Comrade Hayat Singh Hazara passed away on 3 May after a prolonged illness. He was 66. Hazara ji, as he was popularly known, dedicated his entire life to the struggles of the people in Uttarakhand. He became an active member of the undivided CPI at an early age. For a brief while, in between, to support his family, he also worked as a clerk in a bus company but subsequently abandoned it to devote more time to communist work. In the course of debates within the Left movement, he joined the CPI-M and then CPI(ML). He actively participated in the land-seizure movement in Terai and later in the forest movement and nasha nahi rozgar do movement. In 1990 he came in contact with our party and till his death remained a committed member.

Hazaraji spent a major part of his life in Ramnagar, Nainital district, where he was known and respected as a revolutionary. When he later decided to move to his village Dhaneta (Syaldeh block, Almora district), he continued his involvement in public affairs and got elected as a BDC member from the area. As a BDC member, Congress and BJP leaders tried to get him to cast his vote for Block pramukh by offering lakhs of rupees in return but he gave them a firm rebuttal by campaigning for their boycott. In spite of living in penury, he set an example by emphatically opposing and exposing these elements, thus inspiring people with his political commitment and strength of purpose. He will continue to be an inspiration for generations of communists.

Hazara ji was undergoing treatment in Delhi in his last days. In spite of his rapidly deteriorating fragile health, he made it a point to participate in the Inquilab Rally on 23 March as a last wish.

Red Salute to Comrade Hayat Singh Hazara! Long live his legacy in the hills of Uttrakhand!