Harpal Brar Fattanwala, communist leader and writer, passes away at 85

Harpal Singh Brar Fattanwala, an Indian communist, politician, writer and businessman, based in the United Kingdom (UK), passed away on Saturday in Chandigarh. He was 85.

Harpal, maternal uncle of former Punjab finance minister and BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal, was presently living in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

He is survived by a son and daughter.

Harpal's father Harchand Singh Brar Fattanwala was an ex-MLA of Muktsar.

Speaking over the phone from Chandigarh, SAD leader Jagjit Singh Honey Fattanwala, nephew of the deceased, said, “Taya ji (uncle) was unwell for the past few days. He was recently admitted to a private hospital in Mohali and was taken to Manpreet Badal's house yesterday, where he passed away today.”

Harpal was the founder and former chairman of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist). He had however stepped down from the post in 2018.

He was also the editor of a left-wing political newspaper 'Lalkar'. Harpal wrote multiple books on subjects such as communism, Indian republicanism, imperialism, anti-Zionism, anti-colonialism and the British General Strike.

Harpal was born at Fattanwala village in Muktsar district. In 1962, he went to the United Kingdom as a student. Thereafter, he worked as a lecturer in law at the Harrow College of Higher Education and later did business in textiles.