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K. Damodaran

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In thisIndian name,thetoponymic surnameisKeezhedathu.It is not afamily name,and the person should be referred to by thegiven name,Damodaran.
K Damodaran
Member of ParliamentofRajya Sabha
In office
1964–1970
ConstituencyKerala
Personal details
Born(1912-02-05)5 February 1912
Died3 July 1976(1976-07-03)(aged 64)
NationalityIndian
Political partyCommunist Party of India
OccupationCommunist ideologue, Writer & Politician

Keezhedathu Damodaran[1]( February 25, 1912 – July 3, 1976) was an IndianMarxisttheoretician, writer and one of the leaders of theCommunist Party of IndiainKerala,India.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Damodaran was born to Kizhakkiniyakath Thuppan Nampoothiri and Keezhedathu Narayani Amma inPonnaniinMalappuramdistrict. He had his schooling in Government School, Tirur, and college education inSamoothiri College, Calicut.His first socialist activities were associated with being secretary of the student movement 'Kerala Students Movement' and he joined the freedom struggle. He was arrested in 1931 for participating in thecivil disobedience movementand sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 23 months. While inCoimbatorejail, he learnedTamilandHindi.He went toKasi(UP) in 1935 to studySanskritfrom theViswa Vidyalayathere and passed the Shastri examination. While at Kasi he learnedUrduandBengaliand was attracted to Communist ideology.

Political career[edit]

Lal Bahadur Shastriwas his classmate. He was attracted to Communist ideology through his senior Onkar Nadashasthri. Thus he became a Communist – the first 'Malayalee Communist'. He returned to Kerala in 1937 and joined theKerala Socialist Partyand in May the same year formed the Kerala unit of theCommunist Party of India.He organizedCoirandBeediworkers. He was imprisoned twice and released in 1945. In 1951, he was elected as theTaluksecretary of theMalabarunit committee of the Communist Party. He contested the assembly election in 1951 and theLoksabhaelection in 1957. Damodaran was elected to the central executive committee of the party in 1960. He took charge of editing theNavayugam weekly.All through these years he was intellectually active by way of writing articles and books, learning new languages and debating on various forums.

He became aRajya sabhamember (MP) in 1964. He visited many Asian and European countries including almost all of the communist nations. After the tenure, he devoted his time to a comprehensive research on the history of the Party at(JNU)under anICHRfellowship. He was the first progressive writer in Malayalam. 'pattabakki' was the first political drama to be staged in kerala which, in a way, paved the way for the advancement of communist ideology among the common people. He dwelled deep into Indian Philosophy which was considered solely spiritual until then and discovered new streams of material thoughts in it. His celebrated works 'Bharatheeya Chintha' and 'Indiayude athmavu' speaks volumes of the metamorphosis. he was a multilinguist and could speak for hours on thought provoking subjects.

He died on July 3, 1976, inDelhiat theSafdarjung Hospitalwhile he was still conducting this research. Damodaran was a multilingual scholar and translated many books fromRussiantoMalayalam.Apart fromPattabaakki,he wrote another play namedRakthapanam.The stories written between 1934 and 1935 are now a collection known asKannuneer.In all his works, party popularization was seen. The best known of his works isIndiyude Atmavuand in English, an excellent exposition of 'Indian Culture' and 'Philosophy from the ancient times'. He completed only first part ofKerala Historybased on archeology, anthropology and coin sciences. Political activist and documentary directorK. P. Sasiis the son of Damodaran.

Works[edit]

In Malayalam[edit]

  • Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Eka Vazhi
  • Kannuneer (short stories)
  • Karl Marx
  • Samashtivada Vijnapanam (translation of theCommunist Manifesto)
  • Paattabaakki (play)
  • Rakthapaanam (play)
  • Russian viplavam (co-authored withE. M. S. Namboodiripad)
  • Manushyan
  • Dhanasasthrapravesika
  • Uruppika
  • Nanayaprasnam
  • Communism Enthu Enthinu?
  • Purogamana sahithyam Enthinu?
  • Communisavum Christhumathavum
  • Marxism (in 10 parts)
  • Indiayude Aathmavu
  • Keralathile Swathanthryasamaram (co-authored with C Narayana pillai)
  • Dhanasasthra thathwangal
  • Dharmikamoolyangal
  • Enthanu saahithyam
  • Chinayile Viplavam
  • Keralacharithram
  • Sahithya niroopanam
  • Indiayum Socialisavum
  • Indiayude Sampathikabhivrudhi
  • Innathe Indiayude Sampathikasthithi
  • Yesuchristhu Moscowil
  • SamoohyaParivarthanangal
  • Socialisavum Communisavum
  • Panam Muthal Nayapaisa Vare
  • Indiayile Deseeyaprasthanam(Translated directly from Russian)
  • Marxisathinte Adisthanathathwangal
  • Bharatheeyachintha
  • Sreesankaran Hegel Marx
  • Oru Indian Communistinte Ormakkurippukal

In English[edit]

  • Indian Thought
  • Man and Society in Indian Philosophy
  • Marx Hegel and Sreesankara
  • Marx Comes to India (co-authored withP.C.Joshi)

In Hindi[edit]

  • Bharatheeya chinthaa parampara

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Staff writer (20 July 2012)."K. Damodaran remembered".The Hindu.
  2. ^"K. Damodaran - Biography".Keralasahityaakademi.org.Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2020.

Other sources[edit]

  • Grandhalokam Monthly.Trivandrum: Kerala State Library Council. November 2004.{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)
  • Quilon? (15 July 1990).Janayugom Weekly.{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)
  • Rasheed, M. (1982).K. Damodaran.Kottayam: D.C. Books.
  • Sasi, K. P. (17 March 2012)."K Damodaran: An Unfinished Chapter".Countercurrents.org.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=K._Damodaran&oldid=1225236153"