CPM flaunts ‘nationalist past’

The CPI(M) today flaunted its ‘‘nationalist’’ past, honouring its comrades who were freedom fighters and had served long...

The CPI(M) today flaunted its ‘‘nationalist’’ past, honouring its comrades who were freedom fighters and had served long prison terms during the struggle for Independence. Some of the veterans are credited with building the Communist movement in different parts of the country.

Senior Politburo member Prakash Karat, who introduced each comrade mostly in their eighties, pointed out that the BJP celebrating its 25th anniversary in the Capital had no freedom fighter to match.

The veterans honoured today included those who had participated in the Chittagong Armoury Raid and were part of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army.

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• Subodh Roy: At 14, he joined the armed rebellion against the British administration in Chattagram (now Chittagong) and was captured and sent to the Cellular jail where he was influenced by Communist ideology. At 89, he is now a special invitee to the West Bengal state committee.

• Capt Lakshmi Sehgal: An MBBS, Sehgal joined the women’s wing of Subhash Chandra Bose’s INA in 1943. Became a party member in the 1970s.

• M.P. Narayanan Nambiar: 90-year-old Nambiar, from Kannur in Kerala, built the peasant peasant movement in the state. He also served a long jail term during the freedom struggle.

• K.V. Thankappan: Participated in the Punnapra Vayalar uprising in Kerala besides movements of coir workers. At 82, he is associated with the party’s trade union wing.

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• Sandhya Chatterjee: Student activist in 1938 at the age of 23. Spent two years in jail under British rule and was the first woman Mayor of Chandannagar Municipal Corporation in 1982

• Bidya Debbarma: The member of the Tripura State Committee played a key role in organising tribals under the Janashiksha movement to resist the Army of the Territorial Council

• K. Krishna Murty: 81-year-old Murty took part in the Telangana armed struggle and was one of the important party leaders in Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh. Presently, state president of AP Agricultural Labour Union.

• Parsa Satyanarayana: Worked among the coal miners in Singarani in Chhattisgarh.

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• K R Sundaram: Joined the Satyagraha movement in 1937 and was arrested. Helped organise beedi workers in Vellore in AP.

• M. Pandian: Born in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, began social life at 16 in 1944 by collecting funds for those affected by the Bengal famine. Was imprisoned for six months when the party was banned in 1948

• Kitty Menon: Came into contact with the party in 1941 while studying at Cambridge. Arrested in 1949, demanding release of political prisoners.

Ananthakrishnan G

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More