VS Achuthanandan, former Kerala CM and veteran communist leader, dies at 101

VS Achuthanandan, former Kerala chief minister and veteran communist leader, died in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. He was 101.

The former chief minister had withdrawn from public life after suffering a minor stroke in 2019, The Hindu reported. He had since been living with his son, V Arun Kumar, at his home in the state capital.

Achuthanandan was admitted to a hospital after a cardiac arrest in June, The Indian Express reported. He had been on a life support system since then.

The communist leader was born into a family of agricultural workers at Punnapra village in Alappuzha district in 1923. He lost his mother at the age of four and his father at 11.

At an early age, Achuthanandan developed an interest in politics and joined the Travancore State Congress, The Indian Express reported. He became a member of the undivided Communist Party of India after he turned 17.

In 1940, Achuthanandan joined a coir factory in Alappuzha and was urged by Communist leader Comrade P Krishna Pillai to bring the workers closer to the movement and ask them to fight for their rights.

The communist leader was also actively involved in a militant agitation against the colonial rule in 1946, which culminated in the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising, The Hindu reported.

In 1954, Achuthanandan became a member of the Communist Party of India state...

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