A memorial meeting for Comrade Sankar Mitra was held at Student’s Hall in Kolkata on the 15th of January. The life and struggles of Comrade Mitra, who passed away on the ‘Sankalp Divas’ of 18th December 2012, was remembered and fondly recounted by Party comrades Dipankar Bhattacharya, Swadesh Bhattacharya, Kartick Pal and Kunal. Comrades Dhurjati Prasad Bakshi, Amar, Arindam Sen, Kalyan Goswami, Partha Ghosh, Paresh Banerjee among others paid floral tribute to the beloved veteran leader. Leaders from other left and democratic parties and organizations - Pradip Singha Thakur of CPI (M-L) (New Democracy), Subrata Basu of CPI (M-L), Alok Mukherjee of CPI (M-L) (Janashakti), Santosh Rana of PCC (M-L), Debashish Dutta of CPI, Mridul De of CPI (M), Manoj Bhattacharya of RSP and Dilip Das of Bandimukti Committee also spoke at the meeting, recounting several episodes from comrade Sankar Mitra’s life, particularly his organizational role in the peasant uprising in Gopiballavpur of Midnapore along the lines of Naxalbari around 1969, his role in leading protests against custodial oppression at Midnapore Central Jail in the ‘70s, their shared experiences from comrade Mitra’s jail days, and reiterating the need for the broadest possible left unity to defeat the imperialist and capitalist forces on neoliberal prowl, preying on the toiling masses.
In his address, party General Secretary comrade Dipankar reminded the audience that comrade Sankar Mitra led struggles at a very important juncture of time and space, upholding fine communist traditions through his life and practices and that it was the responsibility of the party to preserve the history of his rich life and lived struggles for posterity. In particular, his political trajectory during the ‘60s and the ‘70s would remain a lesson for all revolutionaries. Comrade Dipankar recounted Comrade Sankar Mitra’s stints in Delhi and Tamil Nadu where he worked tirelessly and with unshakable conviction, building up the party organization from scratch and fulfilled every responsibility bestowed on him by the party. Thus, in remembering Sankar Mitra, we also remember in the same breath countless other comrades who shouldered the enormous responsibility of rebuilding the party and placing it on firmer and stronger foundation. In today’s India, cities and urban spaces are gaining more and more importance with sharp battle lines being drawn, and our strategies and struggles are being adapted according to the changing circumstances. The recent mass uprising in Delhi, which saw students, youth and women take the lead, exemplifies the resonance in India of the urban awakenings across the globe. In these changing times, he said, when the fighting left forces have to take bold and decisive strides, Comrade Mitra’s life as a communist revolutionary would remain as a pole star for us to draw lessons from. Comrade Sankar Mitra, who was known as Sankarda to all, would be greatly missed in the party’s upcoming Congress to be held in Ranchi in April, but he will continue to inspire us in our united and resolute fights, where we will emerge victorious.
The meeting ended with the International sung by a jam-packed audience. Comrade Sankar Mitra’s family members, including his wife and son were present.
Earlier, a memorial meeting was held on 5th January at Rabindra Nilay Hall of Midnapore. Several of Comrade Sankar Mitra’s fellow-fighters and friends of the ‘60s and ‘70s as well as several party members and leaders from other left parties reminisced on his life and times. Bishnu Sengupta, Manab Goswami, Sudarshan Sarkar, Ashwini Sen, Kalyan Das, Chanchal Mandal, Mina Pal, Pradip Banerjee, Sailen Maity, Shukchand Mandal, Jayatu Deshmukh and others addressed the audience. Comrade Mitra’s various roles - as organizer of Life Insurance employees (1962-67), in the anti-automation movement, as convenor of the 12th July Committee, as organizing peasants in Keshpur-Debra amidst great hardship, and in the long struggle during years of imprisonment - were recounted. Several speakers spoke about his simple lifestyle and manners which made him endearing to all.
