Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (Kerala PCC or KPCC) is the Kerala state unit of the Indian National Congress. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, state, and national elections. The INC currently leads the UDF alliance, the ruling coalition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has been created by former Kerala Chief Minister, K. Karunakaran. KPCC is consistently ranked as the best Pradesh Congress Committee in India.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee was first convened in 1921 at Ottapalam in northern Kerala (in the presence of the T. Prakasam).
Structure and composition S.no Name Designation 1.Deepa DasmunshiAICC General Secretary Incharge2.Sunny JosephPresidentKPCC3.V. D. SatheesanCLP LeaderKLA4.Shafi ParambilWorking PresidentKPCC5.A. P. Anil KumarWorking PresidentKPCC6.P. C. VishnunadhWorking PresidentKPCC7.Jebi MatherPresidentAIMC Kerala8. O. J. JaneeshPresidentIYC Kerala9. Aloshious XavierPresidentKSU10. R. ChandrashekaranPresidentINTUC
History
Pre-Independence Period (1921-1947) Numerous uprisings have been triggered by the brutal exploitation and oppression of the British Supremacy since ancient times; at the turn of the 19th century, the angry masses were trying to free themselves from the weight of British domination. The Congress Party was a well-known supporter of responsibility and opposition to the atrocities carried out by the British rule in the state. During that time, the Congress party was quite vocal about its opposition to social injustices such as social exclusion and untouchability.
Toward the end of the 19th century, the Congress movement started to grow throughout India. Many prominent Keralans were members of the Indian National Congress. G.P. Pillai, sir. Rairu Nambiar and C. Sankaran Nair were among them. C. Sankaran Nair, an Ottapalam native, was the first Malayali to chair congress sessions for a considerable amount of time. He became the president of the Congress's Amaravathi Session in 1897. By 1919, Congress efforts in Malabar had gained strength. Throughout the 1920s, Gandhiji's impact on the state congress increased. The nation's pride was ignited by the Khilafat movement, Salt Satyagraha, and noncooperation in Malabar. K.P. Kesava Menon, Muhamed Abdurahiman K. Kelappan, and K. Madhavan Nair were among the early leaders of the Malabar liberation movement.
Mahatma Gandhi, who also had a remarkable influence on the state's freedom battle, drove this national movement. In Kerala, the roads leading to temples were off-limits to the lower social groups, who were considered untouchables. Gandhiji spearheaded the nonviolent Guruvayoor Satyagraha movement and the Vaikom Satyagraha movement, which gave the underprivileged socio-economic classes access to the public roads next to the Vaikom temple. The Temple Entry Proclamation, issued in 1936 by Travancore's ruler, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balaramavarma, allowed people of all castes to access this temple.
In 1930, the British imposed severe restrictions on the manufacture of salt and imposed large tariffs on the populace. The people of Kerala and the entire country were enraged by this under K. Kelappan's leadership. At Payannur, where salt was made, there was resistance to the legislation. Hundreds of agitators were arrested after salt regulations were broken in many places, especially in Payyannur and Kozhikode. K. Madhavan Nair participated in each of these state-wide uprisings, as did other prominent figures including K.P. Kesava Menon, Mohammad Abdurahiman, etc.
The Travancore liberation struggle had a very different nature. In Travancore, caste groups had a big impact. These groups promoted social justice and sufficient representation of under-represented groups in the legislative and governance within the city borders. T.K. Madhavan, T.M. Varghese, C. Kesavan, and Pattom Thanu Pillai were among the prominent leaders of the newly formed Travancore State Congress. Its members battled for the state's citizens' rights, which had been infringed upon during British administration. Ikkanda Warrier and Panampilly Govinda Menon, both of whom were born in Cochin, had a significant impact on the creation of Cochin Praja Mandalam.
The Malabar District was not devoid of adherents of the Home Rule Movement. The Secretary of both the Congress Committee and the Home Rule League was K.P. Kesava Menon. His political activities galvanized the entire Malabar district. In Malabar, the national movement experienced a surge in support and influence during the First World War. Concurrently, the Muslim populace of Malabar was incensed by the Khilafat movement. The Malabar rebellion of 1921 stood as the most significant occurrence associated with the political movement in Malabar to this time. 61 of the 90 Mapillas who were being transported as captives in a closed railway goods wagon from Tirur to Coimbatore perished of suffocation during the Wagon Tragedy,one of the tragic events associated with this rebellion. The insurrection of 1921 constituted a significant national unrest that challenged the authority of the British.
The Congress personnel appeared to have been dormant in the immediate aftermath of the uprising. In contrast, few other Congress employees, including K. P. Kesava Menon, established the Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam daily based in Calicut, with the intention of disseminating the Congress's message. The Salt Satyagraha, which commenced in 1930 under the guidance of Gandhiji, also influenced the state of Kerala. The Salt Sathyagraha in Malabar primarily took place in Payyannur. Long after this, Malabar eventually emerged as the focal point of nationwide movements in Kerala.
The British government regarded the Congress as a "illegitimate organization" during the Second Phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932. The participation of thousands of men and women in the agitation in Malabar rendered the government's threats futile. The withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement was followed by a schism in the Congress Party viz. including both leftists and rightists. The Communist Party of Malabar was established in 1939 from the Congress party's radical faction. They abandoned the Gandhian Principles after being inspired by the Russian Revolution. However, they opposed the foreign government in solidarity with the Congress.
The Congress persisted in its ardent pursuit of liberty following the conclusion of the Second World War. Even subsequent to its liberation in August 1947, Malabar remained an administrative region of the Madras state. The Madras Legislature was augmented by four seats won by the Congress Party of Malabar in the general election of 1951. The state reorganization that occurred on November 1, 1956 resulted in the creation of Kerala, a new state formed by the merger of Travancore, Cochin, and Malabar.
Travancore-Cochin Period (1947-1956) During the early British colonial period, the princely states of Travancore and Cochin engaged in internal conflicts and demonstrations to advocate for the rights of their respective populations. The initial agitations were directed toward the implementation of effective governance. Subsequently, an ongoing resistance emerged in pursuit of political rights, encompassing the representation and participation of individuals at every level of government.
Shri. Kesavappillai, a representative from Trivandrum, attended the inaugural session of Congress that was convened in Bombay on December 28, 1885. Travancore had a modest representation in the early years of Congress formation at the national level. Barrister G.P Pillai established the Malayalee Memorial in 1891 to advocate for the rights of locals in government service. The Congress convention held in Amaravati was presided over by Shri. C. Sankaran Nair in 1897. A branch of the Congress was established in Trivandrum in 1929, and the party unit's secretary was Barrister A.K Pillai. In the same year that the KPCC was established in Ottapalam, Later in 1921, Riverdrum also established a congress committee.
Travancore was immediately affected by the civil disobedience movements that Gandhiji initiated in 1920. The state's Congress Committee coordinated demonstrations, processions, and a boycott of British products. Travancore experienced one of its most turbulent political unrest periods in its history during the early 1930s. Commencing as a form of resistance against the constitutional reforms implemented in 1932, the Nivarthana movement emerged. The agitation ultimately resulted in success, notwithstanding the repressive measures implemented by the government. Precise deliberations were conducted regarding each community in response to the agitation.
The Travancore State Congress was established in 1938. Presided over initially was Pattom Thanu Pillai. The State Congress also included notable figures such as Kesavan, P. K. Kunju, and T.M. Varghese. The objective of the nascent organization was to secure a government that was entirely accountable to the citizens of Travancore.In Travancore, the Quit India Movement failed to elicit any violent opposition. However, the political landscape of Travancore became overshadowed by ominous clouds during the postwar era. The proposal for constitutional reforms put forth by Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer in January 1946 included the establishment of an irrevocable executive branch, inspired by the "American model." The State Congress deemed the proposal to be unlawful and rejected it.
A sequence of extraordinary occurrences that transpired between 1946 and 1947 came to a dramatic conclusion with the establishment of responsible government in Travancore. When did Sir begin in July 1947, C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer declared that Travancore would attain independence on the date of the British withdrawal from India. Both within and without the state, the Diwan's proclamation sparked considerable controversy. The ineffectual application of force by the government in response to the statewide mass movement spearheaded by the Congress party was evident. After the Diwan was assaulted, he departed Travancore and tendered his resignation from office. The state's quest for accountable governance concluded triumphantly with the conclusion of that conflict. Pattom Thanu Pillai, T. M. Varghese, established the first well-known ministry in Travancore. March 24, 1948 marked Kesavan's ascension to authority.
Post- Kerala Formation Period (1956 Onwards) The national freedom movement significantly influenced the political history of Kerala. Here, an echo of the Salt Satyagraha was heard. The entrance of lower castes into the Vaikom temple via a Satyagraha was acknowledged as a direct challenge to the rulers' and, by extension, the British occupation's prevailing political and hierarchical supremacy. In addition to Gandhiji's physical presence, numerous Congress-led people's movements contributed to the Kerala national movement against the British. As a result of their leadership in various political movements opposing British rule, Congress ultimately transformed the freedom struggle in the state into a struggle for the rights of the state's people, particularly millions of impoverished and marginalized individuals, which had been violated.