Miles Passed, Before He Slept

Shri Ooman Chandi, who entered to coordinate related activism in 1960, ended up with a strong fissure for Keralite Political activism. The leader, who showed his power as both a strong opposition and ruling party leader with his diplomatic and political interventions, strengthened his position among religious parties and communities.

               Born in 1943 October 31 as the second elder son of KO Chandi and Baby couple. In astrological terms, he was Anizham Nakshathra. Those who will be compelled to leave their homeland with deep fondness will be travel lovers. Thus it was in the case of late-former chief minister Ooman Chandy.

Incontrovertible Page of Politics

It is unanimously agreed that Oman Chandi saved his profile from the Puthupalli natives. But the bond wasn’t started by him. One of his ancestors, VJ Ooman, started such a bond by establishing an English-medium school during his term as a member of the legislative council in Travancore.

His political profile was started by the Kerala Students Union (KSU). Through his innocent sacrifice for KSU, he was promoted to the post of state president, and that journey ended this year with his 12th victory for the state legislative council.

For failure, but Fate Was Victory

               He made his debut contest from Puthupalli in 1978 as a candidate for Congress (I). Same that year, the words of the KPCC treasurer were memorable.”Don’t expect victory, as the party also expects. Repeat your failure for victory in the future”. But even with fewer votes for Congress in Puthupally, he succeeded with a total of 70,000. And thus it continued for the twelfth consecutive win.

Why is he still remembered?

It was a buzzword about the cortege carrying his mortal remains from Thiruvananthapuram to the veteran leader’s resting place at Saint George Orthodox Church. As strong testimony for his profiles by crowds, some people are frowned upon by terrible questions like, Was he such a person?

Yes, indeed, his reputation was lightened in all aspects, whether it was prosperity or diplomacy. In the case of diplomacy, his evacuation of 46 Malayali nurses trapped in the spiraling violence fueled by the Islamic State (IS) in 2014 after they were trapped in violence was remarkable. His voice ensured that help was not in vain. One of the nurses reminisces about that dark time when calls with the Chief Minister's office were the only thing for relief, as reported by the Hindu.

               “We are all working at the Tikrit teaching hospital in Iraq. The situation began to get worse early in June 2014, when Islamic State bombed facilities near the hospital. The doctors and other employees warned us that the thing would get out of hand soon. Later, they too stopped coming. Bagdad Airport was five hours away. We got in touch with the Indian Embassy first. A Malayali staff member advised us to get in touch with the chief minister's office so we could speak directly with Sri Ooman Chandi He assured us that every step would be taken to bring us back, and so it was.

As a politician, he was not freed from controversies like the multimillion-dollar solar scam, which smeared his high-profile career. But later, it was proved that all were mere conspiracies.

               After his demise, strong condolences by Kerala are proof of his personality and his pure politics