Senior CPI leader R. Nallakannu passed away in Chennai on 25 February 2026 at 101 and was given State honours. Born in 1925 at Srivaikundam, Thoothukudi, he joined the freedom struggle as a student. Arrested in the 1949 Nellai Conspiracy Case, he was sentenced to life and released in 1956. He was CPI State Secretary for three terms from 1992, fought illegal sand mining in the Thamirabarani basin through a 2010 PIL he argued himself, and received the Thagaisal Thamizhar award in 2022, donating the ₹10 lakh prize plus ₹5,000 to the CM's Relief Fund.