M. N. Govindan Nair (10 December 1910 – 27 November 1984), popularly known as MN, was an Indian communist politician born in

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipal town in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is considered a holy town due to its connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala. Rightly recognised to be the ''educational and cultural capital of Central Trava ...

, in

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruval ...

, India. He is known as ''"Kerala

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and Premier of the Soviet Union, chairm ...

"''.

Political life

MN_Govindan_Nair_Statue_Pattom_2021_April

M.N. began his public life by involving himself in anti-caste struggles taking place in the locality. He was also associated with

Nair Service Society The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in the state of Kerala in Southern part of India. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu ...

in his early days. M.N's political life got a fillip when he visited

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the north, west and south bounda ...

, and met with many national leaders including

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. Later he joined the communist movement in Kerala. He was one of the foremost leaders of the

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

(CPI). He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), and it was under his secretaryship that

CPI A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time. Overview A CPI is a statistic ...

came to power in the 1957 General Elections in

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 ...

which made the path for the E.M.S. Namboothiripad Ministry of 1957–1959. In 1964 when Communist Party split he remained in the CPI. He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, and served as the Minister of Kerala. He was elected to the

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 28 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 c ...

in the

General Elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1967 from

Punalur Punalur is a Municipality in Kollam district of Kerala State in India. It is the headquarter of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It's situated in the eastern part of Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River an ...

Constituency and re-elected to the Assembly from Chadayamangalam Constituency in 1971 General Election. He undertook portfolios like Minister for Agriculture, Transport, Electricity and Housing in the Fourth

in the

C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...

Government from 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977.

Major policies

He was instrumental in pushing lot of radical and progressive policies and legislations in Kerala. M.N. was responsible for launching the '''Laksham Veedu or One Lakh housing scheme project in 1972, aimed at providing housing for the under privileged. In his respect, the scheme is now named after him. While being part of United Front (1970–1979, Kerala) he pushed legislations like ''Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971'' which nationalised

private forest A private forest (also private woodland or private wood) is a forest that is not owned by municipal authorities (such as a corporate forest), church authorities or the state (e.g. a state forest or national forest). It can refer to woodland owned by ...

Malabar region The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

, Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1969 etc.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, M.N. Govindan 1910 births 1984 deaths Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala People from Pathanamthitta district India MPs 1977–1979 Lok Sabha members from Kerala Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Indian independence activists from Kerala Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni Prisoners and detainees of British India