Divakaran was a freedom fighter, a veteran trade union leader, and a well-respected ex-Minister in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Divakaran was born on December 8, 1920, at Pattathanam in Kollam (Quilon) district to Shri. He had two siblings, elder brother T.K.Bhaskaran and younger sister T.K.Bhargavi. Immediately after his school education, he ventured into public service through trade union ac
tivities in Kollam. He affiliated himself with the United Trade Union Congress (U.T.U.C), the trade union wing of Revolutionary Socialist Party (R.S.P.), and rose through the ranks to become the President of U.T.U.C. He served as an active member of the Travancore state congress in 1940. He then became a founding member of the Kerala Socialist Party (K.S.P.) in 1949 along with K.C Govindan, Shri. Janardhanan Nair, Shri. N Sreekantan Nair, and Shri. Divakaran participated in and led multiple protests, non-cooperation movements, and hunger strikes as part of the Freedom Struggle and the fight to uplift labourers. He was instrumental in labourers gaining access to minimum wages and better working conditions. These struggles led to multiple prison sentences, the first of which was at the tender age of 18 for organizing a Travancore State Congress protest in 1938. He underwent further imprisonment for extended periods (total of 57 months) in connection with the Freedom struggle (1942 Quit India Movement and 1944), Punnapra-Vayalar Struggle in 1946, and the Cotton Mill Strike in 1949. In 1952, Shri. Divakaran won the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly (TCLA) elections from Kollam constituency (against Shri. A.A Rahim) and served as the Deputy Leader of opposition parties. He was reelected to TCLA in 1954 (against former Kerala Chief Minister Shri. R Shankar) and served as the Chairman of the Estimates Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Coir Board. Later, he served as Kollam Municipal Chairman from 1962-1967. Divakaran was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly (KLA) in 1967 (won against Shri. Henry Austin) and was part of Shri E.M.S Namboodiripad ministry from 1967-1969. He handled portfolios of Public Works, Municipalities-Corporation, Tourism, and Printing. He was also the Leader of the House in the first Shri. C Achutha Menon ministry in 1969. In 1970, he was reelected from Kollam (against Dr. P.K Sukumaran) to the KLA and was a member of Shri. C Achutha Menon ministry. He handled portfolios of Public Works and Irrigation till his demise in January 19, 1976. He is survived by his wife, Smt. Devayani, and their five daughters and two sons. His eldest son, Shri. Babu Divakaran, served as the Minister for Labour and Employment in Shri. Antony and Shri. Oommen Chandy ministry (2001-2006).
