'I shared my grief with VS like a daughter would with her father': K.K. Rema recalls her most emotional moment with Achuthanandan

"In the darkness that spread over life, at a time when I stood helpless, you were the comforting touch of solace, dear comrade… final salutations,” Vadakara MLA K.K. Rema, widow of murdered Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) founder T.P. Chandrasekharan, wrote on social media to pay tribute to V.S. Achuthanandan.

 

Chandrasekharan was brutally hacked to death on May 4, 2012, in Onchiyam, Kozhikode—a political assassination that triggered widespread outrage, with serious allegations pointing to the involvement of CPI(M) members. Once a prominent CPI(M) leader and a key figure in its student and youth wings, Chandrasekharan had formed the RMP after a bitter fallout with the party leadership.

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Following his murder, V.S. Achuthanandan—causing dismay to party leadership—was the only CPI(M) leader who visited Chandrasekharan’s home. He stood silently with folded hands as Rama, overwhelmed with grief, clutched his hands and broke down. It was this poignant moment that Rema chose to share on Facebook as her farewell to the beloved leader.

 

In a conversation with THE WEEK, Rema recalled memories of V.S., his unwavering commitment to justice, and the ideological bond and personal bond she and her party shares with V.S.

 

How were the politics and fight waged by VS influenced when RMP was formed?

 

The ideological struggles that VS [V.S. Achuthanandan] waged within the party were always against the wrong direction the party was taking, against its moral decline, and against leaders who compromised their actions. VS was constantly at odds with the party on these grounds. And it wasn't just VS—many people like us, a large group who were aligned with VS, were in the same situation. So, frequently, there were reports that the party was on the verge of a split or collapse. It was in one such moment that our ideological struggles reached their peak at Onchiyam. So, I see our organization as the organizational expression of ideological struggles that VS waged inside the party.  

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When you split from the CPI(M) and moved into a separate organizational form, was there hope that VS would join you?

 

No, the party wasn't formed expecting that VS would come out. VS was still fighting his ideological battle within the party. I don't know if Chandrasekharan [T.P. Chandrasekharan] had any such hope. But when we moved to the next stage, we saw that a rupture was inevitable. Because once an organizational form is established across all regions, it is bound to become a powerful force. We hoped that VS would take leadership of that. But over time, many who once stood with VS withdrew. As they distanced themselves, VS couldn't carry it forward. But we, having left the party completely, went ahead with that political path.

 

 

 

After Chandrashekaran was murdered, VS referred to him as a true communist—which was in stark contrast to the official party line and then party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.

 

 

 

It was a major recognition—perhaps the greatest recognition Chandrasekharan and his political line ever received. At a time when the party secretary was calling him a “kulamkutthi” (traitor), VS called him a brave communist and personally came to pay his respects. None of the party members had come; in fact, everyone else was prohibited. Only VS came. He showed courage. He likely knew why Chandrasekharan formed a new party and how things had reached that point. That visit—when he came to our home later—was not an ordinary one. The day he came was carefully chosen, and it had a political message. I see it as a warning to certain people, an expression of protest.

 

Can you elaborate on the significance of the date VS chosen for visiting you?

 

It was on the day of the Neyyattinkara by-election that V.S. came to our house. That itself was a big political statement—when a party is contesting an election in one place, and a senior leader of that party visits the home of someone they branded a traitor. It was a huge blow to the party and to those leaders.

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VS mourned with you that day...

 

It was a rare expression of affection. I shared my grief with VS the way one would with her own father. Until then, I had held it all inside, but I broke down when I saw VS. It was an overwhelming experience—an unforgettable moment for us.

 

What was it that VS embodied as a communist? Why do many people say he was the last of his kind?

 

VS belonged to that generation of selfless communists. In their minds, there was only the party. Their fight was for the party’s growth, to build an alternative politics, a leftist path, a socialist order—to transform society. That was their unselfish struggle. They had no personal interests or ambitions. That was the defining feature of those leaders. They’ve all disappeared. V.S. Achuthanandan was the last surviving leader among the 32 who walked out [of the CPI to form [the CPIM]. Now he too is gone.

 

VS used to say that capitalist forces have taken over the Left. And isn’t that what we are witnessing now? So, will we ever see a communist like that again? Who will become the corrective force now? In whom can the people place their trust? Which leaders will now stand with the common people?

 

That’s what made VS different—he stood with the most ordinary of the ordinary. He stood with their pain. Wherever there was a protest, VS was present. Be it the Endosulfan protests, the nun’s protest, or the Pempalai Orumai protests—VS stood by women, by the oppressed, by their struggles. That’s what made him unique. Whether we will ever see a leader like that again, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.

India