P. Ramamurthi

P. Ramamurti (20 September 1908 – 15 December 1987) was an Indian politician and a politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Ramamurti was born in Chennai to Panchapakesan, a Sanskrit scholar. He obtained his education from Hindu High School, Presidency College, Madras and the Banaras Hindu University. He joined the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) during the Indian independence movement. In 1927, he was involved in the protests against the Simon Commission. Like many other members of the CSP in South India he then joined the Communist Party of India, and was one of the founding members of the party in Tamil Nadu.^[1] He became the Secretary of CSP in Tamil Nadu and was a member of the All India Congress Committee.^[2] In 1936 he began organising trade unions.^[1] Ramamurti was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952 from the Madurai North Constituency. At the time he was in jail. In total P. Ramamurti spent eight years in jail and five years underground.^[1]

In 1953, at the 3rd CPI party congress, he was elected to the Central Committee and the politburo of the party. In 1964 he was amongst the leaders of the CPI(M), when the party broke away from CPI.^[1] In 1967 he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Madurai constituency.^[3] In 1970 he became the first general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.^[4][5]

On 20 September 2007 CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat unveiled a bronze statue of P. Ramamurti in Madurai, marking the beginning of the centenary anniversary celebrations of P. Ramamurti.^[6][7]

Bibliography

• For whom the BHEL tolls?, published in 1979

References