No sponsors for Dange memorial meet

AHMEDNAGAR, Nov 23: The attempts of various communist organisations to hold a national communist conference in Mumbai on the occasion of the...

AHMEDNAGAR, Nov 23: The attempts of various communist organisations to hold a national communist conference in Mumbai on the occasion of the birth centenary celebrations of veteran communist S A Dange have failed due to the paucity of funds. Although the left and labour movements had flourished in Mumbai during the pre-independence and post-independent era, the communist organisations could not raise sufficient funds nor could find a generous sponsorer to host the meet in Dange8217;s own city. Therefore, the venue of the conference has been shifted to Kerala.

The reception committee of the conference had informed to the central committee its inability to organise the meet as it had failed to raise Rs 2.5 lakh, the amount needed to the meet expenses. The inability to host the conference in a city where at a time when there were a large number of followers of the leftist idealogy has disturbed the sympathisers of the left movement.

Dange in whose memory the conference is being held was a revered figure not only in Mumbai but at the national and international levels. Besides Mumbai, the industrial capital of the country, has also been most generous when it comes to hosting meets related to different walks of life. The industrialists and the prosperous Mumbaites have traditionally been patronising various kinds of intellectual deliberations. And therefore, it was a rude shock for many that the left organisations could not raise funds needed for hosting a meet in memory of Dange, one of the pioneers of the left movement in the country.

Keeping in mind the rich intellectual and labour tradition of Mumbai, the communists at a meeting held in Chennai last year had chosen the Maharashtra capital as the venue for the community meet, slated for September-October 1999. The meet was attended by representatives of the United Communist Party UCI founded by Dange himself during the last stage of his life, the CPI M, CPI, Orissa Communist Party, Revolutionary Communist Party from West Bengal and the Lal Nishan Paksha.

All these five parties have a sizeable following in Kerala while the Lal Nishan Paksha and the UCI have some pockets of influence in Maharashtra. The Lal Nishan Paksha is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra. The fate of the Mumbai communist meet was dependent on the response the leaders of these two parties get in Maharashtra8217;s capital. These organisations have a powerful labour base. In many industrial units, these parties have recognised labaour organisations.

The Mumbai meet, marking the conclusion of Dange birth centenary celebrations, was to be attended by over 500 delegates from all over the country. The three-day meet which was to review the left movement in the country would have also provided an opportunity to the Mumbaites to know the transition of the left movement during the current century. But the opportunity was lost on account of non-availability of a sponsors.

When the host organisations initially attempted raising funds for the national meet, they could secure only a sum of a few thousands of rupees which was used for stationary and miscellaneous purposes. When these organisations realised that they would not be able to raise the fund of the required sum, they gave up their plans to host the meet.

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A meeting of the coordination committee of these five left organisations will be held in Kerala on December 8. The joint meet is likely to take decision about hosting the proposed national meet in Kerala.