M. K. Muneer is an Indian politician,

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, social worker, singer, poet and author from

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 ...

. He was the Minister for Social Welfare and

Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

in the last (May 2011 – May 2016) UDF Ministry, headed by

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 ...

and represented the Kozhikode South constituency in the legislative assembly. He was also the Minister for Public Works in A K Antony Ministry 3. Muneer is a State secretary of the

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 ...

and was the Chairman of the Malayalam TV channel

Indiavision Indiavision was an Indian pay television news channel based at Kochi, Kerala, India. It broadcast in Malayalam. History Indiavision was launched on 14 July 2003. The network launched a second channel, YES Indiavision (Youth, Entertainment & Spo ...

. He has written

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

s and books including ''Fascism and the Sangh Parivar''. He is a qualified medical doctor and patron of MCC-THAS-Haemophilia Society. Muneer is the only son amongst the three children of

C. H. Mohammed Koya Cheriyan Kandi Muhammad Koya (15 July 1927–28 September 1983), known as C. H. Muhammad Koya, was an Indian politician who served as the Minister of Education in various Kerala Governments from 1967 to 1973 and from 1977 to 1979. He also brief ...

, veteran Muslim league politician and former

Chief Minister of Kerala The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Fol ...

and Amina. In March 2017 he was elected as Deputy opposition leader in Kerala Legislative Assembly. He did his MBBS in a private medical college in Karnataka. With a special order by the Government of Kerala post his father's death, he was allowed a transfer to

Government Medical College, Kozhikode Government Medical College, Kozhikode, also known as Calicut Medical College (CMC), is a school of medicine in Kozhikode (formerly Calicut) in the Indian state of Kerala. The college was established in 1957 as the second medical college in Keral ...

and eventually completed his course from there. This became a controversy after he questioned the state aid given to a leader from Nationalist Congress Party.

Minister in different ministries

Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 2021

In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, he contested from Koduvally. He defeated Karat Razack by a margin of 6344 votes.

Controversies

Muneer put a pro-LGBTQ post in Facebook during the

pride month LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...

in 2021, only to be withdrawn later following severe criticism from party members. Once popular as the progressive face of IUML, Muneer later became a staunch supporter of patriarchal and conservative form of Islam. His weird argument that gender neutrality will make

POCSO Child sexual abuse laws in India have been enacted as part of the child protection policies of India. The Parliament of India passed the ''Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill (POCSO), 2011 regarding child sexual abuse on 22 M ...

Act redundant stirred up a massive political controversy. In yet another controversial article published in

Suprabhatam Suprabhatam ( sa, सुप्रभातम्, lit=auspicious dawn, translit=Suprabhātam) is a Sanskrit prayer of the ''Suprabhātakāvya'' genre. It is a collection of hymns or verses recited early morning to awaken the deity in Hinduism. T ...

daily, he accused homosexuals of being violent and demanding rights for child sex abuse.

References

External links

Malayali politicians Living people Politicians from Kozhikode 20th-century Indian medical doctors 1962 births Indian Union Muslim League politicians Kerala MLAs 1991–1996 Kerala MLAs 2016–2021 Kerala MLAs 2011–2016 Medical doctors from Kerala {{Kerala-politician-stub