THE year-long birth centenary celebration of Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet was inaugurated on August 31 at the Michael John Auditorium in Jamshedpur. The CITU district committee of Kolhan division and the AIDWA committee have initiated the formation of a broad based organising committee to observe the centenary. The campaign and preparations ran for more than a month and involved the release of a small booklet on the life and work of Comrade Surjeet.

Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary and MP, inaugurated the programme and spoke on the topic, ‘Commemorating the past and shaping the future’. Over 800 people comprising of intellectuals like professors, doctors, lawyers and peasants from nearby villages, industrial workers, cultural and women activists and large sections of progressive minded people cutting across political identities participated in the programme. 

The programme started with a performance by tribal women clad in their traditional dress and beats of nagara, followed by garlanding the portrait of Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet. 

The welcome speech was delivered by Biswajit Deb, secretary of the organising committee.

Addressing the gathering, Sitaram Yechury recalled that as a 14-year old, Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet was inspired by the activities of Bhagat Singh and the activities of Gadar Party founded by Kartar Singh Saraba. He recounted the roles played by Comrade Surjeet first as a freedom fighter and subsequently as a life-long crusader of peasants’ rights fighting against feudalism and government policies that hampered the interests of farmers and his unforgettable role to keep the communal forces at bay.

Evaluating the present political scenario, Yechury criticised the central government’s policies and propaganda backed by the RSS which are an attack on the country’s unity.  He said that Comrade Surjeet’s legacy in the fight against communalism needs to be carried on. He cited examples of the ongoing strike in the FTII in Pune and the prime minister’s farcical reference to ancient science and technology to elaborate how the central government is trying to mingle history and culture with mythology. The neo-liberal policies pursued by the government are resulting in rampant privatisation of all sectors, he said.

Yechury questioned the frequent foreign visits of the prime minister and cited that the foreign investment has come down as compared to the previous fiscal year. He also held the government responsible for the logjam in the monsoon session of the parliament saying that the opposition’s demand of removing Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje Scindia and Shivraj Patil from their respective portfolios was absolutely fair and the BJP had towed similar lines demanding A Raja’s resignation during the 2G scam.

He said the prime minister had announced the scrapping the Land Ordinance without informing his cabinet and an unprecedented number of ordinances were introduced and promulgated in his tenure. These along with his reluctance to discuss the affairs of the North Eastern states with their chief ministers are examples of his dictatorial and authoritarian tendencies.

He cautioned that this anti-democratic tendency coupled with religious fundamentalism and the neo-liberal policies may prove to be a trident for the country’s interests.

Towards shaping the future, Yechury called upon the people to resist and mobilise and organise movements to thwart this three-pronged attack. The programme was chaired by KK Tripathy, president of the organising committee. Tributes were also paid to late VG Gopal, former president of Tata Workers’ Union.