Veteran Communist leader and freedom fighter R Nallakannu, widely known across Tamil Nadu as Ayya Nallakannu, passed away in Chennai on Wednesday, February 25, at the age of 101 due to breathing complications. Considered a rare symbol of simplicity, integrity and principled politics, his death is being described as not merely a loss to a political party but the passing of an era of ethical public life.
For more than eight decades, Nallakannu placed the struggles of workers, farmers, Dalits, minorities, the environment and other marginalised communities at the centre of his politics. At a time when distrust of public representatives runs deep, especially among younger generations, he stood apart as a leader whose personal life reflected the ideals he advocated in public.
He owned no personal property and lived on a monthly allowance of ₹2,000 provided by the Communist Party of India. Throughout his political journey, he stayed in rented accommodation and was known among party workers as someone who never used public resources for personal benefit.
Those who visited his room often found only an old wooden cot, a few books and two pairs of khadi dhotis. Despite serving for years as the CPI’s Tamil Nadu state secretary, Nallakannu continued to live in modest rented housing until the end of his life. His lifestyle sharply contrasted with the growing perception of politics as a pathway to personal wealth.
On his 80th birthday, party workers presented him with ₹1 crore and a new car. He accepted both on stage, only to immediately return them, stating that the money belonged to the party. For a leader who did not even own a bicycle, the gift held little personal meaning.
In 2022, after receiving the Tamil Nadu government’s Thagaisal Tamilar award along with ₹10 lakh, he added ₹5,000 from his own pocket and donated the entire sum to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund. He then returned to his rented home and continued living as before, prioritising public welfare over personal comfort.
Nallakannu remained clean-shaven throughout his life as a mark of protest. Arrested in 1949 in connection with the Nellai Conspiracy Case, he was subjected to custodial torture during which police reportedly burned his lips with a cigarette. He later took a vow never to grow a moustache again, treating the scar as a reminder of state repression.
Even in his eighties, he continued to take up public causes. At the age of 85, he approached the court against illegal sand mining in the Thamirabarani river and secured a ban on quarrying that threatened both ecology and livelihoods.
Former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had once remarked that if Periyar was one eye of Tamil Nadu, Nallakannu was the other. With his passing, many believe the state has lost one of its moral anchors.
Often remembered for what admirers described as “a washed dhoti and rust-free honesty,” R Nallakannu leaves behind not wealth or property, but a legacy of incorruptible integrity in public life.
Credit: Oneindia