People's Democracy

TRIPURA

Comrade Bivekananda Bhowmik Passes Away

Haripada Das

COMRADE Bivekananda Bhowmik, (78) a veteran communist leader, Party Sadar divisional committee member and a renowned leader of the employees and teachers movement in the state, passed away on March 6, 2008.

While Comrade Bivekananda Bhowmik was on his way to the CPI(M), East Agartala local committee office, not very far off from his house, a miscreant who happens to be one of his relatives and a mentally retarded boy, hit him with a brickbat in the backside of his head. He fell down on the spot and was bleeding profusely. The police rushed immediately, took him to the GB Hospital and also booked the culprit to the bar. Immediately after hearing news of attack on Comrade Bhowmik, Party secretary Baidyanath Majumder, Polit Bureau member and chief minister Manik Sarkar, state secretariat members Anil Sarkar, Badal Chowdhury, Gautam Das, Sadar committee secretary Samar Adhya and many Party leaders and workers rushed to the hospital.

Finding severe haemorrhage in his wound, the doctors immediately operated on his head. A medical board constituted for his treatment contacted specialist neurosurgeons in Kolkata for their suggestion. All arrangements for their visit to GB Hospital by next morning flight were made. But frustrating all the attempts of the physicians, Comrade Bivekananda Bhowmik breathed his last at 5.15 am on March 6.

As the sad news of his demise spread in the Agartala town, hundreds of Party leaders, workers, sympathisers gathered in GB Hospital to have a last glimpse of their beloved leader. After conducting post mortem, funeral with his mortal remains started at 11.00 am from his house. The funeral procession passed through East Agartala local committee office, his workplace till his last day, Swami Dayananda School where he was a teacher for long period, Tripura Legislative Assembly of which he was a member in 1978-83, Khadi & Village Industries Board Office, where he was chairman for a long period, TECC(HB) Road office at Surja Chowmohani, then civil secretariat to CPI(M) state committee office, TGTA (HB) Road and lastly CPI(M) divisional committee office at Melarmath. In CPI(M) state committee and Sadar divisional committee office, hundreds of grief-stricken Party leaders, workers and sympathisers paid floral tributes to Comrade Bhowmik. In state committee office, Party state secretary Baidyanath Majumder draped Party flag on his body and paid floral tributes. Khagen Das, Niranjan Debbarma , Gautam Das, Manik Dey, Narayan Kar , all state secretariat members and state committee members present at that time, comrades of state committee and daily Desher Katha offices paid homage to Comrade Bhowmik. Homage was paid to Comrade Bhowmik in Sadar divisional committee office. In the afternoon the mortal remains of Comrade Bivekananda Bhowmik were consigned to flames in Bat-tala burning ghat.

In a condolence message, CPI(M) Tripura state committee expressed deep respects to the departed leader. It said that Comrade Bhowmik�s invaluable contribution to the development of democratic movement, in the struggle for progress of the state and above all his contribution for making the Party stand in a solid foundation through ideological campaign will be remembered by the people with great respect. Chief minister Manik Sarkar in a statement mourned his sudden demise. He said, as an individual he was an honest in truest sense, in his profession an ideal and exemplary teacher, in political field. He was a leader committed for the well being of the common people and a perfect organiser. Manik Sarkar said his premature demise caused a loss to our democratic movement. Governor D N Sahaya, TECC(HBR), TGTA(HBR) also condoled his death.

Comrade Bivekananda Bhowmik was born at Brahmanbaria (now in Bangladesh) in 1930. His father Birendra Bhowmik was an active politician in erstwhile East Pakistan. The Bhowmik family migrated to Agartala in 1958 and Comrade Bivekananda Bhowmik entered teaching profession. Gradually he became a renowned figure of the teachers-employees movement in the state. To throttle the indefinite strike called by the teachers-employees organisation in 1974, the then Congress government detained him in jail and dismissed his service under section 311. Again during the emergency period in 1975, he was arrested by the Congress government under MISA. In 1977, he contested for the Assembly from Banamalipur constituency as an independent candidate supported by the Left Front. He won the election and became Health minister in the first Left Front government in the state. In 1983 and 1988 he contested the election from the same constituency but could not win. He was the secretary of the East Agartala local committee from its inception and discharged his duty with utmost sincerity and conviction. In 1991 he was elected as member of Party Sadar divisional committee where he continued till his last day. A bachelor Comrade Bhowmik was a true guardian of the entire locality.