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DKSZCM (Dandakaryana
Special Zonal Committee Member), SMC (State Military Commission) member,
In-charge of the North Sub-Zonal Command Com. Sukhdev (36) was martyred on 23rd
May 2000 while heroically resisting the cruel enemy in North Bastar division of
DKGZ (DK Guerilla Zone). 23rd May was, coincidentally, the anniversary day of
the Great Naxalbari Armed Struggle. On that day, the party’s North Bastar and
Maad divisional committees had jointly called for a bandh in protest of the
fascist attacks on Muslims in Gujarat by the Sangh Parivar, and in protest
against the Nagarnar Steel Plant construction in Bastar district displacing
hundreds of people. People participated in large numbers to make the bandh a
grand success. All major roads in both divisions were blocked and traffic came
to a standstill.
While the police were
removing the trees cut by the people to block the traffic a platoon of the PGA
ambushed them. Com. Sukhdev was guiding that platoon. The PGA fighters started
the ambush with a claymore mine fire in which one "Gopaneey Sainik" (a name
given to those informers who get regular payments as regular policemen) was
killed and three more injured. The red fighters seized a .303 rifle and 50
rounds of ammunition from the killed policeman. All the other policemen were
forced to flee the killing zone to save their lives. Our comrades had even
planned to burn all the motorcycles that were left by them. But an unnoticed
policeman hiding between the bushes cowardly shot at Com. Sukhdev, who was
changing his rifle magazine at that fateful moment, and ran away very fast from
the site. Soon after being hit by the bullet Sukhdev breath his last. The PGA
fighters withdrew their ambush and retreated with the dead body of their brave
leader Com. Sukhdev on their shoulders. Within hours after his martyrdom
hundreds of Adivasi people of the Keskal area, where Com. Sukhdev had laid
foundations with his own hands to build the revolutionary movement in North
Bastar division, gathered and paid their final respects to their departed
leader.
Com. Sukhdev (Vijay
Bhaskar) was a young radical student of Tekulagudem village in Warangal Dist.
(NT) of the early 1980s. His father was a teacher and used to oppose him
becoming a revolutionary. Despite his father’s opposition, he discontinued his
studies after the Intermediate and became a revolutionary. In his early teens
itself, the Beloved Martyr leader Com. Puli Anjanna was his first guide in
revolutionary politics. Under his close guidance he soon became a PR and entered
Bastar in 1983. Since then he never looked back. He started working in DK as a
squad member. He worked in the Basagudem and National Park squads. In 1988, he
was promoted as the squad commander. He was very popular among the people with
his singing and dancing abilities. He wrote a number of poems, songs and short
stories not only in Telugu, but also in Gondi as well. Later, in 1989, the party
decided to extend the movement to North Bastar, a relatively more advanced place
(socially, economically and culturally).
Com. Sukhdev was the
suitable commander to make the task a success. He led his squad and crossed the
Indravati river and the mighty Abujhmarh hills and marched towards the Keskal
area. The State was very keen to prevent the entry of the party into North
Bastar, and resorted to severe attacks, so that the party couldn’t make roots in
the people. But com. Sukhdev fought courageously many battles with the police,
and soon built a broad mass base for the movement. Later he was elected as a
divisional committee member and became DVC Secretary when North Bastar became a
separate division. He grew up steadily along with the movement. In 1997, he was
elected as an alternate SZCM by the DK party plenum, and was co-opted as SZCM in
1998. In 2000 Dec. he was re-elected to the SZC by the DK party’s Third
Conference. After the formation of the PGA, he was elected as SMC member and
North Sub-zonal Command in-charge also.
Com. Sukhdev was a
well-known leader among the rank and file for his simple life and friendliness.
Once Com. Sukhdev visits a village means men, women and children of that village
never forget him. He leaves his memories alive wherever he goes. He penetrates
into the hearts of the people. And after hearing about his martyrdom many people
who knew him broke into tears. After the announcement of his martyrdom by the
party, the ruling classes and their mercenary armed forces jumped with joy. No
surprise, for the first time they got success in targeting such a state level
leader.
Com. Sukhdev was a
real people’s hero. He fought a number of battles with a lot of courage. He
never showed his back to the enemy in any encounter/attack. Whenever enemy tried
to hit the squad in which Com. Sukhdev was present, he always kept the
initiative in his hands and repulsed the enemy attacks.
He lead the guerilla
squads and platoons in a number of ambushes and raids. His presence itself was
an inspiration to the fighters of the PGA. He was a good instructor too. He
trained dozens of armed militia men and main force units of the PGA.
In his career of 19
years, he had hardly met his parents once or twice only. More inspiring for him
was his father’s appreciation for his contribution in the movement, who once had
opposed him in the early years. As the movement grew day by day, he understood
it well and became a sympathizer of the revolution. Com. Sukhdev’s martyrdom is
certainly a great loss to the movement in DK, particularly at a time when it is
going steadily towards the building a base area. His absence definitely will be
a loss, but, according to the law of dialectics, hundreds of thousands of people
will march towards final victory of the revolution through the path of the PW,
fulfilling the dreams of the beloved martyrs.
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