Melathu Veettil Raghavan (5 May 1933 – 9 November 2014) was a veteran Communist leader and a former Minister 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 ...

state of

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 was the General Secretary of the

Communist Marxist Party Communist Marxist Party (CMP) was a political party in Kerala. The party was founded in 1986 when CPI(M) leader M. V. Raghavan was expelled from the CPI(M) due to a grave difference of opinion regarding the formation of alliances with the IUML ...

, an alliance partner in the United Democratic Front. Prior to the formation of the CMP he was a prominent leader 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 ...

. He was expelled from the CPI(M) following an inner party struggle in which he advocated alliance with the

Kerala Congress Kerala Congress is an Indian political party founded at Kottayam, Kerala in October, 1964, by a block of former Indian National Congress leaders led by K. M. George. The party is primarily active in central Kerala. The establishment of Kerala ...

and

Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. The first ...

against the official line of keeping these two parties out of

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the oth ...

(LDF). He then formed the CMP and later joined the United Democratic Front (UDF). He was a minister in UDF governments a number of times. He belongs to Kannur district in the

North Malabar North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad District, Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara, Koyilandy, and Thamarassery in the Kozhikode Distri ...

area of Kerala. His district is one of the developing zones in the country. Raghavan set up the first co-operative sector medical college in the country,

Pariyaram Medical College Government Medical College Kannur, Pariyaram or Pariyaram Medical College was established in March 1993 at Pariyaram in Kannur district, Kerala state, South India. It was the first medical college to be established under the co operative secto ...

in Kannur District. He was the key person to build the first Visha Chikitsa Kendram (Snake Venom Removal Centre) in

Pappinisseri Pappinisseri is a census town and grama panchayat in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Pappinissery have consistently won the Swaraj Trophy for best Grama Panchayat from 2017-2018 to 2021. Pappinisseri Panchayat also bagged the thir ...

, Kannur district. His other major achievement has been the setting up of a Snake Park in Dharmasala, which has become a major tourist attraction.

Positions held

* Member, 4th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Madayi – CPI(M) * Member, 5th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Thaliparamba – CPI(M) * Member, 6th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Kuthuparamba – CPI(M) * Member, 7th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Payyannur – CPI(M) * Member, 8th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Azhikode – CMP * Member, 9th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Kazhakkootam – CMP *Member, 11th Kerala Legislative Assembly from Trivandrum-West-CMP * Minister for Co-Operation,

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 ...

, 24 June 1991 to 9 May 1996 * Minister for Co-Operation and Ports,

, 17 May 2001 to 20 April 2006 * President, Pappinissery Panchayat, Kannur (16 years)

Personal life

Raghavan was born to Shankaran Nambiar on 5 May 1933 in

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

. He was married to Janaki. The couple have three sons, notable being M. V. Nikesh Kumar, a journalist and a daughter. Since 2005, Raghavan was bed-ridden with advanced Parkinson's disease. He died on 9 November 2014. at the age of 81. He was cremated with full state honours at Payyambalam Beach Crematorium, near the memorials of

Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai K. Ramakrishna Pillai (1878–1916) was an Indian nationalist writer, journalist, editor, and political activist. He edited '' Swadeshabhimani'' (The Patriot), the newspaper which became a potent weapon against the rule of the British and t ...

A. K. Gopalan Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan (1 October 1904 – 22 March 1977), popularly known as A. K. Gopalan or AKG, was an Indian communist politician. He was one of 16 Communist Party of India members elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952. Later he beca ...

, K. G. Marar and E. K. Nayanar.

References

External links

Rediff On The NeT: Communist Marxist Party leader M V Raghavan in a no-holds-barred interview about his recent arrest

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavan, M. V. Malayali politicians Politicians from Kannur 1933 births 2014 deaths Communist Marxist Party politicians Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala Kerala MLAs 1970–1977 Kerala MLAs 1977–1979 Kerala MLAs 1980–1982 Kerala MLAs 1982–1987 Kerala MLAs 1987–1991 Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala