Kunnathu Puthiyaveettil Ramapurathu Gopalan (1 June 1906 – 5 August 1997), popularly known as KPR was an Indian politician and a communist leader from

Kalliasseri Kalliasseri is a census town in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Kalliaseri Panchayat comprises two villages: Kalliasseri and Irinave. Demographics As of 2011 Census, Kalliasseri had a population of 31,122, of which males consti ...

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 ...

. Once a member of the

Kerala State 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 ...

, he lost his seat in the general election of 1 February 1960. He was subsequently re-elected. While a member, he led a failed attempt at armed revolt in the

Cannanore Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and 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 hub ...

area. At one point he was sentenced to death by the colonial authorities, before the sentence was commuted by

Charu Chandra Biswas Charu Chandra Biswas CIE (21 April 1888 – 9 December 1960) was an Indian National Congress politician. Life and career Biswas began his career as a lawyer in the Calcutta High Court. The imperial British government appointed him a Companio ...

, at the urging of A. K. Gopalan. Gopalan was one of the founding members of the Communist Party in Kerala in 1940. He, in cooperation with the KPCC, was the main organizer of Morozha protest on 15 September 1940. The protest became violent when police tried to suppress it. One Sub-Inspector and a Constable died in the clash with the mob, mainly constituted of farmers, agricultural labourers, and other trade union workers. The police caught all prominent leaders, including Gopalan and E. Narayanan Nayanar, the elder brother of E. K. Nayanar, former Kerala Chief Minister for 11 years. The court sentenced all of them to imprisonment and later on appeal, Madras High Court sentenced Gopalan to death. He was sent to Bellary Jail. The verdict attracted wide protest across Kerala and India. Kerala observed a day honoring K.P.R. Gopalan and Mathrubhumi, the leading newspaper wrote an editorial demanding that his death sentence be commuted. Gandhiji was also involved and said it is not acceptable. British communist party protested and the case even received the attention of the British Parliament. Due to this mass protest, the British Government finally reduced the punishment from hanging to life imprisonment. Later, he was released when Congress Interim Government took power in Madras state. Eminent Communist leader

P. Krishna Pillai P. Krishna Pillai (19 August 1906 at Vaikom, Kottayam – 19 August 1948 at Muhamma, Alleppey) was a former Indian National Congress leader and communist revolutionary from Kerala, India. He was one of the founding leaders of the Communist ...

wrote an article hailing Gopalan entitled "The Bolshevik Hero of Kerala". Gopalan died of natural causes on 5 August 1997, aged 91. His niece K. P. Sarada was married to E. K. Nayanar.

References

Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala 1997 deaths Malayali politicians Politicians from Kannur district Indian independence activists from Kerala 1906 births Kerala MLAs 1957–1959 Kerala MLAs 1967–1970 {{Kerala-politician-stub