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R. Nallakannu’s political life spanned more than eight decades, traversing the freedom movement, agrarian uprisings, ideological splits within the Left, and the changing currents of post-liberalisation India. Born on December 26, 1925 in Srivaikuntam to parents who were farmers, he entered public life as a young student inspired by nationalist ferment and social inequality around him.

Drawn initially to the Congress during the freedom struggle, Nallakannu soon became convinced that political Independence alone would not dismantle entrenched systems of caste and class oppression. Influenced by the Swadeshi ideals of V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and the egalitarian vision of Subramania Bharathi, he gravitated toward Marxist thought. In 1944, he joined the Communist Party of India (CPI), marking the beginning of a lifelong commitment to class struggle.

Building the agrarian movement

In the years that followed, Nallakannu immersed himself in organising peasants and agricultural labourers, particularly in Tamil Nadu’s delta and southern districts. Working within the Kisan Sabha tradition shaped by leaders such as Sahajanand Saraswati, he mobilised the rural poor around demands for land redistribution, minimum wages, and the abolition of exploitative feudal practices.

The slogan “land to the tiller”........

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