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Time of India
a day 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
a day 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.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Rebel leader: V S Achuthanandan's impact on CPI(M)
Thiruvananthapuram, Marxist veteran V S Achuthanandan, who died at a hospital here on Monday, was a rebel and corrective force within his own party and never bothered about disciplinary actions. Rebel leader: V S Achuthanandan's impact on CPI(M) The contradictory stand that he adopted put the party in a tough position many times, and the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party leader T P Chandrasekharan was one of such incidents. Chandrasekharan, a former CPI leader who had quit the party following differences with the leadership, was hacked to death by a gang while he was returning home on his bike at Onchiyam in Kozhikode on May 4, 2012. The murder was allegedly masterminded by the local leaders of the CPI. Though the party leadership adopted a stand that Chandrasekharan was a "traitor," Achuthanandan never denounced his former party colleague. When the party argued that the then UDF government's move to order a CBI probe into the gruesome murder was a politically motivated one, VS supported the central agency probe and even wrote to the authorities demanding the same. He even defied the party's directive not to visit Chandrasekhar's house and called on his widow K K Rema on the politically significant day of Neyyattinkara bypoll in the same year. The slain leader's house had witnessed highly emotional scenes on the day when VS came there. Overcome with emotion, Rema wept bitterly, clutching Achuthanandan's folded hands for several seconds. The poignant moment was captured in a photograph that graced the front pages of all major newspapers the following day. Though Achuthanandan refused to speak to the media at the time, his surprise visit and the subsequent publication of the photo served as a political statement and a clear response to his party on the matter. An emotional Rema, now the UDF-backed Vadakara MLA, shared the same photo on her Facebook page on Monday as a tribute to the leader, accompanied by a heartfelt note. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Kerala former chief minister VS Achuthaandan dies aged 101
Kerala former chief minister VS Achuthanandan, one of India's most respected Communist leaders and a pivotal figure in Kerala's political history, passed away on Monday at the age of 101. The veteran leader had been undergoing treatment for a cardiac arrest and was on ventilator support for nearly a month. During his time in the intensive care unit, several leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, visited him in the hospital. His Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary, MV Govindan, confirmed Achuthanandan's death at 3:20pm, stating that his mortal remains would be cremated in his hometown in Alappuzha district on Wednesday. Achuthanandan was a founding member of the CPI(M) and dedicated his life to advocating for workers' rights, land reforms, and social justice. He served as Leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2006, challenging the Congress party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government led by AK Antony. As chief minister of Kerala from 2006 to 2011, he was a dynamic force in the state assembly. He was elected seven times and served three terms as Leader of the Opposition. In the 2011 elections, he led the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front's (LDF) campaign again but faced a narrow defeat against the UDF, which won 72 out of 140 assembly seats. Returning as leader of the opposition, his leadership played a crucial role in securing a victory for the LDF in the 2016 elections. However, despite winning decisively in Malampuzha, his party rejected his claim for chief minister and instead chose Vijayan. Following his active political career, Achuthanandan alternated his residence between his son's home and his daughter's house after stepping down from the position of chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee in January 2021. Born on Oct.20, 1923, into a family of agricultural workers in Punappara, Alappuzha, Achuthanandan's early life was marked by tragedy. He lost his mother at the age of four and his father when he was eleven. These events led him to enter the workforce early, and he dropped out of school after seventh grade to work in a tailoring workshop and a coir mill alongside his elder brother. Achuthanandan was greatly influenced by senior Communist leaders, particularly P Krishna Pillai, which prompted him to engage in trade union campaigns by 1938. By the age of 18, he had become a member of the CPI. During the 1940s, he was imprisoned for his participation in protests advocating for the rights of workers and farmers against the then-princely regimes in Kerala. In 1964, Achuthanandan and 31 other leaders resigned from the national council of the CPI to establish the CPI(M). He began his electoral career in 1965, contesting from the Ambalapuzha assembly constituency in Alappuzha, but lost by 2,327 votes. Demonstrating resilience, he convincingly won the same seat two years later, defeating his opponent by over 9,500 votes. His tenure as the party's state secretary lasted 12 years, from 1980 to 1992, during which he solidified his role as a leading political figure. Throughout his political career, he contested the Kerala assembly elections ten times, from 1965 to 2016, winning seven of those contests. Known for his charismatic oratory and engaging rallies, he consistently attracted large crowds. In 2007, Achuthanandan faced a significant setback when he was removed from the CPI(M) Polit Bureau for defying the authority of the party's state secretary, highlighting the complex dynamics within the party's leadership.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
VS Achuthanandan, Former Chief Minister Of Kerala, Dies At 101
Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran CPM leader and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan died on Monday, after a long hospitalization. The 101-year-old was admitted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on June 23 after he suffered a suspected cardiac arrest at home. He had been in the intensive care unit on ventilator support. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM state secretary MV Govindan have rushed to the hospital to meet the family and speak to the attending doctors. A steady stream of political leaders are already making a beeline for the hospital to pay their respects. The veteran leader had been staying alternately with his son or daughter in Thiruvananthapuram since he quit as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee in January 2021. A towering figure in Kerala's political landscape, Achutanandan's populist stance and uncompromising image won him admiration across party lines. Achuthanandan had been the Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2006, when he had spearheaded the attack on the UDF government led by AK Antony. In 2006, he had led the CPM-led Left Democratic Front to victory and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011. In 2011, he crafted the LDF campaign and leading from the front, came close to securing a second term, but the Oommen Chandy-led UDF managed a narrow win, securing 72 seats in the 140-member Assembly.
