C Achutha Menon

Personal life

Born to Madathil Veettil Achutha Menon (after whom he was named) and Lekshmykutty Amma at Puthukkad, Thrissur District on 13 January 1913. His brother in law V.V. Raghavan was also a Communist Party of India politician from Thrissur city. V.V. Raghavan was the Member of Parliament from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, in 1996 and 1998. He was married to Ammini Amma, and had three children.

Education

Being a brilliant student, he studied on merit scholarship throughout his student life, and stood first in the SSLC examination in the then State of Kochi. He is a former student of Church Mission Society High School, Thrissur (CMSHSS,Thrissur) And after finishing the intermediate level in St. Thomas College, Thrissur, he continued his college education in the St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli Madras. There he won a gold medal for academic excellence and was a role model for other fellow students. Menon, then went on to study Law in Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram and scored the highest marks in Hindu Law. After the B.L. degree, he started legal practice in various courts of Thrissur, during which time he began to get involved in many social issues.

Political life

Achutha Menon started his political career by associating himself with the State Congress, and actively took part in the Congress meeting held at Thrissur. He subsequently became a member of the Kochi Praja Mandalam. He joined the Communist Party of India in 1941 through his involvement in the "Labour Brotherhood" movement. Shri. Menon became a Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India and a member of its Executive Committee and Central Secretariat. He continued his political activities, even when the Communist Party was banned. He was imprisoned for many years. The first imprisonment Achutha Menon underwent was in 1940, for one year for making an anti-war speech; and the next in the wake of the "Quit India" movement of 9 August 1942 as a detenue for more than a year. He was forced to evade arrest and live "underground" for more than three years during the period 1948-51.

Legislative career

Achutha Menon was elected to the Travancore-Cochin State Legislature while "underground" in 1952. Shortly afterwards Shri. Achutha Menon became elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, after the reorganisation of the States, thus becoming the first Finance Minister of Kerala in the Ministry headed by E.M.S. Namboodirippad in 1957. He presented the first Budget of Kerala state on 7 June 1957. As the so-called Vimochanasamaram (Liberation Struggle) gained momentum the Home Minister was found unfit to handle the situation and was divested of the crucial portfolio which then was handed over to Menon. He was again elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1960. Menon also became a member of the Rajyasabha during 1968-69.

Split of Communist Party

During the Communist Party split, he continued to remain with the CPI. The political instability during the late sixties had paved the way for a realignment in coalition politics, which had far reaching implication on the political history of the state. He was elected as the State Secretary of C.P.I. too, many times, and was also a member of the National Council of the C.P.I.

Chief Minister of Kerala

Noted as one of the best chief ministers Kerala has had, Achutha Menon assumed charge as the Chief Minister of Kerala on 1-11-1969 and continued till the dissolution of the III Kerala Legislative Assembly. However, it was under his stewardship that Kerala signed on for continuing with the Mullaperiar Dam agreement with Tamil Nadu, as a part of reviewing the pre-independence agreement between the Kingdom of Travancore and the Madras Presidency. This agreement, experts on the subject believe, fretted away the interests of Kerala and became the prime reason for unenviable situation that Kerala finds itself today in the Mullaperiar issue. He was not a member of the Kerala Assembly then, but subsequently got elected from Kottarakkara in the by-election held in April 1970. In the mid-term poll conducted in 1970, he was again elected this time from Kodakara in Thrissur District and was sworn in as Chief Minister on 4-10-1970 and held office till 1977. Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology was set up during his period. His ministry continued in power for about seven years and implemented reform measures of basic importance such as the Land Reform Act, take-over of private forests without compensation, law on agricultural labour, gratuity of industrial workers, one-lakh housing scheme, etc., not to mention significant steps towards industrialization of Kerala. It was this ministry which enunciated a Science Policy and established a number of "Centres of Excellence" in Scientific research in the state. Many institutions like Keltron, NATPAC were started during his tenure.

Achutha Menon retired from active politics in 1977. He suffered multiple health problems during the final years of his life. He died on 16 August 1991, aged 78, at Sree Chithira Thirunal Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram after suffering from a massive heart attack. Incidentally, the place where he died was set up during his period. He was cremated with full state honours at Thrissur, his hometown.

Literary works

A talented writer, Shri. Achutha Menon had authored many books He wrote many books and articles, mostly related to Marxism, Communism and Indian History. He also translated H.G. Wells' "Brief History of the World" into Malayalam. "Soviet Land", "Kissan Padha Pusthakam", "Keralam - Prasnangalum Sadhyadhakalum", "Smaranayude Edukal", and "Manushyan Swayam Nirmikkunnu"(Translation) are his other famous works. Along with, he has contributed many noteworthy articles in newspapers and periodicals.