22 Hours, 150 Km, ‘Lal Salaam’: Kerala Bids Farewell To ‘Brave Comrade’ VS Achuthanandan | Politics News

Last Updated:July 23, 2025, 23:45 IST

CPI(M) leader and former Kerala CM VS Achuthanandan was laid to rest with full state honours in his hometown of Alappuzha on July 23. (Image: @cpimspeak/X)

A sea of people gathered to bid farewell to their “brave comrade” and veteran CPI(M) leader VS Achuthanandan, whose funeral procession took 22 hours to reach his hometown of Kerala’s Alappuzha from the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

The journey of 150 km, which normally takes four hours to cover, was prolonged to 22 hours as a massive crowd waited to pay their last respects and catch a final glimpse of Achuthanandan. 

People wanted to give a salute to the former Kerala chief minister, a man known to be a crowd magnet who inspired revolutionary slogans wherever he went. Elders, youth, women, and children were seen on both sides of the road – many had travelled from far-off districts – waiting for hours and braving heavy rains late into the night and early morning.

Many carried a rose in their hand with tears in their eyes, receiving him with a number of slogans besides the trademark ‘Lal Salaam’ – ‘VS, you are our eyes and hearts’, ‘You are the rose in our hearts’, ‘The one who led us over the decades’, ‘You are not dead, you are living through us’, ‘You are living in the blood that flows through our veins’, and ‘The slogans that you raised, we will raise now’.

What the people of Kerala harboured in their hearts for Achuthanandan was visible on the streets. Ever since his death on July 21 (Monday), people started surging outside the hospital and the AKG centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

His funeral procession started from Thiruvananthapuram at 2.15 pm on Tuesday (July 22) and reached his residence in Alappuzha on Wednesday afternoon. He was finally laid to rest next to his comrades in Alappuzha at about 9.30 pm. 

Achuthanandan, who was 101 years old, had not even been active for five years due to poor health. But that did not stop his followers.

There were many youngsters on the streets, those who had never even seen him in action. They said they were there because he was a man who fought for the people. Women from all age groups were out on the streets late into the night, and these images were a testament to his fight for their rights. He was known as an anti-corruption icon, a crusader for women’s empowerment and environmental issues.

The common sentiment among those who waited for him was that he was someone who fought for the people, the downtrodden, and they did not mind waiting to see him one last time.

One of the founders of the CPI(M), the veteran leader always intervened in people’s issues, raised the voice of the voiceless – a fight that he started at a young age by championing the cause of farmers and organising coir factory workers.

It was not just party cadre or sympathisers, but many from other parties also came to pay their respects. It was a befitting tribute to a man whose life was full of protests, struggles, and fights.

He started his struggle even before India gained independence. The Punnapra-Vayalar uprising in 1946 was against the Travancore princely state and he was only 23 at the time. He was captured by the police and tortured, and a bayonet was pierced into his foot. Cops even thought he was dead but he returned and lived to 101, a fighter till the end.

Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, health in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods …Read More

Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, health in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods … Read More

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Alappuzha, India, India

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