He is now 94. It was the same thunder. The entire audience cheered and clapped each and every word of him. They all were youth, nearly 25,000. They gathered in the city of Dindigul. It was a huge rally of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) as a grand starting of the 15th state conference of the organisation's Tamil Nadu unit, on the last evening of 2015. The leader was N Sankaraiah, veteran leader of CPI(M), of the Indian Communist movement and a freedom fighter. "Communalism and neo-liberalism, two major dangers that haunted the country in 2015, should be curbed and snubbed in the new year. It was the duty of everyone, especially the youth, to eradicate honour killing, another social disease", he called upon the youth. Delivering a special address at the rally, he said that the Bharatiya Janata Party was moving closer to the United States, which was a dangerous trend, and against the foreign policy of the country. Non-alignment was India’s policy. The US tried to dominate Asia-Pacific region with the help of India and Japan. India should not yield to the designs of the US. Short-sighted policies of the central government led by the BJP, would destroy the integrity and sovereignty of the country, he added. The BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh took the issue of constructing Ram temple at Ayodhya for their political gain in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, he noted. He called upon the youth to fight casteism and honour killings everywhere. "First, all of you should recognise your sisters' love affair. You should fight with your parents and relatives for your sister to get married with the boy whom she loves. You should fight for lovers. You should organise youth for helping lovers against casteist forces in villages as well as towns", he appealed. "Rebellion only will bring justice. You all should be rebels against the political and social evils", he told the gathering. Sankaraiah also appealed to the youth to fight against untouchability and to get public opinion and support to have common crematoriums or burial grounds at villages. In his special address at the rally, veteran CPI leader R Nallakannu said that the state had faced untold misery in 2015. Such disasters and misery should not continue in 2016. People who became rulers using Dravidian politics had showed the way to destroy natural resources and paved the way for corruption. Others who followed them turned the situation from bad to worse. While floods haunted Chennai and nearby districts, drought and water shortage has threatened Thanjavur district. People must strive to bring about change in the new year, he added. Earlier, DYFI cadre took out the rally from Rock Fort to RM Colony, the venue of the conference. The delegate conference was held on January 1-3. MA Baby, former president of DYFI, Avoy Mukherjee and MB Rajesh, DYFI general secretary and president and other leaders also addressed.