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Removing T.V._Thomas.jpg; it has been deleted from Commons by Thuresson because: Per a Deletion Request: c:Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by Arjun Madathiparambil Muraleedharan.

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{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{distinguish|K. V. Thomas}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox_Indian_politician
|name = T. V. Thomas
|image =
|imagesize = 250px
|office = 1st Minister for Labour & Transport, [[Government of Kerala]]
|constituency = [[Alappuzha (State Assembly constituency)|Alappuzha]]
|term_start = {{Start date|1957|04|05|df=yes}}
|term_end = {{End date|1959|07|31|df=yes}}
|predecessor = Established
|successor = [[K.T. Achuthan]]

|office2 = Minister for Industries, [[Government of Kerala]]
|constituency2 = [[Alappuzha (State Assembly constituency)|Alappuzha]]
|term_start2 = 6 March 1967, 25 September 1971
|term_end2 = 21 October 1969, 25 March 1977
|predecessor2 = {{Unbulleted_list|K. A. Damodara Menon|[[P. Ravindran]]}}
|successor2 = [[P. K. Vasudevan Nair]]

|office3 = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
|constituency3 =[[Alappuzha (State Assembly constituency)|Alappuzha]]
|term_start3 = {{Start date|1957||}}
|term_end3 = {{End date|1959||}}
|predecessor3 = Established
|successor3 = [[A. Nafeesath Beevi]]

|office4 = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
|constituency4 = [[Alappuzha (State Assembly constituency)|Alappuzha]]
|term_start4 = {{Start date|1967||}}
|term_end4 = {{End date|1977||}}
|predecessor4 = [[A. Nafeesath Beevi]]
|successor4 = [[P. K. Vasudevan Nair]]

| office5 = [[Leader of the Opposition]], [[Travancore-Cochin]] Legislative Assembly
| term_start5 = {{Start date|1954||}}
| term_end5 = {{End date|1956||}}

| office6 = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Travancore–Cochin]] Legislative Assembly
| term_start6 = 1954
| term_end6 = 1956

| term_start7 = 1952
| term_end7 = 1954

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|7|2|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Alleppey]], [[Kingdom of Travancore]]
|nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1977|03|26|1910|07|02|df=yes}}
|death_place =
|alma_mater =
|residence =
|spouse = [[K. R. Gowri Amma]]
|children =
|party = [[Communist Party of India]]
|website =
| footnotes =
| date = 12 January
| year = 2012
| source = http://niyamasabha.org/codes/members/m706.htm Kerala niyamasabha
|}}
'''T. V. Thomas''' (2 July 1910 – 26 March 1977) was an Indian [[communism|communist]] leader from [[Alappuzha|Alleppey]], Kerala.<ref>[http://firstministry.kerala.gov.in/2017/04/04/shri-t-v-thomas/ "SHRI. T.V. THOMAS"]. Firstministry.kerala.gov.in. Retrieved 1 January 2018.</ref> He was the Minister for Labour and Transport in the [[First E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry]] (5 April 1957 to 31 July 1959), Minister for Industries in the [[Second E. M. S. Namboodiripad Ministry]] (6 March 1967 to 21 October 1969) and in the [[Second Achutha Menon Ministry]] (25 September 1971 to 25 March 1977).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stateofkerala.in/niyamasabha/t_v_thomas.php | title=Kerala Niyamasabha: T.V. Thomas | publisher=Stateofkerala.in | accessdate=18 October 2018}}</ref> He was also the Opposition Leader in the [[Travancore-Cochin]] Legislative Assembly ([[1954 Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly election|1954–56]]).

He entered politics through Travancore State Congress and was its State Committee member. He later joined the [[Communist Party of India]] when it finally took shape in Kerala in the early 1940s. When the [[1964 split in the Communist Party of India|Communist Party split in 1964]], he chose to remain with the parent party, CPI.
[[File:Kerala Council of Ministers 1957 EMS.jpg|thumb|left|500px|Council of Ministers (1957–59); T. V. Thomas is fourth from left]]
He was one of the first generation trade union leaders in Kerala and was actively involved in the [[Indian independence movement]]. He was also instrumental in organizing coir workers and farmers in Alleppey and was the leader of [[Punnapra-Vayalar uprising]]. Thomas was a visionary leader and as Minister for Industries, he was responsible for building up infrastructure for the industrial sector in Kerala which had blazed a path of industrialization but unfortunately was not carried forward by the succeeding ministers.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/Birth-centenary-celebrations-of-T.V.-Thomas-begin/article16836924.ece "Birth centenary celebrations of T.V. Thomas begin"]. ''The Hindu''. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2018.</ref>

He was married to a veteran politician and former minister [[K. R. Gowri Amma]]. Their private life has been subjected to public scrutiny because when the Communist Party split in 1964, Gowri Amma joined the newly formed [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]; Thomas remained with the CPI. Though they were both ministers in the United Front government in 1967, they were estranged and belonged to different political parties. The couple separated in 1965 on ideological grounds but lived together in the same house. Thomas died on 26 March 1977 aged 67, after a long battle with cancer.

Thomas was an atheist like most of his contemporary communist leaders. A controversy erupted in 2015 when former archbishop [[Joseph Powathil]] claimed that Thomas wanted to come back to Christianity and receive the Holy Communion while in his deathbed. However, several of his contemporaries including Gowri Amma rejected the claims, saying Thomas had never abandoned his faith in Communism.<ref>KPM Basheer (17 November,
2005). [http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/once-communist-idol-gouri-now-bows-to-a-temple-ritual/article7888800.ece "Once Communist idol, Gouri now bows to a temple ritual"]. ''The Hindu''. Retrieved 1 January 2018.</ref><ref>[http://english.manoramaonline.com/news/kerala/communist-tv-thomas-never-received-holy-communion-kr-gouri.html "TV Thomas never received the Holy Communion: KR Gouri"]. ''Malayala Manorama''. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2018.</ref>

==In popular culture==
The 1990 Malayalam film [[Lal Salam (1990 film)|''Lal Salam'']] was partly inspired by the life of T. V. Thomas and [[K._R._Gowri_Amma|Gowri Amma]]. [[Mohanlal]] played Comrade Stephen Nettooran (inspired from Varghese Vaidyan), [[Murali (Malayalam actor)|Murali]] played Comrade D. K. Antony (inspired from T. V. Thomas) and [[Geetha (actress)|Geetha]] played Comrade Sethulakshmi (inspired from Gowri Amma).<ref>{{cite news |title=Rewinding to the Times When Malayalam Cult Film 'Lal Salam' Swayed the Masses |url=https://thewire.in/film/malayalam-lal-salam-thomas-gowri |access-date=27 January 2021 |work=The Wire}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Indian independence activists]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala]]
[[Category:Trade unionists from Kerala]]
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in India]]
[[Category:Malayali politicians]]
[[Category:Politicians from Alappuzha]]
[[Category:Indian atheists]]

T. V. Thomas - Revision history

->CommonsDelinker: Removing T.V._Thomas.jpg; it has been deleted from Commons by Thuresson because: Per a Deletion Request: :c:Commons:Deletion requests/Files uploaded by Arjun Madathiparambil Muraleedharan|.