Late Congress leader Vakkom Purushothaman will perhaps be best remembered for ingraining Onam as Kerala’s national festival in the public mind.
As Tourism Minister under the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] government led by E.K. Nayanar in 1980, Mr. Purushothaman brushed aside reservations about Onam’s religious facets and established the holiday as a secular State festival.
A hard-charging administrator who cut his teeth as Minister under the institution-building Achutha Menon government (1971-77), Mr. Purushothaman seemed preternaturally prescient about Onam’s profound tourism potential and persuasive soft power to unify Keralites under a distinctly ethnic identity that transcended provincialism, politics, and religion.
Bringing across artists, performers, and singers from across Kerala’s cultural spectrum and employing decorative illumination, pageantry and pyrotechnic displays, Mr. Purushothaman sculpted Onam from what was elementarily an indolent home-bound holiday into a 10-day State-sponsored carnival that continues to draw tourists and families to Thiruvananthapuram and provide stage and succour to hundreds of traditional artists.
Stint in the LDF
Mr. Purushothaman, who went by the appellation ‘Vakkom,’ a nod to his birthplace, had left the Congress along with A.K. Antony and other ‘A’ group leaders in the 1980s to align with the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
However, the bonhomie petered out shortly, and the Congress (A) merged with the Indira Gandhi-led Congress (I) in 1982. Mr. Purushothaman has remained a staunch Congressperson since. Mr. Purushothaman held leadership positions in government for the better part of his nearly six-decade-long political career. He served two times as Kerala Legislative Assembly Speaker, notching up a record.
Mr. Purushothaman’s first term as Speaker in 1982-84 was one of political tumult that played out fiercely in the old Assembly complex in the government Secretariat.
A strict adherent to the rule book, Mr. Purushothaman had regular run-ins in the House with the CPI(M) firebrands M.V. Raghavan and K.R. Gouri.
As Speaker, Mr. Purushothaman demanded that MLAs stick to the time limit, subjected adjournment motions tabled by the Opposition to harsh scrutiny, cracked the whip at perceived misdemeanours in the House, and emptied the MLA hostel of ‘permanent guests.’
Mr. Purushothaman’s stubbornness as Speaker often vexed legislators across the aisle and earned him a martinet image. As a Minister, Mr. Purushothaman drafted laws to ensure the welfare of agricultural and head-load workers and introduced the referral hospital system.
In Cliff House too
Later, as Andaman and Nicobar lieutenant governor, Mr. Purushothaman firmly planted the Union Territory on the global tourism map. Mr. Purushothaman brought his vast experience in managing public affairs to the gubernatorial offices of Mizoram and Tripura. He briefly occupied Cliff House, the Chief Minister’s official residence, without making it to the top office. Kerala has lost an inventive administrator in Mr. Purushothaman’s passing.
