Kannoth Karunakaran (Aged 92) born on 5th July 1918 in Chirakkal, Madras Presidency, British India, (present day Kannur, Kerala, India). He is also known as an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC), served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times. He was also the founder of the United Democratic Front (UDF), a political alliance in Kerala led by the INC. Karunakaran played a crucial role in several massive infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and the Cochin International Airport.
Karunakaran was close to former Prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. In 1937, he joined the flood relief camps conducted by V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, C. Achutha 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 started wearing Khadi.
He also actively participated in trade union activities in the vast Thattil rubber estates where his uncle Raghavan Nair was a ‘writer’. During this time, he used his artistic skills and labor to help the workers’ union (later INTUC) with their wall writings and campaigns. Gradually, he was picked up by Panampilly Govinda Menon as his most favorite follower. Eventually, Karunakaran rose to become the senior-most leader of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). The INTUC later became one of the largest trade unions in India with over 4 million members today.
He went on to become the Thrissur District Congress Committee President, after which he was elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly twice before the formation of Kerala State. The VIP pavilion in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kaloor, Kochi, is named after him in his honor. His funeral was attended by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.
The first biography on him, titled K. Karunakaran, was written by Vrindavanam Venugopalan. He passed away on 23 December 2010 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
K. Karunakaran
(1918 – 2010) – (Kerala)
Kannoth Karunakaran (Aged 92) born on 5th July 1918 in Chirakkal, Madras Presidency, British India, (present day Kannur, Kerala, India). He is also known as an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC), served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times. He was also the founder of the United Democratic Front (UDF), a political alliance in Kerala led by the INC. Karunakaran played a crucial role in several massive infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and the Cochin International Airport.
Karunakaran was close to former Prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. In 1937, he joined the flood relief camps conducted by V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan, C. Achutha 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 started wearing Khadi.
He also actively participated in trade union activities in the vast Thattil rubber estates where his uncle Raghavan Nair was a ‘writer’. During this time, he used his artistic skills and labor to help the workers’ union (later INTUC) with their wall writings and campaigns. Gradually, he was picked up by Panampilly Govinda Menon as his most favorite follower. Eventually, Karunakaran rose to become the senior-most leader of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). The INTUC later became one of the largest trade unions in India with over 4 million members today.
He went on to become the Thrissur District Congress Committee President, after which he was elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly twice before the formation of Kerala State. The VIP pavilion in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kaloor, Kochi, is named after him in his honor. His funeral was attended by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.
The first biography on him, titled K. Karunakaran, was written by Vrindavanam Venugopalan. He passed away on 23 December 2010 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
News