At a time when the CPI-M, reduced to a zero in terms of assembly presence after the 2021 West Bengal polls, is struggling hard to regain its mass base in the state, a message from Dr Aleida Guevera, daughter of legendary Argentine Marxist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, in Kolkata on Friday came as a spirited inspiration for the student leaders of the party. Attending a felicitation programme conducted by Jadavpur University’s arts faculty student’s union, which is controlled by CPI-M’s student wing Student’s Federation of India (SFI), Aleida Guevera, a top physician and human rights activist, advised the students to keep the flag of struggle for the proletariat interest high. She was accompanied by her daughter and economist Estefania Guevara. Aleida Guevera spoke in Spanish which was instantly translated by one of the SFI activists in Bengali. “As my father believed that one should not concede defeat in the struggle in life. You will have to fight and move towards the path of victory. So, comrades move ahead. Study more and fight more. Be a good professional in your respective area. Never retreat. Always be with people even whatever height you achieve. Always be in touch with the mass. You have to be united in your proletariat struggle. That was a lesson from Commadante Che Guevara,” she said after the colour felicitation programme with the “Hasta La Victoria Siempre” tune playing in the background. Her speech received accolades from the students present on the occasion who shouted revolutionary slogans like ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido (The people united shall always be victorious)’.
