The secretariat of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions issued the following statement on May 21, 2014, mourning the demise of Comrade R Umananth. THE CITU deeply mourns the demise of Comrade R Umanath, a veteran freedom fighter, stalwart of the working class movement and of communist movement of the country who passed away on May 21, 2014 at around 7.15 a m at Tiruchirapally after prolonged illness at the age of 93. A life-long revolutionary, with over seven decades of political and public life, right from his school days at Kozhikode, Comrade Umanath was a frontline organiser and leader braving atrocities, attacks and imprisonment during both the British rule and in independent India. His entire life is a commentary of struggle and sacrifice for the cause of the country and its toiling people. Altogether he was imprisoned for nine and a half years and had an underground life for seven years. He joined the communist movement in his early young age as a wholetimer in 1940 to work in the then Madras Presidency area despite pressing family obligation. In the 1940s itself he was arrested by the British rulers and convicted for two and a half years’ imprisonment. After his release from jail, he started working among textile, cement and beedi workers in Coimbatore area and among railway workers in Tiruchirapally in Tamilnadu, organising them in trade unions, and led numerous strike struggles. He played frontline role in various capacities in building and leading the working class movement in Tamilnadu and also in other parts of the country. In the early post-independence period, the Left movement and the trade union movement had to face tremendous atrocities and attacks of hired goons and the police. Comrade Umanath was one of the founders of the CITU and was elected as the first general secretary of the Tamilnadu CITU in 1970, and he continued in that position till 1993 when became its state president till 1996. He was the national vice president of CITU From 1987 to 2010. He was elected to the Central Committee of CPI(M) in 1978 and became its Polit Bureau member in 1991 and continued as PB member till the Kozhikode congress in 2012 where he was elected as a special invitee to the Central Committee. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1962 and 1967 from Pudukottai in Tamilnadu and in the Tamilnadu state legislature from Nagapattinam in 1977 and was re-elected in 1980. Comrade Umanath had always remained concerned for inculcating revolutionary consciousness among the workers and activists of trade union movement considering the leading role of the working class in fighting and ending the exploitative regime. During his work at CITU centre in the late eighties and early nineties, Comrade Umanath contributed valuable inputs in formulating the organisational document of CITU which is popularly known as the Bhubaneswar Document. With his demise, the working class movement lost a great leader and guide. The CITU secretariat pays deep respectful homage to, recalls the great contribution and legacy of, and salutes Comrade Umanath and conveys heartfelt condolence to the bereaved comrades and family members of the departed leader. AIKS, AIDWA REMEMBER THE DEPARTED LEADER THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on the same day, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) expressed deep sorrow at the demise of Comrade R Umanath, a most outstanding and dedicated leader of the communist movement in India, well known and widely respected trade union leader of the country and lifelong fighter for worker-peasant unity. The statement recalled how Comrade Umanath, born in a poor family in Kasaragod, reached the top echelons of the trade union and communist movements in the country and how he won the admiration of people, cutting across party lines, because of his unambiguous commitment to the exploited masses. He was an affable and easily accessible leader, loved by the people. The AIKS statement said the organisation fondly cherishes the memory of Comrade Umanath’s constant efforts for worker-peasant unity among the working class, particularly in fight against neo-liberal policies in our country. On the day the AIKS dipped its red banner and conveyed deep condolences to the late leader’s daughters, U Vasuki and U Nirmala Rani. Through another statement on the day, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) also condoled the demise of Comrade Umanath. Among other things, it recalled how Comrade Umanath’s marriage with Comrade Pappa Umanath, while they both were being hunted or harassed by the British government, signified the beginning of a long lasting comradeship that was touching and inspiring to many who seek equality within a marriage. It was a great partnership which would serve as a role model for young couples, demonstrating that both husband and wife could be active revolutionaries and also bring up a family with a progressive outlook at the same time. The AIDWA statement said Comrade Umanath was known to take gender sensitive positions on issues, and always encouraged women’s entry into politics and political leadership within the party. He would oppose patriarchal norms within and outside the party uncompromisingly. He lived his own life on these principles, and would not tolerate any rationalisation of anti-women practices. He was a stickler for discipline and straightforward in his criticism, qualities that helped towards organisational consolidation when his guidance was sought by various organisations. His simplicity and charm made him very popular among common people. Describing his death as a great loss for the Left movement and for the progressive women’s movement in the country, the AIDWA conveyed its condolences to his daughters, U Vasuki (a national secretary of the AIDWA and a CPI(M) Central Committee member) and U Nirmala (a lawyer and AIDWA leader in Tamilnadu) and all other family members. Sharing in their grief, the AIDWA said it would continue his work and overcome the challenges being faced by the Left movement and progressive forces in the country at this juncture.