K. R. Gouri (14 July 1919 – 11 May 2021), born Kalathilparambil Raman Gouri, commonly known as Gouri Amma, was an Indian politician from

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

in central

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 ...

. She was one of the most prominent leaders of the Left movement in India. Born near

Cherthala Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and acts as a satellite town of Kochi. It is located north of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 20 ...

, K. R. Gouri studied at Maharaja's College 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 ...

. Refusing an offer from the Government of Travancore to be appointed a magistrate, she joined the Communist Party in 1948. She was elected to Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly in 1952 and 1954. She served as the Land Revenue or Social Welfare minister in the

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

( Namboodiripad),

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

( Nayanar) Kerala ministries. As the Revenue Minister in the first Kerala ministry, she famously piloted the Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill. K. R. Gouri was expelled from

Communist Party of India Marxist The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the six national parties of India. ...

in 1994, and subsequently became a minister in the

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 ...

-led Kerala Cabinet from 2001 to 2006.

Early life

Early career

K. R. Gouri was born on 14 July 1919 to K. A. Raman and Parvathi Amma in a wealthy

Ezhava The Ezhavas, () also known as ''Thiyya'' or ''Tiyyar'' () in the Malabar region, and Chovar () in the south, are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the po ...

family 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 ...

. She studied at Maharaja's College, Ernakulam and St. Teresa's College, Ernakulam (Graduation in History). She obtained her law degree (B. L.) from

and enrolled as an advocate at Sherthalai. Gouri was the first woman from the Ezhava community to get a degree in law. She famously refused an offer from C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, the Prime Minister of Travancore, to be appointed a government magistrate. She married her colleague T. V. Thomas in 1957 who at that time had a surviving legally married wife and son. The couple was later estranged.

In Travancore politics

K. R. Gouri started her public life with the Quit India Movement and later joined the agitation for the merger

with the state of India. She joined the Communist Party in 1948 (by this period, she had started working for the Party among coir workers in Alappuzha). She unsuccessfully ran for office from Sherthalai Constituency in the 1948 Travancore elections. Subsequently, she underwent imprisonment and endured severe police torture. She was elected to the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

(she was in prison throughout the election period).

In Kerala politics

In the first Kerala ministry

The state of

was constituted on 1 November 1956 (States Reorganization Act). 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 ...

defeated 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 the first

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 ...

elections and, under

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 ...

, formed the first non-Congress government in independent India. K. R. Gouri, member from Sherthalai, was chosen as the Revenue Minister.

Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill

As the Revenue Minister in the first Kerala ministry, K. R. Gouri piloted the Kerala Agrarian Relations Bill in December, 1957. Two major aims of the legislation introduced were the abolition of tenancy and the security for landless agriculture labourers or the hut dwellers. The bill gave tenants the right to buy their land from the owner at a price set by regulations, placed ceilings on the amount of land a family could own, established procedures for determining a fair rent, made illegal any evictions after the formation of Kerala and set up Land Tribunals in every taluk. The Kerala Assembly passed the bill on 10 June 1959. The President refused to assent the bill and sent it back with recommendations. The new Congress-led alliance government passed the amended bill as Agrarian Relations Act in 1960 (which was declared unconstitutional by the Kerala High Court in 1963).

Split in the Party

In 1964, ideological differences over a split between the Soviets and the Chinese communists and over the response to the 1962 India-China war prompted a large faction of party members to break with the

and form the

. After the split of 1964, K. R. Gouri joined the newly formed

With the Communist Party of India Marxist

In 1967 assembly elections resulted in the formation of the

-led United Front government in Kerala ( Second Namboodiripad ministry). K. R. Gouri, a member from

Aroor Aroor is a fishing village on the northernmost part of the Alappuzha district, within Cherthala, Cherthala taluk of Kerala, India. It lies on either sides of National Highway 66 (India), National Highway 66 and serves as a gateway between Koc ...

, was chosen as Minister for Revenue, Social Welfare and Law. She served from March 1967 to November 1969. From 25 January 1980 till 20 October 1981 K. R. Gouri served as Minister for Agriculture, Social Welfare, Industries, Vigilance and Justice Administration in the first E. K. Nayanar ministry.

1987 assembly elections

The Left Democratic Front projected K. R. Gouri as the Chief Minister designate in the 1987 election assembly campaign. But once the alliance emerged victorious, the party chose veteran leader E. K. Nayanar instead. In the Second E. K. Nayanar ministry (1987–1991), K. R. Gouri served as Minister for Industries and Social Welfare, Vigilance and Administration of Justice.

With the Congress Party

Kerala_Council_of_Ministers_1987_EK_Nayanar

K. R. Gouri was expelled from

in 1994. She founded Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi (the J. S. S.) in 1994, which later became a member of the

-led anti-Marxist alliance United Democratic Front.

Minister in the Congress ministries

K. R. Gouri served as the Minister of Agriculture in the third A. K. Antony ministry (May 2001 – August 2004). She also a served as the Minister of Agriculture, Soil Conservation, Soil Survey, Warehousing Corporation, Dairy Development, Milk Co-operatives, Agricultural University, Animal Husbandry and Coir in the first Chandy ministry (August 2004 – May 2006).

Later years

Gouri published her autobiography titled ''Athmakatha'', which won the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for best Autobiography/Biography in 2011. K. R. Gouri died on 11 May 2021. She was cremated at the Valiya Chudukad in Alappuzha.

Positions held

* Kerala State Secretariat Member,

. * Chairman, Committee on Government Assurances (1960–61) * Chairman, Public Accounts Committee (1986–87) * President, Kerala Karshaka Sangam (1960–84) * President, Kerala Mahila Sangam (from 1967–76) * Secretary, Kerala Mahila Sangam (1976–87)

In popular culture

Films

* '' Lal Salam'' (1990), co-written by Cheriyan Kalpakavadi and directed by

Venu Nagavalli Venu Nagavally (16 April 1949 – 10 September 2010) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director best known for his work in Malayalam film industry. He has directed 12 films. Son of writer, commentator, and broadcaster Nagavally R. S. Kurup ...

. * '' Chief Minister K. R. Gowthami'' (1994), written by Salim Cherthala and directed by Babu Raj (Babu Cherthala)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gouri Amma, K. R. 1919 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala Indian women centenarians Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy politicians Kerala MLAs 1960–1964 Kerala MLAs 1970–1977 Kerala MLAs 1982–1987 Kerala MLAs 1991–1996 Kerala MLAs 1996–2001 Maharaja's College, Ernakulam alumni St. Teresa's College alumni Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni Malayali politicians People from the Kingdom of Cochin Politicians from Alappuzha Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Travancore–Cochin MLAs 1952–1954 Travancore–Cochin MLAs 1954–1956 Women members of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Women members of the Travancore–Cochin Legislative Assembly Women from the Kingdom of Cochin Agriculture ministers of Kerala