Inside the compound of the Conference Hall an imposing red column was erected to honour the memory of martyrs of the revolutionary movement. An inspiring painting depicting the taking over and keeping aloft of the Red Flag by a woman guerilla from the hands of an injured guerilla falling to the ground, was inscribed on the column with the caption: 'People's Heroes are immortal". All the comrades, coming from the parade grounds after flag-hoisting, filed in front of the memorial column and stood in attention.
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A delegate from AP state unit inaugurated the Martyr's Column, as the entire congregation took off their caps in hand, reversed their arms and observed two-minute silence paying homage to Martyrs. Then a revolutionary song extolling the supreme sacrifices and death-defying fighting spirit of the martyrs and pledging to carry on their mission through to the end was sung. Afterwards the comrade who inaugurated the column spoke alternately in Telugu and English remembering all the great heroes of the Indian Democratic Revolution ever since the days of the First War of Indian Independence. He stressed that thousands had laid down their lives and as a result the path of protracted people's war--the path of seizing political power by the toiling masses through armed struggle--is unfolded before us today and only by persisting in this path through to the end and by achieving the liberation of Indian people, we will be paying real homage to our beloved martyrs.
Later, inside the Conference Hall, the deliberations began with the delegates first adopting a detailed resolution paying homage to all the martyrs. A few excerpts from the resolution read: ".... ever since the First War of Indian Independence, and particularly in the Telangana armed struggle, the peasant struggles (of) Tebhaga, Punapra-Vayalar etc., many people laid down their lives making the path of liberation ever more crimson"....
"In the glorious Naxalbari struggle, the spring thunder of 1960s, and in the armed struggles of Srikakulam, Mushahari, Debra-Gopiballabhapur, Birbhum, Bhojpur etc., many communist revolutionaries laid down their lives and lighted the path of revolution". "The founder of our Party, the great leader who broke the back of parliamentary path and applied the path of protracted armed struggle to our country, comrade Charu Majumdar, (and a host of leaders in various states), in all more than six thousand comrades became martyrs in the course of Naxalbari, Srikakulam and subsequent struggles. (They) have built the road of Indian Revolution with their blood" .... "hundreds of our beloved leaders, comrades-in-arms and oppressed people have become martyrs in the last fifteen years in AP and Dandakaranya which inherited the path of heroic Telangana, Naxalbari and Srikakularn armed struggles, continuing the legacy of the 8th Congress of our Party, resisting state's violence and forging ahead in the direction of building guerilla zones...". "... besides comrade Puli Anjanna, secretary of AP State Committee, comrade Chintala Venkata Swamy another PC member, and several organisers and masses ... comrades Swarnalatha, Swaroopa, Rajeswari, Kursam Rajakka, Padmakka, Saradakka, Bhagyakka, Sammakka and many more women comrades sacrificed their lives for the cause of New Democracy". After making solemn references to those who are martyred in imprisonment, in several mass killings by police firing such as the Cossipore-Baranagar, Indravelli, Pagideru etc., and martyrs of other M-L groups and those of various nationalities struggles, the resolution affirmed that "the advancement of the movement is but the rich harvest of the sacrifices of our martyrs. This Conference rededicates itself to make the dreams of our martyrs come true and to relentlessly fight to that end".
Different halls, entrances and grounds etc., some 23 of such places at the Conference venue, were named after the martyrs. A COC member briefly described the life-sketches of those martyrs.
This commemoration event concluded with loud slogans of "Red Salutes to Martyrs!" reverberating in the air.
TASKS TAKEN-UP BY KARNATAKA STATE CONFERENCE
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