Red Salute Comrade Ashutosh Banerji Organ of the SOCIALIST UNITY CENTRE OF INDIA Founder Editor-in-Chief : COMRADE SHIBDAS GHOSH PAGE TWO MAY 23, 2003 PROLETARIAN ERA Last Journey Listen, beloved people, to this saga of a life For whom the red flag dips, In silence tears roll by. No media to sing its glory No bugle, no beats of drum Around in the chorus of din. Arise, destitutes, from huddle in dark, stupor, despondence Your road lies through it — This life, bright as truth and woven as the leader taught. The red flag is at half state, in which the party was mast today, May 15, at the engaged in a dour battle party headquarters on Lenin against the forces of Sarani, Kolkata. Silence has pseudo-left and reaction, the Comrade Nihar Mukherjee paying Red Salute to Comrade Ashutosh Banerji at the Central Office descended, the mid-day Central Committee decided Comrade U. P. Biswas from Comrade Mobinul Haider to start. They stand on the bustle of this busy city to defer the funeral till May Madhya Pradesh, Comrade Choudhury pays tribute. carriage behind the body. trading corner brought to a 15 and preserve the body Arun Bhowmik from Comrade Biman Bose, Polit Do you hear the murmur hush. The dead remains lie meanwhile. Tripura, Comrade Biswajit Bureau member of the on all lips here? Do you see in state, draped in the red At fifty past nine arrives Harade from Chhatisgarh, CPI(M) and Chairman, Left the glisten on dripping flag and bedecked with General Secretary, Comrade Comrade Bhupendra Nath Front, in West Bengal, tears? This deafening wreaths of white petals, Nihar Mukherjee, Kakoti from Assam, Comrade Manju Kumar silence is so eloquent now head still raised high to surmounting his state of Comrade Amriteshwar Majumdar, Secretary, State with those words in a bass evoke in full the poor health, to pay tribute to Chakraborty from Bihar, Council of the CPI and voice, pounding all hearts overwhelming memory of his long time comrade-in- Comrade K. P. Singh from Comrade Animesh Chakra- here : ‘‘Our task cannot the departed revolutionary arms, placing a wreath and Jharkhand, Comrade C. K. borty on behalf of the CPI- suffer because of our grief. life : Comrade Ashutosh then standing in red salute. Lukose from Kerala, ML (New Democracy) pay ... The agony, pain and Banerji. The valiant Now comes wreath from Comrade K. Radhakrishna tribute. Comrade Prativa sense of values of all society revolutionary breathed his Comrade Sukomal of Karnataka, Comrade Mukherjee and Comrade have struck the chord so last a week back on May 8 Dasgupta, senior memeber Ramesh Pattanayak of Chhaya Mukherjee, deep in the hearts of in ‘Suraksha’ Hospital in of the Central Committee Andhra Pradesh, Comrade respectively President and revolutionaries they are Calcutta after prolonged and himself critically ill till Dwarika Nath Rath of Secretary of the All India steeled in resolve to illness wih multiple a few days back. Sri Gujarat, Comrade Mahila Sanskritik Sangha translate the revolutionary complications, when all Sudhirlal Banerjee, elder Narayansami of Tamil pay tribute. task into reality...Even death attempts to save this brother of Comrade Nadu, Comrades Binapani Comrades, supporters, of the most beloved, a precious life had failed. Ashutosh Banerji pays Das and Dhurjati Das of sympathisers, acquaintances profound loss, an event of Members of the Central tribute. One by one close in Orissa, Comrade Anil Tyagi and members of the public deep emotional upsurge Committee and Central leaders of many different of Mumbai, Comrade are standing in a queue to cannot make them oblivious Staff waiting upon him and state committees to pay Madhab Bhonde of Nagpur file past the body, stopping of their task.’’ Thus did those present in the city, tribute : Comrade Pratap and Comrade Malay Bose awhile to place a wreath, a adjure us our leader, also other comrades present Shamal on behalf of the on behalf of the Study garland, a bunch and then teacher, guide, Comrade immediately gathered and Delhi State Organising Centre of Marxism- pour out respect and love Shibdas Ghosh, almost three paid respects to the Committee, Comrade Leninism-Shibdas Ghosh with fist clenched and arm decades back at the demise departed, placing wreaths Satyawan from Haryana, Thoughts in Ghatsila. On folded in slaute. On behalf of Comrade Subodh and standing in red salute. Comrade Girijeshwar from behalf of the Central of the district committees, Banerjee. In view of the imminent Rajasthan, Comrade V. N. Committee of the Socialist local committees, party The journey commences panchayat elections in the Singh from Uttar Pradesh, Party of Bangladesh organs, namely, Proletarian on its last leg from in front Era, Ganadabi, Sarbahara of ‘48’, that homely Dristikon, legislature group, reference within party circle mass fronts, and so many to the headquarters, at three other party led bodies' in the afternoon. Far in wreaths are being placed. In advance slowly moves a the end now pay tribute pilot car, announcing the Comrade Anil Sen, senior valiant revolutionary to member of the Central whom the party bids farewell Committee, Comrade Ranjit today: a shining existence in Dhar and Comrade Manik flesh and blood till the other Mukherjee, Central Staff, day, who attained a high Comrade Krishna Chakra- level in identifying himself borty and Comrade Asit with the class, revolution Bhattacharya, members, and the party through Central Committee, struggle to assimilate the Comrade Provash Ghosh, thoughts of Comrade member, Central Committee Shibdas Ghosh, overcoming and secretary, West Bengal pain of deadly ailments and State Committee. At two on obstacles of handicap, the clock, Central emerging in the course as Committee members bear Comrade Ashutosh Banerji, the pall of the departed a front ranking leader of the leader to place it on the party. The flame has gone Central Committee members and Central Staff stand behind the bier carriage for the last journey Contd. on page 7 PROLETARIAN ERA MAY 23, 2003 PAGE THREE Central Committee’s Homage To Comrade Ashutosh Banerji Adopted at the meeting of the Central Committee held under the conduction of General Secretary Comrade Nihar Mukherjee on the 9th May 2003 at the Salt Lake Commune, Calcutta Comrade Ashutosh Banerji, one of the seniormost members of knowledge resulting in attainment of high theoretical standard, his the Central Committee of the party who had been with it since its revolutionary determination to overcome all sorts of obstacles, his very inception is no more with us. All our efforts to save his precious power of endurance, power to bear any pain and any suffering, his life failed and Comrade Banerji breathed his last on the 8th May, unwavering loyalty to revolution and to the party and above all his 2003, at 5-45 p.m. at Suraksha Hospital, Calcutta, after a protracted relentless struggle to identify himself with society and revolution — illness. To the party it has come as a stunning blow. In his demise are but a few of the many noble qualities that he came to acquire in the party has lost a valiant revolutionary who, having joined the course of his struggle to mould himself into a steeled revolutionary. party at the very inception, in course of his long 55 years’ struggle, Since his early days, Comrade Ashutosh Banerji got afflicted totally dedicated himself for building up the party and revolutionary with several complicated ailments which became more intense and movements in different parts of the country. The arduous and acute with the passage of time, to the extent of making him severely painstaking struggle that he embarked upon in the process of handicapped. But, with an indomitable spirit and carrying within assimilating the revolutionary thoughts of our beloved leader, the revolutionary thoughts and ideas of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, he teacher, guide and one of the foremost Marxist thinkers of this era refused to be subdued by the deadly diseases. On the contrary, with Comrade Shibdas Ghosh left behind such a profound impression tremendous strength of mind and revolutionary spirit, aided by and impact which can never be forgotten. Indeed, Comrade Banerji, medical science, he boldly came out of this ordeal. His struggle in who belonged to the first batch of revolutionary students whom this sphere is an example before all of us. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh developed with extreme care, associated The Central Committee acclaims that the life of Comrade himself with the historic mission undertaken by Comrade Shibdas Ashutosh Banerji is a beautiful exemplification of certain noble Ghosh with a few compatriots to build up the SUCI as the only revolutionary qualities, which he developed on the basis of the communist party on the Indian soil, spared no efforts to advance teachings of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh. that historical task which in its course turned him into one of its Having lost such a tempered revolutionary, the whole party is frontranking leaders. today overwhelmed with a deep sense of loss. In this hour of grief, Quite naturally, as a result of the loss of such a powerful leader the Central Committee calls upon all comrades to bear the pain and and organiser a void has been created which will not be very easy pathos keeping alive in their minds the momentous call of Comrade to fill up. Shibdas Ghosh that we must transform our grief into revolutionary Comrade Ashutosh Banerji’s shining existence within the party determination, that grief must give birth to higher sense of duty and marked by his manifold activities stemming from his keen interest responsibility. If death has taken away beloved Comrade Ashutosh to know the truth spreading over long 55 years is not easy to depict. Banerji from our midst, let us keep alive his revolutionary spirit, the In the course of his struggle to grasp and assimilate the thoughts of cherished goal of his life — a life of seeking total integration with Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, Comrade Banerji came to possess many revolution and party as taught by Comrade Shibdas Ghosh.