Commemorating Che Guevara’s historic visit to India-65 years ago! | Chaman Lal

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I admire Cuban revolution of 1st January 1959, led by Fidel Castro as one of the most unique revolutions of world history, where just 82 determined revolutionaries, sailing from Mexico on the ship Granma, made the historic revolution with the support of Cuban peasants and workers, against very powerful army of dictator Batista. Out of 82, only about 15 had survived after the brutal attack of Batista forces, but these fifteen in the course of just two and half years organised army of many thousand local army of peasants and defeated the dictator Batista, who fled the country! Among these Cuban liberation heroes, Che Guevara fascinated me more, as his personality traits I find similar to our south Asian revolutionary Bhagat Singh! So on the occasion of 65th anniversary of Che Guevara’s only visit to India in 1959, I am tempted to write a small memoir.

Che Guevara along with his team landed up in Delhi airport on late evening of 30th June 1959, just six months after Cuba had liberated itself from Batista’s dictatorial oppressive regime. From 1st July 1959 meeting with then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who entertained him and his team to lunch at his Teen Murthy residence, now turned into Prime Ministers Museum changing name from Nehru Memorial Museum and Library recently.. Cuban leader Fidel Castro has sent his closest comrade Che Guevara to afro Asian nations to establish diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba. Interestingly the officials’ record of Che Guevara’s visit to India were found with some difficulty as he was not yet famous and iconic figure as Che. Indian official records have name of Commandant Ernesto as leader of Cuban delegation visiting India. No Minister has received him at airport, an official of the foreign ministry D S Bagla has received him and is seen in most of photographs taken in Delhi and around. R Bhanumati, an Indian journalist had recorded his interview at All India Radio, which later she included in her book Conversations. In 2007, Om Thanvi, editor of Hindi daily Jansatta from Delhi, travelled to Cuba and found out more about Che visit and also got Che Guevara’s report on the Indian visit to Fidel Castro, which he got translated from a Spanish scholar Prabhati Nautial and wrote a series of articles in his edited daily Jansatta. Che Guevara might have visited few cities more other than Delhi and its neighbour areas, but references and photographs are available only of Calcutta, now called Kolkata. Other cities’ references are not much in public domain of media. In Calcutta, some leaders of United Communist party may also have met him and perhaps some public meeting may have been held in his honour. But they did not satisfy Che’s curious nature of knowing the revolutionary history of India. The only name mentioned by Che in his memoirs of India are Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, but what about Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhash Bose the radical socialist leaders of freedom struggle. Che Guevara perhaps would have been happier to know from Communists, their version of freedom struggle, he would have found in Bhagat Singh a fellow and a comrade like his own brave and fearless self.

During year 2010-11, I was on an ICCR assignment to The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago as Visiting Professor of Hindi from JNU, New Delhi. There are many chairs of Hindi in various Universities in all parts of the world. I chose Trinidad, due to my interest in Cuba and Venezuela especially, also in Suriname and Guyana having Indian background population in large numbers like Trinidad itself. These countries were close to Trinidad. In Trinidad capital Port of Spain, I had close relations with Cuban and Venezuelan embassies with both ambassadors as friends. I was part of almost every public event in both the embassies. I was fascinated by socialist revolution made in Cuba with just 82 sailors including Fidel Castro, his brother Raul Castro, Che Guevara on a ship Granma, which is now displayed in Habana as an iconic historic item!

So, during my vacations in the UWI, I planned the trips to Cuba and Venezuela. In Cuba I landed up in Habana first, visiting revolutionary museum, Jose Marti memorial. Che Guevara study centre in Habana was closed for renovation, so I missed visiting that. I had gone on my own, but I was helped by ICAP, the international body of Cuban people’s relations with other countries people. As I also stood in solidarity with Release 5 Cubans in US custody in those days, and was taking part in solidarity meetings in Trinidad capital Port of Spain. I also addressed an ICAP meeting held in Santiago in solidarity with Cuban 5 , where a Bolivian music trip has also come. In Santiago, I visited the house from where Fidel Castro led his 129 men to attack Moncada garrison, from which 61 persons were massacred and Castro got 15 years Jail, but which produced the best political document of the world history—Castro’s court statement-‘History will Absolve me”! As I was keen to visit Santa Clara, the city liberated under Che Guevara’s command, the last day of my visit to Cuba on 17th December 2011 was spent in Santa Clara. It looked to me like an old Indian city, quiet but sober. Look at my note on that day from my diary-

I reached Che memorial at 11.30, spend three hours there, saw Che grand statue, tall, Museum and memoirs of 220 fighters, 29 Bolivians compasa memorial where Che and Tania remains are kept, very sober atmosphere, Museum interesting, but could not click. Gifted my book and articles for Museum. Professor of history came along to city centre, saw new National library. Santa Clara is like old Indian town, with old houses, railway station. Saw train, now memorial, killed on 29th December, three days before victory, saw another memorial, where armoured train was derailed and 400 Batista army men surrendered with armoury before 23 of Che’s men! Action train compartments also kept in museum. A rare Che statue with child in the city fascinated me, where I got clicked with Professor of history, whose name I could not pick up properly!

I surely would like to visit Cuba again for a longer period and do some research in Che Study Centre in Havana. I met Che Guevara daughter Dr. Aleida and granddaughter in Delhi recently and hope to see them in Habana again!

(Author: Chaman Lal is a retired Professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and Honorary Advisor to Bhagat Singh Archives and Resource Centre, Delhi Archives New Delhi)