People's Democracy

 Tripura Remembers Comrade M K Pandhe

Haripada Das     

WHILE organising struggles on the economic demands, for better wages, better working conditions and job security for the working people, we must at the same time enrich them with the basic consciousness – that as long as capitalist system exists, exploitation of millions by a few prevails, the working class would be deprived of basic amenities that a human inherently deserves. Mohd Amin, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) made these remarks while reminiscing about late Comrade M K Pandhe at Agartala on  August 29, 2011.

The condolence meeting at the overflowed Agartala Town Hall was presided over by Bijan Dhar, secretary, CPI(M), Tripura  state Committee and was addressed by Polit Bureau members Mohd Amin and Manik Sarkar, chief minister  of the state, state secretariat  member and  Central Committee member Aghore Debbarma, and state secretariat member and labour minister Manik Dey. 

At the outset, both the Polit Bureau members, Central Committee members of the Party, state committee members and office bearers of various mass organisations paid floral tributes at the portrait of Comrade M K Pandhe. Thereafter Bijan Dhar presented a condolence resolution followed by a minute of silence in respect of the memory of the departed leader.

Elaborating the valuable experience of working with Comrade Pandhe for 60 long years, Mohd Amin said, the gap created by his demise is difficult to fill up. He had a vast experience about international situation that reflected in the reports prepared by him. He played a pivotal role in building up all India organisations in various sectors of working class under the banner of the CITU.  Among those road transport, steel, coal, port etc are very important. Pandhe played a key role in uniting various trade unions at the national level on certain common issues for the interest of millions of working people of the country. Attributing Comrade M K Pandhe as a great trade union leader, Amin added, that he dedicated his whole life for the cause of organising and uniting the working class of the country. Amin also narrated his experience of the visit to erstwhile USSR and China accompanied with Comrade Pandhe. Conveying his invincible conviction on socialism, Amin said, though some of the socialist countries stepped back to capitalism, it does not mean that capitalist system has got rid of its inherent crisis. Rather, the world situation indicates that it is deepening rapidly. While the span of serfdom is of 10,000 years and feudalism lasted for about 7000 years, the existence of capitalism is only 280 years. Who knows, the 21st century will be the last century of capitalism to be replaced by socialism, Amin anticipated.

Manik Sarkar in his speech attributed Comrade M K Pandhe as a communist in a true sense. The qualities that a communist must have are faith on the dictatorship of the proletariat, internationalism and humanism, all of which were possessed by Comrade Pandhe. He recalled the tumultuous days of the dismantling of East European socialist countries and followed by a rise to ideological dilemma before the world communist movement. At that crucial juncture, Comrade Pandhe took on a great international responsibility of helping in finding out a direction of the communist movement, showing full respect to the supremacy of the working class, and an urge for developing fraternal relations among the trade unions world over. He not only waged an ideological fight against the LPG policies, but also showed the way of how to resist the attack on working class, how to gather allies, how to advance, when to retreat etc.          

Referring to the present national situation, Manik Sarkar said, instead of addressing the burning problems of corruption, spiraling price rise, crisis in agriculture, unemployment etc, the UPA-2 government is very much interested to make India a junior partner of the US strategic alliance. The recently exposed various scams prove that the pirates have got a free hand to loot the country, he said. The situation has opened up a broad opportunity to build up nationwide struggles. The communists have to shoulder bigger responsibility in the coming days to lead struggles to save the country from the claws of the imperialism, the onslaughts of the LPG policies, Manik Sarkar said. To prepare for that struggle, we have to enrich ourselves ideologically, politically and organisationally, he advised and added, this is the lesson Comrade Pandhe left for us.

Comrade Manik Dey in his address highlighted Comrade Pandhe’s endeavor for building a broad working class unity. He would say, “Colors of union flags are immaterial for working class unity, because all are the victims of common enemy.”

The artists of Tripura Cultural Coordination Committee performed opening song at the beginning of the condolence meeting which ended with chorus of the International.