Veteran Communist Leader V S Achuthanandan Passes Away

Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran communist leader, former Chief Minister, and Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan passed away at the age of 102. A revolutionary icon immortalised in the Malayali conscience by just two letters, VS, he remains an enduring source of inspiration. He was admitted to SUT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram following health complications and passed away on June 21.

Having suffered a stroke, VS had been under long-term care at his son’s residence, "Vellikakathu', in Thiruvananthapuram. Due to advanced age, he had been leading a life of complete rest.

He is survived by his wife K Vasumathi, children V A Arun Kumar and Dr. V Asha, and daughter in law Rajani Balachandran and son in law Dr Thankaraj.

VS served once as Kerala’s Chief Minister and three times as Leader of the Opposition. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly seven times and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011. A leader of several major people's struggles, he was CPI M’s state secretary from 1980 to 1991. He remained a permanent invitee to the CPI M state committee till the end.

Born on October 20, 1923, in the village of Punnapra in Alappuzha district, he was the second son of Ayyan Shankaran and Karthyayani, also known as Akkamma. He studied at Punnapra Paravoor Government School and Kalarkode School. VS’s childhood was marked by deep poverty and hardship.

He lost his mother to smallpox at the age of four. His father died when he was in the seventh standard, forcing him to end his education and assist at his elder brother’s textile shop. Later, he worked at Aspinwall Coir Factory in Alappuzha for three years.

He joined the Communist Party at the age of 17. Recognising his organisational skills, P Krishna Pillai entrusted him with expanding the party among agricultural labourers in Kuttanad. VS was arrested during the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising and the Emergency and endured brutal torture by the police.

In 1943, he attended the Communist Party conference in Kozhikode as a delegate from Alappuzha. During the Punnapra-Vayalar agitation, he went underground as directed by the party. He was arrested while in hiding in Poonjar, Kottayam, and brutally beaten. Believing him dead, police were about to dispose of his body in a forest when they realized he was still alive and took him to a hospital in Kottayam.

After his recovery, VS reemerged at the forefront of people's movements. He stood unwavering against corruption and authoritarianism. In 1956, he became a member of the party’s state committee, Alappuzha district secretary in 1957, and a National Council member in 1958.

When the party split in 1964, he was one of seven from Kerala among the 32 National Council members who left the unified party. At the 1964 party congress in Kolkata, he was elected to the Central Committee. He became a Polit Bureau member in 1985. In 2016, the LDF government appointed him Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission.