Today (July 15), as we mark the 98th birth anniversary of C.H. Mohammed Koya, my thoughts, and indeed the thoughts of all who cherish Kerala's unique developmental journey, turn to a leader whose impact, though sometimes understated, remains profoundly significant.

Even judged solely as a politician, “CH”, or “Koya Sahib”, as he was affectionately known, had a remarkable career. Rising from humble beginnings as the son of a poor muezzin in Kozhikode, he became the first Muslim Chief Minister of Kerala. His legislative and administrative experience and success was both wide-ranging and varied. Elected several times to the Kerala Assembly he became Kerala’s youngest Speaker at the age of 32, was elected to the Lok Sabha twice, and served as deputy chief minister, home minister, education minister and finance minister in several ministries including that of E.M.S, Achutha Menon and Karunakaran. But C.H. was far more than a politician; he was an architect of modern Kerala, a pragmatic visionary whose reformist zeal touched the lives of countless citizens, particularly in the vital spheres of education, social empowerment, and the delicate equilibrium of inter-communal relations..

What truly distinguished him, however, was his remarkable ability to blend sharp political acumen with a deep-seated reformist impulse. Innumerable social justice movements have failed in India because they were not backed by socio-economic development. Koya understood that true progress lay not just in rhetoric, but in tangible policy changes that uplifted the marginalized and empowered the common person.

It is difficult today perhaps to appreciate how precarious the position of the Muslim community in the Malabar after Independence was. The peasantry of lower Malabar, the Mapillahs, had become alienated from the Muslims of the coast and central and south Kerala after the Khilafat movement in the 1920s had turned communally violent. The Mapillas were also educationally and economically backward. The IUML, formed in 1948, had the unenviable task of differentiating its politics from the erstwhile northern-dominated All India Muslim League, whose two-nation theory had led to the horrors of Partition. The lUML was constantly accused of communalism by the nationalist and left parties of Kerala, making its full participation in the political process difficult. Koya was at the helm of refuting the accusation of communalism and forging valuable political alliances. He proved both pragmatic and flexible in this respect, being keenly aware of the........

© Mathrubhumi English