Annamalai University in Chidambaram — a cradle of freedom movement and a nursery of communist and Dravidian leaders — witnessed a massive student uprising against British rule in 1941. Its impact was also felt in Madurai. Late communist leader A.K. Gopalan, who was hiding in Madurai, sent a message to N. Sankaraiah, a student of American College, to organise a protest in support of Annamalai University students. A massive public meeting was organised by the Madurai Congress Committee and he wrote a pamphlet in English which read, “Heads are broken. Bones are pulverised. Blood flows in Annamalai University.”
The police searched the hostel of American College and one of the student leaders, Narayanasamy, was arrested as type-written pamphlets were found in his room. Sankaraiah, who later emerged as one of the tallest leaders of the communist movement in Tamil Nadu, mobilised students on the football ground of the college against the arrest. He was also arrested on February 28 that year by police inspector Theechatti Govindan and lodged in prison. When his final examinations were 15 days away, Sankaraiah was shifted to the Vellore jail and he could not complete his degree. It shattered the hopes of his father S. Narasimhalu, who wanted his son to pursue legal studies after graduation.
