BV Kakkilaya : Life and Work

1919, April 11: Birth at Bevinje near Kasaragod, Kerala
1922: Untimely demise of his father
1926-1937: Early and high school education up to 10th at Basel Mission higher secondary school and District Board High School, Kasaragod
1937-1939: Intermediate education at St. Aloysius College, Mangalore; attracted to the freedom movement and Communist ideology
1939-1942: Studies and passes BA in Chemistry at St. Aloysius College, Mangalore; actively participates in the freedom struggle, comes in contact and works with many leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI)
1940: Becomes a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI)
1941-42: Secretary of the Mangalore unit of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), students’ wing of the CPI
Aug 1942-1943: Participated in the Quit India movement; arrested on charges of possessing banned literature, kept in detention at Mangalore sub jail for 9 months
1943-45: Organised beedi workers, tile workers, weavers and cashew factory workers throughout the undivided Dakshina Kannada district (South Canara)
1944: Participated as a delegate from Karnataka in the founding conference of Indo Soviet Cultural Society, held at Mumbai under the Chairmanship of Smt. Vijayalaxmi Pandit
1945: First Dakshina Kannada district conference of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in Mangalore; led by Com. S.A Dange; elected as the general secretary of DK district Trade Union Congress; along with Simpson Soans, participates as a delegate in the national conference of AITUC at Chennai
1945-46: Organises and leads many strikes/protests demanding minimum wages, dearness allowance and other benefits for the workers
Oct 1946: Rearrested; detention at Vellore and Kannur jails
Aug 15, 1947: Indian independence; released from Kannur jail; grand welcome at Mangalore by the working masses; resumes the organizational work for CPI and AITUC
1948-1950: Severe repression and arrests of Communists all over the country; BVK remained underground and worked against all odds to build the party and trade union movement all across the state
1950: Arrested in Davanagere; jailed in Bangalore for 6 months and later for another month at Cuddalore; studied Marxist literature while in jail.
1950-52: Active in organizing the party and the struggles of workers and peasants across Karnataka; contested for elections from DK and Kodagu
1952-1954: Elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madras Assembly; raised the vital issues of drought, food scarcity etc., and pressed for nationalization of Kolar Gold Fields, laying of Hassan-Mangalore railway, and unification of Karnataka state. Toured all over the state
1952-1956: Actively worked for the unification of Karnataka; appointed as General Secretary of Akhanda Karnataka Rajya Nirmana Parishath
1955, Aug 15: Led a team from Mangalore to participate in the Goa Liberation Movement; successfully sneaked into a Goan village called Iddus, hoisted the National flag, beaten severely by the Portuguese police, many injured.
1956-1962: Organized the peasants movement all across Karnataka to press for Land reforms; All India Kisan Sabha conventions held at Bangalore, Kolar, Srirangapatna, Hampi and Gulbarga
1960: Navakarnataka Publications, premier publishing house of Karnataka, established. BV Kakkilaya is the Chairman.
1962: Arrested along with MS Krishnan, MC Narasimhan, CR Krishna Rao, Vasan, Govindan andother senior party leaders during the Indo-China War; jailed in Bangalore Prison until end of the year.
Jan 9, 1964: Marries Ahalya
1964: Split in Communist Party of India; appointed as General Secretary of CPI state unit
1964-1972: Relentless work to strengthen the party as well as the workers’ and peasants’ movements
Apr 9, 1965: Birth of eldest son, Srinivasa (now a practicing physician at Mangalore)
May 11, 1966: Second son, Venkatakrishna (now a neonatologist at Dallas, US), born
1968: Visits Soviet Union, Poland and Bulgaria
July 22; 1969: Third son, Harish (now a laparoscopic surgeon at US), born
1972: Elected to Karnataka state assembly from Buntwal with highest margin
May 25; 1975: Youngest son, Suryanarayana ((now a psychiatrist at UK), born
1972-1978: Voice of the masses in the state assembly, ably represents not just the constituency but also the toiling workers, peasants and the downtrodden of the state; relentless work for flood relief at Buntwal; played a stellar role in drafting the landmark Land Reforms Act of Karnataka and led statewide agitations pressing for its implementation
1978-1983: Reelected to the Karnataka Assembly from Vittla constituency; active role in many developmental works and propeople initiatives; much appreciated role as a member of the Land tribunal in Buntwal; Chairman of Public accounts committee of Karnataka legislature
1982: Along with Devaraj Urs, DB Cahndregowda and others, at the forefront of the massive march of peasants from Naragund to Bangalore, protesting the firing on peasants at Naragund
1983: Loses election from Vittla constituency
1983-1986: Concentrates on writing; Karl Marx-Life and Writing and Frederick Engels: Life and Thoughts are two major works
Nov 14, 1986: Karl Marx: Life and Writing awarded Soviet Land Nehru Prize
Dec 29, 1986: Frederick Engels: Life and Thoughts awarded the Best Work (Life Biography) Award by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy
1986-1991: Takes over as editor of the party mouthpiece, Kembavuta weekly, after the demise of Sri UN Srinivas Bhat
April 1, 1989: Materialism in Ancient India, translated work in Kannada awarded the Best Work (Translation – non-creative) award by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy
1994: Indian Darshanas awarded the Best Book (Translations – 2) Award by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy
1996: Moves into own house built with help of his children
1998: Wife Ahalya dies of a massive heart attack
2001-2002: Visits his sons in the UK and Muscat
2002-todate: Living in Mangalore; wrote/translated many small booklets for the Party; regularly wrote articles for Kembavuta, Hosatu and other papers; guiding force for the Party and AITUC.
Dec 12, 2005: Neerpaje Bhima Bhat award
Oct 25, 2006: Felicitated by Tulu Sahitya Academy for his contribution to Tulu literature
Nov 1, 2006: Karnataka Suvarna Ekikarana Award from Karnataka State Govt., on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of formation of unified Karnataka state
May 31, June 1, 2009: Kakkilaya at 90: A dialogue with a new generation – innovative felicitation programme in Mangalore; many veterans such as Praful Bidwai, Kamal Chenoy, C. K. Chandrappan, M. C. Narasimhan, Shameem Faizee, Surendra Rao, G.V. Joshi, Lingadevaru Halemane, Rahamath Tarikere, Muzzafar Assadi, G. Rajashekara, Phaniraj, Sara Aboobakar, Vijaya, T.R. Chandrashekara, Vinaya, Sabiha Bhoomi Gowda, N. Gayathri, Sudha Seetharam participate.
March 22, 2009: Touching felicitation at Bangalore; Nirantara, a felicitation volume, presented
Oct 2, 2010: Honoured with Karl Marx Award for his immense contribution to the communist movement in the country by the Indian Institute of Marxist Theory and Practice, Dharwad
May 18, 2012:Deeply disturbed over the arrest and detention of Vitthala Malekudiya, he participated in a protest meet in front of the DK Deputy Commissioner’s office, along with the leaders and members of Communist Party of India, DK Unit.May 23, 2012: Hospitalised due to intracerebral hemorhageJune 4, 2012: BVK breathes his last