People's Democracy

Thousands Bid Farewell To Comrade Ram Swarup

THOUSANDS of mourners of all walks of life marched through the streets of Najibabad in UP on the morning of August 16, carrying the mortal remains of Comrade Ram Swarup, three time CPI(M) MLA from this constituency, known for its militancy and struggles. The crowds had begun to assemble from the night of August 15 when his body was brought to a school in his home village Sahanpur on the outskirts of Najibabad and the crowds continued to grow till his final journey from his village through the town to the burning ghats.

Comrade Ram Swarup passed away on August 14 at a private hospital in Dehradun. He was suffering from severe asthma. Comrade Swarup, aged 78 years, was a sitting MLA and leader of the CPI(M) legislature group. Known popularly as Master sahab, Comrade Swarup began his career as a primary school teacher. He left the teaching profession and became a wholetimer of the Party. He had been representing Najibabad constituency continuously from 1993. The UP state committee of the Party and the central committees of AIKS and AIAWU have condoled the death of Comrade Ram Swarup in separate statements.

LAST JOURNEY

Before the last journey of Comrade Ram Swarup began, Red flags were draped on his body by Suneet Chopra on behalf of the central committee of CPI(M) and AIAWU, by Dharampal Singh on behalf of UP state committee and by Ram Pal Singh on behalf of the district Party. Wreaths were placed on the body by Azam Khan, minister for local bodies of UP, Swami Omvesh, cane minister, Indradev Bharati, and other ministers, Shekikh Sualeiman chairman of the UP minorities commission, Munshi Raja Ram RLD MP from Bijnor, all the local MLAs, as well as leaders of the CPI(M) from Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Meerut, Kotdwar, Bulandshahre and Dehra Dun; leaders of the SP, RLD, CPI and Congress were also present in force. 

Addressing the large gathering Suneet Chopra paid the respects of the Party central committee to the indomitable fighter for the cause of the exploited and oppressed. Born in a dalit family, Ram Swarup left his job as a teacher to become a whole-timer of the CPI(M), when he first contested as MLA. But he never let his electoral success get the better of him. Always available to people any time of day, he accompanied people on foot to represent their demands. Chopra urged comrades to remember a true communist never dies but passes his unfinished tasks to his comrades to be completed. But to complete them one must emulate his humility, willingness to serve the people and to correct ones mistakes constantly. If that were done hundreds were there to take his place and complete the tasks he had left unfinished, like strengthening communal harmony, resisting the growing oppression and exploitation of the of dalits and agricultural labour and fighting the attacks on the small producer by the policies of the WTO. He urged the gathering to work for the tasks of transforming our society in the interest of working people and thanked the forces of secularism who have come together in UP to push back communalism for their support in the efforts of Comrade Ram Swarup.

Others described him as a “modern-day Gandhi”, and praised his honesty and dedication. Floral and other tributes were paid to Comrade Ram Swarup in a public meeting that lasted for over two hours after which his body was consigned to the flames amid slogans of ‘Red Salute to Comrade Ram Swarup!” “Long Live the saviour of communal harmony!” and “Comrade Ram Swarup is immortal!” (INN)