K. Karunakaran, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Kerala (1977; 1981–1987; 1991–1995), died from a stroke he was , 92

Kannoth Karunakaran was a senior politician from Kerala, India belonging to Congress party died from a stroke he was , 92. He was a former Chief Minister of Kerala, Home minister of Government of Kerala, and Minister for Industries of Government of India. He was one of the most influential persons in Kerala politics for several decades and was affectionately called "Leader" by Congress activists. He was often criticized for apparent nepotism.^[1]

( July 5, 1918 - December 23, 2010)

Early life

Karunakaran was born on 5 July 1918 at Chirackkal in Kannur District to Shri.Thekkedathu Ramunni Marar and Smt. Kannoth Kalyani Amma with birth star “Karthika". His father Ramunni Marar was a 'sirastadar', a government job under the then British Malabar state government. He had two elder brothers (Kunjiraman Marar and Balakrishnan Marar) and a younger brother (Damodaran Marar aka Appunni Marar). Their only sister Devaki died when she was merely 5 years old.
As a young boy, Karunakaran was passionate about swimming, football and volleyball. He also demonstrated ample interest in painting. During his early years, while being admitted to the lower primary school, he insisted not to add the caste name 'Marar' to his official name at the school unlike the normal practice of those days. He started his school education in Vadakara LP School and continued through Andalloor and then Chirakkal Raja's School till eighth standard. Later, he had to undergo prolonged treatment due to an eye-related disorder, and was thus relocated (with his elder brother Kunjirama Marar) to the home of his uncle Puthenveettil Raghavan Nair at Vellanikkara, a village, ten kilometer away from Thrissur. The two brothers would later actively participate in the prevailing Indian freedom movement since an early age. The stay at Thrissur would transform their life altogether and engulf them into the politics and trade union activism that was brewing up in the region.
After continuing the school at Sarkar High School, Thrissur (presently Govt. Model Boys High School, Thrissur), Karunakaran wanted to pursue his career in drawing and painting. He joined the Maharaja's Technical Institute (MTI), Thrissur for a Diploma in Design and Drawing. Although he earned the Diploma with a Gold Medal, except for a short stint at a Fine Arts Institute in Thrissur he did not take up painting as a profession and instead turned his attention completely towards the political issues. However, as an artist, he recalls in his biography, his paintings were appreciated well and many of them would fetch a price as good as Rs.500 per piece.
In 1937, Karunakaran joined the flood relief camps that were conducted by V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, C. Achyutha Menon, R.M. Manakkalath and other leaders of Prajamandalam, an early freedom struggle movement in Cochin State. He became a member of the Indian National Congress and began to wear Khadi. He also participated intensively in the trade union activities in the vast Thattil rubber estates where his uncle Raghavan Nair was a 'writer'. During this time, he would spare his artistic skills and labour in helping the workers' union (later INTUC) for their wall writings and campaigns. Gradually, he was picked up by Panampilly Govinda Menon as his most favourite follower. In due course, Karunakaran rose to a level of the senior-most Leader of the Indian National Trade Union Congress(INTUC). The INTUC later became one of the largest trade unions in India having with over 4 million memberships today.

Karunakaran is the founder of United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1970. He evinced utmost care in ensuring cordiality, unity and understanding among the constituent parties, and he commanded absolute control and due respect from them.
His closeness to the Nehru family begins from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and culminated and pinnacled during the tenure of Smt. Indira Gandhi and Shri. Rajiv Gandhi. Karunakaran played the role of King Maker in finding out a successor to Rajiv Gandhi. Being the senior mostensuing elections of 1977.
Karunakaran has been the Chief Minister of Kerala four times. He took charge as Chief Minister for the first time on 25-3-1977. However he tendered his resignation on 25-4-1977, immediately following certain references by the Kerala High Court in what came to be known as Rajan case.
He took charge as Chief Minister again on December 28, 1981. However, this ministry did not last long. He resigned on 17 March 1982, following the withdrawal of support by a member of the Kerala Congress (M). Midterm elections to the 7th Kerala Legislative Assembly was held on May 19, 1982. The Ministry with Shri. K.Karunakaran as Chief Minister assumed office on 24 May 1982 and continued till 1987. On June 24, 1991, Shri.K.Karunakaran took charge again as Chief Minister of Kerala for the fourth term, and resigned on March 16, 1995, making way for A.K.Antony to take up the Chief Ministership.
After A. K. Antony was elected as Kerala chief minister in 2001, Karunakaran was on the warpath with the Government led by his own party and the party high command. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to regain supremacy in the Kerala wing of the Indian National Congress, the dissidents led by him landed up in the bad books of the Congress high command. With the sharp increase in factional meetings held all over Kerala, mostly led by his son K. Muraleedharan, Indian National Congress suspended Muraleedharan from the party.
As a veteran parliamentarian, whose career stretches over five decades, Karunakaran has been elected three times to Rajya Sabha and to Lok Sabha twice. He was a member of Rajya Sabha during 1995-97, 1997–98 and 2004-2005. He has been elected to Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram in 1998 and from Mukundapuram constituency in 1999. Karunakaran served as the Minister for Industries in the Union Cabinet for one year in 1995.
With Muraleedharan being pushed to the verge of political orphanage, Karunakaran left his party and formed a new political outfit with him as the President. Thus, on 1 May 2005, Karunakaran formed a new party in Kerala National Congress (Indira). Later, the new party was renamed to Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran). Later, Karunakaran merged his party with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), despite opposition from many senior leaders like T. M. Jacob who has since left the party. K Karunakaran and his daughter Padmaja returned to their parent party (Indian National Congress) following a spilt . However his son Muraleedharan dissociated himself from his father and continued in NCP.A great Leader who gave a helping hand to the Minorities and supported them.

Death

Karunakaran died on 23 December 2010 at Ananthapuri Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He was suffering from respiratory problems, fever and other age related diseases. His condition worsened following a stroke and the death occurred when he had a cardiac arrest. His death was confirmed by doctors at 5:30 PM. It was coincidental that his death and Narasimha Rao's death was on same date. Karunakaran had played key role in backing the Rao Government and later Rao had dismissed Karunakaran from the chair of Chief Minister of Kerala^[2][3]. His funeral was attended by the prime minister Manmohan Singh and the AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.

Controversies

K. Karunakaran was the home minister of Kerala during the emergency period. After the Emergency, the Rajan case rocked Kerala politics like no other issue before and Karunakaran was forced to step down as the case attracted national attention. It was a habeas corpus petition filed by T.V. Eachara Warrier seeking the state machinery produce his son Rajan (a student of Regional Engineering College ,Calicut who actively participated in protests against the emergency declared by the Indira government), in court. Rajan was allegedly killed by the police at Kakkayam police torture camp and the body disposed off Mad. The legal battle lead by Rajan's father became one of the most remembered human rights fight in the state^[4] and the legal struggle by his father T V Eachara Warrier had diminished the popularity of Karunakaran.The book Memories of a father is a lamentation of a father over his son's brutal death. He was an accused in the palmolein corruption case, which was pending before the supreme court at the time of his death.
Karunakaran will be remembered for his strong stand against Naxalism in Kerala and for completely removing its roots from the society.

Biographies

1. The first Biography on him titled 'K.Karunakaran' was written by Vrindavanam Venugopalan. Published by Islamiya Books, Aluva in 1992

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