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K.R. Gouri: Timeline of a woman of many firsts

With her demise, the curtains have come down on a chapter in Kerala politics

Gouri-amma-Manorama K.R. Gouri Amma | Manorama

K.R. Gouri Amma, one of the stalwarts of Kerala politics, passed away on Tuesday. The firebrand leader has many firsts to her credit—from being the first woman lawyer from the Ezhava community in the state to being the sole woman in Kerala’s first cabinet. She was the last surviving member of the first EMS Namboodiripad cabinet of 1957.

A rebel all her life, Gouri Amma leaves behind an unmatched legacy of grit, both in politics and personal life.

A look at her political trajectory:

1.     Under the influence of her elder brother and trade union leader Sukumaran, she entered politics at a time when women hardly found themselves in politics. She joined the Communist party in 1946, and was an integral part of trade union movements. Two years later, she contested her first elections from Cherthala. Though she lost the election, she had cemented her name in the hearts of many and her popularity was soaring among the public in Cherthala. Gouri Amma had often recalled that she was reluctant to take the electoral plunge.  When comrade P. Krishna Pillai asked her to file nominations from Cherthala, she burst out crying. She did not want to end her budding career as an advocate. She did not want to disappoint her father who dreamed of her becoming an advocate and a judge, Onmanorama stated in a report.

2.     She won the next election to the Thiru-Kochi assembly in 1952. She won in 1954 as well. When Kerala went to its first poll after the formation of the state, Gouri Amma was a definite choice for the Communist Party.

3.     Post the election win, she joined Kerala’s first cabinet as Revenue Minister, hence becoming the state’s first woman minister in 1957. Gouri Amma presented the revolutionary Land Reforms Bill in 1957, which drastically transformed land ownership rights in the state. 

4.     When the historic Communist Party split in 1964, the firebrand leader stood with the CPI(M), while her husband and veteran leader T.V. Thomas supported the CPI. This added to marital strains, and Gouri Amma and Thomas – both ministers in the 1967 EMS cabinet-  chose to stay in separate official residences.  Thomas passed away in 1977 after a fight with cancer.

5.     In 1987, the CPI (M) had campaigned the assembly polls by projecting Gouri Amma as the party’s chief minister candidate. The Assembly elections were fought with the slogan ‘Keralanaattil K.R. Gouri Amma bharikkum’ (KR Gouri Amma will rule Kerala). However, after the party's election victory, she was not considered for the post of CM. With E.K. Nayanar becoming the then chief minister, this went down in history a dark chapter in her political career. In a way, it also points at how Kerala missed its first woman chief minister. However, the party pacified her and she was inducted into the cabinet as minister of industries and social welfare.

6.     The rift between Gouri Amma and the CPI(M) grew, and in 1994, she was expelled for ‘anti-party activities’.  She then floated her own political outfit named Janathipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS) based in Alappuzha. JSS later became a constituent of Congress-led UDF. In 2001, she served as agriculture minister in the Congress government led by A.K. Antony.

7.     In 2016, she severed relations with the UDF due to the poor performance of her party in the assembly elections. Later, she joined hands with the LDF.

8.     In February this year, she stepped down as the General Secretary of the JSS.

With her demise, the curtains have come down on a chapter in Kerala politics.

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