SAMAR MUKHERJEE 1912-2013
He was born before the October Revolution in Russia, saw
the rise and fall of the world’s first socialist State and others that
followed, was witness to subsequent changes in the global political
order. But Samar Mukherjee’s faith in Marxism was unwavering, his
dedication to the cause remaining steadfast even in the face of all the
odds.
Described once by another Marxist great, Jyoti
Basu, as “God’s Own Man” Samar Mukherjee, a veteran of the Communist
movement in the country, was the epitome of sincerity to the cause.
On
the occasion of his centenary birthday on November 7 last year
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat
recalled that much of Samar Mukherjee’s salary and allowances when he
was MP would be taken over by the party, yet be would deposit every year
a cheque for the party fund. He exemplified what the life of a
Communist should be. He lived a spartan life, long
years of it in a commune, in Howrah and then in Kolkata; he was
dedicated to the party, contributing all his energies to whatever task
it assigned him. One who never “overate” or “overslept”, some in the
party remember.
Such was his commitment to the
cause that the CPI (M) leadership had decided to do what it had done
only once before in its history: officially celebrating the birthday of a
leader. The first was that of another pioneer in the Communist
movement, Muzzaffar Ahmad who died in 1973. When it was Samar
Mukherjee’s turn to be felicitated he had turned 100.
Considered
the “living history of the Communism in India” Samar Mukherjee will be
remembered for his dedication to the cause of workers and peasants, that
of the deprived people as a whole. From freedom fighter to a stalwart
of the Left movement in the country, the journey was a long one indeed.
Samar
Mukherjee who joined India’s struggle for Independence as a student —
once thrown out of school for protesting against the Simon Commission —
became a member of the Communist Party of India in 1940. When the party
split in 1964 he joined the CPI (M) and was actively involved in its
State and national organisational matters. He was a member of the
party’s Polit Bureau for 14 years till 1992 and was also the first
chairman of its disciplinary body, the Central Control Commission.
He
was a key personality in the trade union movement in the country and
one of the architects of the historical railway strike in 1974. He was
at the vanguard of the struggle for the protection of civil liberties
and democratic rights during the Emergency.
Soft-spoken,
he was seldom heard to have raised his voice, not even when making a
strong assertion or putting forth a forceful argument in the Lok Sabha,
recalls CPI (M) central committee member Mohd Salim who describes Samar
Mukherjee as one of another generation.
A
kind-hearted person, he encouraged newcomers to Parliament who looked up
to him as leader of the party there; one who took up national issues
with the same fervour as he did those more specific to his constituency,
Howrah or State, West Bengal.
Samar Mukherjee
belonged to that generation of Communist leaders who renounced comforts
and had a singularity of purpose. As much as is his life was an
inspiration to his younger comrades it is a lesson for them in
discipline and commitment as the movement to which he belonged
negotiates the twists and turns of changing times.
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