Arts graduate Barkat Mollah was walking unnoticed with a crutch in a CPM march from Singur last week. Now, the 26-year-old is an “icon”.

The 52km two-day “Long March” to Calcutta was organised by the party’s peasants’ wing to demand the “re-industrialisation” of Singur. “When the rally reached Howrah, someone told me that a physically challenged youth from my district was walking with the help of a crutch. I immediately brought him to the forefront of the rally to mark him as a symbol of our political struggle,” said Amal Haldar, secretary of the West Bengal Pradeshik Krishak Sabha.

“He (Barkat) used to participate in our rallies since he was in college but I did not know of him earlier. We will felicitate him soon,” Haldar added.

Barkat, a resident of Multi village in East Burdwan’s Katwa, said he had marched to protest unemployment. “I have appeared for the civil service exams and primary school teaching exams three times but have not succeeded yet.”

Barkat grew up in a family of Left supporters and was a member of the SFI, the CPM student wing, in college. His father Kashem is a farmer and younger brother Phahad a mason in Kerala. Kashem is a member of East Burdwan’s Krishak Sabha.

“Earlier, my longest walk was 10km, in Burdwan town. When my party’s local leaders approached me for the 52km march, I took it up as a challenge. I suffered bruises on my left underarm holding the crutch so long, but that will not stop me from participating in future rallies,” said Barkat, who got married a month ago.

On the first day of the two-day march, Barkat walked 19km from Singur to Dankuni. He spent the night with a Left supporter’s family in Bally and the next day, he covered the remaining 33km to the Raj Bhavan in Calcutta. “If my party asks me to walk more, I will do so,” Barkat said.