Cherian Philip (born 21 November 1954) is an Indian politician and is KPCC political study centre chairman member, KPCC political affairs committee member, and AICC member. He was the Coordinator of Nava Kerala Action Plan, which is an initiative of the

Pinarayi Vijayan Pinarayi Vijayan (; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian politician who has served as the List of chief ministers of Kerala, Chief Minister of Kerala since 25 May 2016. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), politburo ...

-led

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

. He was the Secretary of

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee is the state unit of the Indian National Congress in Kerala. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, s ...

while

A. K. Antony Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian lawyer, attorney and statesman who served as the Minister of Defence of India from 2006 to 2014, making him the longest serving Defence Minister in India. He previously served as ...

was in presidency. He was a prominent youth and student leader of 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 ...

in seventies and eighties. A political historian of

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

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 ...

, he has authored several books. He worked as a consultant for

Kairali TV Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment free-to-air television channel owned by PTC Network via holding company G-Next Media Pvt Ltd . It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. Hist ...

and People TV (now Kairali News). He was the Chairman of

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) is a Public sector undertakings in Kerala, public sector undertaking that conducts and regulates the tourism activities in the Indian state of Kerala. The KTDC is headquartered at Thiruvananthapur ...

(KTDC) and founder president of ''Kerala Deshiya Vedhi'' - a social organisation. He returned to Congress(I) on 28 October 2021.

Early life

Cherian Philip was born in

Aratupuzha Arattupuzha is a village near kayamkulam of Karthikappally Taluk in Alappuzha district in Kerala, India. Arattupuzha is the south-west part of Alappuzha district, Kerala, India. It is close to the Arabian Sea and was affected by the tsunami c ...

Chengannur Chengannur () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south east of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about ...

, as the elder son of K. C. Philip, Kadavana sub family of Pakalomattom Ayrookuzhiyil, a prominent

Saint Thomas Christian The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala ( Malabar region) ...

family of

. He studied at

St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram St Joseph's Higher Secondary School (informally St Joseph's or SJHSS) is a government aided boys school in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, which was established in 1857. Notable alumni * Madhu (actor), film actor * Sathyan (actor) ...

, Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram,

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

and

Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram is an institution for legal education at graduate and post-graduate levels in Kerala, India. Established by the then Maharaja of Travancore in 1875, it is one of the oldest law colleges in India. Affili ...

Political career

Cherian Philip entered politics through

Kerala Students Union The Kerala Students Union (abbreviated KSU) is the largest students organization in Kerala, India. It functions as the student wing of the INC. Organisation have strong ideology of Indian National Congress party. KSU was founded in 1957 at A ...

(KSU) in 1967 as school unit President while

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy (31 October 1942 – 18 July 2023) was an Indian lawyer and statesman who served as the 10th chief minister of Kerala, serving from 2004 to 2006 and 2011 to 2016. He served also as the Leader of the Opposition, leader of the opp ...

was its president. He was elected as the Secretary of the

Kerala University University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithira ...

Union and Senate Member of Kerala University in 1974. He became the General Secretary of KSU in 1975 and its President in 1979–80. From 1980 onwards, he was the Vice President of Kerala Pradesh Youth Congress and from 1982–89, was the General Secretary of Youth Congress. During the period 1984–89, he was the member of Indian Youth Congress National Council. Then became the Secretary of

(KPCC). In 1992, he constituted a new social organization named ''Kerala Desiya Vedhi'' in his Presidency. Until 2001, he was in the

and later quit Congress. He contested against Oommen Chandy. as a protest against power monopoly in the Congress. His demand was not to give tickets to MLA's completed two terms or 10 years. But the Congress leadership denied it. In the

1991 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 1991 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 18 June 1991 to elect members to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Niyamasabha. The incumbent Left Democratic Front (Kerala), LDF government, which was in power from 1987, decided to seek ...

, he contested as Congress candidate but lost to T. K. Ramakrishnan 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 ...

in Kottayam constituency by a mere 2682 votes. In the

2001 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2001 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 10 May 2001 to elect members to the Kerala State Assembly. Polls were held simultaneously in all 140 seats and resulted in a voter turnout of 72.47%. The election saw a change of guard ...

, he contested as an Independent candidate supported by LDF against

at Puthuppally constituency. In the

2006 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2006 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, part of a series of State Assembly elections in India, 2006, state assembly elections in 2006, was held in three phases. The first phase was held on 22 April 2006, when 59 out of the 140 constituenc ...

, he contested against Joseph M. Puthussery in Kallooppara constituency and in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

contested against

K. Muraleedharan Kannoth Muraleedharan (born 14 May 1957) is an Indian National Congress politician. He was the MP from Vatakara, Kerala. He is the son of Congress leader K. Karunakaran. He was elected as an MP from Kozhikode constituency (1989, 1991, 1999) ...

in Vattiyoorkavu constituency. He anchored and produced social critical weekly programme ''Cherian Philip Pratikarikkunnu'' on

for 10 years from 2001–06 and 2011–16 which ran about 500 episodes. He was the Chairman of

(KTDC). International Marina (

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

), Kerala House (

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

), GV Raja Convention Centre (

Kovalam Kovalam is a beach and seaside resort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. Kovalam is located southeast of the city center. The beaches around Kovalam are popular vacation destinations for both domestic and international travelle ...

), Beach Camp (

Bekal Bekal is a small town in the Kasaragod district on the West coast of the state of Kerala, India. Location Bekal is a town located south of Kasaragod town and north of Kanhangad on the State Highway 57. Bekal Fort is the largest fort in ...

), Golden Peak Resorts (

Ponmudi Ponmudi (the Golden Peak) is a hill station in the Peringamala gramapanchayath of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala in India. It is located 22km west of Vithura town, 53 km north-east of Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram City, ...

) and 14 Tamarind Hotel during his tenure. He worked as the consultant for Kairali TV and People TV (now Kairali News). He is the author of seven books: ''Kaal Noottandu'' (Political History of Kerala), ''Swathanthryathinu Shesham'' (Political History of India), ''Vidyabhyasa Viplavam'' (an educational study), ''Azhimathiyude Kara'' (a social criticism), ''Gulfile Keralam'' (a Lifestyle study), ''Nethrunira'' (Life sketches of 200 Kerala politicians), ''Rashtriya Vijnjanam'' (political theory), ''Idanazhikalil'' (Autobiography). Cherian Philip received several awards from the

and social organizations for his books and TV programmes. H was editor of ''Kalashala'' fortnightly official organ of KSU (1974–80). Was the political correspondent of ''Veekshanam'' daily (1976–82). He was the editor of ''Socialist Youth Monthly'', the official organ of Youth Congress from 1980–87 and also the convenor of ''YuvaPratibha'', a cultural organization. He attended World Youth Festivals in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(1984),

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

(1989). He visited more than 30 countries in the world. He returned to Congress(I) on 28 October 2021.

References

External links

Ayrookuzhiyil Kadavana FamilyCherian Philip's blog
*,

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

, 6 April 2001
CHERIAN PHILIP: Affidavits filed by Candidate
* ,

12 January 2003
KTDC.comSite of Kerala Tourism Department, Govt of Kerala, IndiaKTDC properties less affected by the slow down: Cherian Philip , 21 January 2009

.
TV channels call the bluff of Kerala politicians

, 20 February 2010
Ak Antony is my political mentor: Cherian Philip
in.com

, 29 November 2007
Janata Dal demands resignation of Cherian Philip
Asianet, 23 October 2009
KTDC chief calls for probe into purchase of boat

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

, 24 October 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Cherian 1954 births Living people Politicians from Thiruvananthapuram Malayali politicians Pakalomattam family Politicians from Alappuzha district