Veteran Naxalite leader Azizul Haque dies at 83; end of era for Bengal's radical politics
He was 83.
Haque, who was born in Howrah in 1942, belonged to the generation of Naxal leaders who believed that 'bonduker nol-i, khomotar utsa' (Political power grows out of the barrel of the gun), a doctrine popularised by their ideological mentor, Charu Mazumdar, who made the Mao Zedong's slogan popular in India in the Sixties and Seventies.
A poet, political thinker and once the head of the CPI(ML)'s second central committee, Haque had long been battling illness and was admitted to ICU after a fall at home that left him with a fractured hand.
He breathed his last at 2:28 PM, sources said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep condolences on X, describing Haque as a "fighter who never bowed down in his long political life."
"I express my condolences at the passing of veteran politician Azizul Haque. Azizul Haque was a fighter, a resolute leader. In his long political career, he never bowed his head. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family and associates," she posted on X.
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