Directory on Punnapra-Vayalar struggle fighters to be released on October 27

A directory on the fighters of the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising will be released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the valedictory function of the 79th anniversary of the uprising at Vayalar on Monday (October 27, 2025).

Speaking to the media on Sunday (October 26, 2025), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader and former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, who oversaw its preparation, said the directory includes information on 1,859 participants of the Punnapra-Vayalar struggle. “Unlike conventional political histories, the directory has been compiled based on documentary evidence. The names have been verified with leaders from both the CPI(M) and the Communist Party of India (CPI),” Mr. Isaac said.

Those listed as leaders of the struggle include K.V. Pathrose (known as Kunthakkaran Pathrose), who was the CPI secretary during the Punnapra-Vayalar struggle and CPI leader Varghese Vaidyan. Mr. Isaac said between 400 and 500 people were martyred in the struggle. However, information could be collected for only 193 of them. “Tracing records eight decades after the uprising posed several challenges. Many families of the participants had migrated to other parts of the State after the Communist government distributed land in 1957. The directory is the result of years of work by a 20-member team,” he added.

Two parts

The directory consists of two parts. The first part includes information about the participants of the struggle from the area between Aroor and Aryad grama panchayats. The second part covers Alappuzha municipality, Punnapra North and Punnapra South grama panchayats and other regions adjoining the Ambalappuzha boundary.

The data collection was carried out as part of the Alappuzha Heritage Tourism Project. The directory is available on the Muziris Heritage Project website at www.punnpravayalar.org.

During the release event on Monday, the directory will be distributed free of cost to A and B grade libraries in the Cherthala and Ambalappuzha taluks, as well as to the local committees of the CPI(M) and the CPI. Libraries must bring documents as proof of identity.