The veteran leader of the Marxist Communist Party of India, Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who has slipped into coma after being hospitalized in New Delhi, deserves honour for his participation in the freedom struggle.

Ninety-two-year-old Surjeet was the General Secretary of the CPI (M) from 1992 to 2005, but was not included in the party politburo this year due to his unstable health.

His party has lent outside support to the present day Congress-led minority government in India. Although the two sides are opposed to each other on foreign policies and economical programs, the communists decided to keep the balance of power in Congress hands to keep the Hindu nationalist BJP out of power.

The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi visited Surjeet in hospital.

The ailing politician was born on March 23, 1916, and comes from the Jallandhar district of Punjab province. At a young age, he joined the Naujawan Sabha, a youth group that was formed by towering Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh, and along with his comrades dared to hoist an Indian flag at the Hoshiarpur courts.

He was shot at by the British Police. Surjeet was named as London Tod Singh, or the one who could break London. He also edited revolutionary newspapers.

He remained a tireless freedom fighter until India gained its independence in 1947. He opposed the communal partition of India that resulted in the birth of a Muslim Pakistan at the cost of thousands of lives that were lost during the subsequent Hindu-Muslim riots.

In later years, he vehemently opposed the Hindu chauvinism and also the movement for a separate Sikh homeland called Khalistan in his home province.

He remained a frequent visitor to Vancouver, where he confronted the Sikh separatists and encouraged his supporters to help the moderates in their fight against religious fundamentalists.

He has a big support group in B.C. The Indo Canadian Workers Association hopes for his speedy recovery.

Widely known as an honest and astute politician, Surjeet has his own contradictions too. Despite being a national leader, he failed to strengthen his party on his own home turf. His party remains divided in Punjab and does not have a single legislator.

History will certainly take into account his weaknesses, but his participation in the political struggles from the days of British rule will earn him a place in the revolutionaries’ hall of fame.