N Sankaraiah, a centenarian freedom fighter and one of the last two remaining founding members of the CPI(M), passed away in Chennai on Wednesday.
In a short-sleeved white shirt paired with a dhoti and a jhola bag casually slung over his shoulder, this elderly gentleman, though frail in appearance, exuded a formidable presence. His commanding demeanour echoed through public gatherings, resonating like the roar of a lion.
His foray into politics began with the freedom struggle when he joined the protest against the hanging of iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. He was just 9 years old back then. From there, he would go on to become one of the tallest leaders of the Communist party in India. He along with centenarian Kerala communist stalwart and former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, played a pivotal role in establishing the Marxist party in 1964.
Sankaraiah was born on 15 July 1922 in a village near Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi district as Pratabha Chandran to Narasimhalu, an engineer employed at a private mill. Later, he adopted his grandfather’s name – Sankaraiah, who was a fervent follower of EV Ramasamy (hailed as ‘Periyar’ by his followers).
Hailing from a family of traditional revenue officials in Athur, a hub of the freedom struggle in Thoothukudi district, his early exposure to EVR’s ‘Kudi Arasu’ daily fuelled his attraction to the Self Respect Movement. But despite being an EVR follower, he participated in the freedom struggle. In Kovilpatti, he actively participated in protests against the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru along with his brother Rajamanickam.
Upon the family’s relocation to Madurai, he attended the American College for his graduation, where he emerged as a student union leader. He organized protests against the imposition of Hindi when Rajaji introduced it in the curriculum. His college days marked his introduction to AK Gopalan, who was instrumental in building the Communist Party in Madurai.
Prior to the Quit India movement and the Naval mutiny, he orchestrated protests and was apprehended in 1941, just 15 days before his degree examinations. His release occurred only hours before the nation achieved independence on August 14, 1947. Upon his release, he assumed the role of the Madurai district secretary of CPI at the youthful age of 22. Later, as a Communist, he faced another four-year term in independent India. His encounters with leaders like K Kamaraj during imprisonment significantly influenced his public career, and subsequent interactions with fellow inmates sharpened his Marxist ideology.
Post-independence, Sankaraiah vehemently opposed the Congress, criticizing their economic policies as detrimental to the welfare of the poor and working classes. Leveraging his extensive grassroot experiences, he played a crucial role in training CPI(M) cadres at various organizational levels.
Sankaraiah held key positions in the unified Communist party until its split in 1964, after which he co-founded the CPI(M). He remained a member of the CPI(M)’s State secretariat and served as the Tamil Nadu State secretary from 1995 to 2002, also being a member of the party’s Central Committee for two decades.
In 1948, when the Communist Party faced a ban in independent India, Sankaraiah and his colleagues went underground, evading state police for three years which he spent with a party worker’s family in Madurai. During this time, he faced numerous challenges, including a skin infection that went untreated due to the clandestine nature of his stay. Despite his arrest in 1951 and subsequent imprisonment in Vellore prison, he continued to be a prominent face of the party’s ideology in Tamil Nadu. When the ban was lifted, he served as the editor of the party’s mouthpiece, Janasakthi. The CPI split in 1964, following which he joined the founding members of the CPI(M) – today only Achuthanandan is one of the surviving members.
Championing the cause against atrocities targeting Dalits, he stood in solidarity with the victims, as seen in the tragic incident when Dalit Panchayat president Murugesan and six others were brutally murdered for participating in the civic polls in Melavalavu village near Madurai. In addition to his own inter-caste marriage, he actively promoted and encouraged unions between individuals from different castes.
He was a very close friend of Karunanidhi. When Karunanidhi was the Transport Minister in Annadurai’s government, he sought the help of Sankarayya to hold talks with protesting transport union workers. Karunanidhi held the Communist leader in high steem and would listen to his speech in Assembly with rapt attention. When Karunanidhi brought in a law to provide legal sanctity to self-respect marriages, Sankaraiah supported his move.
According to an article by One India, Karunanidhi had once said “If the Dravidian Movement had not happened.. if Periyar had not been born.. if Anna had not been born.. I would have been sitting as one of the leaders of the Communist Party on the side of Nallakannu and Sankaraiah”
(with inputs from ETVBharat)
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