Cherian Philip (born 21 November 1955) is an Indian politician and is the Coordinator of Nava Kerala Action Plan, which is an initiative of the

Pinarayi Vijayan Pinarayi Vijayan (; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian Communist politician who is the current Chief Minister of Kerala, serving since 25 May 2016. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he is the longest-serving sec ...

-led

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

. He was the Secretary of

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (abbreviated as Kerala P. C. C. or the K. P. C. C.) is the state unit of the Indian National Congress in Kerala. The Indian National Congress currently leads the United Democratic Front alliance, the Oppositi ...

while A. K. Antony was in presidency. He was a prominent youth and student leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in seventies and eighties. A political historian of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, he has authored several books. He worked as a consultant for

Kairali TV Kairali TV is an Indian Malayalam-language general entertainment television channel owned by Kairali TV Network (Malayalam Communications Limited). It is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram. It was launched on 17 August 2000. The channel is bac ...

and People TV (now Kairali News). He was the Chairman of

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) is a public sector undertaking that conducts and regulates the tourism activities in the Indian state of Kerala. The KTDC is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram and has offices across all the d ...

(KTDC) and founder president of ''Kerala Deshiya Vedhi'' - a social organisation. He returned to Congress(I) on 28 October 2021.

Early life

Cherian Philip was born in

Aratupuzha Arattupuzha is a village near Haripad of Karthikappally Taluk in Alappuzha district in Kerala, India. Arattupuzha is the south-west part of Alappuzha district, Kerala, India. It is close to the Arabian Sea and was affected by the tsunami cre ...

Chengannur Chengannur (also spelled Chengannoor or Chenganur) is a Municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala State, India. It is located in the extreme eastern part of the Alappuzha district, on the banks of Pamba River. Chengannur is north of ...

, as the elder son of K. C. Philip, Kadavana sub family of Pakalomattom Ayrookuzhiyil, a prominent

Saint Thomas Christian The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

family of

. He studied at St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram, Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram,

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram (UCT) is a constituent college of the University of Kerala, based primarily in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. The college was awarded 23rd rank by National Institutional Ran ...

and

Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram also known as GLC Trivandrum is one of the institutions imparting graduate and post graduate legal education in India. Affiliated to the University of Kerala, it is the second law college in Kerala ...

Political career

Cherian Philip entered politics through

Kerala Students Union The Kerala Students Union (abbreviated KSU) is a students organization in Kerala, India. It functions as the student wing of the Indian National Congress in the state. KSU was founded in 1957 at Alappuzha, with M. A. John as its main organiser ...

(KSU) in 1967 as school unit President while

Oommen Chandy Oommen Chandy, , (born 31 October 1943) is an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for two terms, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative ...

was its president. He was elected as the Secretary of the

Kerala University University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

Union and Senate Member of Kerala University in 1974. He became the General Secretary of KSU in 1975 and its President in 1979–80. From 1980 onwards, he was the Vice President of Kerala Pradesh Youth Congress and from 1982–89, was the General Secretary of Youth Congress. During the period 1984–89, he was the member of Indian Youth Congress National Council. Then became the Secretary of

(KPCC). In 1992, he constituted a new social organization named ''Kerala Desiya Vedhi'' in his Presidency. Until 2001, he was in the

and later quit Congress. He contested against Oommen Chandy. as a protest against power monopoly in the Congress. His demand was not to give tickets to MLA's completed two terms or 10 years. But the Congress leadership denied it. In the

1991 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 1991 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 18 June 1991 to elect members to the Niyamasabha. The incumbent LDF government, which was in power from 1987, decided to seek a fresh mandate one year ahead of the expiry of its term. Th ...

, he contested as Congress candidate but lost to T. K. Ramakrishnan of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

in Kottayam constituency by a mere 2682 votes. In the

2001 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2001 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 10 May 2001 to elect members to the Kerala State Assembly. Polls were held simultaneously in all 140 seats and resulted in a voter turnout of 72.47%. The election saw a change of guard i ...

, he contested as an Independent candidate supported by LDF against

at Puthuppally constituency. In the 2006 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, he contested against

Joseph M. Puthussery Joseph M. Puthussery (born at Kalloppara on 28 April 1959) is an Indian politician. He serves as senior leader of the Kerala Congress. Early life Joseph M. Puthussery was born on April 28, 1959 in Kallooppara, Pathanamthitta district of Ke ...

in Kallooppara constituency and in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

contested against K. Muraleedharan in Vattiyoorkavu constituency. He anchored and produced social critical weekly programme ''Cherian Philip Pratikarikkunnu'' on

for 10 years from 2001–06 and 2011–16 which ran about 500 episodes. He was the Chairman of

(KTDC). International Marina (

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

), Kerala House (

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

), GV Raja Convention Centre (

Kovalam Kovalam is a region in the city of Trivandrum, around 13 km southwest of the city center, whose beaches are a tourist destination. Etymology Kovalam means "coconut grove," after the coconut trees which are common there. History Kovala ...

), Beach Camp (

Bekal Bekal is a small town in the Kasaragod district on the West coast of the state of Kerala, India. Location Bekal is a town located south of Kasaragod town and north of Kanhangad on the State Highway 57. Bekal Fort is the largest fort in Ker ...

), Golden Peak Resorts (

Ponmudi Ponmudi (the Golden Peak) also known as Kashmir of Kerala is a hill station in the Peringamala gramapanchayath of Trivandrum District of Kerala in India. It is located 22km west of Vithura town, 53 km north-east of Trivandrum City, ...

) and 14 Tamarind Hotel during his tenure. He worked as the consultant for Kairali TV and People TV (now Kairali News). He is the author of seven books: ''Kaal Noottandu'' (Political History of Kerala), ''Swathanthryathinu Shesham'' (Political History of India), ''Vidyabhyasa Viplavam'' (an educational study), ''Azhimathiyude Kara'' (a social criticism), ''Gulfile Keralam'' (a Lifestyle study), ''Nethrunira'' (Life sketches of 200 Kerala politicians), ''Rashtriya Vijnjanam'' (political theory), ''Idanazhikalil'' (Autobiography). Cherian Philip received several awards from the

and social organizations for his books and TV programmes. H was editor of ''Kalashala'' fortnightly official organ of KSU (1974–80). Was the political correspondent of ''Veekshanam'' daily (1976–82). He was the editor of ''Socialist Youth Monthly'', the official organ of Youth Congress from 1980–87 and also the convenor of ''YuvaPratibha'', a cultural organization. He attended World Youth Festivals in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(1984),

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

(1989). He visited more than 30 countries in the world. He returned to Congress(I) on 28 October 2021.

References

External links

Ayrookuzhiyil Kadavana FamilyCherian Philip's blog
*,

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, 6 April 2001
CHERIAN PHILIP: Affidavits filed by Candidate
* ,

12 January 2003
KTDC.comSite of Kerala Tourism Department, Govt of Kerala, IndiaKTDC properties less affected by the slow down: Cherian Philip , 21 January 2009

.
TV channels call the bluff of Kerala politicians

, 20 February 2010
Ak Antony is my political mentor: Cherian Philip
in.com

, 29 November 2007
Janata Dal demands resignation of Cherian Philip
Asianet, 23 October 2009
KTDC chief calls for probe into purchase of boat

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

, 24 October 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Cherian 1954 births Living people Politicians from Thiruvananthapuram Malayali politicians Pakalomattam family People from Alappuzha district