Kerala politician, Advocate KR Gouri Amma who presented the Land Reforms Bill in 1957 passes away

Advocate KR Gouri Amma, the legendary politician from Kerala passed away on Tuesday morning.

She was 102 and suffering from age related ailments.

Gouri Amma was born in 1919 in Alappuzha district and graduated in law from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Gouri Amma was the first woman lawyer from Kerala’s Ezhava community which is classified as Other Backward Caste (OBC).

She set up her law practice at Cherthala before diving full time into politics by joining the Communist Party.

In the first assembly elections held after the creation of Kerala State, she became the Revenue minister in the Communist government led by EMS Namboodiripad.

As the Revenue Minister, she is famously known for presenting the Land Reforms Bill in 1957, which altered land holding in the State and ushered in social changes. It led to the dismissal of the Communist government in the State by Congress led Central government in exercise of powers under Article 356 of the Constitution.

Gouri Amma was elected Member of Legislative Assembly 13 times.

She was later expelled from the Communist party in 1994 and proceeded to float her own party which later aligned with the Congress coalition in the State.