People's Democracy

Samarda: Personification of Revolutionary Simplicity

M A Baby

SAMARENDRA Lal Mukherjee, later known as Samar Mukherjee, was affectionately and respectfully addressed as `Samarda’ by one and all.

As a  seventh standard student of Pitamber High School at Atma in Howrah district, young Samar participated in the protest actions against the Simon Commission during its visit in the year 1928.  Ever since his first experience of involvement in the anti-British national movement, step by step, he got himself deeply interested in associating with political and social activities.  This attracted him towards the Congress. A teacher who was active in national movement also guided and encouraged him to read books of political nature.  Young Samar then decided to bring his friends into an association – in fact the first student union of Howrah with the name Chhatra Samiti in 1929.  The first organisation was founded by Samar when he was sixteen years old!

Following the civil disobedience movement of 1930, top leaders of the struggle were arrested. Naturally, countrywide protest agitations against the oppressive action of British colonial rulers were launched. Samar convened a meeting of the Chhatra Samiti and, on the basis of the unanimous decision, gave a call for indefinite student strike.  This was a total success. However, the authorities retaliated by rusticating Samar. 

As young Samar continued his vigorous political activities, arrest under section 107 and imprisonment followed. Upon release from jail, as a result of the  Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Samar continued political work and education, though getting admission after rustication was little difficult.

Experience of struggles and studies gradually guided young Samar to join the Communist Party when he was 27 at the time of the turbulent events of the Second World War.  Since then throughout his life, as a disciplined soldier of the working class party, Samarda set highest standards of selfless service as a Communist fighter – as the leader of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, member of the Polit Bureau of CPI(M), leader of CPI(M) group in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and the chairman of the Central Control Commission.

While working as part of the team of CPI(M) group in Rajya Sabha since 1986, we experienced the qualities of Samarda and  remember the affection and respect he commanded among leaders of other political parties also. 

Samarda never used artificially-decorated language but a simple and straight-style to describe the plight of the poor, marginalised and oppressed sections of society.  He was very concerned about the problems of workers, peasants, youth, women, students and unorganised sections, which he raised both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He had a keen interest in organising various segments of people. He took immense interest in football, both as a player and founder of a football club.  His initiative to organise an association of football referees in his area is a unique step betraying his special interest for organisation. 

Samarda took up problems of various sections of people by submitting representations, apart from personally meeting and, or, writing letters to ministers.  Once Mrs Indira Gandhi jokingly stated that, an award can be given to Samarda for having written the maximum number of letters to PM and other ministers. 

It was during the repressive internal Emergency imposed by Mrs Indira Gandhi in 1975, Samarda’s leadership qualities were made use of in an extraordinary manner to the maximum. There were widespread arrests and brutalities by the repressive machinery of the government. Leader of CPI(M) group in parliament, A K Gopalan, was unwell. Notwithstanding that condition, AKG did visit some places of atrocities, especially in Kerala.  That had its negative impact on AKG’s health very much. As deputy leader of Lok Sabha group, it was Samarda who acted on behalf of the Party on many occasions due to the condition of AKG in the later stages.

Muzaffarnagar firing was one such occasion.  Dozens of people, mostly belonging to Muslim minority, got killed in the brutal police firing.  Accompanied by Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait and Digvijay Singh, Samarda visited the place of the firing despite obstacles created by the police and the  administration.  The stand of the authorities was to prevent the visit of the MPs’ team.  Samarda insisted that the MPs’ team will gather information and evidence from the victim’s relatives and witnesses.  The firm stand of Samarda forced the police to abandon the decision of preventing the work of the visiting MPs’ team.  The speech Samarda made in parliament, on the basis of the on the spot visit, was widely covered in sections of international press. Due to press censorship as part of Emergency, no Indian newspaper reported it properly.  The late CPI leader Comrade Hiren Mukherjee was compelled to mention to Mrs Gandhi that he had to depend on foreign media to read the speech of Samarda in parliament!  At that point of time, CPI did not openly oppose Emergency or Congress(I) and, in fact, was taking a supportive attitude towards Emergency. A leader of Hiren Mukherjee’s  stature  had to indirectly criticise Mrs Gandhi, based on the black out of the speech of Samarda on Muzaffarnagar firing as a result of the muscling of the press under Emergency.

Samarda was always keen to encourage new and young comrades.  This writer had the privilege to work under Samarda in Rajya Sabha from 1986 to  1993.  The model set by him was unique.  During the session, Samarda used to be present in the House most of the time and inform us in case he had to attend some other work.  In speeches, Samarda always insisted to quote Party Programme   and other resolutions to highlight the Party’s approach on various issues, whenever an appropriate occasion arose.  When I was roughed up and manhandled by the Tihar Jail authorities, while trying to find out the plight of the jailed workers from Ghaziabad, Faridabad etc, Samarda and Comrade Amal Dutta rushed to the scene and raised the issue on the Floor of the House and forced an enquiry.

The effective method of combining parliamentary and extra-parliamentary struggles is a tough task.  Samarda was adept in practicing it effectively.  His active role in the rail workers struggle and many other similar movements are best examples of this.

The Spartan life style, innocent smile and deep commitment to the cause of the toiling masses embedded in the character of Samarda will always remain an inspiration and model for all who share the revolutionary tradition upheld by him for the forging of a just society.