Lifelong political fighter and revolutionary Ram Segoobin died on 28 January. Segoobin left the Mauritian Militant Movement to become a founding leader of LALIT DE KLAS (Class Struggle) a revolutionary socialist political party based in Mauritius in 1982. He was famed as a community doctor and political analyst published widely in the mainstream press and by LALIT.

There is a history of Mauritian-Australian revolutionary collaboration since Segoobin travelled to Australia in 2005 for the Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference held in Sydney in April 2005, with over 750 people participating. Here we publish the note sent by Red Spark to LALIT shortly after Segoobin’s death.

Dear Lindsey and all the comrades in LALIT

We are very much saddened to hear of the terrible loss of comrade Ram Segoobin.

Ram must have been a hugely influential force in LALIT just as he had an outsized influence on Mauritius more widely, especially in the critical sphere of culture, writing and the broader battle of ideas.

We are in a period now where key leaders of the previous significant global upturn in radicalisation, of which Ram will remain an outstanding figure in Mauritius, are coming to the end of their lives or have passed away.

The work of Ram that we in Red Spark are most aware of is his contribution to building an important and long living revolutionary current – LALIT DE KLAS. This is something he must have been, rightly, immensely proud of, and is of lasting value.

LALIT stands out internationally as having an outsized impact and strength within Mauritian political and social struggle. LALIT also plays a crucial role in the ongoing movement against militarism and US military bases, especially on the Mauritian sovereign territory of Diego Garcia.

In case you don’t have them already, we include here some beautiful photos of RAM and other comrades taken at the 2010 international conference on Diego Garcia that took place in Port Louis.

In Australia too Red Spark is working extremely hard to rebuild the revolutionary movement from its state of long-neglect. It is a comfort and motivation to us that the steps we take are in the tradition of, and would have the support of the outstanding figures of the previous generation, figures such as Ram Segoobin, John Percy and many others.

We wish you all the best in this difficult moment and hope that you will remember that we stand alongside you in this struggle.

We Will Win!
Sam King for the Red Spark National Executive