Mangalore, Jun 4: Veteran freedom fighter and well-known leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and former member of Parliament B V Kakkilaya passed away at 2 am on Monday June 4. He was 93.
Kakkilaya was admitted to a private hospital on May 23 and was being treated for brain haemorrhage. He was on ventilator and his condition is said to have deteriorated two days ago.
Born on April 11, 1919, Kakkilaya was the pioneer of the Karnataka unification movement. A prolific writer and scholar, BVK, as he was popularly known, was involved in several people’s movements since his early days and was instrumental in setting up the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in Karnataka. He played an important role in bringing about land reforms in the state.
Apart from being member of the Rajya Sabha in 1952-54, he was also a legislator in the Karnataka assembly from Bantwal in the 1970s.
In the 1940s, he participated in the Quit India Movement and many other freedom struggle movements. Even at that time, he fought for the rights of farmers and united them for a cause.
His wife Ahalya passed away in 1998 after a heart attack. He is survived by four sons Srinivasa (now a practicing physician at Mangalore), Venkatakrishna (now a neonatologist at Dallas, US), Harish (now a laparoscopic surgeon at US), and Suryanarayana (now a psychiatrist at UK).