China today paid rich tributes to wife of legendary physician Dwarkanath Kotnis, Guo Qinglan, saying she spent her life promoting Sino-India ties.     96-year-old Guo, a Chinese woman who married Kotnis in November 1941, died yesterday in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China’s Liaoning province.     Expressing condolences, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, told media briefing here that Guo spent her whole life promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and India.     Dr. Kotnis, came to China in 1938 along with an Indian medical team to render medical assistance when China fought against the Japanese invasion.     He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1942 and died the same year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.     Kotnis sacrificed his youth and life for China’s national salvation, Hong said, adding “we will always remember their (Guo and Kotnis’s) important contributions”.     His medical assistance during the difficult days of Chinese revolution were deeply praised by Chinese leader Mao Zedong.     Dr. Kotnis, who hailed from Sholapur in Maharashtra died of epilepsy in China at the age of 32 years. His statues were also unveiled in some of the Chinese cities in recognition to his services.     Guo, herself a nurse, hailing from China’s Shanxi province married Dr. Kotnis in 1941 a year before his death in China.     She has been an honoured guest at many high-level diplomatic functions between China and India. She was a regular invitee at the Indian Embassy functions in China.     Though she got married again later, she retained her name as Guo Qinglan Kotnis.     India and China have instituted a joint medical mission in his honour. Recently eight Indian doctors visited China under special bilateral programme to study rural medicare here (Courtsey: Ganashakti)

The great sacrifice and service by Dr. Kotnis and his wife will be remembered ever, which had strengthened the Indo-China relations also.

During my stay in UK I found that the British are very much eager and anxious to keep their traditions and historical monuments safely and with respect. They also have a methodical way of maintaining written documents about  these.Whether it is about a place, a building, a village church or anything like that. Even constructing a building in the village has to be according to the tradition of that area. The large number of museums and memorials are also in the same line. A lot of tourists are also coming from all countries to visit these places.

But what about our own country, India? Take the instance of Delhi alone. It was the capital of 7 or 8 dynasties and each had their separate capitals with forts and other connected buildings etc. During the growth and expansion of Delhi, many of these have been demolished, vandalised, occupied and also constructions made on these. It is the same with many historical things.

We, Indians, have to change our attitude and keep things for the future generations.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh was not only an example of supreme sacrifice for the independence of the country, but was even in his young age a well-studied person with clear ideas about the future tasks and also how to change the country and the world. It was his slogan “Inquilab Zindabad” (Victory to Revolution) which still rings loud throughout the country and the world. I am reproducing two paragraphs from his statement submitted to the Sessions Court Delhi on 6th June 1929 in as accused in the Assembly Bomb case along with Batukeswar Dutt (He was only 23 years when he was hanged by the British   on 23rd March 1931) as an example of the high level of understanding he has reached even by that time.

“The whole edifice of this civilisation, if not saved in time,shall crumble. A radical change, therefore, is necessary and it is the duty of those who realise it to reorganise society on socialistic basis. Unless this thing is done and the exploitation of man by man and of nations by nations is brought to an end, suffering and carnage with which humanity is threatened today, can not be prevented. All talk of ending war and ushering in an era of universal peace is undisguised hypocrisy.

” By Revolution, we mean the ultimate establishment of an order of society which may not be threatened by such break-down, and in which the sovereignty of the proletariat should be recognised and a world federation should redeem humanity from the bondage of capitalism and misery of imperial wars”

The people of Caribbean Islands have been the victims of the brutal exploitation by the colonial powers, mainly Spain,  for  the last  500 years or so. The ‘finding’ of the ‘new world’ by Christopher Columbus during the 1490 started this inhuman exploitation for Gold, Sugar and Slave. Thousands were made slaves, those who opposed were hanged or burnt  and  the females sexually exploited. This continued for a long period of five centuries till one after another these countries won independence through hard and sustained struggles. Victory of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 was a big step forward. By the time USA has taken over the remote control of many of these tiny islands  through force and tactics. Socialist Cuba was isolated by the imperialist countries, mainly USA.

However, during the last 10 years, there has been a new awakening in the Caribbean countries and governments against imperialism are being elected one after another in these countries. This is a big step forward.

This change is to be welcomed by the entire progressive forces all over the world.

It is more than five centuries after Vasco Da Gama reached India. It was on 20th May 1498 that he reached Kappad, near Calicut. Within days, he met the King Zamorin of Calicut and requested for doing business and exchange of commodities.

History has it that it was the starting point of the British and other European countries reaching the fertile India and not only capturing the markets, but capturing the country through treachery, making kings fight each other, and also by using force with their advanced military power. The European dominance, mainly the British, ruled the Country for about two centuries.

Vasco da Gama was one of the visitors of doom for the country. After getting Independence in 1947, even now such messengers of doom are visiting the country. The US and its MNCs are trying to subjugate India financially and  on  policy matters. Unless we resist such attempts and take our own decisions in the interest of the country, the future will not be bright. It should be our endeavour for an independent policy based on co-operation and mutual trust.

19th May is the second death anniversary of Com. Moni Bose, the veteran leader of the telecom workers and the Central Government employees. It was under his leadership that the revisionist leadership was defeated in the historic Bhopal All India Conference of All India Telecom Employees Union. That started a new awakening in the telecom movement. After formation of BSNLEU in 2001, he was elected as one of the Patrons of the union. He toured all over the country and mobilised the workers for sustained struggles against the anti-worker policies of the government. He left us on 19th of May 2010.

My respectful homage to Com.Moni Bose on his second death anniversary. I personally conveyed my homage to Com. Gautam Bose (Pappan) and requested him to convey to his mother  and family.

In Kolkatta meetings with large attendance was  held in memory of Com. Moni Bose.