Veteran Congress leader and former Minister Aryadan Mohammed, 87, died at a private hospital in Kozhikode on Sunday morning.
An iconic political figure of Eranad, Aryadan represented the Nilambur constituency in the Assembly for 34 years in eight terms. He was minister for four terms.
The body was brought to his house at Nilambur, where hundreds of people from different walks of life paid their respects. Later in the afternoon, the body was taken to the District Congress Committee office in Malappuram, where hundreds paid homage to the departed leader.
Born in 1935, Aryadan was attracted to the Congress politics after listening to a speech by freedom fighter Mohammed Abdurahman Sahib in 1945 at Chandakkunnu, Nilambur. He was a student volunteer when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru reached Nilambur in 1953.
While studying at Manavedan High School, Nilambur, he had skippered the school’s football team. He became general secretary of the Congress in Wandoor Farka in 1956. His active role in trade union led to his elevation as member of the State Congress committee in 1958. He was the youngest member of the District Congress Committee (DCC) comprising Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad. Later, he became the party’s Kozhikode district general secretary.
Aryadan was the first DCC president of Malappuram when the district was formed in 1969. He held that post for 11 years.
He unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections in 1965 and 1967 from Nilambur. He was elected first to the Assembly in 1977. In 1980, he became Minister for Labour and Forest in the E.K. Nayanar Ministry. But he was defeated in the 1982 election.
However, Aryadan represented Nilambur in the Assembly without a break from 1987 to 2016. As minister under A.K. Antony once and under Oommen Chandy twice, Aryadan handled portfolios such as Power, Forest, Labour, Tourism and Transport. He also worked as chief whip of the the Congress parliamentary party.
Aryadan cemented his influence among workers in Nilambur by organising plantation labourers. He used to walk dozens of kilometers through the forests to reach plantations at Munderi and other places when working among the labourers.
Aryadan’s performance in the Assembly was commendable. He had mastered the legislature’s rules and regulations well.
Aryadan is survived by wife Mariyumma, sons Aryadan Shoukath (KPCC general secretary) and Dr. Riyas Ali, and daughters Ansar Begum and Khadeeja.
He will be interred at Mukkatta Juma Masjid graveyard at 9 a.m. on Monday.
