People's Democracy

ONE of the important features of the 17th CPI(M) congress was the presence of about a dozen veterans as guests of honour. Thirteen such veterans were specifically invited to the party congress and 12 such veterans confirmed that they would be coming. These are representatives of those generations of Indian communists who made immense contributions to the growth of the party and movement in the country and made invaluable sacrifices for the purpose.

In the morning session on March 24, after E K Nayanar released the souvenir specifically brought out for the occasion by the Andhra Pradesh state committee of the party, Prakash Karat introduced these veteran guests of honour and the party congress felicitated them. A sad part of the programme was that Comrade Dr Mahadev Saha could not attend it because of his illness; he expired later on April 14.

The brief life sketches of these veteran comrades at the party congress, as read out by Prakash Karat, are given below.

Comrade A Abdul Wahab

A VETERAN leader from Tamilnadu. Deserves great credit for developing the Tamil party daily Theekkathir. He is 78 years old. He joined the party in 1942. He led underground life for three and a half years when the party was banned and was jailed for 41 months after independence while leading the struggles of plantation workers. He was one of the accused in Trichy district conspiracy case alongwith Comrades P Ramamurthy and Umanath.

Comrade K Ramani

A VETERAN, prominent leader of the communist movement in Tamilnadu and a leader of the trade union movement. He is 85 years old. He joined the party in 1935. He has experienced seven and a half years of imprisonment, both before and after independence. As the CITU’s founder and its long-term state president, he has the credit of making the CITU a strong and powerful movement in Tamilnadu, especially in the district of Coimbatore.

Comrade M P Narayanan Nambiar

A MEMBER of Madai area committee in Kannur district. He is 87 years old. He played an important role in building up the peasant movement in North Malabar. He is still a member of the AIKC and vice president of the state unit of Kisan Sabha. He joined the party in 1937. He was jailed for seven and a half years during the freedom struggle and braved the notorious Salem jail firing in 1948.

Comrade K P R Rayarappan

BROTHER OF late Comrade K P R Gopalan who was sentenced to death during the Morazha peasant struggle but was pardoned at the last minute on Gandhiji’s intervention. He is one of the early communist organisers of North Malabar. He is 90 years old. He was interned in jail for seven years and was involved in the Salem jail struggle. He joined the party in 1939. He is still a member of Kalliassery local committee.

Comrade P B Rangnekar

BORN ON December 18, 1912. He was the all-India joint secretary of the AISF and editor of the AISF journal Students Call. During the freedom struggle, he was jailed for over two years and was underground for three years. He joined the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1936 and has been a party member for the last 66 years. During his political life, he has spent six and a half years in jail and three and a half years underground. Today he is 90 years of age.

BORN IN 1924. Joined the Bengal Province Students Federation in Darjeeling in 1943. Played a pioneering role in building the teachers movement since 1948. She joined the party in 1943.

BORN IN 1916. Joined the party in 1937. Started party life with the railway workers movement. Associated with the cultural movement for long. He was associated with Kazi Nazrul Islam and has done a lot of research on Nazrul's life and work. Jailed during the freedom movement and several times later.

Dr (Capt) Lakshmi Sahgal

BORN IN Madras on October 24, 1914. She acquired her MBBS degree in this city and soon afterwards, in l939, she left for Singapore where she started practising medicine. In l943, on the invitation of Subhas Chandra Bose, she became the leader of the Jhansi ki Rani women’s regiment of the Indian National Army and was the only woman member of his cabinet. In l971, she worked with the People's Relief Committee of West Bengal among Bangladeshi refugees and soon afterwards joined the CPI(M). Since then she has been serving the party. She is a member of the UP state committee and was elected vice-president of the All India Democratic Women's Association at its first conference in l980. Today she is a patron of the organisation.

ONE OF the veteran communist leaders of Andhra Pradesh. Born on August 3, 1921 in Guntur district. Became a communist in 1938 while studying in Guntur. Underwent 8 years of underground life and two and a half years of jail life during his long political career. Served as the regional party secretary of Amarabad committee during the Telangana armed struggle. Following in the footsteps of late Comrade P Sundarayya, he gave away his share of property to the party. Worked as the state secretary of the party from 1985 to 1991, and also served on the Polit Bureau. Known for his organisational skills. He played a major role in developing the Sundarayya Vignan Kendram as a landmark in Hyderabad, despite continuous illness. Relieved from responsibilities recently because of ill health.

A VETERAN trade union leader. Born on June 4, 1924. Worked among coal miners in Singaraini collieries along with martyr Comrade D Seshagiri Rao. Comrade Parsa founded the workers union despite severe repression. When because of war the then government banned all such activities, Comrade Parsa along with others organised underground activities. Became a wholetimer in May 1943. Was imprisoned from December 1947 to January 1949. In 1960s also he was in jail. Elected to state assembly in 1952 from the jail. A long time state secretariat member of the CPI(M) in Andhra Pradesh and was also the first president of the state CITU. A good teacher and also a good speaker; known for his friendly and jovial approach.

ONE OF the popular communist legislators in Andhra Pradesh. Born in 1924, he migrated to Bombay and worked in hotels and mills. Came into contact with communist leader J M Khan. Returned to his native village in the early 1950s and organised the youth there. Became a party member in 1951 and worked in the general elections after the Telangana armed struggle was withdrawn. He is a good artist and a singer. Stood with the CPI(M) and was imprisoned in 1966. Elected six times to the state assembly from Nakirekal constituency in Nalagonda district from 1967 to 1994, except in 1972. His quick witticism used to be a special attraction in state assembly. A member of the state committee till the recent state conference.

ONE OF the senior communist leaders in the Rayalasima region of Andhra Pradesh. Born on June 18, 1928. Became a party member in 1952 and a wholetimer in 1954. Played an important role in reorganising the party after the naxalite split. Imprisoned in 1966. Worked as Kurnool district secretary of the party for a long time. Relieved recently from the state committee on account of his advanced age.