Tribute to Dr. Baba Adhav

बाबा अढ़ाव का महाप्रस्थान एक सिद्धांतनिष्ठ समाजवादी की अनुकरणीय जीवन-यात्रा का शानदार समापन है। असंगठित क्षेत्र के मज़दूरों की समस्याओं के समाधान में आजीवन जुटे बाबा अढ़ाव हजारों समाजसेवकों के प्रेरणास्रोत और पथप्रदर्शक थे। उनकी दिखाई हुई राह पर चलते हुए श्रमजीवी स्त्री-पुरुषों के जीवन को बेहतर बनाने में योगदान देना ही सच्ची श्रद्धांजलि होगी।

– आनंद कुमार
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Tribute to Dr. Baba Adhav

Before the year 2025 comes to a close, four eminent figures from the second generation of the socialist movement have passed away one after another. First, Comrade Dr. G. G. Parikh at the age of 100 on October 2; then Sachhida Sinha, who was just shy of completing a century; followed by Pannalal Surana, who passed away at 93; and now today’s departure of Dr. Baba Adhav. For someone like me, who belongs to the third generation after them, it feels as though four of our senior comrades—each of whom lived long and purposeful lives—have left us within a short span. All of them dedicated nearly 75 years of their lives, after their youth, to the task of building an egalitarian, secular, and socialist India.

Dr. Baba Adhav, who lived for 95 years, had been admitted to a Pune hospital for the past week and passed away today due to age-related complications.

My personal association with Baba and with Pannalalji began in the 1970s, during my first year of college, when I became involved in the “One Village, One Well” movement in Maharashtra. This connection continued unbroken for the next 55 years. The main reason for this enduring bond was that Baba’s public life began with the Rashtra Seva Dal. Baba Adhav, Bhai Vaidya, and Pannalal Surana belonged to the same batch of the Rashtra Seva Dal and were also active in the Socialist Party. The passing of Baba, just a week after Pannalalji, is an immense loss to both the Rashtra Seva Dal and the socialist movement.

Although Baba was a professional doctor, he devoted most of his life to healing the centuries-old social illness of inequality. Drawing inspiration from Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, who first raised the banner against caste oppression, he distanced himself from parliamentary politics in the 1970s and committed himself to the eradication of caste until his final days. From forming unions of porters and rickshaw drivers in Pune to starting the Kustachi Bhakar program — which offered nutritious meals at minimal cost to daily-wage laborers — his initiatives inspired the Maharashtra government to start Zhunka Bhakar centers across the state. Likewise, the “One Village, One Well” movement that he helped lead was later formally adopted and implemented by the state government.

With the passing of these four senior comrades, a storm brews within me about the current state of the socialist movement. These individuals devoted their entire post-independence lives under the banner of the Socialist Party, facing immense hardships to establish socialism in India. But what is the condition of the socialist movement today? We seem to have confined ourselves to celebrating anniversaries, memorial meetings, and centenary events of our departed leaders, without meaningful work on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has now completed a century of existence without participating in the freedom struggle or addressing the fundamental social issues of our nation, has gained dominance by exploiting communal polarization and populist tactics. This may sound harsh, but it is the truth. It is worth remembering that the Communist Party of India, too, was founded a hundred years ago this month in Kanpur — yet where does it stand today in comparison to the RSS? That is a separate subject, which I will address soon.

For now, if we take stock of the socialist movement, what do we see? Revolutions are said to erupt when conditions become unbearable. But perhaps, just as the human body develops immunity to endure illnesses, people too have increased their tolerance for suffering. Inflation, unemployment, corruption, the collapse of law and order, casteism, and religious polarization — all have reached unprecedented levels.

There was a time when we all united under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan in the great movement whose 50th anniversary we mark this year. Since then, only scattered protests have occurred. The only movement that truly reshaped India’s politics was the communal mobilization around the so-called Ram Temple campaign, which ironically weakened our base as well as that of the communists. Even some of our own comrades, out of frustration or personal ambition, drifted into communal politics — such examples cannot be denied.

Unless we confront these errors honestly, learn from them, and correct our course, we will remain like oxen tied to a mill — moving in circles without real progress.

If we truly love our departed comrades and feel gratitude for their lifelong commitment to the socialist cause, the best tribute we can offer is honest self-reflection and a renewed effort to break this vicious cycle.

In the memory of Dr. Baba Adhav, let us resolve to carry forward his mission to eradicate inequality. That alone will be our true revolutionary homage.

Revolutionary Salutations,
Dr. Suresh Khairnar