After the
1968 Student Revolt in France, I came back to India to join the Spring Thunder
then blowing through the country. I stayed in Hyderabad a short while, in 1971.
Swayed by revolutionary ideas, I considered that integration with the people
was fundamental and therefore I had to work with and as a worker. One
day, Pradeep came with Ashwini to meet me. Two days later, George also
came with them.
George (and his friends) used to drop in at my (rented) house
very often and a warm friendship and camaraderie developed between us. We would
have long discussions, debates and readings, sitting on a
mattress, on the terrace of our second floor room. Sometimes guests would
stay on, to share whatever food had been cooked. We would discuss and compare
the different revolutionary struggles and more particularly the successful
revolutions in China, Cuba, and Vietnam. These discussions would take us to the
military line and tactics of successful revolution, and the part
that armed struggle plays in achieving power. What role do the masses
have in the revolution? Can the revolution succeed without the people's
participation?? Is individual commitment and dedication not enough to rouse the
masses??? These questions are debated even today.
There was fire in George and he was highly motivated by Che.
He would say `I am ready for Revolution, my readiness is enough to carry the
people.' While we understood the need to consolidate our theoretical
knowledge, we also practiced judo and karate as George saw physical fitness as
a necessity for every individual. His precondition for members of his group was
that they should be physically fit. I was a part of these meetings and karate
sessions from June 1971 till March 1972, when I left Hyderabad.
I recall
pressurising George to join a political formation as local politics needed to
be linked up with global politics for change. He realized the need of being organised and of joining an organisation:
thus he met leaders of some revolutionary groups at that time.
His
revolutionary zeal made him an admirer of Che where the courage and dedication of "the
Individual" are enough to bring about revolution as opposed to Mao's
tenet that mass participation alone brings Change.
George
was a natural leader, imposing and a good fighter, and the boys were jovial but
serious in their work. They looked up to George and had blind confidence in
him. None of them spoke when he would decide, and yet the discussions were warm
and cordial.
He would
tell me of the attacks on them, on campus and elsewhere; and I recall them
writing a pamphlet in December after one attack. He was preoccupied with
self-defence. I remember a photograph of all eight of us on the terrace.
George
was anti-establishment and anti-imperialist
He
believed that there would be Change
He
believed that he would be part of the change
For a
just and better society for all
A
socialist society
His
enemies killed him and think him dead
but like
Bhagat Singh, Che and George will never die.
PK
Murthy,
