LIVING LIKE A MANGROVE TREE

Kallen Pokkudan with Mayilamma, activist in Plachimada against Coca Cola. Photo by Vinod Kumar

The activities of Kallen Pokkudan who planted and preserved mangroves for the last two decades are the alternate dalit and environmental politics differ from the established/brahmanical one. But the established/brahmanical cultural reading and media look this man as nostalgic one man figure who preserves mangrove forests. Kallen Pokkudan himself fights against this romantic thought and declares that his environmental actions are reactions against brahmanical way of life and thinking, which supports caste system and suppression in India.  The doings of Kallen Pokkudan has more significance because he tries not only to balance the eco system, but preserves the ecological variety of rivers for the lively hood of the people like dalits live by side and  politically attack the hidden politics in the  brahmanical ideology of Vegetarianism. He asks, "How can  dalits who live by the riverside can be vegetarians? Their only resource is river. Their food is nothing other than fish..."  The  brahmanical attack on non vegetarianism is not only on food habits, but that is a political attack on dalits and other downtroddens those who are non vegetarians.


Kallen Pokkudan who was born to a dalit peasant family of Ezhome village in Kannur had the experience of feudal suppression and attrocities from Muslim and Hindu lords from the childhood itself. Unlike others he reacted against the cruelty of lords against the dalit peasant workers and farmers. He was attracted towards communist party and became an active worker of the Communist party. But later he realized that even in Communist party which speaks of socialism; there is discrimination on the basis of caste.

After leaving the party, he started planting mangroves. He planted more than a lakh of mangrove trees in the wetlands all over Kerala. He campaigned for the preservation of mangrove forests. At the beginning people called him as mad, and environmentalists did not notice him. But later, organizations, political parties, environmentalists, scientists were keenly observing this man and his activities.

Kallen Pokkudan says, while planting mangroves, he is preserving the whole ecosystem and the society. The varieties of fish and other water beings lay their eggs in mangrove forest and life gets flourished in the river. This helps the community of fishermen and farmers for their livelihood.  Mangrove forests are shelters of different varieties of birds also. But the land mafia now days in Kerala destroyed the mangrove forests and built up flats by filling wet lands in the riversides. In 2004 when the tsunami was hit, the areas having mangrove forests were least affected by the tides.


Kallen Pokkudan has written a biography “Kandlakadukalkidayil ente jeevitham” (My life in mangrove forests). But the book edited by Thaha Madayi deals only with the life of him related to Mangorve forests. His son, Sreejith Paithalen realised that he has a greater political life and that has to be recorded. Now Sreejith Paithalen completed the book “Kallen Pokkudan, the political life” about his father’s political history in Ezhome village and its significance in the subaltern societies of the whole world. The book discusses the Dalit and subaltern life in Ezhome village and their fights and struggles which was not recorded by the brahmanical historians in India. Kallen Pokkudan has written another book “choottachi” describing the fish verities of rivers in Kannur. His elder son Aanandan who is an school teacher edited the book.

As an environmentalist and a political thinker he received many psychological and physical attacks from different corners of the society. Even then he interferes with various issues in Kerala like farmers agitations in Muriyad, and agitation against Coca Cola in Plachimada, etc., Kallen Pokkudan is living like a mangrove tree rendering life to the society and generations.