Saturday, September 17, 2011

Red Salute to Com Sunil Maithra



18. 09.2011  is the 15 th Death Anniversary  of  the Great Leader of All India Insurance Employees' Association, Com Sunil Maithra.

Com Sunil Maithra was Veteran  Freedom Fighter, Excellent  Orator, Best Writer, strong in Ideology, Very Good Parliamentarian.

He was always regarded as the War Minister  of All India Insurance Employees'  Association.

I would like to  mention  few  lines  from his article  reproduced  in  the  September 1997  Issue  of  Insurance Worker titled  as " A peep
into a Glorious  Past " on the famous  Struggle of 1974 against Walk Out. 



He writes as below


"The Meeting with the Union Labour Minister Shri Raghunadha reddy took place on 11 th January  in a guest house of a public sector unit. From
the  very beginning, Shri Reddy took up a  hostile  attitude  and  cited  numerous examples  to  convince  us  that  the middle  class  employees
were  not  of  such  mettle  to  withstand  the  rigours  of  either a  prolonged  lock out  or a strike. Right then almost a month old Indian Airlines  Strike  was collapsing. The Minister  pointed out to us the collapsing  strike  of  airlines employees  and  commented  that  "UNDER  THE  HEAT  OF THE  OFFENSIVE  L.I.C  EMPLOYEES  TOO  WOULD  MELT LIKE BUTTER. 



This comment  of  the  minister  actually  infuriated  me  and  I  retorted "  LET US SEE WHETHER  WE ARE MADE OF  BUTTER OR ANY OTHER SOLID METAL"Finding  us unrelenting, the Minster proposed that he was planning  to arrange
a tripartite  meeting and invited us for further discussions.


This braveness  was  demonstrated single handedly  in  the Lok sabha  when the LIC  Split Bill was introduced. He echoed the struggle of AIIEA  in the streets  of  the country in the Parliament. This made the Rajiv Gandhi
to send the letter informing the dropping of the LIC Split to Com Sunil Maithra.  
 


I  would  also  like  to  share his selflessness from the  Article of Seetharam Yechuri, Polit bureau Member  of  CPI(M) in the same issue of Insurance Worker with  the title " A Feeling of a Lasting Void". Com Yechuri  shared his experience with Com Sunil in that article.


He writes as 


" One great characteristic of his was his modesty. During the 50th  Anniversary of Quit India Movement, I remember, when the Congress was monopolizing  it as its body and a concerted attack was mounted 
against the communists for their role, Sunilda, with  indignation. showed me old documents to show that  as a student, he  was  one  of  the  six people that  were  sentenced by a British Court in 1942. The  other five, he said, are today  drawing  benefits as  freedom fighters. He had never claimed any  of  these facilities. He fought for the independence 
not in order to be recognized and honoured  by  the present ruling class, but for the genuine freedom  and liberty of Indian People.




In the 55 years of L.I.C, Com Sunil Maithra is the only member from
the Family of L.I.C  to become a Member of Parliament. He was also
the Chairman of Public Accounts Committee.



His tireless work made him as the Polit bureau Member of Communist
Party of India (Marxist). He also functioned in that capacity till his 
last breath and also as the Editor of the CPIM's weekly organ
'People's Democracy'





IT IS OUR FORTUNE THAT WE HAD GREAT LEADERS LIKE COM SUNIL MAITHRA

WE WILL FOLLOW HIS PATH. 

RED SALUTE COM SUNIL MAITHRA

 
  

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