Biography
Joined Indian National Congress in April 2009 |
Abdullakutty hails from an orthodox Muslim family of agriculturists of Narath village in Kannur District. Born on 08 May 1967, he is the third of five children of Shri T. P. Moideen and Smt. A. P. Sainaba. He has an elder brother and an elder sister. He also has a younger brother and a younger sister. He considers himself most fortunate to have this unique position of “the sibling in the middle.” Abdullakutty’s family members were Congress party sympathizers. During his schooldays he was favourably disposed towards the Congress, though politically inactive. Brought up to be a devout Muslim, he used to go to the Madrasa every morning. His mother’s ardent desire was that one day her son would grow up to become a Mullah. Abdullakutty had his primary education at the Narath Mapillai LP School where he studied upto the 4th standard. Later he went to the Kambil Mapillai High School, from where he passed his SSLC with a second class. His brother who was in the Gulf suggested that he should be sent to the local Industrial Training Institute to learn to be a civil draftsman. This would open up immense possibilities for a lucrative overseas career. It was customary for youngsters in the village to go to the Gulf countries after completing their SSLC. Not many bothered to study further. The Gulf was the ultimate destination for the average Muslim youngster – his passport to a lifetime of prosperity. Much against his wishes, Abdullakutty found himself enrolled in the ITI. And this proved to be a major turning point in his life. Abdullakutty found himself irresistibly drawn to the ideals and programs of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Soon he was elected Union General Secretary and threw himself into the struggle against privatization of professional education. A 50 day strike ensued and Abdullakutty was arrested and lodged in the Kannur Central Jail for a month. He missed his exams and ended up discontinuing his education at ITI. Abdullakutty then joined the SN College, Kannur, for the Pre-degree course. In time he passed the Pre-degree examination and registered for B.A. (Malayalam) in the same college. He was now a full-fledged SFI activist. He was soon elected as University Union Councillor, a remarkable achievement considering that the SN College had always been a KSU stronghold. (Kerala Students Union is the student wing of the Congress.) This was a great feather in the SFI cap. In his first year as an under-graduate student, Abdullakuuty was elected General Secretary of the Calicut University Union, thus establishing the ascendancy of the SFI once again. This victory caused him to be described by the flattering epithet “Jeyikkaanai Jeyichavan” (born to win). After his graduation, Abdullakutty joined the Law Academy Law College at Trivandrum from where he completed his LLB degree. In 1996, Abdullakutty won the District Panchayat Member position from the prestigious Valapattinam area, which had hitherto remained in the hands of the Congress. In 1999, he was the CPI(M)’s chosen candidate for the Kannur Lok Sabha seat. He wrested the seat from the Congress, defeating his formidable rival Mullapally Ramachandran by a margin of 10,285 votes. He was only 31 years old when he became a Member of Parliament for the first time. In 2004, Abdullakutty was once again elected to Parliament, this time defeating his opponent Mullapally Ramachandran of the Congress by a stupendous margin of over 83,000 votes. In January 2009, Abdulla Kutty fell out with the CPM, leading to his exit from the party in March the same year. He joined the Indian National Congress in April 2009 Abdullakutty is married to Dr. V N Rosina, a dentist, and they have two children, Aman and Tamanna. |