CH KANARAN

CH KANARAN(  Born 1909  -20th October 1972)

Com. CH Kanaran was born in Azhiyoor in Kozhikode district in 1909. His father Sri. Ananthan was a small merchant and his mother was Cheekolikarayi Narayani. Soon after his matriculation from Thalassery BEMP High school in 1929, C.H Kanaran started taking part in the freedom movement.

When the second civil disobedience Movement called by Gandhiji started in 1932, CH was arrested for making speeches against the British and was imprisoned for 13 months. He came to contact with nationalist ideology during his jail term. After coming out, he took up the job of a teacher. He started organising the beedi workers in Thalassery. C.H led a march of beedi workers from Thalassery to Kuttiyadi in 1936 -37 in solidarity to an agitation of peasants there. This was his first practical experience of peasant – worker unity in struggles. C.H played a leading role in many of the peasant agitations in Malabar during that time such as in Mattannur, Mokeri, Kalyad etc.

CH was sent by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Party to establish links with the movement for responsible government in Travancore and he visited Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Alappuzha as part of their work. CH was arrested in November 1939 in connection with the strike in Thalassery New Durbar Beedi Company. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment. After coming out of jail, CH gave leadership by working underground, in organising the Communist Party which was banned at that time.

CH along with P. Krishna Pillai attended the Communist Party plenum held in Bombay from 15th September 1942, representing Kerala unit.
CH was elected to the Assembly in 1952. He was elected to the First Kerala Assembly in1957. He was one of the architects of the Kerala Land Reforms Act introduced by the first EMS ministry. CH was arrested under defence of Indira rules in 1964 and he was elected to the Assembly in 1965 while serving in Jail. When the right and left wing deviations surfaced in the Communist Party, CH took a strong position and played a leadership role in steering the Party on the correct path.

CH was the CPI (M) State Secretary from 1964 till his death in 1972. He was known as a fearless critic, loving comrade and an organiser of extra – ordinary talent among party circles. Com. Azheekkodan Raghavan, a senior Party Leader of Kerala was killed by some extremists, while CH was undergoing treatment at his home. The news was shocking to him and he did not live long after.