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Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Visage of struggles: The eventful life story of V S Achuthanandan, spanning over a century, coincides with Kerala's own growth story
How you die points out to how you lived. At 101 years, V S Achuthanandan fought death for 28 days. If there is one word that can define VS, it is: Struggle. All his life he struggled for various causes, both social and political. He had a sun-tanned visage of a weather-resilient Kuttanad farmer and seldom smiled. His speeches were often vitriolic and uttered with a trademark drawl, bordering on a Lalu kind of rustic, base humour. He lacked an E K Nayanar kind of smiling charisma or a Jyoti Basu kind of erudite sophistication that would attract the Bhadralok, in this case the unpredictable middle class Kerala voter, who had no qualms voting en masse for Indira Gandhi in the post-Emergency polls. But ironically, it was the intelligentsia, the erudite middle class, including women, who felt VS stood for the underdog and voted him to power on the sheer virtue of his relentless pursuit for equitable justice. Here was a classic case where a credible voice surpassed a bulldog visage and became the conscience of Kerala from early 2000 until he was eased out by 2016. One of the poignant moments in VS's political career was when Sitaram Yechury announced his bête noire Pinarayi Vijayan's name for the chief minister's post after the 2016 polls. VS then said, 'VS will remain the Fidel Castro in the minds of people...'' but shared the stage with Pinarayi with a wry smile. The biggest contribution of VS would be that he was able to build upon the VS brand successfully, especially in a state which has few role models. Even among his peers, cutting across all political parties, he would remain among few political leaders who raised the bar of humanistic values. If VS would have been active today, there is no doubt that he would have been at the protest site of ASHAs, supporting their cause, like how he went to Munnar to support Pembilai Orumai, the women tea workers who had gone on strike demanding higher wages in 2016. His eventful life story, spanning over a century, coincided with Kerala's own growth story, its immense socialistic achievements and search for equitable social justice. His grand failures also provide a glimpse of how the politics of opportunism subverted foundational values of accountability, making VS brand of politics irrelevant in CPM's juggernaut. This is not to undermine what VS managed to achieve in an 80-year political career. His evolution from a mofussil coir factory union leader in rural Kuttanad, where his main role was to settle disputes, at times even using militant force, to a transformative leader happened only because he listened to the voice of the underdog. VS took a bold stand against violence of all forms, which brought him in direct conflict not only with the UDF govt but even with the CPM politburo. The acrimonious Pinarayi versus VS fights that went on for over three decades until the former had the last laugh should not be seen as just a squabble for the spoils of power, but as a deeper ideological battle. The Pinarayi school stands for massive private investment, a la China model of development and the VS school stands for equitable distribution of wealth with minimal damages to the remaining green zones. Critics, including a section of the current CPM leadership, question the socialistic model of development and call it outdated. Maybe that was one of the reasons that even though VS campaigned extensively in 2016 polls, the CM mantle went to Pinarayi and with it a new kind of developmental agenda. Unlike his peers like AKG, EMS or Nayanar, VS did not come from a privileged background. He lost both his parents — mother at the age of four and father when he was 11. He said even though he cried and pleaded to God to save them, his ardent prayers were never heard and ever since then he never looked for God anywhere. In school, he did face caste discrimination and when his classmate called him Chovan, a slur for Ezhavas, he responded by hitting his classmate with a belt. Aggression was in his blood, but as he matured, he put it to better use and became an activist-politician, much to the chagrin of the establishment. He barely managed to study till seventh standard and though he was good at studies, abject poverty forced him to take the job at the cloth shop run by his brother. He was part of the Punnapra-Vayalar agitation, was arrested and suffered a third-degree torture in jail. The police dumped him, thinking he was dead. And yet he survived to become a mass leader from Alappuzha, until the Communist Party of India split in 1964 into CPI and CPI(Marxist). VS was an integral part of 32 founding leaders who formed the CPI(M) and was the last surviving member from that group. He faced some harsh criticism for pushing what was seen as a pastoral developmental agenda and Tughlaqian moves like cutting down banana plantations in order to protect wetlands. Yet, post 2018 floods, his resistance to unscrupulous development and conservation of the green zone acquires real significance. The sustainable framework of development is in sync with what many modern societies are adhering to, in order to mitigate the impact of climate change. VS stood for the underdog and for the empowerment of women much before it became a fashionable statement. No wonder women formed a solid vote base, even when the establishment wanted to get rid of him. VS was also a shrewd politician using the mass media to his advantage to build the VS brand, in a state that had few political heroes to look up to. He took the television crew traversing through high ranges of Idukki, to destroy hundreds of acres of poppy crops. He fought for women's justice, green issues, communal agendas and dreamed of a society based on equitable distribution of wealth. VS was an atheist, but he loved Bhagavad Gita, which he read several times, and was an avid yoga practitioner. Is he a misnomer in the current context of water-tight ideologies of Left and Right, where corruption is overlooked in the name of development? Maybe. The best political legacy that VS perhaps leaves behind would be what he failed to achieve, rather than what he sought to destroy. In that constant struggle from darkness to light lies his relevance.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Visage of Struggles
1 2 How you die points out to how you lived. At 101 years, V S Achuthanandan fought death for 28 days. If there is one word that can define VS, it is: Struggle. All his life he struggled for various causes, both social and political. He had a sun-tanned visage of a weather-resilient Kuttanad farmer and seldom smiled. His speeches were often vitriolic and uttered with a trademark drawl, bordering on a Laloo kind of rustic, base humor. He lacked an E K Nayanar kind of smiling charisma or a Jyoti Basu kind of erudite sophistication that would attract the Bhadralok, in this case the unpredictable middle class Kerala voter, who had no qualms voting en masse for Indira Gandhi in the post-Emergency polls. But ironically, it was the intelligentsia, the erudite middle class, including women, who felt VS stood for the underdog and voted him to power on the sheer virtue of his relentless pursuit for equitable justice. Here was a classic case where a credible voice surpassed a bulldog visage and became the conscience of Kerala from early 2000 until he was eased out by 2016. One of the poignant moments in VS' political career was when Sitaram Yechury announced his bête noire Pinarayi Vijayan's name for the chief minister's post after the 2016 polls. He then said, "VS will remain as the Fidel Castro in the minds of people...'' but shared the stage with Pinarayi with a wry smile. The biggest contribution of VS would be that he was able to build upon the VS brand successfully, especially in a state which has few role models. Even among his peers, cutting across all political parties, he would remain among few political leaders who raised the bar of humanistic values. If VS would have been active today, there is no doubt that he would have been at the protest site of ASHAs, supporting their cause, like how he went to Munnar to support Pembillai Ormai, the women tea workers who had gone on strike demanding higher wages in 2016. His eventful life story, spanning over a century, coincided with Kerala's own growth story, its immense socialistic achievements and search for equitable social justice. His grand failures also provide a glimpse of how the politics of opportunism subverted foundational values of accountability, making VS brand of politics irrelevant in CPM's juggernaut. This is not to undermine what VS managed to achieve in an 80-year political career. His evolution from a mofussil coir factory union leader in rural Kuttanad, where his main role was to settle disputes, at times even using militant force, to a transformative leader happened only because he listened to the voice of the underdog. VS took a bold stand against violence of all forms, which brought him in direct conflict not only with the UDF govt but even with the CPM politburo. The acrimonious Pinarayi versus VS fights that went on for over three decades until the former had the last laugh should not be seen as just a squabble for the spoils of power, but as a deeper ideological battle. The Pinarayi school stands for massive private investment, ala China model of development and the VS school stands for equitable distribution of wealth with minimal damages to the remaining green zones. Critics, including a section of the current CPM leadership, question the socialistic model of development and call it outdated. Maybe that was one of the reasons that even though VS campaigned extensively in 2016 polls, the CM mantle went to Pinarayi and with it a new kind of developmental agenda. Unlike his peers like AKG, EMS or Nayanar, VS did not come from a privileged background. He lost both his parents — mother at the age of four and father when he was 11. He said even though he cried and pleaded to God to save them, his ardent prayers were never heard and ever since then he never looked for God anywhere. In school, he did face caste discrimination and when his classmate called him Chonnan, a slur for Ezhavas, he responded by hitting his classmate with a belt. Aggression was in his blood, but as he matured, he put it to better use and became an activist-politician, much to the chagrin of the establishment. He barely managed to study till seventh standard and though he was good at studies, abject poverty forced him to take the job at the cloth shop run by his brother. He was part of the Punnapra-Vayalar agitation, was arrested and suffered a third-degree torture in jail. The police dumped him, thinking he was dead. And yet he survived to become a mass leader from Alappuzha, until the Communist Party of India split in 1964 into CPI and CPI(Marxist). VS was an integral part of 32 founding leaders who formed the CPI(M) and was the last surviving member from that group. He faced some harsh criticism for pushing what was seen as a pastoral developmental agenda and Tugalqian moves like cutting down banana plantations in order to protect wetlands. Yet, post 2018 floods, his resistance to unscrupulous development and conservation of the green zone acquires real significance. The sustainable framework of development is in sync with what many modern societies are adhering to, in order to mitigate the impact of climate change. VS stood for the underdog and for the empowerment of women much before it became a fashionable statement. No wonder women formed a solid vote base, even when the establishment wanted to get rid of him. VS was also a shrewd politician using the mass media to his advantage to build the VS brand, in a state that had few political heroes to look up to. He took the television crew traversing through high ranges of Idukki, to destroy hundreds of acres of poppy crops. He fought for women's justice, green issues, communal agendas and dreamed of a society based on equitable distribution of wealth. VS was an atheist, but he loved Bhagavad Gita, which he read several times, and was an avid yoga practitioner. Is he a misnomer in the current context of water-tight ideologies of Left and Right, where corruption is overlooked in the name of development? Maybe. The best political legacy that VS perhaps leaves behind would be what he failed to achieve, rather than what he sought to destroy. In that constant struggle from darkness to light lies his relevance.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
ADIEU vs Ace communist who fought for masses
It was during the Indo-China war that VS was first castigated by the party. Late CPM leader M M Lawrence who was subjected to bitter party disciplinary action in the 90s, had once recalled how VS, while in jail, decided to donate blood to Indian Army soldiers without consulting the party. The party observed that the move amounted to supporting the government that was trying to wreck the Communist party. He was demoted from central committee to branch committee. However, he made a comeback in the very next Party Congress. The infamous Vettinirathal episode got him his second disciplinary action in the form of a public censure. 2007's beginning saw him being warned by the CPM on the ADB loan row. The biggest punishment came in May 2007, when VS, the then CM, along with the then state secretary Pinarayi, were suspended from the Politburo for their public spat. Though they were repatriated after four months, VS was dropped from the Politburo in 2009 for deviating from the party position on the CBI case against Pinarayi. In 2012, VS was first censured by the Central Committee when he compared Pinarayi to S A Dange, who presided over the split in the undivided CPI in 1964. Months later, he faced yet another public censuring. If most previous disciplinary actions were for factional feuding, this one was for his attempted visit to Koodankulam to express solidarity with protesters opposing the nuclear power plant. The next year, he faced one more censure for his remarks against the party line — for his statement that he has more trust in the CAG than his own party. The 'most unkindest cut of all' came in the form of a party resolution that openly termed him a 'comrade with an anti-party mindset', during the 2015 Alappuzha state conference. By then, the veteran, serving as the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, found himself completely isolated within the party, leading him to storm out of the conference. In January 2017, VS faced probably his ninth corrective action in the form of a censure, that was a mere face-saver for the CPM leadership. It did nothing to dent VS' widespread popularity among the masses. No doubt, VS was the party's most popular leader among the masses and was the main campaigner in the 2016 assembly polls. He is survived by his wife K Vasumathy and children VA Arunkumar and VV Asha.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
VS symbolised Kerala's progressive transformation: CM Pinarayi Vijayan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the late VS Achuthanandan as a towering figure in Kerala's political history and a symbol of uncompromising struggle, whose passing marks the end of a defining era. In a condolence message, the Chief Minister said that Achuthanandan's life was deeply intertwined with the growth of Kerala's Communist movement and the state's progressive transformation. From a humble background, he rose to become one of Kerala's most influential leaders, holding key positions including trade unionist, legislator, Opposition Leader, and Chief Minister. "Comrade V S was a symbol of a glorious legacy of protest struggles, extraordinary determination, and an uncompromising commitment to principles. His century-spanning life, spent standing firmly with the people and taking up their causes, is inseparably woven into the modern history of Kerala. His contributions—leading the Kerala government, the CPM, the Left Democratic Front, and even the Opposition at different stages—are unmatched. History will record him as a key figure in the state's political consolidation," said Pinarayi. Pinarayi noted that Achuthanandan played a crucial role in building the agricultural workers' movement in Kuttanad, where he led peasants in resisting bonded labour and caste oppression. "His role in forming the 'Thiruvithamkoor Karshakathozhilali Union', which later became the powerful 'Kerala State Agricultural Workers Union', is irreplaceable. Under his leadership, countless agitations in Kuttanad altered the region's social history—fighting for better wages, abolition of the 'chappa' system, job security, and land redistribution. He walked miles along bunds, visited labourers' huts, and filled them with hope and unity—drawing them powerfully into the movement," the Chief Minister said.
New Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Why did CPM not protest Pinarayi's detention during Emergency, asks Goa governor
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai severely criticised the CPM for not protesting against the arrest and detention of Pinarayi Vijayan during Emergency. 'Pinarayi Vijayan was beaten up and detained in his innerwear. I wonder why was there no protest by the CPM in its stronghold Kannur against this. It was fear,' he said. Pillai was speaking at the release of his two books here on Tuesday. The function was attended by Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar and Andhra Pradesh Governor Syed Abdul Nazeer. Pillai said his book on Emergency gives due credit to Pinarayi's fight because justice should be done. 'My publisher has uploaded 10 pages of my book on Rediff. In that Pinarayi is featured in his innerwear and it reached the world over. The biggest beneficiary of my book is Pinarayi,' he said. Pillai said the only organisation which took to the streets against Emergency was the 'Lok Sangharsh Samiti' which had the backing of RSS. 'Around 8,000 people under the Samiti's banner protested without fearing arrest or jail. Still, it is not mentioned in Emergency-related articles by mainstream media,' he said. All media succumbed to the pressure of Indira Gandhi fearing arrest. Only Ramnath Goenka was an exception. He was a fighter, Pillai said. Pillai criticised Pinarayi for misinterpreting facts in his media address recently. Constitutional supremacy is a cornerstone of modern democratic governance, said Syed Abdul Nazeer. 'Constitutional supremacy ensures that the Constitution remains the highest source of law and that all other laws and governmental decisions are subject to its authority,' he said.
