Kayyur Martyrs Day

Subbarayan, a police constable, who participated in police beating at Kayyur fell into the hands of protesters on the very next day. People were enthusiastic to handle him. But leaders discouraged them. The police man was asked to lead the protest march holding the flag. He did it since there was no other go, when he got a chance he jumped into the river and tried to escape. But he got drowned in the river.

Then peasant movement and Congress were strong in Kayyur and suburbs. Police and vested interests took Kayyur incident as an opportunity to suppress revolutionary movement. They charged a case against 61 people in Kayyur and around. Of them the court decided five to be hanged into death. They were Madathil Appu, Koyithattil Chirukandan, Podora Kunhampu Nair, Pallikkal Abubacker and Churikkadan Krishnan Nair. Others were condemned to imprisonment for various periods. Since Churikkadan was a minor then, his hanging was reduced to imprisonment for life. All effort to save them from hanging failed. These four were hanged on 1943 March 29 crying out "Down with fascism! Down with imperialism! Long live the Communist Party of India!" Kayyur thus emerged as a glorious symbol of peasant militancy that was clearly anti-feudal and anti-imperialist at the same time, with the lowest rungs of the rural people playing a frontal role. They were the first martyrs of Indian peasant movement.