We lost our esteemed comrade Vijay, the founder of the Revolutionary Democracy Organization of India, on April 17. Our comrade passed away in New Delhi, at Apollo Hospital, as a result of the cursed illness he had contracted -an illness which had reached its final stage and for which a cure should long since have been found.

The irreparable loss of our comrade has deeply affected us. He will no longer be able to attend our meetings with his wise character, nor offer us new contributions. We will no longer be able to count on his wise insights and contributions at our meetings. But the cause for which Comrade Vijay lived and fought will triumph. Just as victory was achieved in Russia through the October Revolution in the absence of Marx and Engels, so too will victory be achieved in India and throughout the world in the absence of Comrade Vijay. We know that future generations will ultimately witness its irreversible and definitive triumph. Yet these truths do not ease our sorrow. Our grief is profound.

What offers us solace is that Comrade Vijay encompassed so much within his life and his contributions he left behind to the Marxist- Leninist movement, entrusted to the international working class.

Comrade Vijay was among those distinguished comrades who undertook the task of building a bridge between Soviet socialism and the contemporary communist movement, thereby enabling the international revolutionary workers’ movement to benefit from the experiences of the previous period.

He made it his mission to facilitate the progress of future generations, to whom he would pass on the banner of Marxism-

Leninism that he had defended throughout his life; for this reason, he learned Russian and spent part of his life in Russia, studying Lenin and his works. Through his research in Soviet archives, he was the foremost figure among those who conveyed to us and to future generations numerous truths -long obscured and distorted- about the construction of socialism in the Soviet Union and the period during which the Comintern organized and directed the international communist movement. We became aware, through Comrade Vijay’s work, of many debates, speeches, political positions, and practical realities of that era that had remained hidden or had been altered by modern revisionist betrayal. The journal Revolutionary Democracy, of which he was the editor, became not only a vehicle for seeking solutions to the problems of the Indian revolution, but also a means of transmitting these lessons from the past into the future.

There is no doubt that we will try to fill our comrade’s place, but we will always feel his absence.

Glory to Comrade Vijay, a devoted fighter of the Marxist-Leninist struggle!

Long live Marxism-Leninism!

Long live the international revolutionary workers’ movement! Forward for the victory of the communist cause!

The Coordinating Committee of the International Conference of the Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations (ICMLPO)

Today we offer our tribute to a steadfast defender of revolutionary theory, a tireless editor, a guardian of the historical memory of the international communist movement through the journal Revolutionary Democracy. Through decades of work, Comrade Vijay Singh helped to build and sustain one of the few international forums committed to the rigorous defence of Marxism-Leninism against revisionism, opportunism, and historical distortion.

While we in the American Party of Labor acknowledge that we had differences with Comrade Vijay Singh, on certain positions he took and that while these are differences that must be discussed and worked out in the course of struggle if our cause is to move forward, now is not the time to discuss them. Now is the time to contemplate with solemnity and respect.

Notably among his contributions to the movement, Comrade Singh oversaw the publication and dissemination of rare, essential archival materials, bringing to light documents and debates from the time of Comrades Lenin and Stalin that might otherwise have remained inaccessible to new generations of revolutionaries. Under his leadership, Revolutionary Democracy has become a vital resource for historical truth, preserving the record of the international communist movement and reasserting the continuity of revolutionary theory in the face of ideological retreat following the betrayal of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union under Khrushchev.

His work also extended to direct engagement with the communist movement in India, offering principled critiques of both parliamentary reformism and adventurist deviations, insisting on the necessity of ideological clarity as the foundation of revolutionary practice.

Through his writings and editorial labours, Comrade Vijay Singh educated cadres, preserved the lessons of past struggles & upheld the banner of Marxism-Leninism during a period marked by the disintegration of formerly socialist states and widespread ideological confusion.

Farewell, Comrade Vijay Singh. Those who struggle for socialism and historical truth will continue to learn from and be guided by your contributions.

American Party of Labor

Read the full statement at redphoenixnews.com

Good bye Comrade! Comrade Vijay Singh is no more. He breathed his last today at Apollo Hospital, Jasola, New Delhi, at the age of 79. His passing is an irreparable loss. The void he leaves behind will be deeply felt.

Omar Garibay Guerra

Gule gule yolda§!

Yolda§ Vijay Singh artik yok. Bugun son nefesini, 79 ya§inda Yeni Delhi’deki Jasola’daki Apollo Hastanesinde verdi.

Onun vefati onarilamaz bir kayiptir. Ardinda biraktigi bo§luk derinden hissedilecektir.

Vijay Singh yolda§, Hindistan proletaryasinin devrim ve sosyalizm mucadelesine onemli katkilarda bulundu. Uluslararasi Komunist Hareketin Hindistan temsilcisi Devrimci Demokrasi Orgutunun bir militani olarak uzun yillar mucadele etti. Akademisyen olarak yillarca SSCB ar§ivlerinde ?ali§arak Marksim-Leninizme saldirilara kar§i kitlelere gerfekleri ula§tirdi. Bilimsel sosyalizm ar§ivine katkilar sundu.

I§filer ve komunistler onun mucadelesini unutmayacak. Anisi, i§fi sinifinin mucadelesinde ya§ayacak.

Emek Partisi Genel Merkezi

Vijay was a good friend who was clear and highly motivated by a commitment to socialism. I made it a point to meet with him when I traveled to Delhi. I recall our conversation in his car about his socialist perspective. He was a commitment Marxist Leninist who held Stalin, Mao and Hoxha in high esteem. I will miss him, as I know many others will too.

He was always willing to share his time with me. I recall when he showed me the ruins of the early 16th century Mughal empire in Delhi in 2015. I had travelled to Delhi on so many occasions, and still find it an unappealing city. But the relics of the Mughal empire were almost as stunning as the Taj Mahal in Agra, which I visited more than 30 years ago.

Vijay will be missed.

Thank you for sharing this sad news. We should have a memorial event in New York for him.

Solidarity,

Manny Ness
New York

"It is far more difficult—and of far greater value—to be a revolutionary when the conditions for direct, open, really mass and really revolutionary struggle do not yet exist. ”
- Lenin

The great Vijay Singh is gone. Until his last breath he was a devoted Marxist and Leninist and a revolutionary democrat. He was our teacher and our dearest comrade, someone whom we could always talk to – openly, lively, full of passion for the Marxist science and the revolutionary struggle. His work was colossal, whole generations of the world would not have approach to a vast Marxist and Leninist literature without it. His name will be remembered forever, from India to America, from Scandinavia and Mitteleuropa through Balkans and Mediterranean to Tunisia and Burkina Faso, all away to Dominican Republic and Ecuador.

Comrade Vijay was a dear man, a good friend, beloved professor, husband and father. His family will miss him. His pupils and his comrades will miss him. But comrade Vijay Singh was above all – a revolutionary.

We are sure that the quote of Lenin from above would be understood one-sidedly, as a quote about the hardships of a revolutionary. But comrade Vijay Singh would understood it with much more clarity. It is not actually a quote about any kind of hardships. It is a quote from Lenin’s “Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder”, a fundamental work for the modern communist movement, for the strategies and tactics of the United Front and a People’s Front.

Comrade Vijay Singh was one of a rare kind of communists that perfectly understood the task of today’s Marxists and Leninists. He saw that even today, when many think our cause failed, there are vast possibilities for revolutionary work. That is why he worked hard until his very last breath. We remember how much eagerly he worked on a last issue of Revolutionary Democracy Journal with his editorship, from October 2025. Comrade Vijay saw that great revolutionary struggles are yet to be developed, that the future of the world is in communism.

Why comrade Vijay Singh never put down the red flag but always kept it high, so high that even we, from Serbia, could see it!? There are false Marxists and there are devoted Marxists. The false ones are adored with „big words”, but actually do not believe in communism, simply because they do not really understand it. They see it in a religious way, and expect that this paradise will just fall from heaven, without their efforts. But it will not. Nothing comes from the sky, but from the struggles of humanity. That's why the false Marxists, although before the “biggest” ones, found themselves disappointed in this or that moment. But real and devoted Marxists, as comrade Vijay Singh, look at Communism as a movement, as something that is shaping in historical development and class struggle. That is why comrade Vijay Singh could never find himself disappointed, but only even more curious and more devoted day by day.

In this historical materialist spirit he looked both to a history and to the future of communism and the world. His works about the history of the socialist construction in the Soviet Union and Socialist Albania and about the revolutionary democratic People’s Front history of the world became part of the classical treasury of Marxist science. Without his work and work of his close comrades and all associates was gathering around himself in decades of a devoted work – themes like achieving communism from a socialist society, the Marxist theoretical approach to the antifascist strategies, problems of struggles of the smaller nations and a principle struggle against reactionary revision of the Marxist science would probably be lost as a focus of the contemporary international communist movement. That could only mean that without the great work of a great comrade Vijay Singh the contemporary international communist movement itself would be lost.

Comrade Vijay Singh had very important mission not just in bringing close Marxist literature and science to the world. He was also fighting in a resolute Dimitrovian spirit for implementing the antifascist strategy and tactics in our contemporary movement, which is crucial for understanding the victorious path in today’s revolutionary struggle for overcoming the capitalist crisis. Many false “big words” but small ideas, so-called “communists” – fought against comrade Vijay Singh in this historical mission. But the great comrade Vijay Singh fought them until the end, never putting down his antifascist guard. He fulfilled this mission far beyond any expectations. Today, it is unimaginable to follow Marxist-Leninist strategy and tactics and not using the historical work of comrade Vijay Singh. Revolutionary democratic strategy and a People's Front tactics are again in focus of every serious Marxist and Leninist. Comrade Vijay prepared the whole new generation of Marxists and Leninists for great struggles with fascism that are about to come.

Our teacher and comrade Vijay Singh was there when it was needed. When criminal fascist imperialist aggressions took part in the world, he would always be the orientation of Marxists and Leninists. Everyone would listen what he and Indian revolutionary democrats have to say. He would never make a revisionist flaws, and would always criticize the revisionist traitors that would, using many “big words”, try to course Marxists and Leninists in a wrong way, in a way of Mussolinism and Hitlerism – the way of false “leftists” and “socialists” that are actually used as an imperialist and a fascist provocation. Comrade Vijay Singh would always support the peoples that are fighting imperialist aggressions from a “paper tigers” and would never allow that Marxism be used as a cover for support of revisionist imperialist and fascist forces, as many so-called “communists” and “leftists” would do. Especially younger generations of Marxists and Leninists, from Serbia to Brazil, found in comrade Vijay Singh an encouraging voice in this regard, close to their hearts.

Comrade Vijay had one more characteristic that made him to develop a strong friendship with his Serbian and other Balkans comrades. Comrade Vijay loved Balkans and drove his inspiration from the brilliant work of comrades Enver and Nexhmije Hoxha. He visited ex-Yugoslavia and Socialist Albania, and he knew a lot about our countries and movements. He followed with great attention the works about brilliant Marxists and Leninists whose work and names were unjustifiably and criminally neglected, such were Yugoslav communist leaders as Milan Gorkic and Vlado Dapcevic, Greek communists led by Nikos Zachariadis, Bulgarian communists led by Georgi Dimitrov and Vilko Chervenkov and Albanian communists led by Enver and the Party of Labour. Work of comrade Vijay Singh as a publicist and editor of Revolutionary Democracy Journal gave so much to the written history of our movement, and his comrades from Balkans will never forget it. We will make sure that his work shall be remembered not only from international, but also from our own national point of view. The communists and the peoples of Balkans love you and will never forget you, our dear comrade Vijay Singh!

Dear comrade Vijay Singh, in our last message to you, we want once more to assure you that your devoted historical work was fruitful. You cherished a whole new generation of revolutionary democrats and Marxists. The red flag you are forwarding, will also bear your name on it. You’ve done a marvelous revolutionary job and you may rest in peace. You will always stay with us.

Long live Marxism! Long live Leninism! Long live the Communist Party!

Long live the unity of the workers’ movement and the antifascist People’s Front!

Let us all unite against the capitalist crisis, fascism and war!

Let us transform peoples’ democratic resistance into the peoples’ democratic revolution!

Long live the antifascist government of workers and all democratic forces!

Let us all unite to destroy fascism, to the bone!

Long live the peoples’ democratic dictatorship against the corrupt fascist criminals!

Long live the People’s Democracy and a socialist revolution!

Long live friendship among the peoples and a lasting world peace! Down with fascism and war!

Long live proletarian internationalism! Long live socialism!

Long live the sincere comradeship between Marxists and revolutionary democrats from Serbia and India!
Long live Marxist and Leninist international solidarity! Lal Salaam!

Long live eternal revolutionary memory on comrade Vijay Singh!

Serbian Communists, from the Revolutionary Alliance of Labour

18th of April 2026 in Belgrade, Serbia

On April 17, comrade Vijay Kumar Singh, a fighter and militant of the Revolutionary Democracy Organization of India and a staunch defender of Marxism-Leninism in his country, died. His life was an example of a communist committed to social transformation, the struggle against erroneous positions and the study of reality. His departure leaves a void for his comrades, who remember his strength and his contributions to the training of communists to achieve the transformation of society.

Comrade Vijay took it as his life’s mission to “build bridges” between Soviet socialism and the contemporary communist movement, to learn from the experiences of the previous period; for this reason, he dedicated himself to studying Soviet and Russian history. His knowledge of the Russian language allowed him to make translations of primary sources of countless texts that contributed to the development of scientific socialism, both in India and internationally. As a committed Marxist-Leninist, he researched the Soviet experience and provided significant material on how socialism was built in the Soviet Union in the period during which the Comintern organized and led the international communist movement. These studies have made it possible to dismantle those distortions that the enemies of Marxism-Leninism have created about the construction of socialism in the USSR.

He developed several essays in defence of Marxism-Leninism, the principles of the dictatorship of the proletariat, democratic centralism and socialist construction. He was a firm mentor but committed to the Marxist training of his comrades; he fought revisionism, Trotskyism and post-modernism without concessions. One of his most important jobs was as editor of Revolutionary Democracy, a journal that for two decades was the vehicle for the dissemination of Marxist theory, which made it possible to analyze the problems of the revolution in India and to understand reality.

The International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations issued a statement highlighting the qualities of Comrade Vijay and regretting his departure, which represents a profound

loss for his comrades in the Revolutionary Democracy Organization of India. His physical absence will not erase his innumerable contributions, in which the defence of freedom, sovereignty, democracy and Marxism-Leninism occupied a central place and are reference points for the formation of the world working class.

From En Marcha # 2180, April 22 to May 5, 2026

Central Organ of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador

It is a very heavy day for me and for anyone who came to know him but it is what it is apparently.

Comrade Vijay Singh is no more. He passed away today at Apollo Hospital, Jasola, New Delhi, at the age of 79 as mentioned by a few comrades over Facebook today. Even as I write these words, they feel unreal for me.

Some losses are not just about the passing of a person, they are about the disappearance of a certain clarity, a certain intellectual honesty, a certain moral firmness that anchored many of us in ways we only fully realise now.

I first came into contact with Comrade Vijay Singh in 2020, at a time when I had just begun engaging seriously with Marxist-Leninist politics in the online space.

Our initial interactions were anything but smooth. We disagreed often sharply on fundamental questions: what constitutes the correct socialist path, what defines the communist line in the present era, and how one should interpret emerging global narratives around socialism.

At that point, I was still navigating many of these questions. Through our prolonged exchanges, debates, and sometimes intense disagreements, he pushed me not in a dismissive way, but in a way that demanded seriousness. It was through these engagements that I began to critically examine ideas I had earlier taken at face value, particularly the narrative of “21st century socialism” and the framing of multipolarity, especially in relation to contemporary China. He insisted, with clarity and conviction, that class struggle does not disappear simply because a state claims a socialist legacy—and that to ignore this is to abandon the very core of Marxist analysis.

What stands out to me now is not that he “won” arguments, but that he insisted on intellectual discipline. He did not allow comfort in half-understood positions. And over time, what began as disagreement transformed into a deeper understanding, of both ideas and of each other.

Our conversations gradually moved beyond immediate debates into more layered historical and ideological discussions. We spent long hours engaging with questions around the death of Joseph Stalin and the subsequent shifts in the global communist movement. He spoke at length about the propaganda war unleashed in the decades following 1953, how narratives were constructed, how distortions were normalised, and how these developments contributed to the weakening and fragmentation of communist movements across the world.

For him, this was not an abstract academic concern. It was a political responsibility. He believed that without a rigorous re-engagement with history, its failures, distortions, and lessons, it would be impossible to chart a correct path forward. And it was precisely this commitment that found expression in the platform he founded, Revolutionary Democracy.

Through Revolutionary Democracy, Comrade Vijay Singh created something rare: a space that refused both dogmatism and dilution. It was not about comfort, it was about clarity. It was not about popularity, it was about correctness. Through its pages, he and others like him attempted to reconstruct a serious ideological foundation, one that could withstand both external attack and internal confusion.

It was also through this platform that our relationship evolved. What began as ideological opposition gradually transformed into mutual respect, and eventually, into a genuine friendship. There was a depth to our exchanges that went beyond agreement or disagreement. There was a shared commitment to understanding, to getting things right, even if it meant unlearning, even if it meant standing alone.

And that is perhaps what defined him the most. He belonged to a generation that did not treat politics as performance. For him, it was a lifelong commitment, often difficult, often isolating, but never compromised.

Today, unfortunately, that voice is gone !

There is a strange silence that follows. A feeling that something foundational has shifted. It is not just grief, it is also a sense of responsibility. Because people like Comrade Vijay Singh do not leave behind just memories; they leave behind unfinished work, unresolved questions, and a standard of seriousness that now falls upon others to uphold.

This loss feels deeply personal. What I will carry forward is not just what he said, but how he approached thought itself, with rigour, with honesty, and with an uncompromising commitment to truth.

Red Salute, Comrade Vijay Singh.

You were my true mentor!

And I will try to uphold your struggle as best I can!

Your ideas, your struggles, and your relentless pursuit of ideological clarity will continue to guide and challenge us.

Yakov Sverdlov

The Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan) offers its tribute to a staunch defender of the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. Comrade Vijay was a principled communist who consistently upheld the truth within the communist movement and remained steadfast in his ideological convictions.

Throughout his life, he was committed to advancing a clear and uncompromising understanding of Marxist thought. He defended the foundational contributions of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, and sought to preserve their relevance in contemporary political discourse. His engagement with the communist movement was marked by integrity, clarity of purpose, and a dedication to principled struggle.

Comrade Vijay will be remembered for his steadfast commitment to his beliefs and for his contribution to strengthening ideological consistency within the movement.

PLI Toufan

One of the Greatest Marxist-Leninists of our era! Let us celebrate his work and contributions to the Liberation of Mankind. Thank you for everything, Comrade Singh!

John Gabriel

Red Salute to you, Comrade Vijay Singh,

We had to talk a lot

I had to learn a lot from you about Stalin and Trotsky,

about Grover Furr's authenticity,

and about the World Communist Movement,

But all we think never gets completed,

and if one thing completes,

then ten more things come out of that discussion

not with everyone, but with a person like you.

I will share one day

how years ago,

my dear poet Chandrakant Deotale and you

got into an unwarranted furious debate

on the question of Stalin, in Ujjain,

and I was so puzzled how to end that,

and then one day in Bhopal

when you were listening quietly

a discussion in the gathering

on the question of Fascism,

and smiling on the naivety of the understanding of some of them,

then suddenly Katyayani saw you in the audience

and mentioned you during her lecture on the same topic.

And many more meetings in Ajoy Bhavan's room,

in Guntur, in Comrade Ram Kotesh's house, in Jaya's house and I remember some meetings with Padam and Ashim and other comrades

in Indian Social Institute, in Gurgaon working class colonies,

observing October Revolution Day on 7th November

in Gandhi Peace Foundation,

now every memory is coming closer to me

and I am thinking to save all such pictures before they fade,

and I am thinking to talk to you regarding my experience

of my Palestine visit,

and writing for the new issue of Revolutionary Democracy

which I kept selling

to some of the English reading comrades in Indore for almost two and a half decades now

from which I found many concrete facts to prove my argument.

I will keep reading all the old issues edited by you to feel your presence in this world around me.

Red Salute Comrade Vijay.

Vineet Tiwari , Indore

The following statements were included in the condolence message published by the Labour Party (EMEP):

"His passing is an irreparable loss. The void he leaves behind will be deeply felt.

Comrade Vijay Singh made significant contributions to the Indian proletariat's struggle for revolution and socialism. He fought for many years as a militant of the Revolutionary Democracy organisation, the Indian representative of the International Communist Movement. As an academic, he worked in the USSR archives for years, bringing the truths to the masses against attacks on Marxism-Leninism. He made contributions to the archive of scientific socialism.

Workers and communists will not forget his struggle. His memory will live on in the struggle of the working class."

EMEP:

https://piattaformacomunista.com/index.php/rendiamo-omaggio-al-compagno-vijay-singh/

Cari compagni, inchiniamo le nostre bandiere alla memoria del compagno Vijay Singh, stimato marxista-leninista dell’India e nostro sincero amico.

Inviamo le nostre piu sentite condoglianze a voi, compagni indiani, alla sua famiglia e ai suoi amici.

Vijay e stato un grande dirigente comunista, ampiamente riconosciuto come una figura di spicco del movimento comunista.

Per decenni ha svolto un’opera preziosa per difendere il marxismo- leninismo e combattere il revisionismo in India, in Asia e in tutto il mondo.

E stato in grado di comprendere e criticare la natura e le diverse forme del revisionismo moderno, di lottare incessantemente contro di esso e di riaffermare i principi rivoluzionari del comunismo.

Le sue approfondite analisi e i suoi commenti sulle lotte del movimento operaio e comunista sono di grande valore.

Di grande importanza sono anche le sue ricerche storiche e la pubblicazione di un’ampia raccolta di materiale d’archivio. Sottolineiamo l’importanza del suo contributo per illuminare e sviluppare la marcia rivoluzionaria della classe operaia e dei popoli sfruttati e oppressi, in India e nel mondo.

Il contributo storico e teorico che il compagno Vijay ha dato alla nostra causa comune e inestimabile. La sua morte e una grave perdita per tutti noi.

Il compagno Vijay e stato anche un organizzatore comunista che ha fondato, insieme ad altri compagni, l’Organizzazione “Revolutionary Democracy”, membro della Conferenza Internazionale di Partiti e Organizzazioni Marxisti-Leninisti.

Siamo certi che i suoi fedeli compagni continueranno la lotta del compagno Vijay.

Compagno Vijay, seguiremo il tuo luminoso esempio sul cammino che conduce alla rivoluzione, al socialismo e al comunismo!

Con i nostri fraterni saluti,
17 aprile 2026

Organizzazione per il partito comunista del proletariato (Italia)

There are people we meet only once in a life but they changed ones whole perspective altogether. For me professor Vijay Singh was one such person.

Back in 2006 a friend from Delhi came to Pakistan for attending World Social Forum. He was to meet comrade Tufail Abbas. Comrade Tufail Abbas told me, "Kamran, Prof. Vijay Singh from India, has come. You must go and meet him. He's staying in Pilar Institute."

I went there and met him. And in just one meeting I was absolutely amazed. It felt like he was talking about things we'd been thinking and arguing about for ages but somehow, been cut apart from the world. It was a time when there was no social media and internet was also limited that could have connected us with the world. We'd been stuck in a sort of ideological isolation and Prof. Vijay Singh was the door who took us out of that isolation.

After that meeting I realized that we aren't alone. There are still such people in the world who consider Stalin the leader of world's labourers/working class. Vijay Singh was neither the member of a CPI nor of a CPML. He was a Delhi university professor, popular among his students, seriously working to unite the labour/workers movements. He also used to publish a journal Revolutionary Democracy.

I took him to meet comrade Tufail Abbas and after there were long meeetings. In those sittings Stalin came under discussion, China's third world policy was discussed, we discussed the history of communist movements in Pakistan and a detailed discussion over India's political situation. Vijay Singh told us an incident that years back he met a Pakistani labourer in India during the train journey. He told him, "As long as there's injustice, communist movement is crucial." It was a time when it was being declared that the world has changed and ideological politics was irrelevant; that one statement by that labourer convinced Vijay that somewhere in Pakistan there are still such people who are standing firm with their belief.

He would often talk about Dr. Taimur who endorsed his belief that there are groups in Pakistan consider Stalin there leader and agree with the line of Enver Hoxha.

After that first meeting in 2006 the mere introduction with Vijay Singh turned into a great camaraderie. Many a times he came to Pakistan and twice with his wife Tripta. During his visit, Vijay met his friends, went to his hometown Rawalpindi where comrade Naeem Qureshi and comrade Shoukat Choudhary helped him search his ancestral home.

In 2010 he attended a ceremony held at Karachi press club. For the book launch of comrade Tufail Abbas's ‘Subh Ki Lagan’ as a guest of honour,

I still remember that day in Frankfurt. At the end of 5 days conference, on the sixth day the friends there planned our visit on Vijay's wish. We went to Trier to see the birthplace of Karl Marx. That home has been converted to a museum. We spent hours there; not merely of tourism, but a living dialogue with the history.

Another time when I went to Georgia Vijay Singh introduced me to his friends. They not only took care of me but took me to see Gori the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. I saw his house and many things related to his life. It wasn't just a geographical journey but a part of ideological training as well.

Vijay Singh was not just a comrade he is my teacher. We shared a room in many conferences. Tunisia, London, Germany, wherever we got a chance we met. He spent a week with me when I was in Dubai.

In last twenty years I sent him many essays/papers. He not only corrected them but many a times rejected the whole essay and asked to read the particular author and improve. He has always treated me like a son and a student as well. I still remember that once in

Germany he scolded me for reading less.

The likes of him are hard to find. These are the people far greater than the borders, languages, nationalities. They connect humans with humans and make ideology a life. But what to do; we have between us a Border. A ruthless line that even if I want, I couldn't hold his hand and sit near him, because I am Pakistani and he is an Indian. Still, our bond is intact. Because this is how humans should be; greater than borders.

Perhaps, this is the lesson we need to learn once again. These borders, these divisions of state, these nationalities are all transient. If something is eternal, is the struggle of a human, resistance of a labourer. And this is the relation that connects us with each other.

People like Vijay Singh remind us that history has not finished, ideologies have not died and this world can still be changed if only we rose above the borders and hold hands of each other.

This is the dream that should be kept alive, this is the promise that should be honoured.

Kamran Abbas

I am a member of the New Communist Party of Britain, and was a friend of dear comrade Vijay for many years. As many people may know he spent much of his early life in London where his father was a senioer diplomat at the Indian High Commission. I met Vijay many many times in London, In Delhi (I have an Indian family connection) and even in Moscow, which he used to visit regularly to do research in the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. I greatly respected Vijay for giving up the easily available opportunity to enjoy a comfortable middle class life in the UK to return to India for most of his life in order to further the cause of socialism. Over the years we had major political differences, above all over the analysis of the role of China and Russia since 1989 and 1991 respectively, but the comradeship carried on. We still had much in common politically and also shared many cultural interests relating to India and the Soviet Union. So I am extremely sad to hear of dear comrade Vijay's passing..

Rest in peace, Vijay!

Theo Russell

(A longer obituary article ‘Reminiscences of Prof Vijay Singh’ was published in The New Worker No. 2347)

The DTF records with profound sorrow the passing of Comrade Vijay Kumar Singh on 17th April 2026, at the age of 79. Comrade Vijay Singh served as a teacher of History at Satyawati College from where he retired as an Associate Professor. He has also lectured to postgraduate students of History at the University of Delhi.

Comrade Vijay Singh was an outstanding scholar of Soviet and Russian History. His scholarship was supported by meticulous work in the archives, his fluency in the Russian language that yielded excellent translations of many primary sources and his wide-ranging travels. He was also an editor of the journal Revolutionary Democracy.

Comrade Vijay Singh's contribution to the teachers' movement deftly wove together trade union demands including the defence of public higher education and the larger concerns of the democratic movement including secularism, gender justice, democracy, social justice and socialism.

Comrade Vijay Singh is survived by his spouse Comrade Tripta Wahi and his daughters Rosa and Atishi, son-in-law Bhupendra and grandchildren Aanavi and Amlaan.

Comrade Vijay Singh's work will continue to inspire the struggles of teachers and the wider democratic movement.

Rajib Ray, President   
Abha Dev Habib, Secretary

It’s often like a big banyan tree that was giving us shelter and shade, suddenly disappearing and we are left out in the sun! But we keep faith that the near ones and comrades shall create more occasions to remember and celebrate Vijay, his life, writings and works.

We decided that PIPFPD national convention manch was dedicated to the memory of Vijay and we named the manch after him. PIPFPD owes a lot of our togetherness, ideological clarity and perseverance spirits to our dear comrades like Prof Vijay Singh.

Do let Tripta know that we remembered him fondly at the convention; Ishq Siyasat aur Awam.

With you all and comrades, in grief and times ahead,

Vijayan MJ, on behalf of PIPFPD national committee, and senior friends Manoranjan Mohanty, Syeda Hameed, Anuradha Bhasin, Asha Hans, Lalita Ramdas, Rita Manchanda...

A longtime professor of history at DU’s Satyawati College and the father of fomer Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, Singh died on Friday. He was around 80. Colleagues said he had been unwell in recent years.

For more than four decades in the classroom and beyond it, Singh built a reputation that is difficult to summarise in the conventional language of academic achievement. And yet, across DU, his influence endures in classrooms, in political conversations, and in the memory of those who argued with him over ideas. “He was a remarkable scholar and teacher, a person of great integrity,” said author and historian Mahesh Rangarajan, who first met Singh as a student in 1982. “He had very clear and strong views, but he never imposed them. You could argue any view with him; he would never hold it against you.”

At Satyawati College, where Singh spent most of his career, he became known for being accessible at all times to his students and colleagues. He taught papers on interwar Europe and the rise of fascism, drawing on a deep command of Russian and Soviet history. But what students remembered was not only the breadth of his knowledge, but also his refusal to let knowledge become a barrier. “He took history to the last student in the class,” Rangarajan said. Students, including those less fluent in English or new to academic language, found in him a patient guide. He would sit with them through what he himself called “extremely naive questions”, explaining answers. “He treated you as a fellow student of history, whether you were in your first year or finishing a book,” Rangarajan recalled.

Even colleagues who disagreed with him sharply found themselves drawn into that same intellectual generosity. “He was a hardcore Left person, a political activist,” said Pallavi Prasad, a faculty member at Satyawati College who joined in 2006 and taught alongside him. “But he did not let that interfere with his teaching. He was sincere about his work in college.”

Singh’s classroom was only one part of his intellectual life. The other unfolded in the charged political culture of DU – in teachers’ associations, protest meetings, court corridors, and living-room discussions that stretched late into the evening.

He was associated with a strand of Left politics that was often critical of dominant positions within the university. Along with his wife, Tripta Wahi, also an academic, he was part of networks that engaged with questions of gender justice, academicmfreedom, and state power. “They were very much in the thick of all the progressive movements in the university,” said Nandita Narain, who had known Singh since the early 1980s.

Their home on the Hindu College campus where Wahi taught became a meeting point – for campaigns around sexual harassment, for discussions following the 2001 Parliament attack, and later, for debates around the trial and execution of Afzal Guru. Singh brought the same intensity to these spaces as he did to the classroom. But here, too, he was willing to engage. “He was very upfront about his views,” said Sanjaya Kumar Bohidar, a retired professor from Shri Ram College of Commerce, who knew Singh from the late 1980s. “That’s why there were a lot of disagreements... but that never affected our personal relationship.”

Arguments were fierce. “When they went on, it felt like the end of the world,” Bohidar said. “But then we would sit together and talk normally.” For those who worked closely with him, Singh’s defining quality was not only intellectual openness but a certain stubborn courage, an insistence on speaking, even when the outcome seemed uncertain. “He was fearless,” Prasad said. “He could stand up in staff council meetings, in the academic council, and speak against the Vice- Chancellor. He was not calculative.”

That conviction shaped his understanding of activism. “When I asked him if it was futile to keep protesting, he said: ‘whether you are able to change things or not is immaterial. what matters is that you raise questions’,” she recalled. Colleagues recall Singh’s ability to connect contemporary events to deep historical processes — to move from the Russia-Ukraine war to 19th-century geopolitics without losing the thread. “He had formidable knowledge,” Rangarajan said.

At the same time, he carried his learning lightly. There was humour dry, often British in tone, shaped by his early years abroad and a sense of ease that dissolved hierarchies. “He had a very gentle demeanour, which went with strongly held opinions,” Rangarajan said. “He was a gentleman of the old school.”

Singh’s influence also extended, quietly, into the institutional life of DU. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was part of a small group of teachers who pushed for changes in the history curriculum arguing for a broader engagement with European, medieval, and global histories. Some of those ideas eventually found their way into syllabi, shaping generations of students. “He had a very large informal circle,” Rangarajan said.

Indian Express, 18 April 2026

On April 17, the Communist and revolutionary democratic world faced an irreparable loss with the passing of Professor Vijay Singh, an unwavering defender and lifelong stalwart of Marxist-Leninist revolutionary theory, a tireless editor, and one who chronicled and explored the historical memory of the international communist movement through the journal Revolutionary Democracy.

Professor Vijay Singh was a distinguished academic. Having spent many years exploring the archives of the USSR, Singh made it his life’s mission to bring historical truths to light and refute ideological attacks on socialism. He was an outstanding scholar of Soviet and Russian history. His scholarship was supported by meticulous archival work, fluency in the Russian language that enabled excellent translations of primary sources, and wide-ranging travels. The archival studies he undertook and his contributions to scientific socialism rank among the most valuable resources of revolutionary literature, both in India and internationally.

Through decades of tireless work, Comrade Vijay cemented and preserved one of the few international forums dedicated to the defence of Marxism-Leninism against revisionism, opportunism, and historical distortion. He wrote thought-provoking essays with incisive analysis on subjects such as the “dictatorship of the proletariat.”

Vijay Singh was a committed Marxist-Leninist who waged a lifelong battle to preserve and strengthen the ideology of Marxism-Leninism despite formidable challenges. He undertook deep exploration of Marxist-Leninist and Stalin-era archives, excavating original sources. His extensive research produced coherent analyses exposing what he saw as conspiracies of the Left Opposition against the Stalin-era USSR. He uncompromisingly waged ideological struggle against revisionism, Trotskyism, and postmodernism, exposing what he regarded as their un-Marxist character.

Despite my strong personal differences with some of his views, I acknowledge Vijay Singh’s role in challenging widely accepted narratives and bringing forward lesser-known historical material on the Stalin period from 1926-1953.

Combating revisionism and wrong trends

Comrade Vijay Singh left no stone unturned in refuting revisionism and defending the principles of proletarian dictatorship, democratic centralism, and socialist construction. He played a significant role in major ideological struggles, challenging the lines associated with Trotsky, Khrushchev, and Mao Zedong. His life was marked by sustained engagement with Marxist-Leninist theory and practice.

His work also extended to critical engagement with the communist movement in India, offering principled critiques of both parliamentary reformism and adventurist deviations, emphasising the importance of ideological clarity as the foundation of revolutionary practice.

Through his writings and editorial work, Comrade Vijay Singh educated cadres, documented lessons of past struggles, and upheld Marxism-Leninism during a period of ideological confusion following the collapse of socialist states. His work exemplified discipline, intellectual rigor, and unwavering dedication to the working class and oppressed peoples everywhere.

Vijay insisted, with clarity and conviction, that class struggle does not disappear simply because a state claims a socialist legacy—and that ignoring this is to reject the core of Marxist analysis. His intellectual discipline rejected half-understood positions. His discussions transformed immediate debates into deeper historical and ideological reflections.

He spent long hours examining questions surrounding the death of Joseph Stalin and the subsequent ruptures in the global communist movement. He analysed the propaganda war that followed 1953, the construction and normalization of distortions, and how these developments contributed to fragmentation within communist movements worldwide.

Figures like Vijay Singh leave behind not only a legacy but also unfinished work, unresolved questions, and a standard of seriousness that others must strive to uphold.

Journal Revolutionary Democracy

Vijay Singh facilitated the publication and dissemination of rare archival material, making available documents and debates from the time of Lenin and Stalin that might otherwise have remained inaccessible. He believed that without rigorous engagement with history—its failures, distortions, and lessons—it would be impossible to chart a correct path forward. This conviction shaped the platform he founded, Revolutionary Democracy.

Under his editorial leadership, the journal became a repository of historical knowledge, documenting the international communist movement and sustaining revolutionary theory amid ideological retreat following the 20th Congress of the CPSU under Khrushchev.

Revolutionary Democracy was marked by a dialectical and analytical approach. Its pages reflected consistency, balanced research, and openness. The journal explored Marxist theory and polemics while also analysing Indian democracy, including the rise of neo-fascism. It addressed a wide range of subjects: the historical emergence of fascism, critiques of Indian independence, developments in the communist movement, revisionism, left adventurism, people’s struggles, the semi-feudal character of the Indian economy, political economy, and the impact of liberalisation and globalisation.

It offered a rare combination of archival material and contemporary political analysis from a revolutionary perspective. Its consistent coverage of India’s agrarian economy and liberalisation was especially valuable. The journal also documented instances of state repression, draconian laws, and fake encounters.

Through Revolutionary Democracy, Vijay Singh created a space that rejected both dogmatism and dilution. The journal upheld democracy, national liberation, and socialism, while making global developments accessible even to activists in remote areas.

The journal received wide recognition on its 10th and 20th anniversaries, with appreciation from diverse quarters in India and internationally. Many Marxist-Leninist groups acknowledged its role as a guiding platform for the communist movement.

Personal experience with Professor Vijay Singh

During the years I knew him from 2014 onwards, I rarely encountered someone in the Marxist-Leninist sphere who was as humble, grounded, and supportive. Despite differences, he encouraged my exploration of diverse trends within the communist movement and consistently engaged with my writings.

He patiently urged me to study the documents published in Revolutionary Democracy. Though a critic of the CPI (Maoist), he defended it as a force resisting neo-fascism and corporate domination. He was also a sharp critic of Hindutva politics and regularly wrote against it.

He did not consider China a socialist state even between 1956 and 1976, though he regarded Mao Tse Tung as a major revolutionary figure. He criticised the line of Charu Mazumdar and rejected the Maoist strategy of protracted people’s war for India, instead supporting the 1951 programme of the Communist Party of India. He studied the Telangana armed struggle in this context.

Despite disagreements, he held figures such as Chandra Pulla Reddy, Tarimela Nagi Reddy, D.V. Rao, and Jose Maria Sison in high regard. He always explained his positions patiently, including his views on the CPI programme, China’s trajectory, and the need for an anti-fascist united front.

Role in the teachers’ movement

He contributed significantly to strengthening the teachers’ movement and defending public education. Even in heated debates, he remained calm, composed, and fact-driven.

He worked closely with Aditya Narayan Misra in struggles within the Delhi University Teachers’ Association, including opposition to the Model Act, the Birla-Ambani report, and service-related issues.

Comrade Vijay Singh served as a history teacher at Satyawati College and later lectured postgraduate students at the University of Delhi. His contributions to the teachers’ movement integrated trade union demands with broader democratic concerns such as secularism, gender justice, democracy, and social justice.

Harsh Thakor