Vigorous Efforts to Develop Struggles for New Democratic Revolution is the Homage to Revolutionary memory of Com. Pyla Vasudev Rao
Twelve years back, on April 11, 2010 communist revolutionary movement of the country and CPI(ML)-New Democracy lost a stalwart, Com. Pyla Vasudev Rao. A leader of the Srikakulam Girijan Armed Upsrising, Com. Pyla Vasudev Rao put everything to revive Srikakulam movement on the basis of revolutionary mass line after setback suffered by it. Evading police raids and searches, he took great risks to re-organize the Party and the mass movement. His life was a lifelong struggle for the New Democratic Revolution in India. 58 years of Party life of which 48 years as a professional revolutionary and 42 years of UG life has been his lot in the service of the people of this country.
His unswerving commitment to the cause of revolution and his determined struggle against all deviation from the revolutionary mass line defined him. At a time when rightism became the dominant deviation from the revolutionary movement, Com. Pyla was very vigilant about its expressions and very firm against its emergence. He will repeatedly and clearly state his positions as often as required. He firmly and rightly believed that the corrosive influence of right line devours a revolutionary party which changes and bound to change its colour once this trend becomes dominant. He was a consistent supporter of protracted people’s war and of building and developing areas of sustained resistance for that. His relentless and tireless struggle in this regard is well known to Party ranks.
Like all great revolutionary leaders besides firmness of revolutionary commitment and clarity of his views, Com. Pyla had charming simplicity. Hiding his views was anathema to him. And yet exuded warmth for the comrades even for those he differed with. His firm belief in correctness of his views never prevented him from owning and openly so, his mistakes once he realized his mistakes. He had left the Party in 1992 harbouring a belief that Party was going to embrace rightist line. However, once he realized it was not so, he rejoined the Party a few years later. He did not hesitate to admit his mistake once he had realized. This trait among the revolutionary leaders is worthy of emulation. It stemmed from a vision focused on revolution and commitment to do everything to advance towards its realization. For him everything else became secondary.
On his twelfth death anniversary, let us pledge to intensify people’s struggles to advance towards New Democratic Revolution. Let us pledge to safeguard revolutionary line of the Party. Let us pledge to spare no effort and shirk no sacrifice in advancing on the revolutionary path. He had led and guided us in that direction.
Lal Salam to Com. Pyla Vasudev Rao!
Dated April 11, 2020
We are reproducing here the homage to Com. Pyla Vasudev Rao published in Party Organ in April 2010.
Homage to Comrade Pyla Vasudev Rao
One of the leading lights of the Srikakulam armed Girijan struggle and senior Revolutionary Communist leader Comrade Pyla Vasudev Rao breathed his last on April 11, 2010 at 10 am in Hyderabad. He was 78 years of age and was suffering from cancer.
Well known all over India, especially in Andhra Pradesh, as a revolutionary communist leader, Comrade Pyla Vasudev Rao was born on August 10, 1932 in Rittapadu village. This village is situated 4 kms from Palasa and is presently in Shrikakulam district. While studying for his matriculation in Palasa he was attracted towards communist movement. In 1953 when a party unit of CPI was formed in his village he became its member. In 1955 he was appointed as a surveyor in the Revenue department of the govt. In 1957 on the call given by the party he resigned his job and became a whole timer of the party and started working for the party organization and peasant movement. During this time his area of work was Tekali and he was elected as the joint secretary of the district peasant organization.
On the decision of the party, in 1959 he took up a job as a teacher. For 3 years he worked as a teacher in village Makanapalli in Palasa mandal. He enlightened the students and several of his students joined the communist movement. Again on the decision of the party, in 1962 he left his job and became a professional revolutionary and remained so till his death. In 1962 he was made a member of the district committee of the party. At that time Comrade Ramalingachari was district secretary. During this period he took up the task of building a revolutionary peasant movement and the party in the area. He had an important role to play in the developing Girijan Peasant Movement in the area.
While Naxalbari Armed Peasant uprising exposed the cretinism of CPM’s neo revisionism, it also gave a new direction to the various peasant movements taking place in different areas of the country. By re-establishing the direction of Telangana Armed Revolutionary struggle, Naxalbari proved to be a decisive turning point in the Indian communist movement which established a definite dividing line between Neo Revisionism and Revolutionary Marxism. The spark of Naxalbari ignited the flames of armed peasant struggles in different parts of the world. Armed peasant movements advanced in Debri-Gopiballabpur, Mushahari, Lakhimpur Kheri and Srikakulum. From the point of view of resistance to the attacks of the reactionary ruling classes and participation of masses the struggle in Srikakulam reached the highest level in that period.
Armed struggle began in Srikakulam on November 25th 1968. From that time itself Comrade Pyla Vasudev Rao went underground and remained so till his death. From 1969 to 1972 he bravely escaped police raids, three times narrowly. Of his 58 years of party life, 48 years were as a whole timer and 42 in underground life. In the struggle for New Democratic Revolution in India, while Comrade Pyla was in favour of coordination between open and secret work, he believed in secret as primary. He was opposed to a basically open party.
The Srikakulam Girijan Armed Peasant Struggle had to face crude fascist repression from the govt. Several leaders were martyred in fake encounters. Along with this, ‘left’ direction began to take foothold in the movement. Srikakulam movement had to face several losses and jerks. During this time Comrade Pyla had opportunity to work with Comrade Panchadi Krishnamurty, Comrade Vempatapu Satyam, Comrade Adibhatta Kailasham, Comrade Appalasuri Subbarao Panigrahi, Dr. Bhaskar and Dr. Mallikarjun.
After the movement suffered setbacks, Comrade Pyla took initiative to again make it stand up. He imbued the cadres with confidence and took over its leadership. CPI (ML) state committee was reorganized with Pyla as its Secretary. Comrades Kondapalli Seetharamaiah and Satyamurthi were its members. Summing up the setbacks to the movement, Comrade Pyla was in disagreement with the line of individual annihilation of the class enemy. He met with Comrade Charu Mazumdar but differences on this issue continued. In the end he resigned as secretary of the State Committee and he began his efforts to reorganize the movement under the leadership of Srikakulam Regional Committee.
The struggle within CPI (ML) manifested in the division of the party in 1970. Comrade Pyla joined the Central Committee (Revived CC) led by Comrade Satyanarian Singh. During this unity Comrade PV was made a member of the Central Committee. Comrade Pyla worked tirelessly to make wide contacts in the agency areas in order to reorganize the movement. During this period there was division in the Andhra Pradesh Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries. Led by Comrade Chandra Pulla Reddy the APRCP was building up and expanding the resistance struggle in Godavari valley. In the unity between APRCP and CPI(ML) Comrade Pyla played an important role.
In 1976 AP state committee secretary, Comrade P Ramnarsaiah was martyred in a police encounter. After his martyrdom Comrade Pyla was made the secretary of the state committee and he remained in that position for more than 12 years. During the ninth decade of last century party in Andhra Pradesh was known by the name of Comrade Pyla.
During the internal differences that developed within the party during 1979-80, Comrade Pyla opposed the right deviation and in 1980 Special Congress he was again elected to the Central Committee. During his entire life he remained an important leader of the party and Andhra Pradesh was his work area. Comrade Pyla was in favour of the direction of developing and expanding areas of Resistance and developing areas of Resistance Struggle in the direction of Armed Struggle. All along his life he supported the 1967-68 split in the CPM and the formation of CPI(ML) in 1969.
During his revolutionary life Comrade Pyla firmly opposed Right deviation and Revisionist tendencies and he continuously struggled against these trends. He always favoured the revolutionary mass line in the party. He considered that in areas of Resistance Struggle, building of squads has an important role and he opposed the tendencies to belittle their role. He favoured the building the militant strength of the people and the squads and he opposed all those tendencies which he considered opposed to these.
For the last few years, despite being unwell, Comrade Pyla remained active in party work to the extent possible. He was inspired and hopeful of development of revolutionary work in North East Andhra nd South Odisha.
Comrade Pyla’s life partner, Comrade Chandramma is also an important leader of the revolutionary movement and is a party leader. She was arrested in 1975 and remained in jail up to 1986. Their only child is a daughter, Aruna.
Comrade Pyla Vasudev Rao has passed away at a time when ruling classes are unleashing attacks on peasants, especially Adivasis, trying to displace them in favour of Foreign Companies and Big Capitalist Houses in different parts of the country. Revolutionary peasant movement is developing against these attacks and continuing atrocities of the landlords. In such a stage, the Srikakulam Girijan Armed Peasant Struggle is both an inspiration and a guide. Lessons of Srikakulam struggle are enlightening the path for Communist Revolutionaries and Revolutionary people.
Paying homage to Comrade Pyla Vasudev Rao, the Central Committee, the Andhra Pradesh State Committee and other state committees of CPI(ML) New Democracy have reiterated their resolve to strengthen the struggle to build New Democratic Revolution.