Admirers pay last respect to politician Ajoy Roy

Leftist leader Ajoy Roy is being paid last respects at the Shahid Minar in Dhaka, where supporters and numerous political, cultural, and community leaders have gathered to say goodbye to the departed leader.

The veteran politician passed away at his home in Dhanmondi on Monday.

He was 88 years old.

His body was transported from BIRDEM hospital to the Shahid Minar around 10am on Wednesday.

He received a guard of honour  as a Freedom Fighter in the 1971 war when his body was brought to the Shahid Minar.

Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim, Actor and Stage Director Ramendu Majumdar, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique, Samyabadi Dal General Secretary Dilip Barua, and many colleagues and supporters came to pay their final respects to the departed politician.

Ajoy Roy was a kind, accommodating and educated man, said Syed Ashraf.

“Though he led a different political party, I respected him deeply,” he said “I knew of him since I was just starting in politics. I learned a lot from him.”

The veteran leftist leader had taken active part in movements opposing British rule in India and was one of the organisers of Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan.

“In 1969 he stood in his fourth floor cell in Mymensingh prison and spoke about our freedom struggle. Hundreds of leaders, including myself, were inspired by that speech,” said Ashraf.

“His speech was so piercing that his Pakistani jailers were forced to release him within the hour. Then we marched with him through the streets of the city. He played a historic role in the struggle for our freedom,” he said.

Born on Dec 30, 1928, in Mymensingh, Roy got involved with the Communist Party while studying in school at India's Varanasi.

After his father's death, he returned to Bangladesh and completed his masters in Economics in 1944.

He then went back to his ancestral home in Kishoreganj and went on to join the Communist Party.

Roy worked with eminent communist leaders of the 1950s, such as Nagen Sarkar, Wali Newaz Khan and Mani Singh.

In 1972, he was elected a member of the CPB's central body during its second Congress.

After the CPB split in 1993, he formed a separate party 'Communist Kendra' with Wazedul Islam Khan, which lasted a short time.

 In 2010, he formed the 'Sammilita Samajik Andolon' civic body.

Roy authored several books on Bangladesh covering politics, economy, movements and land management and was also a columnist.