Com. Suneet passed away on 4 April 2023 while on his way by metro to Delhi from Gurugram in Haryana to meet participants of a rally there the next day.
He was one of the oldest allumi of the Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU) in New Delhi.
He was a regular painting critique. He had also written many stories in English , a collection of which is named : Transaction and other stories.
His friend in me had translated one of those for Uttargatha , a Hindi journal of the Democratic Writer’s Association ( Janwadi Lekhak Sangha) of which I’m proud founder member along with my spouse Sandhya Chowdhury.
Com. Sunnet was among those communist leaders who had visited the United News of India (UNI) office in the Bandra Collector office building in Mumbai when a trade union activist in me was on indefinite fast for 7 days.
Others included late Devi Prasad Tripathi ( DPT ) , late Com. Mahendra Singh of Mumbai , Com Prakash Karat , now editor of it’s English weekly central organ People’s Democracy, Com. Atul Kumar Anjaan , national secretary of the Communist Party of India ( CPI ) and Com. Rakesh Veda of Lucknow from trade union organization of the bank employees in India and also an office bearer of the Indian People’s Theatre Association ( IPTA ).
I do recall Com Sunnet wanted me to join the CPM and become it’s whole timer. I , however, politely turned down the suggestion as an activist in me didn’t wish to be in any particular Communist Party.
He had introduced me to great leaders of the CPM, including Com EMS Namboodaripad , Com. BT Ranadive , Com. Harkishan Singh Surjeet , Com. Jyoti Basu , Captain Laxmi Sahgal and the last but not the least Com. P Sundarya. All of them have passed away.
Com Suneet was genteel to all the students, teachers , employees in the JNU and beyond it but was very tough to oppressors of the workers and farmers.
He was , however, a bit critical of the CPM for focusing only on the parliamentary politics and not advansing the cause of the revolutionary programe.
On behalf of the People’s Mission and also on my personal behalf I salute Com Suneet.
I’m attaching some visuals retrieved from my own facebook status and of some digital media.
Link of a song written by the late poet , Gopal Das Neeraj and sung by a former film musician, Yatindra Goyal on a suggested tune improvised by the artist duo of Lucknow, Aadiyog and his spouse Alka Prabhakar is in the comment box.
