COMRADE Sailen Dasgupta breathed his last at the Breach Candy hospital at eight minutes past nine in the evening of July 10. He was undergoing treatment there. He had been ill over the past three or four years. The illness notwithstanding he had continued work hard for the CPI (M).

Very recently, he put in a strenuous effort during the run up to the polls – and fell ill in a grave way. He had to be admitted to hospital the day after the sixth cabinet of the Left Front government was sworn in.

He would not remain confined to hospital and would often go to the Party office. By this time, specialists who attended on him resolved that Comrade Sailenda needed a coronary bypass surgery. Thus it came about that he was taken out to Mumbai. On July 5, a team under the supervision of renowned surgeon and heart specialist Dr Sudhangsu Bhattacharyya operated on him. Despite great efforts, Comrade Sailenda would not survive the post-operative phase.

Comrade Sailen Dasgupta was born in Barisal, which is now in Bangladesh, on October 24, 1920. He acquired the laurels of a membership of the party he so held dear to his heart and mind. The bulk of his life as a dedicated communist revolutionary was spent in organising party work by remaining at the party headquarters. He was also associated with the trade union movement. He fought against poverty of the extreme kind to settle down to his party work in the most sincerest manner imaginable.

No amount of despair would he allow to overwhelm him, at any time. His dear elder sister died of TB following a virtual state of malnutrition and hunger. He himself was struck with the fatal disease but fought his way out of it, perhaps through utter willpower. This kind of sheer dedication to the cause of the party needs to be emulated. In the midst of crushing poverty he would work silently for the party. This is something that shall continue to move us till our own last moments.

In India, the ruling classes have struck repeatedly and viciously at the communist party. The party had been declared "illegal." A wide array of arrests, murders and incarcerations has been meted out to party comrades. The party had frequently to run underground. Organising the party while it is underground is the most difficult of tasks. The assignment needs an iron determination and a complete dedication to ideological foundations.

Comrade Sailen Dasgupta took a leading role in organising the party and to equip it to meet the emergent developments during the years 1948-49,

1963-64, 1965-66, and 1971-72.

He would work silently at these and such other assignments away from the footlights of publicity. How else could one work once the party has gone underground?

He worked three years underground when the party was banned in 1948. Once the ban was lifted he started working at the party headquarters.

I would consider Comrade Sailenda’s contribution to the party tasks to be carrying out the daily work of the party with near-perfection, electoral preparation and tasks that derive from it, keeping accounts etc. He was very much hard to satisfy and would look through the details of the matter before taking a step. We could rely on him completely.

Comrade Sailenda would not tolerate any disorder in the party office. The electoral preparation involves filling of great many forms and such other nitpicking tasks. These Sailenda tackled effortlessly and yet without much ado. This was another rare quality that always impressed us. Few comrades are equal to such difficult and complex tasks that Comrade Sailenda did in a routine manner. Comrade Sailen Dasgupta has been associated with the party organisational work right from the time the central committee office of the party was at Lake Place in south Calcutta. Comrade Muzaffar Ahmad looked upon him with affection.

My acquaintance with Comrade Sailenda goes back very many years. He was very sympathetic in nature. He was fond of what we now call chatting with friends but his style was different in that it was humorous as well as informative.

If there cropped up an issue of political difference with him, he would be eager for an early resolution. Through his continuous and steady work, he could reach the top echelon of the party organisation. His patience and continuity shall remain a source of inspiration.

He showed a great deal of skill in organising the Left Front. He would emphasise both mass movement and electoral struggle to turn the Left unity into a real integrity. He wanted that the Left Front should get involved in a unified manner in organising campaigns, movements and struggles. Comrade Sailenda, we shall remember you as a source of inspiration while we move forward towards the greater tasks that lie ahead.