Homage to Com. Samar Mukharjee

Homage to Comrade Samar Mukherjee

AILRSA expresses its deep sorrow at the death of Comrade Samar Mukherjee, a most exceptional, outstanding and dedicated leader of the communist movement in India.

A valiant freedom fighter, able parliamentarian and leader of the trade union movement, Samarda passed away at the age of 100 in Kolkata today. He was the oldest living member of the CPI(M), having joined the Party in 1940.

He dedicated his entire life as a communist to the cause of the working class and to the exploited people of India. He was a member of the Central Committee of the CPI(M) from 1966 and was elected to the Polit Bureau in 1978 and continued in that capacity till he was elected as the Chairman of the Party's Central Commission at the 14th Congress of the Party in 1992. At the time of his death he was a Special Invitee to the Central Committee.

Com. Samar Mukherjee led the CITU as its General Secretary from 1983 to 1991, having earlier served as its working committee member form the inception of the CITU. He had played a leading role in the historic railway workers strike in 1974. Following the emergency he fought against the attacks on workers.

He made a multidimensional contribution as Party organizer, as writer, as trade unionist and as a Parliamentarian.

Rarely have we seen such an individual who sacrificed all personal interests, living a simple life in a Party commune in the service of the Party. He was affable, easily accessible and loved by the people.

AILRSA pays its respectful homage to his memory.