The jampacked K.P. Kesava Menon Hall on Wednesday witnessed an attempt to present the life of a unique political activist from Kozhikode city for posterity. Vasuettan: Oru Porattathinte Jeevitha Rekha, a documentary on trade union leader A. Vasu, was released by historian M.G.S. Narayanan.
The 89-year-old veteran is better known as GROW Vasu, the prefix standing for Gwalior Rayons Organisation of Workers, an independent trade union at the now defunct Gwalior Rayons factory, Mavoor.
Closure of factory
In the 80s, both GROW and Mr. Vasu had joined hands with environmental activists and local residents to seek closure of the factory citing the environmental damage it caused to the area, especially the Chaliyar river. Before that, he was part of the Naxalite movement.
Mr. Vasu was a close associate of rebel leader A. Varghese, who was shot dead by the police in a fake encounter in 1970.
The documentary describes Mr. Vasu’s initiation into communism at an early age, in his own words.
He, along with the late actor Nellikode Bhaskaran, used to roll out mats on paddy fields for people to sit during political meetings at Pottammal on the outskirts of Kozhikode city.
The A,B,C of...
Mr. Vasu recalls that it was one of his relatives who taught him the A, B, C of communism thus: “...The red flag represents us, the labourers, it is our party.” Since then, he claims, he is an ardent follower of Marxism-Leninism and later, Maoism.
Mr. Vasu later became a functionary of the Balasangham, a children’s outfit aligned to the Communist Party of India. When the CPI split in 1964, he stood with the CPI(M), and later parted ways with it to join the CPI (Marxist-Leninist).
Mr. Vasu claims in the documentary that his conviction in Marxist principles did not deter a bit even after the setbacks its political forms received across the world.
“I strongly believe that only Marxism can solve the problems of the people in India and elsewhere,” he says.
He is still active in political life and can be seen vigorously fighting for labourers and against human rights violations.
The documentary, produced by the Media Research and Foundation, was directed by Gopal Menon.