Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Unsung Hero - CSV Krishna Moorthy

CSV Krishna Moorthy led the All Malayan Estate Workers Council fought not only for the rights of Indian estate labourers in Malaya but for all Malayan labourers including Malays and Chinese. As All Malayan Rubber Workers Council was under Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions, AMRWC, shared the same aspiration of PMFTU.

CSV Krishna Moorthy known to many as Vincent and Jivaraj passed his 7th form in an English school. He worked as welder and fitter at Sentul Railway Workshop. After the war he played important roles in trade union movements in Malaya as he held many numerous position in many trade unions - Secretary of General Labour Union, General Secretary of Railways Workers Union, President of Selangor Estate Workers Union, President of All Malayan Rubber Workers Council, Assistance Secretary of PMFTU and Secretary of Indian Section of Malayan Communist Party.

T.N Harper in his book "The Forgotten War" mentioned unlike S.A Ganapathy, CSVK Moorthi and P.Veerasenan (President of Singapore Habour Union and Singapore Federation of Trade Unions) were not communists as claimed by the British.

Moorthy was forced to go underground and embrace communist ideology due to British staged Malayan Emergency in June 1948. In the hidings, he was in charge of party's Tamil newspaper edition. He was reported died (The Straits Time dated 29th May 1954) due to blood poising for having to eat elephant meat.

Even though being a Telugu, he died for class struggle and not for caste or communal struggle. We were so united back then as Malayan, unlike now!

ST- 29th May 1954
 

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