Anathalavattom Anandan (22 April 1937 – 5 October 2023) was an Indian politician, a

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and a member of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

. He was the President of the Kerala State Committee and nationa
Vice President
of th
Centre of Indian Trade Unions
and the
State Secretariat Member
of th
CPI(M) Kerala State Committee.
Anandan was also the President of Kerala Coir Workers Centre. He was elected thrice to the

Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 28 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 c ...

from Attingal constituency in 1987, 1996 and 2006. The

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

had appointed him as the Vice Chairman of Apex Body for Coir in August 2016.

Personal life

Anathalavattom Anandan was born to V. Krishnan and Nani Amma on 22 April 1937 in Anathalavattom in

Thiruvananthapuram district Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

. He was married to Laila and had two children, Jeeva Anandan and Mahesh Anandan. Anandan died on 5 October 2023, at the age of 86.

Political career

Anandan started his political activities during his school days, and became a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

during 1956. In 1958, he worked as a

coir Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell ...

laborer and organized his co-workers to form one of the first Coir Co-operative Societies in Anathalavattom. That same year, Anandan led a rally to increase the daily wages of coir workers from half ana to one ana. Since then, he has worked for the uplift of the downtrodden and led many struggles for better work and wages for coir workers. Anandan actively participated in various trade union agitations and strikes, and was arrested and detained on several occasions, as well as injured during protests. During the Emergency in India, he went underground for a year and a half and was declared a wanted

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

under the

Maintenance of Internal Security Act The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was a controversial law passed by the Indian parliament in 1971 giving the administration of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Indian law enforcement agencies very broad powers – indefinite pre ...

. He was arrested in November 1976 and detained until the lifting of the Emergency. Anandan was the leader of three state marches (കാല്‍നട ജാഥകള്‍) of the Coir Worker's Union: in 1973 to protest against the local police killing of Comrade Ammu, a coir worker at

Vazhamuttom Vazhamuttom is a village township near to Pathanamthitta Town in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India.
Kerala-History

; in 1974 to press for better work and wages; and the famous Coir Strike in 1975. A senior trade union activist, Anandan was elected as the President of th
CITU Kerala State unit
in its 12th and 13th State Conferences. He has also been a member of the All India Working Committee o
CITU
since 1979, and has served as the Thiruvananthapuram District President of CITU. Anandan was elected as the General Secretary of the Kerala Coir Workers Centre (CITU) in 1973. After serving as the General Secretary of the Centre, Mr. Anandan was elected President, succeeding Dr.

T. M. Thomas Isaac Travancore Mathew Thomas Isaac (born 26 September 1952) is an Indian politician and economist, who served as the Department of Finance (Kerala), Minister for Finance and Coir of the Indian state of Kerala and a central committee member of the Co ...

in 2017. He was also the general secretary of Travancore Coir Thozhilali Union from 1970 to 1995. Anandan was elected to the Thiruvananthapuram District Committee in 1971, in 1984 to the State Committee, and in 2009 to the State Secretariat of the

. Mr. Anandan is the first member to represent CPI(M)'s state secretariat from

. Anandan served as the director of the Kerala State Coir Marketing Federation (Coirfed) from 1979 to 2001, and in 1989 assumed the office of Chairman of Coirfed. He became Vice Chairman of Coir Board thrice, and also served as an Executive Committee member. He was also the Vice Chairman o
National Coir Research & Management Institute (NCRMI)
He has also served as the Chairman o
Foam Mattings India Ltd.
Anandan traveled widely to various parts of the world to promot
Coir Geotextiles
and to find markets for Coir products. He visited the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

etc. He also visited various

Gulf countries The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

. Anandan served as the President of

Chirayinkeezhu Chirayinkeezhu is a town in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It was also hometown of famous Malayalam Film actor Prem Nazir . It is the seat of Chirayinkeezhu taluk. Anjengo Fort The well known Anjengo Fort (''Anchu ...

Grama Panchayath from 1979 to 1984, and was then elected to the

three times from Attingal Constituency in 1987, 1996 and in 2006. He was an active member in the

, and raised many issues related to the people in the House. As part of his activities in the Assembly, Anandan served as the Chairman of Estimates Committee, the Public Undertaking Committee, and the Committee on Environment, as well as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (2008–11). Mr. Anandan was the Chief

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

of the Government from 2006 to 2011 in the

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the oth ...

ministry. Anandan served as the

Chirayinkeezhu Taluk Chirayinkeezhu Taluk is a Taluk (tehsil) in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is shares border with Varkala Taluk in North and with Thiruvananthapuram Taluk in South. It comprises 12 panchayats and Attingal Munici ...

committee member of the Communist Party, Attingal Area Secretary, Chirayinkeezhu Local Committee secretary, General Secretary of Travancore Coir Thozhilali Union, Thiruvananthapuram District Motor Workers Union, Taluk Press Workers Union, Taluk Sawmill Workers Union, Taluk Taxi Drivers Union, and Thengu Kayatta Thozhilali Union. He was the President of the Serifed Employees Union, Consumer Federation Employees Association, and SIDCO Employees Association. Anandan was later the president of the Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association (''KSRTEA'')
Kerala Financial Corporation
Officers' Association
Kerala State Co-Operative Bank
Employees Federation
Khadi Board
Employees Association, an
Travancore Titanium
Officers' Association.

Awards

1. Coir Mitra Award - Awarded by Coir Board, Ministry of MSME,

Govt. of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2016. 2. Coir Millennium Award - awarded by Coir Board, Ministry of ARI, Govt of India in 2000. 3. Coir Award 2009, instituted by the Kerala State government. 4. Coir Award 2010-11, for Longstanding Experience and Contribution to the Coir Sector, Government of Kerala 5. C. Kesavan Memorial Award 2016, instituted by C. Kesavan Smaraka Samithy 6. N. Sreekandan Nair Puraskaram 2018, instituted by Revolutionary Socialist Party (Leninist). 7. INA Hero Vakkom Khadar Award 2021 instituted by ''INA Hero Vakkom Khader'' Association & Research Library

References

Homage to Com. Anathalavattom Anandanകയര്‍വ്യവസായം സംരക്ഷിക്കാന്‍ : ആനത്തലവട്ടം ആനന്ദന്‍Coir Industry - Need Cure ComprehensiveUproar in Kerala Assembly over ‘slight' to Achuthanandan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anandan, Anathalavattom 1937 births 2023 deaths Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala Malayali politicians People from Thiruvananthapuram district Trade unionists from Kerala Kerala MLAs 1987–1991 Kerala MLAs 1996–2001 Kerala MLAs 2006–2011