Fidel Castro on Cuban Revolution

Book that Covers the Fascinating Life of Fidel Castro in His Own Words

Though focused on the issue of religion, the book actually narrates the story of Castro's life as well as the story of the Cuban revolution.

Chaman Lal

 

28 May 2022

Following is an essay on Fidel and the Religion-Conversations with Frei Betto, People’s Publishing House, Delhi, 1st ed. 1987, pages 276.

These are Fidel Castro's conversations with the Brazilian Dominican Friar, a practising Catholic who believes in socialism. Cuban culture minister Armando Hart has introduced this conversation. In 'Paths to a Meeting', Frei Betto has narrated the background of these conversations, which he planned in 1979 as a book to be called-'Faith in Socialism'.

The success of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua with faithful Christians participating in it, where Frei was invited as an advisor, encouraged him to work on this book. Lot many priests like Father Miguel D Escoto, the foreign minister, were part of the revolutionary government, whose ideal was Cuba.

He first met Fidel Castro at the house of Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramirez in July 1980. Fidel encouraged him to freely discuss Bible and Christian ideas with him without getting 'irritate' as Frei apprehended and told him that 'at no time the Cuban revolution has been inspired by anti-religious feelings'. Castro addressed Chilean clergy in 1971 during the Allende period, and in Jamaica, also he addressed a Protestant audience in 1977. In Nicaragua, there was unity between Christians and Marxists during the revolutionary struggle.

Frei visited Cuba 12 times from 1981 to 1985 and had 23 hours of recorded interviews from May 23 to May 26 in four days, an average of almost six hours a day of conversation. He wrote this note immediately after the conclusion of the interview on May 29 1985.

Book has two parts. The first part, titled 'Chronicle of a Visit' includes Castro talking to many people during the visit of Algerian President Chadli Bendje did and with some other guests, like a group of Brazilians, meeting Brazilian journalist Joelmir Beting. Fidel has the courtesy of even personally driving down Beting and Bretto to their hotel one night at the conclusion of their meeting.

The first part has seven chapters and is spread into 45 pages. It comes out from this part that Fidel is a good cook, and later in comparison with Che Guevara, in the second part of the book, he comments-'I am a better cook (Che). I am not going to say that I am a better revolutionary, but I am definitely a better cook than Che was.' (Page 268) Fidel informs that they have one lakh independent farmers in Cuba, holding private land, but other farmers joining cooperatives have many better-living conditions. Castro also emphasises manual labour and students going for it one month per year.

Part II is the major part of the book, spread over four chapters and 220 pages. Every chapter is an account of one night's interview, most of the interviews were conducted in the evening or rather a late evening, and some continued past midnight. On the first day, May 23, 1985, at the beginning of the interview, Frei informs that perhaps for the first-time head of a socialist state has been granted an exclusive interview on the topic of religion.

Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) of Nicaragua did issue a document on religion in 1980. In the first part of the interview, Castro speaks about his family, his childhood, his religious training in school etc. Castro says that his mother Lina and father Angel were faithful religious people, but more so his mother. He was born on a farm called Biran, but there was no church. Castro's father was a Spaniard from Galicia and had settled in Cuba, working there. Castro's parents were from poor backgrounds, though later his father bought enough land.

Castro refers to Cuba's first war of independence against Spain in 1895, which ended with the defeat of the Spanish colonial regime in 1898; Castro describes Cuba to be 'the Vietnam of the 19th century'. Castro's father died on October 21 1956, before the triumph of the Cuban revolution, and his mother died after the revolution on August 6 1963. Castro describes how Christmas was celebrated in his house in his childhood. Castro was born on August 13, 1926, and his armed struggle started at the age of 26 years on July 26, 1952, with an attack on Moncada, the struggle got the name the ‘26th July Movement’.

His father bought 800 hundred hectares of land, of which 400 hundred hectares were surrendered after the revolution as per the new law of land-owning limit. There was no church in Castro’s village, he was baptised in Santiago de Cuba at the age of 5 or six years. He was named Fidel-the faithful one, on his godfather's name. Castro's aunts and grandmother had strong beliefs. Castro was the third child of her mother's second marriage, out of seven in total. Children from the first marriage were also known to them.

Castro has four sisters and two more brothers. He was put in school in Santiago de Cuba, staying at the house of his godfather. Castro listened to the Three wise Men stories from his family—Caspar, Melchoir and Balthazar-mythical stories. He was not happy in-home, later was shifted to boarding school La Salle for four years, which gave Castro satisfaction. He had his religious training in school and enjoyed his Christmas vacation of two weeks at his home. He was a good athlete at school and good in his studies as well.

Castro makes an interesting observation about martyrdom here-'Conviction is what makes martyrs. I don't think that anybody becomes a martyr simply because he expects a reward or fears punishment. I don’t think anybody behaves heroically for such a reason.’ Castro had his high schooling in Colegio de Belen School in Havana, he graduated from high school in 1945 at 19 years. He first heard about communism in school as a ‘terrible thing’. He excelled in sports, and academics. His school certificate recorded—

“Fidel Castro Ruz (1942-45)- He distinguished himself in all subjects related to Letters. A top student and member of the congregation, he was an outstanding athlete, always courageously and proudly defending the school's colours. He won the admiration and affection of all. We are sure that, after his law studies, he will make a brilliant name for himself. Fidel has what it takes and will make something of his life."

After joining the University, Fidel acquired Marxist ideology; he was a firm follower of Jose Marti. Batista made a military coup in Cuba on March 10, 1952, and on July 26, 1952, Castro made an armed insurrection, which failed. The first part of the interview concluded at 3.00 am, starting from 9.00 pm, six hours before.

The second part of the interview started on May 24 1985 at 4.45 pm Frei refers to Christian participants in July 26 movement, such as Frank Paise and Jose Antonio Echeverria. Castro told how much they respected their faith and gave an example of how he chastised his comrades at the death of Echevveria, when from his will, his invocation to God was left out. In this chapter, the attack on Moncada is detailed; about 120 men attacked Moncada.

In the clash, 1,000 soldiers countered the attack, and only 2 or 3 comrades were killed in the initial clash. But Batista army brutally murdered 70 rebels after arresting them. Castro could also have been killed, but a black lieutenant did not allow his men to shoot them. In fact, he even praised Castro's men by saying-you are brave boys, brave-, later, the lieutenant was blamed for not killing and discharged from the army. Later after the revolution, he was made Captain and in charge of the President's security. His name was Padro Sarria. He died in 1972 from cancer.

Castro spent 22 months in prison in the Isle of Pines, now named the Isle of Youth, 19 months, he was kept in solitary confinement. Father Sardinas from church joined the Sierra Maestra guerrilla struggle in 1956. After the revolution, one judge Urrutia was made provisional President of Cuba, but he clashed with the revolutionaries. Castro was named Prime Minister, he resigned, and in public debate, Urrutia had to face embarrassment, and he resigned. Later a prestigious comrade was named President, and then many radical laws were passed. Castro tells-'Values and morals are man's spiritual values.

Castro refers to how priests and churches were tried to be used by the CIA against the revolution, and three priests participated in the invasion of Cuba in the Bay of Pigs in 1961. They could have been executed but were treated leniently. The Communist Party of Cuba came into existence in 1965 from Integrated Revolutionary Organisations.

Eighty-two men waged war in 1956-57, a first major battle in January 1957 by 22 comrades, won the first battle. When they won the war on January 1 1, 959, Castro had just 3,000 men who defeated Batista's 80,000-strong army. People's Socialist Party (PSP) was more homogenous. Socialism was proclaimed at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Castro described relations with the church as 'A period of coexistence and mutual respect between the party and the churches.' (Page 171).

The conversation concluded at 10 pm, more than six hours after it started.

The third conversation started on May 25 at 8 pm Castro exposed 'gentleman' Pinochet, allegedly a 'devout' man, who is responsible for thousands of deaths, murders, tortures or missing people in Chile. Castro tells the proud role of one lakh teachers and thousands of doctors working in other countries as missionaries. Castro also praises nuns who are taking care of old people's homes in Cuba with much austerity, like model communists.

They talk about Father Ernesto Cardenal, a Sandinista poet and writer, a much-respected personality of Nicaragua. Castro emphasises the need to improve works of revolution and defines them as a work of art. They discuss the positive role of Liberation Theology in Latin American countries like Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, El Salvador and others in promoting revolutionary ideas, which were described as subversive by US rulers. Church described as the oldest institution, 2000 years old, Buddhism and Hinduism may be older, but they are not institutions.

The discussion concluded at 11 pm, the first time in just three hours.

The fourth and last part of the interview took place on Sunday, May 26, 1985, at 7 pm Castro gifted a copy of his school certificate as a memento to Frei. They discuss the proposed visit of the Pope, which Castro is ready to welcome. Frei asks a question on religion as the 'Opiate’ of the people. Castro explains the phenomenon in detail and opines that it is possible for Christians to be Marxists, but they have to be honest in ending the exploitation of man by man and struggle for equal distribution of social wealth.

Here Castro also refers to the first social revolution of the modern period-French revolution, with a three-word slogan-Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, but exposes the myth of the slogan in practice in the capitalist system. Castro opines that the achievement of the spirit of this slogan is possible only in a Socialist society. Castro also exposes the myth of ancient Greek and Roman democracy by detailing the unknown facts about the number of slaves, more than the Greek/Roman own population and only high classes participating in debates; reference to Nero also came while Rome was burning, and he was playing the lyre! Slavery was abolished in Cuba and Brazil in 1886.

Then they talk about 'hatred', and Castro explained that either Marx or Lenin, Marti or he, never hated persons. They hated only the system; it reminds Bhagat Singh's famous court statement mentioning this very concept. Castro underlines the fact that he hates fascism and Nazism. They also note the fact that during imperialism's most cruel period, in the First World War first, 20 million people and in a second world war, more than 50 million people lost their lives and underlines the fact that the Imperialist system was to be blamed for this, which needs to be smashed as a system.

Frei also questions love and the 'export' of revolution. Castro explains that revolution can never be exported. Only ideas that travel the world over, not the physical forces can go and make a revolution. Revolution is made by internal forces and mechanisms only. They talk about Che Guevara as well, the kind of fond relationship Che and Castro had with each other. Castro brings out the exceptional qualities of Che, his leadership quality, intellectual characteristics, and courage; he was so daring that he had to be held back by Castro.

Che had great moral integrity, was a man of profound ideas, an untiring worker, and was rigorous and methodical in fulfilling his duties. 'He was one of the greatest figures of his generation in Latin America, and nobody could tell how much he would have accomplished if he'd survived'. The same comment may be true for Bhagat Singh in the context of India. Che went to Congo, Zaire, Tanzania and then Bolivia. They talk about other revolutionary heroes like Camilo, who died young at 27 in 1959.

The book concludes with the fact - 82 men's expedition arrived in Cuba on December 2, 1956. After the first hard setbacks, 14-15-16 men regrouped-Fidel and Raul Castro, Che and Camilo among them and made a historic revolution in Cuba on January 1 1959, the most wonderful event, even more, interesting than October 1917 and 1949 Russian and Chinese revolutions!.

Though focused on the issue of religion, the book actually narrates the story of Castro's life as well as the story of the Cuban revolution. This is a very good book to follow.

Chaman Lal is a retired Professor from JNU and Honorary Advisor to Bhagat Singh Archives and Resource Centre, New Delhi. The views are personal.

A Classic Book on the History of Human Liberation | NewsClick

https://www.newsclick.in/A-classic-book-history-human-liberation

Image Courtesy: New Socialist

James, C L R,   ‘The Black Jacobins’-Toussaint L’Ourverture and the San Domingo Revolution, second revised edition, October 1989, Vintage Books(Random House), New York, first ed. 1963, pages 426, price $16.

This is a classic book of the first revolution in the Third World. This is the story of the 1791-1803 Haitian revolution, which became a model for liberation movements later. Author C.L.R. James was born in 1901 in Trinidad. The first Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Eric Williams, was James’s pupil.  James wrote on cricket, apart from writing on revolutionary movements and fiction. He wrote on Herman Melville in 1953, a novel Minty Alley in 1927, World Revolution (1937), A History of Negro Revolt (1977), Notes on Dialectics (1980), and At the Rendezvous of Victory (1984). C

James was foremost a Marxist in the Caribbean region and tried his hand in Trinidad politics, but was not successful. His pupil Williams even detained him. Before his death in 1989, James was awarded the highest award of Trinidad &Tobago — The Trinity Cross – that at last recognised his contribution to Trinidad’s society.

James had dedicated his book on Haiti’s revolution to his British friends, Harry and Elizabeth Spencer. A map of Haiti and its surroundings has been given in the beginning of the book. In the Preface to the 1963 Vintage edition, James mentioned that this book was written in 1938. The publisher has not been mentioned. In the 1963 edition, after the Cuban liberation of 1959, James added the chapter, ‘From Toussaint L’Ouverture to Fidel Castro’, looking at future of Caribbean nations in the Cuban socialist model. But, the dream of James has still not been realised in the Caribbean.

In Preface to first 1938 edition, James has referred to the importance of San Domingo for France. In 1789, the French Revolution took place, Bastille and Jacobin became iconic names. Inspired by the events in their master country, France, the slaves revolted against French occupation in 1791 in Haiti, so James called them ‘Black Jacobin’.

The struggle of the San Domingo slaves took 12 years to succeed. The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803 led to the establishment of the Negro state of Haiti, the first free Black or Negro state. All other Black states in Africa or South America/Caribbean were still under colonial control of Spain, France, England, Dutch or Portugal. The hero of this revolt was the gifted slave, Toussaint L’Ouverture.

Apart from the two prefaces, James has written the Prologue for the book and 13 chapters. The bibliography is exhaustive, an index is given and the appendix is in the prior mentioned essay, ‘From Toussaint L’ Ouverture to Fidel Castro’. In the Prologue, James has given a brief background of the region, where Christopher Columbus first landed on the island of San Salvador, looking for gold. Local Red Indians directed him to Haiti, a large island, rich in the yellow metal. Spaniards annexed this island in early 16th century. Slavery was introduced. Later, France, Spain and Britain slaughtered each other for 30 years to possess this island in the region. France got a larger part of the island in the 17th century. More and more slaves were brought from Africa and the human drain from Africa ran into millions.

In the first chapter of the book, ‘The Property’, James depicts the establishment of slavery and the conditions in which the slaves lived. They worked for 18 hours a day and, as per James, “worked like animals, the slaves were housed like animals “(page 10). For the smallest of faults, the slaves received the harshest punishment. Whipping was common, a piece of hot wood was placed on buttocks of a victim, salt, pepper, citron, cinders, hot ashes were poured on bleeding wounds. Slaves were tied with irons on their hands and feet, logs of wood tied behind to carry wherever they walked. Blowing of a slave was — ‘to burn a little powder in the arse of a nigger’. But in the midnight celebrations of their African cult, Voodoo, they would sing—Eh! Eh! Bomba! heu! heu!.

The song meant—‘we swear to destroy the whites and all they possess; let us die rather than fail to keep this vow’—and they died in hundreds, as the vow could not be kept!

A literary opponent of slavery was Abbe Raynal, who even before the French Revolution, called for the slave revolution. He was a priest and wrote a book on the exploitation of oppressed people by the white masters. This book inspired Toussaint to make a revolution in Haiti.

In the second chapter, ‘The owners’, James depicts the human and natural resources of Haiti. Port-au-Prince was the official capital of the colony, and even today is the capital of the country. James explains the demography of the island. There were blacks, whites and Mulattos – the offspring of black-white couples. Mulattos were in a better condition than the Blacks. The San Domingo Blacks heard about the French Revolution exploding; Bastille, the symbol of feudal reaction, was stormed in July 1789.

 ‘Parliament and Property’ is the title of the third chapter. In 1790, a colonial assembly was held. Mulatto and Blacks sometimes united against the Whites, while sometimes the Mulattoes did not support Blacks, rather they supported the French occupants. In France’s national assembly, a group called ‘Friends of the Negro’ was formed. Lots of struggles took place, and one liberal Mullato leader, Oge, was tortured to death by the Whites.

In fourth chapter, The San Diego Masses Begin’, the slave rebellion explodes. Toussaint joined the rebellion one month later. Four months of insurrection came to a dead end. Even good liberals–Friends of the Negro — did not do anything to abolish slavery. In fifth and continuing chapter, ‘And the Paris Masses Complete’, about 6,000 thousand men sailed from France in 15 ships to crush the slave revolt. On August 29, 1793, slavery was abolished by Sonthanax.  Toussaint’s forces were growing now, and he did not respond to French overtures, but after the French Assembly passed the decree for abolition of slavery, Toussaint joined the French under threat from British forces.

‘The Rise of Toussaint’ is the sixth chapter, which shows the power of Toussaint, who was advising French Governor Laveaux, but who ignored his advice and capitulated. In seventh chapter, ‘The Mulattoes Try and Fail’, Laveaux was arrested by Mulattoes, released by Toussaint, who was proclaimed as ‘Assistant to the Governor’. In the eighth chapter, ‘The White Slave Owners Again’, there are episodes of intrigues in the ruling sections, Sonotheaux, was a friend of Blacks, but was dictatorial. Toussaint was liked by all– Blacks, Whites and Mulattoes.

‘The Expulsion of the British’ is the title of the ninth chapter. In the three-year war in West Indies, Britian lost 80,000 men. ‘Toussaint seizes the Power’ is title of 10th chapter. By 1800, Toussaint was victorious, he was a master of the whole island, though there were internecine killings among Blacks. ‘The Black Consul’ is the 11th chapter. Toussaint in his control tried to develop the island, gave it a constitution in which the Church was subordinate to the State.

‘The Bourgeoisie Prepares to Restore Slavery; is 12th chapter. It is about the time of reversal; Napoleon Bonaparte was on the rise and he hated the Blacks. Toussaint committed blunders, but his failure, according to James “was failure of enlightenment and not of darkness” (page 288).

The final and 13th chapter is the longest, ‘The War of Independence’. This is history of deceits, forgery and bravery. Toussaint was arrested after failures, which was a shock to the whole population. Bonaparte restored slavery in Guadeloupe. That was an alarm for Haiti. Governor Leclerc Charles Belair and his wife were arrested, condemned and shot. Leclerc died. His successor Rochambeau drowned so many people in the Bay of La Cap, and 1,500 dogs were unleashed to hunt the Blacks.

It was Dessalines from among the Blacks who faced the crisis. A boy of 19, he told the oppressors that “you don’t know how to die. See how to die”. He set himself ablaze and got burnt without uttering a groan. It reminds one of Guru Arjun Dev on a hot plate and Bhagat Singh on the gallows. A woman shamed her Black chief husband and took a rope to hang herself, rather than let the oppressors hang her!

In prison, Toussaint was made to die with torture, hunger and insults. He died on April 7, 1803.On November 29, 1803, Dessalines made the proclamation of liberation of Haiti. On December 31, the new state was named Haiti. In 1805, the Whites were massacred in Haiti. Dessalines was crowned in October 1804.

The book’s appendix is written equally passionately and focuses on Trinidad, the Caribbean and West Indies’ glorious tradition of anti-colonial struggles. The author refers to many novels and poems to indicate that West Indies should follow Castro. He quotes from Aime’ Cesaire’s poem:

But the work of man is only just beginning

And it remains to man to conquer all

The violence entrenched in the recesses of his passion

And no race possesses the monopoly of beauty,

Of intelligence, of force, and there

 Is a place for all at the rendezvous

 of victory………

Truly, a great and essential book to understand human history!

Chaman Lal is a retired Professor from JNU and Honorary Advisor to Bhagat Singh Archives and Resource Centre, New Delhi. He was a visiting Professor to The University of West Indies in Trinidad during 2011. The views are personal.

The Execution of Bhagat Singh: Legal Heresies of the Raj

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New Bhagat Singh Book Rebuts British Rule of Law in Colonial India

The Execution of Bhagat Singh: Legal Heresies of the Raj exposes the legendary freedom fighter’s sham trial.

https://www.newsclick.in/new-bhagat-singh-book-rebuts-british-rule-law-colonial-india

From the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a significant interest among foreign scholars in British, American and some other international universities to do research on Bhagat Singh and his comrades.

Kama Maclean and Chris Moffat’s research-based books have already contributed to the literature on Singh. Daniel Elam and Christopher Pinney are other important names on the list of contributors. Among Indian researchers abroad, Neeti Nair and Maia Ramnath are continuously researching Indian revolutionary movements. 

Now, Satvinder Singh Juss, who is from a Punjabi background and is a law professor and practising barrister in London, has joined the list. His book The Execution of Bhagat Singh: Legal Heresies of the Raj is another study on the sham trial of Singh after the earlier celebrated book by AG Noorani The Trial of Bhagat Singh: Politics of Justice, which was published in 1996.

On the flap on Juss’s book, Kim A. Wagner, known for his book on Jallianwala Bagh, has hit the nail with his short comment: “The book offers a powerful rebuttal of the tired cliché that the British introduced the rule of law in colonial India.”

A 2006 book titled The Blood Never Dried: A People’s History of the British Empire, written by John Newsinger, mentions the so-called justice system of British colonial rule in Asian and African countries, where so much human blood was splintered to continue the imperial loot that it never dried as a poetic phrase used by British poet Earnest Jones in his celebrated poem The Revolt of Hindostan, based on the 1857 Indian war of Independence.

Juss’s book was first published by Amberley Publishing in the UK in 2020 and its Indian edition was published by HarperCollins Publishers India in 2021. The title to the preface of the book’s Indian edition is ‘Why Bhagat Singh Matters’ and begins by referring to the historic and the largest labour protest in history of 125, 000 farmers. Subsequently, Juss refers to Singh’s uncle Ajit Singh, who led a similar farmer’s protest against anti-farmer laws in 1907.

The author in his preface refers to the April 8, 1929, arrest of Singh (and Batukeshwar Dutt) after they hurled bombs at the Central Legislative Assembly, Delhi, as a watershed moment in his life. He refers to Singh’s jail notebook and other writings and the book on Vladimir Lenin read by him a few hours before his execution. 

The contents of the book include a prologue and 11 chapters apart from appendices, notes and a bibliography. The appendices include eight pages of details of Singh’s case files in the Punjab Archives, Lahore, not known before and many letters and other documents reproduced in scanned form, which are a valuable part of the book.

In the prologue, the author refers to the story of the tomb of Anarkali inside Punjab Archives, to which he mistakenly describes as ‘The Bhagat Singh Archives’. Yes, 134 case files of the Lahore conspiracy case are part of the Punjab archives, the brief details of which are shared for the first time in the appendix of this book.

Many open addresses of revolutionaries as well as secret ones are also referred—such as a factory on Ravi Road, a rented house in Gwal Mandi, another house in Mozang and one place in Kashmir building on Mac Leod Road. A journalist Amara Ahmad was planning to research the footsteps of Singh in Lahore at one time though the present status of her research is not known. Ironically, Juss was given full access to the otherwise inaccessible Punjab Archives, Lahore, but was denied similar access to the National Archives of India because of his non-resident Indian status as he describes in his prologue. 

Every chapter of the book begins with a suitable Urdu couplet with an English translation—such as from Habib Jalib, Akbar Allahabadi, Faiz, Sahir Ludhianvi, etc. The first chapter, ‘Coercive Colonial Legalism’, brings out the so-called justice of the colonial regime, which itself was based on the principle of coercion of Indian or any colonised people, the features of which are detailed in this chapter.

Another chapter ‘The Slipper and the Magistrate’ narrates how Premdatta Verma, the youngest co-accused in the Lahore conspiracy case, threw a slipper at approver Jai Gopal, provoked by his gestures. Later, the revolutionaries were brutally attacked in front of Magistrate Pandit Sri Kishen, who was acting more as an executive magistrate than a judicial one.

A full chapter is devoted to the glorious hunger strike/s by the revolutionaries during which Jatin Das died on September 13, 1929. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had commenced his speech at the Central Assembly on September 12 by mentioning Das.

The book also mentions how the British were introducing ordinances arbitrarily when they were not able to get them passed in the Assembly as they had more nominated members than elected ones. The Indian resistance, whether in the Assembly or at courts by nationalist advocates at the Lahore Bar, is also presented in great detail.

One full chapter “‘Inquilabi’ Justice Agha Haider” mentions the great role played by Saharanpur-born Justice Agha Haider, who was nominated as a member of the Special Tribunal in May 1930 and was fair to the Lahore conspiracy accused as a High Court judge. Justice Haider threw away the man sent by the British to bribe him to convict the accused. Finally, the colonial rulers got rid of Justice Haider through Chief Justice of Punjab High Court, Sir Shadi Lal, on the excuse of the reorganisation of the tribunal.

Justice Haider later became a member of the UP Assembly and a condolence resolution passed by the Assembly is given as an appendix. Justice Haider, born in 1876, died on February 5, 1947, a few months before independence. His descendants still live in the same house in Saharanpur as the family decided not to migrate to Pakistan during the Partition.

Singh’s sham trial is exposed as it was held in the absence of the accused and in heresies of the Raj, it is underlined that the judgement was predetermined. To quote the author, “In fact, the Tribunal’s bias is clear from how badly the judgement was drafted.” (Page 179)

The Execution of Bhagat Singh is one of the better books written on the legendary revolutionary and freedom fighter in the last decade or so. The book also focuses on Singh’s personality as a Marxist thinker, which is an eyesore for the current Indian government trying to appropriate him as a popular icon but sans his revolutionary thought.

Singh’s power even after his death is so overwhelming that despite the government’s best efforts to suppress his revolutionary thought, it became the strength of the historic movement of farmers against the three farm laws. The farmers got inspiration and strength from Singh’s revolutionary ideas and emerged victorious. Even after his execution, Bhagat Singh lives more powerfully as he himself had foreseen while consciously choosing martyrdom—Juss’s book underlines this strength.

Greetings to ICAP and World Peace Council on 2022 International Seminar for Peace

Greetings to ICAP and World Peace Council on 2022 International Seminar for Peace

 Installation of Bhagat Singh's statue in Havana honour for us: Left parties | India News - Times of India (indiatimes.com)

Campaign for Bhagat Singh bust in Cuba | India News - Times of India (indiatimes.com)

Desde India saludan encuentro pacifista en Guantánamo - Siempre con Cuba

        I extend my warmest greetings to The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and World Peace Council (CMP) on holding VII International seminar for Peace and the abolition of foreign Military bases of USA and NATO being held from 4^th to 6^th May at Santa Clara-the city liberated by great revolutionary Che Guevara from criminal Batista in a glorious victory in 1959. I express my solidarity with Cuban people in their most just demand!

     At this moment I fondly remember my visit to Santa Clara on 16^th December 2011, when I paid my tributes to the memory of great revolutionary Che Guevara by visiting his grand memorial and also visiting other places in the city relating to liberation. Prior to that I had also visited Habana and Santiago de Cuba and paid my tributes to great Cuban liberation at Moncada site and other sites of iconic revolution such as visiting Revolutionary Museum, Granma ship etc. in Habana. Though I missed Centre de Che Guevara in Habana, which was under renovation at that time! I still wish to spend few months at Centre de Che in Habana to do research on Che Guevara! I also participated in a meeting organized by ICAP in Santiago de Cuba seeking the release of Cuban Five, one of whom is present President of ICAP-Fernando Gonzales Llort! (I had the pleasure of meeting him Kathmandu during an international seminar in 2018) That meeting presented Bolivian music group and I was also invited to speak, and I expressed my solidarity with The Cuban-5.

In fact, I had been regularly visiting and having friendly relations with  Cuban and Venezuelan embasies in Port of Spain in Trinidad &Tobago, where I was serving as Visiting Professor in Hindi during year 2011 at The University of the West Indies-St. Augustine campus! I had earlier good friendly relations with Cuban ambassador to India Miguel Ramirez, whom I met again in Habana in a party by then Indian ambassador to Cuba! I continue my friendship with Cuban embassy in India at Delhi.

         Our South Asian revolutionary hero Bhagat Singh and South American revolutionary hero Che Guevara are the inspiration for the youth of the whole world. I run a page on Facebook-Che Guevara and Bhagat Singh with few thousand members and also a group-Admirers of Bhagat Singh and Che Guevara with few more thousand members. I had proposed to ICAP for putting up a statue or Bust of Bhagat Singh on the road, where statues of revolutionaries from all over the world are put up. It was positively responded; Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also met Cuban ambassador in India to offer a bust of Bhagat Singh. There was lot of media coverage about it at that time. I wish and hope that in coming years, a bust or statue of South Asia’s most popular iconic revolutionary Bhagat Singh’s Bust will be placed on Habana Road as symbol of unity of South Asian and South American revolutionary tradition!

       Once again with warmest greetings and solidarity with Cuban people!