The Council of Ministers (1957–59) of Legislative Assembly, Kerala state (better known as E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry - first term) was the first Council of Ministers, the executive wing of state government, in the Indian state 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 ...
. The ministry was led (Chief Minister) by
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 ...
leader
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as E.M.S. Namboodiripad or simply by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of ...
from 5 April 1957 to 31 July 1959 and had eleven ministries.
One of the first democratically elected
Communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
governments in the world after San Marino (1942-1947), Namboodiripad and his cabinet are known for their introduction of the
Land Reform Ordinance and the
Education Bill. The government was dismissed in 1959 by the Central Government, which invoked the controversial
Article 356 of the
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 ...
, following what later became known as
The Liberation Struggle.
The State 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 ...
was formed on 1 November 1956 as per the
States Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and union territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines.
Although additional changes to India's state boundaries ...
of 1956. The erstwhile
Travancore-Cochin and the
Malabar district
Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...
of
Madras state
Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...
were reorganized to form the state of Kerala. After the first ever elections to the
Kerala Legislative Assembly
The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 30 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 ...
in 1957, the
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 ...
emerged as the single largest party.
E M S Namboodiripad formed the first elected government with the support of 5 independent legislators. The government was not able to complete its full 5 years term. Government was dismissed by the President of India by the use of
Article 356 of Indian constitution following the '
Liberation Struggle
Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...
' (Vimochana Samaram in Malayalam).
The
Kerala Council of Ministers
Kerala Council of Ministers, are elected legislative members, who are appointed as ministers by the Governor of Kerala, Kerala State Governor to form the executive branch of the Government of Kerala. They hold various portfolios as decided by t ...
, during Namboodiripad's term as
Chief Minister of Kerala
The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. '' De facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites th ...
, consisted of:
6
References
* http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/Ministers%20Book%20Final.pdf
{{Keralite ministries
Namboodiripad
Communist Party of India state ministries
1957 establishments in Kerala
1959 disestablishments in India
Cabinets established in 1957
Cabinets disestablished in 1959