K. Radhakrishnan

Some Lesser Known Facts About K. Radhakrishnan

• Radhakrishnan’s interest in politics developed during his formative years. He became a dedicated member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), a left-leaning student organization often associated with the CPI(M). Thereafter, he assumed various roles, including serving as the Unit Secretary of Sree Kerala Varma College, a member of the Thrissur District Secretariat, Secretary of the DYFI Chelakkara Block Committee, a member of the DYFI State Committee, National President of the Dalit Soshan Mukti Manch (D.S.M.M.), State President of the Farm Workers’ Union (C.t.U.), State President of the Kerala Samsthana Kaliman Patra Nirmana Thozhilali Union (K.P.N.T.U.), and President of the Steel & Industrial Forging Ltd. (S.I.F.L.) Union.

  

• During his college years, Radhakrishnan actively participated in student protests against the government’s education policy, during which he endured severe police brutality. He was actively involved in the issues of agricultural labourers and led protests alongside them.

• Furthermore, his involvement with the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad and the Total Literacy Movement helped him establish connections with the community.

• He talked about what inspired him to become a communist in an interview and said,
  

  My family believed in communism. We lived in an era of inequality and exploitation. The communist party fought against social evils and, naturally, we were inspired by the movement. The ideology changed the world order.”

• In 2021, a person named Ajith from Kachani was taken into custody for making threat calls to the official phone line of K. Radhakrishnan. The minister brought this incident to light during the inauguration of an electronic office set up at the Directorate of Scheduled Castes Development. It was reported that the calls were linked to the ongoing investigation into the mishandling of funds designated for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, which were provided by the Central Government.

  

• In September 2023, Radhakrishnan made headlines when he shared an incident involving caste discrimination that occurred during a ceremony where he was lighting a lamp to inaugurate the Nadapanthal (temple porch) at the Payyanur Nambiatrakovval Siva Temple, which falls under the Devaswom board. This incident took place on 26 January 2023, and video footage of it went viral on the internet in September 2023, resulting in legal action against the two priests involved. According to Radhakrishnan, the chief priest refused to hand him the ceremonial lamp because he belonged to the Dalit community. Instead, the chief priest gave the lamp to an assistant priest, who also hesitated to pass it to him and eventually placed it on the floor. The Minister expressed feeling humiliated by the behaviour of the priests and temple officials. This incident sparked public outrage, with many questioning how ordinary devotees might be treated if a minister faced such discrimination. However, it later came to light that this incident of alleged untouchability was a ‘misunderstanding’ related to the temple’s rituals. The State committee of the Akhila Kerala Thanthri Samajam clarified that the priests who perform ‘deva pujas’ do not touch anyone, regardless of whether they are Brahmin or non-Brahmin until the ritual is completed. The samajam also raised questions about whether there was an ulterior motive behind bringing up the incident and turning it into a controversy eight months later. They argued that many were unfairly insulting the temple’s head priest and his community based on the Minister’s statement without knowing the complete truth. The samajam accused Radhakrishnan of misinterpreting an innocent act and creating communal tension in society. ^[7]The Hindu

• In August 2023, the actor Salim Kumar, who is known for his work in Mollywood, made a humorous comment directed at the government led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala in the midst of a controversy surrounding Speaker AN Shamseer’s speech comparing science to myths. Kumar playfully suggested renaming the Devaswom minister as the “mythism” minister and jokingly referred to the offerings made at temples as “myth-money” on social media. Alongside this statement, he shared a picture of K Radhakrishnan, who is the Kerala Minister for Devaswoms, and emphasized that “change should begin from administrative centres.” The political dispute in Kerala began when Speaker Shamseer, during an event in Ernakulam on July 21, criticized the promotion of myths over science while speaking to school children. He mentioned a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had used Lord Ganesha as an example of ancient plastic surgery in one of his speeches. This statement drew objections from the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Nair Service Society (NSS), and others, with the BJP even filing a police complaint against Speaker Shamseer.