“My father was a well-accepted man in our village. He hated none and was not hated either. The only sin he committed was that he contested against the CPM in Pinarayi, the party’s citadel,” Vismaya remembers her father
The sparkling eyes of little Vismaya are now familiar to many of us after her poem went viral on social media a few months ago. She, the daughter of Santhosh Kumar who was brutally murdered by CPM in Andallur, Kannur, in tears has become a symbol of the sufferings of hundreds who live in the so-called party-villages of Kannur where CPM dictates the life and death of the citizens. While the beloveds of those who fell prey on the sickles, would prefer to resort to silence after succumbing to the threat of Communists, the 11-year-old Vismaya bravely came forward with umpteen brave questions soaked in tears. In a widely circulated poem on social media, which was later taken over by mainstream media, she shot a question
poignantly to the slayers, ‘Why did you kill my father? What wrong did he do to you?’
In Delhi, sitting alone in a corner of a room, she asks herself, ‘Why did they kill my father?’ She remembers her father as a well-accepted human being for all. “My father was a well-accepted man in our village. He hated none and was not hated either. The only sin he committed was that he contested an election against the CPM in Pinarayi, the party’s citadel.” Since her father was adored by common people, he finished second in the election. That was more than enough for issuing a death warrant against him because so far, nobody dared to contest CPM in Pinarayi village where Communist Party was formed in the state in 1939.
“But, is contesting elections and working for a non-CPM party a crime?” asks Vismaya. We were at my mother’s house as some construction work was going on at my place. My father was alone there. After 10.15 pm, my father gave my mother a frantic call and informed her that he had been hacked. I immediately switched on TV to know what was happening. Then I came to know, my father was no more.” Failing to withstand with narrating the most cursed moments of her tender life, Vismaya broke out.
Consoling her daughter, the mother Baby took forward the conversation. “If the police had acted dutifully, my husband’s life would have been saved. They were there a few kilometres from our place. You know, they were busy with raiding a Swayamsevak’s house. They didn’t find it worth saving life of my husband. We were asked to go to the hospital straight away. But it took another few minutes to take my husband to the hospital after we reached there. The doctors said, had he been taken to hospital on time, his life could have been saved. They were correct. When my husband called me, he was very much conscious. He was trying to calm me down by saying he was alright,” Baby stopped on the brink of a cry. The assailants were our villagers and acquaintances. They had been roaming around there for a prey since morning. I saw a group of armed men on the roadside in the same evening. It was immediately informed to the police. Predictably, the Police didn’t notice that.
“I want to be an IAS officer. Can I take Sanskrit as an optional in the exam?” she asked with greater
curiosity. The 11-year-old kid is very proficient in Sanskrit. She wants to be graduate in Sanskrit. There is a specific reason behind that. She wants to end political violence in Kannur. The Kannur District Collector has visited her house several times after that. He advised Vismaya to join the summer coaching classes for Civil Service Examinations. But her mother takes a back step as her daughter has to travel alone through CPM-dominated villages to reach the coaching centre. She cites an old incident which adds weight to her worry. When Vismaya won a reality show on a
prominent TV channel, her hoardings were erected near her school. The CPM workers recklessly destroyed them. “They can go to any extent to take revenge. They won’t spare even women and children,” says Baby. Now both of them are staying with Baby’s family. Vismaya’s brother pursuing Aircraft Maintenance course in Goa. Santhosh was a Tiles
contractor. Now the family relies on a small piece of farmland to meet the ends. On being asked what she can relate the CPM to, she immediately replied, it is the party of bomb makers and brewers.
(As told to Ganesh Krishnan R)
