1950 Edappally police station attack a milestone in Communist uprising

KOCHI: The 72nd anniversary of the Edappally police station attack, regarded as one of the significant episodes in the historic struggle of the Communist movement in Kerala, was celebrated on Monday. The attack on the police station happened on the night of February 28, 1950. The Communist Party was banned in Kerala and its leaders were in hiding.

The railway workers had announced an all-India strike and the Communist Party urged all its members to support the strike. A meeting was called in Ernakulam to discuss the steps to be taken to lend support to the railway workers. Many leaders including M M Lawrence, V Vishwanatha Menon and S Sivasankara Pillai reached Ponekkara to attend the secret meeting.

At that time, K C Mathew informed the leaders that two workers -- N K Madhavan and Varadutty -- were arrested and jailed at the Edappally police station. The meeting was chaired by Mathew and the members decided to attack the police station and release the two comrades.

A 17-member team led by Mathew launched a lightning attack on the police station. Two policemen were killed. Learning that additional police force was arriving, the workers left the scene without setting free Madhavan and Varadutty.

The aftermath of the attack was scary as the police went on a rampage and no one who had an association with the Communist Party was spared. Mathew, Lawrence, Sivasankara Pillai, K U Das and V C Chanchan were arrested and tortured brutally.

The cases were considered by Justice Anna Chandy, the first woman judge in India who was also the first woman to become a High Court judge. Ten of the convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment. When the first Communist ministry in Kerala came to power in 1957, they were released. The anniversary meeting was held at Ernakulam Children’s Park and writer N S Madhavan inaugurated it