Politics often takes unpredictable twists and turns. Some of its rare flashes of peculiarity linger long in public memory, while moments of upheaval and dramatic reversals are swiftly forgotten. Yet, few chapters in Indian politics parallel the turbulence Kerala has witnessed over decades. The violence and antagonistic ferocity with which ideological opposition is confronted on its streets send a chill down the spine. However, as someone from Kerala, I carry vivid recollections of such animosities that have come to define the state’s political landscape.
The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha recently witnessed a stormy debate after BJP-nominated member C. Sadanandan Master placed his prosthetic limbs on the floor of the House. In his maiden speech, the schoolteacher-turned-politician unsettled the nation with this unconventional yet deeply symbolic gesture. Speaking with composure and restraint, he recounted how he was assaulted in 1994 by cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI (M). Sadanandan Master hails from Kannur district, often described as the political crime epicenter of Kerala, which for decades has endured brutal bloodshed, staining its fertile soil deep red.
Between the CPI (M) and the BJP–RSS combine, the political contest in Kannur evolved into a struggle for sheer survival. As the CPI (M) sensed the slow and steady penetration of the Sangh Parivar into its stronghold, the response it conceived was not merely ideological resistance but the physical annihilation of its adversary, one that offered an alternative vision of nationalism to the people of a Communist citadel.
Kannur remains a bastion of the CPI (M). As the birthplace of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Chief Minister E. K. Nayanar, the district commands heightened political attention, and the party continues to strive to preserve its ideological sanctity through sustained outreach and articulation. Interestingly, Congress veteran and former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran also hailed from Kannur. A. K. Gopalan, a towering Communist parliamentarian of an earlier era, likewise emerged from the same district. In that sense, Kannur has long served as a crucible of politics for all major parties.
The first recorded political murder in Kannur was that of Vadikkal Ramakrishnan, an RSS cadre, on April 28, 1969. His killing marked the beginning of a grim legacy of violence. For nearly five decades thereafter, confrontations between the CPI (M) and the Sangh Parivar continued with gut-wrenching regularity. While both sides presently maintain a degree of restraint even as they persist with cadre grooming and political mobilization, the unusual stillness evokes a haunting sense of latent volatility, as though the ground itself awaits another eruption.
This prolonged cycle of violence has left hundreds of families shattered, women widowed, and children orphaned. On both sides, party organizations have stepped in to provide assistance to affected families, yet such measures can scarcely compensate for irreversible loss.
“These are my two legs. I once had strong legs, but below the knee I now use artificial limbs. Why? Because of democracy,” Sadanandan Master told the House, holding up his prosthetics. “Every time I hear ‘democracy, democracy’ echoed here, I remember that those who shouted about democracy were the ones who attacked me 31 years ago.”
Teaching is a profession that commands profound respect across societies and political divides. Recounting the attack, Sadanandan Master said he was returning home after his sister’s marriage was fixed when organized assailants intercepted him in a bazaar moments after he alighted from a bus. “They, CPI (M) workers, seized me from behind, dragged me onto the road, and severed both my legs. They were shouting ‘Inquilab Zindabad.’ They were shouting about democracy,” he recalled. After prolonged agony, he survived. His case, however, was not an isolated instance of political animosity directed at teachers.
On December 1, 1999, Jayakrishnan Master, then State Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, was hacked to death by Left cadres inside his classroom at East Mokeri U.P. School while he was teaching. Seventeen children witnessed the gruesome act in broad daylight. The trauma they endured proved deep and lasting; despite prolonged counseling, many struggled to regain psychological stability.
One of the most tragic aftereffects of this murder continues to haunt the conscience of the state. Sheseena Shankar, a Class 6 student who witnessed her teacher being hacked repeatedly, suffered extreme psychological trauma from which recovery proved impossible. She died by suicide at the age of 33, unable to escape the shadows of that harrowing day.
Political acrimony in Kerala has not been limited to attacks on external opponents. Within the CPI (M), ideological dissent has often been met with hostility. This was starkly evident in the case of T. P. Chandrasekharan, a senior party functionary who later broke away due to fundamental ideological disagreements and founded the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) in June 2008. Drawing support from former CPI (M) workers, Chandrasekharan emerged as a prominent dissident voice.
He contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Vatakara as an independent candidate, as the RMP lacked a recognized symbol, and secured over 20,000 votes. The response to this dissent was brutal. Chandrasekharan was murdered in 2012 with such ferocity that his body bore 51 stab wounds, a chilling message to those who dared to diverge.
Politics in a democracy must allow space for ideological disagreement. When anchored in public welfare, it should become a confluence of diverse ideas and principles. Yet, the political acrimony witnessed in Kerala, particularly in Kannur, exposes the depths to which activism and rivalry have deteriorated, leaving little room for introspection.
Acts of vengeance against Sadanandan Master and other political opponents of the CPI (M) represent one side of this grim narrative. At the same time, Left parties in the state have also faced violent resistance from the Sangh Parivar and the Congress, resulting in the deaths of numerous party workers. Political violence in Kerala has been tragically reciprocal.
As stated earlier, silence in Kerala’s political arena does not necessarily signal calm. It may well be the calm before another storm.
Replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to Sadanandan Master’s maiden speech and the stark reminder of his suffering, his prosthetic legs. “Due to ideological differences, a teacher and a youth had his legs chopped off, and yet they harbor no regrets,” he observed. Politics, however, must be defined in a more subtle, meaningful, and accommodative manner. In its truest form, dissidence and ideological differences should dissolve in pursuit of a larger common cause, the welfare of the nation and its people. Politics must then serve not as an instrument of division, but as a vehicle carrying ideas, plans, and hope for the country’s future.
