N. Sankaraiah, one of the founding members of CPI(M), no more

N. Sankaraiah, 101, veteran Communist leader & founding member of CPI(M), passed away in Chennai. He was active until 10 days ago & had been arrested in 1941 for supporting students. He was a powerful speaker & voracious reader, admired Bharathi & Kannadasan.

Freedom fighter, senior-most Communist leader in the country, and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), N. Sankaraiah, died at a private hospital in Chennai on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 aged 101.

The veteran leader had not been well for a couple of days, and had been admitted to the hospital on November 13. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

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Sankaraiah had been active even up until 10 days ago. He had sent his greetings, in a recorded message to the party on November 7, when the statue of late leader P. Ramamurti was unveiled, and a hall in the name of former state secretary M.R. Venkatraman, inaugurated.

Born on July 15, 1922, Sankaraiah was among the 32 national council members of the Communist Party of India (CPI), who left the party over ideological differences, which led to the formation of the CPI(M) in 1964. Another surviving member is V.S. Achuthanandan, former Chief Minister of Kerala. Sanakaraiah, a three-time MLA, had also served as the State secretary of the CPI(M).

Sankaraiah was first arrested in 1941, when he was a student of American College in Madurai. He organised a protest in support of the students of Annamalai University in Chidambaram, at the instance of late Communist leader A.K. Gopalan, who was hiding in Madurai then. When the police searched the students’ hostel, they found pamphlets written by Sanakaraiah, and he was arrested. The incident put an end to his studies. He could not complete his degree, as he was lodged in prison 15 days before the final examinations. His first jail term lasted 18 months.

It was this incident that had, some months ago, prompted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to announce his government’s decision to confer an honorary doctorate on Sankaraiah, and the Madurai Kamaraj University had decided to confer it. However, T.N. Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy subsequently stated that Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi had refused to give his assent to the university’s decision. Mr. Ravi, as Governor, is the Chancellor of the university.