Exit: Madanlal Nirdhan
Normally, 58 is not an age to decide taking a new course in life. But Madanlal-bhai was not that 'normal' and did not succumb though being inundated in anxieties of impending post-retirement life of jute workers, a life without pensions/gratuity and/or social security. It was 2002. He had been reading several issues of a journal Jute Mazdoor which he bought at his factory gate and sent a letter to the editor of Jute Mazdoor expressing desire of working jointly on workers issues.
After 4 or 5 years, he was seen organizing his fellow caste workers - he, being a HAARI (Methar/ Bhangi), belonged to the lowest rungs in the caste ladder - at Jharkhand. He did not only work together with them for amelioration of their daily life and bits of relief from the agony of bearing continuously oppression, suffering and insult borne by them. He felt that the liberation of humanity, liberation from oppressions of class society and liberation from caste oppression, doing away with the caste system are intertwined. So he always tried to convey class consciousness in the arena of their struggle. He tried to make aware his fellow caste workers about the limitation and drawback of efforts like that of the effort carried by groups like, say, SULABH International. He also made elocution bitterly, sarcastically regarding the so-called ramp-walk of Haari women abroad ostensibly for portraying the 'development' of the lower caste person!
In late 2011, at the age of 67, he was seen as an active proponent of an independent workers' platform and touring dozens of Jute Mills. He used to write poetry and was known in the Dalit Hindi poet circles. But by early 2012 he has readied a short 1-act play that portrays the life of industrial workers and expresses the express need of an independent workers' (or, to say, working class) platform. He had a desire of having it performed at the gates of factories and Jute Mills. In some workers' meet in 2012 the play was read and workers were enthusiastic about having it performed.
But nobody knew that time that the playwright himself would exit so early. After a short spell of illness after his wife's death in early this year he passed away on March 1 at the age of 69.
His life was full of struggle. His father tried to run away from severe caste oppression in erstwhile Bihar and first settled at Mittiya Buruj at south-west of Calcutta. Madanlal had to struggle to continue school education and was rusticated once for protesting caste-wise sitting rule at the primary school - as a lowest-caste boy he had to sit on the ground while others used to sit on benches. He worked as a worker at the Ganges Jute Mill at Bansberia, Hooghly, a big factory famous for workers' fights. He resided in the doomed quarters - Bhangi Basti, but continued learning and did his B.A.
Why he did not veer towards communist movement in his youth, particularly in the sixties and seventies of the past century, is an unknown story; it was albeit the fact that the local doctor who helped in his getting readmitted to school was a communist party member. For some years he was also attracted by the 'social-works' of the RSS and BJP; however, he was soon disillusioned. But in case of Jute Mazdoor (a journal by some activists and jute workers that appeared in Urdu, Hindi and Bengali) he was convinced in its sincerity in fighting against caste based oppression and also caste system in general; and found out that the revolutionary working class is really committed towards abolition of classes and also abolition of caste. On several issues regarding caste oppression and nationality-problem in this multi-national country India, like on the issue of Marathi vs Bihari Dispute raised by MNS, he wrote short articles for workers' magazines focusing the urgent need of working class unity.
Workers have lost their 69 years "young" enthusiastic comrade, but his life and works will continue to inspire them. And Madanlal-bhai also showed that at the lower depths of the society there were and there are thousands of gems, like pearls enclosed and protected by shells. As the class movement grows more and more colourful and talented persons like him will emerge.
3/31/2013
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