Comrade V. S. Achuthanandan: A Century of Struggles, A Political Life of Integrity
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V.S. Achuthanandan (VS) passed away on Monday afternoon, marking the end of a political era rooted in integrity and conviction. In a time when politics is driven by political expediency and personal gain, VS stood apart. His life remained a testament to lasting ideals – integrity, humility, and selfless commitment. From modest beginnings in Kerala, he rose from an ordinary worker to become chief minister, staying true to the principles of justice and equality.
A stalwart of India’s first democratically elected communist movement, VS spent over eight decades in public life, always standing with the poor and the marginalised. His passing marks the close of a generation that placed ideals above power and ambition.
VS was born in 1923 in Punnapra, Alappuzha. Orphaned young and forced to quit school after the seventh standard, he worked in a tailoring shop and coir factory to survive. But even in hardship, a spirit of rebellion stirred in him.
Drawn to trade union struggles in 1938 and inspired by leaders like P. Krishna Pillai, he joined the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1940. He helped organise coir and farm workers in Kuttanad and took part in the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising, an event that influenced his lifelong dedication to working-class politics. Rising through party ranks, he became Alappuzha district secretary, state committee member, and part of the CPI state secretariat by 1957.
In 1964, he was among the 32 leaders who founded the CPI(Marxist), eventually becoming its last surviving founding member in Kerala.
Achuthanandan’s political journey was marked by fierce ideological struggles. During the 1962 India-China war, he defied the CPI’s official stance by organising blood donation drives for Indian soldiers, leading to his arrest and removal from the party’s state secretariat. This early defiance showed his willingness to stand by his convictions, even against party lines.
He was an early critic of environmental harm and resource misuse. In the 1980s, he opposed nuclear power and large dam projects, drawing criticism from the CPI(M) politburo. His environmentalism emerged from concern for Kerala’s ecology and the livelihoods of the poor, not mere slogans. In the 1990s and 2000s, VS emerged as a powerful mass leader and became leader of the opposition three times.
He led campaigns against land grabs, the lottery mafia and projects like Coca-Cola in Plachimada, which........© The Wire
