N. C. Sekhar alias Narayanan Pillai Sekhar Chandrasekharan Pillai (2 July 1904 - 3 December 1986) was a freedom fighter, political leader, Rajya Sabha member and writer. He was a member of the first Communist group in Kerala. Sekhar was one of the four founding leaders of the
Communist Party of India in Kerala who participated in the formation of the
Communist League
The Communist League (German: ''Bund der Kommunisten)'' was an international political party established on 1 June 1847 in London, England. The organisation was formed through the merger of the League of the Just, headed by Karl Schapper, and th ...
in Thiruvananthapuram in 1931.
He joined the national movement during his education. Gandhiji's ideals were very appealing. Participated in the 1930
Civil disobedience movement
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...
and was imprisoned. While in jail, he met Bhagat Singh's colleagues. Sekhar began to think seriously about new avenues for freedom. When 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 th ...
was formed in 1934,
P. Krishna Pillai
P. Krishna Pillai (19 August 1906 at Vaikom, Kottayam – 19 August 1948 at Muhamma, Alleppey) was a communist revolutionary from Kerala, India. He was one of the founding leaders of the Communist Party of India in Kerala, and a poet.
E ...
contacted Shekhar and entrusted him with the task of building the Kozhikode trade unions.
When the agitation for responsible governance took place in Travancore, Sekhar came to Travancore from Kozhikode and participated in it. In 1949 he had to go into hiding. Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1954.
When the party split, he sided with the
CPI (M)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the n ...
. He was expelled from the party in 1967. Although he worked with the
Naxalite movement, he soon withdrew and returned to the CPI (M).
He died on December 3, 1986.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekhar
1904 births
1986 deaths
Indian independence activists
Rajya Sabha members from Kerala
Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala