The 7th Memorial Day of Comrade Ibnul Hasan Basru was commemorated in Jamua, Giridih of Jharkhand as Pledge Day in the form of a massive rally to assert the basic rights of people and to remember the struggles for which comrade Basru is still fondly remembered by the common masses in that region. Thousands of people rallied with the slogan ‘Loot-Daman ka toro jaal, Le kar niklo Jhanda Lal’ (To break the shackles of loot and repression, Let’s hold high the Red Flag) in the Adhikar Rally and pledged to take forward comrade Basru’s unfinished dreams and fight against the attacks on dalits, adivasis and minorities being unleashed by the current BJP government in Jharkhand.
Manoj Bhakta, Politburo member of CPI(ML) recalled numerous struggles of rural poor since 80s which were led by Comrade Basru, whose indomitable spirit and hard work inspired hundreds to join the communist party. Comrade Manoj remembered how Comrade Basru had gradually built up a strong mass movement against feudal forces and how that all culminated into consolidation of a strong left base against reactionary rightist forces led by BJP in the Jamua assembly constituency. Comrade Basru was elected MLA from the same constituency in 1990. Then he was a CPI member who later joined CPI(ML) in 2002.
Comrade Manoj said that the present BJP government is terrified with the growing people’s resistance against anti-people policies and called for further intensification of struggles for livelihood and social security. He added that recent incidents of rapes of tribal girls in Jamua and Bengabad areas, like the Gau Rakshak attacks all over the country, are a result of BJP’s policies that encourage violence against adivasis, Dalits, minorities and women. He called for a massive movement against the communal and corporate fascist policies of the BJP which will be a true tribute to the comrades like Ibnul Hasan Basru and Mahendra Singh. The meeting was also addressed by Rajesh Yadav, Ashok Paswan, Vijay Pandey, Usman Ansari and many others.
