‘Tumhari politics kya hai bhai?’ was Rajen’s affront to the man who was upset over LK Advani’s arrest. We all knew the man’s leanings and were warning him of the consequences of such communal acts. It was a couple of days after Lalu Prasad Yadav had stopped Advani’s Rath Yatra and had him arrested in Samastipur, Bihar in 1990. On a cold October morning chairs had been pulled out of the tiny Sahmat office at VP House and a few of us were sitting in pale sunlight sipping lemon tea. Lalu Yadav knew where this yatra or the saffron brigade was heading and so did Rajendra Prasad or Commissar Rajen as all of us called him. I was introduced to Rajen only a few months before this incident and we were discussing a document that had to be designed for Sahmat.   

      In a way I had known of Rajen even before I met him or was really introduced to him formally. I happened to know, and was friends with, some of his friends from purani Delhi. An acquaintance of his was my neighbour. A common friend, a senior journalist, was known to me for nearly a decade before I met Rajen. 

     Thirty-four years of association, of walking together, of protests, of working for causes close to the hearts of all at Sahmat, of art and activism, of standing up together each time the people of this ‘socialist, secular, democratic republic’ have been threatened by vicious communal and divisive forces. Thirty-four years is a long time to know someone and I can claim that Rajen is a dear friend who has been an inspiration in ways more than many. 

        Something that foxes me is that all these thirty-four years Rajen has never taken ‘leave of absence, a break, a vacation, a sabbatical or a casual chhutti. So much so that I don’t remember if he was ever unwell which would have given him at least an excuse to skip visiting Sahmat office. He was and is always there – even when half the town is shut, even when there is nothing, political or cultural, demanding intervention. Not a day passes without him at Sahmat, where scores of people visit to meet him and seek his counsel, to network, to share good and bad news from across the country. For many a journalist talking to Rajen is a lead to ‘serious stories’. 

        In our collective fight for communal harmony, secularism, freedom of speech, shrinking space for dissent, attacks on minorities and other similar issues Sahmat, over the last three decades, has been more vocal and far ahead of even political parties in debating the issues and organising people. In all these contested spaces Rajen has largely shaped Sahmat’s course over the years.

        Selfless guide and comrade Rajen almost always not only led the way democratically but also kept the flock together in every project and never ever sought a mention or an acknowledgement for himself. Despite all the arguments, difference of opinions and even hot exchange of words one would find Rajen smiling the next morning and ready to take on the next challenge.  

            A committed Marxist, an analytical mind, an avid reader, a foodie, Rajen loves romantic shayri (though I have never heard him recite). A repository of ‘everything Delhi’ – Rajen is my go to man when in doubt over anything ‘politically correct’. I wish he remains my guiding polestar and enjoys good health and a joyous life.

Rajinder Arora

11 January 2024 (22 December 2023)