Comrade Dinesh Debbarma Remembered

THE Tripura state committee of CPI(M) organised a meeting in remembrance  of Comrade Dinesh Debbarma at Agartala Town Hall on December 11, 2007. The meeting presided over by CPI(M)  state secretariat member and GMP president Niranjan Debbarma  was addressed by Party Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar and Central Committee member Aghore Debbarma. Party state secretary Baidyanath Majumder and another senior state secretariat member Anil Sarkar were also on the dais. At the outset, floral tributes were paid to Comrade Dinesh Debbarma by the state secretariat members, state committee members and son and daughter-in-law of the departed leader who were also present in the meeting.  A minute of silence was observed in memory of the late leader.

The speakers stated that a true tribute would be paid to Comrade Dinesh Debbarma only when we would be able to gather allies to bring about a change in the correlation of forces and advance our struggle for establishment of an exploitation free socialist society that Comrade Dinesh Debbarma cherished as a long drawn objective of his life and at the same time fulfill the immediate objective of attaining cent percent literacy in the state with which Comrade Debbarma started the struggle in his youth.

Remembering the early life of Comrade Dinesh Debbarma, right from his involvement in social works at his native village in Kamalpur, Manik Sarkar said, late Comrade Dasaratha Deb rightly identified Comrade Dinesh Debbarma as an outstanding organiser having all leadership qualities. Comrade Dinesh Debbarma was first involved in the Janashiksha movement (movement for universal education) and then in the Party in 1950. The immediate aim of the Janashiksha movement was to spread literacy among the innumerable downtrodden people mostly tribals who were influenced by religious and social superstitions. The Janashiksha movement leaders were to some extent successful in establishing more than 300 schools through out the state, providing teachers in every school, managing salary of the teachers by raising collections from the people. It was not an easy path for them. They faced the wrath of the monarchy who wanted to nip this movement in the bud because the king could rightly sense that if the illiterate tribal masses could be emancipated, ultimately they would shake his throne one day. Many conspiracies were hatched up from inside the palace but the movement gained momentum frustrating all conspiracies and obstacles. Gradually his dedicated performance in the mass organisation as well as in the Party promoted Comrade Dinesh Debbarma to the highest policy making body in the state where he contributed his energies for a long time, Manik Sarkar said.

Elaborately describing the commendable advancement in education in the state of Tripura, particularly in literacy movement, and the future programme of the government in this sphere, Manik Sarkar said, Tripura with its 81 percent literacy rate at present is placed above many advanced states of the country. We would have been able to register far more progress, had there been no extremist menace for decades in the state, Manik Sarkar observed. However, it is a matter of great pride that Dinesh da and his contemporaries could witness these achievements at their later age, Manik Sarkar said. It would be our utmost duty to carry forward the struggle to highlight an alternative policy before the nation and bring about a change in correlation of forces in favour of the communist movement that has been left unaccomplished by the leaders of Dinesh Da’s genre, Manik Sarkar said.

Aghore Debbarma described Comrade Dinesh Debbarma as a man of strong personality having indomitable conviction to the ideals and discipline of the Party. He was very soft heartened as well. Citing an example of a selfless attitude of Comrade Dinesh Debbarma, Aghore Debbarma informed that a muddy road to his house from the main road was once attempted to be upgraded by brick soling so that a car can ply to his house. Knowing that, he expressed serious displeasure and immediately stopped work. He was a minister for ten years. The approach road to his house remains a muddy road even now.

President of the meeting Niranjan Debbarma said, Janashiksha movement leaders had to work against the feudal system patronised by the monarchy, social superstition coupled with illiteracy, backwardness and above all facing the wrath of the King. After Tripura’s accession to India, Congress government launched a barbarous  ‘communists Bimochan drive’ in the hills of Tripura using military who drove away  men from the villages, gutted or demolished no less than 1400 tribal houses, killed many innocents including women, and rendered them homeless for months.  But they could not suppress ‘Janashiksha movement’ and subsequently the resistance movement led by Ganamukti Parishad. Shakti da (Comrade Dinesh Debbarma was fondly called so) was one of the vanguards who successfully resisted the attack in Kamalpur sub-division, Niranjan Debbarma informed and said the life of Comrade Dinesh Debbarma will be ever inspiring in our future course of struggle.

(Haripada Das)