Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan (Aged 73), born on 1 October 1904, was an Indian communist politician known as A.K. Gopalan or AKG. He was one of the 16 Communist Party of India members elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952. By the time he became a teacher, India’s independence movement was gaining momentum under Mahatma Gandhi. Gopalan participated in the Khilafat Movement, which led to a marked change in his outlook, transforming him into a dedicated full-time social and political worker.
He was also involved in the Moplah revolts. In 1927, he joined the Indian National Congress and began playing an active role in the Khadi Movement and the upliftment of Harijans. He was arrested for participating in the salt Satyagraha in 1930. While in prison, he became acquainted with communism and became a member of the Congress Socialist Party and later, the Communist Party of India. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 prompted an upsurge in activism against British domination, and Gopalan was arrested again.
A.K. Gopalan joined the new breakaway faction against CPI, which later became known as the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He also wrote extensively. AKG played an important role in the formation of the Indian Coffee House, a worker cooperative. A prominent film director from Kerala made a biopic on AKG, and his autobiography is entitled Ente Jeevitha Katha (written in Malayalam). He passed away on 22 March 1977.
A. K. Gopalan
(1904 – 1977) – (Kerala)
Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan (Aged 73), born on 1 October 1904, was an Indian communist politician known as A.K. Gopalan or AKG. He was one of the 16 Communist Party of India members elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952. By the time he became a teacher, India’s independence movement was gaining momentum under Mahatma Gandhi. Gopalan participated in the Khilafat Movement, which led to a marked change in his outlook, transforming him into a dedicated full-time social and political worker.
He was also involved in the Moplah revolts. In 1927, he joined the Indian National Congress and began playing an active role in the Khadi Movement and the upliftment of Harijans. He was arrested for participating in the salt Satyagraha in 1930. While in prison, he became acquainted with communism and became a member of the Congress Socialist Party and later, the Communist Party of India. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 prompted an upsurge in activism against British domination, and Gopalan was arrested again.
A.K. Gopalan joined the new breakaway faction against CPI, which later became known as the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He also wrote extensively. AKG played an important role in the formation of the Indian Coffee House, a worker cooperative. A prominent film director from Kerala made a biopic on AKG, and his autobiography is entitled Ente Jeevitha Katha (written in Malayalam). He passed away on 22 March 1977.
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