Obituary

Comrade Mankumar Singha, a veteran leader of the Tripura unit of CPI(ML) and lifelong fighter for the rights of the poor and landless, passed away at the age of 74 years on July 10 at a hospital in Silchar in Assam. Born in August 1951 into a landless family plagued by poverty, he grew up amidst the harsh realities of deprivation. He was a resident of Village Nadiapur, Dharmanagar, North Tripura District.

Comrade Ramashankar Ram, a senior leader from Buxar district, passed away on June 26, 2024, at the age of 72 while undergoing treatment at PMCH, Patna. Over the past four years, Comrade Ramashankar Ram had been battling deteriorating health conditions.

Comrade Ashok Singh, 61, succumbed to the heat stroke related ailments on 13 June 2024 while he was on the way back in a train to Delhi after participating in the party’s election campaign in Arrah parliamentary constituency in Bihar. His passing is a great shock to his family and the party in Delhi. He had been active as Okhla district committee member among the working class areas in Okhla and Mithapur for more than three decades as a committed member.

Senior CPIML member of Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh) Comrade Bela Rani (Mataji) passed away on 9 June 2024. Comrade Bela Rani played a vital role in leading the farmers movements in Pilibhit in the 1970s, despite facing all the repression. Later she and her husband, Comrade Jhanjan Lal (Chhote Mahashay Ji) left CPI and joined CPI(ML).

A veteran party member and trade union leader in Delhi comrade Dinesh Singh succumbed to severe heat stroke on 2 June 2024. He was hospitalised in the Safdarjang Hospital after he developed symptoms of heat stroke on 30 May, which was the hottest day of the season. Despite all efforts he could not be saved.

Comrade Vishnudev Prasad Yadav, member of Bihar State Committee of CPIML from East Champaran district succumbed to heat stroke even as campaigning was about to end for the final phase of polling on June 1.

A dedicated communist organiser and trade union leader, Comrade Vishnudev was playing a key role in the Ara election campaign since the end April. 

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Comrade Atul Kumar Anjan, Member, CPI National Secretariat and leader of All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhawan). He was the member of national coordination committee of Samyukta Kisan Morcha. Comrade Atul Anjan started his political journey during his students days. He was the president of the Lucknow University Students Union in the decade of seventies.

Comrade Gopal Prasad, legendary leader of the urban poor in Ara and former member of the Ara Municipal Corporation, passed away on May 1. He was a pillar of strength for CPIML in Bhojpur. Red Salute to Comrade Gopal Prasad.

More power to his revolutionary legacy.

Eminent human rights and anti-caste campaigner and long-standing leader of the CPI(ML) in Karnataka, Dr. V Lakshminarayana breathed his last around 11.30 pm in Mysore on 22nd April 2024. Comrade Lakshmi was a dermatologist by profession.

Comrade Jaiprakash Singh, 77, passed away on 5 April in Begusarai. A large number of left activists and supporters bid him final farewell to this veteran communist who began his activism during the student’s movement of 1967. During that time, he came in contact with CPIML leader Kamleshwari Rai and became a part of the Naxalbari struggle. He had been a committed crusader since then for the left politics and people’s issues. He was the Indian People’s Front’s Begusarai district secretary in 1980.