P. Govinda Pillai (b. 1926) was born in Perumbavoor in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. Leaping into the country’s freedom movement during his student days, Pillai graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He became a full-time political, social and cultural activist after his student life and was elected four times to the Kerala State Legislature, first as a representative of the Communist Party of India and, later, the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was the Chief Editor of Desabhimani, the CPI (M)’s organ in Malayalam, for more than two decades. He has headed many institutions including the Kerala State Film Corporation, Centre for Imaging Technology, Kerala State Press Akademi etc. He is the author of about 35 books based on a range of subjects including Marxist aesthetics, literature and culture, social movements and science.
