- Vakkom Majeed
Infobox_Indian_politician
name = Vakkom Majeed
caption = Vakkom Majeed in 1980s
birth_date =December 20 ,1909
birth_place = Vakkom,Thiruvanathapuram ,Kerala ,India flagicon|India
death_date =July 10 ,2000
death_place = Vakkom,Thiruvanathapuram ,Kerala ,India flagicon|India
predecessor =
successor =
party =Indian National Congress
relatives = Vakkom Moulavi (Uncle)
spouse = Suleha Beevi (Late)
children = Fathima, ShameemaS. Abdul Majeed, (
December 20 ,1909 –July 10 ,2000 ) known as Vakkom Majeed, was a veteranFreedom fighter and a former member ofTravancore-Cochin State Assembly.Biography
Vakkom Majeed (S. Abdul Majeed) was a politician-extraordinary in the socio-political realm of
Kerala in the 20th Century. He was a veteranFreedom Fighter and a former member of theTravancore-Cochin State Assembly. A greatnationalist that he was, Vakkom Majeed belonged to a tradition of politics that was intrinsically value-based,secular andhumanistic .Early life & Family
Vakkom Majeed was born on
December 20 ,1909 , atVakkom village near Chirayinkil, (Thiruvananthapuram ,Kerala ) in a well-knownPoonthran Vilakom family. Vakkom Majeed was the nephew of Vakkom Abdul Khader Moulavi, a visionary, a social reformer, an educationist, a prolific writer, a fearless journalist and, above all, a patriot. He did his primary education at St. Joseph High School, Anjengo. He was married to Suleha Beevi, the niece of Vakkom Moulavi. They had two daughters, Fathima and Shameema.Freedom struggle
He was attracted to the social reform movement of his uncle,
Vakkom Moulavi , as well asNarayana Guru . He came to politics in his early school days. When the Indian National Movement emerged inKerala , Vakkom Majeed was in the forefront of its leadership. He was one of the early architects of theIndian National Congress in Travancore. As a young man, he also became greatly involved in the social reform movement. Majeed was one of the few Congress leaders in Travancore who exhibited enormous courage by participating in the Quit India movement in 1942 and got arrested. He remained in jail for several months. Subsequently, when the idea of “independent Travancore” was mooted, Majeed was a staunch opponent of it and took part in the agitation against the move. He was again incarcerated again for several months.Political career
A staunch opponent of the
Two-Nation Theory andPakistan movement , Vakkom Majeed argued that only a secular-nationalist India could keep the heart and soul of the masses together. In 1948, he was elected (unopposed) to theTravancore-Cochin State Assembly from theAttingal constituency. When the tenure of his term came to an end in 1952, he decided to eschew practical politics and took to serious reading. He was attracted to the writings ofBertrand Russell ,M.N. Roy and several French writers. Majeed was opposed to doctrinaire politics and argued for secular-humanist perspective in politics and social issues. Majeed upheld the values ofLiberalism andModernism inIslam and called for the return ofIjtihad (freedom of thought) in Islamic traditions. He equally valued the thoughts ofNarayana Guru and pointed to the increasing relevance of a “casteless” society.When the INA hero Vakkom Kadir was sentenced to death by the British, Vakkom Majeed visited him in the Madras Central jail. It was Vakkom Majeed who brought Kadir’s last letter to his father before the hanging.
Final years
The last three decades of Vakkom Majeed was the decades of his intense exploration and reading (and rereading) of nationalist history,
ideology and practice. In 1972, during the Silver Jubilee celebration of Indian Independence, the nation honored him by giving 'Tamrapatra' for his participation in the Indian Freedom Struggle. He received the 'Tamrapatra' from the then Prime Minister, Smt.Indira Gandhi. This great and fearless freedom fighter and nationalist breathed his last onJuly 10 ,2000 .External links
* http://vmmrcblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2007/05/vakkom-majeed.html
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