Gowri Amma: The Mother of Kerala 

The late Communist leader KR Gowri Amma, who passed away on Tuesday, was the mother who took in the joys and sorrows of the Kerala public as her own joys and sorrows. Through her political activities, she played the role of a mother in improving the daily lives of the poor who fought for their livelihood, after going through hellish suffering. She was, of course, the mother of Kerala.

Despite her aristocratic family background and high-paying legal career, Gowri Amma did not hesitate to throw her life into the cauldron of struggle without being taking shelter under its shadow. For that, she had to face unexplainable torture.
The century in which Gowri Amma lived is also the history of Kerala before and after formation of Kerala. No one can understand the history of Kerala without studying the life of Gowri Amma. Gauri Amma, who was the Minister of Revenue in the first Communist government that took office after United (aikya) Kerala was formed, was the architect of the Land Reforms Act which revived the social life of Kerala.

Although the Act was diluted later, it was the annals written in golden letters in the Kerala history.
She was a member of all the Left Ministries that came to power later, until she was expelled from the party. In the 1987 Assembly elections, the slogan chanted by party workers and her supporters across the State was "Keram Thingum Kerala Nattil K R Gowri Bharichidum", meaning in the land of coconut trees, K R Gowri will rule.
But, despite coming to power, the party refused to make Gauri Amma the chief minister. The CPM leadership's reluctance to promote a fighter like Gowri Amma to that position was a historic blunder. It would be good to look back and see whether the party, that boasts of women’s empowerment, has achieved anything by missing out on the opportunity to write history.
Gauri Amma's father Kalathilparambil Raman was a farmer but a progessionist. It was her father's encouragement that motivated her to pursue higher education. Gauri Amma said that she was the first Ezhava girl to pass the BL in Travancore at a time when casteism was rife with the same sense of pride he had when she said that P. Krishnapillai had given her the Communist Party membership.
"I'm just a normal person, a natural person who is outspoken in front of anyone and speak plainly without mincing words. I do not have the flexibility or sophistication that politicians today have. Just a rough character. It has often made a lot of enemies and friends for me." Gauriamma has revealed this in her autobiography.
The poem Gauri written by Balachandran Chullikad sums up the idiosyncrasies of the revolutionary leader.
There is no other leader in Kerala who has given as much energy to the women's movement as Gowriamma. No one can doubt that her memories will continue to inspire the struggling women community.

Gowriamma has shared the grief of having to stay away from the party with her husband and Communist leader TV Thomas. When she was expelled from the CPM in 1994, Gauri Amma responded by forming a party called Janthipathya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS). She believed that though the party abandoned her, the people won’t. She put the CPM on the defensive by joining the UDF cabinet and proving this . Despite all this, the communist fighter inside Gowri Amma did not die. Until her death, she remained a staunch communist within her.

She was the best minister in all the positions she held, including revenue, excise, industry and agriculture. Gauriamma formed the Women's Commission and started the Technopark. Gauri Amma, who said she considered politics to be a service to the people, had reined in anti-people activists. She was always vigilant to keep the bureaucracy by people’s side.

Gauri Amma is an emotion in Kerala’s mind. She is history. When she passed away at the age of 102, that history was amalgamated with the history of Kerala. Gowri Amma was a close friend of Kerala Kaumudi. She has always been very interested in us at every stage of our growth. We pay tribute to the valiant memory of that mother…