Varkala Radhakrishnan
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Varkala V. Radhakrishnan (21 August 1927 – 26 April 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the
14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (2 June 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian National ...
. He also served as the speaker of
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 ...
. He represented the Chirayinkil constituency 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 was a member 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 ...
(CPI(M)) political party. He represented the Varkala assembly constituency for five consecutive terms in Niyamasabha.


Personal life

Radhakrishnan was born in Varkala, a town around 40 km from Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala State in India, as the eldest of four sons of Vasudevan and Dakshayani. His maternal grandfather, Manampur Govindan Asan, was a well known Sanskrit Scholar and contemporary of Sri Narayana Guru, the great social reformer who lived in Kerala during the 19th Century. The great Malayalam poet,
Kumaran Asan Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (12 April 1871 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry during the first quarter of the 20th century, ...
was a student of Govindan Asan. Radhakrishnan did his schooling at Varkala. After finishing matriculation, he had to discontinue further studies due to some financial difficulties in his family. He took up teaching to support his family. Afterwards, he completed his undergraduate course at Union Christian College,
Aluva Aluva () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre. Aluva is known for the Aluva Sivarathri festival, Sivarathri festival, which is celebra ...
. Subsequently, he did his graduation in Economics from University College, Trivandrum and majored in Law later on. Radhakrishnan was an alumnus of
Government Law College, Ernakulam The Government Law College, Ernakulam, also known as His Highness the Maharajas Government Law College, Ernakulam is a prestigious institution for undergraduate and post-graduate legal education in Kochi, Kerala, India. Founded in 1875, it is ...
. He was married to Saudamini in 1957, a college lecturer in history at the time who later on became the Professor and Head of the Department of History at the Maharaja's College for Women in Trivandrum. Radhakrishnan and Saudamini had two daughters and one son. Saudamini died in 1994 from complications arising out of cardiac surgery.


Political life

He joined the Communist Movement by becoming a member of 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 ...
during the 1940s. He became the president of the Varkala Panchayat in 1957, when the first democratically elected Communist Government took office in Kerala State. After marriage, Radhakrishnan shifted his political base to Trivandrum from Varkala. He set up a brilliant practice for himself at the Trivandrum Bar in Criminal Law and was one of the most sought after lawyers of the time. He also continued his political activities along with his legal career and contested various elections as a candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with whom he was associated ever since the party was formed in 1964. He contested the State Assembly elections in 1960, 1965, 1970 and 1977 and lost. He also lost the Parliamentary Elections in 1971 from Chirayinkil Constituency in Kerala. During 1967–68, he served as Private Secretary to the then Chief Minister of Kerala, E.M. Sankaran Namboodiripad. Radhakrishnan tasted electoral success in 1980, when he was elected to Kerala State Assembly from Varkala Constituency. He was subsequently re-elected from the same constituency in 1982, 1987 and 1991. During 1987–91, he served as Speaker of the Kerala Assembly. He was known for his impartiality as a Speaker and had on several occasions chided the Government and its ministers in the Assembly during its sessions for their shortcomings in respect of legislative conduct in the Assembly. He was also an expert in constitutional matters and his comments were always sought by the media with regard to interpretation of provisions of Indian Constitution. Radhakrishnan shifted his area of activity to the National Stage when he won the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) from Chirayinkil Constituency in 1998. He was re-elected from the same constituency in 1998 and 2004 as well, thereby serving as an MP for 12 years. During his time as an MP he was very active in parliamentary debates and was involved in various parliamentary standing committees such as Finance, Member's Privileges. He toured the country extensively in pursuance of his parliamentary committee work. He was also a member of Panel of chairmen in the Lok Sabha who are called upon to regulate the proceedings in the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Radhakrishnan did not contest the elections in 2009 to the Lok Sabha, but continued to be actively involved in politics until his death. He was a District Committee Member of the CPI(M) and was also President of All India Lawyers' Union (AILU) and a farmers' organisation affiliated to the party.


Death

Radhakrishnan died on 26 April 2010 aged 82, battling injuries he suffered in a road accident when he was on his regular morning walk four days earlier. He was cremated at his ancestral home at Varkala.


References


External links


Members of Fourteenth Lok Sabha – Parliament of India website

Varkala Radhakrishnan dead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radhakrishnan, Varkala Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala 1927 births 2010 deaths Politicians from Thiruvananthapuram India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 Road incident deaths in India Speakers of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Lok Sabha members from Kerala Kerala MLAs 1980–1982 Kerala MLAs 1982–1987 Kerala MLAs 1987–1991 Kerala MLAs 1991–1996 People from Varkala Accidental deaths in India