Obituary

Comrade Annada Prasad Bhattacharya, state President of All India Kisan Mahasabha in West Bengal passed away on 11 October in a hospital in Bardhaman. He was 77. He dedicated his life for the left movement and people’s struggles. During the course of the struggles he even lost his job of school teacher in Bengal, which was regained when Congress was ousted from power in Bengal. Later, he raised the issue of corruption in the left front government in West Bengal and left the CPIM. He began his association with CPIML in 1990. Since then he has spent his full time working for the party.

Com. Satyanarayan Singh who was leading the party in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh for the last five decades, passed away on October 4, 2023. He was a dedicated party organizer, who had been at forefront of struggles against injustice and oppression. His demise a great loss. 

Com. Kishore Kumar of Garwa of Jharkhand, one of our veterans, founder of the Party in the Palamu region, passed away on September 30 in a Ranchi Hospital. His revolutionary journey and struggles will continue to inspire us all!

Comrade Lal Bahadur Shashtri, 56, Block committee member in Sahar (Bhojpur) passed away at PMCH in Patna in the night of 16 September. He was undergoing treatment for more than a month for multiple complications and septicemia and could not be saved. He was bitten by leech that developed into a serious wound. He was diabetic and his infection could not be contained resulting in multiple organ failure.

The party has lost a committed people’s fighter in him. We send our condolences to his bereaved family and friends.

Comrade Ramkhelavan Saroj, populalry kown as Suraj, senior member of CPI (ML) Pratapgarh district in UP, passed away at his home on 9 September 2023. He was 80 years old. Born in a landless Dalit family of Bhairavpur village of Pratapgarh district, Com. Suraj in his early days joined the struggle for respect, land and wages as part of Arjak Sangh in UP. Later he came in contact with CPI (ML) and became a full-time worker of the party.

Achyut Yagnik, socialist scholar, activist and anti-communal campaigner passed away following a cardiac arrest at his residence in Ahmedabad on August 4. He will always be remembered for his bold and courageous role in building people’s solidarity amid the divisive politics that marred the state post 2002 Gujarat genocide.

Comrade Rajendra Prajapati passed away on 21 August in a hospital in Siwan. He was a Block committee member in Mairwan and had also served a term as elected Mukhiya of his panchayat. He had been a vanguard in many struggles against feudal-criminal forces in his district and only for this reason spent many years of his life inside jails. He was organising rural workers at the block level. Just recently he shared his plans for strengthening the movement for MGNREGA workers in his district.

Comrade Nasarullah Ansari breathed his last at Gorakhpur medical college on 24 July after a prolonged illness. A practising lawyer in Padrauna district court in UP, he was unwell for a few years when he met with a road accident. During last days he was on dialysis but couldn't be saved.

Comrade Sugundan, at the age of 75, passed away on 6th July 2023 at Vellore Government Hospital when he was under treatment for cardiac attack. Comrade Sugundan has been a whole time activist of the party for the last 40 years, the state Vice President of AICCTU and also a former state secretary for a brief period in 90s. He was also a delegate to the 11th party Congress at Patna in February and participated in the deliberations enthusiastically.

Dr. Samar Bagchi, a science educator, environmentalist and people's rights activist passed away on July 20, 2023. Born in Bihar, Dr. Bagchi's illustrious career began at the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum in Kolkata, where he served as the esteemed director until 1990. During his tenure, inspired by Tagaore, Marx and Gandhi he spearheaded a transformation in experimental science education in India, revolutionizing the way students perceived and engaged with the subject.