Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

(INC). He served as the

Chief Minister of Kerala The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's '' de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minist ...

four times during the late 1970s through the mid 1990s. He is the founder of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which is a political alliance in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

led by INC. K. Karunakaran was close to former prime ministers

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

and

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

.Who was K Karunakaran?
''

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including a ...

''.

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

. Retrieved 23 December 2010 At the helm of his career in the 1980s and 1990s, he enjoyed considerable access, confidence and control at

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

to a point that he had an important role in helping

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian lawyer, statesman and politician who served as the 9th prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He is known for introducing various liberal reforms to Indi ...

become the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

. He played a crucial role in nurturing and strengthening INC into a strong political party in

and enjoyed mass support of not just the party workers but the entire anti-communist solidarity that was active in

. He is also credited with bringing development in multiple sectors in Kerala by spearheading key projects. The Kochi airport, the country’s first international airport in the private sector, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, the rainbow bridge at Kochi marine drive, the Nehru international stadium at Kochi were some of his contributions.

Personal life

Karunakaran was born on 5 July 1918 in Chirakkal near

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

to Thekkedathu Ravunni Marar and Kannoth Kalyani Amma. He had two elder brothers, Kunjirama Marar and Balakrishna Marar; a younger brother, Damodara Marar (Appunni Marar); and a sister, Devaki, who died when Karunakaran was five years old. His father was a record keeper in the erstwhile

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

. During his childhood, Karunakaran was an expert in

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Though he was named Karunakara Marar, he later dropped his caste title, and came to be known just by his name. Karunakaran started his school education by joining

Vadakara Vatakara, also spelled Vadakara (formerly Badagara), , french: Bargaret, is a Municipality in the state of Kerala, India. Vatakara is located between Kannur and Kozhikode. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by M ...

Govt. Lower Primary School in 1923. Later, he studied in Andallur government school and the famous Raja's High School near his home in Chirakkal. After passing matriculation from Raja's High School, he went to

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

and joined Govt. Fine Arts' college, from where he took degrees in painting and mathematics. For treating an eye disorder, he went to his maternal uncle's home in Vellanikkara near Thrissur, along with his elder brother Kunjirama Marar. Later, he married his maternal uncle's daughter Kalyanikkutty Amma in 1954 at Guruvayoor Temple, when he was 36 and Kalyanikkutty Amma was 30. K. Muraleedharan and

Padmaja Venugopal Padmaja Venugopal (born 1961) is an Indian politician from Kerala and daughter of Congress leader K. Karunakaran. She currently serves as one of the general secretaries of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Kerala Pradesh Congress Committe ...

, famous Congress politicians, are their children. On 3 June 1992, during his last stint as Chief Minister, he had met with a near fatal car accident on his way to

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. It was after a prolonged treatment in both India and U.S.A. that he survived. In the next year, Kalyanikkutty Amma died following a heart ailment.

Political life

In 1937, Karunakaran joined the flood relief camps that were conducted by

V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan (1909–2004) was an Indian freedom fighter, Gandhian, journalist, trade unionist and Indian National Congress leader from Thrissur city in Kerala, India. Ezhuthachan was the founder general secretary of the Kochi Rajy ...

C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...

, R.M. Manakkalath and other leaders of Prajamandalam, an early freedom struggle movement in Cochin State. He became a member of the Indian National Congress and began to wear Khadi. He also participated intensively in the trade union activities in the vast Thattil rubber estates where his uncle Raghavan Nair was a 'writer'. During this time, he would spare his artistic skills and labour in helping the workers' union (later INTUC) for their wall writings and campaigns. Gradually, he was picked up by Panampilly Govinda Menon as his most favourite follower. In due course, Karunakaran rose to a level of the senior-most Leader of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). The INTUC later became one of the largest trade unions in India having with over 4 million memberships today. He went on to become the Thrissur District Congress Committee President, after which he was elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly twice before the formation of Kerala State. He contested in the 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections against a strong trade unionist and an ex. congressmen, DR.A R Menon, when no one in the state Congress party came up front to oppose Mr. Menon. When the results came, Karunakaran lost by less than one thousand votes. The VIP pavilion in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kaloor, Kochi is named after him in his honour. In 1977, following The National Emergency (India) when

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

governments lost elections across the nation, Karunakaran led congress to a thumping victory securing 111 in

1977 Kerala Legislative Assembly election Elections were held on 19 March 1977 to elect members to the fifth Niyamasabha. The United Front, led by INC and CPI won plurality of seats and remained in power, with K. Karunakaran as the Chief Minister. History Fourth Kerala Legislative ...

s. However, he had to resign after one month following the controversies that emerged about

Rajan case ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

. But he emerged into center stage as a strong supporter of

after emergency. The political downfall of K. Karunakaran commenced with an accident that happened to him 1992 June. After the accident K. Karunakaran was hospitalized in

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum, is an Institution of National Importance established by an Act of Parliament in 1980. It is under the aegis of Department of Science and Technology, Governm ...

and there was a period of crisis within the finances and administration of the state government following this. This grew into a political crisis when the affairs of state government was managed by a

Kitchen Cabinet Kitchen cabinets are the built-in furniture installed in many kitchens for storage of food, cooking equipment, and often silverware and dishes for table service. Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens are often integrated in ...

of K. Muraleedharan son of K.Karunakaran and K. Padmakumar I.A.S., Chief Secretary and trusted aide of Karunakaran. This situation embroiled a crisis within the state Congress as then Finance Minister and second in command of ruling front,

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy, , (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislati ...

belonging to the pro- Antony faction within the party was not given the charge. By 1993, Karunakaran recovered and became active in the affairs, during this period, the discontent generated earlier was further aggravated by bringing K. M. Mani into the foray when a split occurred in

Kerala Congress Kerala Congress is an Indian political party founded at Kottayam, Kerala in October, 1964, by a block of former Indian National Congress leaders led by K. M. George. The party is primarily active in central Kerala. The establishment of Kerala ...

and

Kerala Congress (Jacob) Kerala Congress (Jacob) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a faction of Kerala Congress founded by the former minister the late T. M. Jacob who has held portfolios like Education, Irrigation, Culture and Civi ...

was formed. During this same period a correctionist(''thiruthalvadi'') group emerged within Karunakaran faction led by G. Karthikeyan,

Ramesh Chennithala Ramesh Chennithala, , (born 25 May 1956), is an Indian politician, and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly. He also served as the state Home Minister in th ...

and M. I. Shanavas against the authoritarian tendency of Karunakaran and proxy rule by his son Muraleedharan. The situation intensified into an inner party revolt when M.A, Kuttappan mooted by state Congress as

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

nominee was denied candidature due to instruction from high command where Karunakaran had considerable influence. The difference of opinion that emerged between

and Karunakaran became public and vociferous with Chandy threatening to resign and giving speeches against Karunakaran. By the fag end of 1994, the ISRO espionage case emerged and the case assumed a political fervor when

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

made remarks against then

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament ...

Raman Srivastava IPS who was close with Karunakaran. Thereafter the dissidence within party grew into a full scale crisis where Antony faction was in verge of withdrawing support to the government and then

G. K. Moopanar Govindaswamy Karuppiah Moopanar (19 August 1931 – 30 August 2001) known as G. K. Moopanar was a Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leader, parliamentarian, and social worker.He was served as Member of the Rajya Sabha , president of Tamil Nadu Con ...

arrived on behalf of

and insisted Karunakaran to resign. At that time, Karunakaran was all for shielding

Nambi Narayanan S. Nambi Narayanan (born 12 December 1941) is an Indian aerospace scientist who worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and contributed significantly to the Indian space program by developing the Vikas rocket engine. He led ...

and argued that no action should be taken against a top scientist without a detailed probe. Later ISRO case was proved baseless however after stepping down from the Chief ministership of Kerala in 1995, Karunakaran could never rise up to higher ranks in successive governments or within the party ever.Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) founded at a meeting in Thrissur by the Karunakuran faction of the Indian National Congress on 1 May 2005. Initially it was called National Congress (Indira), but the name was changed DIC(K) for registration purposes in August of the same year.He rejoined on Congress in 11 December 2007.

Death

Karunakaran died on 23 December 2010, aged 92, at Ananthapuri Hospital in

. He had had respiratory problems, fever and other age related diseases and had been hospitalized since 21 October 2010. His condition worsened following a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

and died following a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

, as declared by doctors at 5:30 PM. It was coincidental that his death and Narasimha Rao's death was on same date, Rao had died six years earlier in 2004. Karunakaran had played key role in backing the Rao Government and later Rao had dismissed Karunakaran from the chair of Chief Minister of Kerala. His funeral was attended by the then prime minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

and the AICC chief

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (''née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independen ...

. He was cremated with full state honors at his residence in

Punkunnam Punkunnam is a commercial and residential area in Thrissur city of Kerala in India. It is 2 km away from the Swaraj Round. Punkunnam is home to the renowned Punkunnam Siva Temple. The Sitaram Textiles is situated here. It was established i ...

Biographies

The first biography on him titled ''K.Karunakaran'' was written by

Vrindavanam Venugopalan Vrindavanam Venugopalan (24 October 1935 – 25 December 2009) was an Indian journalist, educationist and writer who wrote in both Malayalam and English. Venugopalan was the editor of ''Viswakeralam Daily'', and an acclaimed biographer. He ...

. Published by Islamiya Books,

Aluva Aluva (; also known by its former name Alwaye) is a town in the Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. It is a part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is situated around from the city center on the banks of Periyar River. A major transpor ...

in 1992.

Controversies

K. Karunakaran was the home minister of Kerala during the emergency period and decimated the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in Kerala. After the Emergency, the

rocked Kerala politics and Karunakaran was forced to step down as the case attracted national attention. A

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...

petition was filed by T.V. Eachara Warrier asking the state machinery to produce his son Rajan (a student of Regional Engineering College, Calicut), who actively participated in protests against the emergency declared by the Indira government) in court. Rajan was allegedly killed by the police at Kakkayam police torture camp and the body disposed of. The legal battle led by Rajan's father became one of the most remembered human rights fights in the state and diminished Karunakaran's popularity. Karunakaran was an accused in the Palmolein Oil Import Scam, which was pending before the Supreme Court at the time of his death.. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) who finally investigated the case mentioned in 2013 that no case can be made against the officials and that there was no loss to the State Government. The case was finally withdrawn. He was forced to resign due to the allegations about involvement of a senior

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service ( ...

officer under him named Raman Srivastava in ISRO Espionage Scandal.

References

The Hindu on Karunakaran

facebook page of Karunakaran
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