New directory chronicles lives of 1,859 Punnapra–Vayalar fighters
Edited by Dr TM Thomas Isaac, the volume will be released this evening at the valedictory ceremony of the week-long observance of Punnapra–Vayalar Martyrs’ Day at Vayalar.
Edited by Dr TM Thomas Isaac, the volume will be released this evening at the valedictory ceremony of the week-long observance of Punnapra–Vayalar Martyrs’ Day at Vayalar.
Edited by Dr TM Thomas Isaac, the volume will be released this evening at the valedictory ceremony of the week-long observance of Punnapra–Vayalar Martyrs’ Day at Vayalar.
Alappuzha: A new directory on the Punnapra–Vayalar revolution features brief profiles of as many as 1,859 fighters. Edited by Dr TM Thomas Isaac, the volume will be released this evening at the valedictory ceremony of the week-long observance of Punnapra–Vayalar Martyrs’ Day at Vayalar.
The data on the revolutionaries was compiled for the Labour Movement History Museum as part of the Alappuzha Heritage Tourism Project. Photographs of nearly half the fighters were also collected. A majority of them were either assaulted, imprisoned, or forced into hiding during the uprising. It is estimated that between 400 and 500 fighters were martyred, of whom details of 193 have been documented.
The 800-page directory will be available at NBS outlets and through the Muziris Heritage Project website. Dr Isaac announced that copies will be distributed free of cost to A-grade and B-grade libraries in Ambalapuzha and Cherthala taluks, as well as to CPM and CPI local committee office bearers in these regions.
‘Kunthakkaran Pathrose’ too finds a place
KV Pathrose, popularly known as Kunthakkaran Pathrose—a former Travancore State Secretary and key revolutionary long excluded by the Communist parties—has also been recognised as a Punnapra–Vayalar fighter in the book. After distancing himself from the party, his name was removed from all Communist records. The new directory includes his photograph and a detailed account of his contributions.
Pathrose served as the chief strategist of the Communist Party in Alappuzha and convenor of the Punnapra–Vayalar Action Council. He earned the nickname Kunthakkaran after leading a charge against police guns wielding spears made from areca nut trees. He was also the mastermind behind the attack on the Punnapra police station on October 22, 1946.
Following the adoption and subsequent denouncement of the Calcutta Thesis in 1948, Pathrose began to distance himself from the party. He was demoted to the Aarattuvazhi branch and later earned his living as a fish vendor, tea shop owner, and coir trader. He eventually severed all ties with the party and passed away on March 9, 1980.
Despite his central role in the movement, the Communist parties have since excluded him from all commemorations and have not officially acknowledged his contributions to the Punnapra–Vayalar struggle.