ON February 16, 2015, Govind Pansare and Uma Pansare went for a morning walk. Men on a motorbike stopped near them, shot them, and fled. Govind Pansare died four days later, on February 20; Uma Pansare surived, but continues to suffer from the attack. Govind Pansare was a communist, whose book – Who Was Shivaji? (New Delhi: LeftWord Books) – rankled the right-wing which did not agree with his factual presentation of the life of this 17th century icon.Who killed Govind Pansare, author and communist?

On February 10, CPI(M) activist Comrade Benu Biswas was openly beaten to death at Kamalpur market place by BJP goons.A team of MLAs led by Manik Sarkar, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and comprising Badal Cowdhury, deputy leader of opposition TLA, Tapan Chakraborty, Ratan Bhowmik, Bhanulal Saha, Sahid Chawdhuri, and Sudhan Das visited the house of Com Benu Biswas on February 14 and condoled the bereaved family members.Manik Sarkar wrote to chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on February 15 and demanded that a high power inquiry committee be formed to investigate the murder of Com Benu Biswas.

THE CPI(M) firmly stood by people’s struggles in different parts of Telangana. Be it the fight of tribals for right to forest land or the struggle of a remote village for basic amenities such as drinking water and road connectivity, the CPI(M) along with other parties actively supported the people and conducted successful agitations.Northern Telangana and Khammam and Bhadradri districts are covered with forests and are having a sizeable tribal population who are engaged in ‘Podu’, a form of cultivation of forest lands that tribal people follow.

BESIDES the loss of lives, layoffs and unemployment, the COVID 19 pandemic has also had a huge impact on the education sector. With schools and colleges shut for almost two years now, millions of students are being deprived of their right to education. Students who lost their guardians due to the pandemic are facing tremendous financial obstacles. The mental health of the students is worsening with every passing day. We are losing one student every hour. The learning and analytical abilities of the students are being affected the most.