M K Pandhe

COMRADE M K PANDHE IS NO MORE
20th August 2011
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) lost its most beloved leader Dr M K Pandhe who was also the tallest leader of the Indian Trade Union movement of the time. Dr Pandhe died on 20th August 2011 at early hours (00-20 hrs) following a massive heart attack. He was 86 years. CITU expresses its profound grief at the demise of Com Pandhe.

Comrade Pandhe’s public life spread over seven decades beginning as a student movement activist in his early youth and he continued to remain fully active, agile and concerned as one in the thick of the working class and the Left movement, till the last hours of his eventful life, totally undaunted by ageing problems and failing health. Sufferings from cancer and all the hazards of treatment and accompanying complications could not deter him in the least from his activities spreading over the length and breadth of the country across sectors. The country’s toiling class lost a dedicated fighter for the cause of their emancipation.

He joined the communist movement in 1943 and played a frontline role in asserting the role of the working class in the fight for social transformation and emancipating the people from all kinds of exploitation. He was elected in Polit Bureau of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1998 and continued in that position till his death.

His singular contribution in the trade union movement and organizing and leading the workers in the strategic sector of industries had been unparalleled. Also crucial had been his contribution in organizing the workers in the unorganized sector and also emphasising the working women’s role in the trade union movement.

He had been national secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in the early sixties and was one of the founder leaders of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the organization which he steered as one of the most frontline centres of the working class movement. He had been General Secretary of CITU from 1991 to 2003 and remained President from 2003 to 2010.

Comrade Pandhe had always been the champion of broadest unity of the working class in the struggle on common issues. In the phase of coming together of all trade unions of different affiliations in the united platform on common issues and unleashing of the era of joint struggle of trade unions on national scale in the late seventies, the untiring effort of Comrade Pandhe has played the most crucial role. Com Pandhe commanded high respect and acceptability as a towering leader in the entire trade union circles irrespective of affiliations.

Com Pandhe was also widely known and respected in the international arena of trade union movement. His initiative has led to widening the international relations of CITU in a big way. He had been the Co-President of International Energy and Miners’ Organisation (IEMO) which had been a joint international platform of energy and mining workers worldwide irrespective of affiliations.

His firm commitment to working class ideology and to anti-imperialism had always been the guide to CITU in organizing the united movement and exposing the capitalist order. His untiring initiative and able leadership in this direction has contributed immensely both in developing and maintaining continuity in the united platform of struggle against neoliberal policies since 1991 which got further broadened to all in unity of the trade union movement in the joint struggle since 2009.

He had been a prolific writer as well. He had written innumerable pamphlets on the issues facing the trade union movement and on the economic policy issues. His booklet titled “Policies of liberalization- attack on Economic Sovereignty” published in 1991, translated in all Indian languages and circulated in several lakhs throughout the country became the talking points on the disastrous policy of liberalization, privatization and globalization for all trade union activists and organizers irrespective of affiliations in the anti-LPG joint struggles. Also notable had been his pamphlets on ‘Fraudulent Price Index”, “Global Economic Crisis” , “on Employees Pension Scheme” and his regular contributions in trade union journals almost on almost all issues facing the working class movement.

Despite being the tallest leader of the working class movement, he was accessible to all including the common workers. His simple life-style and utmost simplicity will always be remembered. In fact his unflinching commitment to working class, indomitable zeal to work and organize, strong conviction on the urgency for developing class leadership, great intellectual capacity to penetrate and down-to-earth approach to communicate and interact with people made made him the tallest leader of the country’s trade union movement.

Com Pandhe is no more. His demise is a severe loss to the country’s working class movement. CITU pledges to carry forward his mission in his cherished direction, while condoling his death and conveying condolences to his wife Com Pramila Pandhe and other family members.

CITU SECRETARIAT

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