38.88.107.19: /* Career */ restored from source

2021-09-08T18:42:09Z

Career: restored from source

New page

{{Short description|Indian independence activist, politician, and lawyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox AM
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Rosamma Punnoose
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| assembly = Kerala Legislative
| constituency_AM = [[Devikulam (State Assembly constituency)|Devikulam]]
| term_start = 1957
| term_end = 1959
| predecessor = Position Created
| successor = Sundaram Murukandy
| assembly1 = Kerala Legislative
| constituency_AM1= [[Alappuzha (State Assembly constituency)|Allepey]]
| term_start1 = 1987
| term_end1 = 1991
| predecessor1 = [[K. P. Ramachandran Nair]]
| successor1 = [[K. P. Ramachandran Nair]]
| prior_term =
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Rosamma Cherian
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1913|05|12}}
| birth_place = [[Kanjirappally]], [[Travancore]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|12|28|1913|05|12}}
| death_place = [[Salalah]], Oman
| resting_place = [[Pathanamthitta district]], [[Kerala]], India
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality = Indian
| party = [[Communist Party of India]]
| otherparty = [[Indian National Congress|Travancore State Congress]] (1938–48)
| height = 
| spouse = {{marriage |[[P.T. Punnoose]]<br />|1946|1971|end=d.}}
| relations =
| children = 1 son and 1 daughter
| mother = Annamma Karippaparambil
| father = Thomman Cherian
| relatives = [[Accamma Cherian]] <small>(sister)</small>
| residence =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[Madras Law College]]
| occupation =
| profession =
| known_for =
| salary =
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| awards = 
| blank1 =
| data1 =
| blank2 =
| data2 =
| blank3 =
| data3 =
| blank4 =
| data4 =
| blank5 =
| data5 =
| signature =
| signature_alt =

| module =
| module2 =
| module3 =
| module4 =
| module5 =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Rosamma Punnoose''' (12 May 1913 – 28 December 2013) was an Indian independence activist, politician and lawyer. She was the first person to be sworn in as a member of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]. She was also the first [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]] in India to lose her seat following a court order, and the first person to be elected in the first-ever [[by-election]] to the assembly in 1958. Punnoose was also the first [[Pro tempore|pro tem]] [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

==Early life==
Rosamma was born in [[Kanjirappally]], [[Travancore]] on 12 May 1913 to a [[Catholic]] family, the fourth child of Kanjirapally Karippaparanbil Thomman Cheriyan and Payippadu Punnakkudi Annamma.<ref name = "DC">{{cite web|title=Rosamma Punnose is no more|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131229/news-current-affairs/article/rosamma-punnose-no-more|website=Deccan Chronicle|access-date=20 December 2016|date=29 December 2013}}</ref><ref name = "TOI">{{cite web|title=Rosamma Punnoose passes away in Oman|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/Rosamma-Punnoose-passes-away-in-Oman/articleshow/28095001.cms|website=The Times of India|access-date=20 December 2016}}</ref>

She graduated with a degree in law from the [[Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai|Madras Law College]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mathew|first1=K. M.|title=The Eighth Ring: An Autobiography|date=25 October 2015|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=9789352140442|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLe9CgAAQBAJ|access-date=20 December 2016|language=en|chapter=29}}</ref><ref name="DNA">{{cite web|title=Kerala's 'first legislator' Rosamma Punnoose passes away|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-kerala-s-first-legislator-rosamma-punnoose-passes-away-1941827|website=Daily News & Analysis|access-date=20 December 2016|date=28 December 2013}}</ref>

==Career==
She began her political career by joining the Travancore State Congress in 1938, influenced by her elder sister [[Accamma Cherian]].<ref name = "DC"/><ref name = "New Indian Express"/> Accamma Cherian was also an independence activist, and both sisters were imprisoned at [[Central Prison, Poojappura]] by the British in 1939.<ref name="DNA"/> Rosamma was released from prison three years later.<ref name = "New Indian Express"/>

Despite objections from her family and community, Rossamma married P.T. Punnoose, a leader of the [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI), in 1946. P.T. Punnoose was a [[Mar Thoma Syrian Church|Marthoma Syrian]]. No marriage between a Catholic woman and a Marthoma guy had ever occurred in the region, at the time. Besides which, Rosamma's family supported the [[Indian National Congress]], and objected to her marrying a communist. Furthermore, P.T. Punnoose was wanted by police and authorities who were conducting a crackdown against communists at the time. As with all Christian weddings between communist couples, at the time, the two were married at a church in [[Kochi|Cochin]] with a special letter of consent from the [[Pope]]. P.T. Punnoose had to be brought to the church quietly to evade police. Among the guests at the wedding were [[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]] and [[Kumaran Asan]].<ref name = "DC"/>

Rosamma joined the CPI in 1948. In the [[1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election|first assembly election]] in the state of Kerala in 1957, she was elected to the Assembly from the [[Devikulam]] constituency.<ref name = "New Indian Express">{{cite web|title=Communist Legend Rosamma No More|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2013/dec/29/Communist-Legend-Rosamma-No-More-556742.html|website=The New Indian Express|access-date=20 December 2016}}</ref> Her husband had been elected to the Lok Sabha in the [[Indian general election, 1951–52|1952 general election]], and retained his seat in the [[1957 Indian general election|1957 general election]], marking a rare occurrence of an elected husband and wife in Kerala politics.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeffrey|first1=Robin|title=Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became 'a Model'|date=27 July 2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349122523|page=137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ENC-DAAAQBAJ|access-date=20 December 2016|language=en}}</ref><ref name = "New Indian Express"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Members Bioprofile|url=http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/931.htm|website=164.100.47.132|access-date=20 December 2016}}</ref> Rosamma was the first person to be sworn in as a member of the Assembly.<ref name = "New Indian Express"/> She also administered the oath of office to other legislators becoming the first [[Pro tempore|pro tem]] [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the Assembly.<ref name = "DNA"/> However, Rosamma lost her seat following court intervention, but regained it in the first-ever [[by-election]] to the assembly in 1958.<ref name = "TOI"/>

Rosamma remained with the CPI when the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] emerged due to [[1964 split in the Communist Party of India|a party split in 1964]]. She unsuccessfully contested the [[1982 Kerala Legislative Assembly election|1982 assembly election]] from [[Alappuzha|Allepey]] constituency. In the [[1987 Kerala Legislative Assembly election|1987 election]], Rosamma was elected to the assembly for a second time from the same constituency.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mathew|first1=Roy|title=Kerala Assembly Election Results 1987: ALLEPPEY- Rosamma Punnoose|url=http://keralaassembly.org/1987/1987100.html|website=Kerala Assembly|access-date=20 December 2016}}</ref>

She also served as the president of Kerala Mahila Sangham (1969–83), chairperson of the Plantation Corporation (1964–69), head of the Housing Board (1975–78), and was a member of the [[Rubber Board]] for 10 years.<ref name = "New Indian Express"/> She was the chairperson of the [[Kerala Women's Commission]] from 1993 until 1998, when she retired.<ref name = "DNA"/>

==Death==
Rosamma died on 28 December 2013 in [[Salalah]], Oman where she was living with her son Thomas Punnoose. Her only other child, Geetha Jacob, resided in [[Abu Dhabi]]. Her body was brought to her home in Pamala near [[Tiruvalla]], and the funeral was held on 30 December 2013 at Sehiyon Mar Thoma Church, in Varikkad near Tiruvalla.<ref name = "New Indian Express"/><ref name = "DNA"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://niyamasabha.org/codes/members/m586.htm Profile on Kerala Assembly website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punnoose, Rosamma}}
[[Category:Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala]]
[[Category:Female politicians of the Communist Party of India]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1957–1959]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1987–1991]]
[[Category:Indian centenarians]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Women centenarians]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]

Rosamma Punnoose - Revision history

38.88.107.19: /* Career */ restored from source