1964-66. This is the period when wide spread attacks
continued on the peasants and the tea garden
workers and perhaps no district in the country had
to face such a wide spread arracks. Hundreds of
workers and peasant leaders were arrested under
Defence of India Rules. During this period on the
one hand the party comrades had to reorganize the
CPI(M) and ongoing peasant struggle and to look
after their problems. On the other hand they had to
combat the neo-revisionists and also had to tackle
the seeds of left deviation.
Over and above, the struggle against landlords
went on unabated. A peculiar, cumbrous and a very
complicated struggle had to be carried during the
period, most of the comrades never faced such a
situation. There were deaths of intellectual comrades
in the rural areas. They remained mainly on their
practical experience. In this period, the situation was
such either the comrades were to quit or to carry on
struggle. In this situation the comrades again started
re-capturing land, especially against two landlords
and the area virtually became free of landlords. The
small landlords and rich peasants gave whole hearted
support to us. The peasants snatched guns from
the landlords’ goondas. It happened in the year 1966
December. In another area a tea planter taking
advantage of the absence of the leaders of the
movement, thrown out the peasants from more than
100 acres of land and constructed 15 dwelling
quarters for the workers of the plantation.
The SKS mobilized more than two thousand
peasants and workers and demolished all pucca
quarters and took possession of the said land. The
land is still now in the possession of the peasants of
that area. The incident took place in March 1967.
Fight against the military contractor and canteen
owner and a big landlord was very important because
it created impact on North Bengal University
students. The slogan of boycott of Elections came
forward in 1967. Com.KS was in jail and was released
just before 1967 elections.
After the release of Com. Jungal Santhal from
Culcutta jail just a month before 1967 election, this
boycott line was fought Com. CM retreated from his
position. So during the whole period political struggle
and struggle for land were continuing. This fact should
also be in the knowledge of the comrades that Com.
JS was defeated in the election.
However the congress ministry was defeated
and the UF ministry came to power in 1967 in WB.
Just at this period Iswar Tirkey, a congress MLA tried
to evict late Com. Bigul Kishan from his barga
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(rented) land in Naxalbari itself. Naturally the anger
against the landlords gathered momemtum. Our late
com. Jungal Santhal led the struggle against the
eviction. This attracted the attention of media
because Iswar Tirkey was not only a congress MLA
but also a former deputy minister.
Comrades Kanu Sanyal and Souren Bose went
to meet and talked with him (H.K. Konar, the land
reforms minister) in forest bungalow at Sukna the
gate way to Darjeeling hills. The minister along with
highest police officials of WB met them. They
demanded surrender of all the comrades wanted by
the police. The delegates put forward questions why
the landlords were not arrested against whom many
FIRs were already lodged and finally they said that
list of wanted persons would be given within a few
days and they were to surrender in batches. The
talks broke down as the delegation refused to
surrender. After this the delegation informed the
minister that they were ready to talk on the basis of
fixed agendas and the police camps were to be
withdrawn. The talks finally broke down.
After 8/10 days a large police force entered a
village BR Jharu (3kms from Naxalbari) to arrest
the comrades. The police force has to face strong
resistance from the local villagers and the news
reached other villages and surrounding tea gardens.
Thousands of peasants and workers rushed to the
area and a scuffle took place and as a result some
polic3e officers were injured and Inspector Wangdi
was killed. This incident took place on 24 th May 1967.
It should be reminded that so long the political
propaganda carried on “Stick to land by resisting
landlords and police”. This is the first time that the
police forces were resisted with conventional
weapons in hand. This was a qualitative change in
the struggle. Struggle for land turned to a higher
stage. So, the importance of the 24 th May lies here
and so Naxalbari Day should be observed on 24 th
May. On 25 th May the women comrades were holding
a general meeting by the roadside, two and a half
km south of Naxalbari at Prosadu Jote. The SDO
along with a police force came to the spot and halted
and at once the women comrades surrounded the
police and tried to disarm them and actually disarmed
them as the police were in small number. The SDO
called one of our male comrades and requested him
to leave them and the male comrade agreed and
asked our women comrades to allow the SDO and
police to go.
The police left the spot with arms but halted a
few yards away and took position and fired upon the
Class Struggle