Former RSS pracharak Gopakumar, an epitome of resilience and defiance against Indira Gandhi’s emergency died on Saturday at Vaikom in Kerala.
Popularly known as Vaikom Gopakumar was incarcerated for more than a year and suffered all kinds of torture during Emergency. The police inserted needle though his penis as a part of torture and his testicles had to be removed. He hailed from an illustrious family in Travancore whose forefathers fought against invading army of Tipu Sultan.
The Emergency was in force for 21 months from June 25, 1975. More than 2000 people were arrested and tortured using inhuman ways.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front at the helm during the Emergency perpetrated the excesses using police. Communist Party of India leader C Achutha Menon was the Chief Minister then and Indira Gandhi’s protégé K. Karunakaran was the Home Minister. Though in the initial stages of the Emergency, some of the leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were held under MISA and DIR, the party refused to cooperate with the Lok Sangharsha Samiti who led the anti-Emergency movement nationwide.
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