An Undemocratic Deed

In 1957, the Congress Party faced an unexpected defeat in the State of Kerala when the CPI emerged as the largest single party in the legislative assembly. E.M.S. Namboodiripad formed the government with the support of some independents. It was perhaps the first time that a communist government was formed on the basis of democratic elections.

Trouble began with the introduction of the Education Bill which was, in actuality, a progressive measure. It was vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church in the state which ran several educational institutions and saw the bill as an encroachment on its power. Seeing in this situation an apt opportunity, the local Congress party members who had lost in the elections, organised state-wide protests. There were strikes as well. The government resorted to lathi charges and firing. Several persons were jailed.

Nehru, though he had little objection to the education bill, maintained a neutral front in public. He admonished the state government for its excessive use of force even as he tried to rein in the Congress workers. But he failed to change anything on the ground. In the end, he succumbed to pressure from within and outside his party and advised the dismissal of the EMS government and imposition of President’s Rule in Kerala in July 1959. A democratically elected government was thus, for the first time in independent India, dismissed under emergency powers.