Today (September 24, 2023) morning Com. Shankar Singh breathed his last in district hospital at Sasaram (Bihar). In his late 70s, Com. Shankar Singh remained active till his last except a last few days when he fell ill. His life could not be saved despite best efforts by attending doctors and comrades. A large number of people, members of the Party and mass organizations and local people bid final and tearful farewell to this tireless fighter of the revolutionary movement particularly peasant movement and for the people’s causes.

Com. Shankar Singh has for long been a member of the Bihar State Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy. He had been a delegate to several Party Congresses. He was District President of AIKMS of Rohtas district and Vice president of AIKMS Bihar State Committee. His death is a big loss to the party and peasant movement. Death of every comrade who has given his all to the revolutionary movement is heavy only the Party and revolutionary people.

In addition to the big contribution to the Party and revolutionary peasant movement, Com. Shankar Singh’s life is inspiring life of a dedicated revolutionary communist. He was born a peasant family in Dhaka village of the present Baghpat district in West UP and was named Om Prakash. He came in contact with communist revolutionary movement early in his life. He committed himself to the movement, a commitment that was to last his whole life. Never he shirked any responsibility and discharged the same to the best of his ability.

Becoming active in the communist revolutionary movement, he participated in workers’ movement in Modi industries in Modinagar. And for this purpose he also joined as a worker. He was a prominent activist in the strikes in Modi industry in 1970s and also suffered police repression in the course of the movement.

In 1980 beginning he was shifted to Bihar which remained his arena of struggle till his death. Shift was doubly important. He shifted from work among workers to work in peasantry. He shifted from West UP to Bihar, thousand kms away. Such was his commitment to the revolutionary movement that over this period spanning over four decades, he went to his native village hardly a couple of times. Be belonged to the finest tradition of communist revolutionary movement of giving their all.

When he came to Bihar he initially worked in Paliganj area of Patna district where militant peasant movements were continuing there at that time. He integrated himself completely with the local peasantry especially landless peasants and agricultural labourers. He soon became an important part of the Paliganj movement and was later elected to the Patna district committee of the Party. For next six years (upto 1986) he was to work in Paliganj area spanning over rural areas of Patna and then Gaya districts.

Party was reorganized in Rohtas district in 1985. Party embarked on building militant peasant movement focusing on land issues in that district. In the course of building peasant movement and to fulfill the increasing needs of the leading cadres for that movement, Com. Shankar Singh was transferred to work in Rohtas (then including Bhabhua as part of that district). For last 37 years he worked in Rohtas with remarkable devotion and selflessness. He was working on the peasant front in the district.

Rohtas movement grew to be a formidable challenge to the landlords and reactionaries of the area. It gradually grew to several blocks of the district. Here the movement focused on land struggles of the poor peasants and agricultural labourers and was built with the perspective of building resistance struggle. Com. Shankar Singh made immense contribution to the movement and became one of the main publicly recognized faces of the movement. He endured police repression on several occasions in the course of the movement. He became part of the life of the peasants in the areas of struggle known to all, old and young. Despite having little formal education, he was an avid reader of revolutionary literature and loved to discuss politics with cadres, peasants and youth.

Com. Shankar Singh has been among the large number of communist revolutionaries who work on the ground, not desiring name or formal recognition. The memory cherished by struggling peasants is the recognition they earned. It is on the work of such large number of dedicated comrades who are essential building blocks of the revolutionary movement and on whom the Party stands.

CPI (ML)-New Democracy pays homage to the revolutionary life of Com. Shankar Singh. We call upon all Party ranks to learn from his life, of giving all to the revolutionary movement. His willingness to take up work in any part of the country and among any section of people, especially peasantry should inspire all those who are part of or going to be part of the revolutionary movement.

Central Committee

CPI (ML)-New Democracy

September 24, 2023