Saturday 27 October 2018

Veteran leader Sen passed away!

Comrade S.S.Sen Amar Rahe! 

It is our irreparable loss! Comrade Sen had active interaction with our members through his write ups in Pensioners Post recently! We share the grief and dip our flag in his honour! - KR GS AIPRPA


COM S.S, SEN, VETERAN P&T LEADER, EMERGENCY HERO AND WHISTLE BLOWER OF SDA IS NO MORE. HE PAASED AWAY IN BANGALORE AT 3-30 PM TODAY. HE WAS 86.
COM S. S. SEN LONG LIVE.
RCC( NER), COC(CGEs) & JCTU, ASSAM DIP THEIR BANNERS IN THE HONOUR OF COM SEN.
“That was the 6th day of November, 1975. Dark days of emergency imposed by Mrs Indira Gandhi were looming large over democratic movements of our country. One Police Inspector keeping his force outside entered into the then Sub Record Office at Guwahati under RMS ‘GH’ Division and took the chair in front of a young man working there and asked curiously “Are you Mr. ----?” With militant posture and uncompromising determination, the man just crossed his forty, instantly replied, “Yes, I am Mr Sudhendu Sekhar Sen whom you are searching for.”  The inspector with his regretful expression contended Com S S Sen (popularly known as Sudha Sen) that it was the order from the high echelons of power that he was bound to carry out and for that reason he should not be misunderstood. After completion of all formalities including permission from the Senior Superintendent, Com S S Sen was arrested and taken away to the Guwahati Central Jail. 
In the Central Jail were the galaxy of leaders of the P&T Trade Union movement already taken into custody; Com Bimal Kanti Gupta, CS of E IV, Com Jagadindra Bhattacharjee, CS E III, Com Hareswar Sarma, CS P III, Com Bhuban Chandra Das, CS P IV, Com Sankar Kumar Das, CS E III, Com Bhrigu Ram Lahkar, Asstt. CS P III and Com Prabin Chandra Boro, Secretary P&T LCC Guwahati. There in the Central Jail and elsewhere in Assam they had to wait for 15 to 19 months to get released from jail until the emergency was lifted. After the release from the jail also they were not spared. All of them were transferred to the remotest hilly corners of the North Eastern Region, only to be brought back when the Janata Government came to power in 1977.
Perhaps this is the unmatched chapter of the history of the trade union movement in the central government employees’ front where as many as 8 (Eight) top leaders were put into jail with an intention to crush the democratic trade union movement. Needless to say that second union (FNPTO) in the P&T was formed with the government’s patronage to sabotage the historic 1968 central government employees’ strike. Government tried to form the union in the NE Region also but could not get inroad even after putting the entire top leadership behind the bar. Rock like unity of the workers at the ground level remained intact throughout the emergency regime and all the jailed leaders were re-elected to their respective positions in the union hierarchy as and when the conferences were due and held amidst prevailing situation. These leaders were also amongst the galaxy of leaders of Central including Railways, State, Insurance and Banking sectors who were instrumental in formation of the JOINT COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS, ASSAM in 1973 through a massive convention of workers in Guwahati inaugurated by Com KG Bose and also attended by George Fernandez. Com Jagadindra Bhattacharjee along with Com Achyut Deka of LIC took the mantle of this joint forum as first Joint Convenors. Later on the JCTU, Assam withstood the test of time and created many histories in the trade union movement in Assam. That legacy has still been continued.   
In the early 1990s also Regional Co-ordination Committee of P&T Employees Unions (NFPE), North East Region with Comrade S S Sen as Convenor again made history by orgainising the longest ever successful strike of the white colour employees in the history of India demanding Special (Duty) Allowance. The strike started on 15 November, 1991 under the leadership of RCC of P&T Employees Unions, NE Region to end the discrimination by implementing court judgment. The entire RCC leadership including Com SS Sen, Com J Bhttacharjee, Com RP Sarma, Com Sasadhar Deb, Com BC Das, Com SK Das, Com MR Das, Com JN Mishra exhibited the exemplary leadership quality to continue the strike with tactical perfectness and extreme patience. No door of any Post Office and RMS Office was opened for long 38 days up to 22 December, 1991 until an Agreement was signed between NFPE and the Department of Posts in presence of Minister for communications. Subsequently the discrimination was ended and SDA was granted to all CG employees of NE Region irrespective of transfer liabilities.”
REST ASSURED COM S. S. SEN.
WE VOW TO CARRY FORWARD THIS LEGACY!

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