Veteran politician K.R. Gouri, one of the founding members of the Communist movement in Kerala, passed away on Tuesday. She was 102. The former minister was admitted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on April 22 after she developed fever and breathlessness. She was tested negative for COVID-19.
K.R. Gouri had recently stepped down from the state general secretary post of the Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS). Gouri held the post since the formation of the party in 1994. The party was formed after Gouri was expelled from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1994. Now, it is afliated with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala led by the CPM. She is the widow of Communist leader T.V. Thomas. She was the last surviving member of EMS Namboodiripad ministry in 1957.
K.R. Gouri had recently stepped down from the state general secretary post of the Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi (JSS). Gouri held the post since the formation of the party in 1994. The party was formed after Gouri was expelled from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1994. Now, it is afliated with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala led by the CPM. She is the widow of Communist leader T V Thomas. She was the last surviving member of EMS Namboodiripad ministry in 1957.
Gouri leaves behind an illustrious century. Her life was revolutionary in more ways than one. Gouri, known as Gouriamma, was born in Pattanakad village, now part of Alappuzha district, to K. Ayyappan Raman and Parvathy Amma on July 14, 1919. She went to Thuravoor and Cherthala for her schooling and completed her intermediate course from Maharaja's College in Ernakulam. She received a bachelor's degree from St Teresa's College, Ernakulam. Later she joined the Thiruvananthapuram Law College. She was the first woman from the Ezhava community to hold a degree in Law and the rst woman lawyer from the community when she started practice at Cherthala.
