22 Hours, 150 Km, ‘Lal Salaam’: Kerala Bids Farewell To ‘Courageous Comrade’ VS Achuthanandan
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Veteran CPI(M) chief and former Kerala CM VS Achuthanandan’s funeral procession took 22 hours to achieve his hometown of Alappuzha from the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram
CPI(M) chief and former Kerala CM VS Achuthanandan was laid to relaxation with full state honours in his hometown of Alappuzha on July 23. (Picture: @cpimspeak/X)
A sea of individuals gathered to bid farewell to their “courageous comrade” and veteran CPI(M) chief VS Achuthanandan, whose funeral procession took 22 hours to achieve his hometown of Kerala’s Alappuzha from the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
The journey of 150 km, which usually takes 4 hours to cowl, was extended to 22 hours as an enormous crowd waited to pay their final respects and catch a remaining glimpse of Achuthanandan.
Folks wished to offer a salute to the previous Kerala chief minister, a person identified to be a crowd magnet who impressed revolutionary slogans wherever he went. Elders, youth, girls, and kids had been seen on each side of the street – many had travelled from far-off districts – ready for hours and braving heavy rains late into the night time and early morning.
Many carried a rose of their hand with tears of their eyes, receiving him with plenty of slogans moreover the trademark ‘Lal Salaam’ – ‘VS, you’re our eyes and hearts’, ‘You’re the rose in our hearts’, ‘The one who led us over the a long time’, ‘You aren’t useless, you’re dwelling by way of us’, ‘You’re dwelling within the blood that flows by way of our veins’, and ‘The slogans that you just raised, we are going to elevate now’.
What the individuals of Kerala harboured of their hearts for Achuthanandan was seen on the streets. Ever since his dying on July 21 (Monday), individuals began surging exterior the hospital and the AKG centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
His funeral procession began from Thiruvananthapuram at 2.15 pm on Tuesday (July 22) and reached his residence in Alappuzha on Wednesday afternoon. He was lastly laid to relaxation subsequent to his comrades in Alappuzha at about 9.30 pm.
A FIGHTER TO THE END
Achuthanandan, who was 101 years previous, had not even been lively for 5 years resulting from poor well being. However that didn’t cease his followers.
There have been many kids on the streets, those that had by no means even seen him in motion. They stated they had been there as a result of he was a person who fought for the individuals. Ladies from all age teams had been out on the streets late into the night time, and these photos had been a testomony to his combat for his or her rights. He was generally known as an anti-corruption icon, a crusader for girls’s empowerment and environmental points.
The widespread sentiment amongst those that waited for him was that he was somebody who fought for the individuals, the downtrodden, and they didn’t thoughts ready to see him one final time.
One of many founders of the CPI(M), the veteran chief at all times intervened in individuals’s points, raised the voice of the unvoiced – a combat that he began at a younger age by championing the reason for farmers and organising coir manufacturing unit employees.
It was not simply celebration cadre or sympathisers, however many from different events additionally got here to pay their respects. It was a befitting tribute to a person whose life was filled with protests, struggles, and fights.
He began his battle even earlier than India gained independence. The Punnapra-Vayalar rebellion in 1946 was towards the Travancore princely state and he was solely 23 on the time. He was captured by the police and tortured, and a bayonet was pierced into his foot. Cops even thought he was useless however he returned and lived to 101, a fighter until the top.
Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of expertise in each print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, well being in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods …Learn Extra
Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of expertise in each print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, well being in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods … Learn Extra
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