A Rebel Within

Achuthanandan was the archetypal voice of opposition — in his own party and larger society

- K S SREEJITH @T'Puram

It was V S Achuthanandan's wont to see divides everywhere. Where none existed, he would create one. He would position himself on one side and wage a battle. He has won some; lost some, and transformed himself in the process. His political longevity has surprised and irked many, for he was the archetypal voice of opposition — in his own party and the larger society.

As CPM state secretary (1980-1992), he ruled with an iron fist. Later on, however, he transformed himself into a critical insider, waging pitched battles against power concentrated in the hands of one-time party proteges. He was a hawk, who wouldn't budge from his notions of doctrinal purity, no matter what. That essentially meant he had to swim against the organisational tide.

Though he was one of the 32 founding leaders of CPM in 1964, his deviation from the party line began the very next year. In 1964-65, almost the entire CPM leadership was accused of being Chinese spies and jailed during the India-China war. As a prisoner at the Poojappura Central Prison, VS organised prisoners and exhorted them to donate blood for Indian soldiers. The party prison committee rejected his proposal saying it went against Marxist-Leninist principles.

Differences among party members over the issue almost reached the point of physical confrontation. Soon after their release, the party conducted an inquiry. The state committee, in 1965, demoted VS to the Alappuzha district committee from the central committee.