Susheela Gopalan

Infobox_Indian_politician
name = Susheela Gopalan


caption = Mrs. Susheela Gopalan
birth_date = birth date|1929|12|29|df=y
birth_place = Muhamma, in Alappuzha, Kerala
death_date = death date and age|2001|12|19|1929|12|29|df=y
death_place = Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
constituency = Alappuzha and Chirayinkil
office = Member of Parliament and Minister for Industries and Social Welfare, Kerala
salary =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party = Communist Party of India (Marxist)
religion = Atheist
spouse = A. K. Gopalan
children = Laila Gopalan

Susheela Gopalan (b. 29 December, 1929, at Muhamma, in Alappuzha, Kerala; d. 19 December, 2001, at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) was an Indian Communist leader and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). She was elected Member of Parliament twice, from Alappuzha (1980) and Chirayinkil (1991), and was a Minister in the Government of Kerala for a number of years. Born to the famous Ezhava kalari family, Cheerappanchira in Muhamma, she was educated in Alappuzha and Trivandrum and joined the Communist Party. She married A. K. Gopalan, one of the veterans of the party, who she had met during his years in hiding.

She was one of the few women who held major responsibilities in the CPI (M) structure. She was a Minister in a number of LDF cabinets in Kerala. During her last term she was the Miniter for Industries and Social Welfare. She almost became the Chief Minister of Kerala in 1996. The Polit-bureau had proposed her name and it was placed before the state legislators who were asked to elect a Chief Minister; she lost by one vote to E. K. Nayanar, in whose cabinet she became the Minister for Industries and Social Welfare.

External links

* [http://pd.cpim.org/2001/dec23/2001_dec23_susheela.htm Condolence by the Polit-bureau]
* [http://www.rediff.com/business/1999/mar/04inter.htm Interview concerning Kerala's Industrial Policy]