RED SALUTE TO COM. S.K. BISWAS

 

One of the foremost leaders of the Central Excise Inspector/Superintendent community, Com. Shankar K Biswas, passed away at Kolkata on 17.12.2020. He was 76.

Shri Shankar Biswas became Secretary General of All India Federation of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers during 1991. He was re-elected during 1995 and continued in such post up to 2002. He became the President of the All India Pensioners Association of CBIC during 2016 and again during 2019. Till date he is continuing in such post.

Shankar Da as he was fondly called by his contemporaries was a quintessential organizational man. He served the All India Organisations of the Inspectors as well as the Superintendents. He there after continued to represent the Pensioners of CBIC also.

He was Co-convenor of the COC of Associations in the Revenue Department along with Com. K.K.N Kutty during 1998-99 when we had gone on the historic 3 day Mass Casual Leave demanding parity of pay scales with CBI. He undertook tours to all parts of the country to mobilise the cadres for the agitation. It was that movement which subsequently, after being revived in 2004 which achieved prospectively the new pay scales for the Inspectors and Superintendents in our department and comparable cadres in Customs and Income Tax.

He was hospitalized due to COVID 19 in the last week of November 2020. However he recovered and got discharged.

Com. V. Unnikrishnan the former President of AIFCEEO recalls as below:

Com. Shankar Da is no more.

Recall the 1980s, Jaipur Convention of 1987 of AlFCEE0, the closely contested election etc. The sincere commitment with conviction had no parallel.

In Supdts’ Assn also he was President, When Mr. V.V.S. Marar ji from Kerala was the General Secretary.

The JAC of all C Ex Associations and also of ITEF was his efforts to forge a united front of common demands before CPCs .

Remember the simplicity, when our then Kerala President, G. Sasidharan ,was introduced in 1988 as a qualified ACWA , Shankar Da told he is ACWA since 1970s.

Even after retirement as Supdt. he continued his commitment for common demands of Pensioners as the President of CBIC Persioners’ Assn before 7thCPC .

My sincere tributes to beloved comrade.

Pranaam.

A TRIBUTE TO Comrade S.K.Biswas BY COM. G. GNANASUNDARAM formerly General Secretary of the Central Excise Executive Officers Association, & GENERAL SECRETARY , GAZETTED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION , TRICHY

In the sudden demise of COM.BISWAS I LOST one of my very personal friends. Our relationship was such that he always used to call me fondly as ‘GRANDSON’. The very thought that Comrade s.k.biswas is no more, is so painful. Ever since I took charge of the Association at Trichy he was so closely associated with the Central Excise Executive Officers’ Association, Trichy for more than two decades,

My association with COM.BISWAS dates way back to sometime in 1987 when the All India INSPECTORS ‘ Associations , which was hitherto managed by the Calcutta Association , for the first time came under the leadership of late Com. Chandrasekar of Madras INSPECTORS ‘ Association . In fact from that time onwards , COM.BISWAS , either being the General Secretary OR otherwise being an office bearer of CALCUTTA ASSOCCIATION , as a good comrade assisted Comrade Chandrasekar in carrying out his functions as Secretary General of All India Association ..

As General Secretary of the Trichy Association , between 1987 and 1990 , for assisting COM. CHANDRASEKAR , on his invitation I had travelled with him to visit all Associations for the purpose of activating them in our struggle against stagnation in the cadre and also against the controversial Group “ A” Recruitment Rules 1987. During all such occasions I had noticed Com. SK.Biswas guiding and motivating Com.Chandrasekar . During all such occasions Com.Biswas was always there accompanying us and guiding us in reaching out to the members in Calcutta , Gauhati, Bhuvaneshwar , Shillong , Patna , Bhopal and many other places .

COM.SK.BISWAS an untiring personality he is, with clarity on the issues concerning the cadre, was very grasping and talented in presenting the issues before the administration. Whenever myself and Com.Chandrasekar camped at Delhi in connection with court cases, Com. Biswas would always be there to give a helping hand. All issues drafted for (JCM) Departmental Council Meeting, JAC and Co Ordination Council meeting of Central Excise Employees and CBEC, from the side of our Federation, had the finishing touch BY Com.SK.Biswas . Such was his unrelenting involvement in association activities and his desire to work for the upliftment of the cadre of Inspectors of Central Excise.

On my invitation he attended some of the General Body Meetings of our Trichy Association and addressed the members. He also attended a JAC Meet at Thanjavur, convened by the Trichy Association, coming all the way from Calcutta. For Comrade SK.Biswas region, distance, language etc were never a barrier in his union activities. His involvement is so amazing that at the time of his death he was President of the All India Pensioners’ Association, CBIC (CBEC).

I FEEL THAT AFTER COMRADES RAYMOND, MARAR , CHANDRASEKAR AND SK. KARUPPPAN NOW THE UNEXPECTED DEMISE OF SK.BISWAS , IS A GREAT LOSS TO THE CADRE AS A WHOLE .

MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE.

A photo from one of the meetings of the General Body of Trichy Central Excise Inspectors’ Association is given below. Sitting along with Com. Biswas are Com. Gnanasundram, Com. V.V.S Marar and Com R.C.Sharma.