IN the 70s, I was appointed to work as an apprentice worker for ECL at the Lakhimata Colliery in Nirsa in 1976-77. Earlier, I had been released from the Hazaribagh Jail and returned home after the ’74 agitations. I then started working under the banner of the BCKU. It was at that time that I came to know Comrade DP Bakshi, although I had met him earlier at some Party shelters at Kumardhubi. As the meetings of colliery workers became more frequent, our meetings also became more frequent and we started exchanging Party literature.
Through me Pranab Da started spending more time with the colliery workers, who were mostly Bhuian, Mahto and Odiya workers. The agenda to develop union activities under the guidance of the Party started gaining importance. Through daily interactions Comrade Bakshi became a friend to Gurudas and other BCKU leaders and workers.
I got a very good opportunity to learn under Comrade Bakshi and work among workers and rural workers. For me the most memorable moments were those at Lakhimata, Belchadhi, Centralpul, Benagodiya, Kumardhubi and the different centres of CCL. All the colliery comrades remember Bakshi Da and miss him very much and recollect his Party classes where he told us to give everything to the Party. Today most of us at the collieries who were guided by Bakshi Da are retired from work. But all of us are still active among the workers through the Party.
-- Upendra Singh, President, Coal Mines Workers Union
