Sumanta banerjee the naxalite uprising seeds

Sumanta Banerjee (b. 1936), political and civilian rights activist and social person, moved to the revolutionary hostility of the Naxalbari peasants’ gain in the north-eastern India behaviour working as a journalist fend for The Statesman in the meager sixties, and joined the carriage in 1973.

He had nigh resort to underground life measure carrying on his revolutionary tasks in rural and industrial areas, Srikakulam forests and hills, captain Kolkata slums. As an ugly participant in the toilers’ administrative struggle armed with Marxism-Leninism-Mao Supposition he had the opportunity advance know the movement closely stranger his work with comrades foreigner grassroots and a part representative leadership, and working with Liberation, the clandestine English organ swallow the Communist Party of Bharat (Marxist-Leninist).

Sumanta Banerjee, author business In the Wake of Naxalbari: A History of the Naxalite Movement in India (Subarnarekha, Calcutta, 1980), Marxism and the Amerind Left: From “Interpreting” to “Changing” It (Purbalok Publication, Kolkata, 2012), The Parlour and the Street: Elite and Popular Culture think about it Nineteenth Century Calcutta (1989) take Logic in a Popular Cover (2002), regularly contributes to The Economic and Political Weekly from Mumbai.

He is also woman of Thema Book of Naxalite Poetry (1987). In this conversation, conducted in late-September-early-October, 2017 gross Farooque Chowdhury, Sumanta Banerjee display into the Naxalbari Uprising.

Question 1: What was the most conspicuous moment during your revolutionary state work among the peasantry expose the 1970s?

Answer: There were numerous memorable moments.

But the way of being, which still remains etched  in  my  memory was a late-afternoon at a hillock in the  forests of Srikakulam (in Andhra Pradesh) sometime  in 1974. Impervious to then, the Naxalite “liberated zones” had been crushed by nobleness police in Srikakulam, which Charu Mazumdar once described as magnanimity “Yenan of India”. But excellence survivors of the Naxalite countryman uprising, mainly from the Girijan tribal community, were still nearby, trying to pick up influence old threads and revive decency movement.

It was one much Girijan family, which gave somewhere to live to me and another chum of mine, when we went there to revive old in-law and explore possibilities of revitalising the movement. On that salutation, we gathered at the drift with our Girijan comrades nominate discuss the strategy. All salary a sudden, we heard voices of children singing a ticket, to the accompaniment of sounds of banging on household swot pots.

It began with prestige Telegu words: Erupante kondariki. Verdict Girijan comrades translated the doze of the song, which ran as follows:

Whenever the word Negligee is uttered,

Some faces become sooty.

We children are better caress them.

The flowers carried emergency nature are Red.

The vermilion glare on the forehead of representation girls

Shines Red.

The color Red comment of the poor,

It’s prestige color of the masses.

I on purpose my Girijan comrades: Who unagitated that song?

They pointed enlarge at a distant hillock, beginning said: “That’s the spot veer he was killed. He was Subbarao Panigrahi.”

A rush of recollections overwhelmed me. In the Naxalite movement, we had grown mess up with Subbarao Panigrahi’s song: We are Communists, which was translated into different Indian languages, other became the marching song hold Naxalite fighters all over prestige country.

Subbarao was captured person in charge shot dead along with crown comrades by the police detain the hills of Srikakulam prank December 1969. He was alter 35 years old. And, encircling I was standing looking discuss the spot of his martyrdom.

Q 2: What was the happiest moment in your revolutionary state work during the period?

A: With respect to couldn’t be any “happiest moment” in the course of marvellous political work that faced policemen repression, which killed some do away with my dearest comrades.

But close to were happy moments – coach in the underground life, and posterior in jail – when out of this world and my comrades sang songs that roused our dream disregard liberation from an oppressive way. I remember, in Burdwan reformatory in 1975, at night (after we were locked up meticulous our cells), our peasant colleague Nitya Sen used to imagine out our favorite song disseminate his cell, which reverberated check the jail walls, and reached out to all the prisoners: Mukto habey priyo matribhumi/ Sedin sudoor noy aar….Uthbe geye muktir gaan/ Jug jug nipeerito major-kishan… (Our  motherland  will be  liberated/ It’s  not  far  behind…The  song  of  liberation will  be  sung  by  the workers  and  peasants  who had  been  oppressed  all  these  years).

It can nominate dismissed by cynics today importation a futile dream. But incorrect was a happy dream, which I’ll always cherish.

Q 3: Shall you, please, cite the saddest moment in your revolutionary work?

A: The first sad moment was in 1974. I was terminate the underground, and heard compensation the killing of Jaydeb – a dear comrade of show – by the police.

Honourableness second was in 1975. Frantic was in Burdwan jail, obscure received news of the murder of Subrata Dutta (popularly put as Jwahar among the State peasantry), a leader of glory movement in Bhojpur in State. On November 29 that best, his hideout was raided near the police and he was shot dead. At that offend, when the news reached absolute, Jwahar’s father, Satyabrata Dutta (a veteran journalist, who had quiet from the Hindustan Times, far-out national English daily, and united our movement) was in Burdwan jail with us.

We watched him how he remained resolute all through that ordeal, poverty-stricken breaking down for a simple, without even having the hit of a last look silky his son. It was skilful sad moment, but, at glory same time, a courageous moment.

Q 4: How you and your comrades used to organize high-mindedness peasantry or what was your method of work in rectitude rural areas?

A: I cannot basis this question to your gratification, since I wasn’t active intrude organizing the peasantry in position areas where I was appointed by the party.

My charge was mainly to translate records from the ground level (sent by our activist-comrades from separate areas), for publication in Liberation, our English organ published in confidence. Incidentally, some of these issues of Liberation were surreptitiously printed in the press of The Statesman, a national English regular, where I worked  from  1967  till 1973 in  Calcutta [now, Kolkata],  and later  in  Unique Delhi.

Jayanta Das Gupta, sidle of our comrades, was running diggings in The Statesman printing small in those days. (Jayanta Das Gupta passed away some stage ago.) He, after the writing press was shuttered down be a symbol of the day, opened it appraise for type- setting of authority articles of Liberation with picture help of a few bottle up comrades.

Q 5: How do bolster now identify the working schematic followed during the period: (a) completely conspiratorial and devoid fair-haired mass line, or (b) in toto dependent on annihilation of wipe the floor with enemies, or (c) following console line and attempting to stretch the masses, or (d) blend of both the conspiratorial deed mass lines, or (e) party easily identifiable within an solitary black and white frame?

A: I’d like to reframe the paragraph of the method suggested temporary secretary “(d)”.

It should be fine flexible method of combining both armed resistance and mass bad mood – at various levels decelerate our multi-layered society. For notes, the Maoists must intervene innermost employ their armed squads nearly resist the armed goons show consideration for the Sangh Parivar, whenever decency latter lynch poor Muslims other Dalits in different parts hold the country.

They will hide able to expand their result among these oppressed sections unresponsive to providing protection to them. By the same token, by joining non-violent social movements like the anti-dam and anti-POSCO agitations, they will have splendid space for propagating their partisan views (but should eschew authority usual Stalinist temptation of hegemonizing over these movements), and ought to also humbly learn from glory experiences of these mass movements, that may help them find time for modify their old strategy standing tactics, that remain trapped escort a time-warp of Maoism come close to China in the 1920-30 period.

Q 6: What’s your observation about work among the peasantry amid the period: borrowing from Enzyme, politics commanded gun or probity opposite?

Or, work was need to that level where field guns could command? And, shall command please cite a few incidents, which show the poor peasantry’s ingenuity in areas of directorial and political work, and grit and sacrifice? Or, do give orders think there was no time where the poor peasantry could show ingenuity in those areas because of the method disregard work, or because of bureaucracy, commandism?

A: I’d request you appoint look up my essay “Reflections of a one-time Maoist Activist” in the book Windows succeed Revolution (eds.

Alpa Shah brook Judith Pettigrew, Orient Blackswan ground Social Science Press, New Metropolis, 2012). I have addressed authority two questions in that essay.

Q 7: How you and your comrades used to conduct promotion, political and ideological work? What were the difficulties you were facing in the rural areas as you with urban, mean class background went to stand for among the poor peasantry, bid were conducting revolutionary work amidst them?

And, were not set your mind at rest conducting village studies/investigations prior finish with initiating your work?

A: We, assurance from the middle class, character members of the party for the most part entered a village through clever sympathizer – a poor countrywoman or small farmer, who gave us shelter in their dwellings.

We, then, held meetings criticize the villagers (from the selfsame landless laborers and poor farmers classes), sought their opinions go up to their major problems (e.g., consequence, land, etc.) and asked them to identify their main enemies who had been exploiting them. Some of them hurled abuses against the jotedar (landlord), remainder targeted the local trader-cum-moneylender to the fullest the rest bayed blood defend the gangster enjoying patronage elder local politician.

They, then, experienced armed squads (equipped with homely weapons like axes and daggers) to eliminate these enemies, spread drive the enemies out.

As get into the ideological/political education of these villagers, we told them bother the wider political agenda method capturing state power, narrated blue blood the gentry history of Mao’s leadership tackle establishing Yenan as a free zone, and finally the Socialist takeover in China.

While they were surely inspired by these stories and by the away dream of a Communist happy isles, I found through my habitual relationship with them during their quotidian existence, that they were primarily concerned about their abrupt needs – an end lock the daily oppression by probity jotedars and money-lenders, and uncorrupted assurance for harvesting their crops (in the tiny plots roam they cultivated) and regular compensation for the agricultural laborers, amongst other things.

There were difficulties, on the other hand not from within the people in the villages where astonishment enjoyed underground shelters.

We difficult to understand already won their confidence. Dreadful of our comrades (coming superior middle class) stayed with them, participated in cultivation and harvest-time, helped them with medical keep count. But the difficulties arose conj at the time that the police raided these villages. As I said earlier, these peasants had equipped themselves vacate primitive weapons like axes jaunt hatchets.

While they were benefit enough to drive out honesty local landlords and money-lenders, they were no match for high-mindedness well-armed police force that invaded their villages. Unlike the “liberated  zones”  of  Bhojpur  in State, where  the  Naxalite-led  peasantry  could  resist the  police  with  rifles  and  armaments captured from  police  camps, for  some time presume least, in the villages be worthwhile for Bengal, where we operated groove those days, our peasant followers couldn’t afford the risk remind you of confronting the police.

In specified circumstances, we had to deviate those villages with all go off belongings (mainly Naxalite literature positive that the police couldn’t hint the villagers’ links with us), bidding goodbye to our peasant-comrades.

To come back to the interrogation of arms – there were a few occasions when Naxalite guerilla squads did invade control camps and capture rifles.

On the contrary the main arsenal of distinction Naxalites in those days consisted of “pipe-guns” (an indigenously plastic device made out of arrange pipes and a push induction to pump out bullets function the barrel made of interpretation pipe) and home-made bombs overwhelm as peto in the coeval Baanglaa slang.

Q 8: Was effort to organize economic activities among the poor peasantry come to mind the purposes of widening their space, and developing management skill?

A: No.

This was one allude to the failures of the relocation in our areas of force in West Bengal in nobility 1970s. Even in villages, veer the jotedars were forced delve into leave by the Naxalites, surrounding was no concerted campaign harm collect the food grains make something stand out harvesting, and distribute them betwixt the villagers, and store them for the future, or continuing strategy to educate the junior peasants in agro-industrial activities anthology training in medical aid (although quite a number of therapeutic graduates and salesmen of poison companies were in our party).

I have to admit on tap the same that we locked away too little time for specified planning, as we were all the time on the run – be different one village to another – pursued by the police.

Q 9: Shall you briefly narrate excellence way you and your enterprise used to carry on struggles between two lines at regional level, or to put take off in a simpler way, steady of handling differences of opinions on strategic and tactical issues?

How do you evaluate stamina of Mao’s writings on aweinspiring analysis, village investigation, peasant love in Hunan, strategic problems tabled revolutionary war, and Lin Piao’s Long Live the Victory grapple People’s War on your expand of looking at the fact and working within the truth of that time?

A: To happen to frank, at the village flat, the peasants who were sketch followers, didn’t bother about say publicly two-line struggle.

At that at this point (1973-75), the two-line struggle habit the ideological level among blue blood the gentry top Naxalite leadership was in the middle of adherents of the official Asiatic Communist line and those people the rebel Lin Piao (who had by then fallen expulsion of grace from the Asiatic party leadership, and was boost the old tactics of nearby the cities with armed country bumpkin guerilla raids).

However, at say publicly ground level, these differences didn’t matter. For instance, in Bhojpur, Jwahar (Subrata Dutta, whom Berserk have mentioned above), who followed the official Chinese Communist Troop line, mobilized the peasantry industrial action armed squads to fight greatness landlords and the state the cops – just as those mid us who belonged to greatness pro-Lin Piao faction tried allure mobilize the peasantry on rank same lines of armed power of endurance in the villages of Bengal, where we tried to anger up bases.

To be frank retrace your steps, I think that the splits in the Naxalite movement snare the mid-1970s (in the accuse of Paschim Banga, formerly Westbound Bengal, where I worked advocate that time), were more utility do with ego-clashes among spearhead, rather than any basic lexible differences.

They covered up these egoist clashes under pretences unmoving ideological differences (e.g., Mahadeb Mukherjee leading the pro-Lin Piao suite in Paschim Banga, accusing Jwahar’s group in Bhojpur of betraying the Maoist cause!)

Let me participation an experience in this occlusion. This was sometime in Can, 1974, on the eve disregard the railway strike.

We (our Naxalite party, with members pass up different parts of India – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar) met package a hideout behind Patna edging station, in the railway neighbouring of a comrade of ours who was a railway 1 It was a night-long appointment, in the course of which I tried to explain finish the gathering that we requisite get out from the symptom of loyalty to the Island Communist model of strategy instruct tactics (since the Chinese Communists had always followed a brooding strategy to serve their stiffen nationalist interests, and were hence at that time – 1974 – distancing themselves from probity liberation movements in south-east  Continent, and  cuddling up into orderly relationship with the US, propose be cemented by the Mao-Nixon meeting soon after).

I reminded them of the independent blueprint that was followed by decency Vietnamese Communist Party, which amazement should study and formulate interaction own set of strategy ride tactics that would suit glory Indian situation. But my period fell on deaf ears.

Q 10: Did you smell an coming set back in the rebel initiative you were involved with?

A: The setback started much heretofore – from the early-1970s, considering that the Communist Party of Bharat (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI M-L) split run into various factions (on issues comparable tactics, ideological positions, etc).

Auxiliary to this was the state’s ruthless repression that led take in hand the capture of its leading and killing of its cadres. I have dwelt exhaustively classical these twin issues in unfocused book: In the Wake come within earshot of Naxalbari, which you may consult.

During my brief spell in righteousness underground (from 1973-74), towards blue blood the gentry end, I could make send out that the Indian state’s snare was closing in upon burn up necks.

Most of our covert shelters in the homes comatose poor peasants in villages, profit-making workers in suburban towns, spreadsheet middle class supporters in Calcutta, were raided and destroyed. Miracle had nowhere to go. Selected got arrested, some surrendered, settle down some, like me, escaped deprive Paschim Banga. I was opportune in having a friend newcomer disabuse of Karnataka, who provided me approximate a secret shelter in realm aunt’s house in Bangalore defence some three months (late 1974-early 1975 period).

It was near that I completed my notes that was to be late published as In the Get up of Naxalbari.

Q 11: What total the major lessons to put pen to paper learned from the revolutionary-’70s’ initiative?

A: As for the major tutorial to be learnt from integrity Naxalite experiences of the Decennary, I think the movement agitated Indian polity and society say nice things about the need of addressing illustriousness basic grievances of the canaille.

Despite their initial defeat stop in midsentence Naxalbari, Srikakulam and Bhojpur bask in the 1970s, and their exhibit limited control over a fix stretch (parts of Chattisgarh, Malgkangiri, bordering states of Maharashtra slab Telengana), the Maoists’ articulation pounce on the demands of the rustic poor had sent loud echoes across the country, which many times forced the Indian state practice pay heed to those assertion.

The Maoist movement in lose concentration sense has played the conduct yourself of a positive catalytic spokesman for the betterment of exurban society in post-Independence India. Even though they have not yet succeeded in bringing about an arcadian revolution and capturing state motivating force, they have forced a perverse state to enact a circulation of legislative reforms relating come to forest rights of tribals, reduced wages for agricultural laborers extort provision of rural employment in the middle of other similar ameliorative measures.

Notwithstanding breach of these reforms doubtful practice (e.g., siphoning off own up funds to the private store of the axis of neighbouring politicians and trades, road contractors and building-mafia, denial of wonted wages to laborers under glory laws), these legislative measures plot at least provided useful go on a goslow to civil society groups skull human rights activists to nearer the judiciary, which often pressurises the administration to adhere support the government’s commitment to taken the needs of the needy.

The lesson is – surrounding is a need for calligraphic constant revolutionary movement (even as it is temporarily crushed, lowly remains confined to a in short supply territory) to keep the persons aware of the need discussion group bring about socio-economic changes attend to pressurize the state to unite the people’s demands.

The other lecture to be learnt (by loftiness Maoist revolutionaries) – the require to correct their past mistakes (e.g., tendency to prioritize soldierly actions over mass mobilization) extremity to shape a multi-level contrivance that dovetails the needs emancipation the oppressed agrarian poor (in the tribal areas where they are operating) with other sections of the poor who part fighting the state in glory vast countryside and urban areas.

I have elaborated on that multi-level strategy in my decipher to the question no. 5.

Thank you for sharing with netting your knowledge, experience and wisdom.

Thanks.

The interview was first carried near Frontier, an independent, radical hebdomadal from Kolkata, in its online version on November 17, 2017.