Guru Radha Kishan

Comrade Radha Kishan Guru
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Indian Independence Activist
Constituency	Delhi Sadar
Personal details
Born	1925 Madhya Pradesh
Died	New Delhi
Political party	Communist Party of India

Tricolour Hoisting

Guru Radha Kishan was born in the year 1925 on Krishna Janmashtami in Bid village of district Harda ( previously in Hoshangabad district ) of Madhya Pradesh in a Brahmin family of farmers. He has to experience the hardships of the life very early as his father was expired while he was a kid. It was the passion for studies and firm belief that education is a must for progress in life that he get himself enrolled for studies in a school at Chipawad near Khirkiya which was miles away from his native village.

There he read a book authored by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin on the freedom struggle of Russia and an article about Indian revolutionaries Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Sukhdev Thapar, Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad. He began his revolutionary career influenced by the martyrdom of these revolutionaries and hoisted the tricolour in his school and was sent to a reformatory school by the colonial authorities. It was the period Mahatma Gandhi visited Harda in December, 1933 when he listened Mahatma Gandhi and decided to leave his native place for the freedom struggle of India.

Dream of an Independent India

Independence movement had acquired momentum in Indore when a young firebrand activist Guru Radha Kishan publicly challenged a British Police official and slapped him in front of a large gathering while the officer started abusing the activists at a freedom movement rally in Indore. He was imprisoned in the notorious Mahidpur jail where he was in solitary confinement in terrible conditions. Social reformist, philosopher and member of Constituent Assembly of India, Shankar Trimbak Dharmadhikari popularly known as Dada Dharmadhikari sent a patriotic message to young Guru Radha Kishan when he came to know about the immense courage shown by him during a protest rally against colonial government.

As one of the youngest activist from Madhya Pradesh he spent months in prison after being under grounded for more than two years. This social movement against British government got easy sustenance and firm roots between the public as issues of economic and social deprivation were also highlighted by these young communists. His colleagues includes Comrade Homi F Dazi, former MP from Indore and General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, freedom fighters Ram Chandra Sarvate, Prof. Mahesh Dutt Mishr, Member of Constituent Assembly of India Vinayak Sarvate, Vinayakrao Sahasrbudhe, Sarjoo Pandey, eminent painter N S Bendre, Comrade Anant Laagu and award winning writer from Malwa region Shivnarain Shrivastava, author of ek sair gehun.

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In an address Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mohammad Shafi Qureshi said about him that " Freedom fighter and social worker of unconditional integrity Guruji is a noble soul with a pious heart. People like him are extremely rare in the society today, it's an honour to facilitate such a selfless individual."

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congressman Prakash Chandra Sethi once requested him to accept the Freedom Fighter Pension which he strongly denied. He was entirely not interested to accept any pension for his participation in the freedom struggle of India. This sets him apart from many other freedom fighters who held high offices in independent India is his complete insulation from material desire. He refused to accept any pension and never applied for the same till it was declared as Sammaan Nidhi by the government. Only after being declared as Samman Nidhi he accepted the recognition from the government for being a freedom fighter even when he had no source of income and would not accept any favours from any well wisher.

Despite serious political differences former president of BJP Kushabhau Thakre, always praised Guru Radha Kishan as Narmada ke Sacche Sapoot mentioning his selfless social work and dedication for the underprivileged class. Thakre also known for his simple lifestyle in political circles once stated about Guru Ji that he was a gandhian in politics with no ambitions for himself or his family at all.

Mass Organisations and Communist Party

After India gained independence Guru Radha Kishan undertook a fast unto death for 24 days to promote the cause of textile workers in Delhi prior to became the youngest member of Delhi Municipal Committee. The first elected mayor of Delhi and noted Freedom Fighter Bharat Ratna Aruna Asaf Ali was so impressed by his simplicity and selflessness that she started calling him Guru Bhai. He always protested against insane British laws. Before independence he was involved in mobilising youth and organising trade union activities in textile mills and unorganised sectors at various locations for All India Trade Union Congress primarily in Indore, Kota and Gwalior. This was continued in Delhi during 1948-50 where he worked prominentely to unite the workers in textile, municipal and unorganised sectors when there was a crackdown on communists nationwide.

In fact the idea of uniting unskilled labour of unorganised sector and his exceptional organising capabilities made him so popular in political and social circles that workers and colleagues started calling him Guruji. He was arrested many times for social causes, for leading under privileged class, textile employees, during general strikes and even for a strike of Delhi Police. He worked with prominent communists and social activists of that era like Aruna Asaf Ali, Mukimuddin Farooqui, Devdutt Atal, H L Parwana, Yagya Dutt Sharma, Vimla (Kapoor) Farooqui, Premsagar Gupta, Janardan Sharma, Pandit Madan Mohan, N N Manna, Ramchandra Sharma, B D Joshi, Shakeel Ahmad, Sarla Sharma and educationists like Prof. Nand Lal Gupta to erect and lead the communist movement in Delhi.

As first state president of the youth wing of Communist Party Guru Radha Kishan always encouraged young political and social activists and nurtured them to be in forefront throughout his life. When Comrade P K Vasudevan Nair and Balraj Sahani conveyed him about the idea of All India Youth Federation he actively participated in organising the first national conference of AIYF in Delhi. About 250 delegates and observers representing several youth organizations of eleven states of India attended this six-day session and the event was a huge success. His wholehearted sincere efforts were visible when strong presence of the organisation was noticed by Telangana hero Chandra Rajeswara Rao and other prominent leaders.

Independent and Secular India

He worked for communal harmony during his six decades long eventful political life, when violence in Delhi was triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Guru Radha Kishan came out on the streets of Delhi to save innocent sikhs in the worse affected regions of Delhi. He work tirelessly to protect sikh families even when his office caught fire in Delhi during that period. Later he organised the first Peace March in Delhi with a noticeable participation of sikhs and their families demanding immediate relief for sikh community and severe prosecution for the killers. Several human rights organizations along with the media applauded this humanitarian act.

A powerful speaker and voracious reader himself Guru Radha Kishan continued to read and analyze on several social issues, secularism, political extremism and communist ideological issues till his death. He was against communalism and worried by the rise of the communal forces in our secular state. He always stood firm in fighting against any kind of terrorism to counter the threat from the divisive forces. He was first to criticise the extremism and applauded the glorious chapter of sacrifice made by Communists in fighting extremism in Punjab under the leadership of his colleague and Punjab MLA Darshan Singh Canadian.

Guru Radha Kishan was a man of principles and impeccable integrity throughout his life and insisted others to follow the same course in public life. He severely criticised HKL Bhagat and MP from Karol Bagh Dharam Das Shastri for their alleged role in anti-sikh riots even when they were very closely associated with him personally. Till he passes away he strongly believed and condemned 1984 anti-Sikh riots along with Babri Masjid demolition as according to him they were the worst incidents in independent India and any such incidents should not have happened at any cost.

Social and Public Representation

As an opposition stalwart and leader of the CPI, Guru Radha Kishan's speeches in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi were marked with positive criticism and earned him the admiration of even his political opponents. Never enamoured of office, he was severely blunt about government's failures and raised many an eyebrow among the benches with his frank observations and constructive reasoning.

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Guru Radha Kishan was very close to the masses and a known champion of the causes of underprivileged people while serving as Municipal Councillor of Delhi. He also served as member of various administrative committees for state and central government with equal distinction. That was the impact of Guruji between the masses of his area that even in 1977 when Janta Party swept away the polls almost everywhere he won the civic body elections from his constituency and being the senior most in the house he presided over the house as protem Mayor of Delhi.

Guru Radha Kishan represented India in Germany leading a delegation to Düsseldorf. He discussed about the welfare plans for working class in Germany and briefed about Indian Civic System to his counterparts from other countries. Returning back from Europe he enforced Delhi administration and MCD officials to adapt many of those welfare schemes for a better life of working class in Delhi. People from all walks of life come out to support Guru Radha Kishan when Communist Party of India announced his candidature from Delhi Sadar Parliamentary Constituency in 1977, the same year he successfully contested the civic body polls also.

He was the firm believer of the fact that only the education can bring the changes in the underprivileged people of the society, he took the initiative to bring the first Janta Library in his constituency which was inaugurated by Sh. Balraj Sahni, an eminent film personality in the presence of the writers Amrita Pritam, Bhishm Sahani, Santosh Anand, painter Narayan Shridhar Bendre and social activist Aruna Asaf Ali. This study centre cum library is still running with a social centre at Guru Radha Kishan Smarak Bhavan, Clock Tower, Delhi.

Alas! he is a history

The Hindustan Times wrote in an article about him that despite being a prominent politician of Delhi he was always accessible to public, a man of masses loved by every class of the society. Guru Radha Kishan fought valiantly for the economic deprivation for the poor and the issues of social deprivation in Delhi. He was so selfless that he rides a bicycle, he has no house and bank balances to mention. Being an honest representative of society he was widely respected for his integrity, honesty and transparency cutting across party lines. He was a true social worker, a man who deserves to be respected and loved Alas! he is a history.

Guru Radha Kishan never deviated from the decent self conduct throughout his public life and opted to live in a rented premises of one room and shunned many of the facilities he was entitled to. His family was arrested so many times for social and political reasons but his wife, herself a prominent NFIW activist eventhough came from a rich family of landowners neither regretted nor complained about this lifestyle and always supported him.

Addressing a large gathering at ghantaghar chowk in Delhi after his death on January 10, 1996 Madan Lal Khurana, Delhi Chief Minister said " No house of his own to live, no money, simple lifestyle and total commitment for public life to serve selflessly the people, specially poor and deprived class makes Guru radha kishan a perfect example to follow in public life and politics. Kisi se koi man-bhaid nahin chhahe kitne bhi raajnaitik mat-bhaid hon. Guruji was a constant source of support for all progressive people of Delhi, a true saint in the politics."

The Leader of Opposition of Delhi Assembly Jagpravesh Chandra said " If you ask me to name any other politician like him in Delhi its extremely difficult for me because Guru Radha Kishan was a gandhian in approach and a true communist in ideas. He was a man of masses, a role model for integrity and honesty in public life." Former Union Minister and Delhi Sadar MP Jagdish Tytler added " Guruji never asked for any personal favour from anyone ever, he will keep guiding us as he will survive in our hearts forever."

Home Minister of India Comrade Indrajit Gupta, also present at his funeral ceremony called this as severely painful personal loss. He further added that it was a great loss for the underprivileged class and communist movement as a whole and for the members of All India Trade Union Congress in Delhi specially. Communist historian Anand Gupta wrote in a special mention about him " Guruji was always so involved with the people that often he had no time for the basic requirements of his own life." In short, he was always available for the general public and the underprivileged class of the society.

Comrade M Farooqui, National Secretary Communist Party of India, S. Ramachandran Pillai, Politburo Member CPM and MP, J Chittranjan, MP and National Secretary CPI, Comrade Abani Roy MP, Comrade Sudhakar Reddy MP, President of Delhi State Congress and Member of National Congress Working Committee Deep Chand Bandhu, Film actor-wrestler Dara Singh MP, Journalist Prabhash Joshi, Brijmohan Toofaan and E Srinivasan, Secretary Government of India were also present to give the final salute to this Swatantrata Sangram Sainik.

National Minorities Commission Member Harcharan Singh Josh remembered him as a man of principles and impeccable integrity with a pious soul, he added "Guruji always condemned any discrimination based on the religion or caste and worked for substantial improvements in the position of underprivileged people." Prominent Communist Prem Sagar Gupta said that " Guru was a man of masses and loved to be with them. Though not much has been said about him despite his exceptional service to the nation pertaining to his period, his dedication for red flag and communist movement, passion for social work and organisational capabilities will be remembered for a long time by communist cadre and masses."

Social activist Aruna Asaf Ali, Comrade P K Vasudevan Nair, Comrade Homi F Dazi, NFIW leader Mrs Vimla Farooqui, Loksabha Speaker PM Sayeed, Union Agriculture Minister Chaturanan Mishra, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh, Sharad Yadav, AITUC Deputy General Secretary BD Joshi, Rajesh Pilot, Freedom Fighter Sheelbhadra Yazee, Mohammad Shafi Qureshi, Kedar Nath Sahani, Chaudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda, President All India Freedom Fighter Organization, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Former Minister HKL Bhagat, Lyricist Santosh Anand and Chaudhary Prem Singh send their heartfelt condolences to the family. Many social and religious leaders apart from other dignitaries from major political parties and trade unions also attended the gathering to pay final tribute to this simple man.

References and external links

• ibnlive.in.com/politics/electionstats/.../1977/U05/CPI.html, Details of CPI...
• timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topiclist/People-from-Indore
• www.servinghistory.com/topics/Indian_independence...
• Chandra, Bipan & others (2000). India after Independence 1947-2000, New Delhi:Penguin, ISBN 0-14-027825-7
• World News Network (wn.com/Government_of_Delhi)
• Manoj Mitta and H.S. Phoolka, When a Tree Shook Delhi
• www.peach.dreab.com/p-1984_Anti-Sikh_riots
• New Age and 'Mukti Sangharsh' national weekly newspapers of CPI
• www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1036.htm, birth and growth of...
• pediaview.com/openpedia/Communist_Party_of_India
• " Dilli ki communist party ka itihass " published by Communist Party of India
• www.facebook.com/pages/Municipal-Corporation-of-Delhi
• Archives from Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi