Obituary
Carry
Forward the Cherished Legacy of
Comrade Gurdial Singh Paharpuri
CPRCI (ML) lowers its red flag to salute our departed comrade
Gurdial Singh Paharpuri. His departure, on July 2, is a serious loss to the
communist revolutionary movement in a testing period of big challenges. However,
his legacy as a devoted leading soldier of the fight for world proletarian revolution
will continue to illuminate our path for a bold revolutionary advance.
Com. Gurdial was product of the “Spring Thunder” of Naxalbari
uprising. He recognized the agrarian revolutionary content of this uprising, appreciated
its mass character and picked up the indication of the relevance of peoples’
war path inherent to this uprising. He joined the stream of communist
revolutionaries with a mass line.
In frame of our correct proletarian line, com. Gurdial played
role as one of the front rank builders of the revolutionary practice in Punjab.
In this process he displayed firm grasp of revolutionary mass line of com. Mao.
Even in the early period of his revolutionary life, he displayed courage and
stamina to stand against the tide of left adventurism. As a revolutionary mass
leader in the popular students’ movement of sixties in Punjab, he firmly
opposed the negation and liquidation of mass organizations. His ground work as
a mass leader provided basis for the historic revival of the revolutionary students’
movement of Punjab in early seventies. His conviction in revolutionary mass
line of Com. Mao got further strengthened in practice of revolutionary class
struggle.
During twists and turns of international as well as national situation
(objective as well as subjective), Com. Gurdial displayed firm commitment with
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Thought. He used to analyze the phenomenon as a keen
observer with strong Marxist orientation. In almost six decades of
revolutionary practice, Com. Gurdial always stood by the correct proletarian
revolutionary line and zealously defended the correct ideological-political
positions. In the period of JP movement, followed by the emergency and the
takeover by Janta Party regime in 1977, he sided with correct understanding about
the reactionary content of the dog fight for power among ruling classes and
their master imperialist super powers. He was for holding high the banner of
revolutionary united front for agrarian revolution and opposed the line of
class collaboration with a faction of the ruling class political forces under
JP leadership. As a part of the leading team of UCCRI (ML) in Punjab, he
sharply opposed the post emergency course of dialogue with the feudal comprador
autocratic regime by the collaborationist forces belonging to the rightist
trend of the CR movement. He remained firm on the course of building the underground
party for people`s war towards the new democratic revolution. He opposed the revisionist
return to open party work in view of the general declaration by Janta Party
regime to release political prisoners and withdraw police cases. The
declaration had come as part of the agreement between the government and the
collaborationists belonging to the rightist trend in the CR camp. Showing
vigilance against the smugglers of parliamentary path into the communist
revolutionary camp Com. Gurdial participated in guarding the true spirit of
revolutionary tactics regarding the parliamentary institutions in practice. During
the fascistic dictatorship of the emergency period, he played significant role
in leading the practice of organizing mass resistance through secret operation
of the mass organizations. For the revolutionary students movement in Punjab,
it was a new experience of open mobilization through secret instrument of the
mass organization.
At the time of the great reversal in China, he joined
opposition to the deserters of the Maoist legacy of great debate and GPCR. He
supported the HBS document in defense of the general line of the international
communist movement as the correct application of Mao -Tse Tung Thought. As a
follower of Com. HBS, he pursued the task of fighting against the new
opportunist currents of the right as well as the left revisionism. These
opportunist currents included the revisionism of Chinese Teng-Hua-clique, the
Albanian left revisionism of Enver Hoxa brand and the left crypto revisionism
of RCP USA. His writing “Comments on the Manifesto of RIM[1]”
is a valuable document in simple language.
As leader of the communist revolutionary organization of
Punjab in different phases, he displayed ideological-political maturity, talent
and capacity to concretize the central policies for practice according to the
conditions in the state. He worked very hard to lead and supervise the
documentation of the policies for guiding party work in the state. The fruit of
his hard mental exertion exists as a comprehensive pool of policy writings on
various issues of theoretical, ideological, political, organizational and
practical significance.
His guiding role in explanation, application and
implementation of the correct proletarian revolutionary line was of particular
significance in relation to certain aspects of revolutionary line and practice.
To mention a few:
He comprehensively dealt with many questions of theoretical as
well as practical relevance for building revolutionary mass resistance against
Khalistani communal fascism. The endeavor embraced the task of exposing the
trends of capitulation and collaboration in CR camp. He addressed various questions
of struggle to liberate the peasant movement from the domination of the feudal-rich
peasant leaderships. He addressed the task of highlighting the theoretical
foundations of various tactics of struggle against opportunist leaderships in
mass organizations. He explained the relationship of the actual level of class
struggle and the tactics of struggle against opportunist leaderships within the
mass organizations. He cultivated the positive trend for broader class unity in
the mass movement. He led the state organization in identifying the gaps in
peoples’ consciousness to be removed for the necessary advancement of class
struggle. In early eighties he addressed the task of educating the party ranks
regarding the significance of the integrated party work. He played role in
working out the concrete framework for practice of democratic centralism in
mass organizations. He produced a document providing the necessary party frame
for the launch of the special mass platform in Punjab to project the
revolutionary alternative among the masses. He participated in struggle against
dilution of the significance of this task by a section of CPRCI (ML)
leadership. He made consistent efforts to shift the focus of party work in
favor of the political-organizational aspect. He worked persistently, through
word and example, to promote the pattern of planned work under the centralized
guidance in the organization. He guided a number of inner party campaigns for
different aspects of rectification and explaining the Leninist concepts of party
organization. He was a strong link for imbuing the consciousness of ranks with
the theoretical-political content of the understanding evolved under HBS
leadership.
He led the party organization in Punjab in pursuing a proactive
policy of principled united activities of communist revolutionary organizations.
He emphasized further the linking of such an effort with projection and
promotion of the existing unity of will among the communist revolutionaries. He
stressed the crucial significance of the policy frame to address and overcome
the problems coming in the way of the united activities. Above all he placed
the task of united activities in broader frame of the task of the party-reorganization.
At the same time he emphasized the significance of struggle against wrong
trends to realize the purpose of united activities as well as to achieve the
ultimate goal of party re-organization. Punjab has passed through a positive
experience of advance towards unification on the basis of the lessons of common
practice in united activities. Com. Gurdial played a very significant role in
gearing the process of united activities in the state towards organizational unification
as such. Such unification was preceded by a prolonged process of unifying the
platforms of revolutionary mass organizations on the common basis of
understanding and the organizational principles; as well as by launching new platforms
realized on the basis of the common understanding evolved in a process.
Comrade Gurdial participated in the revolutionary movement as
part of the leading bodies of the CR organizations in Punjab state as well as
the all India apex bodies in different phases of the CR movement.[2]
In 1970’s he performed as a chief committee member of the Punjab Communist
Revolutionary Committee (PCRC) in the leadership of Com. Harbhajan Sohi. After
unity and merger of PCRC with UCCRI (ML) under the leadership of DV Rao, he was
a member of its state unit in leadership of Com. Thana Singh. After demarcation
with DV Rao leadership on the question of the infamous Three World Theory, he
joined the apex body of UCCRI (ML) under the leadership of HBS. At the same
time, he was deployed as the secretary of its state unit in Punjab. In 1982, he
positively responded the demand of Com. HBS to come forward for strengthening the
organizational leadership by assuming the role as secretary of the central
committee of the organization, as a necessary step in the specific situation.
After the completion of the highly significant review task of
the organization, he was elected a member of the chief committee of UCCRI (ML) under
the leadership of Com. HBS. He participated in discussions for unity of CRs at
all India level in different phases of the unity process. He was central
committee member of erstwhile CCRI.
As a part of the central leadership of CPRCI (ML), he raised
banner of defending its foundation as the vehicle for achieving the prime goal
of re-organizing the party and determinedly opposed the negation of this task
as the principal task of the present re-organization phase.
Out of 81 years of life journey of Com. Gurdial, almost six
decades were devoted to the noblest cause of the liberation of mankind through revolutionary
class struggle. In the prolonged last phase of serious illness, he remained mentally
occupied with the problems of the CR movement; even during the period of
medical leave from organizational responsibilities. Actually his living spirit
of revolutionary optimism helped in prolonging his life span in face of the
life threatening disease.
Comrade Gurdial is no more among us. His cherished goal of
peoples’ revolution and the task of re-organizing the party as the capable
instrument for leading the peoples’ war towards new-democratic revolution
remains to be achieved.
Let us firmly inherit the legacy of our beloved comrade, hold
high the banner of re-organizing the CR forces into a unified Party on the principled
and sufficient basis of line. Let us work hard to transform our organization
into a worthy building block of the party to be re-organized.
CC, CPRCI
(ML)
July 7, 2025
