Nari Mukti Sangh () (English: ''Women's Liberation Association'') is a women's organisation in India, with a base of supporters in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

. The organisation was founded in March 1990, during a women's conference at Talekocha in

Giridih Giridih is headquarters of the Giridih district of Jharkhand state, India. The city of Giridih is known for its industrial and health sectors, as well as its scenic beauty. Giridih houses the Giridih Coalfield which is one of the oldest coalfi ...

, which was held to organise women to wrestle against the exploitation, oppression and atrocities faced by them. An executive committee of the organisation was also elected at the conference. It had seven members, including its president, secretary and a treasurer. Presently, the Nari Mukti Sangh (NMS) draws considerable membership from the states of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. This

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

organisation in India is not to be confused with Nari Mukti Sangh (Tangail, Bangladesh).''

Ideology

The organisation is influenced from "(scientific) Marxism, Leninism and

Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...

", and "believes that national problems can be solved through people's struggle and on the basis of independence,

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

, equality,

women's liberation The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

." The NMS describes India as a "semi-

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

" country, and avers that "without a radical transformation of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, women liberation is not possible."

Aims and activities

The organisation strives to generate "space to women’s voice" and motivates them to partake in "

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, political and social activity and decision making processes." The NMS's volunteers goes from village to village in Bihar and Jharkhand, and with the collaboration of local women, tries to mete out punishment to "perpetrators of sexual violence through people’s courts", and endeavours to cordially straighten out the quarrels amongst family members." It also organises ''"kranti ka paathshaala"'' ''(school of

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

)'' to educate women, and so far has enabled thousands of women to read and write. Shoma Sen writes, The NMS has become a cynosure in Jharkhand for their campaign in

Pirtand Pirtand (also spelled Pirtanr) is a village in the Pirtand CD block in the Dumri subdivision of the Giridih district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Geography Location Pirtand is located at According to Google maps, the administrative f ...

forests of

Giridih district Giridih district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Giridih is the administrative headquarters of this district. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Jharkhand (out of 24), after Ranchi and Dhanbad ...

to save the trees. They educate villagers about the significance of trees for humans and wildlife, and make them conscious about the possibilities of future natural disasters if the trees would be continuously cut down ignorantly. They have also alarmed to penalise the offenders with a fine of 1,000 or face physical punishment. The NMS is believed to be a "front organisation" of the

Communist Party of India (Maoist) The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist banned Communism, communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the "semi-colonial and semi-feudal In ...

by the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, and is also viewed as an arm of the Maoist Coordination Center.

References

{{Reflist

External links

A few words on my political life-story by Comrade Sheela, President of Nari Mukti Sangh (NMS)
Feminist organisations in India 1990 establishments in India Socialist organisations in India

Ideology

Aims and activities

See also

References

External links