The thumb of Ekalavya

MALAPPURAM: The moment might be heartrending for V S Achuthanandan. The body language and the silence when he paid homage to TP Chandrasekharan reflected the turbulence inside him. For the people of Orkatery and around, the two letters ‘VS’ was like what ‘Drona’ was to ‘Ekalavya’.They were inspired by him, trusted and admired him as the leader who is fighting for the true values of Communism. They once thought VS would lead the rebels after bidding adieu to the CPM."The Revolutionary Marxist Party had an ideological bondage with VS when that party was formed under the guidance of T P Chandrasekharan. VS and TP shared similar views which was drastically different from that of the official faction of the CPM.VS fought for the ideologies by being a part of the party and TP formed a party separately to uphold the same ideologies,” Left Coordination Committee leader Azad told ‘Express’.The CPM official faction was also aware of the acceptance of VS among the rebels in Orkatery. They deployed VS to woo the party workers four years ago when the rift between both the factions widened.However, VS did not do much to refrain the rebels from leaving the party. The mammoth crowd assembled in the public meetings of VS reflected the backing he had in the area.Later, the RMP lost its loyalist nature towards  Achuthanandan. But they still respect his attitudes and values.Though both TP and VS shared the same feelings about Communism, they had not been in contact with each other though VS was in touch with some other rebels.“The ideological similarities brought VS to pay homage to TP. It shows that he believes TP stood for the real ideologies of the CPM,” Azad added. It can also be seen as an atonement to what he had done to the people who openly showed their loyalty to him. The speech and attitudes of VS had profoundly motivated the rebels in Orkatery to form a rebel organisation against CPM.Looking at it from another angle, it was also their loyalty that led to the death of T P Chandrasekharan. Now, the people of Orkatery has lost its right thumb, similar to the fate of Ekalavya.