Demand Justice
To mark the 18th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the CPI(ML) organised various protest events throughout the country. In Delhi, students and workers participated in the march that was held from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar, culminating in a mass meeting.
In Patna, the CPI(ML) was the only party to observe December 6 as a day to defend secularism and demand justice for the Babri Masjid this year. The well-attended march and mass meeting were led and addressed by CPI(ML) General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, as well as many central committee members and Bihar leaders of the party, as well as activists of AISA, AIPWA, cultural activists and Professor Santosh Kumar.
In Uttar Pradesh, a dharna was held in Lucknow at Shahid Memorial and a march was organised at Varanasi from Cantonment Station. Nearly a hundred Party activists were arrested by the administration at Gazipur and 40 at Chandauli as they prepared to march. Dharnas and mass meetings were held at Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Maharajganj and many other districts.
In Jaipur a mass meeting was organised at Khona Gauriyan, as well at Udaipur, Jhunjhunu, Wuhana and some other places. In Haryana, a protest was held in Kurukshetra, while at Gujarat, a good public gathering was organised in Bhilad.
Salute to Veteran Socialist 
Surendra Mohan
On December 17, veteran socialist ideologue and leader Surendra Mohan passed away. He was 84. He is survived by his wife, Ms Manju Mohan, a son and a daughter.
With Surendra Mohan’s passing, the left, democratic and progressive struggles of India have lost an invaluable friend and activist.
A whole time activist in the socialist movement since a young age, Surendra Mohan was one of the founders of the Janata Party in 1977. While he was closely involved with the Janata Party government in 1977 and the VP Singh-led Government in 1989, he never sought ministerial berths for himself. He served as a Parliamentarian in the Rajya Sabha from 1978 to 1984. He was the President of the recently constituted Socialist Janata Party.
At a time when various parties and governments of the socialist stream are caught in the morass of political opportunism and corruption, Surendra Mohan remained steadfastly committed all his life to democratic values and struggles, and true to the anti-authoritarian and egalitarian legacy of the socialist movement. He was active in civil liberties’ movements all his life and was an eager and enthusiastic advocate of unity amongst left and democratic people’s movements. Right till the end of his life, every manner of people’s movement could count on his solidarity, support and active cooperation and intervention, and one could be sure of his active participation in all manner of large and small protests for people’s rights.
CPI(ML) activists will warmly remember the many occasions when Surendra Mohan’s presence and voice strengthened their struggles. CPI(ML) expresses heartfelt condolences to Surendra Mohan’s family and friends at this time of loss. The left and democratic movement all over the country will deeply feel his loss and mourn his passing.
Comrade Sanjay Sharma
Comrade Sanjay Sharma, member of the Aurangabad district committee of CPI(ML), passed away untimely on the night of 17 December in the Aurangabad district party office. He was 49. Sanjay, who suffered from hypertension, had fainted on the street in the evening and returned to the office after getting first aid. However, he passed away in his sleep the same night.
Comrade Sanjay had joined the party in 1988. A resident of Dinder village in Haspura block, he had borne out responsibilities in IPF, the party district committee, Kisan Sabha, and legal cases of the party. When the new panchayati raj was implemented he had contested as the party representative in the Obra east Zila Parishad seat, and in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections too, he was the party’s candidate from the Goh Assembly constituency. He was also responsible for the party’s district headquarters.
In the Ghamni massacre in which 6 people were killed in a blaze, Sanjay Sharma was one of those leaders who survived. After that incident he remained a target for the Sangram Samiti for a long time, but was undaunted. He also took up the responsibility of representative of the Obra MLA. In the Aurangabad district committee meeting that was held recently, he was full of confidence and eager to take up the responsibility of expanding the party’s work in the Haspura Goh block.
On 18 December, hundreds of party activists, supporters, journalists and others reached the party district office to pay their last respects. The final journey with his cortege travelled from the district office to his village Dindar, accompanied by CC member Comrade Rajaram Singh, district secretary and state committee member Comrade Anwar Hussain, district committee members Comrades Janardan Prasad, Munarik Ram, Yogendra Ram, Dr. Arvind Sharma as well as his family members. Among the hundreds of people who bid farewell to him during the funeral journey at his Obra home and the Daudnagar and Pachrukhiya party offices, were many local elected representatives including the local MLA, and many workers, peasants, and women. The cremation took place at his village on 19 Decmeber after his two sons arrived, where hundreds of people were joined by party state committee members Comrade Mahanand and Comrade Rambali Yadav. At the condolence meeting held at Dindar on 19 December, party activists resolved to fill the emptiness caused by Comrade Sanjay’s loss.
Comrade Sadan Prajapati
The Aurangabad district committee of the party suffered another heavy loss with the untimely passing of Comrade Sadan Prajapati, activist of Daudnagar block and block President of the AIKS on 19 December. He fell from a canal bridge in his village on 13 December, sustaining a severe head injury and a broken leg. After 6 days in the Patna Medical College Hospital he succumbed to his injuries. A committed and enthusiastic comrade from the days when the party was underground, he was secretary of the Godiha panchayat committee and had recently been very active in conducting a very successful panchayat conference of the party. His cremation at his ancestral village of Amouna on 20 December was attended by party leaders and hundreds of local people. Comrade Sadan Prajapati’s loss will be deeply felt by the party.