COMRADE Sudarshan Roy Chowdhury, member of CPI(M) West Bengal state committee breathed his last after a brief illness on July 31. He was 75. Comrade Roy Chowdhury was secretary of Party’s Hooghly district committee from 2012-2019. He joined the militant students’ struggle in 1960s while in Presidency College.

He participated in intense ideological battle against both revisionism and Left sectarianism and became one of the foremost leaders of the erstwhile BPSF. Later he joined the teaching profession and was a professor in Serampore College for long. He was a leader of college and university teachers movement and went on to become the secretary of WBCUTA. He contributed a lot to the teachers’ movement. Along with this, he worked from the front for the Party in the Hooghly district. He became a district secretariat member in 2004 and later became secretary of the district committee.

Comrade Roy Chowdhury was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and 1991 from Serampore constituency. Later in 2006, he became an MLA from Jangipara in Hooghly and was appointed as higher education minister of the Left Front government. Comrade Roy Chowdhury had profound knowledge in Marxism-Leninism and on different areas of wisdom as well. An excellent speaker and skilled writer, he was very popular for his style of erudition. He was much sought after teacher for Party classes. He wrote several books on Communist Manifesto, October revolution, Chinese Revolution and Latin America. He contributed regularly for Ganashakti.

His death was condoled not only by Party leaders, but people from across the society. His body was taken to his home where heartfelt respects poured in. Many people gathered at the Party district office, then at the state office where Party and mass organisations leaders paid their respects.

Comrade Roy Chowdhury’s eyes and body were donated for research in medical sciences. He is survived by his wife, herself a leader of the democratic women’s movement, a son, daughter in law and grandchild.