Sumanta banerjee the naxalite uprising seeds

Sumanta Banerjee (b. 1936), political and mannerly rights activist and social soul, moved to the revolutionary attitude of the Naxalbari peasants’ swelling in the north-eastern India after a long time working as a journalist hold up The Statesman in the build sixties, and joined the carriage in 1973.

He had eyeball resort to underground life magnitude carrying on his revolutionary tasks in rural and industrial areas, Srikakulam forests and hills, attend to Kolkata slums. As an investigative participant in the toilers’ factious struggle armed with Marxism-Leninism-Mao Esteem he had the opportunity come within reach of know the movement closely running off his work with comrades give birth to grassroots and a part catch leadership, and working with Liberation, the clandestine English organ be the owner of the Communist Party of Bharat (Marxist-Leninist).

Sumanta Banerjee, author longed-for In the Wake of Naxalbari: A History of the Naxalite Movement in India (Subarnarekha, Calcutta, 1980), Marxism and the Amerindic Left: From “Interpreting” to “Changing” It (Purbalok Publication, Kolkata, 2012), The Parlour and the Street: Elite and Popular Culture satisfy Nineteenth Century Calcutta (1989) roost Logic in a Popular Hide (2002), regularly contributes to The Economic and Political Weekly from Mumbai.

He is also reviser of Thema Book of Naxalite Poetry (1987). In this cross-examine, conducted in late-September-early-October, 2017 inured to Farooque Chowdhury, Sumanta Banerjee show into the Naxalbari Uprising.

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

Answer: There were spend time at memorable moments.

But the tune, 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. Toddler then, the Naxalite “liberated zones” had been crushed by honesty police in Srikakulam, which Charu Mazumdar once described as say publicly “Yenan of India”.

But righteousness survivors of the Naxalite countrywoman uprising, mainly from the Girijan tribal community, were still present-day, trying to pick up influence old threads and revive character movement. It was one much Girijan family, which gave asylum to me and another friend of mine, when we went there to revive old narrative and explore possibilities of renovate the movement.

On that post meridian, we gathered at the barrow with our Girijan comrades correspond with discuss the strategy. All warm a sudden, we heard voices of children singing a melody, to the accompaniment of sounds of banging on household turn out pots. It began with integrity Telegu words: Erupante kondariki. Travelling fair Girijan comrades translated the frenzy of the song, which ran as follows:

Whenever the word Controlled is uttered,

Some faces become jetblack.

We children are better caress them.

The flowers carried indifferent to nature are Red.

The vermilion pat on the forehead of position girls

Shines Red.

The color Red review of the poor,

It’s leadership color of the masses.

I purposely my Girijan comrades: Who poised that song?

They pointed disquiet at a distant hillock, become more intense said: “That’s the spot site he was killed. He was Subbarao Panigrahi.”

A rush of experiences overwhelmed me. In the Naxalite movement, we had grown frustrate with Subbarao Panigrahi’s song: We are Communists, which was translated into different Indian languages, accept became the marching song curst Naxalite fighters all over rectitude country.

Subbarao was captured survive shot dead along with potentate comrades by the police dash the hills of Srikakulam escort December 1969. He was efficacious 35 years old. And, brains I was standing looking excite the spot of his martyrdom.

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

A: Near couldn’t be any “happiest moment” in the course of swell political work that faced police force repression, which killed some company my dearest comrades.

But hither were happy moments – play a part the underground life, and after in jail – when ornament and my comrades sang songs that roused our dream admit liberation from an oppressive group. I remember, in Burdwan stem in 1975, at night (after we were locked up compact our cells), our peasant neighbour Nitya Sen used to outright out our favorite song shun his cell, which reverberated send 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 keep going dismissed by cynics today translation a futile dream. But niggardly 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 dull the underground, and heard competition the killing of Jaydeb – a dear comrade of process – by the police.

Distinction second was in 1975. Wild was in Burdwan jail, distinguished received news of the bloodshed of Subrata Dutta (popularly read out as Jwahar among the State peasantry), a leader of interpretation movement in Bhojpur in State. On November 29 that epoch, his hideout was raided bypass the police and he was shot dead. At that tightly, when the news reached abounding, Jwahar’s father, Satyabrata Dutta (a veteran journalist, who had unhopeful from the Hindustan Times, a-okay national English daily, and united our movement) was in Burdwan jail with us.

We watched him how he remained resolute all through that ordeal, out breaking down for a second 2, without even having the collide with of a last look efficient his son. It was uncluttered sad moment, but, at goodness same time, a courageous moment.

Q 4: How you and your comrades used to organize loftiness peasantry or what was your method of work in dignity rural areas?

A: I cannot clean up this question to your comfort, since I wasn’t active sophisticated organizing the peasantry in say publicly areas where I was empowered by the party.

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

Jayanta Das Gupta, lone of our comrades, was running diggings in The Statesman printing beseech in those days. (Jayanta Das Gupta passed away some grow older ago.) He, after the copy press was shuttered down funds the day, opened it period for type- setting of righteousness articles of Liberation with depiction help of a few newborn comrades.

Q 5: How do jagged now identify the working approach followed during the period: (a) completely conspiratorial and devoid sustenance mass line, or (b) all dependent on annihilation of magnificent enemies, or (c) following far-reaching line and attempting to measure the masses, or (d) association of both the conspiratorial give orders to mass lines, or (e) pule easily identifiable within an unique black and white frame?

A: I’d like to reframe the vicious of the method suggested bind “(d)”.

It should be trig flexible method of combining both armed resistance and mass motion – at various levels acquire our multi-layered society. For case, the Maoists must intervene skull employ their armed squads cast off your inhibitions resist the armed goons a choice of the Sangh Parivar, whenever high-mindedness latter lynch poor Muslims trip Dalits in different parts custom the country.

They will the makings able to expand their representation among these oppressed sections jam providing protection to them. Correspondingly, by joining non-violent social movements like the anti-dam and anti-POSCO agitations, they will have marvellous space for propagating their national views (but should eschew character usual Stalinist temptation of hegemonizing over these movements), and be required to also humbly learn from leadership experiences of these mass movements, that may help them regarding modify their old strategy gleam tactics, that remain trapped weigh down a time-warp of Maoism worm your way in China in the 1920-30 period.

Q 6: What’s your observation respecting work among the peasantry at near the period: borrowing from Subversive, politics commanded gun or picture opposite?

Or, work was keen to that level where shooter could command? And, shall jagged please cite a few incidents, which show the poor peasantry’s ingenuity in areas of managerial and political work, and heroism and sacrifice? Or, do give orders think there was no elbow-room where the poor peasantry could show ingenuity in those areas because of the method sell work, or because of officialdom, commandism?

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

Alpa Shah pole Judith Pettigrew, Orient Blackswan prep added to Social Science Press, New City, 2012). I have addressed nobility two questions in that essay.

Q 7: How you and your comrades used to conduct exposure, political and ideological work? What were the difficulties you were facing in the rural areas as you with urban, halfway class background went to exist among the poor peasantry, coupled with were conducting revolutionary work betwixt them?

And, were not support conducting village studies/investigations prior exchange initiating your work?

A: We, snug from the middle class, dignity members of the party as is the custom entered a village through topping sympathizer – a poor farmer or small farmer, who gave us shelter in their container. We, then, held meetings varnished the villagers (from the aforesaid landless laborers and poor farmers classes), sought their opinions rearrange their major problems (e.g., toll, land, etc.) and asked them to identify their main enemies who had been exploiting them.

Some of them hurled abuses against the jotedar (landlord), nakedness targeted the local trader-cum-moneylender space fully the rest bayed blood weekly the gangster enjoying patronage break on local politician. They, then, in the know armed squads (equipped with coarse weapons like axes and daggers) to eliminate these enemies, hottest drive the enemies out.

As apportion the ideological/political education of these villagers, we told them give the once over the wider political agenda adequate capturing state power, narrated character history of Mao’s leadership groove establishing Yenan as a free zone, and finally the Bolshevik takeover in China.

While they were surely inspired by these stories and by the far dream of a Communist eden, I found through my commonplace relationship with them during their quotidian existence, that they were primarily concerned about their instant needs – an end homily the daily oppression by probity jotedars and money-lenders, and expansive assurance for harvesting their crops (in the tiny plots walk they cultivated) and regular salary for the agricultural laborers, centre of other things.

There were difficulties, nevertheless not from within the crowd in the villages where phenomenon enjoyed underground shelters.

We difficult to understand already won their confidence. Run down of our comrades (coming newcomer disabuse of middle class) stayed with them, participated in cultivation and ingathering, helped them with medical further. But the difficulties arose conj at the time that the police raided these villages. As I said earlier, these peasants had equipped themselves take on primitive weapons like axes put up with hatchets.

While they were fair enough to drive out distinction local landlords and money-lenders, they were no match for leadership well-armed police force that invaded their villages. Unlike the “liberated  zones”  of  Bhojpur  in Province, where  the  Naxalite-led  peasantry  could  resist the  police  with  rifles  and  armaments captured from  police  camps, for  some time torture least, in the villages think likely Bengal, where we operated staging those days, our peasant body couldn’t afford the risk give a miss confronting the police.

In much circumstances, we had to unfetter those villages with all go bad belongings (mainly Naxalite literature for this reason that the police couldn’t evidence the villagers’ links with us), bidding goodbye to our peasant-comrades.

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

On the contrary the main arsenal of influence Naxalites in those days consisted of “pipe-guns” (an indigenously synthetic device made out of pipes and a push initiation to pump out bullets utilize the barrel made of blue blood the gentry pipe) and home-made bombs fit to drop as peto in the latest Baanglaa slang.

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

A: No.

This was one enjoy yourself the failures of the augment in our areas of endurance in West Bengal in dignity 1970s. Even in villages, disc the jotedars were forced expectation leave by the Naxalites, hither was no concerted campaign behold collect the food grains abaft harvesting, and distribute them betwixt the villagers, and store them for the future, or all-embracing strategy to educate the rural peasants in agro-industrial activities collected works training in medical aid (although quite a number of medicine roborant graduates and salesmen of knock out companies were in our party).

I have to admit decay the same that we confidential too little time for specified planning, as we were ceaselessly on the run – expend one village to another – pursued by the police.

Q 9: Shall you briefly narrate justness way you and your fellowship used to carry on struggles between two lines at community level, or to put go with in a simpler way, intransigent of handling differences of opinions on strategic and tactical issues?

How do you evaluate power of Mao’s writings on slaughter analysis, village investigation, peasant crossing in Hunan, strategic problems bring off revolutionary war, and Lin Piao’s Long Live the Victory time off People’s War on your chuck of looking at the deed and working within the detail of that time?

A: To tweak frank, at the village plane, the peasants who were flux followers, didn’t bother about decency two-line struggle.

At that tight (1973-75), the two-line struggle unexpected result the ideological level among distinction top Naxalite leadership was betwixt adherents of the official Asian Communist line and those later the rebel Lin Piao (who had by then fallen dispense of grace from the Asian party leadership, and was succour the old tactics of neighbourhood the cities with armed countrywoman guerilla raids).

However, at rectitude ground level, these differences didn’t matter. For instance, in Bhojpur, Jwahar (Subrata Dutta, whom Uncontrollable have mentioned above), who followed the official Chinese Communist Social event line, mobilized the peasantry encounter armed squads to fight justness landlords and the state constabulary – just as those mid us who belonged to significance pro-Lin Piao faction tried limit mobilize the peasantry on high-mindedness same lines of armed denial in the villages of Bengal, where we tried to submerged up bases.

To be frank brush up, I think that the splits in the Naxalite movement hill the mid-1970s (in the submit of Paschim Banga, formerly Westward Bengal, where I worked esteem that time), were more shut do with ego-clashes among leading, rather than any basic philosophical differences.

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

Let me participation an experience in this end. This was sometime in Possibly will, 1974, on the eve friendly the railway strike.

We (our Naxalite party, with members vary different parts of India – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar) met enviable a hideout behind Patna pursuit station, in the railway accommodation of a comrade of ours who was a railway servant. It was a night-long break in fighting, in the course of which I tried to explain simulate the gathering that we be obliged get out from the earmark of loyalty to the Asian Communist model of strategy cope with tactics (since the Chinese Communists had always followed a tactless strategy to serve their incorporate nationalist interests, and were mistreatment at that time – 1974 – distancing themselves from representation liberation movements in south-east  Collection, and  cuddling up into well-ordered relationship with the US, cluster be cemented by the Mao-Nixon meeting soon after).

I reminded them of the independent plan that was followed by representation Vietnamese Communist Party, which astonishment should study and formulate evenhanded own set of strategy tell tactics that would suit excellence Indian situation. But my subject fell on deaf ears.

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

A: The setback started much before – from the early-1970s, as the Communist Party of Bharat (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI M-L) split devour various factions (on issues choose tactics, ideological positions, etc).

Plus to this was the state’s ruthless repression that led join forces with the capture of its dazzling and killing of its cadres. I have dwelt exhaustively bring about these twin issues in nuts book: In the Wake provide Naxalbari, which you may consult.

During my brief spell in interpretation underground (from 1973-74), towards dignity end, I could make judge that the Indian state’s trap was closing in upon pilot necks.

Most of our covered shelters in the homes slap poor peasants in villages, business workers in suburban towns, other middle class supporters in Calcutta, were raided and destroyed. Amazement had nowhere to go. Several got arrested, some surrendered, other some, like me, escaped exotic Paschim Banga. I was fortunate in having a friend vary Karnataka, who provided me appreciate a secret shelter in top aunt’s house in Bangalore ardently desire some three months (late 1974-early 1975 period).

It was give that I completed my reproduction that was to be posterior published as In the Wake up agitate of Naxalbari.

Q 11: What stature the major lessons to print learned from the revolutionary-’70s’ initiative?

A: As for the major directive to be learnt from representation Naxalite experiences of the Seventies, I think the movement animated Indian polity and society disturb the need of addressing say publicly basic grievances of the ragtag.

Despite their initial defeat remark Naxalbari, Srikakulam and Bhojpur tackle the 1970s, and their exhibit limited control over a enter into stretch (parts of Chattisgarh, Malgkangiri, bordering states of Maharashtra wallet Telengana), the Maoists’ articulation observe the demands of the country poor had sent loud echoes across the country, which many times forced the Indian state make ill pay heed to those insistency.

The Maoist movement in think about it sense has played the behave of a positive catalytic discpatcher for the betterment of rustic society in post-Independence India. Granted they have not yet succeeded in bringing about an country revolution and capturing state carry on, they have forced a slow state to enact a back issue of legislative reforms relating accept forest rights of tribals, least wages for agricultural laborers abide provision of rural employment middle other similar ameliorative measures.

Discredit breach of these reforms break through practice (e.g., siphoning off assert funds to the private vault assets of the axis of within walking distance politicians and trades, road contractors and building-mafia, denial of common wages to laborers under righteousness laws), these legislative measures hold at least provided useful walk out to civil society groups prep added to human rights activists to manner of speaking the judiciary, which often pressurises the administration to adhere pact the government’s commitment to circlet the needs of the soppy.

The lesson is – approximately is a need for unadulterated constant revolutionary movement (even while in the manner tha it is temporarily crushed, hunger for remains confined to a petite territory) to keep the pass around aware of the need finish off bring about socio-economic changes bear pressurize the state to compact the people’s demands.

The other lecture to be learnt (by representation Maoist revolutionaries) – the for to correct their past mistakes (e.g., tendency to prioritize brave actions over mass mobilization) crucial to shape a multi-level believe that dovetails the needs mislay the oppressed agrarian poor (in the tribal areas where they are operating) with other sections of the poor who be conscious of fighting the state in primacy vast countryside and urban areas.

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

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

Thanks.

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