Ernesto Che Guevara is the icon of the youth in the world today. Every young man or woman who aspires to bring justice and equality in the world gets inspiration from Che. Thousands of young men and women wear shirts with Che’s photograph printed on the chest or back. Many of them may not have even heard of him yet he holds a place in their hearts and they take pride in putting on a shirt with this bearded revolutionary. Ernesto Che Guevara was the hero of Cuban revolution and fought as second -in -command during the battle as also after the revolution in the reconstruction of Cuba as a socialist country in the leadership of Fidel Castro.

Ernesto Che Guevara was born on June 14, 1928 at Rosario, Argentina. He studied medicine before travelling around South America, observing conditions that spurred his Marxist beliefs. He aided Fidel Castro in overturning the Batista government in the late 1950s, and then held key political offices during Castro’s regime. Guevara later engaged in guerrilla action elsewhere, including in Bolivia, where he was captured and executed in 1967 by American secret agency and the ruling government of Bolivia.

He studied in a school and passed with an honours. Later he studied medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. In 1951 he left the school to travel around South America with a friend. The poor living conditions he witnessed on their nine-month journey had a profound effect on Guevara, and he returned to medical school the following year, intent on providing care for the needy. He received his degree in 1953. Same year he travelled to Guatemala and witnessed how the leftist government of Guatemala was overturned by CIA, the US intelligence agency. He decided to abandon his career in medicine and work for revolution in South America so that justice for the people could be achieved. He joined Fidel Castro and fought a guerrilla war to overthrow US supported Batista government in Cuba and formed a socialist government in Cuba in the leadership of Fidel Castro.

Many of the admirers and critics of Ernesto Che Guevara may not have noted carefully that while he held a gun in his one hand he held a pen in another. Che was a prolific writer and wrote even when he was facing gun fire from a helicopter hiding in some barn fighting the enemy. He was an efficient war strategist who defeated US supported Batista government with a handful of revolutionaries.

Che wrote about his experiences in the form of diaries and notes. The last entry in his diary was written less than twenty four hours before his brutal murder by CIA and the Bolivian troops. The Motorcycle Diaries, Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, Guerrilla Warfare – a Manual, The African Dream and  The Bolivian Diary are some of his writings which tell us the man behind the great guerrilla fighter. A reading of these books would be very meaningful to understand him in the present times.

Contributed by: Dr H.S.Chandaliya