2001:16A2:C147:E8A0:B4B7:40DD:5107:2F8B at 12:55, 19 August 2021

2021-08-19T12:55:37Z

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[[File:Seethi sahib.jpg|thumb| K. M. Seethi Sahib]]
{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| name = K. M. Seethi Sahib
| caption = Seethi sahib.jpg
| office = [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
| governor = [[V. V. Giri]]
| 1blankname = Chief Minister
| 1namedata = [[Pattom Thanupillai|Pattom Thanu Pillai]]
| deputy =
| term_start = 22 February 1960
| term_end = 17 April 1961
| predecessor = [[Sankara Narayanan Thampi]]
| successor = [[C. H. Mohammed Koya]]<ref name=":wright"/>
| office1 =
| term_start1 =
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| birth_date = 1899<ref name=":0" />
| birth_place = [[Kodungallur]], [[British India]]<ref name=":0" />
| residence =
| death_date = 17 April 1961<ref name=":0" />
| death_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram]] ([[Kerala]])
| party = * Indian National Congress (till 1933) {{flagicon image|}}<ref name=":0" />
* All-India Muslim League (till 1947)
* [[Indian Union Muslim League]] {{flagicon image|Flag of the Indian Union Muslim League.svg}}
| parents = *Seethi Mohammed<ref name=":0" />
*A.K. Fatima Beevi<ref name=":0" />
| spouse = Khadija<ref name=":0" />
| children =
| website =
| footnotes =
| date =
}}

'''K. M. Seethi Sahib''' (1899—1961), born '''K. M. Seethi<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|year=2007|title=SPEAKERS AND DEPUTY SPEAKERS OF KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY|url=http://niyamasabha.org/codes/Speakers%20&%20Deputy%20Speakers%20Book%20Final.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Kerala Legislative Assembly|publisher=Secretariat of the Kerala Legislature|publication-place=Trivandrum}}</ref>''', was an Indian politician and community leader from [[Kerala]]. He is often considered as a chief architect of the Kerala Muslim revival after the [[Malabar rebellion|1921 Mappila Uprising]]. Seethi Sahib was also a protégé of the reformist leader [[Vakkom Moulavi|Wakkom Maulavi]] (1873—1932).<ref name=":1">Miller, Roland. E., "Mappila" in "The Encyclopedia of Islam". Volume VI. E. J. Brill, Leiden. 1987. pp. 458-56.</ref> He served as the Speaker of [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Assembly]] during 1960-61.'''<ref name=":0" />'''

Seethi Sahib was born in 1899 in an affluent family in [[Kodungallur]] in central Kerala.'''<ref name=":0" />''' He enrolled as an Advocate in [[Madras High Court]] in 1927 and started practice in Kerala.'''<ref name=":0" />''' He started his political career with the [[Indian National Congress|Congress Party]]. He was elected to the Cochin Council twice (1928 and 1931) as a Congress member. <ref name=":wright">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1952972|title=The Muslim League in South India since Independence: A Study in Minority Group Political Strategies|last=P. Wright, Jr.|first=Theodore|date=1966|journal=The American Political Science Review|accessdate=2021-07-31|jstor=1952972}}</ref> During the mid-1930s when the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] ceased to cooperate with the Congress, Seethi Sahib and colleagues started organising the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] in Malabar District.<ref name=":wright"/>

Seethi Sahib was the Secretary of the [[Indian Union Muslim League|Muslim League]] during the 1957 General Elections in India. After the Kerala Assembly Election victory against the [[Communist Party of India|Communist Party]] in 1960, Seethi Sahib was elected as the Speaker of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Assembly]]. He died while in office in 17, April 1961.<ref name=":wright"/> [[C. H. Muhammed Koya]] succeeded Seethi Sahib as the Speaker of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Assembly]].<ref name=":wright"/>

==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]] in central Kerala. He did his schooling at Kodungallur High School with Gold Medal and completed the Intermediate Course from [[Maharaja's College, Ernakulam|Maharaja's College]] (Cochin) in 1917, topping his yearly batch. After graduating in law, he enrolled as an advocate in [[Madras High Court]] in 1927 (practising at [[Ernakulam]] and [[Tellicherry]]).'''<ref name=":0" />'''Former Supreme Court justice [https://kmseethi.com/comments/a-trailblazer-in-indian-jurisprudence-why-v-r-krishna-iyer-matters-today/ V.R. Krishna Iyer and Seethi Sahib] continued their legal practice in Tellicherry and both were elected to Madras Legislative Assembly.

=== With the Congress Party ===
Seethi Sahib joined politics as a student, taking part in the [[Non-Cooperation Movement|Noncooperation Movement]] in (1920-22). The movement was organized by [[Mohandas Gandhi|Mohandas K. Gandhi]] to induce the British government to grant Self-Government to India.<ref name="speakerbio">[http://niyamasabha.org/codes/Speakers%20&%20Deputy%20Speakers%20Book%20Final.pdf Speakers & Deputy Speakers Book Final - Kerala Legislative Assembly, Secretariat of Kerala Legislature, Thiruvananthapuram, 2006]</ref>

In 1928, Seethi Sahib was elected to the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly#History|Cochin Legislative Assembly]] and attended the [[Purna Swaraj|1930 Lahore Congress]] representing "Kerala" state. A year later (1931), he was re-elected to the Cochin Legislative Assembly. <ref name="speakerbio" />

Seethi Sahib left Congress in 1933.<ref name="speakerbio" />

=== With the Muslim League ===
During the mid-1930s when the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] ceased to cooperate with the Congress, Seethi Sahib and colleagues started organising the [[All-India Muslim League|League]] in Malabar District.<ref name=":wright"/> In 1946, he was elected to the [[1946 Madras Presidency legislative assembly election|Madras Legislative Assembly]] from the [[Malappuram|Malappuram Constituency]], a victory he repeated in 1952.<ref name="speakerbio" />

=== In the new Kerala state ===
Seethi Sahib was the Secretary of the [[Indian Union Muslim League|Muslim League]] during the 1957 General Elections in India.<ref name=":wright"/> 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.<ref name=":wright"/> However, the proposed front was eventually veteod by the Congress Party.<ref name=":wright"/>

After the Kerala Assembly Election victory against the [[Communist Party of India|Communist Party]] in 1960, Seethi Sahib was elected as the Speaker of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Assembly]] (22 February).<ref name=":wright"/> He represented [[Kuttippuram|Kuttippuram Constituency]].<ref name="speakerbio" /><ref name=":wright"/> Seethi Sahib died while in office in 17, April 1961.<ref name=":wright"/> [[C. H. Muhammed Koya]] — only after resigning his legislative party (the League) affiliation — succeeded Seethi Sahib as the Speaker of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Kerala Assembly]]. <ref name=":wright"/>

== As a 'reformist' ==
K. M. Seethi Sahib was inspired by [[Vakkom Moulavi|Wakkom Maulavi]] (1873—1932), a major theological reformer of 20th century Kerala.<ref name=":1" /> Seethi Sahib, one of the students who held discussions with Wakkom at [[Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum Law College]], carried forward the reforms to social and political realms.<ref name=":1" />

His mentor was [[Vakkom Moulavi]], a pioneering social worker and freedom activist from Travancore. Maulavi's thoughts and writings in his periodical ''Muslim'' played an important role in defining his religious beliefs and ideology.<ref>Mappila Muslims of Kerala: a study in Islamic trends, Roland E. Miller, Orient Longman, 1976. p. 272</ref>

== Influence ==
Seethi Sahib was an eminent lawyer, statesman, writer and a gifted orator. He was a founder member of the [[Chandrika (Malayalam newspaper)|Chandrika]] newspaper in 1934 and influenced a wide range of other individuals who struggled for the [[Muslim Mappila|Mappila]] community revival.<ref name="speakerbio"/> They included figures such as KK Muhammad Shafi, the first editor of the newspaper Chandrika, C.P. Mammu Keyi, its first managing director and B. Poker Sahib (1890-1965) etc.<ref>Mappila Muslims of Kerala: a study in Islamic trends, Roland E. Miller - Orient Longman, 1992. p. 297</ref> He was a founding member of the [[Farook College]] at Calicut, a landmark institution in the renaissance of Muslims in the [[Malabar District|Malabar]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.farookcollege.ac.in/main/Administration.asp |title=Archived copy |access-date=7 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603215226/http://www.farookcollege.ac.in/main/Administration.asp |archive-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Legacy==
Seethi Sahib Memorial Polytechnic College in [[Tirur]] and [[Seethi Sahib Higher Secondary School]] in [[Taliparamba]],Seethi Sahib Memorial Higher Secondary School and Teachers Training School are at his home village Azhickode,are named after him. In August 1992, the Department of Cultural Publications, Government of Kerala published his biography titled "Seethi Sahib", authored by T. M. Savankutty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_culture/books.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2008-02-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215085741/http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_culture/books.htm |archivedate=15 February 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Another biography was written by his grandson KM Althaf under the title, [http://103.251.43.202:8080/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=1248 Nathodhana Samskrithiyude Speaker], published by Olive.

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Sankara Narayanan Thampi]] | title = [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]] | years = 1960– 1961 | after = [[C. H. Mohammed Koya]]}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seethi, K. M.}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:Mappilas]]
[[Category:People from Thrissur district]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Indian Union Muslim League politicians]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian editors]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Indian reformers]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 1960–1964]]
[[Category:Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram alumni]]
http://103.251.43.202:8080/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=1248

K. M. Seethi Sahib - Revision history

2001:16A2:C147:E8A0:B4B7:40DD:5107:2F8B at 12:55, 19 August 2021