Jawaharlal Nehru Kerala Story: India has been famous for democratic values since ancient times. Vaishali Republic introduced the world to democracy for the first time. Many countries achieved independence in the 1940s, among them India is a nation where democracy is flourishing even today. Despite all kinds of incidents and traumas, the Republic of India still stands firm and unwavering with its head held high like the Himalayas. The country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru is considered the leader of democracy, but his government also has the taint of unilaterally dismissing the democratically elected government. This is a stain on the white sheet of his political career, which is recorded in history and which cannot be erased. The Nehru government used that provision of the Constitution, about which the country’s policy makers had hardly thought in this way. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s government dismissed the first elected government of Kerala using Article 356 on 31 July 1959. It is said that the EMS Namboodiripad government of Kerala was the first communist government in the world, which gained power by adopting the democratic process.
For the first time in India, an elected government was ousted from power using Article 356 of the Constitution. Nehru government accused the Namboodiripad government of Kerala of not handling the governance of the state properly. When the democratic government of Kerala was dismissed, the liberation war (Vimochana Samaram) was going on in the state. Along with the protests, violent incidents were also taking place. However, leftist leaders said that such an incident was deliberately created in the state. There were also allegations of involvement of American and British intelligence agencies (CIA and MI5) in this. It is even said in some circles that there was panic from America to Europe due to the threat of Kerala becoming ‘China’. At that time, neither America nor Britain was happy with the election of a leftist government to power. It is said that for this reason a conspiracy was allegedly hatched to topple the elected Left government of Kerala.
Jawaharlal Nehru Kerala Story: When the Nehru government dismissed the elected Left government of Kerala, Indira Gandhi also started becoming active in politics. (Photo: AFP)
How was the country’s first democratic government dismissed?
On July 31, 1959, on the advice of the Union Cabinet, the then President Rajendra Prasad, using Article 356 of the Constitution, dismissed the elected Chief Minister of Kerala Namboodiripad and his Council of Ministers. Order was given to dissolve the state assembly. This decision was taken after several months of protests and violence. This set a precedent in which this provision was used repeatedly against non-Congress governments in the following decades. Prime Minister Nehru had initially shown hesitation about this step (as British records show) but in the end he followed the advice of his cabinet and agreed to remove the Namboodiripad government. The reason for removing the government was said to be deterioration in law and order. However, critics said that the violence was deliberate, so that an excuse could be created for constitutional intervention.
Who was EMS Namboodiripad?
EMS Namboodiripad was the first elected Chief Minister of Kerala. He was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the first democratically elected Communist Chief Minister of the country.
When was the Namboodiripad government formed?
The Namboodiripad government was formed in 1957, when the Communist Party won the Kerala Assembly elections.
What was ‘Liberation Struggle’?
The widespread movement launched against the Namboodiripad government was called ‘Vimochan Samaram’. There were strikes, demonstrations and violence at many places.
Was Congress also involved in this movement?
Yes! Congress openly supported this movement and put pressure on the Central Government to dismiss the Kerala Government.
What is Article 356?
This provision gives the President the right to impose President’s rule if a state cannot be governed as per the Constitution.
Use of Article 356
The removal of the Communist government of Kerala set an example which was later called the “Kerala Example”. This meant the use of Article 356 to remove the elected state government on the basis of political and ideological opposition. Earlier this article had been used in Punjab (1951) and PEPSU (1953), but the Kerala case was the first time it was used against a communist government. This subsequently opened the way for political misuse of this constitutional provision. In later years, Article 356 was repeatedly used against state governments which the party in power at the Center found inconvenient, which had a deep impact on the federal balance envisioned by the Constitution makers.
