Birth Centenary of Bengal's Legandary Revolutionary

Comrade Pramod Dasgupta
1910-1982

The Birth Centenary of Comrade Pramod Das Guptha, one of the towering figures of the communist movement in India, and the leader of popular struggle in West Bengal is being celebrated on July 13th. With his untiring efforts and organizational capabilities he made CPIM the biggest revolutionary party in the state. He was the state secretary of the undivided communist party from 1961 January and after the formation of CPIM in 1964 till his death in 1982 November becoming the longest serving secretary of the party.

Comrade Pramod was born in a middle class family in Faridpur (Bangladesh) on July 13th 1910. His father Mothilal Das guptha was a government doctor. It was during his study years in Calcutta he came into contact with the revolutionary movement. In 1931 he was arrested for joining the national struggle. He was kept under the custody without any trail for 6 years. During his jail life he came into contact with the revolutionary leaders of the state and went through the Marxian literature. After his release in 1937 he came into contact with Comrade Muzaffer Ahamed, one of the founders of the communist movement in India and on May 1st 1938 he became a party member. In 1940 he became the Kolkotta district secretary of the part. In 1942 he was arrested and was released in 1942. After hat he took the responsibility of party publishing house. He played a pivotal role in bringing the cadres under the banner of CPIM during the inner party struggles of 1964 and 1968. He was one of the founding Polit Bureau members of the CPIM.
He was also considered as the architect of the Left Front movement in West Bengal. He died on 1982 November.

Red Salute to Comrade Pramod Das Guptha on his Birth Centenary.......While you sleep in the graveyard. Your words and deeds are still leading us forward..

Police atrocities on CPIM cadres in Madurai

Cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), volunteers of Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front and residents of Uthapuram were injured when the police used force to remove protesters who laid siege to the Collectorate here on Monday.

Among the injured were State president of the front P. Sampath and its general secretary K. Samuel Raj and rural district secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association S.K. Ponnuthai, party sources said.

Over 370 agitators, led by the party's Rajya Sabha MP T.K. Rangarajan, were arrested by the city police after they continued with their agitation as “the Collector refused to fix a timeframe to settle untouchability issues at Uthapuram.”

The arrested cadre went on a hunger strike on the Tamukkam ground where they were lodged. They refused food offered by the police.

The protest was organised to urge the district administration to give Dalits the right to worship at a temple in Uthapuram; allow them to use a common pathway and permit construction of a bus shelter for the benefit of the oppressed class under the MPs' Local Area Development Fund.

After staging a demonstration in front of the Collectorate, a delegation led by Mr. Rangarajan, including party MLAs N. Nanmaran and S.K. Mahendran, represented their demands. The Collector promised to look into the demand of ensuring use of the common pathway by the Dalits. “But he said the other two demands could be considered only after inspecting the village,” Mr. Rangarajan told. “It is now three years since the ‘untouchability' wall was demolished on the intervention of the Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi. The district has seen four Collectors since then. The Chief Minister promised to make Uthapuram an ideal place. But things have only got worse there,” he added.

As the talks before the Collector failed,the demonstrators raised slogans condemning the Govt of TN and District Administration who are in collusion with the upper caste people in denying the basic rights to dalit people of uthapuram and also demanding basic rights to the people of Uthapuram. The Police all of a sudden started lathicharging the demonstrators and the leader are dragged in the street and handled roughly by the police.Nearly 40 persons severely injured and they were admitted in the Govt.Hospital.

Stating that Rs. 3.75 lakh of the local area development fund he had allotted for construction of the bus shelter in the village remained unutilised, Mr. Rangarajan said that the officials feared a law and order problem on construction of the shelter. “It is the duty of the officials to take action against those who create problems,” he said.

(Photos : Lenin, Theekathir)

CPIM protest against the anti-cow slaughter Bill in Karnataka

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPIM Dakshina Kannada district committee an agitation against the anti cow slaughter act proposed by the State government. The protest was part of a coordinated effort by the CPI(M), which staged similar protests across the State as the Bill is expected to come up for discussion in the Legislative Council on Monday.

Party's district unit secretary B. Madhava said that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the State was pushing for the Bill with the aim of persecuting Christians and Muslims. “There is no doubt that this is a sinister plot of the Sangh Parivar to target the minorities,” he said.

Mr. Madhava pointed out that beef was a major source of protein for Dalits and the Backward Classes, who formed a sizeable chunk of Hindu society. “It is the only meat that is affordable for the economically marginalised classes,” he said.

Warning

Warning the BJP that it would be an imprudent move to pursue, he said, “In the name of persecuting the minorities, you will be pushing poor people into malnutrition.” “Farmers use cattle for tilling their land and for milk. Once these animals age or go dry, they are sold. This is an important chain,” he said and added that once the ban was imposed on the slaughter of cattle, farmers would have to continue keeping cattle that had lost their utility. “This will push them into deeper distress,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion CPIM activists said the anti cow slaughter act proposed by the state government was nothing short of draconian law. The Muslims, tribals and other backward castes consumed meat of the cows and cattle and if there was an anti cow slaughter act that will deprive them of their food and many Muslims who were trading in cow's meat will be deprived of their livelihood. They urged the government to allow those who want to consume cow's meat to continue slaughtering cows and cattle and those who want to oppose should stop opposing it.

They said there was no need for the government to promulgate such a draconian law as most of the people living in India consumed cow's meat. It was inexpensive source of food for many communities. In foreign countries cows were being reared for their meat and the milk why should India have such a retrograde law they asked.

(Courtesy : The Mangalorean, The Hindu)