From Mahatma Ayyankali to VS Achuthanandan: Kerala’s Freedom Warriors and Their Stories of Courage

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala, often celebrated for its cultural richness and social progress, has made significant contributions to India’s struggle for independence. The freedom movement in the state was marked by mass protests, social reforms, and unwavering defiance against colonial and feudal oppression. During the final years of British rule Kerala’s freedom fighters clashed sharply with Sir C P Ramaswami Iyer, the Dewan of Travancore from 1936 to 1947. While Sir CP was an efficient administrator credited with modernizing erstwhile Travancore through industrial projects and expanded education, his political stance brought him into direct conflict with the independence movement. Freedom fighters in Travancore, inspired by leaders like K Kelappan, Accamma Cherian, and AK Gopalan, sought responsible government and integration with a free India. Sir CP however resisted democratic reforms suppressed the Travancore State Congress and used repressive measures against political activists. Tensions peaked during the Punnapra Vayalar uprising of 1946 when workers and communists protested against autocratic rule and the state forces brutally crushed the revolt resulting in heavy casualties. In 1947, as India gained independence, Sir CP announced his plan for Travancore to remain an independent state further angering the public. After an assassination attempt on him in July 1947, he resigned and Travancore acceded to the Indian Union.

Torchbearers of Kerala’s Freedom Struggle

Mahatma Ayyankali (1863-1941)

Mahatma Ayyankali was a fearless social reformer, politician, and champion of Dalit rights in the princely state of Travancore. Born into the Pulayar community, he grew up witnessing brutal caste discrimination — denial of education, land, public roads, and even the right to wear upper garments. Refusing to accept this injustice, he dedicated his life to uplifting the oppressed. His defiance came into sharp focus in 1893 when he rode an ox-cart on a road barred to Dalits, sparking the Chaliyar riots. This act of resistance ignited a broader Dalit movement for dignity and equality. In 1895, he led protests for Dalit women’s right to cover their upper bodies, culminating in the Travancore Maharaja’s 1916 proclamation granting that right. Ayyankali recognised education as the foundation of social change. In 1904, he started the first school for Dalits in his village despite violent opposition. His agitation, including a 1907 agricultural labour strike, pressured the Travancore ruler to allow Dalit children into government schools.

Politically, Ayyankali founded the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangham in 1905 to fight for land, education, and labour rights. In 1910, he became the first Dalit member of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, where he demanded universal suffrage and land reforms. His long struggle for temple entry bore fruit in 1936 when Maharaja Chithira Thirunnal’s Temple Entry Proclamation opened Hindu temples in Travancore to all castes, a historic victory for equality. When Ayyankali passed away on 18 June 1941, he left behind a legacy of courage and transformation. Today, he is remembered through statues, stamps, fellowships, and public holidays in Kerala, an enduring symbol of hope for an egalitarian, casteless India.

Vakkom Moulavi Abdul Kadir (1873–1932)

Vakkom Moulavi was a key architect of Kerala’s Muslim renaissance. Born in Vakkom, Travancore, he received an extensive education under renowned scholars, mastering multiple languages including Arabic, Malayalam, Tamil, Sanskrit, and Urdu, along with a working knowledge of English. Influenced by modernist Islamic thinkers like Sheikh Mohammad Abduh and Rashid Rida, he championed a return to Islam’s original spirit while embracing progress. Moulavi campaigned against superstitions, grave worship, and social ills such as dowry and wasteful ceremonies, urging the community to embrace education—especially for women. His reform movement faced strong resistance from conservative clergy, but his calm reasoning and persuasive speech won many supporters. Beyond religious reform, he became a fearless voice in political journalism. In 1905, he set up Kerala’s first modern printing press and founded the Swadeshabhimani weekly to expose corruption and promote democratic ideals. Under editor Ramakrishna Pillai, it became a symbol of fearless reporting before being shut down by the Travancore state.

Moulavi also launched journals like Muslim, Al-Islam, and Deepika, produced Arabic textbooks, promoted girls’ education, and helped form the Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangham. His Malayalam translation of the Quran, begun late in life, remained incomplete at his death. Rejecting sectarian divisions, Vakkom Moulavi is remembered as a reformer, educator, and pioneering journalist whose work reshaped Kerala’s Muslim community and inspired its cultural and educational revival.

K Kelappan (1889–1971)

Known as Kerala Gandhi, K Kelappan was one of the foremost leaders of the freedom movement in Kerala who was deeply influenced by Gandhian ideals. Born in a small Calicut village, he began as a teacher and principal but left his career to join Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement. Kelappan led the Payyanur and Calicut Salt Satyagrahas and was the first Satyagrahi from Kerala in the Individual Satyagraha movement. He played a key role in the Vaikom Satyagraha and the Guruvayur Satyagraha of 1932, and was jailed during the Quit India Movement. Dedicated to social justice, he worked to eradicate untouchability, set up Harijan hostels and schools, and promoted Khadi and village industries.

One of his major achievements was the Guruvayur Temple Entry Movement. Lower castes were then barred from the temple, and in 1931 Kelappan began a satyagraha joined by leaders like AK Gopalan. After months of protest, he undertook a fast in September 1932, breaking it at Gandhi’s request. A referendum in Ponnani Taluk saw over 77% vote in favour of temple entry, laying the groundwork for reforms. Guruvayur Temple opened to all castes in 1946, inspiring similar changes elsewhere. Kelappan was a founding member and president of the Nair Service Society, and post-independence, he was instrumental in unifying the Malayalam-speaking princely states into Kerala. He led several Gandhian organisations, living a life free of personal ambition and devoted to service. His legacy as a reformer, nationalist, and advocate for equality continues to inspire generations.

AK Gopalan (1904-1977)

AK Gopalan, fondly known as AKG, was a towering figure in India’s political history whose life was deeply tied to the freedom struggle and the formative years of Indian democracy. Born on October 1, 1904, in Peralasseri, Kannur, into a Nambiar family, he began as a schoolteacher but was drawn into the nationalist movement, first facing imprisonment at 26 during the Civil Disobedience Movement. Influenced by socialist and communist leaders in prison, he joined the Congress Socialist Party in 1934 and, after its merger in 1939, became one of Kerala’s earliest communist leaders alongside P Krishna Pillai and EMS Namboodiripad. 

On August 15, 1947, while the nation celebrated independence, AKG was in solitary confinement at Cannanore jail. At dawn, he hoisted the Tricolour for fellow inmates and began speaking before being stopped by jail authorities. The next day he was charged with sedition, released in October, and soon re-arrested under preventive detention laws retained from the colonial era. This led to AK Gopalan vs State of Madras (1950), the first major constitutional case on personal liberty. Represented by MK Nambyar, AKG argued that “procedure established by law” under Article 21 should mean fair and just procedure. The Supreme Court upheld the Preventive Detention Act, with only Justice Fazl Ali dissenting. In 1978, the Maneka Gandhi ruling adopted Fazl Ali’s view, vindicating AKG’s position. In 1951, the Madras High Court ordered his release over procedural lapses, but he was served a fresh detention notice at the court gate. Another legal battle freed him, prompting the Advocate General’s resignation. By his death in 1977 at age 72, AKG had been jailed 20 times, spending 17 years behind bars. His life remains a testament that true liberty demands just laws and fair governance.

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (1908–1994)

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, was one of Kerala’s most celebrated literary figures, was also an active participant in India’s freedom struggle. Born in Thalayolaparambu, Travancore, to a devout Muslim family, he was the eldest of several children. His father, a timber merchant, could provide only a modest living. Basheer began his education at a local Malayalam school before moving to an English school in Vaikom. There, witnessing Mahatma Gandhi during the Vaikom Satyagraha profoundly influenced him. Inspired by Gandhian ideals, he left school in the fifth form to join the independence movement, determined to ensure Muslim voices were part of the national cause. Basheer participated in the Salt Satyagraha at Kozhikode and was arrested, serving time in prison. After his release, he became involved in underground revolutionary work and edited the nationalist journal Ujjivanam. With a warrant issued for his arrest, he left Kerala and spent seven years wandering across India, taking up a variety of jobs—loom fitter, cook, fortune teller, shopkeeper, watchman, and more. When he finally returned, he was again arrested and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment.

Following India’s independence, Basheer withdrew from politics and devoted himself to literature. Settling in Beypore, near Kozhikode, he lived a modest life, running a bookshop and writing works that would make him a household name. His 1937 short story Amma (Mother), later included in Ormakkurippu (1946), reflects both his personal struggles and the collective sacrifices of India’s youth during the freedom movement. It recalls his arrests, police brutality, and the quiet, steadfast love of his mother, who waited every night for his return. The story also serves as a metaphor for Mother India’s longing for her children’s return from the fight for freedom. Basheer’s life blended activism, hardship, and literary brilliance, leaving an enduring legacy as both a patriot and one of Malayalam’s greatest storytellers.

Accamma Cherian (1909–1982)

Accamma Cherian, hailed as the “Jhansi Rani of Travancore,” was one of Kerala’s most inspiring leaders of the freedom movement. Born in 1909 in Kanjirapally, Travancore (present-day Kerala), she began her career as a teacher but felt a stronger calling to fight for India’s independence. Leaving her respected profession, she joined the Travancore State Congress, which was at the forefront of political agitation in the princely state. In 1938, when Sir CP used his powers to suppress a public demonstration and imprison Congress leaders, the movement faltered. Before his arrest, the party president named Accamma as his successor, recognizing her boldness. At just 29, she led a rally of over 20,000 people, demanding the release of political prisoners and the establishment of a responsible government. It was during this march that she confronted Colonel Watson, saying, “I am the leader; shoot me first before you kill others.” Her fearless stance compelled him to withdraw the firing order, preventing bloodshed. 

That same year, she organized the Desasevika Sangh (Women’s Volunteer Corps), travelling extensively to inspire women to join the struggle. In December 1939, her participation in the Travancore State Congress conference earned her a one-year prison term, during which she suffered abuse and harassment. Despite repeated arrests during the Quit India Movement in 1942, she refused to be silenced. Following independence, Accamma was elected to the Travancore Legislative Assembly in 1947. She retired from active politics in 1967 but continued public service as a member of the Freedom Fighters’ Pension Advisory Board. In her autobiography Jeevitham: Oru Samaram (Life, A struggle), she described her life as a constant protest against injustice, inequality, and oppression. Accamma Cherian passed away on 5 May 1982, remembered as a fearless woman who stood unshaken in the face of tyranny.

VS Achuthanandan (1923-2025)

Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan rose from a life of hardship to become one of Kerala’s most iconic political leaders. Born into the Ezhava community, he lost his mother to smallpox at four and his father at eleven, forcing him to abandon school and work in a tailoring shop before joining a British company. Drawn to the struggles of workers, he entered the freedom movement through trade union activism in 1938, and two years later joined the undivided Communist Party of India. He spent over five years in jail and nearly four years underground, playing a key role in the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising of 1946 against economic exploitation and political repression in Travancore.

A steadfast Marxist, Achuthanandan was known for his uncompromising politics. As CPI(M) state secretary for over a decade, he resisted attempts to dilute communist ideology, clashing with leaders like MV Raghavan over alliances with non-left parties. His hardline stance often put him at odds with his own party, most famously during the SNC-Lavalin corruption case when he supported a probe against Pinarayi Vijayan, resulting in his removal from the Politburo in 2009. In 2006, at the age of 82, Achuthanandan became Kerala’s 11th and oldest Chief Minister after a massive public campaign restored his candidacy. His tenure was marked by strong anti-corruption drives, land reclamation in Munnar, and major infrastructure initiatives such as the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam port project. He also championed IT park expansions and made a symbolic trek to Sabarimala in 2007. He passed away on July 21, 2025 leaving behind ideals of integrity, resilience, and grassroots connection in Indian politics.