Today marks the 117th birth anniversary of Comrade EMS, one of the foremost leaders of the Communist movement in India, one of the founding leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and one of the most influential communist thinkers of the country and the world.
After leaving college in 1931 to join the freedom struggle, Comrade EMS devoted nearly seven decades to building the progressive and working class movement in India. A brilliant Marxist theoretician and a prolific writer, he made outstanding contributions to the application of Marxism-Leninism to Indian society and to working out the strategy and tactics of the Indian revolution. He served as the General Secretary of the undivided Communist Party from 1962-64 and of the CPI(M) from 1978 to 1992.
EMS represented the coming together of the two streams of the independence movement, the anti-imperialist and the anti-feudal struggles, which laid the foundations for the development of a powerful communist movement in Kerala. He was one of the key proponents of Aikya Keralam, which led to the formation of Kerala as a unified linguistic state in 1956. He served twice as the Chief Minister of Kerala, heading the first elected Communist ministry until it was dismissed undemocratically in 1959 and later leading a United Front ministry from 1967-69, thereby paving the way for the state's progressive transformation.
EMS lived a life of sacrifice and simplicity, spending three years in jail and six years underground. His leadership in rallying Left, democratic, and secular forces was invaluable. Comrade EMS set an example that has inspired tens of thousands of communists across the country.
Red Salute, Comrade!