Harkishan Singh Surjeet (1916 - 2008)

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India: "I was deeplyshocked and pained by the news of the passing away of Sardar Harkishan SinghSurjeet. Surjeet Saheb was a great political leader, a true patriot, a mancommitted to the welfare of the downtrodden, a great Indian and above all a dearfriend. I greatly valued his friendship and his guidance. As I said recently inParliament, he was one of the architects of the United Progressive Alliance.

Sardar Harkishan Singh Surjeet dedicated his entire life to the communistmovement in India. He was one of its leading lights in Punjab and for many yearsan outstanding leader of the communist movement in India. Under his leadershipthe communist movement came into the national mainstream and contributed togiving a progressive orientation to our social and economic policies. I alwaysvalued his advice and reached out to him for support and guidance in managingthe UPA Government.

I wish to convey my sincere condolences to all the members of his family, tothe millions of his supporters and admirers and to all those who looked up tohim for leadership.

I join the people of India in deeply mourning his passing away."

Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker, Loksabha: The news of the passing away of Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet this afternoon has come as a great shock not only to me but to millions of comrades and our countrymen. This is also a personal loss to me as I had always enjoyed his kind affection and guidance as a humble member of the Party. He has been one of the tallest leaders of the country and one of the main architects of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and under his able leadership the Party has rightly come to be known as the leading Leftist Party in the country working for the emancipation of the working class and the vulnerable sections of our community. His principled fight was for the establishment of a democratic way of the life based on secularism and preservation of the rights of the peasants, workers and the common people of the country. His has been of most inspiring leadership in different facets of the Left movement in the country and he has been a crusader for the establishment of a pro-people and anti-imperialist set-up in the country. As a whole, the country and the Party have suffered irreparable loss and I pay my respectful homage to his memory. I am sure the message of his life will continue to be a beacon to all the millions of people in the country who are engaged in fighting against divisiveness and fundamentalism and for the establishment of the rights of the citizens.

I convey my sincere condolence to his gracious wife and all the members of his family and to all the members and the supporters of the Party. 

L.K. Advnai, leader of opposition, Lok Sabha: In the death of Shri Harkishan Singh Surjeet Indian politics has lost a veteran, and the marxist movement a dedicated activist.

I well recall the days when we used to meet almost every week when the marxist party and my party were supporting the V.P. Singh Government. The last time I saw him was a month or so back when he was in a NOIDA hospital in a serious condition.

I mourn the death of Shri Surjeet and offer my deep condolences to his family and colleagues.