Through centuries, many ships, from the old hand-stroked /pulled to the latest automatic ones, have sunk in the deep seas. Many warships have also sunk during the great wars, just like what happened at Pearl Harbour. But none of them have moved the hearts of people like the disaster that met the ‘Titanic’, the luxury ship that went down one century earlier, which resulted in the loss of more than 1500 lives, out of a total of 2208 passengers and crew.

It was  on 15th April 1912 at midnight 02.20 a.m. that the Titanic went down completely,which struck a huge ice-berg at about 23.40 hours on its way from England to New York. It was the maiden voyage of the ship,  launched with much publicity and grandeur. It was not known till recently, what happened exactly. But after the wreckage of the ship was found and going through the evidences, it was clear that the ship broke and sunk due to dashing with the iceberg.

The film ‘Titanic’, released in 1997, reminded the people about the great tragedy and was a great success. Now on this 100th anniversary of the disaster, another ship, named ‘Baltimore’, is cruising through the same route with the descendents of the passengers of the ill-fated ship and is holding memorial services to those whose lives have been lost.

Let such disaster not happen again.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of United States of America, was shot dead on 15th of April 1865, 147 years back, while he was in Ford’s Theatre watching a performance. He is considered as the greatest of the US Presidents for the abolition of slavery in the country and for improving the economical/financial situation at that time.

Born in an ordinary family on 12th February 1809, he rose to the position of the US President by hard work and his high capabilities. He was a great orator. He belonged to the Republican Party. During his first term as President in 1861 Civil War broke between the Government and the Confederates over the issue of abolition of slavery. He gave exemplary leadership in both military and political in facing the civil war. The Civil War continued till 1865 when the government won and the South surrendered. The Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery was issued in 1863. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address 1863 is still considered a masterpiece of his oratory, determination and committment to the cause.

He was re-elected a second term as President in 1864 but was murdered  on 15th April 1865 after six days of the surrender of the South, by a fanatic.

Jhallianwala Bagh is another pilgrimage site for the Indians. It was here on 13th April 1919, more than 1,000 people were murdered and many more wounded by the bullets fired as per the orders of the British imperialists to stop a meeting being held there to protest the arrests of popular leaders of the independence movement.  The firing was pre-planned and intended to kill the protesters.

Every year  functions are held at the Jallianwala Bagh maidan where the memorial to the martyrs have been constructed. I was invited to participate in the function three years back. It was a poignant moment when all the people stood up at the exact time when the firing and killing took place.

Revolutionary Homage to the memory of all those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country!

Comrade N.Varadarajan(87), former State Secretary of CPI(M) and its Central Committee member, passed away at Chennai on 10th April 2012. He had attended the CPI(M) Party Congress at Calicut and had returned to Chennai Party office. He breathed his last after some time reaching the party office. He was one of the 32 central committee members who walked out from the CPI Congress in 1964 and formed the CPI(M). He had organised several trade unions in T.Nadu and was instrumental in forming the Untouchability Eradication Front in T.Nadu, which has done wonderful work against untouchability of which the Secretary is Com. A.Sampath, the newly elected Central Committee Member from T. Nadu.

Red Salute to Com. Varadarajan !

It seems incredible that it is 22 years since Com.B.T.Ranadive, popularly called as BTR,  the revolutionary working class leader, left us forever. He was a leader who braved every obstacle and led his comrades marching on the correct path. Born on 19th December 1904, and highly educated, he opted to serve the people, instead of for a highly paid job. And that is what he did. He was closely connected with AITUC, the only union at that time and was its office bearer since 1928.. He was elected as the General Secretary of the undivided  Communist Party of India in 1948. When the CPI(M) was formed 1964, he was elected as one of the PB members, in which position he continued till his death. When the CITU was formed in 1970, he was elected as the first President, in which position also he continued till death.

I am fortunate to have been associated with him for a long period. He was a real advisor in organising our union as also organising struggles. He has attended many of our union conferences and addressed. When I invited him over telephone  to inaugurate  the Joint Circle Conference of P&T Unions to be held at Calicut in 19, without any hesitation he agreed. But a few days after he contacted me over telephone nd said that since a meeting of the Central Committee of the Party has been decided to be held on that date, he will not be able to attend. I requested him to at least send an article to the Conference Souvenir to be published. He agreed and within a few days received the same. It was a well prepared article on the trade union movement and not only it was published in the souvenir, but was also published in many of the union journals.

HIs entire family was with the party and the working class movement. His sister Ahilya Rengnekar, wife Vimala Ranadive – all were all India leaders of both CPI(M) and the CITU and women’s movement.

I pay my respectful homage to Com.BTR on his 22nd death anniversary.

Chatrapati Shivaji breathed his last on 3rd March 1680 at the famous Raigarh Fort. His life was a continued fight for the honour of the country and against the attack of the Moghuls. He is one King who continued to fight against the powerful Moghuls and continued to be independent all his life. His escape from the well planned trap by the Moghul Satrap Asfal Khan is history.

He is an icon  of courage and Maharashtrians honour his memory in almost all functions. One can seen his statues in almost all parts of Maharashtra and even inside the P&T buildings, especially at the Reception itself.

He is part of the great leaders who fought to ensure that the country is free.

Com.K.M.Kuttikrishnan, leader of AITUC in Calicut and a veteran trade union who organised the Municipal workers etc. passed away yesterday, 2nd April at Calicut. I was closely associated with him and even after he left CITU and joined AITUC, we kept our relations.

Red salute to Com.Kuttikrishnan !

Myanmar’s opposition claimed a historic victory on Sunday for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in her bid for a seat in parliament, sparking scenes of jubilation among crowds of supporters. Hundreds of people cheered as a giant screen outside National League for Democracy (NLD) party headquarters in Yangon announced a big by-election win for Suu Kyi, who was locked up by the junta for most of the past 22 years. The Nobel peace laureate took an estimated 82 percent of the vote in Kawhmu constituency, said NLD senior member Tin Oo, based on the party’s own unofficial tally. Official results were expected within a week.

But military is still having an upper hand. However with the election of Suu Kyi, the entire political situation is going to change for the better. It is very clear that the people are with her.

The capital of India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi one hundred years back on this day, 1st April 1912. Till that time the Britishers were functioning at Calcutta as their headquarters. Of course during summer, they used to shift the HQ to Shimla to avoid the heat. But taking all facts in to consideration, including the security as well as the location, the HQ was shifted and Delhi became the capital. It is stated theat seven empires including that of Moghuls have ruled the country with Delhi as capital. New Delhi was constructed by the British along with the present Rashtrapathi Bhawan, North and South Blocks, Connaught Place etc.

The shift was a loss to Calcutta, but a gain for Delhi.

The religious head of the Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, met Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro during his visit to Cuba. This is not the first visit of the head of vatican with  Cuba’s leader. Earlier, meeting had been held between Pope John Paul II and Fidel, while he was the President of Cuba.Pope was received in capital city of Havana at Revolution Square  participated by about 3,00,000 people, a large number considering the cuba’s population.

Both octogenarians discussed issues of mutual concerns. One issue which was focussed was about the inhuman economic embargo of Cuba, by the US and connected countries. Pope in clear terms opposed it and demanded the US government to put an end to the blockade.

The meeting between the Catholic and the Communist is really historic.