Books & Writings - Azhikodan Raghavan

Stranger than fiction: There was an incident in 1946 on the occasion of an election-time meeting addressed by comrades P.Krishna Pillai and E.M.S. Congressmen of Kannur got the night soil workers to bring buckets of human excreta and kept it wound in paper. When the meeting began they threw it at comrades P. Krishna Pillai and E.M.S, and at the people who had come to attend the meeting. This might seem a cooked up story for the present generation. But that was the dirty extent to which the congressmen of the day did not hesitate to go.

Azhikodan's reply to the charge sheet framed against him by the Madras government:

1) That I am a communist and a follower of another communist leader cannot be deemed as a crime.

2) I strongly deny the charge that I am a loquacious person who instigates violent tendencies. It is a blatant lie that I abused and threatened the police. I firmly dissociate myself from the other descriptions attributed me such as instigator of violence, a man who makes insane speeches, a mad detractor and a man who invokes the mass to resort to violence. There are the lies fabricated about me by the local police who somehow wanted to shut me in jail.

3) The truth is that I have exercised the rights that are due to an ordinary citizen. Any democratic government should have granted this. That I organized the common people in support of the legal and legitimate strike of the S.I.R. workers cannot be used as a charge against me to detain me in police custody.

4) I do not deny that cases as per criminal law 506 and Indian penal law 153 were initiated against me. I have also been convicted in those cases. My appeal against the conviction is being heard in the High court even now. The new charges are intended to prevent me from earning the legal redress that is due to me as a free citizen. Even if my appeal is rejected in the court, I am not liable to be shut in jail. One cannot be convicted twice in the same case it is against the fundamental principle of law.

5) My political activities are legitimate peaceful and legally sanctioned. Hence my plea that I should be unconditionally let free.

Excerpt from Azhikodan's Memories
Ranabhoomiyil ninnu (From the Battle front):

1948. The congress men and M.S. P. (Madras State Police) jointly let loose communist witch hunting in the State. The stronghold of the communists, Cirakkal wore the look of a graveyard. Hundreds of houses were bunt smashed to ground. Hundreds of comrades and sympathizers were either beaten to death or shot or charged with bayonet to death. Yet a few were tortured in the police lock up.

In almost all the remaining houses all except old women went into hiding. M.S.P.combed the nook and corner of the place in search of communists, Police got wind that some of us were hiding in Malappattam. Congressmen and M.S.P. came rushing and began to search every house there.

Kunhakkamma was the member of a poor family. She, who was in her sixties, was the only person at home. One of the comrades had hid himself there. When the heard of the police she thought of ways to save the comrade. The whole place was surrounded by the police. Anxious moments passed by Kunhikkamma walked around her house. No. There was no way to save the comrade.

Suddenly an idea struck her. She made the comrade lie down below a tree. She covered him with dried leaves: "Keep still until I come and call" she commanded.

Within minutes the congress goondas and M.S.P. reached there. They dragged her to the courtyard and searched her house, When they did not find anybodythere, they began to beat her to tell where the communists were. The Police beat her with lathi and kicked her with their boots. They even stripped the sixty year old woman. The goondas and the police laughed and hooted at her. They did many more dirty things which cannot be described. They screamed: where are the communists? Pat came the mother's reply. "Ask your dogs, you sons of bitches". The police and the congressmen turned to then heels in dismay.