Kerala’s former Health Minister K. K. Shailaja launched her memoirs – My Life As A Comrade – in Delhi on April 28. Speaking at the book launch, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan applauded Ms. Shailaja’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic and her work as a political activist.
Mr. Vijayan said the book carries rich details about the battles that women from generations before her fought. “The book has a touching description about her grandmother M. K. Kalyani, who, disregarding her own health, worked during the plague. It is only apt that her grandchild led the fight against another pandemic of a similar scale,” he said.
When a politician writes their memoirs, Mr. Vijayan said, it is not just about their individual journey, but also about the evolution of society and the political history of the country.
He also sought to applaud his government’s performance during the pandemic, saying that it was not seen merely as a health issue but as a larger community challenge and the government was able to fix systemic deficiencies. “The world took notice of the work done by the Left Democratic Front Cabinet, which is a thing of pride for all of us including Ms. Shailaja.”
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CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, who was also present at the launch, said it was important that not a book about a communist’s life but a book about a female communist’s journey is here for the readers. Ms. Shailaja, she said, was brought up in a women-headed family. “Her grandmother became a widow very early in life, and her mother was abandoned by her father. A women-headed family is a cynosure of so many eyes and the scrutiny of society. It is this family where Ms. Shailaja grew up as an independent woman who could chose to become a communist; that itself is a story,” she said.
