Harkishan Singh Surjeet
CPI(M) Leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet Passes Away
After weeks of prolonged illness, the leading politician of CPI(M), Harkishan Singh Surjeet, passed away at 13:35 hours on 1st August, 2008 in Noida at the age of ninety two years.
Surjeet had played an important role in helping Sonia Gandhi gather secular forces in the aftermath of 2004 elections. At the time of the July 22nd trust vote, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid tribute to the "visionary leadership" of Surjeet in the formation of the government.
Harkishan Singh Bassi (Surjeet)
Harkishan Singh Bassi (Surjeet) is a communist politician from Punjab, India. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) until he stepped down due to health reasons at the 18th Party Congress in 2005 to be replaced by Prakash Karat. He is still a member of the Polit Bureau of the party.
Born in 1922 to a Bassi Jat family in Badala, Jullundhur district, Surjeet started his political career in the national liberation movement in his early teens, as a follower of Bhagat Singh. In 1930 he joined the movement of Bhagat Singh, Naujawan Bharat Sabha. On the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Surjeet hoisted the Indian tricolor at the court in Hoshiarpur, an action during which he was shot two times. Later he was punished by the colonial regime. In court he stated his name as London Tod Singh (one who breaks London).
In 1936, Surjeet joined Communist Party of India. He was a co-founder of the Kisan Sabha (Peasants Union) in Punjab. In the pre-war years he started publishing Dukhi Duniya and Chingari. During the war, Surjeet was imprisoned by the colonial authorities.
When India became independent and partitioned in 1947, Surjeet was the Secretary of CPI in Punjab.
When CPI split in 1964, Surjeet sided with Communist Party of India (Marxist). Surjeet was a member of the original CPI(M) Polit Bureau.
Today, despite his age, Surjeet is playing an active role in Indian national politics. Many times, including after the 2004 Lok Sabha election and during the 1996-1998 United Front government, his role has been that of a cunning king-maker in parliamentary politics, mending and assembling broad coalitions.
External Links
- Pay tribute to the CPI(M) leader at www.peopleforever.org.
