K R Gowri Amma

K.R Gowri Amma is a renowned political figure in who founded the Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS). Prior to being the head of JSS, she had also played a prominent role in implementing the Land Reform Bill in Kerala and had participated in the Communist-led movements in Kerala before she was expelled from Communist Party of India or CPI(M). K.R Gowri Amma was born in Pattanakad village to K. A. Raman and Parvathi Amma on the 14th of July, 1919. She went to Thuravoor and Cherthala for her schooling and completed her graduation from Ernakulam’s Maharaja's College. Later she went on to receive her Law degree from Government Law College in Ernakulam.

K.R Gowri Amma’s elder brother, Sukumaran was a trade union leader who influenced her to participate in trade unions and various other peasant movements – which marked the beginning of her involvement in the political world. She was also jailed several times for her vigorous participation at a time when women barely left the domain of household work. In 1952 and 1954 she was elected to the Travancore Council of Legislative Assembly and in 1957 she became the Revenue Minister in the first communist ministry, which was headed by E. M. S. Namboodiripad where she served from April 1957 to July 1959. She introduced and promoted the Land Reform Bill for the Communist Government.

She also drafted the Agrarian Relations Bill which conferred ownership rights to tenants and fixed a ceiling for the land that could be possessed by a land owner. This bill was although passed in the Assembly but was not approved by the President. In the year she became the Revenue Minister in the first communist ministry i.e. in 1957, she also got married to T. V. Thomas, who was also a prominent politician. After the split of Communist Party in 1964, she joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Her husband promoted the Communist Party of India which led to differences in their relationship. In 1967 elections, K.R. Gowri Amma served as the Minister for Revenue, Sales Tax, Civil Supplies, Social Welfare and Law.

The Land Reforms Bill which was passed by the previous Government was amended by her and landlordism was finally abolished in Kerala. In January 1980, K.R. Gowri Amma was made Minister for Industries and Social Welfare, Vigilance and Administration of Justice. She was conferred with the same title in 1987 once again. But when the Ministry was formed she was expelled from the Communist Party (Marxist) in 1994 on charges of anti-party activities. It was after this that she established Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS) in the same year.

Gowri Amma could have been the first Chief Minister of Kerala, the failure of which she blamed on Namboodiripad – the first chief minister of Kerala – as he favoured EK Nayanar above her. Currently, B Gopan, the State Secretary has sent a letter to Gowri Amma asking her to resign from the party, although she has dismissed the letter. Gowri Amma has been an inspiration to all aspiring women politicians in not just Kerala but all over India.

She has also written an autobiography; ‘Atmakatha’ which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011 and an engineering college has also been named after her by the Sree Narayana Guru Sree Narayan Guru is a Malayalam TV Serial. The se >> Read More... Memorial Education and Cultural Trust, by the name K.R. Gowri Amma College of Engineering for women. It was established in June 2009. Although 97 years old, she continues to work for JSS and is still reluctant to quit the party which reestablishes her determined nature and her passion towards her work.