Ex-Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, who had flagged danger of Love Jihad as early as 2010, dies aged 101

Former Chief Minister of Kerala, V.S. Achuthanandan, died on Monday (21st July, 2025) at the age of 101. He passed away at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was undergoing treatment due to age-related complications. The veteran CPI(M) leader had been out of public life since he suffered a minor stroke in 2019 and was residing with his son in the state capital.

Achuthanandan, Chief Minister of Kerala between 2006 and 2011, was a leading figure of the Indian Left movement.

Achuthanandan was famous for taking bold positions on matters that others, even in his leftist fold, didn’t dare to approach. One of these was in 2010, when he created political controversy by warning against an organised campaign to Islamise Kerala in what he called “Love Jihad.” He had stated, quoting intelligence reports and High Court inputs, that the Popular Front of India (PFI) had resorted to using love, money, and marriage to bring non-Muslims of a young age into Islam.

The debate over his 2010 comment reappears today amidst several cases of religious conversion, such as the Agra case, where social media and marriage are reportedly being employed to entice people into conversions. Achuthanandan’s alerts, dismissed as alarmist by some in the past, now resonate in current national discussions on religious radicalisation.

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