Comrade Sundar Navalkar is no more. After having fought feistily for workers’ rights her whole life, she passed away at the age of 98, on the morning of April 9. . COVID-19 prevented the large send-off she would definitely have got otherwise. Her last rites were carried out by her nephew’s family who had been looking after her during the lockdown.Sundar Navalkar. Photo: Author provided.Navalkar was born in Dadar, Mumbai and lived there her whole life. She was born into a middle-class family of lawyers and became one herself. Though her family had connections with the Hindu Mahasabha, she broke into, first, the Freedom movement and became a communist . She joined the Communist Party of India and later, being close to the Revolutionary Socialist Party (though never a member) she formed the Communist League. Later, being inspired by the uprising at Naxalbari, she formed the first unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) in Maharastra and was its first secretary.She was amongst the first group of four to be arrested as “Naxalites” in Maharashtra and spent almost seven years in jail.She stayed close to the original line of communist thought and opposed Satya Narain Singh when he decided to contest the election. After the CPI(ML) splintered, she associated herself with the Central Team CPI (ML). Though this was not a very big party, she tirelessly brought out a Marathi fortnightly called Jasood for several decades. The issues only stopped with the lockdown.Navalkar’s forte was her trade union work. Working tirelessly to organise workers, especially those who worked on contract, she was active among the the contract safai kamgars of Air India who were predominantly. After many years of struggle, she won them a historic victory in the Supreme Court in the case of Air India vs. United Labour Union in 1996. Though this judgement was subsequently reversed, it served as a beacon for contract workers throughout the country for some years. Also watch: Immanuel Ness on the ‘Super-Exploitation’ of Contractual Workers in IndiaNavalkar was simple and austere in her personal life. Living in a modest house, though she could have afforded much more, she always travelled by public transport for her trade union work, even when she was over 90. She was always seen in her trade mark white saree with a border and a white cotton blouse and remained without affectations. Erudite in her reading, she is credited with the translation of many of the Marxist Leninist classics and of Indian Marxist Leninist documents into Marathi. She also wrote quite often and was published in various newspapers and magazines. Sanjay Singhvi is a trade unionist and senior advocate known for his work in labour matters.