Naxalbari uprising was an armed peasant revolt in 1967 in the
Naxalbari
Naxalbari (also spelled Naksalbari) is a village in the Naxalbari CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. Naxalbari is famous for being the site of a 1967 revolt that would eventuall ...
block of
Siliguri subdivision
Siliguri subdivision is a subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India.
Subdivisions
Darjeeling district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions:
Police stations
Police stations in the Siligu ...
in
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
district, West Bengal,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
It was mainly led by tribals and the radical communists leaders of Bengal and further developed into the
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI (ML)) was an Indian communist party formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR) at a congress in Calcutta in 1969. The foundation of the party wa ...
in 1969. The armed struggle became an inspiration to the naxalite movement which rapidly spread from
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 ...
to other states of India creating division within in to the
CPI(M)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the nati ...
Party.
Origins
The uprising occurred during the height
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Len ...
, which was causing turmoil within the communist organisations in India and the rest of the world. The leader and ideologue of the uprising
Charu Majumdar
Charu Majumdar (Bengali: চারু মজুমদার; 15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972), popularly known as CM, was a Communist leader from India, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born in ...
theorised that the situation was appropriate for launching an armed
People's war
People's war (Chinese: 人民战争), also called protracted people's war, is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to mainta ...
in India following the
Chinese Revolution (1949)
The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...
,
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
. Charu Majumdar wrote the
Historic Eight Documents
The Historic Eight Documents are a set of eight monographs authored by the Indian Maoist revolutionary Charu Majumdar that outline the ideological principles on which the Naxalite militant communist movement in India was based. Snippet:''Com ...
which became the foundation of the Naxalite movement in 1967.
Timeline
The communists in 1965-66 already controlled territory in the Naxalbari region. The so-called "Siliguri group" called for initiating an armed struggle, which started the uprising. Many peasant cells were created throughout the region. On 3 March 1967 just a day after the united front had sworn in ministers in West Bengal, some 150 peasants armed with bows and spears, took 300 maunds of paddy or around 11000 kg of paddy and started seizing land. The peasants were enraged that the CPI(M) did not retain workers in the party . By 18 March the peasants started seizing land from
jotedars (landlords who owned large plots of land in the region).
Peasant committees were set up throughout the region within four months. The first clash occurred between the peasants and landlords when a share-cropper, Bigul Kisan, was beaten up by landlord gentries. Following this, peasant committees seized land, foodgrains and arms from the landlord gentries, leading to violent clashes. The government started mobilizing the police forces to deal with the uprising.
The inspector of Jharugaon village was killed by peasant committee members. In retaliation, the police opened fire which resulted in the death of nine women and one child on 25 May 1967.
By June the peasant committees gained hold in the regions around Naxalbari, Kharibari and Phansidewa seizing lands, ammunition and food grains from the jotedars. The
tea garden worker around the Darjeeling region participated in strikes supporting the peasant committees. The upheaval sustained till 19 July when the paramilitary forces were sent by the government. Leaders like
Jangal Santhal were arrested. Some of them like
Charu Majumdar
Charu Majumdar (Bengali: চারু মজুমদার; 15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972), popularly known as CM, was a Communist leader from India, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born in ...
went underground. And others like Tribheni Kanu, Sobham, Ali Gorkha Majhi, and Tilka Majhi were killed.
Recognition and aftermath
The uprising got support from the Communist Party of China
simultaneously deteriorating the relation of the later with the
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...
. The CPI(M) expelled many of its members who supported the uprising.
Charu Majumdar
Charu Majumdar (Bengali: চারু মজুমদার; 15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972), popularly known as CM, was a Communist leader from India, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born in ...
,
Souren Bose, Mahadeb Mukherjee and
Dilip Bagchi were expelled on the same day. Expelled communists later on organised themselves into one organisation (AICCCR) further developing into the CPI(ML). CPI(ML) remained the centre of the Naxalite movement till 1975. A large number of enthusiastic youth joined the movement. Although the uprising was suppressed, it remained a landmark in Indian politics which further lead to several other similar kind of movements in parts of Bihar and originated the ongoing
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
, image = Naxal Left-wing violence or activity affected districts of India 2018.svg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Naxalite active z ...
.
See also
*
Kucheipadar tribal movement
*
Lal Sena
Lal Sena (1974–1990, English: Red Army) was an organised armed militia of CPIML Liberation in northeastern India, across the terrains of central Bihar, north-west of today's Jharkhand, and a few districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. It was forme ...
*
Naxalite
*
Srikakulam peasant uprising
References
{{Naxalite-Maoist insurgency
Communist rebellions
Land rights movements
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
Peasant revolts
Political uprisings in India
Rebellions in India
Riots and civil disorder in India
1967 in Indian politics