Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday condoled the death of N. Sankaraiah, freedom fighter and veteran communist leader, and said the late leader’s life and sacrifices for the country, the working class and the Tamil land, will remain etched in history forever.
Sankaraiah died at a private hospital in Chennai, where he was admitted on Monday, November 13, 2023. Mr. Stalin, who visited the hospital soon after the leader’s demise to pay his last respects, said he was shocked and pained by the death since he had hoped that the leader would recover soon. The Chief Minister said the death was a personal loss, as he was expecting to receiving the leader’s guidance for a few more years. He said the leader’s funeral will take place with State honours.
Referring to the recent controversy over Governor R.N. Ravi’s refusal to approve a honorary doctorate by Madurai Kamaraj University for Sankaraiah, the Chief Minister said he regretted that the degree could not be conferred due to the “conspiracy” of a few “narrow-minded” persons who were unaware of the history of the freedom struggle in Tamil Nadu. It was Mr. Stalin, who announced in July, that the honorary doctorate would be conferred on the leader. Though Madurai Kamaraj University’s Syndicate and Senate had passed resolutions to confer the degree, the Governor, as MKU’s Chancellor, refused to approve.
Mr. Stalin said it was his life’s blessing that he had the opportunity to present the State government’s ‘Thagaisal Thamizhar’ award to Sankaraiah in 2021. He recalled how he was moved when the late leader donated the entire prize money from the award towards Covid-19 relief.
The CM also recalled how Sankaraiah entered the freedom struggle while in college, and was imprisoned many times, because of which he could not finish his education. Sankaraiah was released from prison only 12 hours before Independence, Mr. Stalin said. He added that Sankaraiah, who served as an excellent legislator, shared a close friendship with late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
Sankaraiah’s struggles as part of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and later Communist Party of India (Marxist), and his contributions as the first editor of the Theekathir newspaper will showcase his inevitability in the history of the socialist movement in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Stalin said, adding that the leader fought throughout his life against caste and class divisions and oppression.
