VS Achuthanandan gets final farewell: Why Kerala leader's death at 101 is end of an era for India's Communist movement

VS Achuthanandan, one of the tallest leaders of India's Communist movement, got a state funeral on Wednesday (July 23), with tens of thousands lining up in Kerala to bid final goodbye to their leader as a bus carrying his body snaked through the roads from the sothern state's capital Thiruvananthapuram to his final resting place in his hometown in Alapphuzha. In death, 'Comrade' Achuthanandan evoked the same sentiment of camaraderie and solidarity among the ordinary workers of Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M), of which he was a founding member. Achuthandan, who died at the age of 101 on July 21, was the last surviving member of the group of 32 that walked out of the Communist Party of India (CPI) over ideological differences and founded the CPI-M. His demise is indeed the end of an era. Here is an analysis of his political life:

Achuthanandan's death: A leader dedicated to social justice, even at the expense of losing positions in the party

It would not be an exaggeration to say that many ordinary workers distanced themselves from CPI-M as they felt the party strayed from its founding principles. Achuthanandan, on the other hand, stayed in the party throughout his life, while acting as a voice of correction and trying to change the organisation from within. That stance was informed by his life of poverty and personal hardships.

Achuthandan's childhood hardships informed his ideology

Born on 20 October 1923 in Punnapra, Alappuzha in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan's formative years were marked by poverty, socio-political unrest in his land, and exposure to revolutionary ideas.He lost his mother, Accamma, at the age of four, and father Sankaran, at the age of 11. Having worked as a tailor and in the coir factory operator, Achuthanandan had a first-hand experience of the travails of the working classes of Kerala.

Having dropped out of school after completing the 7th standard, the Communist ideologies he imbibed from the legendary leader P Krishna Pillai became his main teachings in life.

Achutanandan the leader was shaped through his blood and sweat: The Punnapra-Vayalar uprising and later struggles

He formally entered politics in 1930s at a very young age, with trade union activities, joining the State Congress in 1938. Under the mentorship of Krishna Pillai, he joined CPI in 1940.

The most important of Achuthanan's political fights started even before India got independence: the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising of 1946. This workers’ revolt against the policies of Travancore Divan CP Ramaswamy Iyer, which took place before the formation of Kerala in 1956, is not only a formative event for Achuthanandan, but for the entire state. The workers and farmers wanted a responsible government, better wages and labour conditions. The police responded with brutality, with Achuthandan jailed, tortured, and a policeman even piercing his foot with a bionet. Hundreds of people died. Achuthandann, once left for dead, went into hiding and led the movement.

Achuthandandan, a founder of India's CPI-M, was also its corrective force

In 1962, at the height of the India-China war, Achuthandan defied CPI and organised blood donation drives for Indian soldiers. He was arrested and removed from the party’s state secretariat. Two years later, he became one of the 32 founding members of the CPI(M) after splitting from the CPI over ideological differences.

Between 1965 and 2016, Achuthanandan contested Kerala Assembly elections 10 times, winning seven times and losing thrice.

He was the CPI (M) state secretary, a powerful position in the party, in 1980–1992, during which he strengthened the party’s base in Kerala. In 1985, Achuthanandan was elected to the CPI(M) Politburo, the party's national decision-making body, serving until 2009. A constant presence in Kerala's politics, Achudanandan served as leader of Opposition in the 1990s–2000s for a record 15 years across three terms. In this period, he was a vocal force in movements for social and environmental justice, and women's empowerment.

Achuthandan: The leader who ‘cut down’ crops and rivals

His major movements include the 1990s anti-reclamation stir with the Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union (KSKTU), highlighting paddy field conversion. He led parties that destroyed crops in what became known as 'vetti nirathal', literally cutting down. His methods were not liked by many leaders within the party, leading to factionalism.
In 1996, he suffered a surprising defeat in the Assembly election from Mararikulam.

Achuthandan was a chief minister in waiting for many years

A leader who deserved to be Kerala's chief minister several times, Achuthanandan served the top post of the state only once, that too at the fag end of his political career. He served the post in 2006–2011 at the age of 82, becoming the oldest person to assume the CM office in the state. It is considered that even as the chief minister, Achutanandan essentially acted as the 'Opposition leader', directly fighting several vested interests that were plundering the state's wealth and damaging its environment. His actions in this period included personally leading a demolition drive in the Munnar hill station to reclaim illegally occupied government land from resort owners and multinational corporations. He also led a demolition drive in Kochi MG Road to reclaim public land. Achuthanandan also fought the lottery mafia in the state.
While he was seen as 'old-world' by his critics, Achuthanandan is also credited with several industrial and technological initiatives, such as promoting free and open-source software in Kerala and integrating it into the public education system. When he was CM, Kerala witnessed IT export growth, surpassing the national average. He also started several techno parks in the state, making it one of the key players in software service exports.

Achuthandan was dealt a raw deal by his own party

Achutanandan always stood by his strong views on Communist and Marxist principles, which were the foundations of his political activism. At the height of power as a party organiser and chief minister, he cut down several of his rivals. His actions eventually contributed to factionalism in the party, with the other major group led by the current chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan. In 2009, Achuthanandan was removed from the CPI (M) Politbureau in the wake of several differences with Vijayan.

His close staff members were also ousted by the Politburo.

In 2015, he walked out of the CPI(M) State conference in Alappuzha in protest against criticism from party delegates, returning to his ancestral home. Though he won from the Malampuzha constituency in the Assembly elections in 2016, Achuthanandan was not given the chief minister's post, citing, among other things, his advanced age. Eventually, Vijayan became the chief minister, and Achudanandan was appointed the chairman of the Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission, which his supporters saw as a demotion and sidelining.

In 2019, Achuthandan suffered a stroke, limiting public appearances, and in 2021, he stepped down as a legislator at the age 97. Achuthanandan holds the record for the eldest member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly.