Veteran communist leader and freedom fighter K P R Gopalan, who survived death sentence for leading a workers agitation in the forties, died here yesterday after a prolonged illness. He was 88. He is survived by his daughter.
Gopalan, who had been ailing for the past few months, breathed his last at a district hospital here. Born on June 1, 1909, in a rich family at Kalliasseri in Kannur district of Kerala, KPR as Gopalan widely known in communist circles, showed an affinity for socialist ideals from youth.
The turning point in his life came when he took part in Payyanur conference, attended by Jawahar Lal Nehru and became a Congress activist.