Communist Party Once Punished V.S. Achuthanandan For Supporting India During India-China War, Now Offers Him “Red Salute” In Death

V.S. Achuthanandan began his political journey as a trade union activist, deeply involved in workers’ and land rights movements. He played a prominent role in the historic Punnapra-Vayalar uprising and went on to become one of the most beloved and influential leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala, maintaining strong grassroots support throughout his political career. He also served as the Chief Minister of Kerala and was widely regarded as the face of the CPM in the state for decades.

A Nationalist Voice Within the Communist Ranks And the Price He Paid

During the 1962 Sino-Indian war, while the Communist Party of India (CPI) leaned heavily in favor of China, V.S. Achuthanandan stood out by taking a position that, though patriotic by today’s standards, was considered “anti-party” at the time. His support for Indian soldiers during a time of national crisis led to severe internal repercussions within the party.

At just 39 years of age and already a Central Committee member, Achuthanandan was imprisoned in Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail along with other CPI leaders, many of whom had been arrested by the Indian government due to the party’s open support for China during the war. While behind bars, he proposed a small but meaningful gesture, that jailed party members donate blood for Indian soldiers and contribute their saved rations toward the national defense fund. This suggestion was made during a routine party meeting inside the jail.

However, the proposal met immediate resistance. O.J. Joseph, the jail committee convener who would later serve in the Rajya Sabha, firmly rejected the idea. Determined to push the initiative forward, Achuthanandan raised the matter again in the next meeting. A heated debate ensued, eventually escalating into a scuffle between two factions those supporting Achuthanandan and those aligned with Joseph.

The incident didn’t stay confined within prison walls. K. Anirudhan, a fellow inmate who would later become a Member of Parliament, informed the jail warden, and news of the altercation soon reached the press. Senior Communist leaders, including Jyoti Basu, were alerted. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, one of the top figures in the party, directed K.P.R. Gopalan to investigate. As tensions rose, Achuthanandan eventually withdrew the proposal.

Yet, the controversy didn’t end there. After his release in 1965, a party worker filed a formal complaint against him for “anti-party activities.” An internal inquiry committee found him guilty, accusing him of acting contrary to the party’s ideological line. By December of that year, the Kerala state committee ratified the decision to demote him from the central leadership to a branch-level position. He was transferred to the Alappuzha district secretariat, where he spent a year in relative political isolation.

Commenting on the disciplinary action, senior Kerala CPM leader M.M. Lawrance said, “Achuthanandan acted on his own without party approval. By supporting the government, which, at the time, was cracking down on the Communist movement, he violated party discipline.”

In hindsight, Achuthanandan’s stance was one of principled nationalism. But within the rigid ideological framework of the CPI during the Cold War, his patriotic impulse came at a steep personal and political cost.