Com. Srilata Swaminathan, the ever-inspiring leader of AIPWA and CPI (ML) passed away on February 5 this year. On 29 April, her birth anniversary, AIPWA organised a memorial meeting in Indian Social Institute Auditorium (Lodi Institutional Area), Delhi to celebrate her life and work. Several of her friends who remember her for her inimitable comradeship, friendship and for her leadership of so many struggles, gathered on this occasion to share their memories of her day. Among those who shared their memories were Com. Srilata’s aunt, her college friends, her friends from NSD including the renowned theatre person M.K. Raina, PUCL activist Kavita Srivastava, NTUI leader Gautam Mody, journalist Bhasha Singh, and several of her comrades from AIPWA and CPI (ML) including AIPWA national Secretary Com. Kavita Krishnan, CPI (ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya and her comrade and husband, Com. Mahendra Chadhary, also the Rajasthan State Secretary of CPI (ML). A message from her close friends Lalita Ramdas and Admiral Ramdas was read out. A 20-minute excerpt of an interview with her about her experi- ences of being jailed during the Emergency, filmed by Uma Chakravarty, was also screened. The interview captured the Com. Srilata’s indomitable spirit and her political journey.
