V. S. Achuthanandan

V. S. Achuthanandan left school after Class 7, worked in a coir factory, and became one of Kerala’s best-known political leaders. He was named posthumously for the Padma Vibhushan in 2026 in the field of public affairs, from Kerala ^[1].

Early life

Achuthanandan was born on 20 October 1923 in Punnapra, a coastal village in Alappuzha district ^[2][3]. He lost his mother when he was four and his father while still at school, and left school after Class 7 ^[2]. He worked briefly in a textile shop and then as a labourer in a coir factory ^[2][3].

The party

He entered politics in the 1940s, inspired by the communist leader P. Krishna Pillai ^[2]. He hid from the authorities during the Punnapra–Vayalar uprising of 1946; when the police caught him, he was badly beaten ^[2][3]. He joined the Communist Party’s state committee in 1956 ^[3].

In 1964 he was one of the 32 members of the party’s national council who broke away to form the CPI(M), and he joined its central committee that year ^[2][3]. He was made a member of its Politburo in 1985 ^[2].

Chief Minister

He was elected to the Kerala assembly seven times and served three terms as Leader of the Opposition ^[2][3]. He was Chief Minister of Kerala from 2006 to 2011 ^[2][3]. Over his career he took up workers’ rights, land reform, and campaigns against corruption and land grabbing, as well as the environment and women’s rights ^[2].

Achuthanandan died in Thiruvananthapuram on 21 July 2025, aged 101 ^[2][3].