Leaders from across the country at the Think India Journal special edition launch.
Credit: X/ @jasimmohammad_
New Delhi: Leaders cutting across political ideologies, including BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi and former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, gathered here to launch the special edition of Think India Journal founded by senior NCP leader late Devi Prasad Tripathi.
The diverse gathering here on Thursday evening was seen as a tribute to the memory of Tripathi who was known to have embraced different ideologies with equal elan, endearing himself to a cross section of personalities with his intellect.
The special edition of Think India was released by Joshi, Karat, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi, NCP working president Supriya Sule, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, international relations expert Pushpesh Pant among others.
The Special Edition of Think India Journal features a collection of articles, research papers, and essays by policymakers and thought leaders across diverse fields, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shashi Tharoor, George Fernandes, Amrita Pritam, Javed Akhtar and Madhu Dandavate.
Tripathi's son Kanishka, Chairman, Vichar Nyas Foundation said the special edition has been brought out to commemorate the journal's commitment to the dissemination of progressive ideas aimed at fostering national and intellectual growth.
Joshi remembered Tripathi as a student who was an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who joined the Jawaharlal Nehru University and later the Students Federation of India, the student wing of the CPI(M).
"I continued to have close ties with him whichever party he was in. It is difficult to find a personality like him. If we find 10-12 like him, life will be very refreshing," Joshi said, recalling his association with Tripathi, fondly called DPT by friends and well wishers.
JD (U) leader K C Tyagi described Tripathi as "anarchist Marxist" quite contrary to the traditional Marxist such as Karat.
"Maintain the prestige of the Left and enjoy the privilege of the right," Tyagi quoted Tripathi as saying on many occasions when nudged about having some "ideological consolidation".
Tyagi recalled that Tripathi was known for his proximity to Amitabh Bachchan, who was then elected to the Lok Sabha from Allahabad, and was also close to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Tyagi, a socialist leader, said they had succeeded in snatching Tripathi from the CPI(M), and it was the quality of socialists that ensured that he never returned to the Left.
"He used to be restless, but the qualities he had acquired never let him turn Leftist again. Even when he stayed with us, he was always a restless soul," Tyagi said.
Tripathi began his political innings as an ABVP member and was also a member of the SFI, CPI(M), Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP, which made him a Rajya Sabha member. Tripathi died on January 2, 2020.
Karat recalled how Tripathi had the knack to bring people from conflicting ideologies together on the platform of Think India.
"I recall that one of the issues of Think India was on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and DPT asked me to write a piece on Upadhyaya ji," he said, adding that he had to decline as it would have required him lot of time to read about integral humanism before penning an article.
Karat recalled that Tripathi was always attached to the Left. "As general secretary of the NCP, Tripathi used to meet me every month and to give advice on how to run the CPI(M). He also had personal criticism on how I was not doing enough as general secretary," the CPI(M) veteran said.