Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, popularly known as E. M. S., was an Indian Communist leader, Socialist-Marxist theorist, revolutionary, author, historian, social commentator and the first Chief Minister of Kerala state. As the first non-Indian National Congress Chief Minister in Republic of India, he became the leader of the first democratically elected Communist government in India.
Background
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad pioneered radical land and educational reforms in Kerala state that are today being duplicated by other states of India. It is largely due to his commitment and guidance that the Communist Party of India (Marxist), of which he was Politburo member and general secretary for 14 years, has become such a domineering political force, playing a vital role in India's new era of coalition politics.
Career
In 1934, he was one of the founder leaders of Congress Socialist Party, a socialist wing within the Indian National Congress and was elected as its All India Joint Secretary from 1934 to 1940. During this period he was also elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly (1939). He was considered to be one of the founders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala, for which he had to go in hiding for some time. During the 1962 Sino-Indian war, he was among those leaders who aired China's view on the border issue. When the CPI split in 1964, EMS stood with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). He served as a member of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the CPI(M), before becoming its General Secretary in 1977, a designation he held until 1992. He was a member of the party Politburo until his death. On 5 April 1957 he was appointed as the first chief minister of Kerala. His government soon introduced the Land Reform Ordinance and Education Bill. His government was dismissed in 1959 by the Central Government, which invoked the controversial Article 356 of the Indian Constitution following what later became known as 'The Liberation Struggle'.
He became the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second time in 1967 as the leader of a seven-party coalition including the Muslim League. EMS was the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 1960 to 1964 and again from 1970 to 1977. He influenced Kerala society by his vision on decentralization of power and resources (People's Plan), and the Kerala Literacy Movement.