INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE OF PEOPLES’ STRUGGLE
As chairperson of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle and on my personal behalf, I wish to convey most heartfelt condolences to the family, comrades and friends of Prof. Dt. Hari Sharma on his passing away.
All of us share a profound sense of loss. But we are consoled that he lived a full and meaningful life in the service of the people. He made significant contributions to the people’s struggle for national and social liberation against imperialism and all reaction.
I first met Prof. Hari Sharma when I was on a speaking tour in India in January 1987. We were immediately on comradely terms because I had been informed by Filipino compatriots in Canada of his militant cooperation as leader of the Indian People’s Association in North America (IPANA) since 1975 in the fight against the dictatorships of Ferdinand Marcos and Indira Gandhi.
I was also aware of his role as international representative of a Naxalite party. We had lively discussions about India and the Philippines and the world at large, especially about imperialism and modern revisionism, the people’s resistance and the historic mission of the working class. I had high respect for his revolutionary commitment and practical work.
My respect for him rose higher every time he came to visit me in the Netherlands. We had extensive discussions about Marxism, sociology, art and literature, revolutionary movements in the world, the restoration of capitalism in the former socialist countries and the prospects of socialism in the long run.
I invited him to participate in the International Seminar on Mao Zedong Thought in Gilsenkirchen, Germany in 1993. He sat in the Presidium and gave important inputs. He was one among the distinguished signatories of the General Declaration on Mao Zedong Thought.
Again I invited him to participate in the founding of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle in Zutphen, The Netherlands in May 2001 in his capacity as leader of the International South Asia Forum (INSAF) and the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD).
Prof. Jose Maria Sison,
Chairperson
LIBERATION NEWS SERVICE (Produced by the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist Liberation): Circulated the obituary printed above on March 24, 2010.