Archbishop mourns India’s most senior Communist leader

By Matters India Reporter

Kochi, July 21, 2025: The head of the Syro-Malabar Church on July 21 joined political and social leaders to mourn the death of a towering figure in Kerala politics and India’s most senior Communist party leader.

Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan, who was popularly known as VS, died at 3:20 pm in Sree Uthradom Thirunal Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. He was 101.

Achuthanandan had withdrawn from public life after suffering a minor stroke in 2019. He had since led an assisted life at his son, V. Arun Kumar’s, residence in Thiruvananthapuram.

The former chief minister of Kerala “will always be remembered as a popular face in Kerala politics,” said Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil in his condolence message.

He “was a pioneer in the popular agitations for the implementation of the Land Reforms Act. His interventions in the public life of Kerala as a leader of the popular movement, people’s representative, opposition leader and chief minister are noteworthy,” recalled the major archbishop.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the death of the veteran Communist leader,who he said, had dedicated his life to public service and Kerala’s development.

“Saddened by the passing of former Kerala CM Shri VS Achuthanandan Ji. He devoted many years of his life to public service and Kerala’s progress,” Modi said in a post on X. “I recall our interactions when we both served as chief ministers of our respective states. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this sad hour.”

Modi was the chief minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. Achuthanandan served as Kerala’s chief minister from 2006 to 2011. He was elected to the state assembly seven times and served three terms as the state’s Leader of the Opposition.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also mourned the loss, calling Achuthanandan “a tireless voice for justice and democracy.”

“A champion of the poor and the marginalised, he upheld the values of principled politics through bold decisions — especially on issues of environmental and public welfare. My condolences to his family, comrades, and admirers,” Gandhi said on X.

Major Archbishop Thattil noted that Achuthanandan always stood with the working class during his political career spanning eight decades.

He said the communist leader, who had travelled along the history of modern Kerala, had played a major role in making environmental issues a part of mainstream politics

The departure of V S, who was always relied upon by the common people, “is an irreparable loss and the Syro-Malabar Church expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families and party workers who are grieving over his death.”

Archbishop recalled that Shri V S, who later joined the freedom movement and from there joined the Communist Party,

Achuthanandan was born on October 20, 1923, to Sankaran and Accamma in Punnapra, Alappuzha, under the kingdom of Travancore. He lost his mother when he was four years old and subsequently lost his father at the age of 11. This forced him to quit his studies after the seventh grade. He started working by helping his elder brother in a village tailoring shop. Later he took up the job of meshing coir to make ropes at a coir factory.

Achuthanandan entered politics through trade union activities and joined State Congress in 1938. In 1940, he became a member of the Communist Party of India. During his 40 years as a politician, he was imprisoned for five years and six months and was in hiding for four and half years. He was a state secretariat member of the party in 1957. He was the secretary of the Kerala State Committee between 1980 and 1992.

Achuthanandan was in the forefront of the land struggles in Kerala starting with the Alappuzha declaration in 1970 demanding implementation of the Land Reforms Act passed by the EMS Government in 1967. Later his activities as the leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly had evoked good public response.