Compared to the mafia
rule of the past the new power emerging in many parts of Jharkhand is like a
paradise for the poor and oppressed of the region. Earlier they were looted by
one and all — the landlords, the contractors, the Mahajans (moneylenders), the
police, the government officials and even the petty traders. Already poverty
stricken due to a lack of land or gainful employment, this loot would break the
backs of the poor. When the MCCI {now CPI(Maoist) first entered the area we
visited — now under the North Chota Nagpur Zonal Committee of the Party — the
place was a haven for not only the above exploiters but also for criminal gangs
and mafia. The districts under this Committee comprise Girdhi, Hazaribagh, and
parts of Dhanbad, Koderma, Chatra, Dumka.
Initially the main
struggles were for the confiscation of the crop on the land of the poor peasants
seized by the mahajans and also against the forest department and big
moneylenders. It was 1990 when Com. A, now a Zonal Committee Member had just
joined the movement.
He recounted: "there
was terror in the Gumia region by the Raghunandan Sah (RS) mafia. Earlier they
had killed Jivla Mahto (Doctor) and would terrorise all activists of the mass
organisation and the Party. They got many arrested and would actively defame the
Party. In this gang RS belonged to the Congress and his right hand, Hafiz Mia,
was linked with A.K.Roy’s organisation. Finally the then MCC annihilated RS in
1990 and HM in 1991. This silenced the gang and it was only then that our
organisation could grow.
"Also the Gumia
region was run like a fiefdom by the notorious landlord, Bhim Singh. He was a
terror in the region. So, for example, if someone did not greet him when he
entered the village he would be tied to a horse and dragged around. When we
mobilised against him, he first ran away. Then he came back. He was tried in a
people’s court and taken around ten villages on a buffalo. Later he had a heart
attack and died. Large numbers of guns were seized form the landlords.
"But after 1992 it
was the CPM and the Liberation who jointly sought to crush the growing influence
of the movement. They widely spread rumours that the MCC was involved in raping,
robbing, etc. They also took a very aggressive attitude of destroying
sympathizers houses and informing the police. In 1995 the Liberation killed our
main activist in the Konar Dam area and captured those villages. They had acted
similarly in the Bokharo Thermal area. Around that time we took a march to
Jhumra hill. 10,000 people took part. The Liberation and the police were lying
in wait. They shouted slogans to destroy the MCC. They were warned not to
advance, but they continued to explode bombs and were firing. Then we
counter-attacked with bows and arrows. Many were injured and one was killed.
They fled. Only after the organisation was able to spread and KKCs were formed
in village after village.
"By 2001 state
repression had increased phenomenally. But, now none of the original
mafia/landlord/ govt. official combine exists in the area and the loot has
basically stopped. Forests are in the hands of the KKC. The landlords have fled
and the smaller ones have surrendered to the party. The Mahajans are also gone,
mostly to the urban areas. But now began the regular battles with the police.
The last four years has seen these battles intensify. Raids on the police
stations for weapons became necessary and ambushes were conducted to stop the
police offensive. Besides the regular forces of the people’s army, militias were
built in all the villages. The police are taking the lumpen youth ad making them
informers and even recruiting them."
It is only through
such intense struggles the new power is beginning to emerge in this area. Today,
all activities in the village are decided by the KKC. All disputes are settled
in people’s courts. Besides this, in most villages mass organisations have been
built of the women, youth and students, workers, cultural organisation, etc. As
com S (Zonal Committee Member and Platoon Commissar) added "soon the
organisational form of the new power will take birth in the form of the RPC —
Revolutionary People’s Committees. These will have in them members of the mass
organisations as well as the KKC. At present there is an informal coordination
between the mass organisations and the KKC." Since a number of years all
disputes are settled in the people’s courts. First a meeting of the villagers is
called and the problem is presented by the KKC. Then both parties present their
view-point. Then the public is asked to give their views. Then the KKC generally
gives the judgment, considering all the views presented. No one goes to the
police or the courts.
The mass
organisations have mobilised the people to better their living conditions. The
women’s organisation extensively propagate against patriar-chy and punishes the
culprits. Both the women and cultural organisation propagates against age-old
super-stitions. The cultural body also performs songs, dance and plays to
educate the masses on basic issues, including health and hygine. The poor have
been organised to fight for increased wages for tendu-leaf picking. A decade
back it was Rs. 2 per 1000; each year it slowly increased. Now it is Rs.45,
while in areas where the organisation is not there it is still Rs.28. Many
agricultural labourers and poor peasants now have land, confiscated from the
landlords or the government’s vacant land.
Since the last couple
of years as the new power is being consolidated the KKC has begun to take up
developmental works.
Much earlier on
confiscated lands orchards have been planted and the fruits are distributed to
the people. Through shramdan (voluntary labour) wells and canals are being dug.
In one area nine wells have been dug and one tank. In another area 7 wells, 8
tanks and one check dam have been built.
Also cooperative
farming ahs been started in a couple of villages — this will not only raise
productivity, but will help induce the spirit of community living. The KKC
distributes widely anti-malaria tablets and propagates widely on the need to
boil drinking water and other aspects of hygiene. Since the last two years the
KKC took a 15-day cleanliness campaign — they removed the rubbish from the
paths, put bleaching powder in the wells, distributed tablets and boiled the
water in people’s houses.
Also in the summer
the KKC takes up building houses for the poor through shramdan. In one area so
far 18 houses have been built.
The KKC has also
begun some schools where the teachers payment is raised from the students and
the KKC gives a subsidy. In one area six schools are being run.
The funds of the KKC
comes basically from (i) 25% of the produce on land confiscated from the
landlord, (ii) fish rearing in ponds and lakes, (iii) special fund collection
drives.
These then are some
elements of the new power emerging in the guerrilla zones of Jharkhand under the
leadership of the CPI(Maoist) Party. The government tries to portray the Maoists
as terrorists when, until now, what the rural poor have faced is nothing but the
terror of the establishment and excruciating poverty. It is with the entry of
the Maoists that they have been able to get a whiff of freedom from not only
their oppressors, but also age-old superstitions and degenerate customs. It is
this alone that is the hope for a new really democratic India.
