THE 115th anniversary of Comrade P Ramamurti was observed at the CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state committee office on December 15, 2023. K Balakrishnan, state secretary of the Party, paid homage by garlanding the statue of Comrade PR. The gathering included Party state committee members and other members of the Party.

Earlier, on November 7, coinciding with the Great Bolshevik Revolution, a big meeting was held at the Party state headquarters. During this programme, a bust-sized statue of Comrade P Ramamurti was inaugurated. It is noteworthy that the building itself was named after him in 1990 during its inauguration by Comrade Jyoti Basu. Recently, the building underwent renovations/extensions, and it was inaugurated on November 7. Addressing the gathering at this inauguration programme, K Balakrishnan announced that in memory of Comrade PR, a series of memorial lectures would be organised by the Party during his anniversaries as a lasting tribute to his legacy.

Following the decision, the PR Memorial Foundation Committee was established. The committee organised the inaugural ‘P Ramamurti Memorial Lecture’ on December 14 in Chennai at Kamarajar Arangam. Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary delivered the first PR Memorial Lecture.                                  K Balakrishnan presided over the programme.

During the introductory remarks, TK Rangarajan, a senior leader of the Party and the CITU, recalled PR's illustrious contributions to both the Party and the broader movement. Vaigai, the daughter of Comrade PR and a senior advocate of the Madras High Court, extended a warm welcome to the gathering. The vote of thanks was proposed by A Arumuga Nainar, Party state committee member.

Prior to the meeting, cultural programmes were held. The organisers said the PR Memorial Foundation aims to hold a series of lectures annually, paying tribute to the enduring legacy of the legendary leader.

Comrade P Ramamurti, a freedom fighter and architect of the country’s labour/peasant movements, had spent eight years in prison and another five years underground. He won the legislative seat while in Madurai Central Prison and became Madras Presidency’s first leader of the opposition. One of India’s most effective parliamentarians from 1962-1983, he moved the motion in parliament to name the newly born state as Tamil Nadu.

Born on September 20, 1908 in Veppathur, Thanjavur, Comrade PR was drawn towards India’s freedom struggle at a very young age when his family moved to Madras. He was inspired by poet Subramania Bharati’s fiery anti-colonial poetry and speeches. He went to Allahabad to join the national school run by Purushottam Das Tandon and Jawaharlal Nehru. Facing rustication by Madras Presidency College for his anti British activities, he joined Benaras Hindu University. He became a member of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha started by Bhagat Singh and led numerous other anti-colonial, pro-labour, and anti-caste movements. He was among a handful from the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) who actively supported Subhash Chandra Bose and later joined the nascent Communist Party of India in 1935 along with Comrades EMS Namboodiripad, AK Gopalan and P Sundarayya. He was the first editor of the Communist Party’s newspaper Janashakti. He became a member of the CPI Polit Bureau in 1953.

PR married inter-caste, a fellow comrade and trade unionist Ambal in 1952. In appreciation of his non-faith based marriage, EVR Periyar held a reception.

He was one of the top most leaders of the AITUC and later the first national general secretary of the   Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) from 1970-1983. He fought relentlessly against disinvestment of public assets. He was instrumental in initiating legislative and social reforms and was a strong opponent against erosion of people's democracy.