P. Krishna Pillai
Encyclopedia
P. Krishna Pillai (b. 1906 at Vaikom
, Kottayam
; d. at Muhamma
, Alleppey
, 19 August 1948) was a Communist revolutionary from Kerala
, India, Kerala's First Communist, Founder of the Communist movement in Kerala, and poet.
P. Krishna Pillai was born in a lower middle class family of Vaikom
as the son of Narayanan Nair and Parvathiamma. He lost both his parents at an early age and had to drop out of school at the fifth grade. Leaving his home in 1920, he travelled extensively in the north of the Indian subcontinent.
When he returned home two years later, he found Kerala seething with social unrest. Subsequently, he took part in a number of popular movements. He was an active volunteer of Vaikom Satyagraha
(1924) and Salt Satyagraha
march from Kozhikode
to Payyanur
(1930). In 1931 he became the first non Brahmin to ring the temple bell of the Guruvayoor temple.
Krishna Pillai who began his political life as a Gandhian and a member of the Indian National Congress
in his early youth had gradually transformed into a socialist with communist leanings. And when in 1934 Congress Socialist workers formed the Congress Socialist Party
in Bombay, Krishna Pillai was appointed its secretary in Kerala, all the while functioning under the banner of the Indian National Congress.
By 1936, Krishna Pillai who until then had concentrated his political activities to the Malabar
region now campaigned in the Cochin
and Travancore
. In 1938, he organized the famous worker’s strike in Alappuzha
(Alleppey), which turned out to be a great success and one of the inspiring factors behind the Punnapra-Vayalar Struggle of 1946 and the eventual downfall of the rule of C. P. Ramaswami Iyer in Travancore.
The successful transformation of the Malabar unit of the Congress Socialist Party into the Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India
(CPI) was mainly due to the untiring work of Krishna Pillai. The formal formation of the CPI unit in Kerala was on January 26, 1940. Years later in 1948 when the CPI accepted the Calcutta Thesis which included in it the express need for an armed struggle against the Indian state, CPI faced a nationwide ban and most of its leaders including Krishna Pillai were forced into hiding.
While hiding in a worker’s hut in Muhamma
, Krishna Pillai sustained a snakebite and succumbed to it.
P. Krishna Pillai’s role in building the Communist party is Kerala is second to none. He was a great organizer who succeeded in reaching out to the oppressed masses of Kerala and making them aware of their rights and the need for uplifting their social and economic conditions of life. His dedication to the Communist party could be understood from a short sentence by which he proposed marriage to his prospective wife Thankamma. Krishna Pillai said: "Life with me will be difficult, different. My wife should stand by me, the party and its cause. Then alone will she be happy".
Vaikom
Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam in Kerala, India. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha. It lies between Ernakulam and Kottayam...
, Kottayam
Kottayam district
Kottayam is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The district has its headquarters at Kottayam town, located at 9.36° N and 76.17° E. According to the 1991 census, it is the first district to achieve highest literacy rate in the whole of India...
; d. at Muhamma
Muhamma
Muhamma is a census town in Cherthala Taluk in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala.It is home to the famous Cheerappanchira kalari, where Ayyappan had his training in the martial arts; the Communist Party of India leader, Mrs. Susheela Gopalan Muhamma is a census town in Cherthala...
, Alleppey
Alappuzha district
Alappuzha is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala in India. It was formed as Alleppey District on August 17, 1957. The name of the district was officially changed to Alappuzha in 1990. The district is a widely known tourist destination, and is well known for its coir factories. Most of...
, 19 August 1948) was a Communist revolutionary from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India, Kerala's First Communist, Founder of the Communist movement in Kerala, and poet.
P. Krishna Pillai was born in a lower middle class family of Vaikom
Vaikom
Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam in Kerala, India. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha. It lies between Ernakulam and Kottayam...
as the son of Narayanan Nair and Parvathiamma. He lost both his parents at an early age and had to drop out of school at the fifth grade. Leaving his home in 1920, he travelled extensively in the north of the Indian subcontinent.
When he returned home two years later, he found Kerala seething with social unrest. Subsequently, he took part in a number of popular movements. He was an active volunteer of Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom Satyagraha
Vaikom Satyagraha was a satyagraha in Travancore, India against untouchability in Hindu society. The movement was centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.The Satyagraha aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Sri...
(1924) and Salt Satyagraha
Salt Satyagraha
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagrahah began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930, and was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider...
march from Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
to Payyanur
Payyanur
Payyanur is a Municipal Town situated at the northern end of Kannur district in North Malabar region of Kerala, India. This Municipality consists of three administrative villages viz. Vellur, Korom and Payyannur. Other villages are; Annur and Kokkanissery....
(1930). In 1931 he became the first non Brahmin to ring the temple bell of the Guruvayoor temple.
Krishna Pillai who began his political life as a Gandhian and a member of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in his early youth had gradually transformed into a socialist with communist leanings. And when in 1934 Congress Socialist workers formed the Congress Socialist Party
Congress Socialist Party
The Congress Socialist Party was founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Mohandas Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India towards the Congress Party...
in Bombay, Krishna Pillai was appointed its secretary in Kerala, all the while functioning under the banner of the Indian National Congress.
By 1936, Krishna Pillai who until then had concentrated his political activities to the Malabar
Malabar District
Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...
region now campaigned in the Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
and Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
. In 1938, he organized the famous worker’s strike in Alappuzha
Alappuzha
Alappuzha , also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated to the south of Kochi and north of Trivandrum...
(Alleppey), which turned out to be a great success and one of the inspiring factors behind the Punnapra-Vayalar Struggle of 1946 and the eventual downfall of the rule of C. P. Ramaswami Iyer in Travancore.
The successful transformation of the Malabar unit of the Congress Socialist Party into the Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI) was mainly due to the untiring work of Krishna Pillai. The formal formation of the CPI unit in Kerala was on January 26, 1940. Years later in 1948 when the CPI accepted the Calcutta Thesis which included in it the express need for an armed struggle against the Indian state, CPI faced a nationwide ban and most of its leaders including Krishna Pillai were forced into hiding.
While hiding in a worker’s hut in Muhamma
Muhamma
Muhamma is a census town in Cherthala Taluk in Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala.It is home to the famous Cheerappanchira kalari, where Ayyappan had his training in the martial arts; the Communist Party of India leader, Mrs. Susheela Gopalan Muhamma is a census town in Cherthala...
, Krishna Pillai sustained a snakebite and succumbed to it.
P. Krishna Pillai’s role in building the Communist party is Kerala is second to none. He was a great organizer who succeeded in reaching out to the oppressed masses of Kerala and making them aware of their rights and the need for uplifting their social and economic conditions of life. His dedication to the Communist party could be understood from a short sentence by which he proposed marriage to his prospective wife Thankamma. Krishna Pillai said: "Life with me will be difficult, different. My wife should stand by me, the party and its cause. Then alone will she be happy".
External links
- Prakash Karat: Kerala's 'First Communist'
- R. Krishnakumar: A man and a movement
- Birth Centenary celebrations at Vaikom