A man of powerful thoughts and a focused vision, Mohan Kumaramangalam was a force to beckon with. With this biography, explore all about Mohan Kumaramangalam's profile, childhood and life.
Mohan Kumaramangalam
Born On: November 1, 1916
Born In: London, United Kingdom
Died On: May 30, 1973
Career: Politician, Lawyer
Nationality: Indian
Mohan Kumaramangalam was influenced by communist ideas and was a dynamic politician. He was a theorist by nature and after serving the communist party until the onset of independence, he had the honour of joining the Indian National Congress. Kumaramangalam also got an opportunity to serve as a member of the Lok Sabha for Puducherry for a year and he went on to become a part of the Ministry of Steels and Mines. Mohan Kumaramangalam is known for his theories that came alive in various publications and for his unselfish support and service to the politics of the country - both pre and post-independence. He worked all his life, both as a literary figure and as a leader, for the advancement and betterment of the country's society. In order to learn more about his profile, childhood, life and timeline, surf through this write-up.
Early Life
Mohan Kumaramangalam was born in the United Kingdom to P. Subbarayan and Radhabai Subbarayan on the 1st of November 1916. He was the third and the youngest child of his parents. P.P. Kumaramangalam and Gopal Kumaramangalam were his elder brothers.
Kumaramangalam's father, P. Subbarayan, was initially a Zamindar in the Salem district who later moved out to become the Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency. Kumaramangalam received his education from the Eton and King's College in Cambridge and served as the President of the Cambridge Union society in 1938. It was during this period, that he got influenced by communism.
In 1939, he returned to India from Cambridge and actively took part in the Indian Independence movement. He also served as an editor of the communist magazine, 'People's War' which was called the 'People's Age' after the aggression was over.
Career
There were many ups and downs during Kumaramangalam's participation in the Independence Movement. He was actively involved in working with his party to influence people to become a part of their awareness program.
In 1941, he was arrested with P. Ramamurthi, C.S Subramaniam and R. Umanath because they were distributing pamphlets to motivate people, for what came to be known as the Madras Conspiracy Case. He was however released later and started working as the editor of the communist magazine, 'People's War'.
After the independence, there was a peasant rebellion in the Madras Presidency. Due to this movement, the Central government was forced to bring down the communist party prevalent in that region. In the process, Kumaramangalam was arrested along with several other communist leaders. They were released after the rebellion of the peasants subdued.
After his release, Kumaramangalam played a crucial role in establishing the Indo-Soviet relationship that also led to the development of the Indo-Soviet cultural society. But by the 1960's, he started distancing himself from communism. It was after the victory of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party in 1967, in Tamil Nadu assembly elections, that he made a shift in his career by resigning from the Communist Party of India and joining the Indian National Congress.
As time passed, he developed a loyal relationship with Indira Gandhi and backed her when the party split. This led to his election as a Lok Sabha member from Puducherry in the year 1971. Mohan Kumaramangalam served the country as the Minister of Steel and Mines from 1971 till his death in 1973.
Contributions
- In 1944, Mohan Kumaramangalam composed a text called 'A New Germany In Birth’ that was published by the People’s Publishing House. In the same year, he drafted 'Critique of China’s Destiny: Review of Marshal Chiang Kai Shek’s book’.
- In 1945, came the book, 'The United Nations: Instrument for Peace or Dictatorship of the Big Five’ and 1946 witnessed the publication of 'Iran at the Crossroads’ and 'India’s Fight for Equality in South Africa’.
- He continued with writing books and pamphlets such as 'India and the UNO’ (1947), 'India’s Language Crisis: An introductory study (published by the New Century Book House)’, 'Democracy and the Cult of the individual’ (published by the National Book Club in 1966) and so on.
- One of his greatest works was 'Constitutional amendments: The Reason Why’ that was brought in 1971 and published by the All India National Congress. In 1973, just before his death, he penned three important pieces namely 'Coal industry in India: Nationalization and Tasks ahead’, 'Communists in Congress: Kumaramangalam’s Thesis’ and lastly 'Judicial Appointments: An analysis of the recent controversy over the appointment of the Chief Justice of India’.
Death
Mohan Kumaramangalam died in an unfortunate plane crash at the age of 56 on the 30th of May 1973.
Timeline
1916: On November 1st Mohan Kumaramangalam was born.
1938: He served as the President of the Cambridge Union Society.
1939: He returned to India from Cambridge and became editor of a magazine called 'People's War'.
1941: Kumaramangalam was arrested for distributing pamphlets supporting the Madras Conspiracy Case.
1944: He published his first work titled - 'A New Germany In Birth'.
1945: Published the book 'The United Nations: Instrument for Peace or Dictatorship of the Big Five'.
1946: Wrote 'Iran at the Crossroads' and 'India's Fight for Equality in South Africa'.
1947: Mohan wrote 'India and the UNO' during the Independence struggle.
1965: He published his work 'India's Language Crisis: An Introductory Study'.
1967: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party won the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Kumaramangalam resigned from the Communist Party and joined INC.
1971: Got elected as a Lok Sabha member from Puducherry.
1971-73: Served as the Minister of Steel and Mines.
1973: 'Communists in Congress: Kumaramangalam's Thesis' got published
1973: Died in a plane crash on 30th May.
