Tarun Bhartiya

Tarun Bhartiya, a multifaceted filmmaker, poet, social activist and a fellow fighter against fascism  passed away on January 27, 2025 at the age of 54. Born in 1970, Tarun was a promotional voice of India’s alternative art and progress literature circle. Hailing from Bihar, he later moved to Meghalaya, which became his home for the rest of his life. Through his lens and black-and-white photography, he masterfully captured the life, rituals, and resilience of the Khasi-Jaintia people, while his Hindi poetry pulsated with raw emotion, reflecting themes of longing, belonging, and resistance.

As a documentary filmmaker and editor, Bhartiya’s work was both technically brilliant and politically fearless. He edited acclaimed films like In Camera, Diaries of a Documentary Cameraman, for which he received the National Film Award for Best Editing in 2009 — an award he courageously returned in 2015 to protest rising intolerance in India.

Tarun co-founded Alt-Space, a vibrant hub in Shillong for cultural and political discussions, where artists, students, and activists could freely exchange ideas. He also ran RAIOT, a radical digital platform dedicated to amplifying voices from Northeast India and beyond.

Rest in power, Comrade Tarun. Your art, your fight, and your fearless spirit will guide us in the struggles to come.

Tapan Bose

Tapan Bose, a veteran and renowned filmmaker known for his unwavering commitment for human rights, passed away on January 30, 2025. He was a steadfast advocate for peace and democracy in South Asia. Born on June 8, 1946, Bose began his career as a journalist before transitioning to filmmaking. His accoladed works includes An Indian Story on Bhagalpur Bindings (1981), Bhopal: Beyond Genocide (1986), Jharkhand (1993) and The Expendable People (2016). He was also a long time well-wisher of CPI(ML).

His political journey began during the Emergency era in the 1970s, and later he was instrumental in founding several civil society initiatives, including the Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy, the South Asia Forum for Human Rights, and the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative. He was deeply involved in campaigns for protection of human rights and peace during Punjab disappearances in the 1980s and 1990s, the Kashmir peace initiatives, and the Indo-Naga peace process. In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the Gujarat pogrom in 2002, he stood on the frontlines, amplifying the voices of survivors and challenging the narrative of communal hatred.

Tapan alongside Prof. Dinesh Mohan, Gautam Navlakha and Sumanta Banerjee, were among the first to visit Kashmir after the Gaw Kadal massacre in 1990. They documented human rights violations in the landmark report India's Kashmir War, which exposed state violence and called for a political resolution to the conflict.

His legacy as a fearless filmmaker, human right defender and peace activist continues to inspire those striving for a more just and peaceful world.

Zakia Jafri

Zakia Jafri, a tireless advocate for justice who turned personal tragedy into a decades-long legal battle against state complicity in 2002 Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom passed away on February 2, 2025, at her daughter’s home in Ahmedabad, India. She was 86.

Her husband, Ehsan Jafri, a lawyer and former Congress MP, was butchered during the Gujarat pogrom. As bloodthirsty mobs descended on Gulberg Society, Ehsan Jafri made over 200 desperate calls to police and government officials, pleading for help. No help came. He was hacked to death, and 70 others were slaughtered while the state watched in silence.
In the aftermath of the pogrom, she filed legal cases against then-Gujarat Chief Minister, now Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and top state officials of conspiracy and abetment. Her struggle became a symbol of resistance against impunity and state complicity. She led this battle for justice until her last breath.

Zakia’s legacy lies in her defiance, her refusal to let power erase truth. May she rest in power.

Comrade Sher Singh

Comrade Sher Singh, a veteran labour rights activist and founder of ‘Faridabad Majdoor Samachar’ passed away on January 25, 2025 at the age of 75. The Faridabad Majdoor Samachar is a monthly workers’ newspaper published from Majdoor Library, Autopin Jhuggi, Faridabad since 1982.

During the June 2011 Maruti workers strike in Manesar, while mainstream media framed the event as workers “occupying” the factory, Sher Singh and Faridabad Majdoor Samachar spearheaded the campaign to amplify the voices of struggling workers and their cause. His loss Is immeasurable, but his legacy endures in the countless lives he touched. Red Salute to Comrade Sher Singh.

Comrade Dashrath Yadav

Comrade Dashrath Yadav, 86, passed away on 10 Feb 2025 at his residence in Purnia. He played a significant role in expanding the party during its underground days and later as a leader of Indian People’s Front in 80s. He organised milk vendors into a robust union in Purnia and Katihar districts. This union later became associated with the IPF. 

Along with martyred comrade Brijesh Mohan Thakur, he was instrumental in developing the party and IPF as a strong organisation of struggling masses in this part of Seemanchal. A revered leader, he remained the district president of the milk vendors’ union till his last.

He remained loyal to the people and the party even in the most difficult moments, always ready to help other comrades in their needs. For some time he was suffering from age related illnesses which eventually took him away from us. We pay our condolences to his bereaved family and pledge to carry forward his dream by following his exemplary life of activism. Red Salute Comrade Dashrath Yadav!

Pratul Mukhopadhyay

(1942- 2025)

The singer-composer and a maestro extraordinaire of Mass Songs Pratul Mukhopadhyay passed away on 15 February 2025. He was 83. He was admitted at SSKM hospital, Kolkata with lung infection, underwent emergency surgery and later was detected to have had cancer. Following his pledge his eyes and body were donated to the hospital for research and  teaching  purposes. Comrade Kartick Pal, member, Politburo of CPIML along with other state members paid revolutionary tribute to the memory of Pratulda. He was a council member of Gana Sanskriti Parishad at its initial days. Both the GSP and its cultural organ Nabanna paid red salute to his mortal remains.

Revolutionary mass songs discovered a new doyen way back in the tempestuous 70's. In those potent days of political ferment one of Pratul Mukhopadhyay's popular songs was a Bengali adaptation of Mao's poem, The days are not far away, when our beloved motherland would be free/ Look! How the lights of the Red Sun turns the red eastern sea so gloriously ablaze. This song used to reverberate the prison walls, sung severally by the Naxalite inmates across Bengal jails. Mukhopadhyay studied at Presidency College and was involved with the Naxalite movement. Another inspiring song adaptation from the days of Chinese Long March was May there be thousands of obstacles on a long journey/ What fear does the brave minds of the Red Army have?

Pratul Da, as he was known across the national frontiers, only became a name among the aficionados of Bengali modern songs much later at the beginning of the new millennium when he earned immense fame by composing the iconic number I sing in Bengali/I sing about Bengal. This song, though a tribute to Bengali ethnicity, was in no way parochial or provincial. It speaks of assimilation in a language of humility, devoid of arrogance.

While rendering any song  at any place or moment, his thin body would be electrified by his absorption in the moment, a spectacle to behold even in retrospect. His entire body with inimitable movements of hands and facial expressions would reflect a total absorption, mesmerizing the listeners by his magical perfection. And this aural perfection used to be achieved by unique voice modulation as he shunned any accompanying musical instruments.

Pratulda amazed his audience as always with a slice of endearment and his total lack of vanity.

Its quite apt to quote from the words of the singer-songwriter-archivist Moushumi Bhowmik, “Pratulda was so naturally gifted as a singer he could make anything into a song. He had turned so many poems of Sankha Ghosh, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Arun Mitra and Birendra Chattopadhyay into songs.”

His demise left a huge vacuum in Bengal's cultural space.

The Central Committee of CPIML remembers with pride our close association for decades and pays revolutionary tribute to Pratul Mukhopadhyay's unique contribution to revolutionary culture.