Today, 19th March 2011, is the 13th death anniversary of Com. E.M.S.Namboodiripad, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, General Secretary of the CPI(M) for a long period and communist ideologue of International fame, who passed away on 19th March 1998.

Com. E.M.S.Namboodiripad, along with Com.P.Krishna Pillai and Com. A.K.Gopalan are the three leaders along with others who took initiative in forming and strengthening the Communist Party in Kerala. Com.EMS was the first Chief Minister of Kerala and who initiated much acclaimed land reforms as also for the all round developments of Kerala. He was a political leader who did not leave any sector untouched, including literature, culture, science, history, technology etc. His articles are being published by the party in hundred volumes, which itself speaks for the articles and books he had written.

I had the fortune to meet him several times and take his guidance. When I was the Circle Secretary of the AITE Union Class III and functioning at Thiruvnanthapuram, I met him many times to seek his advice. Com.EMS inaugurated the Thiruvanathapuram All India Conference of E.III union in 1994, where I was elected as the General Secretary.

Another time we travelled together from Calicut to Managalore where he was to inaugurate a meeting of the NFPTE union. The meeting was held in the Post Office Hall. Seeing the photo of Babu Tarapada Mukherjee placed on the wall, Com. EMS asked whose photo it is. When I told him that it is the photo of Babu Tarapada, pioneer of P&T Trade union movement, he was happy and congratulated us stating that the P&T movement has a great tradition and that is why we are able to put the photo of the trade union leader in the office. He was writing through out the journey and when we reached Managalore he gave me a cover and told me to send it immediately to Chintha weekly so that the article can be published in time, a column for which he continued to contribute without any fail for decades. He was so much organised and systematic.

He was a great leader, who gave all his life, wealth and land to the party and lived as a simple party comrade serving the people. I pay my respectful homage to his memory.