Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri (10 April 1917 – 27 May 2013) was an Indian politician. He was the oldest surviving member of the founding Central Committee of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
.
Political activist
Prior to the
Partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
, Lyallpuri's family held a land ownership of roughly 150–180 acres in Lyallpur (present-day
Faisalabad
Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...
, in
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
). The young Lyallpuri became a political activist through the student movement in the 1930s and after finishing his BSc at Khalsa College in
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
he joined the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
at the age of 18. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress ', Vol. 62. Indian History Congress, 2002. p. 595 Lyallpuri's parents were reluctant towards his entry into politics. They preferred that he'd embark on a professional career instead. Lyallpuri obtained his LLB from the Government Law College in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
in 1940. He soon became a professional revolutionary and cadre of the Kirti Kisan Party, was included in the Central Committee of the party and a leader of the Punjab Kisan Sabha.''The Tribune'' Veteran leader Lyallpuri turns 95 /ref> The Kirti Kisan Party later merged into the
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...
.
After Partition
As a result of Partition, Lyallpuri moved to Ludhiana. Within the Communist Party, he opposed B.T. Ranadive's line of launching guerrilla struggles. Lyallpuri was jailed between 1949 and 1951, when the Communist Party was banned. Whilst in jail, he was ordered by the party leadership to instigate a prisoner revolt, which led to riots and a
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
. He fasted for nine weeks.
In April 1953, he was elected Joint Secretary of the
All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha) is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 19 ...
, at its 11th conference in
Cannanore
Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hub ...
. He would hold this post for 18 years.
Lyallpuri was a member of the National Council of CPI, elected at the 1958 extraordinary party conference in
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
. In 1961 he became the general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. In 1959 Lyallpuri and Harkishan Singh Surjit emerged as the leaders of a mass peasants struggle against the Khush Hasiyati Tax, a campaign mobilised by the Punjab State Committee of the Communist Party.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...
. He was a member of the founding Central Committee of the party. He remained in the post as All India Kisan Sabha general secretary until 1968.''Hindustan Times'' Champion of the downtrodden Lyallpuri was jailed during the 1975
Emergency
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
.
During his years as a CPI(M) leader, Lyallpuri found himself in constant conflicts with the party leadership.
Lyallpuri contested the Ludhiana Rural seat in the