Considered first recorded Kerala encounter victim, Arikkad Varghese led peasant struggles of Wayanad

By Harsh Thakor* 

February 18, 2025, marks the 55th anniversary of the death of Arikkad Varghese, who was killed in what is considered the first recorded encounter killing in Kerala. Varghese was an activist who played a significant role in the peasant struggles of Wayanad, advocating against feudal exploitation. His involvement in the Naxalite movement made him a target of state repression.

In the 1960s, Adivasi and Dalit communities in Wayanad faced severe exploitation under feudal landlords, including bonded labor and gender-based violence. During this time, ideological shifts within the communist movement in India led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), which sought an agrarian revolution. Inspired by the Naxalbari uprising, Varghese, originally associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), aligned with the CPI-ML's armed struggle against feudal landlords and state forces.

Varghese was involved in organizing Adivasi communities against landlords and participated in armed actions, including attacks on police stations. His activities, along with those of his comrades, led to a crackdown by the authorities. Following the killing of a landlord and a suspected police informant in 1970, he went into hiding.

During Operation Steeplechase, a coordinated state effort to suppress Naxalite activities across India, Varghese was arrested after being betrayed by an informant. He was subsequently killed, with reports indicating that he was shot in custody rather than dying in an armed encounter. In 1998, police constable P. Ramachandran Nair admitted that Varghese was executed under orders from senior officers.

Varghese's death is often cited as an example of extrajudicial killings in India. His case became a reference point in discussions on state violence, particularly in the context of later operations such as Green Hunt and SAMADHAN-Prahar. While the socio-economic conditions that Varghese opposed persist in many areas, his role in Wayanad’s peasant struggles remains significant in the history of leftist movements in Kerala.

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*Freelance journalist