praja Mandalam and later the

Communist Party of India. In 1942 he joined the Communist Party of India. He

became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India

and a member of its Executive Committee and Central Secretariat. He continued

his political activities even when the Communist Party was banned. He was

imprisoned for many years, during which time he was elected to the

Travancore–Cochin Assembly in 1952.

Shortly afterwards Achutha Menon became elected to the Kerala

Legislative Assembly, after the reorganization of the states, thus becoming the

first Finance Minister of Kerala in the Ministry Lead by E.M.S. Namboodirippad

in 1957. He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1960. He also

became the member of the Rajya Sabha during 1968-69.

When the Communist Party split, he continued to remain with the CPI. He

assumed charge as Chief Minister of Kerala on 1 November 1969 and continued

till the dissolution of III Kerala Legislative Assembly. He was not a member of

75. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 18-2-2010.

133 the Kerala Assembly then, but subsequently got elected from Kottarakara in the

bye-election held in April 1970. In the mid-term poll conducted in 1970 he was

again elected from Kottarakara and was sworn in as Chief Minister on 4 October

1970 and continued in that chair till 1977. He was elected as the State Secretary

of CPI many times and was also a member of the National Council of the CPI.

He had authored many books on Kerala. In 1971 a communal clash was

started in Mondaikadu in Kanyakumari District. In Mondaikadu there has a

famous Hindu temple, near the temple there has a Church. The Hindu –

Christian communal clash was started for the reasons of the religious matters.76

Peoples were died in the police firing. In that time the many leaders and social

activists were arranged many meetings and tried to solve the problem. K.L.S.

Santhanam and his political party members tried to solve the problem and take

more steps to solve the communal clash.77 Achutha Menon came to Nagercoil

and along with K.L.S. Santhanam visited Mondaikadu to pacify the victims and

douse the fire. The cordial relation between K.L.S. Santhanam and Achutha

Menon made this possible.78

P.K. Vasudevan Nair

As a contemporary of K.L.S. Santhanam, Padayattu Kesava Pillai

Vasudevan Nair known as P.K.V. entered into politics during his student days.

He was a member of the Communist Party of India from 1945. While studying

he was the president of Travancore students union in 1947. He was also elected

76. Ponneelan, Marupakkam, Chennai, 2010, p. 86. 77. Ibid. 78. Interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 28-12-2010.

134 as president of All Kerala students Federation in 1948. Then he became a youth

leader of national and international repute. He was president of Kerala Youth

Federation and was the founder president of All India Youth Federation. He also

served as the Vice-President of World Federation of Democratic Youth. He was

arrested in 1951 in connection with a student struggle. He had also undergone

prison life in New Delhi in connection with agitation against price hike. He

continued in the CPI after the split in 1964 and held prominent position in the

party including the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of India

(CPI).

He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Alleppey in 1977

and 1980. He served as the Minister for Industries in 1977 as well as in 1980. He

succeeded A.K. Antony as the Chief Minister of Kerala on 29 October 1978.

When he became the Chief Minister of Kerala, K.L.S. Santhanam arranged a

meeting in Nagercoil to felicitate him.79 However he resigned on 7 October 1979

in order to create a favorable atmosphere, for the formation of a Left Democratic

Front (LDF) in Kerala.

He was elected to Lok Sabha from Thiruvalla in 1957, from Ambalapuzha

in 1962 and Peerumedu in 1967. In 2004 he had been elected to the 14th Lok

Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram with a considerable majority, for a fourth term.

He was also the leader of CPI in Parliament and he had chaired the committee of

Labour during 2004-05. He has left an indelible mark in the field of journalism

as Editor of ‘Janayugom’ daily during 1954-57. He had also served as the Editor

79. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 28.12.2010.

135 of ‘Navayugom’ ‘Political weekly of CPI, Kerala State Council. He passed away

on July 12, 2005.

M.N. Govindan Nair

M.N. Govindan Nair was one of the first leaders who argued for forming

a left group in the Travancore State Congress as early as 1939 and he had close

association with the inimitable veteran leader P. Krishna Pillai. In 1939

Congress Socialist Party split into two groups namely the communists and the

socialists. M.N. Govindan decided joined the communist group.80 He belongs to

the Communist Party of India (CPI) and worked actively to bring the AITUC a

strong presence in the Trade Union Movement in the state.

When the communists were elected to power in 1957, M.N. Govindan Nair

was the General Secretary of the party. His main forte was trade unionism and

this resulted in K.L.S. Santhanam working shoulder to shoulder with him in the

early days. When the party split in 1964, he stood with the CPI. In 1967 he

became the minister of Electricity. In 1970 he passed away.

P. Jeevanantham

P.Jeevanantham was a staunch Communist leader and trade unionist in

Tamil Nadu. . He was born at Boothapandi in Kanyakumari district in 1907. He

followed the policy of Gandhiji and he was the captain of the Harijan Satyagraha

in Sucheendram. In 1927, he participated in Vaikkam Satyagraha. In 1927, he

was elected to AICC and he later joined Socialist Party. 1n 1936, he became the

80. K. Ramachandran Nair, op. cit., p.179.

136 member of Communist Party of Madras.81 He translated Bhagat Singh’s life

history in Tamil language. British Government excommunicated him from

Madras to Travancore.82 In Nagercoil he started Scavenging Workers Union

with K.L.S. Santhanam and arranged party meetings. K.L.S. Santhnam consulted

many things related party affairs and unions with him and he cleared all the

matters and gave the necessary guidance. In 1954, P. Jeevandham joined the

Kanyakumari Merger Movement. K.L.S. Santhanam joined the Communist

Party under the influence of P. Jeevanantham.83

Bubesh Gupta

Bubesh Gupta was one of the earliest communist leaders in India born on

1914 in Bangladesh. He went to England for his higher studies. In the same time

in Europe Anti- Fascist revolution was going on and Gupta was part and parcel

of that revolution.On his return from England after studies he devoted his life to

the Communist Party of India. In the meantime K.L.S. Santhanam evolved a

cordial relation with Gupta for party matters.

K. Kamaraj

KLS Santhanam had great admiration for Kamaraj84 who was popularly

known as “Perunthalaivar”. He commenced his education at the Yenadhi

Narayana Vidhyasalai. Later he moved to the Kshatriya Vidhyasalai. His

education ended when he was 12 years old. He worked in Trivandrum and 81. C. Baskaran, op. cit., p.67. 82. K.L.S.Santhanam, Nandavanam “Thiruthamilaka Porattathil Maraintha Communist Thalivar Jeevanandham Avarkalin Mahathana Pangu,’’ October 2002, p.10. 83. Personal interview with K.L.S.Santhanam, dated 12-02-2011. 84. Muruga-Thanushkodi, ‘Kamaraj Oru Charitram (Tamil)’, Chennai, 2007, p. 20.

137 Bodinayakanur in different shops. In that time he started taking interest in

freedom fighters speeches. He used to read newspapers and share news with his

friends on public and common issues.

At that time, there were two groups in the Congress. One was known as

‘optimizers’ and the other ‘extremists’, Kamaraj started participating in the

Congress meeting of eminent leaders like V. Kalyana Sundaram,

Dr. Varadharaja Naidu and George Joseph. He started identifying himself with

the freedom struggle and the Congress. He joined Vaikom Satyagraha and

disobedience movement in 1920. He dedicated his entire life for the projects of

poor and the down trodden peoples. He always nurtured his party the Congress

and came out with a plan to strengthen the party at the state and the national

level popularly known as the “K” plan or ‘Kamaraj plan’ and showed the way to

other co-leaders by resigning voluntarily his position as Chief Minister of Tamil

Nadu.He was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for nine years. The rule of

Kamaraj as a Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was a renaissance for the primary

and secondary education in Tamil Nadu state.

Following the death of Marshal Nesamony, the parliament member from

the Nagercoil constituency a by election was held and Kamaraj became a

candidate. On 30 November 1968, he attended a meeting in Karungal together

with K.L.S. Santhanam. After that K.L.S. Santhanam and some leaders in

138 Nagercoil decided to work for Kamaraj, even though he was a Congress. After

that Kamaraj cultivated friendship with K.L.S. Santhanam.85

C.N. Annadurai

A change in the TamilNadu politics and the history was associated with

the DMK founder C.N.Annadurai, he was from Kanjeevaram in Chengalpattu

District in Tamil Nadu.86 During his collegiate education he enlisted as a

member of the Self Respect Youth League. Annadurai’s initiation into politics

was through the Justice Party. In 1917 he was elected chairman of the Erode

Municipal Council.

In 1938 Rajaji became the Prime Minister of the Madras Presidency. He

introduced compulsory study of Hindi in schools. It was greeted with severe

opposition by the Tamil people. The Anti-Hindi conference was organized by

Periyar at Kanjeevaram in 1937. Sir K.V. Reddy presided over the conference.

Annadurai was chosen as the lieutenant of the anti-Hindi agitation. Tamil feeling

was running very high in the common people. Annadurai developed a very close

contact with the people. The first phase of anti-Hindi movement started in the

form of picketings in front of schools and the first picketing was inaugurated

before the Hindi Theological High school at Madras. Annadurai was charge

sheeted and was convicted for four months in jail. On 17 September, 1949

Dravida Munertra Kazaham was formed under the leader ship of Annadurai. He

was the General Secretary for that party. Anna was slowly but steadily taking his

85. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 15.02.2011. 86. P.C. Ganeson. C.N. Annadurai, New Delhi, 2003, p.2.

139 party towards the parliamentary programme.87 In the 1957 elections the DMK

captured two parliamentary seats out of eleven seats it contested. In 1962 general

elections DMK won 50 seats to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly polling

27.3 present of the votes.

On the fifteenth anniversary of the Republic Day the Home Minister

Gularilal Nanda made an announcement that the Hindi alone would be given the

official language status as provided in the constitution. The non-Hindi agitators

of the DMK were much opposed on that issue. The student power came out in

their strength to demonstrate their solidarity in opposing Hindi. The students

participated in the agitations voluntary. A student’s delegation that waited at the

secretariat to meet the Chief Minister was roughed up by the police. At Madurai

a student leader was mortally knifed. In the same time the agitation spread in

Kanyakumari district and K.L.S. Santhanam and other leaders who supported the

anti-Hindi agitation took an active part in it. On that occasion the anti-social

elements took advantage of the situation and caused immense damage to public

properties. The anti-Hindi agitation by the students created a very favourable

climate for DMK to become the chief spokesman of the Tamil cause.

In the election of 1967, DMK supported by Rajaji formed a coalition of

eight parties and obtained 138 seats. The DMK got majority seats in the election

C.N. Annadurai assumed power as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 6 March

1967. Being a great scholar of both English and Tamil his political expertise

earned him undiminishing place in the hearts of Tamil people for his simplicity,

87. Ibid., p.23.

140 love towards everybody and his efficiency to keep DMK party as a family.88

K.L.S. Santhanam was attracted by certain policies of Annadurai mainly the

anti-Hindi agitation. The followers of Annadurai assembled each year and

remembered the memories of his glorious days. K.L.S. Santhanam used to

attend those meetings and shared his experience with Annadurai.89

M. Karunanidhi

After the death of Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi assumed power as the Chief

Minister of Tamil Nadu. He initiated several constructive schemes for the

growth of Tamil languages and the uplift of socially backward people. During

his period various transport corporations in the names of great men were

amalgamated in to one “Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation” as a result of

the communal riots that broke out in some places. He introduced several people

welfare schemes to uplift the life of the downtrodden in the society.

In 1982 election, Karunanidhi came to Nagercoil. K.L.S. Santhanam met

Karunanidhi and discussed the election position in Kanyakumari district.

Electoral alliance between CPI and DMK resulted in K.L.S. Santhanam having a

political relationship with Karunanidhi. In Nagercoil the party members arranged

an election campaigning. There they shared the platforms of election rallies and

meetings.

88. Ibid. 89. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 12.12.2010.

141

M.G. Ramachandran

K.L.S. Santhanam had the opportunity to meet M.G. Ramachandran and

share some of his ideas. M.G. Ramachandran, known as M.G.R. among the

common people served as the treasurer of DMK during the time of Annadurai.

Starting his carrier in the film field as an actor and attained the highest level in

that arena from there he turned his attention to Tamil Nadu politics. He was

honoured by government of India as a best actor in the country. He was expelled

from the DMK due to the inner party conflict. In 1972 he formed a new party

bearing the name of Annadurai (AIADMK). In 1977 he became the Chief

Minister of Tamil Nadu. He administered Tamil Nadu for nearly ten years.

Effective steps had been taken for the growth of the Industry.

In the parliamentary election of 1980 his party was defeated by the

Congress (I) and the DMK combine. CPI’s Electoral alliance with AIADMK

brought both M.G.R. and Santhanam on the same platform and their relation was

also everlasting. They made election campaign at Nagaraja Thidal in

Nagercoil.90

D. Raja

K.L.S. Santhanam’s political relation with CPI leader D.Raja was started

from the period of 1968 onwards. Co-operative Super Market Workers Union

activities made them to join together. In 1968 K.L.S. Santhanam formed the

Co-operative Super Market Union in Kanyakumari District. In the course of the

union activities in the district D. Raja came to Nagercoil from Chennai. From

90. Personal interview with K.L.S. Santhanam, dated 19.1.2011.

142 1985 to1990 D.Raja was the General Secretary of All India Youth Federation.

He served as the National Secretary of CPI since 1994. In July 2007 he was

elected as Rajya Sabah. According to D. Raja K.L.S. Santhanam was a staunch

trade unionist and good CPI leader in Kanyakumari District.91

R. Nallakannu

R. Nallakannu is the chairman of the Control Commission of CPI.92 In

many movements K.L.S. Santhanam could get the support and guidance from

R. Nallakannu who was the General Secretary of CPI state unit. According to

Nallakannu, K.L.S. Santhanam is a good labour union leader and a good legal

advisor of the labourers. He had a helping mentality to poor and downtrodden

people.93

Devotion to the ideology he believes in is not compromised in his

relationship with leaders of other political parties. Electoral understandings of

his party are respected and he worked hard for the victory of the amalgam

whenever required. Great leaders of the various spectrum of political hue

respected him and many were in awe of his personality.

91. Personal interview with D. Raja, dated 18.1.2011. 92. The Hindu, dated 16.11.2008. 93. Personal interview with R. Nallakannu, dated 8.10.2011.