N. Sankaraiah died in Chennai on November 15, 2023 and was cremated with state honours. A younger associate remembers his warmth and fiery radicalism that came through well unto his last days.November 7 is a day of uprising for Communists across the world. On this day, a social revolution was ushered in under the leadership of Lenin. This year, on that day, the renovated state committee office of the Tamil Nadu CPI(M) was declared open. Along with it, the event to unveil the statue of P. Ramamurthy, a veteran Communist leader and freedom fighter, took place.Speaking at the valedictory event on that day, B. Ramamurthy’s daughter and acclaimed lawyer Vaigai said: “The very slogan Inquilab Zindabad (long live the revolution) terrorises this government. We need to keep raising this slogan,” as she ended her speech with it.Sankaraiah, who had sent an audio message felicitating the event, had also ended his note with Inquilab Zindabad. The majesty in his voice was almost intact. Everyone at the event including Vaigai on the dais were moved to tears on hearing the voice. Within a week, comrade Sankaraiah left us.Sankaraiah in his party office library in 2013 – he had just inaugurated it. Photo: S. Gavaskar/ People’s Archive of Rural IndiaRole in the freedom struggleComrade Sankaraiah appeared as a formidable leader in Tamil Nadu in the face of British imperialism. Because of which he had faced numerous prison sentences. By the time he turned 40, he had already served eight years in prison and three years underground. At a time when the freedom struggle was in full swing, Sankariah, a student of The American College in Madurai, mobilised the students in the college and got them involved in the freedom movement. When Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose visited Chennai, it was Sankaraiah who brought him to Madurai and instilled the spirit of freedom struggle among the students through him.It was Sankariah who formed and guided a student organisation to mobilise the students of Tamil Nadu towards the freedom struggle. He started with Madurai and organised students across Tamil Nadu in different cities.In 1964, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) was formed after an ideological split within the Communist movement. Comrade Sankaraiah was among the 32 national executive members who formed the CPI(M).“Vanakkam, comrade”I have been a witness to many special traits of comrade Sankaraiah’s character in my own student days. When the police resorted to lathi-charge after a protest at the Chrompet government school where I was studying, I ran to Sankaraiah’s house seeking refuge. At that time, I was ignorant of his history – that he was a veteran communist leader and freedom fighter. “Thatha, thaatha (Grandfather),” I screamed as I ran inside the house. His son was the unit Communist leader at that time. He was my mentor.Much later when I realised how important he was, I was struck by the warmth he exuded irrespective of the age difference and how he had addressed everyone as a comrade. Whenever comrade Sankaraiah got down from a train and walked towards his house, I would stand on the road along with my friends and wish him: “Vanakkam, comrade.” In response, he would also enthusiastically say: “Vanakkam comrade’. As a student, this gesture left me with a great sense of excitement. I often stood on the road along with friends just for this moment. To me, it is a matter of great happiness that I understood the significance of the word comrade coming directly from him.Also read: N. Sankaraiah: One Hundred Years a RevolutionaryComrade Sankaraiah was a disciplined human being. Even though he had many tasks and held many responsibilities in the Communist party, he would make a note of every event that he had to attend and go on time. I was always n in awe of his punctuality. He would never make anyone wait – be it a wedding event or a visit to a comrade’s house. Sankaraiah valued others’ time as much as he valued his own.When he was 97, I had the opportunity to travel with him for a conference in Madurai. He meticulously planned every detail about the trip. Right from enquiring about the train timings to where to have our meal and how to return, Sankaraiah never left anything to chance and made sure that I followed the same. When I met him few weeks ago, I realised that he was still the same.The man behind the legendComrade Sankariah is today known throughout the country as veteran leader of the Communist party. But had never let the fame to manifest in his personality. He was a leader nonpareil who only functioned under the party’s orders. After stepping down as the party’s state secretary in 2002, Sankaraiah would willingly accept any responsibility given by the party and worked accordingly.His performance as the state secretary was impeccable. Even when people younger than him were in-charge of the party, the party’s resolutions had always been his charter. He never gave an interview to any media house without explicit approval of the party. Besides, he also regularly read all the statements, magazines and documents of the party. He kept himself abreast of all development, from local to global, and was extremely knowledgeable. He was also keen and sensitive enough to know about every struggle waged by the party. When I went to meet him last month, he enquired about the consequences of each stage of the actions the party had taken for recent forced evictions in Chennai.Comrade Sankaraiah was fluent in English. Even as a student, comrade Sankaraiah would translate the speeches of leaders like P. C. Joshi (Communist Party of India’s first general secretary) and A. K. Gopalan into Tamil during their visits to the state. He was sharp enough to translate them into Tamil without even taking notes.Self-awareness was a trait that comrade Sankaraiah had consciously developed for himself. He would never accept things that he did not find palatable. He exercised restraint in the matter of food and advised other comrades to do the same as he was concerned about their health.Sankaraiah was a leader who took pleasure and pride in the growth of the next generation of leaders and gave way for them. Even though he would cut short his attendance to many public events for this reason, he would regularly send out congratulatory messages and articles by way of encouragement. Generations of Communist leaders are indebted to comrade Sankaraiah. Not just in the party, even in his own family, ever member was a Communist worker.Against caste and religionHis family has seen weddings between members of all castes. Sankaraiah himself fell in love and married Navamani Ammal, a Christian and his fellow traveler in the freedom struggle. Their marriage was both inter-caste and inter-communal. There have been many such inter-caste and inter-religious marriages in his family. Sankaraiah had always encouraged the youth to fall in love and get married. His speeches against caste oppression instilled rationalism in the youth. He made sure that his own family followed the principles of the Communist party.When Comrade Sankariah tested positive for covid and was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, the way he faced the disease and the cooperated with the doctors was awe-inspiring. Perhaps his fighting spirit manifested itself against the disease even when he was 100 years old. Even this time, he struggled as much as he could against the disease. The Communist red sun that had lived an admirable public life, remained the pulse of the Communist party till the end.G. Selva is the CPI (M) Central Chennai district secretary.