The inauguration of Kisan-Mazdoor Bhawan, the new district office of CPI(ML) Liberation in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan marked a memorable and historic August 9 for the communist and farmers’ movement in Rajasthan.
The programme was attended by CPI(ML) General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(ML) MP Comrade Rajaram Singh, CPI(M) MP and Polit Bureau member Comrade Amra Ram, and other leaders and activists of the Left and farmers’ movements.
The foundation stone of the new office had been laid two years ago, on Bhagat Singh Jayanti in 2024, by Comrades Rajaram Singh and Sudama Prasad. The inauguration of the Kisan-Mazdoor Bhawan marked the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream of the Jhunjhunu comrades and the beginning of a new phase of struggle.
One of the most inspiring features of the inauguration ceremony was the presence of eminent educationist and mathematician Ghasi Ram Verma of Jhunjhunu, who had turned 99 only a week earlier, on August 1, 2026. As a student in Pilani in 1942, Ghasi Ramji had quit his studies to join the Quit India Movement. He subsequently resumed his education and went on to become a well-known mathematician, teaching for decades in universities in the United States.
Ghasi Ramji devoted much of his earnings to promoting education in Rajasthan, helping establish at least twenty-five hostels and colleges for girls. In recent years, he has also been a great well-wisher of the farmers’ movement in India. It was with his generous contribution that the Jhunjhunu comrades were able to purchase the land for the new Kisan-Mazdoor Bhawan.
The Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, comprising the adjoining districts of Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu, is best known as the home of India’s wealthy Marwari merchants and capitalists. But the region also has a rich history of powerful anti-feudal and anti-colonial struggles and has played an important role in the growth of the communist movement in Rajasthan.
The presence of Comrade Amra Ram and Comrade Rajaram Singh, two communist MPs, at the inauguration of the new Kisan-Mazdoor Bhawan underlined the shared legacy of the communist movement and the continuing strength of farmers’ and progressive politics in the region. For veteran CPI(ML) leader Comrade Phulchand Dhewa, the inauguration of the office marked the completion of a cherished dream and the beginning of many more struggles to come.
Only a few weeks ago, the Jhunjhunu comrades had hosted a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the All India Kisan Mahasabha, which became witness to the tragic death of Comrade Prem Singh Gehlawat on July 3. The August 9 programme paid tribute to Comrade Prem Singh Gehlawat and to the countless martyrs of India’s freedom movement and the post-Independence democratic struggles.
The inauguration of Kisan-Mazdoor Bhawan on the historic anniversary of the Quit India Movement thus became a powerful expression of the continuing legacy of anti-colonial, anti-feudal and democratic struggles, and of the resolve to strengthen the movement for the rights of farmers, workers and the oppressed.
