ON 10 October, the CPIML and AICCTU held a memorial meeting at Kanpur for the much-loved trade union leader of Uttar Pradesh, Comrade Hari Singh. Comrade Hari Singh passed away at the age of 80 on 25 September.
CPIML General Secretary Comrade Dipankar, PB member Comrade Ramji Rai and State Secretary Comrade Sudhakar as well as leaders of other Left parties and trade unions addressed the meeting.
Comrade Dipankar said that Comrade Hari Singh was an exceptional trade union leader, who was a fighter not just of trade union battles but of larger political and social battles. Repression of students, oppression of women, communal discrimination and violence, mob lynching – there was no issue or concern which he would fail to address. A leader like Hari Singh is not born in a single day or a single movement – they are shaped by a long journey. When such a leader passed away, it is a great loss for society.
The best way to remember Comrade Hari Singh, he said, was to mobilise workers in the struggle against Modi-made recession and communal hate and violence, and to stand in solidarity with people’s resistance - in Kashmir as well as everywhere in India.
The Kanpur district in-charge of the party Comrade Vijay Kumar spoke about Comrade Hari Singh’s life and struggles. CC member Comrade Krishna Adhikari, as well as Comrades Ramesh Singh Sengar, Anantram Vajpai, Vijay Vidrohi, and leaders of CITU, SUCI, Forward Bloc and AICCTU, and Comrade Hari Singh’s daughter and son also addressed the meeting. AIPWA district President Shivani Varma presided over the meeting which was conducted by Advocate Ajay Singh.
