The political murders in north Kerala have periodically grabbed attention when many killings take place in a short span of time or someone well known is killed, like the recent murder of ex-CPI(M) member T P Chandrasekharan. However little is understood of why these killings occur. This article argues that it is a combination of the demands of electoral democracy and the familial modes in which political affiliation is understood which produces the conditions where death and martyrdom become normalised.
The vengeful violence between workers of the Left and Right in Kerala, the number of assailants and martyrs amongst them is then perhaps a tragic testimony to their success in generating communities marked by an impetus for homogenisation and held together by strong kin-like ties and shared symbolic logic.
