Bio to capture the turbulent life of a veteran Communist

Set to be released next month, the book narrates in detail M.M. Lawrence’s eventful life, including the Edappally police station attack whose 72nd anniversary is observed on Monday

CPI(M) leader M.M. Lawrence | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

Marxist veteran and trade unionist M.M. Lawrence led a tumultuous life warranting a biography.

Now, it is almost ready and was originally scheduled for release during the forthcoming CPI(M) State meet set to be held in the city from March 1. Though it was a fitting platform, the family of the nonagenarian has confirmed that it is unlikely, as some finishing touches are left. While the title of the work and the publisher are also nearly confirmed, Lawrence’s son Sajeevan M.L. chose to withhold it till a final decision was taken.

The book will be published next month. Incidentally, it is being readied for publication as the 72nd anniversary of the violent Edappally police station attack, in which Mr. Lawrence was an accused, is set to be observed on Monday.

“It was dictated by father over two years before he got bedridden owing to age-related complications a few months ago. It is a bare-all work touching upon his eventful life right from childhood. The controversy surrounding the turbulent State committee meet of the CPI(M) in Palakkad in 1998 in which he was defeated along with other prominent figures like K.N. Raveendranath, P. Kannan, and Appukuttan Vallikkunnu in the election is being narrated in detail. The Edappally police station attack also figures in the book prominently,” said Mr. Sajeevan, a lawyer by profession.

Mr. Lawrence was later reinstated in the party. Before his ouster from the organisation, he had served as convener of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and elected as Member of Parliament from Idukki. He was also active with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) all along.

The 93-year-old veteran Communist is at his daughter Sujatha’s residence at Chakkaraparambu here. He was also struck by COVID-19 recently.

Meanwhile, writer N.S. Madhavan will inaugurate a function to mark the anniversary of the Edappally police station attack at the children’s traffic park at Vyttila on Monday. Mr. Lawrence, who is the lone surviving accused in the case, will attend the function if he is fit enough.

The impulsive Communist attack on the police station on the night of February 28, 1950, was staged to free two ‘comrades’ N.K. Madhavan and Varadutty, and it left two policemen dead.

“What many people do not know is that police atrocities against Communists started even before the police station attack. Many of our comrades were picked up, arrested, put into country boats and beaten black and blue. The truth is that the attack was not planned. We had a meeting at Ponnekkara to discuss the railway workers’ strike. That was when Madhavan and Varadutty were arrested. The meeting was chaired by K.C. Mathew, and even before I along with a few other members arrived at the meeting venue, a decision had been taken to attack the police station and set free the two comrades. It was a very impulsive decision without gauging our strength and that of the police,” recalled Mr. Lawrence while talking to The Hindu back in 2015. On being arrested, he was mercilessly beaten up by the police and moved between various lock-ups.

Incidentally, the family members of the two policemen killed in the attack attended the 70th anniversary of the attack held two years ago, which was also attended by Mr. Lawrence.