He was one of the first generation trade union leaders in Kerala and was actively involved in the Indian independence movement.At that time he already had a legally married wife and a son, whom he had abandoned.Their private life has been subjected to public scrutiny because when the Communist Party split in 1964, Gowri Amma joined the newly formed Communist Party of India (Marxist); Thomas remained with the CPI.A controversy erupted in 2015 when former archbishop Joseph Powathil claimed that Thomas wanted to come back to Christianity and receive the Holy Communion while in his deathbed.However, several of his contemporaries including Gowri Amma rejected the claims, saying Thomas had never abandoned his faith in Communism.[4][5] The 1990 Malayalam film Lal Salam was partly inspired by the life of T. V. Thomas and Gowri Amma.