FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN KERALA 43 those of the Muslims. The CP1 (M) is thus said to be the "original sinner" in communalising Kerala politics. Those who indulge in such arguments are putting facts upside down. The first case of a "secular" party allying itself with the Muslim League, as is seen in the foregoing narration, was the formation of the anti-Communist front in 1959, of which the Congrass was the leader and the League an equal partner. Both during the "liberation struggle" as well as in the following midterm elections to the Kerala Legislature a joint list of candidates had been announced by the Congress, the Muslim League and the PSP. The tricolour of the Congress, the crescent-inscribed green flag of the Muslim League and the PSP flag were tied together on common poles and flew in all the nooks and corners of Kerala to give confidence to the masses that the three parties were united in the anti-Communist front. But, after the election, the Congress and the PSP together came to be in a comfortable majority in the Assembly, with no need of support from the League in the Assembly. The Muslim League was therefore kept out of the ministry. This naturally led to discontent among the League leaders and ranks. It is true that the CPI (M) to begin with, and then the entire left movement, used the discontent of the League against the Congress for defeating the latter in 1967. Following, a coalition government was of course formed, with the Muslim League as an equal partner. The CPI (M) assumed the role of leadership in the coalition ministry. The experiment however was short-lived Finding that the CPI (M) was rapidly gaining ground among the people, the Muslim League formed what was then called a "mini front" with the CPI, the RSP, and a section of the Socialist Party against the GPI (M) and its allies in the non-Congress front- Their class hatred for the Communists made the League leaders forget the betrayal of the Congress after the 1960 elections. They had no hesitation in joining hands with the Congres in toppling the CPI (M)-led ministry. Having formed an anti-CPI (M) front within the non-Gongress front, the League leaders and their allies broadened it into an alliance with the Congress and Kerala Congress against the CPI (M). The anti-CPI (M) coalition that thus emerged two years after the formation of the non-Congress front of which the League was a partner developed into a ruling coalition towards the end of 1969. Though formally headed by the CPI leader as Chief Minister the anti-CPI (M) coalition was in fact led politically by the Congress and continued for full 10 years—from the end of 1969 to the end of 1979. The present coalition is therefore a continuation of the anti-CPI(M) coalition of 1969-1979 with the difference that the CPI, the RSP, a section of the socialists and a breakaway group of the Muslim League are today in the left democratic opposition. From this narration of facts, two conclusions emerge: firstly, the crux of the conflict is the struggle between the Congress and the left movement of which the CPI (M) is the most representative, the most