Freedom fighter and leading figure of the communist movement, R. Nallakannu, passed away in Chennai on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). He was 101 years old. He was ill for some time and was undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where he breathed his last.
Affectionately known as RNK in party circles, he decided to remain in the CPI when the communist movement in India split in 1964 following the Indochina war. He served as Tamil Nadu CPI state secretary for three terms from 1992.
Nallakannu, a dedicated field worker and organizational man, led a relentless campaign against the sand mafia illegally mining sand from the Thamirabarani river basin. In 2010, he filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition and personally argued the case before the Madras High Court, obtaining a stay order against sand mining.
In pictures: Remembering PCI leader R. Nallakannu (1925-2026)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin talks to veteran CPI leader R. Nallakannu during an event organized to celebrate the latter’s centenary in Chennai on December 29, 2024.
Then, CPI state secretary R. Nallakannu collected election funds from the public at Kodambakkam in Chennai on December 9, 2003.
The then CPI candidate for the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat, R. Nallakannu, campaigned in Coimbatore in 1999. During the general elections that year, he lost to the then BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan, who is now the Vice President of India.
Later, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president EVKS Elangovan and CPI leader R. Nallakanu share a joyful moment at Sathyamurthy Bhavan in Chennai on December 1, 2014.
The then CPI State Secretary R. Nallakannu with the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa at the Chennai Secretariat on January 13, 2005.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader R. Nallakannu during a protest against rising fuel prices in Tiruchi on June 13, 2006.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin presented the ‘Thagaisal Thamizhar’ award to CPI leader R. Nallakannu during the 75th Independence Day celebrations held in Chennai on August 15, 2022. Nallakannu donated the cash component of the award of ₹10 lakh to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund along with his additional contribution of ₹5,000.
Communist Party of India leader R. Nallakannu leaving the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on September 27, 2010 after arguing a PIL related to sand mining in the Thamirabarani river.
Senior Communist Party of India leader R. Nallakannu (second from right) asks about the Paramakudi shooting incident in Manjure village in Ramanathapuram district on August 17, 2011.
CPI leader R. Nallakannu addresses a rapid relay demanding a service road along the Tiruchi-Thanjavur Expressway in Tiruchi on July 20, 2017.
CPI leader R. Nallakannu listening to farmers and residents at a sand quarry on the banks of the Coleroon near Anbil in Tiruchi district on August 26, 2011.
Communist Party of India leader R. Nallakannu addresses members of the Vijaya Hospital Nurses Union during their protest in Chennai on June 3, 2012.
CPI leaders T. Pandian (left) and R. Nallakannu (right) at the state conference against caste clashes, in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on January 8, 2013.
R. Nallakannu, senior CPI leader in Madurai on March 12, 2015.
R. Nallakannu with former BJP state president La. Ganesan, December 20, 2014
CPI leader R. Nallakannu addresses a protest rally against US policies, during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India, near the Panagal building in Chennai on November 8, 2010.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader R. Nallakannu looking at damaged paddy fields in rain-affected areas at Arasur in Thanjavur district on December 5, 2010.
CPI(M) leader N. Sankaraiah (R) addresses the state-level conference of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) in Dindigul on December 31, 2015, in the presence of veteran CPI leader R. Nallakannu.
PMK founder S. Ramadoss (centre) with CPI leader R. Nallakannu (left) and Viduthlai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader, Thol. Thirumavalavan at a function in Chennai on April 27, 2008.
MDMK general secretary Vaiko (left) and CPI leader R. Nallakannu at a book launch function in Chennai on May 2, 2008.
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Soft-spoken and gentle, RNK embodied the values of sacrifice, idealism, and unwavering commitment to the communist movement and social justice. He shared with leaders like Jeeva and K. Balathandayutham the love for the poems of the national poet Subramania Bharati and the hymns of the Azhwars, particularly Andal and Nammazhwar, appreciating their poetic beauty.
police torture
RNK was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Nellai conspiracy case, along with K. Balathandayutham, P. Manikkam, I. Mayandibharathi and many others. He also spent many years in hiding during periods when the Communist Party was banned, first by the British and then by the Congress government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. He endured severe police brutality; From then on he could not grow a mustache, as a police officer had singed his upper lip with a cigarette butt.
“I was hiding in a friend’s house when the police arrested me. After getting some bombs, they tied my hands and beat me. But I refused to reveal the names of the communist leaders,” he said in an interview, recalling the torture he faced.
Born in 1925 in Srivaikundam, Thoothukudi district, RNK joined the freedom movement as a schoolboy, in a region that was the nerve center of the independence struggle, driven by VO Chidambaram, who headed the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC).
“Political leaders would travel to Thoothukudi via my hometown of Srivaikundam. I would join local leaders in organizing meetings. You should have heard Pappankulam Chockalingam talk about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre; the entire crowd was crying uncontrollably. Although I was active, I was not allowed to participate in the individual Satyagraha or Quit India movements due to my age,” he recalled in a 2019 interview with The Hindu.
After completing his studies from Coronation School in Srivaikundam, he joined MDT Hindu College in Tirunelveli. “It was there that I came in contact with writer TMC Raghunathan and raised Rs 400 for the Bharathi Memorial in Ettayapuram,” he told Tamil writer Mana in an interview.
Dhoti, towel and communist party
RNK joined the Communist Party at the age of 18 and worked closely with P. Srinivasa Rao, who led the agrarian movement in Tamil Nadu. His exposure to the trade union movement in Harvey Mills, Thoothukudi, and his reading of works by the Tamil academic and trade unionist Thiru.Vi. Kalyanasundaram prepared him to fully commit to the communist movement. “My father wanted me to take a job and lead a normal life. But I just left home with a dhoti and a towel and became a full-time worker in the Communist Party,” he said in the interview.
RNK fought against the exploitation of agricultural workers by Shaivaite and Vaishnavite Mutts. When he tried to enter streets forbidden to oppressed communities, he was overpowered, tied to a post and beaten.
Nellai conspiracy case
In 1949, he was arrested in the Nellai conspiracy case, which alleged that communists conspired to overthrow Jawaharlal Nehru’s government. He was released in 1956. “The cell doors were opened briefly in the morning so we could relieve ourselves. The rest of the day we spent in the cell with a chamber pot to urinate in,” he once recalled.
RNK was deeply concerned about the rise of the RSS-BJP in the Indian political landscape and always expressed concern about the weakening of public sector undertakings and trade unions.
He was also in favor of the unification of the communist parties. “The CPI and CPI(M) should consider unification. It may not happen overnight as many decades have passed since the communist movement split. Only the communist parties can rally secular forces against the communal BJP and Hindutva forces and stop their march,” he once said. The Hindu.
Tribute from the vice president
A tribute by Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, who won against the RNK in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from Coimbatore constituency as a BJP candidate, speaks volumes about the character of the communist leader. “Actually, it bothered me that a worthy leader like him could not win the elections. The moment of victory does not always have to be a moment of celebration. It was a moment when I felt that victory could also bring deep pain,” Mr. Radhakrishnan wrote in a book on RNK, Aravazhvin Adayalampublished by The Tamil Hindu thisai.
Nallakannu won the government’s Thagaisal Tamizhar award in 2022. But he contributed the prize money of Rs 10 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund along with his contribution of Rs 5,000.
Family
He was married to Ranjitham, daughter of a local communist leader, Annasamy, who incidentally was murdered during the 1995 caste riots in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. One of their daughters, Andal, is a doctor, while another daughter, Kasi Bharathi, reflects a combination of names: Kaisina Vendan, the presiding deity of Puliamkulam, and Bharathi.
‘Thagaisal Thamizhar’ Award
On 15 August 2022, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin presented ‘Thagaisal Thamizhar’ award to CPI leader during 75th Independence Day celebrations held in Chennai. Nallakannu donated the cash component of the prize of ₹10 lakh to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund, along with his additional contribution of ₹5,000.
Published – February 25, 2026 02:54 pm IST
