R. Umanath

R. Umanath
R. Umanath with his wife and another veteran CPI (M) leader Papa Umanath
Personal details
Born	1922 Kasaragod, Kerala
Died	May 21, 2014 Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Political party	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Spouse(s)	Pappa Umanath
Children	U. Vasuki

R. Umanath was a communist politician from Tamil Nadu, India, and a Politburo member of Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 1998. He was born in 1922 in Kasaragod, Kerala and moved to Madras during his student days.

Born in a poor Brahmin family in Kasaragod, Umanath learnt to play harmonium to accompany his mother who eked out a livelihood as a Bhajan singer. While his family had hoped that Umanath, a student of Annamalai University, would land in a good job, he disappointed them by quitting his studies to become a full-time member of the Communist party.

He joined the Communist Party of India in 1939 while studying at the Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu. He left his studies to become a whole-timer of the Party.

Umanath was arrested along with P. Ramamurthi in 1940 in connection with the Madras Conspiracy Case, and jailed for three years. He spent nine and a half years in jail, and another seven years underground.

He was elected to the 3rd and 4th Lok Sabhas from the Pudukkottai in 1962 and 1967. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate from Nagapattinam in 1977 and 1980 elections.