WHEN it came to knowing about milestone events in the history of communist movement of India in general, and that of Tamil Nadu in particular, or to knowing about the lives of leaders dedicated to the cause of working class, it was to Comrade N Ramakrishnan, known among comrades as NR, that leaders and activists of the CPI(M) in Tamil Nadu invariably turned to. Sadly, Com NR passed away on December 12, 2021, leaving in shared grief the Party ranks.

In my book Kalapaniyil Communistukal (Communists in field work), I have written about many comrades who had been in the Party and in the class and mass organisations for  decades and had stood by the working class with utmost dedication, organised historic struggles, facing all forms of repression including jail and torture. Comrade NR had also been jailed for a year at the time of formation of the CPI(M). Subsequently, he served the Party in many capacities, both in Tamil Nadu and in Delhi directly under the guidance of the Central Committee, with great dedication and distinction.

Com NR was born in September 1942. His father died when he was very young. He was brought up by his elder siblings. Com N Sankaraiah, veteran freedom fighter and a legendary figure of the communist movement in Tamil Nadu, is one of his two living siblings. Sankaraiah had emerged as one of the important leaders of communist party in Madurai even at the time of NR’s birth. This is also a factor in NR associating himself with the communist party during his student days. The third All India Party Congress took place in Madurai, Thamukkam grounds in the year 1953. In a conversation, NR told me: “The Party Congress rally which entered Thamukkam grounds, appeared to me as the flood stream of Vaigai river. The speech made at this meeting by Harry Pollitt of Communist Party of Britain, illuminated my mind like a bright beam.”  After this event, he considered himself a communist. He visited the Party office regularly and read communist literature. After completing his high school finals, he became a reporter in Janasakthi. Veteran communist leader, Comrade Jeevanandham was the editor of the newspaper.  NR told me that his comradeship with Jeeva had greatly contributed to his political growth.

NR started his political life as a book seller for New Century Book House. He was absorbed into the editorial board of the organ of the undivided Party, Janasakthi, when he was only 20 years old. During the days when CPI(M) emerged in the struggle against revisionism, NR worked closely with Appu alias Arputhasamy, Solai, Ravunni and Easwaran of Coimbatore in bringing out the weekly Theekkathir, which has since evolved into the daily organ of the Tamil Nadu state committee of the Party. He became a member of the Party in 1966.

As directed by the Polit Bureau, NR shifted to Delhi and started to work from the Party’s Parliamentary office which functioned under the all-India centre which was then in Kolkata. NR served at the parliament office, then situated at 4 Ashoka road, the residence of A K Gopalan for 15 years from 1969 to 1984. During this period, as secretary of the parliament office he had assisted the Party in its parliamentary work. He cherished the opportunity to work closely with Comrades Sundarayya, P Ramamurthy,  A K Gopalan, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, EMS Namboodiripad, Jyoti Basu, B T Ranadive  and other leading comrades during his presence at the all India centre, as the most rewarding experience of his life. He also had the great opportunity to meet with Comrades Shiv  Varma, Pandit Kishorilal, Dr Gayaprasad, all of whom were connected with Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdev.

When Prakash Karat went to Delhi in 197O to work with AKG with an introduction letter from Comrade V P Chindhan, it was NR who met him.  He introduced him to the secretary of Party’s Delhi state committee as he was also going to study at JNU.  NR learned to speak and write in English and served the all-India centre very well.  He provided secretarial support to AKG, then the leader of CPI(M)’s parliamentary committee.  Whenever Polit Bureau members arrived in Delhi, NR would assist them in their needs. Comrade Ganesh Ghosh who had spent 28 years in the prisons of Bengal and Andamans was a member of Lok Sabha during the years 1967-1971. NR had the opportunity to work with him and become his beloved comrade. He also got an opportunity to interact with P C Joshi, secretary of the undivided communist party. In 1982, Polit Bureau of the Party decided that NR would work at the Party’s Central Committee office.

Comrade NR with his vast reading, working and learning experience had long planned to write about the history of Party, its leaders and the struggles and movements Party had led. He gave a letter to Polit Bureau to relieve him from his responsibilities at the centre and send him back to Tamil Nadu. Comrade EMS, the then general secretary of the Party, appreciated his 15 years’ contribution at the Party’s all India centre and expressed hope that his services would be available to the centre in future. After returning to Madurai, he joined a private firm to support his family. Meanwhile, he went regularly to Theekkathir office in the evenings for taking care of Party’s publication work. He used to translate the articles that appeared in Party’s English publications for Theekkathir. In 1985 he joined Theekkathir as its employee. He also worked for its advertising department, besides doing translation work.

NR’s first book, published in 1988, was a biography about Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed, one of the founders of communist movement in India. Following that, Comrade Balaji of South Vision Books published 22 of NR’s books. NR noted with gratitude that Balaji enabled him to become a writer. NR never stopped writing. In the recent Madurai (Rural) district conference of the Party, his recent booklet about Pothumbu Martyrs was published. His most recent book is a comparative analysis of  Karl Marx, Periyar and Ambedkar. He had plans to write the biography of Joseph Stalin, and to bring out the history of CPI(M) in many districts of Tamil Nadu.

Comrade NR has written close to 100 books. These cover the communist movement in Tamil Nadu and India; the international communist movement; biographies of communist leaders of Tamil Nadu, India and the world, and of leaders with visions for social change outside of communist movement like Ambedkar and Periyar. His biographical works alone count close to 50 and include the lives of EMS, BTR, Basavapunnaiah, P Ramamurthy and Harkishan Singh Surjeet. Two of his books -- The History of Communist Movement in Tamil Nadu (1917-1964) and The history of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Tamil Nadu (1964-2014) have inspired Party cadres and  mass movement activists. He has written close to 6000 pages in Tamil and 2000 pages in English and was in the process of compiling all his works in a collected works series when he passed away. Deshabhimaani translated NR’s biography of Comrade B T Ranadive into Malayalam and published it as a series. His biographies of Comrades K Ramani and Leelavathi were translated into Telugu and published by Prajasakthi. His work on Comrade P Ramamurthy has been translated into Kannada. His biography of Samar Mukherji has been translated into Bengali. His work, Nine Gems of CPI(M) was  translated into Marathi.

His book An Outline History of the Communist Movement of the World (1844 - 1917) carries an introduction from Sitaram Yechury. Comrade NR had taken up research and writing as his full-time work. Without his writings, the present generation would have missed the revolutionary history of our Party, life journeys of our leaders and the history of their revolutionary works.

NR lost his wife Kuruvamma a few years ago. His son Manavalan and daughter Shanthi are Party supporters.

Com NR has been a model of simplicity, humility and dedication. He was most reluctant to be interviewed by me when I said I was going to write about him. It took me a year before I was able to extract the information from him that I have shared here. The passing away of NR is a great loss to the Party and the democratic movement. His contributions to the Party and society are worthy of the widest recognition and emulation.