INTRODUCTION
The political history of modern Kerala has been shaped by a series of movements involving a high degree of participation by the people at various levels. The popular movements that gathered momentum in British India under the auspices of the Indian National Congress or other political parties since the last decade of the 19th century had their profound impact on politics in the State and such of those movements that took shape here under this impact have become part of the political history of modern India.
However, there were other significant political movements in Kerala which owned their origin to the interplay of local forces and in the process, acquired the character of purely local agitations with their own issues of local importance.
The fact that vast areas of the State were under the rule of highly respected royal families with their strong ties with the indigenous Nambudiri Brahmin community and that the Sanskritic culture and tradition was nourished here over the centuries by the rulers and people alike also perhaps accounts for the failure of the Dravidian movement in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu to make an impression on the public life of Kerala.
POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN TRAVANCORE
The history of political movements in modern Travancore commencing from 1885, the year of the ascension of Sree Moolam Thirunal to the throne, can be broadly divided into three phases, viz., (1) the constitutional agitations sponsored by the educated middle class (2) struggle for democratic and civil rights waged by the lower caste Hindus and the Christian and Muslim religious minorities and (3) the people's movement for the achievement of responsible government in the State.
Early Struggles in Travancore
The earliest of the political struggles in modern Travancore was the one led by Velu Thampi in 1799 against the misrule of the triumvirate comprised of Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoori, Sankaranarayana Chetti and Matthu Tharakan, to which reference has already been made. Velu Thampi had mobilised thousands of people under his banner and led them to Trivandrum to place their grievances before the sovereign.
The demonstrators demand the dismissal of the unpopular ministers and the Raja had to accede to the demand and appoint the leaders of the people as his ministers. The incident is important in so far as it is demonstrated for the first time the organised strength of the people. But in the first half of the 19th century, apart from the revolt against the British led by Velu Thampi Dalawa, there were no other political upheavals and the internal administration of the state was carried on by the rulers in an atmosphere of relative peace, with the advice of Diwans who were brought from outside.
Responsible Government in Travancore
The achievement of responsible government in Travancore came as the dramatic climax to a series of sensational developments that took place in the year 1946-47. The Indian Independence Act (1946) provided for the lapse of Paramountcy of the British Crown over the Indian States with effect from the date of withdrawal of the British power from India.
Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer announced on June 11, 1947, that Travancore would set itself up as an independent State with effect from the date on which the British withdrew from India. The action of Diwan aroused a bitter controversy inside and outside the State. Travancore was again in the vortex of a political struggle and the Government resorted to a series of repressive measures to meet the situation. One of the highlights of the struggle was a police firing at Pettah, Trivandrum, in which three persons including a student by name Rajendran were killed.
A few days after the incident, an unsuccessful attempt was made on Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer's life when the Diwan was attending a function in the Swathi Thirunal Academy of Music at Trivandrum (July 25, 1947). The Diwan escaped with minor injuries and very soon left the State for good. Immediately after this incident the Maharaja intimated, to Lord Mountbatten, the Governor-General, his decision to accept the Instrument of Accession and take Travancore into the Indian Union. Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer resigned the office of Diwan on August 19, 1947 and was succeeded in that office by P.G.N. Unnithan.
On March 24, 1948, the first popular ministry of Travancore consisting of Pattom A. Thanu Pillai, C. Kesavan and T.M. Varghese was installed in office. The Thanu Pillai Ministry had to resign office on October 22, 1948, following the split in the Congress legislature party and a new ministry headed by T.K. Narayana Pillai came to power. It was while this ministry was in office that the integration of Travancore and Cochin took place on July 1, 1949.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF COCHIN
Introduction
The political movements in Cochin offer almost a contrast to those of Travancore in respect of their origin, character and course of events. There is no such phase in the modern history of Cochin as the one marked by the Memorials in the politics of Travancore. The fact that the princes of the large-sized Cochin royal family entered into matrimonial relations with Nair families ensured for the Nair community a privileged position in the civil services and there was no need for them to petition or protest in regard to denial of jobs as in Travancore.
The communal overtones associated with the movements in Travancore were also by and large absent in Cochin. Whereas the Government of Travancore proceeded with liberal social reforms like Temple Entry, the Government of Cochin not only followed a policy of caution in this field but even opposed the move for Temple Entry. At the same time, in Travancore the Government adopted a policy of opposition to the popular demand for responsible government while in Cochin it implemented a liberal policy of conceding this demand by stages. Establishment of the Cochin Legislature
While a Legislative Council had come into vogue in Travancore in 1888, it took almost four decades for such a body to be set up in Cochin. In 1914 the Maharaja of Cochin, Sree Rama Varma had abdicated the throne in the wake of differences of opinion with the Paramount power. But even this liberal minded ruler could not persuade himself to accept a suggestion of the Government of Madras to establish a popular representative body in the State during his reign.
The Cochin Mahajana Sabha which came into existence in 1918 demanded the association of popular representatives with the government of the State. In October 1918, the Maharaja of Cochin announced on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday that he intended to associate the people "more directly and formally" with the conduct of government. Travancore-Cochin Integration
In an amendment made to the Cochin Government Act on May 12, 1948 the Legislative council was renamed the Legislative Assembly and its strength was raised to fifty-eight out of which fifty-three were to be elected. Though the Praja Mandal was forced to go into the wilderness in the wake of the resignation of the Panampilly Govinda Menon Ministry in October 1947, it was returned with a clear majority in the general elections held to the New Cochin Legislative Assembly in September 1948.
Incidentally, this was the first ever election to be held to a Legislature anywhere in India on the basis of adult franchise. T.K. Nair's party contested the elections under the label of the People's Congress, but the electorate trounced it giving to it only four seats. The first full fledged Praja Mandal Ministry assumed office in Cochin with E. Ikkanda Warrier as Prime Minister (September 20, 1948). This was also the first full-fledged Congress Ministry in Cochin, for in November 1948 the Praja Mandal formally merged with Indian National Congress.
POLITICAL UPHEAVALS IN MALABAR
Genesis of the National Movement
The Malabar District, being part of the erstwhile Madras Province, participated in full in the mainstream of Indian politics. The establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was an event which captured the imagination of the people of Malabar.
The delegates from Malabar used to attend the early annual sessions of the congress, though there was no organized political activity as such in those days. Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair presided over the Amraoti session of the Congress in 1897. It may be noted that he was the only Keralite who adorned the Presidency in the long and checkered history of this organization.
In 1903, a political conference presided over by the veteran congress leader C. Vijaya Raghava Achariar of Salem, was held at Calicut under the auspices of the Congress. However, not much was heard of the organization for some years thereafter. In 1908 a District Congress Committee was formed in Malabar, but it made its presence felt only during the period of the Great War (1914-1918). The All India Home Rule League founded by Dr. Annie Besant in 1916 had its branch in Malabar. Manjeri Rama Iyer, a leading figure of the Calicut Bar, was its President and K.P.Kesava Menon it's Secretary.
The latter also functioned as the Secretary of the Malabar District Congress Committee. V.K. Krishna Menon was one of the active workers of both the congress and the Home Rule League in Tellicherry. The Home Rule League and the District Congress Committee worked in close co-operation with each other in organizing meetings and processions in the District. The tempo of political activity in Malabar reached a high crescendo during this period, thanks to the enthusiasm of the workers of these organisation. Manjeri Political Conference (1920)
The fifth Malabar District Political Conference which took place at Manjeri (April 1920) under the Presidentship of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, Editor of the Hindu, represents a watershed in the history of the political movement in Malabar. The Conference met in the background of the controversy raging in British India between the Moderates and Extremists in the Congress over the question of the acceptance of the Montage Chelmsford Reforms of 1919.
The former held the view that the Reforms were progressive enough to be accepted and worked, while the latter regarded them as unsatisfactory and advocate their rejection. The Manjeri conference roused considerable interest in political circles and about 1,300 delegates from all parts of Malabar participated in it. Malabar Rebellion (1921)
The period immediately following the Ottappalam Conference witnessed the outbreak of a conflagration of unprecedented dimensions, viz, the Malabar Rebellion, otherwise known as the Maupila Uprising (1921). The Khilaphat movement had made a deep impact on the Maupila community. The Ernad and Valluvanad Taluks were the strongholds of the Movement.
Alarmed at the inroads it made in these areas, the Government brought the two Taluks under Section 144 and banned all meetings and demonstrations. At this juncture a serious outbreak took place at Pookottur in the Eranad Taluk. Three of the principal leaders of the rebellion were Valiakunnath Kunjahammed Haji, Seethi Koya Thangal of Kumaraputhoor and Ali Musaliar. Right - Left Polarization in the Congress
The period following the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement was crucial one in the annals of the Congress organization in Malabar. The younger section of Congressmen strongly disapproved of the policy of the old guard and opted for militant leadership.
The birth of the Congress Socialist Party in India provided an opportunity to these radical elements to assert themselves and precipitate a polarization between the Right and the Left wings in the Congress. Leaders like P. Krishna Pillai and E.M.S. Namboothiripad who believed in the Communist ideology led this new radical wing. They organized the Kerala unit of the Congress Socialist Party and functioned as a distinct group within the Kerala Provincial Congress.
Many of those Congress workers who were active in the Civil Disobedience movement joined the Socialist Party. The Left wing dominated by the socialists led the agitations of workers and peasants who faced untold miseries in the wake of the world-wide economic depression of the early thirties. A chain of well-knit organizations of peasants, industrial workers, aided elementary school teachers and students came to be set up in Malabar under the Congress Socialist leadership. With the active help of these organizations, the leftists strengthened their mass base and increased their influence within the congress.
An extremist group of Nationalist Muslims also emerged within the Congress at this time under the dynamic leadership of Muhammad Abdur Rahman. The leadership of the Congress organization itself eventually passed into the hands of the Congress Socialists and the Nationalist Muslims who made common cause against the Gandhian group known as the Right wing.
At a meeting of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee held at Shoranur in October 1934 a resolution was passed expressing lack of confidence in the efficacy of the Gandhian principles of truth and non-violence as weapons in the fight for Swaraj. The passing of the resolution marked the beginning of the open rupture between the Right and Left wings in the Congress.
The latter emerged as the dominant group at the seventh Kerala Provincial Conference held at Calicut in May 1935 with S.A. Brelvi, the Editor of "The Bombay Chronicle", in the chair. The conference passed resolutions demanding the abolition of princely states, the formation of a United Kerala State as well as effective action to redress the grievances of the peasants and workers. Contrary to the practice followed so far, some of the resolutions were passed not unanimously but by the majority vote of the Leftist in the face of Rightist opposition.
At the end of the Conferences an attempt was made to patch up the differences between the Rightists and the Leftists with S.A. Brelvi, Prakasam and Sambamoorthy playing the role of mediators. A compromise was eventually arrived at according to which both the groups were to have equal representation in the Working Committee of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee.
However, the General Secretary of the K.P.C.C. was to be non-Leftist with absolute control over the working of the entire organisation and the Leftists who were trade union workers were to act only in consultation with him. K. Kelappan, U. Gopala Menon, Kongattil Raman Menon, K. Madhavanar and P.K. Kunhisankara Menon signed the compromise document on behalf the Rightists and E.M.S. Namboothiripad, K.P. Gopalan and Manjunatha Rao on behalf of the Leftists. The compromise enabled the Rightists to get pivotal positions in the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee. Consequently, the rivalry between the two wings instead of showing signs of abating became only more acute day by day. Beginnings of the Communist Movement
The formation of the Congress Ministry in Madras under C. Rajagoplachari was followed by developments which exposed the widening rift between the Right and Left wings in the Congress. The Leftists had stolen a march over the Rightists in organising the workers, peasants, students and teachers under their banner. When elections were held to the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee in January 1939, the Rightists suffered a severe setback. Muhammed Abdur Rahiman became the President of the K.P.C.C. and E.M.S. Namboothiripad its General Secretary. By the end of the same year a branch of the Indian Communist Party had been formally established in Malabar. Political Developments after Independence
The post-Independence era commencing August 15, 1947 saw a realignment of political forces in Malabar. The communists emerged as a strong and well-knit political party. The Socialists left the Congress and formed themselves into a separate party. A group of Congress workers under K. Kelappan formed the Kerala unit of the Kisan Mazdur Praja Party (K.M.P.P.) founded at the national level by Acharya J.B. Kripalani.
When the general elections to the Madras Legislature were held in 1951, the K.M.P.P. forged an alliance with the Communists. The Communist-K.M.P.P. alliance inflicted crushing defeat on the Congress in Malabar. Out of the thirty seats earmarked for Malabar in the Madras Legislature, the Congress could win only four. The United Front of the Communists and the K.M.P.P. emerged as the dominant group from Malabar in the Madras Legislative Assembly. The Kerala State came into being on November 1, 1956 during the period of Presidents' Rule with P.S. Rao as the first Governor.
In March 1957 the first general elections were held to the Kerala Legislative Assembly. By this time the K.M.P.P. and the Socialist Party had merged to form the Praja Socialist Party (P.S.P.) the new party entered into an electoral alliance with the Kerala State Muslim League. The Congress and the Communist Party fought the election of 1957 independently. In this election the Communist Party of India secured 60 seats, the Congress 43, the Praja Socialist Party 9 and Independents including Muslim Leagues 14.
The communists having emerged as the largest party in the new legislature and secured the majority with the backing of some Independents who had won the election with their support, a Communist Government with E.M.S. Namboothiripad as Chief Minister was formed on 5th April, 1957.
The Muslim League
Any survey of the political history of Malabar would be incomplete without a reference to the role of the Muslim League. The thirties which saw the rise of Communist radicalism also saw the rise of Muslim communalism was a force in Malabar politics. The initiative in building up the Muslim League came from the Muslim leaders of North Malabar.
Though the All India Muslim League had been founded in Dhaka as early as 1906, it came to have its branches in some parts of Malabar even in 1917, it did not have an organisation worth the name in this District till the mid-thirties. It was with the election to the Central Legislative Assembly from the South Canara Constituency in 1934 that the Muslim League made its debut on the political arena of Malabar. In this election, Haji Abdul Sattar Sait, the Muslim League nominee, defeated the veteran Congress leader, Muhammad Abdur Rahiman, by a clear majority. The former polled 1,960 votes against 1,638 votes polled by his Congress opponent.
The entry of Abdul Sattar Sait into the Central Assembly led to close contacts between the central leadership of the All India Muslim League and leaders of the Muslim Community in Malabar. The All India Muslim League availed of this opportunity to start organisational activities in such centres as Tellicherry, Cannanore and Calicut with Abdur Sattar Sait as its leader and it soon established itself as an important political force in Malabar. Abdur Rahiman Ali Raja of Cannanore (1881-1946) was elected in 1937 as the first President of the Malabar Muslim League.
Among the other prominent leaders of the Malabar Muslim League were K.M. Seethi Sahib and B. Pokker Sahib, two prominent lawyers of Tellicherry. The League vehemently countered the Muslim-mass contact programme launched by the Congress during this period at the instance of Jawaharlal Nehru. In the general elections held to the Madras Legislature early in 1937, the Muslim League put up its own candidates from the Muslim constituencies in Malabar. Maulana Shaukat Ali toured Malabar exhorting the Muslim voters to vote for the League candidates, but it was Muhammad Abdur Rahiman, the Congress candidate, who won from the Muslim Constituency of Malappuram.
Congress and Linguistic States
It has been mentioned earlier that the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee which came into existence in 1921 on linguistic basis included the whole of the Malabar District and the States of Travancore and Cochin. This was taken to mean that the Congress had committed itself to the idea of linguistic states in a free India. The first All Kerala Provincial Conference under the auspices of the Congress met at Ottappalam in 1921.
It was for the first time that representatives from Malabar, Travancore and Cochin attended a conference of such political significance and size. It helped to create a sense of Kerala identity in the minds of the people. In 1927 the Indian National Congress expressed the view that the time was appropriate for the linguistic re-organisation of provinces in India. The question was examined by the Nehru Committee set up in 1928 by the All parties Conference to draft a model constitution for free India.
The committee expressed itself in favour of linguistic states on the ground that such states would promote the cultural well being of the people, ensure greater educational advancement and enable the people to participate actively in public activities. Between 1928 and 1947 the Congress officially endorsed the idea of linguistic states on quite a few occasions. The Election manifesto issued by the Congress in 1945 assured the people that the states of India would be recognized on linguistic basis, as far as possible, in case the party was voted to power.
Demand for 'Aikya Keralam'
The demand for a separate state for the Malayalam speaking people gathered strength since the twenties. Such conferences as the States People's and the All-Kerala Kudiyan Conferences held at Ernakulam in 1928 and the Political Conferences held at Ernakulam in 1928 and Political Conferences held at Payyannur (1928), Badagara (1931) and Calicut (1935) passed resolutions emphasizing the need for the formation of a separate Province of Kerala in the new constitutional set-up.
The Political Conference held under the auspices of the Travancore district Congress Committee at Trivandrum in 1938 with Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramiah in the Chair passed a resolution favouring a Sub-Federation comprising of Malabar, Travancore and Cochin. It was, however, only in the logic of things that such a united Kerala State could not have been formed so long as British rule lasted in India and the native States of Travancore and Cochin continued to be under princely rule.
During the period after the Second World War (1939-1945) when negotiations for the transfer of power were in progress, the question of formation of linguistic states again assumed importance. The ruler of Cochin extended full support to the proposal. In a message sent to the Cochin Legislative Council on July 29, 1945 the Maharaja of Cochin stressed the need for the formation of a united state of Kerala and expressed his readiness to merge Cochin in such a state in the general interests of the people.
The Cochin state Praja Mandal which was formed in 1941 had also been endorsing the demand for a separate Kerala State at its successive annual sessions. Only the Government of Travncore's reaction was lukewarm to the proposal. Cultural organizations like 'Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishad' however, welcomed the idea of Malayalam speaking State with great enthusiasm. The Kerala Provincial Congress committee took the lead in this matter and set up a Sub-Committee in 1946 to carry on the movement for Aikya Kerala with the utmost vigour. A meeting of the Sub-committee was held at Cheruthuruthi late in 1946 under the Chairmanship of K.P. Kesava Menon, with leading figures from all parts of Kerala, including Mahakavi Vallathol, participating in it.
It was in pursuance of the decision taken at this meeting that the famous Aikya Conference was held at Trichur in April 1947 under the Chairmanship of K. Kelappan. Hundreds of delegates from all parts of Kerala representing various cultural organizations and political parties were present at the meeting. In fact, the Conference was more representative than any other of its kind held till then. Sree Kerala Varma reigning Maharaja of Cochin, participated in the conference and declared his support to the establishment of a united Kerala State comprising of the three administrative units of Malabar, Travancore and Cochin.
The conference passed a resolution, moved by the Veteran congress leader, E. Moidu Maulavi, demanding the early formation of Aikya Kerala. It also elected an Aikya Kerala Council of hundred members to take appropriate steps for the achievement of the goal. In 1948 yet another representative convention was held at Alwaye under the auspices of the Aikya Kerala Council. Delegates from Malabar, Travncore and Cochin attended the convention and appointed a more compact Action Committee of 15 members with K. Kelappan as President and K.A. Damodara Menon as Secretary in suppression of the earlier Aikya Kerala Council of 100 members.
In a memorandum submitted before the Dhar Commission set up by the President of the Indian Constituent Assembly to consider the question of reorganization of states in India, the Aikya Kerala council demanded the formation of new Kerala State comprising of Malabar, Travancore, Cochin, Coorg, Nilgiris, Guddalore, South Canara, Mahe and Lakshadeep. It may be noted here that the Travancore Government under Pattom Thanu Pillai did not co-operate with the work of the Dhar Commission.
The Indian National Congress at its Jaipur Session (1948) set up a high level committee consisting of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramiah to consider the Dhar Commission's recommendations. In its report (J.V.P. Report) the Committee counseled the utmost caution in proceeding with the proposal for the linguistic reorganization of states. At the same time, it also made clear that the formation of the linguistic states of Kerala and Karnataka would have to wait till a final solution was found for the Indian States problem.
