Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan (1 October 1904 – 22 March 1977), popularly known as A. K. Gopalan or AKG, was an Indian communist politician. He was one of 16

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

members elected to the first

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

in 1952. Later he became one of the founding members of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

Early life and education

Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan Nambiar was born on 1 October 1904 in Peralasseri,

Kannur District Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

of Northern

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

and educated in Tellichery. He was educated at Basel Evangelical Mission Parsi High School, Thalassery and at Government Brennen College, Thalassery. By the time he became a teacher, India's independence movement was becoming energised by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. Gopalan took part in the

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Allied forces. Leaders particip ...

which prompted a marked change in his outlook, transforming him into a dedicated full-time social and political worker. He was also involved in Malabar revolution. During this time, he removed the suffix to his name (Nambiar) that suggested caste status.

Indian National Congress

In 1927 he joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and began playing an active role in the Khadi Movement and the upliftment of Harijans. He was arrested for participating in the salt

satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

in 1930.

Kandoth assault

While in prison he got acquainted with communism and became a member of the

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of ...

and later the

when it finally took shape in Kerala in 1939. He led the hunger march from Malabar region to

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in 1936 and the Malabar Jatha in support of the movement for responsible government in

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

. The strongest caste system was in the North

. The lower caste people were not allowed to walk on a public road in Payyannur. At this time A.K. Gopalan and the Keralites led the procession through the public road in front of the Kandoth Thiyya caste

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

(Palliyara) near Payyanur,

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

. The lower castes were not allowed by the then Thiyyar chiefs to walk on a public road in Kandoth temple. "This is a time when Harijans are being denied the freedom to travel on public roads." The reason was that the nearby temple would be defiled. To promote the Guruvayoor Satyagraha. The group consisting of Kelappan and Gopalan marched along this route with the Harijans. As the procession approached the road, a crowd of about 200 people, including young men and women, A.K. Gopalan, Keraliyan and the Harijans were very badly beaten up by the Thiyya leaders. Gopal and others were later admitted to the hospital. The attack lasted for half an hour. This was the first crackdown on Gopalan's political career. Women came carrying heavy wooden sticks and beat them. All the people present in Ghosha were beaten by these chiefs. But A.K.G Standing where Gopalan and Keralian were, he faced the barrage. Others fled. A.K.G told the accompanying women to run to safety. The attack lasted for half an hour. The "Kandoth short stick" was infamous in the press of the day. Many people were injured. A.K. Gopalan and Keralian fell unconscious. They were taken by car to the hospital, where they lay unconscious for several hours. Even the Keralite's death statement was taken. Took home in the morning This attack K. This was Gopalan's first physical attack in his political career. But the " Kandoth assault" was an event that found a prominent place in news coverage.

Further arrest

The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939 prompted an upsurge in activism against British domination, and Gopalan was again arrested. But in 1942 he escaped from prison and remained at large till the end of the war in 1945. He was arrested again shortly after the end of the war and was still behind bars when India became independent on 15 August 1947. He was released a few weeks later. Thereafter he was a member of

for 5 consecutive terms till his death on 22 March 1977 and became one of the leaders of opposition parties in the parliament of India. During the

Sino-Indian war The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

in 1962, AKG along with other Indian communists like E.M.S. took an impartial view and requested both nations to discuss and settle the matter peacefully. The official leadership of the party at that time denounced this and supported the India Government. Many leaders of the left group were arrested with the support of the leadership of the party. When the party leadership blocked the publication of an article written by then General Secretary EMS condemning government for attacking the left leaders in the party using the cover of the war, he himself quit the post and supported the left group. AKG was part of the left group and faced disciplinary action by the party leadership dominated by the right. During this time a newspaper published a letter allegedly written by rightist leaders S.A Dange to the British during the freedom struggle. In this letter he promised to keep away from the freedom struggle if granted bail. This was used by the left group to beat the right. When the demand of the left to set up a party-level inquiry about the alleged letter of S.A Dange was rejected in the National Council of CPI, the left group walked away and formed a new Party. AKG joined the new break away faction, which later came to be known as

. He also wrote extensively. His autobiography ''Ente Jeevitha Kadha'' has been translated into many languages. His other works include ''For Land'', ''Around the World'', ''Work in Parliament'', and ''Collected Speeches'', all in Malayalam.

A. K. Gopalan v. State of Madras

In 1950, A. K. Gopalan was served with a detention order under ''Preventive Detention Act 1950.'' He appealed to

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

under Article 32 of

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

claiming his fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and to travel freely in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

have been violated. The six-judge bench of

with a majority of four upheld his detention. But the bench struck down Section 14 of this act, which provided that the grounds for detention should not be given to detenus.

Political career

Marriage

AKG was earlier married and later left his wife. Later AKG was married to Susheela Gopalan, who was a prominent Marxist and trade union activist, from the Cheerappanchira family. His daughter, Laila, is married to P. Karunakaran, a former Member of Parliament for the Kasargod constituency.

Indian Coffee House

AKG played an important role in the formation of Indian Coffee House, a

worker cooperative A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and Workers' self-management, self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a Company, firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one ...

initiative by organising the thrown out employees of Coffee Houses of Coffee Board to establish ICHs in late 1950s. Akgopalan

In popular culture

Shaji N. Karun, a prominent film director of

, made a biopic on AKG titled ''AKG – Athijeevanathinte Kanalvazhikal''. The film used a part-documentary, part-fiction format. It was released in theatres across Kerala in August 2008. Baiju played Gopalan in the 2014 feature film '' Vasanthathinte Kanal Vazhikalil''.

Autobiography – My Life Story

His autobiography is Ente Jeevitha Katha (written in Malayalam)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalan, A. K. 1904 births 1977 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala Indian atheists Indian communists Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Lok Sabha members from Kerala Malayali politicians Politicians from Kannur Trade unionists from Kerala Prisoners and detainees of British India