People's Democracy

Comrade  Nizamuddin Khan

ASSAM state secretariat member of the CPI(M) and former MLA, Comrade Nizamuddin Khan (62) breathed his last on May 14 last at his residence at Kayakuchi under Barpeta district of Assam. Comrade Khan was also the president of the Assam state Kisan Sabha and a member of the CKC. He was suffering from lung cancer which was detected quite late in mid March.

Comrade Nizamuddin was a popular mass leader. When the sad news of his death spread, there was a pall of deep gloom and thousands of mourners thronged his residence to pay homage to the departed leader. In fact, when he was bed-ridden and battling for life, there was a ceaseless stream of visitors. Khan’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that he had to be shifted to Bongaigon, a place far away from his Kayakuchi residence when it became almost impossible to manage the huge crowds of people who visited the ailing leader. After a few days, however, he was brought back to Kayakuchi again to allow the people to have a glimpse of ailing Khan.

On hearing the sad demise of Comrade Khan, the CPI(M) state secretary Uddhab Barman and other leaders of the Party from across the state rushed to Kayakuchi, joined thousands of mourners and paid homage. CPI(M) Central Committee member Hemen Das  rushed hurriedly to Kayakuchi when he heard that Nizam Khan’s condition was deteriorating fast and that he was gasping for life.

Born in a very poor family on November 1, 1949 at Chakirbhita village under Barpeta district, Nizam Khan had to struggle hard to complete his education. After completion of his post-graduation in English from Gauhati University, he joined as a teacher.

Khan joined the CPI(M) in 1977 and resigned from his teacher post  in 1983 so as to become a wholetimer of the Party. He was elected to the Barpeta district committee of the Party in 1992 and to the state committee in 1995. Later he became the state secretariat member of the Party. He was also serving as the president of the Assam state Kisan Sabha since 2005.

Nizamuddin Khan was elected to the Assam state assembly from Sarukhetri constituency as a CPI(M) candidate for two consecutive terms – in 1991 and 1996. He was also nominated by the Party to contest for the recently concluded assembly elections in Assam. However, as he suddenly fell seriously ill just before the filing of nominations, his candidature had to be changed.

On May 15, a cortege was taken out with red flags and banners where several thousand mourners participated and paid tearful homage. The Barpeta district committee and Kayakuchi local committee of the CPI(M) paid rich tributes to the departed leader. Later his body was taken to the state headquarters of the CPI(M) in Guwahati where several organisations and large number of people paid their respectful homage.

Finally, Comrade Nizamuddin Khan’s body was donated to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital through Ellora Vigyan Mancha as desired by the departed leader. Nizam Khan was the first person belonging to the Muslim community in Assam to donate body for advancement of medical science.

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat expressed his condolences in a  message to the Party state secretary. He said Comrade Nizamuddin Khan was a dedicated member of the Party and in his death the Party and the democratic movement has suffered a big loss. 

The All India Kisan Sabha president S Ramachandran Pillai, general secretary K Varadharajan and all the central functionaries of the AIKS expressed grief at the passing away of Comrade Nizamuddin Khan. In a condolenece message, the AIKS stated, “Comrade Nizamuddin Khan served the peasantry with great devotion for long years and helped in the growth and development of the kisan movement in his home district Barpeta and all over the state of Assam. He was elected twice to the Assam assembly and was a popular leader of his constituency. A down to earth leader accessible to all, he raised the issues of the peasantry and the toiling masses and became their voice in the state assembly.”