State-wide campaign against the
police-CPM sponsored terror
The government is preparing to wage a
war
State police minister Buddhadev and
Central Home minister Advani’s sharpening attack on mass movements:
The people have stood with the
movement — people’s resistance:
Some more reports on people’s
struggles:
After the 1970s, the march of the paramilitary forces against the
revolutionary movement has once again started in West Bengal. The RAF,
EFR, SAF and the civil police, and platoons of commandos, which have
special training in anti-insurgency, positioned themselves in Belpahari,
Salboni, Goaltore, Lalgarh, Raipur, Raniband, Saranga and Panchmura
areas of Midnapore and Bankura. Convoys consisting of 30-40 new Tata
Sumos surround the villages and the nearby forest areas. For the last
two months, the media in West Bengal has been regularly flashing the
government declarations and highlighting the combing operations by the
police and the arrests of the people. Combined operations by higher
officials of West Bengal and Jharkhand in the border areas also took
place for some days. The expansion of People’s War and government’s plan
to suppress it —debates and counter debates on this matter have again
started among the people of West Bengal.
On 6th of December 2001 the central government
declared an all India ban on the CPI (ML) [PW] and the MCC and their
respective mass organisations. Actually since May-June 2000 onwards
Advani has been talking about the countrywide ban on the PW wherever the
opportunity arose. We can see almost all the print media referring to
the PW as a banned party. The governments of AP and Bihar already have
suppressed all the rights of the people several years back after
imposing a ban on the PW. In AP, the TDP under its leader Chandrababu
Naidu has been unleashing severe repression on the people’s movements.
In Madhya Pradesh, the government never permitted open programmes or the
activities of the mass organisations. For the last seven years the
Maharashtra government has been continuing repression in a regular
manner. The newly formed Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states are not
lagging behind. They have inherited the same anti-people policies of
their earlier governments and are practising them in toto. And in Orissa,
the Biju Janata Dal and its leader have been talking for a long time
about a similar ban and repression. This is nothing but a consolidated
co-ordination taking place in the States closely toeing the Central
government. The most recent entry into this nest is that of the CPM with
its faded red flag, which has made revisionism as its philosophical base
after dumping Marxism long back. Though apparently these belong to
different positions, philosophically and politically, the BJP and the
CPM have proved that they are basically the same, only with different
colours, in suppressing the people’s movements using fascist methods.
After coming to power through the May, 2001 assembly elections in West
Bengal, the chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee rushed to Delhi to
meet Vajpayee and Advani. The essence of the conversations of these
three was to work together to suppress the growing movement under the
People’s War in West Bengal. From then onwards the two governments have
worked in tandem to launch attacks on the people’s movements. That is
the part of the repression in Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia and the
intensifying repression in Burdwan, Hoogly, Malda and Murshidabad
districts in general.
News of events in Midnapore district had spread not only in West Bengal
but also all over the country during 1998-2000. The ruling class
parties, the CPM, the BJP and the TMC divided themselves into two
factions and converted the state into a battlefield. Particularly in
Gorbeta and Keshpur, the common people lacked protection due to the
attacks of the armed gangs of these parties and were scattered in
different places. The fields dried up, while the villages getting gutted
by fire and bloodshed became a common feature. The faction, which is in
power in the Centre and the other faction occupying the State
government, both freely utilised the police and paramilitary as their
pawns. With the backing of these parties, the hired murder gangs, and
armed dacoit gangs attacked and robbed the people. At last the CPM had
to flee its ‘territory’. The BJP-TMC combine made the village as their
doormats and ruled them like the old rulers. At this juncture, the CPI
(ML) [PW] gathered its scattered forces into one and entered Gorbeta and
won the hearts of the people. From then onwards the attacks started on
the PW. However, the PW that preaches armed struggle as its path,
started its activities unarmed here. But the conditions demanded that
they arm themselves to survive the attacks of the armed gangs of the
ruling classes, and they also took arms and started organising the
people.
Here, at that stage, organising people into struggle, meant rousing the
masses against the armed gangs of BJP-TMC combine and it became the
primary form in which the people moved as the Party led them politically
and militarily. In this process, the BJP-TMC combine received blows and
retreated. One section of the leadership surrendered and switched over
to the CPM side, and the other section re-entered the village and tried
to capture the villages once again. The BJP-TMC combine was reduced to a
weak force. The CPM was eagerly waiting for this opportunity. It had
only two tasks — fight against the PW after the latter achieved
superiority over the BJP-TMC combine; and recapture the area in the
process. For this its initial tactic was to maintain relationship with
its forces in Gorbeta without attacking the PW, while secretly
organising its forces in the surrounding areas and supplying arms to
them to strike when the opportunity would come their way.
The CPM did the same in practice. The CPI (ML) [PW] got a hold on
Gorbeta by September 2000. It became an alternative and a symbol of
struggle to the masses. It won recognition of the revolutionary masses
in the state for launching armed struggle. At this time the CPM deployed
its forces in 3-4 places of Gorbeta, Keshpur and Goghata by advance
marching. During the 4 months from September to December 2000, these
organised armed gangs started the so called ‘victory march’. They
entered villages giving the slogans ‘Naxalbari Lal Salaam’. The BJP-TMC
combine mistook them for the CPI (ML) [PW] and did not dare to attack.
As the BJP-TMC combine was completely demoralised and scattered here and
there, it became easy for the CPM to thrash them. This was reflected in
the assembly elections of April 2001, after the TMC had got an
overwhelming majority in the parliamentary by-election of 2000 in
Panskura constituency of Midnapore district.
CPM’s New Aggression On C.P.I.
(M.L.)[People’s War]:
After completing the attacks on the BJP-TMC combine till October last,
the CPM state committee planned to force the PW to vacate Gorbeta even
before the elections. For this it formed a border committee — the
Midnapore-Bankura-Hoogly Border Committee and completed its preparations
to attack. It elaborately built armed gangs in the surrounding areas to
consolidate the ‘victory’ it achieved just before unleashing attacks on
the PW. It formed dozens of units at the village level in the name of
action teams. It used the BJP’s technique of forming Special Motor Cycle
gangs. These gangs consisted of 20-40 motor cycles with two armed
persons riding each motor cycle, openly carrying weapons and attacking
in broad daylight. After completing these preparations, since November
last, it started threatening and beating one or two village level
leaders and activists in one or two places.
Though the campaign exposing the anti-people nature of the CPM was going
on, the consolidation of masses in a very short period of time didn’t
match the swiftness of the enemy’s attacks. Until then the PW Party’s
assessment of the CPM was rather poor. During the PW Party’s attack on
the BJP-TMC combine, the CPM maintained a low profile and remained
passive, which made the PW Party underestimate its potential of being a
monster. Whatever it may be, the village people sensed the change in the
situation, and the local people that stood by the revolution identified
the necessity of resistance by the GRDs (Gram Raksha Dals). On the other
hand, the CPM not only concentrated its whole forces in Gorbeta but
deployed police forces also. The PW felt that without organising people
to resist it would not be possible to check the CPM’s aggression.
However, it did not visualise that this attack would be more ferocious
and different from the attack faced from the BJP-TMC combine; and was
too complacent to make preparations accordingly. It failed in
politically assessing the depth of the problem and did not prioritise
military preparations. It also failed to prepare the masses mentally.
In these circumstances, on 4th of January 2001,
the CPM attacked a PW squad in a village Choto Angaria and savagely
burnt 5 members of the squad alive. This created a sensation not only in
that particular district or state but all over the country. At first the
number of those killed was estimated to be more. Though it created panic
throughout the people, it raised hatred and negative feelings towards
the cruelty of the CPM. The democratic forces throughout the state felt
that they have to stand united against State violence again. The CPM
once again started unleashing fascist methods of repression on the
revolutionary forces just as it practised on the movements of Naxalbari
and Calcutta in the past.
Intensifying repression — Holding of elections:
The violence of the government with the deployment of armed forces has
failed in containing the people’s struggling nature. Though it deployed
them in the name of conducting elections, it is an irrefutable fact that
they were utilised by the government primarily to suppress the ongoing
revolutionary movement of that time during and after the completion of
the elections also. . The CPM also concentrated its own armed gangs in
the villages where the BJP-TMC combine might get votes and those forces
were also involved in booth capturing activities there. Those armed
gangs terrorised the people and unleashed repression on those who
boycotted elections. In these circumstances, a retaliation incident that
was carried out by the PW in Jhapur village is worth mentioning.
The CPM sent a motor cycle gang with 30-40 vehicles after learning that
the PW squad was camping in Jhapur village. Till then the fire of Choto
Angaria had not yet subsided. It is the theory of the CPM that by only
suppressing the people’s movements and all the opposing forces that the
ruling classes can survive. That is why it even attacks the parties that
are partners in its government. To counter the attack of the CPM, the
squad came out of its shelter. The firing started from both sides and
continued for 4-5 hours. Only after one person was killed and several
were injured on the CPM side, it retreated. Hundreds of police who had
stood there as mere spectators until then, filled the gap formed by the
fleeing CPM and then started firing on the PW’s squad. The squad safely
retreated into the darkness. The police searched with searchlights
throughout the night, but they couldn’t find the squad. Only then the
village people heaved a sigh of relief. The people actively participated
in this retaliation standing by the squad. After this incident the CPM
never came to attack the PW’s areas of the revolutionary movement in the
form of special motor cycle gangs.
Starting from the local committees of the CPM up to the district and
state level committees of that party, they prepared themselves for a
centralised attack. One village after another fell prey to the attacks
of the CPM. In these circumstances as a part of the retaliation tactics,
the PW killed a CPM leader in Kastaguda and another one in Saranga. As
these retaliations took place amidst high level encirclement by the
police forces, the people wished the party could lead them in the anti-CPM
and anti-state struggles in future also. Standing in retaliation instead
of fleeing is the best method of self-defence.
The campaign of attack by the government forces started from December
2000 and continued up to mid May 2001. The task of this campaign was to
put a stop to the expansion of the PW, and to terrorise people. Apart
from Gorbeta the local guerrilla squads under the leadership of the PW,
was working in Salboni, Goaltore, Lalgarh, Ramgarh, Saranga and
Belpahari. As the repression was very severe, the Party temporarily
retreated and some new methods were developed. In this process the
squads working in Gorbeta also retreated. At the time of the elections,
in four-month’s time, the Party committees tried to efficiently solve
the problems. In this process some new villages came under the influence
of revolutionary politics. The people consider the police and
paramilitary forces as the enemy forces waging the war. When frictions
between the BJP-TMC combine and CPM in the fight for Keshpur-Gorbeta
reached its peak, the police and paramilitary forces were sent, but
remained spectators. But now the scenario had changed. The people
realised that the state machinery and the CPM leaders have changed the
situation where those forces are preparing for a war. And all this is to
eradicate the PW Party. Whatsoever, people realised that only under the
leadership of this revolutionary party it is possible to fight against
the counter-revolutionary forces from the developed areas of Gorbeta to
Belpahari and in the backward areas of the adivasis.
The oppressive forms that are being practised by the CPM:
In its early years in power, the CPM distributed 1 or 2 bhigas of land
to its supporters and within two years in power, it turned into a ruling
class party. So, the neo-lords continued the same exploitation and
suppressive methods, which were implemented by their predecessors. The
CPM successfully helped in the rise of a small section of poor peasants
and agricultural labourers into the fold of the elite class, and at the
same time it incurred the hatred of the majority of the basic classes.
Some of the methods adopted by the CPM are:
1. On any pretext attacking the people , who have a different political
stance. The punishment varies from the demolition of property to the
social boycotting of those families and even to death.
2. By concentrating the powers of the Panchayat as a whole in their
hands, and through this, exercising control over village matters.
3. Putting pressure for the implementation of their will in government
departmental work. Controlling all the work opportunities to ensure that
their party workers get the profits.
4. Distributing any kind of field labour work to the people whom the CPM
local committee approves.
5. Swallowing of money by the CPM Panchayat members, which come through
the schemes like the Vana Raksha Samitis, etc.
6. The village economic sources are now entirely pocketed by the
Panchayat elders only. No one has the right to ask for the accounts.
7. Organising the village lumpen youth into their fold and using them to
control and attack adversaries.
8. Maintaining direct or indirect contacts with petty criminals and
saving them from police attacks.
9. The land that was occupied earlier or at present is being given to
its patrons only. The real needy are deprived. Occupying the government
and private lands, the CPM leadership keeps them for themselves.
10. Employing their supporters in private or government jobs, when the
opportunity comes.
11. If any person who left the village because of the unbearable
repression wants to come back, he has to surrender himself and must pay
a fine that is imposed on him arbitrarily.
12. There is a great difference between their preaching and practice.
For example, after taking over as the chief minister, Buddhadev
Bhattacharjee started speaking about peace and appealing to the people
to return to their homes. But the irony is that those who wanted to come
back to the village had to pay a fine, and only then they could get
permission to enter their villages.
13. Holding out threats of getting bitten by snakes and scorpions and
punishing the people, thus creating a reign of terror in the villages.
14. Kidnapping and raping of women are other forms of repression.
15. Forcibly taking away money in the name of donations.
16. Being in power continuously for the last 25 years, they made it
compulsory for the people to obey their orders. There have been no
democratic rights for the people.
17. Taking over the property of the opposition forces. Demolishing and
destroying their immovable properties in every attack is a common
feature.
18. Keeping watch on every movement of the opposition, and policing
their homes to know who is coming and going.
19. Booth capturing during elections and utilising the murderous gangs
according to their will to ensure their power.
20. From ration cards to birth certificates, one has to go to the CPM to
get them.
21. For getting the Government’s economic relief for pregnant ladies,
old-age pensions and pensions meant for the unemployed youth one has to
go to the CPM candidates or supporters.
The PW Party has been organising the masses to fight against all such
oppressive forms of dictatorial domonation by the CPM.
By keeping the village Panchayat system completely in their hands, the
CPM has been able to control the administration from top to bottom. It
planted its forces in every place and gained a stronghold over every
department of the government. A revolutionary Party would have to
prepare the people to establish alternative people’s power in place of
the panchayat system. For this the PW Party would have to lay emphasis
on building the three magic weapons, i.e., the Party, Army and the
United Front from the very beginning.
Now, let us take a look at the people’s struggles in this process.
Struggle with the CPM forces is now nothing but the struggle
with the State
It is not possible to make the New Democratic Revolution a success
without defeating the ruling classes’ armed strength. The question of
the armed forces is integrally bound up with the question of political
power.
The temporarily retreated squads of Gorbeta had been biding their time
to bounce back and so they were maintaining contacts with the people.
Not only for the struggle for the day-to-day economic demands, but also
for strengthening all struggles and organisational forms, it is the mass
line which is necessary. Such a line can destroy the exploitative
system. The peasant organisation is a form of expression for doing this.
The process of building up of the peasant organisation undergoes changes
according to the level of the struggle and it imparts political
consciousness to the people. From the beginning a strong resistence is
needed against the anti-people armed forces and their fascist mentors,
i.e., the CPM, the TMC and the BJP. Along with this there is necessity
to infuse the essence of revolutionary politics into the people. . When
the people come to realise what they are fighting for, it provide an
impetus towards the development of the movement.
i) Struggle for a political campaign: The campaign of
infusing revolutionary politics is very necessary to fight for the
people’s day to day problems. In Salboni area, one day the CPM leader of
Jamgaria village tore up a poster of the PW party immediately on seeing
it. False cases were framed against three villagers. The village level
Party committee intervened and the CPM leader was given the punishment
of social boycott. After that, a ‘Gana Adalat’ (people’s court)
was called which the whole village, including that CPM leader, attended.
There the village level committee explained what the PW stands for and
for whom it is working. The CPM leader admitted his guilt and said that
he would not commit such an act again. One opinion that came forward
from the people very strongly was to fine him 10-12 thousand rupees. But
the PW didn’t agree to this. It explained that the CPM leader is a
middle peasant having only 5 bhigas of land. So it was decided to spare
him considering his class nature.
In the same way another incident occured in Mahatopur village in the
No.5 area of Salboni. In the Jan adalat, the accused admitted his guilt
and asked for forgiveness. He was warned and then let off. This method
exercised a good influence in the surrounding areas, as people felt
inspired to find that the people in the leadership of the PW could
question the misdeeds of the CPM. The people never saw the CPM and the
PW as identical political parties. Some general campaign and their
method convinced the people that the PW wouldn’t join the parliamentary
path, it will fight for the victory of People’s Democratic Revolution.
ii) Struggle against the Panchayat’s misdeeds: On 20 July, 2001, 400
people including 100 women of Madhopur village went in a procession to
the panchyat office and submitted a memorandum. The demands were
—distribute pattas for the disputed land in the village; give details of
the utilisation of the money sanctioned through the health department As
the panchyat members (CPM) got the message about the procession
beforehand, they sent for the police. The police rushed to the place in
16 vans. Now, ‘Send back the police’ became the primary demand,
which forced the police to depart from the office premises.
Later the Panchayat leaders admitted that they swallowed Rs. 1 lakh from
the amount that was sanctioned by the health department and agreed to
repay the amount. The police inevitably became mere spectators in front
of the people’s strength.
iii) They killed him for not heeding their word: This incident took
place in Bhoudi village of Salboni area. Samar Hati was severely beaten
by the CPM goons and hospitalised. His fault was that his younger
brother was inclined to the politics of the PW party. The CPM threatened
him with dire consequences if he uttered a single word against them. So
he didn’t mention anything about them in his death statement. On 12th
June, 2001, while his body was being taken in a procession for
cremation, the CPM started firing on the procession. Counter firing was
started by the squad, which was camping in the near-by forest area. The
scared and confused villagers started fleeing. So, the PW squad
commander called out to cease firing and stopped the fleeing villagers.
Later he made them understand that they are not the dacoit gangs that
used to come and rob the villagers. And explained that they are
revolutionaries. After this incident one police camp was set up in the
village. Still the Party’s relations with the villagers continues.
iv) Struggle for the village share of money from the Van Raksha Samiti
Scheme: On 10th of August 2001, 160 people
were mobilised from the villages Bhagabandh, Pattartha, Kendanga of
Sarasbheda village panchyat. They demanded payment of Rs. 4 lakhs due
from the Panchayat. The message about the procession already reached the
police, and 20 policemen appeared on the scene. But the people resisted
and the police got a light beating from the people. Even then, the
panchyat babus didn’t utter a single word about the money. So,
the people locked the office from outside for 4 hours. To calm the
people, the panchyat officials took them to the bank and promised that
they would give back the money later. On the very next day they tried to
bribe the leading youth. But the youth leaders opposed this and exposed
this to the people and demanded the share of the money be distributed
equally to the village people. At last the panchyat members paid the
whole amount on 21st August. All this spread to
the surrounding 70 villages and ‘Fight against the panchyat misdeeds’
became a slogan of the people. Of course, this slogan should be changed
to "Make Revolutionary People’s Committees the alternative to
the panchayats".
v) Protecting the thieves and posing them as party leaders: Lebul of
Bhoudi village is an anti-social element and also CPM’s village level
leader. He steals cattle from the surrounding areas and sells them to
another place. It is his profession and he also works as a broker. He
sold a buffalo in Palioboni village that was stolen from Bhoudi. Lebul
started maligning the Party and the Naxalites, asked the villagers not
to give them food and shelter and even provoked the villagers to kill
them. So, the Paloiboni villagers beat him black and blue. The local MLA
of the CPM telephoned the police from Boragada village, which is 1 Km
from Paloiboni and the police reached the place of the incident. The
police knew the notorious background of Lebul. Having seen the unity of
the people, they didn’t dare to file a case against any one of the
villagers.
vi) Beating up of the village mass organisation leaders and handing them
over to the police: Gopal Mahato of Mukhbari village is an activist
of the revolutionary mass organisation. In mid-August 2001, he was
beaten by the CPM for propagating revolutionary politics. On the 14th
of August, the people’s court was summoned and it tried the CPM
goons in the presence of the whole village. After that they beat them
lightly.
Gadra village falls under the Saranga block of Bankura district. The
local CPM leaders turned into police informers and started passing on
every information related to the village. The villagers identified the
informer and punished him. In the same area there is another village
called Kadbanga. Four persons belonging to the CPM are brokers there.
They used to threaten the villagers and rob them of their money. Basing
on their report, Ajit Mondal, a revolutionary mass organisation activist
was arrested by the police. The villagers caught one Jayadev of this
informers’ gang and beat him up. The remaining three also surrendered
and asked the villagers for forgiveness.
vii) Firing on the procession against police atrocities: Some 300
people from Tilaboni, Jarkha, Champainagar participated in a procession
on 10th August against the atrocities by the
police. The CPM started firing on the procession. The PGA comrades who
were in the procession answered with counter firing and the CPM gang
fled.
On the 14th of August, some people from Jharka
village were threatened by the CPM. The people arrested a bunch of CPM
leaders in Bhouribhand and trailed them in the presence of villagers.
They warned the CPM leaders not to attack again.
viii) Organising armed gangs: By observing the increasing mass
struggles in Salboni area, the CPM felt that if they allowed the mass
movement to continue then it would spread all over the area. So, they
decided to suppress struggles and pressed into service their action
teams and murderer gangs. On August 15, nearly 150 armed gangsters
gathered in the CPM’s party office at Maghakham. This news reached the
PGA forces through the village people. 20 comrades comprising PGA’s base
and secondary forces decided to counter the attack and moved towards the
village.
The CPM gang first spotted them and they started firing on the PGA
comrades. In the PGA’s counter firing, some 4-5 members of the gang were
injured and the scared CPM gang fled the spot. Later the CPM demanded Rs.
4 lakhs from the villagers, but the people refused to pay up.
ix) Land struggles: Sometime back, 7½ hectares of forest land was
occupied under the leadership of the revolutionary mass organisation in
Pathropara village. But the government and the CPM unsuccessfully tried
to develop a plantation on that land. So, the land remained
uncultivated. 2½ hectares of this land and 3 hectares from a new village
were occupied by the villagers and all the 5½ hectares of land was
distributed among 10 families
The entire surroundings of Saranga is a forest area. Even though that is
government land, there are no residential areas. Some 150 families
cleared the forest and built three villages — 70 houses in one village,
50 houses in another and 20 houses in the third village. In January
2000, the forest officials, police and CPM leaders combined and attacked
those villages and demolished the houses and imposed cases on the
villagers. This is the CPM way of ‘providing residential facilities
to the people’.
In the month of October 2001, some people from three villages —
Palioboni, Porasia and Bamandanga — worked hard to cultivate 15 bighas
of cultivable forest land. While a peasant from Bamandanga village was
working in that land, the forest department people arrested him and took
him to the range office. Upon getting the news, 150 people from those
three villages mobilised and gheraoed the forest office situated in
Porasia village. They gave the officials a clear ultimatum to hand over
the arrested peasant within two hours. The officials gave in and took
the peasant from the range office and handed him over to the village
peasant organisation.
Campaign against felling of the useful (fruit giving) trees: In
Banspahari area, a campaign took place against the felling down of trees
like Mango, Amla, Mohua and Bhel, etc. But, the wood smugglers ignored
the campaign and cut off the forest near Zodam village. The villagers
opposed this and a people’s court was called. The culprit agreed to pay
the fine. But the court meted out punishment to campaign and paste
posters against the felling of the forest in the surrounding five
villages, and it was implemented. In the surrounding 15 villages the
consciousness not to cut off the forest trees without taking the
permission of the village Sangham developed. The Mahajan (moneylender)
was also forced to go to the Sangham for permission.
Beginning of arrests and encounters: During the May 2001 elections,
heavily deployed police forces attacked several villages and arrested
many open activists of mass organisations. 80 years old Bidhubhushan
Mahato belongs to Polaiboni village. He has been a communist for the
last 65 years. He never left the red flag. Until now he used to visit
the surrounding villages as a part of the propaganda programmes. The
police forces unsuccessfully raided his house 11 times to arrest him.
With the mounting pressure from the CPM, the police at last managed to
arrest him in June 2001 along with two other women comrades while they
were in a nearby village on some work of the women’s organisation. The
police instituted several false cases against him. Till date he didn’t
get bail.
Com. Ganesh, a young leader was recruited into the Party from Bancolony.
The police came to know that com. Ganesh went home to visit his family.
On 2nd September, the police came in 11 vans and
raided his village. But the villagers stood united and resisted the
police. The police failed to trace out Ganesh, and went back. In
November, one big police camp was set up there. Bancolony has always
stood firmly on the side of revolution and progressed further
simultaneously with the peasant movement of Midnapore. So, it became an
eyesore to the police and was attacked many times.
On 11th September, after a long time, Com. Naru
visited his native village Gokulpur, which is very near Midnapore. This
news reached the police. On 14th of September, the
police in 20 vehicles surrounded com. Naru’s house. But as com. Naru had
taken precautions even before the arrival of the police, he successfully
evaded arrest.
Com. Hari Mahato is a very active worker of the revolutionary mass
organisation. On 1st September, police in 20
vehicles raided Jatika village to arrest him. They created a horrendous
atmosphere in the village, but couldn’t find com. Hari.
Metalsole is a village, which is especially involved, in open
revolutionary activities. The village people feel that it was their
responsibility to provide the necessities of the revolutionaries, and
provide them shelter at whatever time they might turn up. On 28th
August, the police in 12 vans surrounded the village. But they didn’t
get either the guerrilla squad or the party leadership. The whole
incident was telecast live. To terrorise the villagers, the police
adopted several methods of this type.
At dawn of August 24, about 300 special police forces from Calcutta
attacked the village Champainagar on a tip off by the CPM. 300 police
took positions on one side and more than 100 CPM forces positioned
themselves on the other side. The district leadership of the CPM and the
district police officials co-ordinated the police-CPM action in this
incident. They advanced towards the squad to a very close distance of
250 yards. The squad first observed the police advance and resorted to
firing and after sometime retreated safely. The police didn’t notice
that the squad had retreated, and so continued rapid firing. When they
noticed that there was no counter firing, they too stopped and then
entered the village. They severely threatened the villagers and arrested
3 youths. The administration fully concentrated in the months of August
and September on campaigning among villagers, not to give shelter and
food to the PW and PGA, and to get the leadership of the PW and mass
organisations arrested. There is no need to mention that all these
things were co-ordinated under the direct directions of the CPM.
Even though the concentration of the government attack increased, the PW
and the PGA maintained secrecy from the beginning and stayed with the
people, providing them direct leadership and stood in the forefront. In
several villages the people armed with the experience and political
ability, started questioning the police rather than fleeing at the mere
sight of the police. This consciousness will improve more through
struggle only.
Salboni Police Station successfully gheraoed: Until the month of
August, the movement of police convoys consisting of 20-25 vehicles
became a common picture in this area. 1 or 2 ambulances were also
compulsory with these convoys. In the name of patrolling, the police
used to roam about on all the main roads, canals, approach roads in
between the villages throughout the day and harass people. After the
set-back in the Meghakam on 15th August, the CPM
party leadership felt that they couldn’t resist PW only by depending
upon their own forces. So, they put the police in the forefront and
started playing their politics from behind the curtain.
At this juncture, organising the people against the increasing police
terror began. The Gherao of the Salboni police station was a part of
this. 1200 people from all over the surroundings of Salboni were
mobilised on September 2nd and gheraoed Salboni
police station. Prior to this, an elaborate propaganda campaign took
place through posters, etc. They blocked the roads and gave a memorandum
demanding they stop the repression. The ruling classes also deployed
25-30 RAF personnel. But after hearing the people’s demands and seeing
their mobilisation, the general people felt that this resistance and
their demand were very reasonable. The revolutionary mass organisation
MKSS leader Com. Balaram gave a call in his speech ‘The time of
deputations is over. Intensify resistance’. This gherao improved the
morale and unity of the people.
As a part of the anti-repression campaign, postering and meetings took
place. On 8th August at a meeting in Birghosa
village, the speakers urged the people to oppose repression along with
the corruption in the panchayats.
State-wide campaign against the police-CPM sponsored terror
Midnapore: On 12th August, one meeting was
held in Midnapore town against the repression of the police-CPM combine.
Prior to this meeting, 10-12 processions and an anti-repression campaign
took place in 50 villages. 2000 people attended this meeting and
followed the speeches very attentively. They felt that the repression
can never stop the genuine struggles of the people. This meeting
increased the confidence of the people to face police repression.
Malda: On 20th August 2000 people from the
peasant struggle areas of Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda attended the
meeting. It was clearly seen in the meeting the determination for the
unity of the peasants throughout the state, and to resist the police
repression unleashed by the CPM and the Congress, and the increasing
police repression in Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Hoogly, Murshidabad
and Malda.
Calcutta: On 20th September, one open meeting
was held in Calcutta, attended by 2000 people from the areas of
repression and other places where the revolutionary peasant struggles
are just taking place. But by then, America, the enemy of the world
people, already started the preparations for the war on Afghanistan. So
the meeting mainly focussed on the war. But this meeting can be
considered as a trial to bring into the view of the people about the
repression on the people of Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia.
Martyrs’ Week: From Naxalbari-Calcutta to the hillocks of Srikakulam,
the people’s heroes and heroines laid down their lives in the decade of
the 1970 and in the present period, in the continuation of the
revolutionary movement. From July 28-August 3, Martyrs’ Week was
observed all over the country by the PW party in memory of the martyrs.
Here in several centres and villages of West Bengal, in the memory of
Com. Sajal, the Sandhipur martyrs, who laid down their lives as a part
of the Midnapore peasant movement and the guerrilla fighters, who were
killed in Choto Angaria village, rallies and meetings were conducted. In
Salboni and Belpahari, more than 10 meetings took place, where hundreds
of people attended. They took the pledge saying that the martyrdom is
invaluable and they would fulfil the unfulfilled ideals of the martyrs.
These meetings took place all over the state also.
15th August — fake independence day: 80
children aged between 10 and 15 took out a procession for 2 hours
through Jangaria, Mushra and Birghosa villages shouting slogans like ‘Ye
ajadi jhoota hai’ (this is fake independence).
In Mahatopur, one meeting with 150 people from the surrounding 3-4
villages took place on ‘Independence Day’.
Struggle for price hike of kendu leaves: A campaign was taken for
the hike in wages of Kendu leaves in Belpahari range. In 25-30 villages
of Kulabedah, Banspahari processions, campaign and postering, etc., were
taken upon this issue demanding Rs. 25 per a bundle of 2000 leaves. The
MCC also campaigned on this issue in this area and in the nearby
Raniband and some villages. The revisionist CPM stood with the Mahajan
and said that the Mahajan could not afford more than Rs. 20. A Jan
Adalat was called in Chandanpur village in which 300 people attended and
talked about the problem of wages. They demanded for Rs. 25. In some
villages, the Mahajans were forced to fork out Rs. 25, but in the CPM
influenced villages it was only Rs. 20, and in the neutral villages it
was Rs. 22. By staying with the Mahajan, the CPM showed the real face of
revisionism.
People showing their power through initiation: Gangdurai is a
village with the special feature of fighting against the ruling classes.
On 18th September, the CPM organised a procession,
which it used for anti-revolutionary programmes and motivated propaganda
against the PW party. On the same day people of the village gathered and
organised a counter procession exposing the real face of the CPM.
It became an eyesore to the CPM and government officials as this village
remained as a centre of anti-government struggles. Although they
attacked this village several times, they had no courage to frame false
cases, as they feared resistance from the people. So, they
unsuccessfully attacked in the night to capture Party comrades, but
failed.
The people have been preparing themselves mentally. The CPM realised
that it can not stop this with the mere help of its own administration.
So, it put the police and paramilitary in the forefront and indulged in
information gathering and operational plan and execution. Even before
the May election, it assessed that in the rural area, the TMC and the
BJP wouldn’t be a challenging force for them. After the CPM gained the
upper hand in the elections, the TMC and its leader Mamata developed
cold feet. This was the time when the PW Party was an emerging force
particularly in the Midnapore and Bankura districts and gaining general
acceptance as an emerging people’s leader and an alternative force
against the CPM and its administration. That is why the central and the
state governments are drawing plans and implementing them to break the
backbone of the PW. Let us take a look at their plans and practices.
The government is preparing to wage a war
It sounds nice that the chief minister cum police minister Buddhadev
talks about ‘peace’ like the prophet Buddha, or like literature, as he
always claims that he has a penchant for literature and is himself a
‘writer’. But he is using his abilities in the administration and
exercising his political abilities to primarily concentrate on
suppression of the revolutionary forces and people’s movements. Not only
that, he proved himself a true inheritor of Siddhartha Sankar Ray and
his mentor Jyoti Basu, the earlier chief ministers.As Jyoti Basu
deployed the police against the revolutionary movement to
suppress it in 1968 as a Home Minister then and in 1998 as Chief
Minister of West Bengal, how can one expect his disciple and close
follower would act against his mentor? Not only mere talking, he
modernised his police forces and has been using them step by step. From
the beginning he opted for the Centre’s help. He is magnifying the
intensity of the problem. And by showing that to the central government
he prays for funds and action plans which are taken by the central and
state governments in the areas where the influence of the revolutionary
movement is growing.
As the BJP-TMC combine temporarily retreated after the humiliating
defeat in the assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee’s fond hopes of
becoming the next Chief Minister of West Bengal have been shattered to
pieces. She also lost grip on the centre and the much-hyped Mahajoth
with the Congress also failed in gaining the required number. After
severing the relations with the BJP, she lost the initiative and is
maintaining a low profile. She also failed to reorganise the TMC’s
remaining forces and so the party is now in the grip of an internal
crisis.
The nexus between the state armed formed forces and
the CPI(M) to cheek the peasant struggle
1. All police stations were deployed with special IB
cells.
2. Gorbeta, Goaltore, Selbani, CK, Keshpur, Saranga,
Jhargram, Raipur and other PS are deployed with extra force.
3. The RAF, EFR, CRPF forces are regularly coming to
PW areas in heavy convoys. Around 20-25 trucks and jeeps are coming with
ambulance vans.
4. All road junctions and other areas are cordoned
regularly.
5. On the main state/ZP roads check points at various
vulnerable points and doubtful places are arranged where police are
anticipating PW squads are crossing from one area to another area.
6. Generally a small section of CPM leaders and a
section of cadres are acting as informers to the police. Not only this
CPM leaders are guiding and commanding local PS officers and district
officials too.
7. Midnapore, Bankura, Hoogli forces were coordinated
to attacks on PW villages.
8. Apart from these camps some more camps are
existing in Bankura and Purulia where the MCC is working.
9. The borders of Bihar and West Bengal have been covered with extra
forces from August,2001 onwards.
After coming to know that the activists charred to death in Choto
Angaria were PW activists, she stopped talking about the incident. From
Mamata to Advani who were vociferously talking about the CPM’s brutality
in attacking the TMC cadre until then, they started singing a different
tune. But the people realised that Mamata, who identified herself as the
‘champion’ of the anti-CPM struggle, proved that she was nothing but an
empty vessel. Not only this, Mamata Banerjee never uttered a single word
against the continuing repression by the CPM from May 2001 till date in
Gorbeta, Keshpur and Salboni. One section of people who had really come
to believe Mamata’s anti-CPM stand as a true reflection of her self,
didn’t take much time to realise her level of anti-CPM struggle. It was
also now clear to the people that the BJP leadership combined with the
CPM in swallowing the democratic rights of the revolutionary people.
The CPM’s state and central leadership understood that the people from
Gorbeta to Hoogly to North Bengal would side with the PW. From the
1970s, a great section of the Bengal people have extended support to the
Naxalite parties, especially the parties that involved in the politics
of armed struggle. Now, after nearly 30 years, armed resistance has
again come on the agenda of West Bengal politics and there is a rising
faith in the PW. The CPM understands that people in different areas are
increasingly siding with the PW and it clearly knows that it is not easy
to resist the PW Party like the other rival parliamentary parties. So,
it immediately deployed the police forces, followed by the so-called
reform measures. Let us see how the CPM is implementing the ‘carrot and
stick’ policy that it has mastered as a ruling class party.
In the first week of June,2001 the I.G.( intelligence ) declared for the
first time that the PW’s activities are on the upswing in Bankura and
Purulia districts along with the Midnapore district. So, to check these
activities, the recruitment of special police, the formation of local
intelligence cells on the basis of police stations, etc., took place
with an uncanny rapidity. On 9th July, the chief
minister’s meeting with the police higher authorities decided to seal
the Bengal-Jharkhand borders and setup 11 new camps, and implemented
this within 3-4 days. First they imparted special training in
anti-insurgency to a platoon and then extended the training to another
three platoons. They sent out these special commando forces to Midnapore,
Bankura and Purulia to root out the peasant movement that has been
building up under the PW and the MCC.
In Midnapore and Bankura districts, surveillance by the police is
increasing day by day. Several new camps have come up and patrolling
started with 15-20 vehicles. They are terrorising the people in the name
of combing operations by searching the roads, canals and approach roads
of villages. The number of police forces has been increased in all the
police stations and outposts, and their firepower, vehicles,
communication system and training upgraded and modernised. They have
intensified their false propaganda against the PW and have started
arresting people and they are being denied bail. In their combing
operations from June to September 2001, the police forces stayed
confined to the roads and villages adjacent to the forest area, without
entering the forest proper.
As a part of the counter revolutionary plans, in the September meeting
of the All India Joint Co-ordination Centre, West Bengal state was also
included in the committee, where as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are already members.
Uttar Pradesh was also included in the JOC, as they felt that the Bihar
movement would be expanding to this state also. As Nepal shares borders
with UP, Bihar and Bengal, the confrontation between the Maoists’
People’s Liberation Army and the Royal Nepal army was shown as a pretext
by the central and state governments to intensify their repression.
Whatever may be the name, suppressing the Maoist movements and
nationality movements is the only goal of the ruling classes today.
The deployment of government forces increased further from November.
They are moving in a convoy of 40-50 Tata Sumos, as if they are going to
a war field on the borders of the country, indiscriminately arresting a
large number of men and women and filing false cases against them. The
West Bengal state govt is sending its officers and jawans of the special
armed forces to Andhra to be a trained by the Greyounds.It is a cruel
special commando force which is engaged in crushing the revolutionary
mass movement in A.P. for the last 15 years.
State police minister Buddhadev and Central Home minister
Advani’s sharpening attack on mass movements:
The ‘Abhiyan’ (March) of the CPM’s armed forces continued from December
2000 to May 2001. Their tasks were the elimination of the PW from the
Gorbeta centre as well as recapturing the areas of Gorbeta, C.K. Town,
C.K. Road, Keshpur, Sabang and Pingla in Midnapore district; Arambagh,
Khanakol and Goghat in Arambagh subdivision of Hoogly district;
Jayarambati, Kotulpur, Joypur in Bankura district from the hands of the
TMC and BJP. So they decided to win the assembly elections at any cost,
centralised all their forces and utilised whatever crude tactics they
possessed, to achieve this. They managed to control everything
temporarily for six months. But from December, they are facing several
contradictions not only in their own Left Front, but also with others.
In the meantime, the enemy has been continuing a huge campaign in
Salboni, Goaltore, Lalgarh, Ramgarh, Belpahari, Raniband, Raipur,
Burdwan, Kanksa and Pandaveswar in the name of suppressing the expansion
and activities of the PW and the MCC. As the government utilised the
time period from June to December 2001 to make preparations for wiping
out the revolutionary movement, the revolutionaries also utilised this
time to organise people, propagating revolutionary politics in villages
and strengthening the three magic weapons, i.e., Party, Army and United
Front.
Actually, the movement of the PW and the MCC are still confined only to
certain areas of West Bengal. The movement exists in 8 districts like
Midnapore, Bankura, Puruliya, Hoogly, Burdwan, Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda,
and some contacts in other districts. However its impact and mass base
is still weak. Geographically Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia have two
states as their borders, thus it has become an area of strategic
importance.
Until now, the CPM is utilising its party mechanism as a part of the
information mechanism of the government and for co-ordinating the
mechanism of the government’s armed forces. This means that not only the
government intelligence system but also its party leadership along with
certain level cadres are also working as informers and have become a
part of the state police mechanism. Usually the other ruling class
parties don’t utilise this method in this way, other than co-operating
with the police as individuals. The struggle with the CPM and giving
punishments to the cadres of the CPM party in Jan Adalats became a
common feature in the rural areas. The revolutionary party needs to take
general precautions to protect itself and take measures to control the
enemy from the beginning. It would be very difficult without making the
required military preparations to resist the generally ferocious attacks
of the CPM. At the same time, there may arise a trend to attack CPM
elements for being CPM and it will lead to sectarianism. So, one has to
be cautious in this regard too.
With the exacerbation of the crisis situation throughout India, the
Indian army is settling itself in the border areas of Bangladesh, Nepal
and Bhutan, and on the borders of the North-East where the nationality
struggles are at their peak. Military intelligence is also closely
observing the movements of Maoists. Lt.Gen. Ashok Chaki, General
officer-in-command of the Army’s 33 Corps, Headquarters, which is
situated in Sukna of North Bengal briefed newspapers recently that "The
army is co-ordinating with the civilian wings of the Security and
Intelligence of the region and are sharing vital information".
After the so-called ‘attack’ on parliament, on 13th
December 2001, military officials in Calcutta said — "We have here
people with strong links to the Maoists. In fact, some of the Maoists
could themselves have taken shelter here…. The most conspicuous among
emerging threats were ultra-leftists like the People’s War and the
Maoist Communist Centre. This wing offers ultra-leftist groups a lot of
anonymity thus safety".
Actually these statements were made to confuse people. Calcutta was a
centre for revolutionary movements in the past, which influenced the
country a lot. On the pretext of a ‘deteriorating situation’, the
government is intensifying the repression all over the state including
North Bengal, on the democratic rights of the people, their
revolutionary struggle and their resistence. Kamal Pandey, the central
home secretary who was on a visit to Calcutta on 30th
January 2001, declared that they had spent Rs. 1000 crores to modernise
the police forces. In its 2001 central budget, the government increased
the military budget. It shows that the government has been giving utmost
importance to West Bengal in its strategic deployment of forces and
modernisation. We should not underestimate the intensity of attacks
unleashed by the ‘Marxists’ in the state of West Bengal and the communal
Sangh Parivar at the Centre.
The debate and the speech that took place in West Bengal assembly on 13th
December gave a clear note on many issues. Answering the questions
raised by the opposition leader Pankaj Banerjee and the TMC leader
Kasinath Misra, the Chief Minister said, "Win over the local
population by way of development packages and combat the disruptive
forces using force". For this the government charted out a
‘comprehensive action plan’ and appointed a higher level committee to
study the development schemes to be undertaken. The other preparations
are:
1) Raising a new special battalion of the Rashtriya Reserve Force in
Durgapur to deploy in the areas of the revolutionary movement.
2) Strengthening the communication system all over the state including
the remote areas.
3) Widening and upgrading roads to reach the countryside easily.
4) Besides the deployment of EFR, RAF and special armed forces in
Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, sending of Special Security Bureau
forces to North Bengal.
5) Intensifying the propaganda campaign against the extremists.
6) Forming mobile dispensaries, digging wells for drinking water, hike
in wages of labourers and Kendu leaves, issuing credit cards to peasants
(they have already released 1500 credit cards making available
Rs.5000-25000 on credit in last November itself.)
Not only this, the Chief Minister and his party’s all India secretary
Harkishan Singh Surjit declared that they were opposing the ban on the
PW and the MCC imposed by the central government and were not going to
implement the ban in West Bengal. Actually, the CPM is opposing the ban
for its political campaign, but one can see how it has intensified the
attack on these parties without officially banning them. The cunning
tactics of the CPM, which is trying to gain its political benefits from
the backdoor, can not deceive the people.
The people have stood with the movement — people’s
resistance:
In 1998 and ’99, scenes of the CPM leaders killed in the BJP-TMC
combine’s attacks, burnt houses and people leaving the villages were
very common. At that time there were no bodyguards provided by the
government to any one of the leaders. Now the situation has changed. The
low level cadres of the CPM were heard saying that "Dipak babu (CPM’s
Midnapore district secretary) is moving in day times with a good number
of police in front and back. But, what about us, the lower level cadres?"
An APDR team went to Midnapore to survey the impact of the intensified
repression on the people. But the SP of Midnapore warned them saying "you
can ask about any civil rights, but not about the PW or the repression
on it". The Salboni Police framed a false case against the Midnapore
secretary of the APDR, Dipak Basu, branding him "very desperate and
dangerous in nature". His ‘crime’ was only that he asked the police
about some particular aspects of one case. But even one section of the
local police felt that only after the emergence of the PW the situation
had been changing, and the repression that was let loose against it was
very unfair. Some strong feelings about resisting the CPM and the
police’s combined attacks on people is also there.
Let us take a look at some incidents of resistance put up by the people.
After the Jhapur incident, the CPM’s special motor cycle gangs have not
been operating in that particular form. As a continuation of that
attack, the revolutionary forces could have continued their attacks to
punish the CPM’s action teams and other armed gangs. Instead of that the
PW continued some selective attacks, which gave some positive results.
The revolutionary forces organised people’s movements in Kastaguda
village in 1993, the CPM leadership intensified its attack to suppress
that movement. The houses of the revolutionary sympathisers were burnt
to ashes. They murdered Com. Chakraborthi. Now, the same leadership, who
tried to suppress the 1992-93 struggles have now stood against the
present movement also. The guerrilla squad, on the demand of the people,
killed one of these leaders Tapan Ghosh, on 9th
April, 2001.
In Saranga town of Bankura, Sibram Satpathy, a block president of the
CPM was killed on 11th April 2001. This incident
also had a positive impact. But after the annihilation of Tapan Ghosh,
the CPM goondas attacked the village and destroyed the houses of PW
sympathisers and killed the younger brother of an activist, and some
families were forced to leave the village.
The CPM is practising the tactics of attack after the attack. We have
seen this from the 1968-73 movement to the present. The CPM has been
trying everything to rootout the revolutionary movement by using not
only its own armed gangs, but also the state and central governments’
special police and paramilitary forces. It is a common principle of war
that after taking the initiative, they chase the defeated enemy and wipe
it out fully. The CPM is exercising this principle now.
Kannaiah Mahato, the leader of the Jharkhand party, was a goonda and a
landlord. He stood against the revolution from the 1970s itself and when
the revolutionary activities regained momentum in 1996, he again stood
on the anti-revolutionary side. The squad attacked him in November on
the request of the people, but the cunning Kannaiah managed to flee.
Anil Mahato was also a Jharkhand party leader. Jodam village is a
stronghold of the PW where several Party programmes took place in the
surrounding forest areas of this village. Anil Mahato remained silent
for some time, even after knowing the happenings in the village. When a
large police force entered the area, this Anil Mahato started
cooperating with them and led the police to the camping places of the
squad and the places used for several party programmes in the forest.
The Jharkhand party still enjoys some sympathy among the people. So, the
PW and the mass organisation tried to convince him not to act against
the PW. At first he admitted his guilt and promised not to go against
the PW, but again started anti-people activities. So, on 10th
November he was warned for the last time. But, in the background of the
growing repression on the PW, he decided to side with the police. On 29th
November, the guerrillas annihilated him. It was propagated in the
surrounding villages that those who indulge themselves in anti-people
and anti-revolutionary activities will get the same justice as Anil
Mahato received on any day in Jan Adalats.
On 8th November, a large number of police
surrounded the forest areas of Paloiboni from all four sides. They
combed the forest in vain and from then onwards it became a regular
practice for the government special forces to comb this area every 3-4
days. The people of Palioboni, especially the women questioned the
police activities many times. In this process, Gour Mahato of Gopalpur
village who was working as a jawan in the National Voluntary Force used
to stand in front with the police in these combing operations. The
people and the guerrilla squads warned him against this, but he
continued the same. Later, on 18th November, Gour
Mahato was killed and his body was buried in the forest. After one week
of the incident, the information reached the government and the body was
exhumed and was taken by the government.
This incident was widely covered in the print media. After three days of
this incident, Sudheer Sarkar, a CPM local committee leader was killed
on 27th November by the MCC for his anti-people
activities. But it was propagated as PW’s work, even after the MCC
claimed responsibility. The government and the print media are still
contining their propaganda that it was done by the PW.
The government has been giving utmost importance to these incidents
because the print and electronic media all over the country was
propagating about the supposed tactical counter offence to be carried
out by the People’s Guerrilla Army (PGA) on its 1st
formation day on December 2nd. In the same way,
heads of the central home ministry and its intelligence department
launched the propaganda that the PW is going to attack vital centres in
West Bengal. In the wake of the huge campaign carried out by the
imperialists and their lackeys in the name of curbing terrorism at the
national and international levels; particularly after the invasions of
Afganistan by America and its allies — the Indian ruling classes took
advantage to brand even the genuine struggles of the people as
terrorism. The government and the media are habituated to see everything
magnified and as a result, there emerged so many new stories.
Until 2nd December, 50 people were arrested from
Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts. Com. Amiya Kundu is a middle
peasant. He is basically a cultivator. He was working as a district
level leader of revolutionary peasants’ movement on peasant problems. He
had earlier worked as the state secretary of the CPI (ML) (Red Flag).
Later he resigned from that party and confined himself to mass
organisation activities. The government arrested him and propagated for
a week, projecting Com. Kundu as a high rung cadre of the PW. In the
same way, they arrested a teacher from Panchmura village of Bankura
district, a doctor and three students and highlighted them as the PW
leadership. Even though the police and the paramilitary forces
concentrated and started attacks from October to December, they failed
to arrest any squad member, party member or leadership comrade till
date. So, the government’s policy is to arrest sympathisers, who are
continuing with their professions, and label them as the top leadership
of the Party to terrorise the people.
Some more reports on people’s struggles:
On 10th November, the peasants in the leadership
of the MKSS blocked the road in Perakatta village in protest against
police repression. Prior to this procession, police campaigned in the
village and told the people not to participate in the procession. 600
people attended while a contingent of 300 police were deployed. The
people shouted slogans against the arrest threats and attacks by the
police in the villages of Bamandanga, Palioboni, Porasia, Daboni,
Sunderpur, Madhopur, Gaighata, Jamirgot, Birghosa, etc.
On 5th November, the peasants arranged barricades
on the roads of Goaltore. They campaigned demanding electric supply to
the entire area, and shouted slogans like — ‘stop war against
Afghanistan’, ‘US imperialism is the no.1 enemy of the world people’
and so on. Amidst the intense repression, they organised a mass meeting
with 500 people in Goaltore town.
In Jodam village of Belpahari area, the people harvested 2½ acres of
government land occupied and cultivated by a Jharkhand Party leader. In
Kadamdiha village, one goonda cum broker, belonging to the Jharkhand
party was gheraoed by the local GRD and later beaten up.
The main problem that has been facing the agricultural labourers and
other labourers in the rule of the ‘Marxist’ government is regarding
implementation of the wages that were specified by the government
itself. In Salboni area, the daily wage of agricultural work this year
(2001) specified by the government was Rs.61, whereas the labourers in
this area are getting only Rs. 25. If the labourers agitate for a hike
in wages, they have to face CPM’s threats and attacks. Some stray
incidents of agitation took place and such agitations were spontaneously
taken up by the unorganised labourers but still there was no response
from the CPM led Govt regarding implementation of their own decision.
For the last five years, the people have been agitating despite the
attacks by the CPM, and have succeeded in hiking the wages to some
extent. In Lalghadiya village, they demanded Rs. 35 and it was clinched
at Rs. 32. The CPM is playing the role of the landlords in suppressing
the people’s movements, whereas the latter and other reactionaries used
to act in the same way in the villages where feudalism was very strong.
So, overthrowing them from political power should be the main goal of
the revolutionary forces.
The CPM is not only practising the same as the feudal forces, but also
continuing to maintain its political grip in the villages in a very
organised method of feudal practices, in a new way which has been
explained above. So, this authority also should be overthrown being the
prop of feudalism. It will be very violent from the very beginning. The
CPM, as a ruling party is not only practising social fascist methods but
also has control on the administration. All the villages and towns are
affected by the CPM’s white terror. Other parliamentary parties in West
Bengal are calling it ‘red terror’. But in Marxist vocabulary a
reactionary government always creates white terror. Here the CPM
represents the reactionary state authority. So its oppression is
actually nothing but white terror. Earlier, way back in the last two or
three decades goondaism of these parties was confined mainly to cities
but now it has spread to the villages. So, the focus of the white
terror, specifically political goondaism, has now shifted to the
villages in a big way. So every village would have to resist this terror
by arming the exploited and the tortured.
If the revolutionary forces do not opt for armed resistance, even merely
to organise themselves, they would have been forced into such resistance
. The resistance has begun and the ruling party, with the help of the
central and state forces, has concentrated its armed forces and entered
the field. Without preparing the people for this, it is not possible to
win this war. Here, preparing the people means arming the people. The
PGA organised people’s militia is called as the base force. A
considerable section from this will develop as the main force.In the
course of development the P.G.A, has to develop into the People’s
Liberation Army (PLA). For building the armed resistance in every
village, the agrarian revolution programme should be expanded. The
building up of Guerrilla Zones and the Liberated Areas should be
prioritised.
Today, though the Midnapore struggle has not expanded to vast areas,
this ongoing history is indicative of the reality that the people are
ready to fight. the situation is the same not only in Midnapore, but all
over West Bengal. Even if the state intensifies its attacks and
concentrates its forces in a big way, the revolutionary party would have
to prepare itself to lead the movement checking the influences of Right
or ‘Left’ ‘isms.
Midnapore district was divided into two districts for administrative
reasons. On January 1st, a public meeting was organised by the state
government at Tamluk (headquarter of the new district, East Midnapore).
The CM addressed the gathering. There he cried like a mad dog addressing
the PW that, "they should either shun their politics of violence or
prepare themselves to die" He took pains to sell a new story that,
Naxals who are camping from Belpahari to Goarbeta belong to Orissa or
Jharkand from some other states like A.P. So he howled like Advani — "We
have given them enough warning to leave West Bengal. They are outsiders
and entered the jungles of Midnapore to foment trouble in this state.
Our police force is fully prepared to meet any challenge from them. We
may deploy more forces, if necessary, to deal with the PWG menace in the
district."
This statement reveals the real face of the Chief Minister Buddhadeb.
Actually everyone who knows the basics of revolutionary practice can
easily understand that Marxists are prepared mentally and physically to
die for the cause of the people. Activists of the PW or its armed wing
PGA members working in WB or elsewhere will always be ready to die for
the cause of the people. Now the CM and his goons cum activists of the
CPM should themselves decide what they will do? The force, which he is
sending,will never be able to crush the movement and its ideology. Some
members may die in state violence but it will not be possible for any
state to liquidate the ideology and its practitioners. People will
deliver the final judgement in course of time on the perfidy of the CPM
and its leader Buddhadeb, and on the glorious role of the CPI (ML) (PW)
and its members. History will stand as living witness. The Buddhadeb
story on intruders from other states is illogical and childish.
Professional revolutionaries who are working in Midnapore, Bankura and
other parts are the sons and daughters of the soil. The police (home)
Minister Buddha’s intelligence officials instituted hundreds of cases on
the sons and daughters of Midnapore and Bankura. No one on earth will be
able to drive them away from their land. Buddhadeb, probably borrowed
the arguments from his mentors — Advani, Bush, etc. who have of late
developed the habit of harping on the story to establish the right to
eliminate the Jihad of the Muslim masses who are against the oppressors
in their own way. Revolutionaries will work at any place among the
masses irrespective of their nationalities. "All the oppressed of the
world unite" is the call of Marx and Engels to liberate the earth
from the oppressors. Revolutionaries of India have faith in this dictum,
but Buddhadeb is perhaps oblivious of this simple pronouncement. The
CPI(ML)(PW) openly declares that it is determined to develop the
struggle in the strategical area of West Bengal Jharkhand-Orissa borders
to transform it into a liberated area.
Already the Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Mayurbhanj and Singbhum
districts Police Superintendents are meeting regularly to curb the
movement in the borders. Apart from West Bengal the other two State
Governments are also beefing up their police machinery and intensifying
combing operations and attacks on revolutionaries who are mobilising the
masses on their just demands.
The CPI (ML)(PW) has made it clear in its strategy and tactics documents
which was released after the 9th party Congress
that its aim is to develop, class struggle and to intensify guerrilla
war in order to build liberated areas in all strategical areas in India.
It says, "The question of seizure of political power should be
resolved through people’s war and people’s army in accordance with the
concrete conditions of India. That means, starting with smaller
guerrilla war and intensifying and developing the guerrilla war to
establish liberated areas. Hence, at present, in the absence of a
liberated area and People’s Liberation Army, the central task before the
PW is as follows: Complete the preparations to wage a guerilla war;
then, build guerrilla zones and the People’s Guerilla Army by further
intensifying the guerilla war; the PGA should be developed into a
People’s Liberation Army and guerrilla zones should be transformed into
liberated areas."
So naturally the PW’s co-ordinated work in three state border districts
is to develop the a guerrilla zone and liberated area. To intensify the
struggle in this area a strong mass base would have to be developed
further, through the consolidation of the Party, Army, and its United
Front. But the frequent crackdowns to pre-empt flare ups of the
revolutionary masses make the PW unable to work freely in the above said
area. So strong underground work is needed to develop the mass political
consciousness in this area.At the same time armed resistance is required
at all levels to face the enemy onslaught. Here the PW would have to
face three types of forces: goons cum cadres of political parties,armed
gangs of the landlords, and the State and Centre’s armed forces. Without
building strong resistance forces from the beginning the movement will
not sustain. Even the lower party units, organisers and PGA units will
not survive without various revolutionary campaigns to counter the enemy
forces. Every village will turn into a battleground and in the process
the genarel people and the PW’s cadres and leadership will be tempered
as steel in the fire of resistance in these areas.The methods adopted by
the govt. would have to be countered both politically and militarily to
sustain and defend the revolutionary forces. To defend the weak forces
from the offensive of the enemy, a proper tactical counter offensive
campaigns is needed from time to time. When social fascism is attacking
the revolutionary forces, for the survival from attacks, an underground
network of the party alongside the armed resistance is a must. This
lesson is to be learnt from history. So, to sustain the movement in the
BJO area active self-defence, and intensive political propaganda at all
levels is needed all the time. Social fascism needs to be exposed in all
possible ways from the beginning and the nature of those social
democrats mouthing Marxism and killing its practioners simultaneously
needs to be studied and put before the masses to defeat it .The PW would
have to clearly expose their hoodwinking image.
Com. Mao teaches that "All genuine knowledge originates in direct
experience." And also said, "There can be no knowledge apart from
practice." So to acquire more and more knowledge every one needs to
be prepared to go to the battlefield to acquire concrete knowledge
through practice. And it is the only way to intensify the class struggle
in the BJO area, with an eye to the seizure of political power.
18-1-02
Sukanta with Sharat
