K. M. Seethi Sahib

K. M. Seethi Sahib (1899—1961), born K. M. Seethi[2], was an Indian politician and community leader from Kerala.[3] He served as the Speaker of Kerala Assembly during 1960-61 (Pattom A. Thanu Pillai Ministry).[2]

K. M. Seethi Sahib
K. M. Seethi Sahib
Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
22 February 1960 – 17 April 1961
GovernorV. V. Giri
DeputyA. Nafeesath Beevi
Chief MinisterPattom Thanu Pillai
Preceded bySankara Narayanan Thampi
Succeeded byC. H. Mohammed Koya[1]
Personal details
Born1899[2]
Kodungallur (Cochin) British India[2]
Died17 April 1961[2]
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)
Political party
SpouseKhadija[2]
Parents
  • Seethi Mohammed[2]
  • A.K. Fatima Beevi[2]

Seethi Sahib, born in 1899 in an affluent family in Kodungallur in the Cochin state, enrolled as an Advocate in Madras High Court in 1927 and started practice in Cochin.[2] He started his political career with the Congress Party. He was elected to the Cochin Council twice (1928 and 1931) as a Congress member.[1] During the mid-1930s when the Muslim League ceased to cooperate with the Congress, Seethi Sahib and colleagues started organising the Muslim League in Malabar District.[1]

Seethi Sahib was the Secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League during the 1957 General Elections in India. After the Kerala Assembly Election victory against the Communist Party in 1960, Seethi Sahib was elected as the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly. He died while in office in 17, April 1961.[1] C. H. Muhammed Koya succeeded Seethi Sahib as the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly.[1]

Seethi Sahib is often considered as "the chief architect of Mappila revival" after the 1921 Mappila Uprising.[3][4] He was described by historian Robin Jeffrey as "the leading Mappila intellectual of the generation".[5] Seethi Sahib was originally inspired by the reformist leader Wakkom Maulavi (1873—1932).[3]

Life and career

Early life

K. M. Seethi was born in 1899 as the son of Haji Seethi Mohammed and P. K. Fatima Beevi in an affluent family in Kodungallur (Cochin) in central Kerala.[2] He did his schooling at Kodungallur High School and completed the Intermediate Course from Maharaja's College, Cochin in 1917, topping his yearly batch.[2] After graduating in law, he enrolled as an advocate in Madras High Court in 1927 (practising at Ernakulam).[2]

With the Congress Party

Seethi Sahib joined politics as a student, taking part in the Non-Cooperation Movement in (1920–22).[2] The movement was organized by Mohandas K. Gandhi to induce the British government to grant Self-Government to India. In 1928, Seethi Sahib was elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly (on the Congress ticket). He attended the 1930 Lahore Congress representing "Kerala". A year later (1931), he was re-elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly with the Congress Party.[2]

In 1932, Seethi Sahib shifted his practice from Ernakulam to Tellicherry.[6] He left Congress in 1933.[2][5]

With the Muslim League

During the mid-1930s when the Muslim League ceased to cooperate with the Congress, Seethi Sahib and colleagues started organising the League in Malabar District.[1] In 1946, he was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly from the Malappuram Constituency, a victory he repeated in 1952.[2]

In the new Kerala state

Seethi Sahib was the Secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League during the 1957 General Elections in India.[1] The Congress High Command wished to form a tripartite coalition consisting of the Congress Party, the Praja Socialist Party and the Muslim League in the upcoming elections.[1] However, the proposed front was eventually veteod by the Congress Party.[1]

After the Kerala Assembly Election victory against the Communist Party in 1960, Seethi Sahib was elected as the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly (22 February).[1] He represented Kuttippuram Constituency.[2][1] Seethi Sahib died while in office in 17, April 1961.[1] C. H. Muhammed Koya — only after resigning his legislative party (the League) affiliation — succeeded Seethi Sahib as the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly.[1]

Influence of Wakkom

K. M. Seethi Sahib was inspired by Wakkom Maulavi (1873—1932), a major theological reformer of 20th century Kerala.[3] He had held discussions with Wakkom at the Trivandrum Law College.[4]

Seethi Sahib carried forward the reforms of Wakkom to social and political realms.[3] He "combined the progressive and traditional streams" to became "in the sociopolitical realm, the chief architect of the Muslim revival" in Kerala.[4]

As a writer

Apart from being a politician and prominent lawyer, Seethi Sahib was also a writer and a social worker.[2][4] He co-founded the Chandrika newspaper, now the official daily of Indian Union Muslim League, in the 1930s.[5][6]

Individuals such as B. Pocker Sahib, the Muslim League leader, K. K. Muhammad Shafi, the first editor of the newspaper Chandrika, and C. P. Mammu Keyi, its first managing director were highly influenced by Seethi Sahib.[6]

Legacy

Biographies
  • "Seethi Sahib" (1959), by K. K. Muhammad Abdul Kareem, published by C. H. Muhammad and Sons.[8]
  • "Janab K. M. Seethi Sahib" (1960), by M. Alikunhi, published by Green House.[6]
  • "Seethi Sahib" (1966), by Abu Siddique, published by Green House.[8]
  • "Seethi Sahib" (1992), by T. M. Savankutty, published by the Department of Cultural Publications, Government of Kerala.[9]
  • "Navothana Samskrithiyude Speaker Seethi Sahib" (2015), by K. M. Althaf, published by Olive Publications.[10]

References
  1. Wright, Jr., Theodore P. (1966). "The Muslim League in South India since Independence: A Study in Minority Group Political Strategies". The American Political Science Review. 60 (3): 579–599. doi:10.2307/1952972. JSTOR 1952972. S2CID 143572105. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  2. "Speakers and Deputy of Speakers of Kerala Legislative Assembly" (PDF). Kerala Legislative Assembly. Trivandrum: Secretariat of the Kerala Legislature, Government of Kerala. 2007.
  3. Miller, Roland. E (1987). "Mappila". The Encyclopedia of Islam. Vol. VI. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 460 and 462.
  4. Miller, Roland E. (2015). Mappila Muslim Culture. State University of New York Press. pp. 99, 102 and 204.
  5. Jeffrey, Robin (1992). Politics, Women and Well-Being: How Kerala became 'a Model'. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 111–12.
  6. Miller, Roland. E. Mappila Muslims of Kerala: A Study in Islamic Trends. Orient Longman. pp. 160–61.
  7. "First Managing Committee". Farook College, Calicut. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
  8. Miller, Roland E. (2015). Mappila Muslim Culture. State University of New York Press. pp. 345 and 379.
  9. "Books Published". Department of Cultural Affairs. Government of Kerala. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
  10. "Navothana Samskrithiyude Speaker Seethi Sahib". Kerala State Central Library. Government of Kerala.
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