Sending Police to Beat Us up Won’t Silence Us: Pinarayi’s Speech in the Legislative Assembly after Emergency

Pinarayi Vijayan was among the first ten opposition MLAs who were taken into custody immediately after the declaration of Emergency in 1975.

On the night of September 28, 1975, Pinarayi (then 30) was arrested and taken to the Koothuparambu police station. Five policemen beat him up through the day. His legs were broken. They kept kicking him till he lost consciousness.

The press could not report this because of the censorship accompanying the Emergency. The leader of the opposition, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, raised the matter several times, but even that was not reported. Pinarayi remained in jail throughout the term of that assembly.

Pinarayi won the next election by a massive margin from Koothuparambu. His first speech in the assembly, on March 30, 1977, wearing blood-stained clothes, is justly famous. Edited excerpts:

As someone speaking for the first time in the legislative assembly after September 28, 1975, I have a few things to present before the Assembly.

I was taken from my home on the night of September 28, 1975—the night when the Communist Marxists of this state were booked under MISA [Maintenance of Internal Security Act]. My residence is within the limits of the Dharmadam police station under the Thalassery police circle area.

They knocked at my door, and I opened it to ask, “What is it?”.

“We’ve come to arrest you.”

“Why?”

“There is special instruction.”

“From whom?”

“From the SP [Superintendent of Police]. We’ve been asked to come here and arrest you.”

I got dressed and left with them to the police station. They behaved decently till we reached the police station. There, they enquired whether there was anything in my pocket. I told them there was my identity card and asked if it was needed, to which they said yes. They then said that they needed to keep me in the lockup.

I asked why it was needed, and they said that was their rule. A cop asked me to take off my shirt. I asked why I was being treated like a common criminal. The cop said that he could not answer. I spoke to the sub-inspector. I asked, since I was a political worker, was it necessary that I remove my shirt. He instructed the cop to allow me in the lock-up with my shirt on.

On my way into the lockup, I was given a paaya (mat). I took it into the lockup and sat on it. Within two minutes, they closed the lockup room and switched off the light in front of the room. Except for a faint light, there was no light. Two young lads—I later learnt that they were specially brought for ‘this’ from outside—opened the lockup and entered. I was sitting, and I got up.

One of them asked me my name.

“Vijayan.”

“Vijayan who?”

“Pinarayi Vijayan.”

They were standing on either side of me. They took my name repeatedly and slapped me. At first, both of them finished one round of slaps. Then, they might have felt that it was not enough. A group of policemen were standing outside the lockup. Three more people, including the Circle Inspector [CI], entered the room, making it a group of five. I don’t need to be descriptive of the beatings, as almost everyone in Kerala can imagine how it went. Five of them were beating me up, and they did it in all ways possible. I kept falling and getting up.

In between their beatings, they kept saying, “You are talking against the officers and ministers, right?” I was falling again and again. I got up as much as I could, and finally, I reached a state where I couldn’t get up anymore. Now they took turns and kicked me. They kept on kicking me till they exhausted themselves.

I lay like that till the next day. Meanwhile, all that remained on me was my underpants—the shirt, banyan, and mundu, all gone.

This is what happened to me in the lockup. The following day, the first group who beat me up was replaced with cops from the Koothuparambu police station. I know them. Some of them approached me, condemned what had happened, and courteously enquired if I wanted some tea.

At 10 in the morning, I was taken to Kannur. Upon reaching Kannur, when I entered the police station, another sub-inspector named Pulikkodan Narayanan was there. Anybody who saw me could see what had happened because I was not even able to walk. In fact, I was carried to the police vehicle.

Sub-inspector Narayanan said, “Vijayan’s face has changed.” I thought the second round of beatings would begin, but it didn’t happen. From there, I was taken to Kannur Central Jail. It was midnight by the time we reached. The jailor is the one to give admission there. I told him, “On my body, there are bruises from being beaten up that you can see. I want it to be on record.” To which he replied that only wound injuries would be recorded.

I took off my shirt to show the bruises. They were apparent for anyone to see, but he said that there were no wounds. My left foot was broken, but the deputy jailer didn’t record that, saying it was not wounded.

From there, I was carried to block 8 by the comrades accompanying me. Chandrashekharan and Shankarankutty were there. They took me to their block.

The next day, the doctor visited and admitted me to the hospital. My leg was plastered there, and it remained in a cast for six weeks. For months, I couldn’t do anything without assistance. I wrote about this to the Chief Minister. At that time, there was no Speaker, so I wrote to the Deputy Speaker. I never received a response from any of them. They didn’t even bother to write back, even if to dismiss what I said.

I gave a writ petition. When the hearing was happening in the High Court, it was forwarded the deputy jailer’s affidavit. He said that I was never beaten up in the police station. The jailer stated that when I was brought to the prison, there were no injuries on me. The court questioned this.

The deputy jailer was clearly under extreme pressure from his higher-ups. The writ was finally disposed off. The court said this was a critical matter and instructed the government to take necessary steps. However, the court also noted that they couldn’t do much about this particular instance.

After this, I heard that one investigation happened in this regard. However, none has asked me anything yet. When I was hospitalised in Kozhikode, one day, the DIG [Deputy Inspector General of Police] came. I inquired, “Is this about the investigation?” He said, “I came to visit when I learned you were here.”

So far, nobody has asked me anything. I heard that a Revenue Board member was appointed for the investigation, and that was also concluded. Yet, to date, no one has asked me anything. This is my experience, and I am saying this to every assembly member. We all are political activists; we argue with each other on various issues. But what kind of politics is it to take a person to the police lockup and instruct them to beat him up brutally? Is this politics?

Should I believe that a Circle Inspector and the Kannur DSP Thomas alone derived the courage to beat me up? Absolutely not. If that had been the case, there would have been strict action against them. But there’s been no action at all. That Balram is now the Thalassery Circle Inspector. When my home was searched, he was not the CI of that area. He was rewarded for beating me up. Is this decency?

So, what I have to tell everyone is that though we, as politicians, debate and argue, but we don’t oppose politically like this. This is not good for anyone. I don’t expect all of you to accept this. I have only one thing to say to Shri Karunakaran—we may strongly opine on many things. Isn’t this politics? How many in the Communist Party endured so much? Weren’t there who died in the lockup? Weren’t there those who died at the forefront of protests after being shot? Weren’t there those who were stabbed and shot to death by goons? Regardless, remaining with the party is a conscious choice. We stay with the party, prepared for any of these things to happen to us. If you keep everyone in the lockup, handing them over to four cops with a CI to oversee the beating up and hope that these people can be tamed, that won’t happen. We will be back with more strength. This is all I have to tell Karunakaran.

This behaviour is not politics. Today, you are the Chief Minister. Do you intend to repeat this? Do you attempt to let things happen this way? Do you plan to let the cops run wild? You believe anything the policeman says. The cop who arrested me said that the arrest happened at Shivapuram party office. When? On any of those days, I haven’t been to Shivapuram at 5.15 am. When Shri Karunakaran reiterates that, and it comes in the government record, it is inappropriate.

If an ordinary Opposition party worker cannot conduct normal political work, that is a terrible situation. You should remember the experience of behaving as a dictator here. You should be ready to learn from that experience. Today, even those who used to stand by them are ready to oppose them. Earlier, could we imagine Vayalar Ravi and Unnikrishnan saying that Sanjay Gandhi must be ousted? But didn’t they say that now? Didn’t 50 MPs sign a statement supporting the same demand?

Our country has reached such a state, so you must understand the past and be ready to act accordingly. What has happened to our Cabinet here? Earlier, decisions used to be made in Delhi. Whether the Kerala Congress shall be formed or not used to be decided in Delhi. The Chairman of the Kerala Congress used to be settled in Delhi. But now? Karunakaran and C.H. Muhammad Koya assume the roles of every other minister. It has reached that state.

So, those who stand by them must do so wisely. The situation now is that there is none to decide in Delhi. So, all I have to tell Karunakaran is that your governance must be based on this understanding.

This is politics. What has to be said will be said vigorously. If you think that can be controlled by sending the cops to beat us up, that won’t happen. It can’t happen. Any mass movement in this country has faced it. Shri Karunakaran must remember that.

Cover image: Pinarayi Vijayan with Gowri Amma (https://www.pinarayivijayan.in/gallery/)