Those who fought for the country’s freedom are slowly withdrawing behind the curtain of time, leaving memories of their brave deeds, mostly cherished by their families and recorded in books and articles on them. Few among them have found their inspiring life story translated into moving images of cinema. K. Madhavan, one of the last living legends of the country’s freedom struggle in Kerala, appears destined to have his life recreated on screen.
Film-maker Ranjith announced here on Tuesday that he would soon make a film on the ‘Gandhian Communist.’ The announcement came at a function held here on Tuesday to mark the beginning of celebrations to mark Mr. Madhavan’s birth centenary.
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Inaugurating the celebrations by lighting the traditional lamp along with Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M.A. Baby, and Communist Party of India State unit secretary Pannian Ravindran, Mr. Chandy termed Mr. Madhavan a towering personality, and urged the younger generation to imbibe the values of sacrifice and dedication he stood for.
Calling Mr. Madhavan a proud son of the soil, Mr. Chandy said the ‘wonderful’ life experiences of the freedom fighter should inspire contemporary society, especially the youth.
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Mr. Madhavan entered the freedom struggle when he was just 13 by taking part in the 1928 KPCC Payyannur conference, and later in the 1931 Guruvayur satyagraha that ensured temple entry to all caste Hindus. He also underwent imprisonment.
On the demand to bear the expenses of the Guruvayur satyagraha memorial building proposed to be set up by the Madhavan Foundation in 7.5 cents of land at Chemmattomvayal here, Mr. Chandy said the State government despite its financial constraints would do its bit for the purpose.
Laying the foundation stone for the memorial building, Mr. Chennithala lauded Mr. Madhavan’s farsightedness, saying that his speech in 1964 that the Congress and the Communist parties should come together to keep communal forces at bay had greater relevance in the emerging socio-political realities.
Recalling the sacrifices made by Mr. Madhavan, Mr. Baby called for introspection on the part of political parties regarding their style of functioning. It was high time that every political party did some introspection on whether they had lived up to the aspirations of the people, he said. The CPI (M) leadership, Mr. Baby said, had recently expressed its inclination to go for such an exercise as part of streamlining the party.
K. Madhavan Foundation chairman E. Chandrasekharan, MLA, presided over the function. Writer Paul Zacharia and P. Radhika Menon, who translated Mr. Madhavan’s autobiography ‘Oru Gandhian Communistinde Ormakal’ to English, spoke.