WHAT would be the state of your mind, if you witnessed your father being stabbed to death in front of you amidst his desperate attempt to save you from a gang of murderers? This question always comes to my mind whenever I think about a close friend of mine, Siva Prasad. This is what happened to Siva Prasad around three years ago. Siva Prasad, a native of Trivandrum and a member of SFI Kerala state committee, had never been involved in any criminal activity or nowhere a complaint was filed against him for disturbing the peaceful life of any person. It was his father Narayanan Nair, a member of the CPI(M), who induced the values of democratic and secular politics in him and introduced him to the Left movement. He was never part of any clash, neither political nor any other, throughout his life. Narayanan Nair did not even have a petty case charged against him. Still he was stabbed and killed by the Sangh brigade who broke into his home with deadly weapons. The only crime he did was to resist RSS criminals when they came searching for his son. Siva Prasad and his brother survived the murderous attack with injuries. But, at the hospital bed, they received the news of the passing away of their father. Can ever Union minister Arun Jaitley shed a few tears to acknowledge the pain and deep sorrow of Siva Prasad?

We used to salute the brave martyrs before any of our conferences begins. We raise slogans and promise them that we will never let their dreams for a better world to fail. Vijin, a former colleague of mine in the SFI, was also part of many such conferences back home in Kerala. I wonder he must be remembering his father when he chants the slogans about martyr each time. His father, Parayi Pavithran, was killed by RSS goons after the murder of another CPI(M) activist, Sudhir Kumar, in Thalassery in Kannur district. Parayi Pavithran was a sympathiser of the CPI(M), not an active leader even at the local level. He might have never thought of even having a threat of being targeted by the RSS gangs. He had gone out of his home to buy milk early morning one day 10 years ago, and was brought back dead. Can ever Vijin expect a word of consolation and solidarity from Jaitley who dramatically rushed to Kerala when a gang-war, perpetrated by some of the supporters of his own party, took the life of an RSS worker in the state capital?

The news of the killing of Dhanraj had shaken the conscience of the region called Payyannur, one year ago. There were no immediate clashes or conflicts in the area. Murders out of political rivalry were not familiar to the people of Payyannur. At a time when nothing of such sort was expected, Dhanaraj a former DYFI activist and a CPI(M) worker of Payyannur, was butchered in front of his wife at his own house by a group of RSS criminals. He was a close friend to many of us and was always there at the call of anybody in need, irrespective of their political affiliation. Later, it was found in police inquiry that the muderers were brought from the southern end of the state to the north to complete this criminal operation. A youngster is being killed, not as an immediate consequence following any political clash nor an act of rivalry, but just to create an atmosphere of insecurity, conflict and fear. Can Jaitley meet the wife of Dhanaraj or at least condemn the barbaric act of his colleagues which took her life-partner away?

On the day of the assembly election results, Ravindran was happy and in a mood to celebrate the thumping victory of the Left Democratic Front. He joined his comrades amidst the victory procession at Pinarayi of Dharmadam constituency represented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A group of RSS criminals, frustrated over the victory of the Left in the elections, threw a bomb at him. This was the first political murder after the LDF won the election last year. Does Jaitley have the moral courage to acknowledge this fact? Months before the murder of Ravindran, Sarojini, the mother of a CPI(M) activist, was killed by bomb thrown at her house. Just weeks after, another CPI(M) local leader, Mohanan, was butchered in broad daylight even as RSS was marching to the AKG Bhavan in Delhi against the so-called Left terror. All these were done by the same criminal-communal group.

Similarly, Sajin Shahul and Fazil were killed by the blood-thirsty RSS criminals. They were only 19 and 21, respectively. Neither religion nor their age mattered. According to the Sangh agenda, a person deserves death if he is opposed to the politics of communal hatred. Will the sympathy of Jaitley reach the mothers of Sajin Shahul and Fasil?

Leave out all these, they were all members of SFI, DYFI or CPIM, members of the Left movement, which is the bête noire of the Sangh. But Ananthu and Nirmal were not. Ananthu was a Class 12 student from Alappuzha who was killed by RSS for having stopped attending Shakhas, only a few months ago. Nirmal was also killed by a Sangh Parivar activist in Thrissur recently. Does Arun Jaitley have the eyes to see these murders and will he offer a word of consolation to the family of the deceased?

The state committee office of SFI was also attacked. Since he was in the city, Jaitley could have visited the building which is built in the memory of a student leader, K V Sudheesh, who was cut into pieces by RSS goons in front of his parents, years ago. The list goes on. Mr. Jaitley, it would not be an easy task to convince the people with your lies of “Marxist terror” in Kerala. They have witnessed the caprices of the counterparts of the lynching mobs, who have taken to a murderous spree against the Left activists in the state for successfully resisting all their divisive agendas to polarise people on communal lines despite Kerala having the largest number of RSS Shakhas.

Fourteen people, including 11 CPI(M) activists have been killed by RSS since the LDF formed government in Kerala in May 2016. The list consists of a person who was killed for converting to Islam according to his wish and constitutional right and a madrasa teacher who was stabbed to death as a plan to spread communal violence. What provides them such a courage and confidence to continue their murderous spree even after repeated reminders by the people that they do not deserve to represent them in any elected bodies nor their divisive policies will be allowed to get rooted? The answer comes with the visit of Arun Jaitley to Kerala. All the above-mentioned incidents happened in the recent years. And many more is left to be told. Time and space will not suffice if we go into details of each act of killing by the Sangh forces in the last five decades. Quoting the police records, former DGP of the state Jacob Punnus stated that “527 CPI(M) workers were killed by political opponents in Kerala since seventies. 442 people were killed from other political parties altogether in which 185 are RSS workers”.

When Kerala stands tall in all parameters of human development index according to the national data and remains the most peaceful state in the country, the RSS continues to be one of the few disturbing factors in the state. No matter what, Kerala is not going to surrender before the criminal agenda set by the agents of politics of hate.

Nitheesh Narayanan is a member of the SFI central executive committee.