Socialist & fighter

April 11, 2013 01:42 am | Updated 01:42 am IST

Although the allegation that George Fernandes sought CIA funding during the Emergency is without substance, I feel we need not be apologetic and defensive about him. A socialist and fighter, he never reconciled to Indira Gandhi’s Emergency. He did not deny his involvement in the Baroda dynamite case, which he said became inevitable to overthrow a dictator who had destroyed democracy.

He struggled throughout his life for the working class. The railway strike organised by him as president of the All-India Railwaymen’s Federation in 1974 was a great success. He was very much against U.S. imperialism and would have never asked the CIA for money, but his hatred for the Emergency was much deeper.

N.K. Singh ,

New Delhi

When Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency and assumed the powers of a dictator, sent her political opponents to jail, imposed media censorship and curbed the freedom of speech, a few individuals like George Fernandes stood up to her.

He went underground and trained his cadres in using dynamites. While motivating them to use the dynamites, he ensured that no harm was done to people’s lives. It was because of people like him that democracy was restored.

Aneel Hegde ,

Patna

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.