Kerala CM Vijayan pays tribute to martyrs of Punnapra-Valyalar uprising

Alappuzha (Kerala) | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan paid tributes to the martyrs of the historic Punnapra–Vayalar uprising here on Monday.

The chief minister wrote on his Facebook page that this year marks the 79th anniversary of the uprising.

The uprising took place in Alappuzha district and was led by the Communist Party against the rule of Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer, the Diwan of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, as well as against feudalism and capitalist exploitation.

"Comrade VS Achuthanandan and others provided inspiring leadership to the valiant struggle waged by the farming masses of Cherthala and Ambalappuzha taluks. This is the first Punnapra-Vayalar commemoration week being observed in the absence of Achuthanandan," he wrote.

Achuthanandan, who passed away in July this year at the age of 101, had actively participated in the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising.

According to Vijayan, brutal suppression at Punnapra and Vayalar was a ruthless move by the ruling class to crush the organised advance of the working class and the Communist Party.

"From October 24 to 27, 1946, comrades fought bravely against the machine guns of the Diwan's army," he said.

Many comrades became martyrs in the struggles at Punnapra and Vayalar, he said.

Punnapra-Valyalar uprising place

The self-sacrificing struggle against the princely rule of Travancore and the American-model administration of Diwan CP Ramaswami Iyer has always served as an inspiration for the later struggles of the oppressed sections of society, the chief minister said.

"The heroic struggles at Punnapra and Vayalar, where fighters armed only with sickles stood up to the Diwan's army, were among the defining moments that sowed the seeds for Kerala's transformation from a feudal society to a modern state," he wrote.

The revolt led by the undivided Communist Party of India is commemorated every year by the Communist parties in Kerala.

Both the CPI and CPI(M) organise programmes at the martyrs' column at Valiyachudukadu here to pay tribute to those who laid down their lives in the struggle.