Chairman of the Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM) Anilkumar N.S., is no more. He was 48.
Mr. Anilkumar, popularly known as Thathu Annan, passed away around 6 p.m. on Saturday, after he was admitted to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. The body was kept for public viewing at the Ayyankali Smriti Mandapam at Venganoor from 10 a.m. on Monday, after which it was taken to the DHRM South Zone office near Thonnakkal. The funeral was held as per Buddhist traditions at 5 p.m.
Born on April 30, 1968 to Sukumaran and Thulasi in Nandancode, Anilkumar completed his education in the Nandancode Lower Primary School, the Salvation Army School, Vengannoor Boys High School, and Government Arts College here. He was then involved with the activities of the Dalit Cultural Force (DCF), the Ambedkar Cultural Centre, and the BSP among others. He was an active presence during the recent Adivasi struggle in front of the Secretariat.
Mr. Anilkumar, who had contested the 2014 Parliament elections on a DHRM-BSP ticket from Attingal, took over as the chairman of the movement earlier this year. Known as a painter, writer, poet and also for his research into folk arts, Mr. Anilkumar was behind ‘Uyirunarvu’, an audio album based on the life of Ayyankali, which was released by Kanshi Ram in Thiruvananthapuram. He had also launched a home school project for imparting English education to Dalit children in 2012, apart from setting up the Native Buddhist Trust in 2014. He was the 15{+t}{+h}accused in the Varkala murder case of September 2009 as well, along with several other DHRM leaders. — Special Correspondent
