S. K. Pottekkatt

Political career

Pottekkatt contested twice as independent candidate in elections to Indian Parliament from Thalassery under the banner of the Communist Party of India, the first in 1957 to the 2nd Lok Sabha when he lost to M. K. Jinachandran by 1000 votes and the next in 1962 to the 3rd Lok Sabha when he defeated Sukumar Azhikode by a margin of 66,000 votes; he served out his term until 1967.

Awards and honours Oru Theruvinte Katha (The Story of a Street), a novel based on Mittai Theruvu, a popular street in Kozhikode known for sweetmeat and halvah stalls, received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel in 1961. His biographical novel, Oru Desathinte Katha was selected for the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972. Eight years later, in 1980, the novel earned Pottekkatt the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour in India. In 1982, the University of Calicut honoured him with the honoris causa degree of the Doctor of Letters. India Post issued a commemorative postal stamp on him in 2003, as a part of their Jnanpith Award Winners. Malayala Manorama and Madhyamam issued festschrifts on Pottekkatt on the occasion of his birth centenary.