Memorial Meeting for Comrade Dr. V Lakshminarayana Held in Mysore

On May 3, civil society activists, Left parties and other progressive organisations of Mysore, CPIML General Secretary Com. Dipankar and activists of CPIML from across Karnataka joined the families of Dr. V Lakshminarayana and Comrade Rati Rao yesterday in a memorial meeting in Mysore to pay homage to Comrade V Lakshminarayana.

Comrade VLN, who passed away suddenly on April 22 at the age of 70, had been a centre of progressive activities in Mysore for last fifty years. He was a people's doctor who never joined the corporate-run healthcare system, a tireless campaigner for civil liberties and democratic rights, an anti-caste crusader supporting every movement against caste oppression and patriarchy, an indefatigable student of Marxism and disseminator of rationalist ideas and a bridge for progressive ideologies and initiatives.

A product of the Naxalbari upsurge in Karnataka, VLN was closely involved with the Indian People's Front in the 1980s and served as a member of the Karnataka State Committee of CPI(ML). He was also the moving spirit behind the Karnataka chapter of the Indian Institute of Marxist Studies since its formation in the late 1990s. A short audio-visual account of VLN's journey since his student days and recollections of his affectionate personality and multifarious activism by his son Apoorva and other family members, friends and comrades reminded us all of the challenging task of carrying forward VLN's revolutionary legacy.