SEPTEMBER was a cruel month for the CPI(M) in Maharashtra. One of the most respected Party leaders in the state, Dr Vithal More, a former member of the state secretariat, passed away on September 18. He was 71. Less than a fortnight earlier, a fighting Party and trade union leader, Uddhav Bhawalkar, also a former member of the state secretariat, passed away on September 5. He was 68. Both were victims of Covid.

THE CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state committee expresses its deep sorrow on the passing away of one of the senior leaders of the Party in Tamil Nadu Com D Lakshmanan, at the age of 84, due to the coronavirus on August 24 night at a hospital in Chennai.The CPI(M) Tamilnadu  state committee conveys its deepest condolences over the demise of  D Lakshmanan.Born in a poor family Comrade DL joined the government service and worked in the veterinary department.He organised the government employees in the veterinary department in the union and joined hands with Comrade M R Appan in various struggles for the

CPI(M)  Polit Bureau has issued  the following statement on May 16THE Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its profound grief and shock at the death of Comrade K Varadharajan, former member of the Polit Bureau and currently a special invitee to the Central Committee of the CPI(M). He died this afternoon at Karur, Tamil Nadu, following a respiratory problem. He had gone to visit his son in Karur where he was caught in the lockdown.

PROF. Arjun Dev, eminent historian and educationist, passed away on March 29, at the age of 82. His academic career spanning several decades at the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), was marked by a deep commitment to zealously promoting secular, democratic and progressive values. Prof. Arjun Dev played a key role in initiatives to produce textbooks that enshrined these values.

CPI(M) West Bengal state committee member and former editor of Ganashakti, Comrade Avik Dutta passed away on January 14. He suffered severe brain haemorrhage in December 2018 and was under treatment for the last one year. He was 57.Comrade Avik Dutta joined in the communist movement through the student movement in Howrah district. He was a district secretariat member of the SFI. He was a brilliant student and passed his MA in journalism from Calcutta University, where he stood first. He joined Ganashakti when the Party daily became a morning daily in 1986.