Pinarayi remembers V.S. Achuthanandan as a strong-willed leader with legacy of fighting injustice

The Hindu

3 days ago

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan portrayed the late Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader V.S. Achuthanandan as a proletarian leader of 'extraordinary will power, an unflinching sense of political purpose and a decades-old communist legacy of fiercely resisting injustice'.
In a statement, Mr. Vijayan said the centenarian communist had dedicated his life to the people. Mr. Achuthanandan's life remained intertwined with the history and formation of modern Kerala.
Mr. Vijayan said that Mr. Achuthanandan's contributions as Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition, CPI(M) State secretary, a member of the Polit Bureau for 23 years, and Chairperson of the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission were unmatched.
'End of an era'
Mr. Achuthanandan's passing marks the end of an era. His departure is a loss for the Communist movement and also the democratic progressive movement in the country.
Mr. Vijayan said memories of working together with Mr. Achuthanandan swamped him.
He recollected the trials and tribulations that Mr. Achuthanandan faced in his long life. Mr. Achuthanandan was at the forefront of the fight against feudalism, serfdom, casteism, and exploitation during the Colonial era. The Communist movement in Kerala elevated him as the State's Chief Minister.
Mr. Vijayan said that Mr. Achuthanandan was the last of the 32 leaders who formed the CPI(M) after the 1964 split. Mr. Achuthanandan was the last link between the independence movement and contemporary politics. 'A valuable political presence has now eclipsed,' he said.
Mr. Vijayan said Mr. Achuthanandan's name was synonymous with the storied Punnappara-Vayalar uprising against landlorship, oppressive feudalism and serfdom.
'Mr. Achuthanandan contributed to the growth of the communist movement. In turn, the party contributed to Mr. Achuthanandan's rise as a powerful working class leader and later Chief Minister,' Mr. Vijayan said.
He recalled Mr. Achuthanandan had joined the Communist Party at the age of 17 in 1940.
Mr. Achuthanandan led the resistance against bonded labour, slave wages and caste oppression. He organised bonded agriculture workers in Alappuzha, challenging landlords and the Colonial police.
Mr. Achuthanandan initially formed the Travancore Karshaka Thozhilali Union, which later became the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union, the biggest farmworkers labour collective in the State.
Working class agitations
The scores of working class agitations led by Mr. Achuthanandan changed the socio-political landscape of Kuttanad. He led the struggle for State takeover of excess land, minimum wages, equal pay for men and women agricultural workers, permanence in their employment, and an end to bonded labour.
The proletarian agitations led by Mr. Achuthanandan sounded the death knell of the 'chapa sambradayam', where employees tossed metal tokens to a waiting crowd of workers for daily wage employment in the Kochi port.
Mr. Vijayan remembered that Mr. Achuthanandan had slept rough, gone without victuals and toured remote villages in Kuttanad to organise farmworkers against the feudal regime.
The government arrested Mr. Achuthanandan in 1948 after it proscribed the communist party. Mr. Achuthanandan rose through the ranks in the party and was its member for 85 years. 'VS turned his experience into strength for the communist movement,' he added.
'Anchored the party'
Mr. Achuthanandan were among the tall leaders who anchored the party when revanchist and extremist tendencies buffeted the organisation following the 1964 split.
Mr. Achuthanandan transcended politics by focusing on environmental conservation, human rights and gender equality, gaining mammoth public acceptance in the process.