Mohan Kumaramangalam

Mohan Kumaramangalam
Minister of Iron and Steel Mines
In office 1971–1972
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for Pondicherry
In office 1971–1972
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Personal details
Born	November 1, 1916 London, United Kingdom
Died	May 30, 1973(1973-05-30) (aged 56)
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Communist Party of India, Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Kalyani
Relations	General P. P. Kumaramangalam, Parvathi Krishnan
Children	Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, Lalitha Kumaramangalam
Profession	lawyer

Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam (Tamil: சுரேந்திர மோகன் குமாரமங்கலம்) (b. November 1, 1916 - d. May 30, 1973) was an Indian politician and communist theorist who was a member of the Indian National Congress, and later, the Communist Party of India. He served as a member of Lok Sabha for Pondicherry from 1971 to 1972.

Early life and education

Mohan Kumaramangalam was born in London to P. Subbarayan, then zamindar of Kumaramangalam in Salem district and later, Chief Minister of Madras Presidency and his wife, Radhabai Subbarayan on November 1, 1916.^[1] He was their third and youngest son, P. P. Kumaramangalam and Gopal Kumaramangalam being elder to him. Kumaramangalam was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge,^[1] serving as President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1938.^[1] During his period at Cambridge he was deeply influenced by communism.^{[citation needed]}

Kumaramangalam was called to the bar from the Inner Temple.^[2] He returned to India in 1939^[1] and participated in the Indian Independence Movement.

In the Indian Independence movement

In 1941, Kumaramangalam was arrested along with P. Ramamurthi, C. S. Subramaniam and R. Umanath for distributing seditious pamphlets in what came to be known as the Madras Conspiracy Case.^[3] Kumaramangalam was later released. During the Second World War Kumaramangalam served as the editor of the communist magazine, People's War, which on the conclusion of hostilities he renamed as People's Age.

Post-independence politics

In the days following India's independence Madras Presidency was gripped by a peasant rebellion, which compelled the provincial government to launch a crackdown on communists. Kumaramangalam was arrested along with other communist leaders and released after the rebellion had subsided.^[4] Kumaramangalam favoured friendly relations with the Soviet Union and established the Indo-Soviet Cultural Society.^[4] However, with the onset of the 1960s Kumaramangalam began distancing himself from communism. Following the victory of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the 1967 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Kumaramangalam resigned from the Communist Party of India and joined the Indian National Congress.^[4]

Kumaramangalam was loyal to Indira Gandhi when the party split^[4] and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Pondicherry in the 1971 elections.^[5] He served as the Minister of Steel and Mines from 1971 until his death in 1973.^[4]

Death

Kumaramangalam was killed in a plane crash on May 30, 1973 at the age of 56.^[4]

Family

Mohan Kumaramangalam married Kalyani Mukerjee, sister of Bengali politician Ajoy Mukherjee in 1943. Ajoy Mukherjee, later, served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The couple had a son, Rangarajan Kumaramangalam and two daughters.^[6] Rangarajan Kumaramangalam was a member of the Indian National Congress and later, the Bharatiya Janata Party and served as a minister in the Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee governments.^[6] Mohan's daughter, Lalitha Kumaramangalam contested the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Tiruchirapalli and lost on both occasions.

Mohan Kumaramangalam's brother P. P. Kumaramangalam was a distinguished army officer who served as India's Chief of Army Staff.^[6] His sister, Parvathi Krishnan was a politician of the Communist Party of India and served three terms as Member of Parliament from Coimbatore.^[6]

Works

Mohan Kumaramangalam was a prominent communist theorist and authored a number of books and pamphlets. Some of his works include:

• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1944). A New Germany in birth. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam; Boda Chen (1944). Critique of CHina's destiny: Review of Marshal Chiang Kai Shek's book. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam; Enlai Zhou, Vladimir Rogov,Zhongguo gong chan dang (1944). Who threatens China's unity. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1945). The United Nations: Instrument for peace or dictatorship of the big five. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1946). Iran at the Crossroads. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1946). India's fight for equality in South Africe. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1947). India and the UNO. People's Publishing House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1965). India's language crisis: an introductory study. New Century Book House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1966). Democracy and cult of the individual. National Book Club. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1971). Constitutional amendments: the reason why. All India Congress Committee. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1973). Coal industry in India: nationalisation and tasks ahead. Oxford & IBH Pub. Co.,. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1973). Communists in Congress:Kumaramangalam's thesis. D. K. Pub. House. 
• Mohan Kumaramangalam (1973). Judicial appointments: an analysis of the recent controversy over the appointment of the Chief Justice of India. Oxford & IBH Pub. Co.,. 

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Parameshwar Narain Haksar (1979). Premonitions. Interpress. pp. 188. 
2. ^ Far Eastern economic review, Volumes 79-80. Review Publishing Co. Ltd.. 1973. 
3. ^ Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru. Orient Longman. 1982. pp. 502. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Dandapani Jayakanthan (2006). A literary man's political experiences. READ Books. pp. 24. ISBN 1406735698, ISBN 9781406735697. 
5. ^ "Statistical Reports on the General Elections to the 5th Lok Sabha, 1971". Election Commission of India. http://eci.nic.in/StatisticalReports/LS_1971/Vol_I_LS71.pdf. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Kumaramangalam family's role in development remembered". The Hindu. October 17, 2004. http://www.hindu.com/2004/10/17/stories/2004101704590400.htm.