Freedom fighter and towering determine of the Communist motion, R. Nallakannu, passed away in Chennai on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). He was 101 years outdated. He was ailing for a while and was present process therapy on the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, the place he breathed his final.
Fondly often called RNK in celebration circles, he selected to stay with the CPI when the Communist motion in India cut up in 1964 following the Indo-China conflict. He served as Tamil Nadu State secretary of the CPI for 3 tenures since 1992.
A devoted area employee and organisational man, Nallakannu led a tireless marketing campaign in opposition to the sand mafia that was illegally mining sand from the Thamirabarani river basin. In 2010, he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition and personally argued the case within the Madras High Court, securing a keep order in opposition to sand mining.
In Pictures: Remembering CPI leader R. Nallakannu (1924-2026)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Okay. Stalin speaks to veteran CPI chief R. Nallakannu throughout an occasion organised to rejoice the latter’s one hundredth birthday in Chennai on December 29, 2024.
Then CPI state secretary R. Nallakannu gathering election fund from the general public at Kodambakkam in Chennai on December 9, 2003.
Then CPI candidate for Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat R. Nallakannu campaigning in Coimbatore in 1999. During the General Election that yr, he misplaced to BJP chief C.P. Radhakrishnan who’s now the Vice-President of India
Then Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E.V.Okay.S. Elangovan and CPI Leader R. Nallakanu share a light-weight second at Sathyamurthy Bhavan in Chennai on December 1, 2014.
Then CPI State secretary R. Nallakannu with the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on the Secretariat in Chennai on January 13, 2005.
Communist Party of India (CPI) chief R. Nallakannu throughout a protest in opposition to the hike in gasoline costs in Tiruchi on June 13, 2006.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Okay. Stalin making a gift of the ‘Thagaisal Thamizhar’ award to CPI chief R. Nallakannu throughout the seventy fifth Independence Day celebrations held at Chennai on August 15, 2022. Nallakannu donated the award’s money element of ₹10 lakh to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund alongside along with his further contribution of ₹5,000.
Communist Party of India chief R. Nallakannu popping out of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court Bench on September 27, 2010 after arguing a PIL referring to sand quarrying in Thamirabarani river.
R. Nallakannu (second from proper), senior chief of Communist Party of India, enquiring in regards to the Paramakudi firing incident at Manjure village in Ramanathapuram district on August 17, 2011.
CPI chief R. Nallakannu addressing throughout a relay quick demanding a service street alongside Tiruchi-Thanjavur freeway in Tiruchi on July 20, 2017.
R. Nallakannu, CPI chief, listening to farmers and residents at a sand quarry on the banks of the Coleroon close to Anbil in Tiruchi district on August 26, 2011.
Communist Party of India chief R. Nallakannu addressing the members of the Vijaya Hospital Nurses’ Union throughout their protest in Chennai June 3, 2012
CPI leaders T. Pandian (left) and R. Nallakannu (proper) on the State convention in opposition to caste clashes, at Salem in Tamil Nadu on January 8, 2013.
R. Nallakannu, senior CPI chief at Madurai on March 12, 2015.
R. Nallakannu with former BJP state president La. Ganesan on December 20, 2014
CPI chief R. Nallakannu addressing at a protest demonstration in opposition to the US insurance policies, throughout U.S. President Barack Obama’s go to to India, close to Panagal constructing in Chennai on November 8, 2010.
R. Nallakannu, chief of Communist Party of India (CPI), wanting on the broken paddy within the rain-affected areas at Arasur in Thanjavur district on December 5, 2010.
CPI(M) chief N. Sankaraiah (proper) addressing State-level convention of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) in Dindigul on December 31, 2015, within the presence of veteran CPI chief R. Nallakannu.
PMK founder S. Ramadoss (centre) with CPI chief R. Nallakannu (left) and Viduthlai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol. Thirumavalavan at a perform in Chennai on April 27, 2008.
MDMK basic secretary Vaiko (left) and CPI chief R. Nallakannu at a e book launch perform in Chennai on May 2, 2008
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Soft-spoken and affable, RNK embodied the values of sacrifice, idealism, and unwavering dedication to the Communist motion and social justice. He shared with leaders comparable to Jeeva and Okay. Balathandayutham a love for the poems of nationwide poet Subramania Bharati and the hymns of the Azhwars, significantly Andal and Nammazhwar, appreciating their poetic magnificence.
Police torture
RNK was sentenced to life imprisonment within the Nellai Conspiracy Case, together with Okay. Balathandayutham, P. Manikkam, I. Mayandibharathi, and lots of others. He additionally spent a few years underground in periods when the Communist Party was banned — first by the British, and later by the Congress authorities led by Jawaharlal Nehru. He endured extreme police brutality; he was unable to develop a moustache thereafter, as a police officer had singed his higher lip with a cigarette butt.
“I was hiding in a friend’s house when the police arrested me. After securing some bombs, they tied my hands and beat me. But I refused to reveal the names of Communist leaders,” he stated in an interview, recalling the torture he confronted.
Born in 1925 in Srivaikundam, Thoothukudi district, RNK joined the liberty motion as a schoolboy, in a area that was a nerve centre of the independence battle, nurtured by V.O. Chidambaram, who ran the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC).
“Political leaders would travel to Thoothukudi through my native town of Srivaikundam. I would join the local leaders in organising meetings. You should have heard Pappankulam Chockalingam speak about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre — the entire crowd would weep uncontrollably. Though I was active, I was not allowed to participate in the individual Satyagraha or Quit India movements due to my age,” he recalled in a 2019 interview with The Hindu.
After finishing his education at Coronation School in Srivaikundam, he joined MDT Hindu College in Tirunelveli. “It was there I came into contact with the writer TMC Raghunathan and raised ₹400 for the Bharathi Memorial in Ettayapuram,” he advised Tamil author Mana in an interview.
Dhoti, towel, and Communist celebration
RNK joined the Communist Party on the age of 18 and labored intently with P. Srinivasa Rao, who led the agrarian motion in Tamil Nadu. His publicity to the commerce union motion in Harvey Mills, Thoothukudi, and his studying of works by Tamil scholar and commerce unionist Thiru.Vi. Kalyanasundaram ready him to commit totally to the Communist motion. “My father wanted me to take a job and lead a normal life. But I simply left home with a dhoti and towel and became a full-time worker of the Communist Party,” he stated within the interview.
RNK fought in opposition to the exploitation of farm employees by Shaivaite and Vaishnavite Mutts. When he tried to enter streets forbidden to oppressed communities, he was overpowered, tied to a submit, and crushed.
In 1949, he was arrested within the Nellai Conspiracy Case, which alleged that Communists conspired to overthrow Jawaharlal Nehru’s authorities. He was launched in 1956. “The cell doors would be opened briefly in the morning for us to relieve ourselves. The rest of the day was spent in the cell with a pot to urinate in,” he as soon as recalled.
RNK was deeply troubled by the emergence of the RSS-BJP within the Indian political panorama and at all times expressed concern over the undermining of public sector undertakings and commerce unions.
He was also in favour of unification of the Communist parties. “The CPI and the CPI(M) should consider unification. It may not happen overnight, since many decades have passed since the Communist movement split. Only the Communist parties can bring together secular forces against the communal BJP and the Hindutva forces, and halt their march,” he as soon as advised The Hindu.
Vice President’s tribute
A tribute by Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, who gained in opposition to RNK within the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from the Coimbatore constituency as a BJP candidate, speaks volumes in regards to the Communist chief’s character. “I was actually upset that a dignified leader like him could not win the election. The time of victory need not always be a time for celebration. It was a time when I felt that victory could also bring deep pain,” wrote Mr. Radhakrishnan in a e book on RNK, Aravazhvin Adayalam, revealed by The Hindu Tamil Thisai.
He was married to Ranjitham, daughter of an area communist chief, Annasamy, who by the way was killed throughout the 1995 caste riots within the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. One of his daughters, Andal, is a health care provider, while one other daughter, Kasi Bharathi, displays a mix of names — Kaisina Vendan, the presiding deity of Puliamkulam, and Bharathi.
Published – February 25, 2026 02:54 pm IST
