Birth: 28 April 1940, Dillibazar
Death: 6 February 2022, Dhumbarahi

Prem Krishna Pathak, a political revolutionary and trusted aide of BP Koirala during the anti-Panchayat movement, died on February 6. He was 82. In his political career, Pathak was with various political parties, including Nepali Congress and CPN-UML. He was a member of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal at the time of his passing.  

Besides politics, Pathak also practiced law and in 1977 served as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Born during the Rana rule, Pathak was only 10 when he took part in his first political protest against the oppressive regime. The brutality displayed by the Ranas against the champions of democracy had left an indelible impression on his psyche. Young Pathak learned the importance of revolution when the 104-year absolute Rana rule ended in 1951, after which he would become a lifelong revolutionary.       

He cut his teeth in politics as a Nepali Congress cadre. After king Mahendra launched a coup on 15 December 1960, he was arrested along with Koirala and several other NC members. Pathak was released after months of imprisonment, even while Koirala would remain in jail until 1968 before being forced into self-exile in India.

Following his release, Pathak continued to take part in the anti-Panchayat movement. Political parties were banned and their leaders were either forced underground or arrested. It was Pathak who united different student unions under the banner of Janajagriti Sangh, which further spurred the democratic movement. Under his command, the students of the movement interrupted a gathering of the pro-Panchayat students. The incident encouraged more students to join anti-Panchayat protests.  

Pathak became a respected NC member, liked and trusted by party cadres and leaders alike. It was at his Old Baneshwar home that party leaders including Koirala used to surreptitiously meet.

A true revolutionary, Pathak was never content; he was always in need of a cause to fight for or against. Disaffected with the NC, he left the party several times, including in 1979, protesting Koirala’s policy of national reconciliation.

In the 1990 people’s movement, Pathak was at the forefront of the protests. He then made a radical switch by joining a communist force, Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist), which later became Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).

But Pathak would then go on to leave the CPN-UML over the party’s position on the issue of identity and representation. He quit along with the faction led by Ashok Rai to form the Samajbadi Party, which itself has undergone many divisions and is today known as Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSPN).     

The first-ever central committee meeting of JSPN on 18 August 2021 bestowed on Pathak the title of ‘Krantiyoddha’, which means revolutionary fighter.

Pathak died on Feb 6 after being rushed to a hospital following a stroke.  

Pathak is survived by his wife, Hiranya Kumari, their son, Kalyan Pathak, and daughter, Namrata Sharma.