Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan (1923 - 2025), popularly known as VS, is one of Kerala’s most formidable revolutionaries. His extraordinary life, shaped by an unshakable commitment to Communist ideals, saw him rise from a teenage tailor to one of India’s most influential Communist leaders—and eventually, the Chief Minister of Kerala. But his journey was anything but smooth. Threats from the state, years in hiding, brutal police torture—these trials defined his early years as a comrade. In his twenties, he endured near-fatal torture at the hands of the Travancore police. His survival, often described as a ‘rebirth,’ has since become a legendary chapter in Kerala’s Communist folklore. It goes like this…