On Monday, as Kerala mourns the passing of VS, Gomathi remembers him not just as a leader, but a comrade. To her and the women of 'Pombilai Orumai', his visit in September 2015 was not symbolic; it was one of solidarity.
Published Jul 22, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 22, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Today, as Kerala mourns the passing of VS, Gomathi remembers not just a leader, but a rare ally who stepped into the shadows when the spotlight was off.
Synopsis: When a comrade like VS dies, it is not just a party that mourns. It is a loss felt deeply by countless women who once found relief in his words. Like Gomathi, there are many across Kerala, women who were never mocked or dismissed by him, but respected and recognised for their power to resist.
All eyes were on Munnar on that cold evening on 13 September 2015.
Eight days ago, a collective of women plantation workers called Pombilai Orumai had marched to the headquarters of the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Limited, demanding a fair increase in their wages and bonus payments. The women, 12,000 of them, challenged the established trade unions and started an unprecedented movement, involving mostly Dalits. Such a movement was not familiar to Kerala.
Leading the protest were Gomathi Augustine and others. Gomathi was undergoing treatment at the Munnar General Hospital after getting injured in a skirmish during the protest. Her phone rang frequently, and one call surprised her.
“Comrade VS Achuthanandan wants to see and speak with all of you. He is on the way,” the caller announced.
VS Achuthanandan.
Gomathi could not believe her ears. She did not expect Achuthanandan in Munnar. She left the hospital and hurried to the protest site.
She was late to welcome VS, as the veteran Marxist who passed away on Monday, 21 July, is fondly known. Gomathi saw him, then 91, sitting on a chair, covered in a hoodie, in Munnar’s piercing cold evening. He sat still, eyes roving, and lips pursed in determination.
Suddenly, Kerala looked at the Pombilai Orumai strike with interest. Media houses that ignored the women sent reporters and photojournalists to the scene.
On Monday, as Kerala mourns the passing of VS, Gomathi remembers him not just as a leader, but a comrade. To her and the women of Pombilai Orumai, his visit was not symbolic; it was one of solidarity. And that memory remains deeply personal, forever etched in the soil they tilled and the hills that once echoed with their slogans.
In a voice choking with emotion, Gomathi shared with South First a memory that still stirs her soul.
Gomathi at the Pombilai Orumai protest site.
“I had been admitted to the Munnar General Hospital after getting injured during the protest. When I returned, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: Comrade VS Achuthanandan, sitting right there in the middle of our protest site.”
“The police and media led me to him and said, ‘This is Gomathi, the leader of Pombilai Orumai.’ Suddenly, he stretched his hand and said, ‘Until this strike wins, I will stand with you all.”’
Gomathi’s voice broke as she recalled that moment.
”Those words… it still echoes in my heart. Because until that day, no leader had ever offered even a word, let alone a hand, to us.”
VS kept his word. Munnar’s biting cold nor the long, tiring journey deterred the nonagenarian. He went there because it was a workers’ strike, and more importantly, a women’s strike. Gomathi vividly remembers him wrapped in a woollen hoodie, braving the chill, sitting among them, not as a VIP, but as one of them.
That image, and his words, she said, will never fade.
Gomathi speaks of that moment like it happened yesterday.
VS Achuthanandan, leader of the masses.
”How can we tie VS Achuthanandan to just one political party? He was truly the people’s leader,” she said. ”When I heard he was unwell a few months ago, I got a call from Suresh Gopi (Union Minister of State). He told me, ‘Gomathi, you must visit VS. His health is not good.’ I tried. But at that time, no visitors were allowed.”
She recalled the stir. The historic strike led by tea plantation workers, most of them Dalit women, was against the might of multinational companies and long-entrenched trade unions.
Pombilai Orumai, the collective they had formed, was fierce, defiant, and deeply distrustful of politicians.
”No leader was welcome at our protest. Our workers were angry; they chased away those who came for publicity,” Gomathi recalled.
”But when VS came, everything changed. Everyone became calm. Because we all knew that his presence meant something.”
VS didn’t visit the CPI(M) trade union strike happening nearby. He skipped the official line of his party and walked straight to the Pombilai Orumai protest site.
”One police officer even told me, ‘Gomathi, don’t worry. If VS comes, your strike will win.’ And that’s what happened. VS didn’t come for politics — he came for justice.”
The Pombilai Orumai strike had already drawn global attention. It was led entirely by women, most of them from Dalit backgrounds, whose ancestors had been brought in as indentured labourers during colonial times. These women had stood their ground not just against powerful plantation management but also the trade unions who sought to control their struggle.
When unions tried to run a parallel strike just a few hundred metres away, the women refused to join. They trusted no one.
Except one man, VS.
”That’s what made him different,” Gomathi said. ”Which other leader would do that? None. Only VS.”
No other leader in Kerala, not even women leaders, can claim VS’s unwavering support for struggling and striking women. As writer Deedi Damodaran once noted, ”For me, VS is the name of the century’s fighting spirit that stood firmly with women’s struggles.”
VS was the only leader who stood by KK Rema when she lost her husband, TP Chandrashekaran.
Whether it was the Sooryanelli rape case, the ice cream parlour sex scandal case, or the Pombilai Orumai protest in Munnar, VS stood with them all — not for applause, not for political mileage, but out of conviction.
He did not become beloved because every fight he supported ended in victory. Even when defeat loomed, his message — ”Do not falter”, became a source of strength and a call to persist.
VS was the first communist leader who stood by KK Rema when she lost her husband, TP Chandrashekaran, in Kerala’s politics of violence. Despite CPI(M) men’s involvement in the murder, VS visited Rema at her residence. Rema remembers him not just as a politician, but with the warmth and presence of a father.
“When darkness had spread over my life, when I stood helpless, dear Comrade was a touch of relief,” she noted on Facebook on knowing his demise.
When a comrade like VS dies, it is not just the party that mourns. It is a loss felt deeply by countless women who once found shelter in his words. Like Gomathi, there are many across Kerala, women who were never mocked or dismissed by him, but respected and recognised for their power to resist.
”He respected our fight,” Gomathi said. ”He stood with us when it mattered.”
Her voice trembled as she added, with a heartfelt thank you: ”Lal Salam, Comrade VS! ”
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
