Comrade Satish Yadav, popular Party leader from Bhojpur, has been murdered. At 6 pm on 20 August while returning from a Jandawedari sabha in Badgaon (Agiao Vidhan Sabha constituency) he was ambushed and killed by local BJP leader, President of PACS and Ranveer Sena henchman Rinku Singh and his gang.

The rising political assertion of the poor has increased frustration and disquiet in feudal forces just before the Bihar elections. Behind all its tall claims and rhetoric of development the BJP along with its Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) leaders is out to stop the increasing mobilization the poor, dalits, farmers, and working sections of society at any cost and are once again training their guns on CPI(ML) leaders in their frustration.

Only a few months ago, Comrade Upadhyaya Yadav, a popular peasant leader in Jehanabad district, was seriously injured after being shot at by the same feudal criminal forces.

35-year old Satish Yadav was a member of the Party’s Agiao block committee and had played an important role in the people’s struggle against the Ranveer Sena. This murder has been committed at a time when a strong agitation is on for the arrest of Ranveer Sena commanders who have been exposed through their own admission on camera in the Cobrapost sting. This incident is proof that the morale of feudal forces has been boosted by Narendra Modi’s meeting in Ara. Present on the dais with Modi at the meeting were BJP leaders Sushil Modi and CP Thakur, who stand exposed by the Cobrapost sting as the protectors of the Ranveer Sena.

Eyewitnesses say that the killing was done with the connivance of Ajeemabad thana in-charge Shyamdev Singh. When Satish Yadav was returning from the sabha, the police followed on the same road with a gap of few minutes, went into the village and almost immediately news came of his murder. Popular people’s leaders are being regularly killed with the connivance of the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s police.

The news of Com. Satish’s killing left the people stunned and a wave of grief spread through the entire district. His final journey took place on 22 August, and it was an unprecedented event. It began at the Ara Party office where people paid floral tributes to the beloved departed leader. Leaders who paid tribute to Com. Satish included PB member Swadesh Bhattacharya, Bihar State Secretary Kunal, PB member Amar, CC member Nand Kishore Prasad, Bhojpur district secretary Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sudama Prasad, Raju Yadav, Manoj Manzil and others. The last voyage then began. From Ara to Ajeemabad, hundreds of motorcyclists led the way, a convoy of cars followed, and people were lined on both sides of the road to catch a last glimpse of their beloved leader. People from outside the ambit of the Party also took part in the condolence meeting whose struggles had recently been led by Com. Satish. Tearful eyes brimming with anger and grief bade farewell on the banks of the Son River to the beloved leader with slogans of “Com. Satish amar rahe, Shaheed tere armanon ko manzil tak pahunchaenge”.

The CPI(ML) Bihar State committee called for a Bhojpur bandh on 21 August to protest this killing. This a matter of shame for the Bihar government that far from arresting the killers of the poor, the series of attacks on and killing of the poor who are demanding justice has begun afresh.

The Bhojpur bandh got an overwhelming response from the people of the district. On 22 August Statewide protests were organized across Bihar.

Com. Satish Yadav: A Life Sketch

Comrade Satish Yadav fell prey to a murderous feudal-criminal assault at the young age of 35. He was very popular due to his initiatives on various people’s issues. This is the reason a veritable sea of people thronged to his last voyage and tears flowed freely from the eyes of the poor, dalits, farmers and women.

Com. Satish was born in Kamariya village of Agiaon block in a middle peasant family. His father Com. Judge Yadav was also very popular among peasantry as a CPI(ML) leader and in 1990 he fought the Assembly election from the Barhhara seat where he secured 25,000 votes. From childhood Com. Satish Yadav realised the importance of political assertion for the poor and became an integral part of their struggles.

The historic struggle against Baga math by the peasants and agrarian workers for the land in that region made a strong impression on the young Satish, when he decided to dedicate himself to the people’s fight for liberation. He became a member of the CPI(ML) in 1995. That was the phase when the bloodthirsty Ranveer Sena was spreading terror in Bhojpur and massacre after massacre was being perpetrated. Com. Satish came to the forefront of the fight against the Ranveer Sena and fought several historic battles as part of the Party’s propaganda squad. His capabilities soon made him a popular leader within the Party as well as with the people.

After the decline of the Ranveer Sena phenomenon, he led many struggles on basic issues of workers and peasants, against crime, and for developmental issues of the area. His many initiatives concerning the poor as well as middle peasantry became subject of popular discussions and inspiration among common masses. Last year when the paddy crop in Ajeemabad was withering due to lack of irrigation, Com. Satish led a 4-day road block agitation by farmers for water to be released into the canal. Under pressure from the agitation the canal from Nonaur to Ajeemabad was cleaned and water came to the fields. The administration also had to send a work-plan for the Dedhua pump canal project, a long standing demand of the region. Com. Satish emerged as a popular leader among the peasants. He carried out a historic struggle for the procurement of paddy crop in Agiaon and forced the administration to purchase 30,000 quintals of paddy from sharecroppers and small farmers.

The killer Rinku Singh as President of the Badgaon panchayat PACS, faced defeat at the hands of the militant peasant movement led by Com. Satish for the purchase of paddy. Even now, Rs 8 lakhs remains unpaid to the farmers as arrears, for the payment of which Com. Satish was incessantly fighting. By killing Com. Satish the BJP has snatched away a beloved young leader from the peasants. This ghastly incident has exposed the anti-farmer character of the BJP and its protégé the Ranveer Sena.

Com. Satish was active in raising all developmental issues. And with his increasing popularity, frightened feudal forces in connivance with the local administration and police had falsely implicated him in a number of false cases. A case was filed against him in the Pawana agitation for electricity. He was also charged with a case against him in the Narayanpur agitation against murder of a father-son duo by feudal criminals. He carried out strong agitations on the issue of electricity in Narayanpur, Akauna, pawana, Madanpur and other villages, after which the mahadalit tolas saw electricity first time in their life.

He also successfully fought the struggles of the sand-mining workers who were losing their livelihood because of the illegal sand mining through JCB machines by dominant forces in Ajeemabad river banks, resulting in the victory of the sand workers. He led struggles for the inclusion of the poor in the BPL lists of Agiao panchayat, the corruption of PDS dealers, and for availability of ration under PDS. From building schools and roads to every people’s issue was actively raised and fought under his leadership. He successfully led the agitation for reinstatement of teachers in the school at Poswa. In killing him, the BJP led goons have killed a leader who was constantly working for the development of the region.

Comrade Satish had been incarcerated in jail as a political prisoner charged with false cases. But even in jail, Comrade Satish did not lose sight of the struggle. He was among those political prisoners who organised prisoners inside Ara jail to collect funds for a Bhagat Singh bust to be installed inside the jail.

CPI(ML) Politburo member Comrade Ramji Rai has recounted the moving memories of having met the young Comrades Satish and Sanjay on 23 March 2011, on the occasion of Bhagat Singh martyrdom day when the bust was unveiled. “Seeing the huge participation of people in the Bhagat Singh centenary programmes of 2007-08 in Bhojpur, Bhagat Singh scholar Prof. Chaman Lal had exclaimed, “It feels as though Bhagat Singh was born in Bhojpur”... You are right Chaman Lalji, remember how Baba Nagarjun wrote in his poem ‘Bhojpur’ – ‘Bhagat Singh has just been reborn here ...’. The bust of Bhagat Singh had been made by comrades in Banaras. I was the chief guest at the unveiling. The jail administration was most reluctant to let me enter the jail, but the comrades’ struggles succeeded in forcing them to concede. In the presence of the jailer, Comrade Sanjay cut the ribbon and Comrade Satish unveiled the statue. The foundation of the bust has the names of these comrades and Bhagat Singh’s words, ‘By revolution I mean – complete overthrow of the unjust order.’ ... There have been many instances of temples and mosques being built inside jails, but this is perhaps the only instance of a statue of Bhagat Singh being installed inside the jail – and it could have happened only due to the efforts of those revolutionaries like Satish, incarcerated inside the jail.”

Comrade Satish’s life will remain an inspiring reminder of the two extremes of Bihar’s social and political life – one of brutal violence and oppression and the other of brave resistance by comrades like Satish. The future of Bihar certainly belongs to the Bhagat Singhs of Bihar like Satish.