Former prime minister of India, Inder Kumar Gujral said that in the demise of Harkishan Singh Surjeet, the country has lost one of its most outstanding sons and a stateman who had a vision which nobody else had. Gujral spoke exclusively to rediff.com.
"I first met Surjeet when he was just 17 years old and he met my father who took a fancy to him. He had known most of the revolutionaries right from Bhagat Singh to those who were involved in the Meerut and Kakori conspiracies. He died at the ripe age of 93 but he had an unbelmished record. I went to see him when he was admitted in hospital and I knew that the lion was going," Gujral said.
The former PM recalled that Surjeet had already established himself by the time he had finished his studies. "I was also part of the communist movement and once he picked up three persons for training and we were put up in a Gurdwara. One of his sources told him that the police would conduct a raid that night. He sneaked us out from the rear of the Gurdwara and we walked to his house through the night in Nawanshahar," Gujral said.
Surjeet was one of the most dynamic personalities of Indian politics and the kind of role that he played in last twenty five years in setting up coalition governments was superb, Gujral recalled.
Surjeet rose from a petty background to being one of the top politicians of the country.
"The only who came close to him is Jyoti Basu. Surjeet took part in the freedom struggle and those who say that Communists did not take part in the freedom movement are telling lies. His most important trait was his patriotism. I would say that he was one of the greatest stalwarts of the communist movement who first became general secretary of the Communist Party of India and later shifted to the Communist Party of India-Marxist and became its general secretary for the longest time. He has created a void and India without him will never be the same. I have lost a great friend," Gujral said.
Man who brought the Left Centre stage