E.M.S. Namboodiripad

In 1957, voters in one Indian state chose a communist government through the ballot box. Its leader was a stammering Brahmin scholar who had once walked out of college for the freedom struggle. Two years later, the Centre sent his government home.

E.M.S. Namboodiripad shaped Kerala for four decades. Exams ask about his firsts, his dismissal and his party switches. This lesson walks through all three.

1Who was E.M.S. Namboodiripad?

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad was born on 13 June 1909. His home was Elamkulam, near Perinthalmanna, in the Malabar region of the Madras Presidency. His family was a well-known Namboodiri Brahmin household.

Life was hard early. He lost his mother at four and his father at eleven. He studied at St. Thomas College in Thrissur.

As a young man, he joined reform groups among the Namboodiris. They fought casteism and old customs inside their own community. He became an office-bearer of the Valluvanadu Yogakshema Sabha, a body of progressive Namboodiri youth.

He was also known for a stammer. A well-known story says he laughed about it. When asked whether he always stammered, he reportedly replied, “No, only when I speak.”

Why does this matter? A Brahmin reformer who turned communist was unusual. His start inside a conservative community explains his later passion for land and education reform.

• Born 13 June 1909, Elamkulam, Malabar.
• Studied at St. Thomas College, Thrissur.
• Early reform work in the Yogakshema Sabha.

2How did he move from Congress to the communists?

In college he was drawn to the Indian National Congress and the freedom movement. Over time he grew more radical. Many young Indians of his time made the same journey.

In 1934 he was one of the founders of the Congress Socialist Party, or CSP. It was a socialist wing inside the Congress. He served as its all-India joint secretary from 1934 to 1940.

He also edited the Malayalam paper Prabhatham, the CSP’s voice in Kerala. In 1939 he was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly. Soon he was writing and organising full time.

Later he moved from the socialists to the communists. The government counted him among the founders of the Communist Party of India in Kerala. That forced him to go into hiding for a time.

Why does this matter? His path ran from Congress to the CSP to the CPI. Exams like to test this order.

• 1934: co-founded the Congress Socialist Party.
• All-India joint secretary, 1934-1940.
• Edited Prabhatham; elected to the Madras Assembly in 1939.
• Read about the Congress Socialist Party.

3What happened in 1957?

Kerala was formed as a state in 1956. In 1957 it held its first assembly election. The Communist Party of India came out ahead.

On 5 April 1957 Namboodiripad took office as the first Chief Minister of Kerala. He was also the first Chief Minister in India who did not belong to the Congress. It was a big moment in Indian politics.

People often call it the world’s first elected communist government. That is not quite right. The tiny republic of San Marino in Europe elected a communist-led government in 1945. So Kerala’s was the second, and the first in India.

His ministry brought in a Land Reform Ordinance and an Education Bill. Both aimed to change old patterns of land and schooling. Both also made powerful enemies.

Why does this matter? A communist ministry won power by votes, not by revolution. Exams love the “first in India, second in the world” line.

• Took office 5 April 1957 as Kerala’s first Chief Minister.
• India’s first non-Congress Chief Minister.
• World’s second elected communist government, after San Marino, 1945.
• Land Reform Ordinance and Education Bill.

4Why was his government dismissed?

The Education Bill worried Christian churches and Hindu community groups. They feared the state would take control of their schools. The land law upset landowners.

The 1958 Education Bill also reached the Supreme Court. The President asked the Court for its opinion on the Bill. The Court said that Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles must be read together.

In 1959 a mass movement rose against the ministry. It was called the Vimochana Samaram, or Liberation Struggle. The Nair Service Society, led by Mannathu Padmanabhan, was a major part of it. The Congress and other parties joined in.

The protests grew tense. Police firing at Angamaly on 13 June 1959 killed several protesters. Prime Minister Nehru visited Kerala on 22 June 1959.

On 31 July 1959 the Centre dismissed the ministry under Article 356. Some accounts say Nehru hesitated, and that Indira Gandhi, then Congress President, urged action. Historians still argue over whether it was right.

Why does this matter? This was an early use of Article 356 against an elected state government. Later governments used the same power again, and exams pair these cases together.

• Vimochana Samaram, 1959, led by churches and the NSS.
• Dismissed 31 July 1959 under Article 356.
• Supreme Court opinion on the Kerala Education Bill, 1958.
• Read about Mannathu Padmanabhan.
• Read about Emergency Provisions.

5What did he do later?

After 1959 he led the opposition in the Kerala assembly. He did so from 1960 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1977. He was never out of public life for long.

In 1964 the Communist Party of India split. Namboodiripad stood with the faction that formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M). He stayed in its top bodies until his death.

In 1967 he became Chief Minister a second time. He led a seven-party coalition that included the CPI and the Muslim League. That ministry fell on 24 October 1969 because of quarrels among its partners.

He later served as general secretary of the CPI(M) for fourteen years, until 1992. He also wrote many books in English and Malayalam. He helped build the Progressive Association for Arts and Letters, a literary movement.

He died on 19 March 1998, aged eighty-eight. Many remember him for decentralisation and for Kerala’s literacy drives. Writers still debate how far he caused them.

Why does this matter? His career shows one thread: from Congress to socialists to communists. Exams ask the 1964 split and the two terms often.

• Leader of the Opposition 1960-64 and 1970-77.
• Joined the CPI(M) after the 1964 split.
• Second term 1967-1969, a seven-party coalition.
• General secretary of the CPI(M) for 14 years, until 1992.
• Died 19 March 1998, aged 88.
• Read about Jyoti Basu, his contemporary.

6What are the exam traps?

• Kerala 1957 was India’s first elected communist government, but San Marino 1945 came first in the world.
• First ministry: 5 April 1957 to 31 July 1959. It lasted over two years, not one.
• Dismissal came under Article 356, not Article 352.
• CSP in 1934; CPI(M) in 1964; second term 1967-69.