V. Kalyanam (15 August 1922 – 4 May 2021) was an Indian freedom fighter and was

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's personal secretary during the last few years of Gandhi's life (1943–48). He joined the freedom struggle during

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

in 1942, and then worked with Gandhi till Gandhi's

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

. Kalyanam was just behind Gandhi when

Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in Birla ...

fired the shots. According to Kalyanam, Gandhi died instantly after being shot and never uttered "Hey Ram" as his last words. He was the first to inform Nehru and Patel about Gandhi's death. Kalyanam later worked as

Edwina Mountbatten Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, (''née'' Ashley; 28 November 1901 – 21 February 1960), was an English heiress, socialite, relief worker and the last vicereine of India as the wife of (the then) Rear Admiral ...

's secretary in London. He returned a few years later and then worked for C. Rajagopalachari and Jayaprakash Narayan. Kalyanam criticized

Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

for forgetting the legacy of Gandhi. He said Gandhi wanted to dissolve the party which had started becoming corrupt. He even said that

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

was responsible for corruption in India. Kalyanam joined the Aam Aadmi Party's Chennai wing Inauguration in 2014, which was portrayed as if he had joined the party. He died of age-related ailments on May 4, 2021.

References

Mahatma Gandhi 1922 births 2021 deaths Aam Aadmi Party politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu {{AAP-politician-stub