By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 28 Nov: Raja Bahuguna, Chairman of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and among its senior figures in Uttarakhand, passed away in Delhi today after having battled liver cancer since 2023. Party members expressed grief at his demise and said the party lowered its Red Flag in his memory.
Raja Bahuguna began his political journey during his college years in Nainital and was initially associated with the Youth Congress. However, growing disillusionment during the turbulent seventies drew him towards anti-Emergency activities and the forest movements, including the Chipko Andolan. He later joined the Uttarakhand Sangharsh Vahini, participating in several local movements in Nainital, Almora and other areas, focusing on environmental concerns and the rights of farmers and labourers.
In the early eighties, Bahuguna came into contact with the CPI (ML) Liberation and became one of its founding organisers in Uttarakhand, then part of undivided Uttar Pradesh. He was actively involved in the separate statehood movement and organised a large rally in Nainital during a period of stagnation in the campaign. He had also authored a booklet outlining the direction of a proposed Uttarakhand state and helped form the Uttarakhand People’s Front to articulate democratic aspirations for statehood.
Bahuguna held several organisational positions, including National Vice President of the Indian People’s Front and head of its Uttar Pradesh unit. He also participated in movements such as the land rights agitation in Bindukhatta and initiatives against violence in the Terai region. He faced police action, including lathicharge and imprisonment, during these campaigns. In 1989, he contested the Lok Sabha election for the first time but failed to win. By the nineties, the party had expanded significantly in Uttarakhand under his stewardship. Over the years, he served as State Secretary of the party, a Central Committee member, National Vice President of AITUC, and a member of the Central Executive of the AIPF. In 2023, at the 11th Party Congress in Patna, he was elected Chairman of the Central Control Commission. His demise leaves a vacuum in leftist politics of Uttarakhand as well as the country, which is already diminishing.
