A memorial meeting paying tribute to Comrade Raja Bahuguna was organised by the CPI(ML) Delhi State Committee on December 27 at the CPI(ML) Parliamentary Office in Delhi. The meeting was attended by Party leaders, comrades, activists and well-wishers from Delhi and Uttarakhand who had worked closely with him during different phases of his long political life.
Speakers recalled Comrade Raja Bahuguna as a tireless revolutionary activist who consistently upheld Party initiative and intervention in every situation. Beginning his political journey with the Congress, he later opposed the Emergency and joined the struggles against authoritarianism. Disillusioned by the anti-people policies of the Janata Party government, he soon parted ways and gravitated towards mass movements in the hill regions of then Uttar Pradesh.
Participants recalled his role in major struggles including the Chipko Movement, the Nasha Nahin Rozgar Do campaign, the Bindukhatta land struggle, resistance against repression on workers of Pantnagar Agricultural University, the Mahatosh Mor agitation against violence on women in the Terai region, the Uttarakhand statehood movement, and the ongoing resistance against the bulldozer raj of the BJP RSS government.
Several speakers emphasised that despite being a senior leader, he remained deeply accessible to ordinary students, women, elderly people and progressive democratic individuals outside the Party. He was known for his willingness to listen, engage in discussion and offer guidance on both political and personal issues.
At a time when Uttarakhand has become a key testing ground for fascist policies under the BJP RSS regime, speakers said the absence of Comrade Raja Bahuguna is a serious loss not only for the Party but for the entire Left democratic movement.
The memorial meeting was conducted by Delhi State Secretary Ravi Rai. Those present included Politburo member Sanjay Sharma, Central Control Commission member Uma Gupta, Central Committee members Shweta and Prem Singh Gahlawat, journalist and writer Charu Tiwari, Green Party leader Suresh Nautiyal, and several comrades from Delhi and Uttarakhand.
