Anandan V K was barely 15 when he quit school and joined a quarry to break stones. He didn’t have the luxury not to work and pursue study. Breaking stone is a skill that you develop while doing it. He joined Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS), and by the time he turned 18 was already an ‘A’ member of the cooperative with voting rights. The idea of cooperation is to work for a common cause and collectively gain in the process, which is more than the sum total of individual gains, while ensuring the fruits of labour are equitably shared. ULCCS, based in Vatakara Kozhikode–Kerala, has been committed to generating employment for the working class since its inception 99 years ago with a capital of mere 37 paise and inspired by Guru Vagbhatananda. They are committed to social justice and equity. All the members grew together, and ULCCS attained new heights.
“I might be the vice chairman of ULCCS, but I’m the same person at home,” he says. Humility, simplicity and commitment is palpable in his persona. They have no delusion about their standing in the society despite ULCCS attaining unprecedented success.
Ever since Remeshan Palery took over as the chairman in 1995, ULCCS has seen a meteoric rise. Though, primarily in the civil construction area, building bridges and highways, in last decade or so has diversified its operations and owns a cyberpark-SEZ in Calicut. ULCCS employs 18000 people and is worth many thousand crores.
Anandan, like other members of the board, all of them have working class origins, and are elected periodically, think as a collective and not as an individual. The ideals of the ULCCS are the guiding principles of his life. “When you’re dedicated and passionate about a cause or a task, you develop leadership qualities,” he explains in Malayalam.
It has always been the cause, and not personal interest that guides him. He did well and was given more responsibilities, varied tasks, as he climbed the ranks. He learned the work on the job. And now he makes policy decisions collectively as a board member, guides a battery of technicians and engineer, and does it with great facility. A humble, down to earth person, Anandan, explains the process, “we all brainstorm, and come to a conclusion, and once we have decided–there’s no going back.”
The constitution of India is for a democratic government that is of the people, by the people and for the people. In the same spirit, ULCCS is of the labour, by the labour and for the labour. Anandan’s success story personifies the success of ULCCS. For a casual onlooker, this may seem a paradox. How can a labour cooperative running a cyber park and conducting research on AI that, many experts apprehend, will make human effort redundant?
This paradox dissipates if one redefines labour, like in the ULCCS. Labour is not just physical effort but also cognitive ability. Also, Anandan explains that “we have to get with the times.” The times are changing fast, technology–that has seeped into all aspects of life–has hastened the pace of change. The joint families are dispersing into nucleated families. Peoples’ aspirations are global. And to be able to ride the tides of time, one has to change with time.
“Our sole motive is to generate fruitful employment,” Anandan explains standing on the veranda of his house, walking distance from ULCCS headquarters, is spotlessly clean, sparsely furnished, the healthy plants with beaming leaves qualify the courtyard.
Like the cyber park employs hundreds of technically qualified youths, most of them locals. They don’t have to travel out of the state or country with the state-of-art research on AI and various other technologies can be done in their own backyard. All three of his daughters are technically qualified, one is an engineer, the other is an architect.
Did you miss not pursuing your education in retrospect? I ask Anandan, “Would you join a quarry to break stones if you’d be 15 years old today? “No work is good or bad. We work according to the prevalent situation,” he replied succinctly. And the situation between now and then is significantly different and, therefore, a comparison unwarranted. He’s happy that his technically qualified daughters are working for ULCCS, and the real success is about commitment to the cause and working passionately towards meeting goals.
“I might be the vice chairman of ULCCS, but I’m the same person at home,” he says. Humility, simplicity and commitment is palpable in his persona. They have no delusion about their standing in the society despite ULCCS attaining unprecedented success.
One of the youngest members in the board is 48 years old managing director, Shaju S. The retirement age is 65 years. “We are happy to pass the baton to the next generation,” says Anandan. It’s not about the position one holds, but dedication to the larger cause. And he will remain committed to the cause as has been the case for the last nearly 50 years even after he demits office.
As someone famously said, "A clear purpose will unite you as you move forward, values will guide your behavior, and goals will focus your energy.” Anandan's life is a good example of ULCCS's success story.
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