93-year-old Kamala Ramasamy passed away in Srirangam near Trichy as quietly as she had been living her life for the last few decades. It is hard to find any references to her on the internet – the only notable page mentions her as wife of Ramsamy, freedom fighter TSS Rajan’s grandson. Rajan was also a doctor and had served as a minister in Madras Presidency from 1937 to 1939.
But the mention of her name brings an unmistakable sparkle in the eyes of Communist leaders like R Nallakannu and C Mahendran. To them, she lived no ordinary life.
P Seenivasan’s two-volume Tamil work on Tamil communist warriors takes note of Kamala Ramasamy as a freedom fighter who was drawn into Communist movement. In 1942, captivated by the ideals of CPI leader K Baladhandayutham, Kamala Ramasamy was deeply interested in students’ movements. She soon joined the Quit India movement in Trichy and participated in the general strike called by students that same year. The book notes that there were only four women who had taken part in the general strike, including Kamala. In 1946, Kamala was jailed for a year for her support of the South Indian Railway struggle, and stayed in prison for almost a year. In January 1947, she was sent to jail again under the Defence Act of India. The book notes she was the only woman in jail anywhere across India. This, along with the fact that she was also pregnant, sparked an uproar across the country, forcing the government to release her in April. Around the same time, her husband Ramasamy – who was also actively involved in Communist movement – was in jail in Vellore.