the necessary steps to protect the organization and
movement.
MAY 24
On May 24, 1967, a big police force had rounded
the Khodijosh village under the Hatighisha panchayat
of Naxalbari. But the peasants armed with bows and
arrows had rounded up the police in an attempt to
defend themselves. Having suffered a loss, the police
had temporarily retreated and fled away from the
scene.
MAY 25 MARTYRDOM
Next day, ie., on May 25 th , when the people had
gone to Dhakna Jote in Manirampur panchayat to
attend a public meeting to be addressed by Com.
Kanu Sanyal, a big police force had landed in Prasad
Jote at a distance to Dhakna Jote. At that time, there
were mostly women and children in the village. The
women, in an attempt to defend themselves, had
rounded up the police. But, the police, pretending to
be retreating, suddenly and indiscriminately showered
the bullets on the people. As a consequence, 7 women,
one male person and one baby together with the
mother holding the baby in embrace became Martyrs.
Thus the CPI (M) leadership had exposed its true
character nakedly. Its Govt. acted like any govt. of
the exploiting classes. It did not hesitate to gun down
the struggling people when it was required to defend
the interests of landlords and exploiting system.
The Naxalbari peasant revolutionary movement,
however, gave a great inspiration to the then ongoing
ideological struggle against the Soviet modern
revisionism, revisionism and neo-revisionism in India.
It gave an impetus to the efforts of Communist
Revolutionaries inside the CPI (M) to organize
themselves into a separate political force in Bengal
as well as at an all India level.
Wave of Solidarity
In the course of Naxalbari peasant movement, the
tea plantation workers had most closely and in practice
allied themselves with the peasant revolutionary
movement. As the plantation workers were of peasant
origin, in the main, they had responded well to the
urges and aspirations of peasants. Both had forged
a strong alliance. Not only had the workers carried on
the struggles on their own problems, but also in strong
support and solidarity with the peasants in all difficult
phases of their struggle. They fought shoulder to
shoulder with the peasants. They defied the police
repression and protected the peasant cadre and
leaders as their own kith and kin. Many Workers had
directly joined with the peasants in their efforts to
organize the peasant movement. They provided the
leadership to the peasants. Thus the solidarity that
developed between the peasants and workers in
Naxalbari had set a fine model for the worker – peasant
4
alliance, which is a most essential need of advancing
the New Democratic Revolution in India.
The exploiting classes and those who stood by
them could not achieve the expected results by their
policy of repression.
There erupted a massive protest in Bengal and
other parts of India against the firings and repression
in Naxalbari. A Naxalbari Peasant Struggle Solidarity
Samithi was formed with an aim of widely propagating
the news of Naxalbari peasant struggle and mobilizing
the support and solidarity to the Naxalbari struggle.
The students of North Bengal University had
responded in a big way. A large number of students
had gone to Naxalbari. They provided the leadership.
They held solidarity rallies in several places. In some
places, they even clashed with the police. The
Bangiya Provincial Students Federation and its
members stood by the Naxalbari peasant revolutionary
movement. The slogans like “Amra bari – Naxalbari;
Amra bari Kharibari; Amra bari Phansideba”; “Tumra
nam – Amra nam – Naxalbari and Vietnam” had
reverberated everywhere. Thousands of peasants
took out a massive rally in the streets of Kolkata in
protest against the Govt. repression and in solidarity
with the Naxalbari peasant struggle. The solidarity
actions were witnessed in many other places in India.
The Naxalbari had created a big commotion
throughout India. It had seriously shaken the Indian
politics. It lit a ray of hope in the hearts of exploited
and oppressed people. In many areas, the Communist
ranks as well as conscious people had come to the
fore to identify with and own the Naxalbari.
By this time, the adivasi peasant movement in
Srikakulam (AP) which was developing for a decade,
had picked up the momentum. The adivasi and
peasant movements in other districts of AP like East
Godavari, Khamman and Warangal had advanced.
The adivasi and peasant movements in Debra –
Gopiballabhpur, Mushahari, Lakhimpur Kheri and
other areas of India had developed taking inspiration
from Naxalbari. Thousands of poor and landless
peasants had moved into revolutionary action to
occupy and distribute the lands of landlords and
challenge the feudal authority in the rural areas and
against the Comprodar Bourgeois – landlord’s State.
The Communist Revolutionaries had formed an
All India Co – ordination Committee of Communist
Revolutionaries inside the CPI (M) on Nov 13 th , 1967.
The four main tasks set by the Declaration adopted
by this Committee had called upon the CRs: “I)To
develop and co – ordinate militant and revolutionary
struggles at all levels, specially,