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It is reported that
the newly formed CPI(Maoist) has decided to commemorate martyrs week every year
from July 28th. The coming July 28 will be the first Martyrs’ Day after the
historic September 21 merger of the two Maoist revolutionary parties leading the
people’s war in the country. Hence the Martyrs’ Day this year will have specific
significance and will also have great impact on the Party, PLGA, revolutionary
Mass Organizations and the revolutionary masses throughout the country.
In the past six
months, since 21 September 2004, when the CPI (Maoist) was formed, there have
been a total of 60 martyrs from all over the country. 44 of these comrades were
killed in the three zones of AP, 12 are from B-J, and two each from Karnataka
and DK.
In Karnataka the
Party suffered the biggest loss with the martyrdom of comrade Saket Rajan, the
secretary of the State Committee and an elected alternate Central Committee
Member of the erstwhile CPI(ML)[PW]. He was the main spirit behind the
initiation of armed struggle in the Western Ghats and is one of the best-known
intellectuals in Karnataka and his book ‘Making History’ has become a popular
history textbook in Karnataka that gives a Marxist interpretation of the state’s
history. Comrade Saket’s martyrdom is a great loss not only to Karnataka but to
the entire Party and the Indian revolution.
The reactionary
ruling classes had become so shaky after the formation of the CPI(Maoist) that
they unleashed their fascist onslaught and began a killing spree in AP from the
first week of January by breaking off from the peace talks. The killings of ten
comrades in Manala in Nizamabad district in North Telangana on March 11th has
hardly any parallel in the history of the revolutionary movement. They were
poisoned through a covert agent, caught after they became unconscious, tortured
throughout the night and killed. In this incident the Party lost the DCS
(district committee secretary) comrade Ramesh, another DCM comrade Babanna and
three LGS commanders along with five squad members of the PLGA.
The Party also lost
comrade Yadanna, Warangal DCS and a member of the Special Zonal Committee of
North Telengana and three others in another incident. Another three DC
members—comrade Ranjit of Adilabad, Seenu of Karimnagar and Santosh of
Mahboobnagar were caught and killed. Laxmi, an organizer and Executive Committee
member of AP CMS (women’s organization) was caught and killed. Ten of the total
martyrs have been women comrades. All these comrades faced brutal tortures with
great courage without divulging anything to the enemy and hence were killed in
fake encounters. In Jharkhand, the newly formed Party lost Platoon commander
Chandan of the PLGA while fighting bravely against the CRPF in Tamar PS limits
in Ranchi district in December ’04. And in March ’05, another platoon commander
along with three platoon members became martyrs in Barachetty PS limits in Gaya
district of Bihar.
During this week the
revolutionary masses of the country hail the sacrifices of these and over
several thousand great Martyrs of the Maoist
movement in India since the historic Naxalbari armed agrarian uprising, starting
with the first martyrdom of comrade Babulal Biswakarmakar. They specifically
recollect their exemplary valour, steadfastness, determination and the firm
ideological-political commitment and loyalty to the Party, revolution and the
oppressed masses. During this Martyrs’ Week they would particularly focus on the
two great founder leaders and teachers of the new Party—comrade Charu Majumdar
and comrade Kanai Chatterjee.
Comrade CM, who led
the Naxalbari armed uprising and founded the CPI(ML), was arrested by the police
in Kolkata on 16 July 1972, and was tortured and killed on 28 July. Comrade KC,
the founder-leader of erstwhile MCCI, died due to severe ill health on 18 July,
1982. Both these great Maoist leaders played a historic role in breaking away
from age-old revisionism, establishing the correct revolutionary line in the
Indian Communist Movement and thus initiating the armed agrarian revolution that
had been growing from strength to strength over the years.
On the occasion of
this first Martyrs’Day of the newly-unified Party, cannot but recollect all
those great martyrs of the India revolution like Com Amulya Sen, Com Saroj Dutta,
Com Sushital Roy Chowdhuy, Com Chandra Shekhar Das, Com Vempatapu Sathyam, Com
Adibhatla Kailasam, Com Panchadi Krishnamurthy, Com Bhuja Singh, Com Subbarao
Panigrahi, Com Sudipto Banerjee, Com Appu and others.
The history of the
Maoist movement in India is filled with numerous examples of brave martyrs with
exceptional communist qualities and revolutionary traditions such as: total
dedication to the cause of revolution, selflessness and adherence to communist
values and ethics, indomitable will and steadfastness, exemplary courage,
proletarian discipline, simplicity in habits and lifestyle, deep affection,
love, respect and an attitude of serving the basic classes and the oppressed
masses, determination to bear hardship, hard work, and ‘swimming against the
tide’.
Comrades Shyam,
Mahesh, Murali, Puli Anjanna Bhagya, Koumudi, Suguna of Andhra Pradesh and many
comrades at various levels in the Party, PLGA, and the activists of the
revolutionary mass organizations, had undergone the most brutal tortures, but
had not uttered a single Party secret. There are several comrades from among the
non-Party masses who had steadfastly guarded Party’s secrets, protected the
cadres and leadership of the Party, PLGA and the revolutionary mass
organizations, in spite of continuous tortures and harassment, destruction of
property and finally death itself.
Comrades Bhaktida,
Dara, Bachan, Sunil, Gopal, Dadichi Roy, Sagar, Jaishia, Ramchandar, Zacharia
and several other comrades will remain outstanding examples in the history of
the ongoing people’s war in Bihar-Jharkhand.
Besides the martyrs
of India, on this somber occasion, the people cannot but recollect those who
fell in the course of advancing the people’s wars in Nepal, Philippines, Peru,
Turkey and other countries, and for the cause of the world revolution. All these
martyrs in India and other countries represent the best communist traditions and
will remain shining stars forever. No doubt their examples will be propagated
far and wide so that the new generations of communists may learn from their
example, emulate their heroic spirit of self-sacrifice and thereby march forward
on the revolutionary path to free the country and its people from acute
suffering and humiliation into a bright new world free from exploitation,
oppression and all forms of discrimination.
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