P. Rajan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Died | 1 March 1976 Kerala, India |
| Cause of death | Torture |
| Occupation | Student |
| Known for | Unlawful arrest and subsequent death in custody |
The Rajan case refers to the death of P. Rajan, a student of the Regional Engineering College, Calicut, as a result of torture in local police custody in Kerala during the nationwide Emergency in India in 1976, and the legal battle that followed, which revealed facts of the incident [1] [2] to the public. His remains are yet to be recovered.
During the nationwide Emergency in India between 1975 and 1977, Fundamental Rights of the citizen were suspended by the government, creating a period of police activism. [1] In Kerala, the Naxal movement was at its peak during this period. Major operations of Naxals in Kerala were attacks on police stations in rural areas. The police acted with vengeance upon the Naxalites and used the word Naxal to address those upon whom they had vengeance.[ citation needed ]
Rajan, a student of the Calicut Regional Engineering College (presently the National Institute of Technology Calicut), was arrested by the Kerala Police on 1 March 1976, [3] during the nationwide Emergency in India along with his fellow student, Joseph Chaaly. As was later revealed by a petition in the High Court of Kerala, he was held in police custody and tortured as part of the interrogation. He died from torture of extreme kind, [4] especially due to something called uruttal (a practice of "rolling" a heavy wooden log over the body of the victim). His body was then disposed of by the police, and was never recovered.
Rajan's father, T. V. Eachara Warrier, complained to the authorities about his missing son. The police finally confirmed that he died in custody upon a habeas corpus suit, the first such suit in the history of Kerala, filed by his father in the High Court of Kerala. [5]
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Rajan's mother had become mentally unstable from the developments and was hospitalised. His father, T. V. Eachara Warrier, lost all of his money but he did not know why his son was arrested, that he made enquiries to police officers, who, he felt, would be able to give him the details about his son's arrest and also about his whereabouts. He made representations to the authorities, which produced no result. Somehow, he discovered that Rajan had been arrested under directions of the DIG of Police, Crime Branch, Trivandrum. He met the then Home Minister of the State K. Karunakaran. He sent petitions to the Home Secretary to the government of Kerala thrice. There was not even a single reply or acknowledgment.
Mr. Warrier continued his efforts at getting some information about his son by similar representations made to the President of India and Home Minister to the government of India with copies to all the Members of Parliament from Kerala. He made similar representations to the Prime Minister of India and others, all to no effect. He met several police officers and learned that some arrested students similarly were detainees in the Central Jail. He was vigorously searching in vain for his son in the three Central Jails and also in the various other police camps and other places. He met the Chief Minister several times because the Chief Minister had personal knowledge of the arrest of his son and also of his detention. On the last occasion he met Sri. Achutha Menon, who expressed his helplessness in the matter and said that the matter was being dealt with by K. Karunakaran, Minister for Home Affairs.
He appealed to the general public in Kerala by expressing his grievance in a pamphlet distributed to the public. The Home Minister who was a candidate in the recent elections addressed several public meetings in Mala, Kalpetta and other constituencies of the State and in some of the meetings he made mention of the fact that Rajan was involved as an accused in a murder case and that was why he was detained. Rajan was never produced before a Magistrate. [6]
Rajan's father fought a long battle against the establishment to bring to light the facts behind the disappearance and expose atrocities committed by the state. The petition and subsequent investigations found that Rajan had indeed been taken into custody, and perhaps died when in police custody. His body was not found, and many charges against the accused in this case had to be dropped. The accused included the chief of the Crime Branch wing of Kerala Police, DIG Jayaram Padikkal, who was convicted but the conviction was overturned on appeal. [7] Karunakaran was the Home Minister during the emergency. He resigned from the post of the Chief Minister of Kerala in 1978 from adverse judgement in the case. Warrier wrote the book, Memories of a Father, narrating his fights. [6]
The 2018 Malayalam movie Kaattu Vithachavar directed by Satheesh Paul presents investigation by a police team to disappearance of Rajan. The movie acted by Prakash Bare, Tini Tom Jayaprakash Kuloor provides a factual review of events, though the names of characters have been slightly changed.
The 1988 Malayalam film Piravi directed by Shaji N. Karun has its plotline adopted from this incident. The 2013 Malayalam film Idukki Gold references the case. Raman, one of the protagonists, throws ink at the Kerala Home Minister in protest against the Rajan case not being resolved. Malayalam movie Sahapaadi (1975), also touches the issue.
In 1977, the All Kerala Rajan Memorial Music Competition was started at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (then known as REC Calicut) to commemorate Rajan's life. Every year since 1987, the Institute conducts their annual cultural festival Ragam in memory of Rajan. [8] In 2006, Ragam festival started with an audio message delivered by Rajan's father Eachara Warrier. [9]
C. R. Omanakuttan has written a book named Shavamtheenikal which is an expose of the brutality involved in the incident. In 2006, Ormakal Zindabad (Memories live long), directed by G. Ajayan, was staged in certain places in Kerala, based on the custodial death of Rajan. Leading characters Jayaram Padikkal and Rajan were portrayed by Salih Rawther and Shabu Madhavan respectively.
The 2021 Tamil movie Jai Bhim, directly references the Rajan case as an example of a habeas corpus wherein the rare occurrence of a cross examination in a high court as grounds for not producing a detainee by the state police is permitted. [10]
Ragam is South India’s biggest Cultural fest hosted by National Institute of Technology, Calicut. Ragam blends a series of fine arts, socio-cultural and literary events, along with a variety of workshops, exhibitions and informal events. The fest attracts thousands of visitors to the campus annually and is one of the most popular cultural fests in India.
Kannoth Karunakaran, or K. Karunakaran, was an Indian politician who served as the fifth chief minister of Kerala in 1977, from 1981 to March 1982, from May 1982 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1995. He is the founder of the Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition, which has been the main opposition in Kerala since 2016.
The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country.
R. Jayaram Padikkal was an IPS officer. He had served as the Director General of Police (DGP), the highest rank in the force in the period 1993–94.
Kunnikkal Ajitha is a former Indian naxalite who took active part in the naxalite movements in Kerala in the 1960s when the group conducted armed raids on Thalassery and Pulpally police stations and killed two policemen. Ajitha was subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Thekke Arangath Rajendran, popularly known as Nawab Rajendran, was a social activist and journalist from Kerala. He was the founder of Nawab, a local newspaper, and was a popular litigant who, through his prolific use of public interest litigation, helped bring many cases into public notice for nearly three decades, including a number of cases against late K. Karunakaran, former Union Minister of Commerce and Industries and Chief Minister of Kerala. Nawab Rajendran: Oru Manushyavakasa Porattathinte Charithram, a biography by Kamalram Sajeev, details Rajendran's social activism.
Summer in Bethlehem is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Ranjith. It was produced by Siyad Koker under the company Kokers Films. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Manju Warrier and Kalabhavan Mani while Mohanlal makes a cameo appearance. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. It tells the story of Ravishankar (Jayaram), the bumbling friend of a successful landowner Dennis, and the vacation visit by Ravishankar's relatives in Dennis's estate known as Bethlehem Estates in a fictional town of Chandragiri in the Nilgiris.
T. V. Eswara Warrier (1920–2006) was a professor from Thrissur district in the south Indian state of Kerala. He became famous for his legal struggle against the Congress-led Government of Kerala during the Emergency, in an attempt to get to the facts about the disappearance of his son Rajan.
Piravi is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son, a student in Regional Engineering College, Calicut, was killed in police custody during the National Emergency Period of 1976. The film's music was composed by G. Aravindan and Mohan Sithara. Piravi received widespread critical acclaim upon release. The film was screened and very well received at many film festivals and won at least 31 awards, including the Caméra d'Or — Mention Spéciale at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the Indian National Film Awards in 1989.
Twenty:20 is a 2008 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas and directed by Joshiy. The film stars Mohanlal, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Dileep. The film was produced and distributed by actor Dileep through Graand Production and Manjunatha Release. The film was produced on behalf of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) as a fundraiser to financially support actors who are struggling in the Malayalam film industry. All the actors in AMMA worked without payment in order to raise funds for their welfare schemes.
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K. P. Prabhakaran was a communist politician and trade unionist from Kerala, India. He was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India, served as Health Minister of Kerala for one period. At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the State Control Commission of CPI.
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