Our comrade and friend Sher Singh died on the 25th of January 2025. We published his notes from conversations with workers from his last travel and a background text about our collaboration. Below you can find a short personal farewell and a tremendous article by our comrade from ‘Friends of Faridabad Majdoor Samachar’ that summarises Sher Singh’s political journey. This article is insightful for all who ask themselves how to remain both joyful and communist. Sher Singh taught us a lot in that regard.
arey, sher singh,
friend, saathi and most respected comrade,
how can i write to you now?
in 2001, i thought kamunist kranti
was a situationist student group at delhi university,
(who else would write a ‘ballade against work’),
but there you were with bhupinder
and his peasant-workers
healing hands,
at faridabad new town station,
where people live and crap
next to train tracks
and black coal flakes fall,
blown from that baboon-ruled power station,
hissing like stabbed hell,
through the guillotines
of million power presses,
and there you were,
sleeping on that plank in
a workers’ library without books,
and there we were
and i called you, my friend,
in the meantime, at the barbers,
who ran through autopin jhuggi’s
slum lanes,
next to that foul-farting
open drain,
to get you on the phone
there you were,
stubborn laughing
giraffe-eyed comrade mule,
cooking one-pot khichdi
under that anorexic neem tree
and that jumbled red thread
that spuns merrily
from zimmerwald to mattick to kapashera roof tops,
where we slept amongst dozens of textile or car workers,
(where you slept, and i laid awake)
during power cuts,
you made us count each newspaper,
each month,
to be distributed
at okhla railway crossing or
in manesar industrial zone,
hundreds of mornings,
thousands of conversations,
at tea stalls,
in workers’ rooms,
at pickets,
we listened to workers
i soaked you in,
my friend,
stories of travels
through states of emergencies,
tales of niyogi and mayawati,
of peasant customs and
petty commodity production
under the east india company,
the 80s in faridabad,
how to pronounce the d
and dh, and t and th,
talking, talking,
there you were,
contradictory ascetic,
denouncing militancy,
but never late and the most harsh
to get the next paper out on time,
denouncing the ‘teach-preach’
of the leftist,
but monologuing,
compulsory optimistic,
till the cows come home
there we were,
you gave me confidence,
my friend,
that as communists
(“what kind of communists?!”)
we find people
who can touch us,
that simplicity
prevails,
that dedication
we saw mirrored
in us
allowed us to soften
for each other
(- how shaken
i saw you when
chintamani died)
there we are,
my comrade,
my compass of gentle determination,
my block-head friend,
how can i write to you now
Faridabad Majdoor Samachar : Communist Possibilities from Self-Critique
From: Kaam Se Chutti
On January 25, 2025, Comrade Sher Singh Ji passed away. From 1982 to 2020, he was the editor of Faridabad Mazdoor Samachar, and during this period, the way he reflected on his experiences and repeatedly transformed his practice will be of interest to every communist, to every person who sees joy in transformations of the old and obsolete. He worked to displace the populist-demagogic category of the “working class” to confront its reality, to understand it on its own terms, and to turn the hidden potential for change and vibrant energy within it into a source of thought-practice. He shared this work with all of us.
In the article below, we have outlined his journey based on conversations with him and his writings. There is no doubt that we may not have fully understood him, and someone who understands him better may correct our mistakes. We would welcome that. But at this moment, it feels very important to say these things. Alongside this, there is a request, which is also mentioned at the end of the article and is being repeated here—if you would like to share your thoughts about Sher Singh Ji, Majdoor Samachar, or “kamunist kranti,” please send them to kaamsechhutti@gmail.com. You can also write in the comments section here. How you met him, in what context, what impression you formed of him or he of you, whether it changed, mutual criticisms, etc.—whatever comes to your mind, please share it with us.
