The democratic revolutionary movement lost a comrade who till her last breadth ignited its spark. On April 22nd, ironically on Lenin’s birthday Comrade Meenakshi perished unable to counter the covid infection. Whatever differences she was part of the contingent of Marxsim-Leninism-Mao thought .Comrade Meenakshi is the fourth major martyr of the organization after the departure of Arvind Shalini and Nitin.
Comrade Meenakshi dipped her feet into the waters of revolutionary path from 1980 within the stream of the Communist League of India. She made a most notable contribution in work amongst the industrial workers in Kanpur,Lucknow,Varanasi ; Gorakhpur and Delhi. Her work had a major impact on the building of revolutionary political consciousness amongst industrial workers and also sharpened the revolutionary inclination of youth, intellectuals and women. A notable achievement was her building a children’s commune. Meenakshi shaped the forming of mass organisations with adept skill and was master in galvanising forces into the fold of class struggle. As a contingent of the Communist revolutionary stream she tooth and nail condemned the bourgeois propaganda after the collapse of pseudo-sociologist regimes in Eastern Europe and played a major sole of the seminar in Gorakhpur in 1990, defending Socialism.
Comrade Meenakshi was one of the architects of the Rahul foundation or Jan Chetna formed in 1993 under the leadership of her partner Arvind.The Rahul foundation rendered a major service to the Marxist movement by reprinting all the Marxist classics upto the era of Chairman Mao and many classic Marxist novels .It is particularly notable how it reproduced the best books on the Cultural Revolution period in China. Work has also been built on the workers front in a most organized and dedicated manner and the youth front. Arguably no Communist organisation so regularly brings out a political Workers paper like it’s monthly organ. “Bigul”.It has galvanised youth in many states like Maharashtra,Uttar Pradesh,,Bihar and Punjab. It has held seminars educating people about Marxism and initiating debates like no Marxist group. Its publication department has now even encompassed regions like Kerala.I attended many of their bi-annual Arvind Memorial seminars and was most impressed with the political level of the youth. In recent times on workers front it did most commendable work monster the Steel roller workers in Delhi and in Punjab it’s contingent organised Textile workers and Hosiery workers in Ludhiana .The group organises Marxist study circles like no other one and almost on a monthly basis one witnesses their most qualitative assemblies in their central office in Lucknow.What is most significant in recent years is thither formation of a national Naujvan Bharat Sabha in Delhi in 2014.I was present in its district level campaigns upholding Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his martyrs and Chandrashekar Azad as well as rallies confronting Hindutva fascism. In Mumbai their youth front has undertaken most qualitative work in the bastis and organised a workers library and study circle. It was the pioneering work of Comrades like Meenakshi that created this political wave just described. I can never forget the past issues of Dayitvabodh journal in Hindi which rendered a great service to revolutionary ideology
After the death of legendary Comrade Arvind in 2008 Meenakshi literally reverberated his spirit to plant seeds for new roses to bloom.Arvind was one of the finest comrades ever in the Indian Communist Movement who literally sowed the seeds for the crystallisation of youth in the revolutionary Movement in Uttar Pradesh. His life story is most inspiring and a virtual model for any revolutionary cadre to emulate. Memories of Arvind leading cycle rallies in Gorakhpur and Lucknow shimmer in my mind .Few leaders ever displayed better organizational skill amongst Industrial workers. Even Professor G.N.Saibaba praised Arvind as a great revolutionary mass leader. I suggest every reader procure the biography of Comrade Arvind from the Jan Chetna publishing house. No adjective can do justice to the surgical manner Arvind conducted mass work .A most significant political event in his time was the three year campaign of Jan Chetna commemorating the 100th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.Comrade Meenakshi played a major role as a flag berar of the Arvind Memorial Trust.
Comrade Meenakshi’s work was most impactful in nurturing political consciousness amongst children. She set up the Anurag trust which with most regularity publishes progressive children’s books. And a magazine called ‘Kopal.’ This is most important with imperialism brainwashing and Hindutva fascism indoctrinating children. The social media is a virtual weapon of the ruling classes to mould children into glorifying Hindutva culture and the so called ‘liberalism. ‘A child carrying a mobile is fed with Saffron communal poison and school textbooks spread venom against Muslims. One is reminded of the propaganda of the days of Hitler .The movies of today make children emulate tyrants like the Ambanis or Adanis and eulogize becoming a corporate tycoon. The concept of service to society is virtually flung in the dustbin.
The painstaking work of Meenakshi consolidated the units of Bigul Mazdoor Dasta in regions of Gorakhapur,Lucknow and Allahabad.The workers political paper has been major weapon in steering politically conscious workers and enabling them to guide uneducated workers.
Meenakshi’s work was most remarkable on the women’s front where she took a great toll of her energy. At the very grass roots she confronted the subordination of women in the capitalist system and educated many a women of how only Marxist ideology could emancipate them. She placed great emphasis on women comrades studying Marxist classics sand made women workers understand Marxism-Leninism in their own way.
Meenakshi respired many a youth to rally around the Marxist movement. Today the Rahul foundation or Jan Chetna have established a chain all over India with comrades like Abhinav, Satyam,Anand and Prasen in Uttar Pradesh, ,Satyanarayan and Avinash in Maharashra,,Sunny and Shivanai in Delhi,Kavita in Uttarkhand etc.I was most impressed in the manner the youth intervened in the workers front and their stress on political education.
It was my great regret that the Punjab section of the Jan Chetna or Rahul group morally separated on issue of nationality question. Arguably the best work ever done by workers front of this group was in the Ludhiana textile mills.Inspite of holding seminars on issues of workers organization, caste, Problems of Socialism and nature of Imperialism ,many sections of the revolutionary camp resented the approach which they felt was dogmatic. Personally I expressed admiration for the last 2 Arvind Memorial seminars which made a qualitative contribution to consolidating Marxist Leninist Political Consciousness. I t gave me an avenue to express my views and exchange ideas. Late Deepankar Chakraborty expressed admiration for this organisation ,greatly admiring Arvind.I have rarely seen a Marxist group with so deeply ingrained education of its cadres.
Today no revolutionary organisation so regularly publishes revolutionary literature like Youth magazine , ‘Awhaan’ ,workers paper ‘Bigul” It is also the only group that is publishing a Marxist theoretical journal called ‘The Anvil.’I disagree with their analysis supporting path of Socialist revolution, but still it has penetrated Naxalbari movement and reasons for setbacks most intensively. The journal has also made a most detailed coverage of the nature of fascism in India .It opposes concept of Brahmanical fascism but at the very core condemns the Hindutva saffron brigade. Comrade Meenakshi had an important hand in the publishing of revolutionary magazines.
I disagree with the Rahul foundation’s evaluation of India being a capitalist society,path of Indian revolution to be that of Socialist and it’s classifying the C.P.I. (Maoist) practice as terrorist line or narodnik.I am critical of it’s and negating role of the peasantry, terming the landed peasant as a class enemy. Still I admire their evaluation the Cultural revolution and thesis of Maoism. Most dialectically they have assessed why Socialism was reversed in China and mistakes of China within the Socialist period itself. They have touched upon the delay of struggle against revisionism in Russia or Great Debate,the eulogizing of Glory of Chinese Communist party and Lin Biao as an immortal ,selecting Liu Shao Chi and Lin Biao as successors of Mao and the closure of revolutionary Commite.The democratic revolutionary movement lost a comrade who till her last breadth ignited its spark. On April 22nd, ironically on Lenin’s birthday Comrade Meenakshi perished unable to counter the covid infection. Whatever differences she was part of the contingent of Marxism-Leninism-Mao thought .Comrade Meenakshi is the fourth major martyr of the organization after the departure of Arvind Shalini and Nitin.
Meenakshi respired many a youth to rally around the Marxist movement. Today the Rahul foundation or Jan Chetna have established a chain all over India with comrades like Abhinav, and Prasen in Uttar Pradesh, , Satyanarayan and Avinash in Maharashra,,Sunny and Shivani in Delhi,Kavita in Uttarkhand etc.I was most impressed in the manner the youth intervened in the workers front and their stress on political education. I doubt any political group has cadres with such ingrained education of ideology of Leninism.
It was my great regret that the Punjab section of the Jan Chetna or Rahul group morally separated on issue of nationality question. Arguably the best work ever done by workers front of this group was in the Ludhiana textile mills.Inspite of holding seminars on issues of workers organization, caste,P problems of Socialism and nature of Imperialism ,many sections of the revolutionary camp resented the approach which they felt was dogmatic. Personally I expressed admiration for the last 2 Arvind Memorial seminars which made a qualitative contribution to consolidating Marxist Leninist Political Consciousness. It gave me an avenue to express my views and exchange ideas. Late Deepankar Chakraborty expressed admiration for this organisation, greatly admiring Arvind.I have rarely seen a Marxist group with so deeply ingrained political education of its cadres.
Today no revolutionary organisation so regularly publishes revolutionary literature like Youth magazine , ‘Awhaan’ ,workers paper ‘Bigul” It is also the only revolutionary group that is publishing a Marxist theoretical journal called ‘The Anvil.’I disagree with their analysis supporting path of Socialist revolution, but still it has penetrated Naxalbari movement and reasons for setbacks most intensively. The journal has also made a most detailed coverage of the nature of fascism in India .It opposes concept of Brahmanical fascsim but at the very core condemns the Hindutva saffron brigade.
Comrade Meenakshi endorsed the views of Comrade Sashi Prakash that the Leninist movement was stagnating and the revolutionary camp lost. This trend advocated creating a renaissance in Marxist culture as the only path to ressurect wave of Marxist revolutionary movement. Many comrades have been critical of this like Professor G.N.Saibaba or even groups like C.P.I.(M.L) New Democracy who feel it is NGO isation. of the movement.
Neverthless as comrades we should support the positive aspects of the work like that of Comrades like late Meenakashi who have made valid criticism of the glaring weakness within the Communist Movement and posess some of the most sincere, politically mature cadres in the land. I express great gratitude to their comrades for even being supportive of me ,particularly in the All India seminars. I admired the patience of their leaders in discussing polemics with me in detail.
It was heartening that comrades assembled from Allahabad. Gorakhpur,Lucknow,Dehi,Punjab and Haryana to pay homage to Comrdae Meenakshi.The homage meeting shimmered spark of revolution in the very core of the soul.
As homage to Comrade Meenakshi I recommend every Marxist sympathiser to read the workers paper ‘Bigul’ and theoretical journal ‘Anvil’ and purchase all the re-published writings of the Jan Chetna group.I am convinced her spirit is not dead and buried and new roses will emerge which will bloom. In her lifetime she was a living example how Marxism-Leninism –Mao Thought shaped the life or inculcated a spiritual change within a human being .
Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist. Toured India, particularly Punjab .Written on Mass movements ,,Massline,Maoism on blogs like Democracy and Class Struggle and frontierweekly .An avid cricket lover too who has posted writings on blogs like Pakpassion Indian Cricket Fans and Sulekha.com.
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