In the passing away of MM Lawrence, we have lost a leader who started his communist career as a revolutionary and made brilliant contributions to the proletarian movement. Lawrence, who started his revolutionary life before the age of 18 with the spirit of his youth boiling during the turbulent period in the history of the Communist Party of Kerala, emerged as a prominant face of the party after going through severe suffering. He was arrested as an accused in the Edappally police station attack case and spent a long time in jail. He was imprisoned during the Emergency also. He narrates the stories of the brutal torture he faced in police custody in his autobiography 'Ormmacheppu Thurakkumbol'. The Edappally police station attack was a crucial chapter in Lawrence's life. Lawrence, who went into hiding following the station attack, was arrested by the police as he was betrayed. Lawrence says with pride that neither he nor the other members of the party who were with him were willing to become an approver in order to escape from the case.

Lawrence has played a crucial role in organizing the port workers in Kochi and the workers in the plantation sector. It may be recalled that the famous poet Balachandran Chullikkad, through his poem, paid tribute to Lawrence, who held the hands of the marginalised sections of society who worked as manual scavengers. He led the Left Democratic Front as convener for twelve years. During this period, the LDF came to power in Kerala in 1987 and 1996. As convenor, he played a good role in keeping the constituent parties of the front together. Though he was able to study only till class 10, he gained influence in the English language and often translated the speeches of national leaders. He also served as a member of the party's central committee and a Lok Sabha member from Idukki.

Lawrence was a strong spokesman for the CITU faction at a time when factionalism in the CPM was at its peak. This later led him to many crises. Differences of opinion with VS Achuthanandan, a prominent leader in the party, were much discussed. At a conference held in Palakkad in 1998, Lawrence faced criticism for working with the Save CPM Forum. An investigation conducted by the party in this regard found him guilty and he was demoted from the central committee to the area committee. He was never ready to openly violate party discipline even when he firmly believed in his rights. This paved the way for Lawrence to return to the CPM state committee and serve as CITU state general secretary.

While many who stood by Lawrence in the differences of opinion in the party changed their stand and stance, he stood firm. He was fearless. Lawrence was a representative of an era when political activity was not as luxurious as it is today. Time proved that while some allegations were made in the name of sectarianism, many of them were only misunderstandings. Lawrence led a simple life. It was the party that protected him when he faced financial hardships in the evening of his life. Lawrence died at the age of 95. He will have a place in the history of the Communist Party as a leader who will never be forgotten with time.