Communist Movement :
Naxalbari Peasant Revolt – Extracts from Terai Report
1 ) Why has the peasant movement in the Terai region proved to be an event having more far-reaching consequences than even an earthquake ?
Ours is a semi-colonial and semifeudal country , 80 per cent of whose population live in the villages . The contradiction between the people of our country and feudalism is the principal contradiction . The compradorbureaucrat bourgeoisie , the landlords and the jotedars have been carrying on their rule and exploitation through their political organisation , the Congress Party , by protecting fully and developing imperialist interests and by covering up the basis of feudalism with legal coatings . So the peasants are the basis and main force of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle . Unless the peasants are liberated it is impossible to achieve the liberation of all other oppressed classes . The Terai peasants are a part of the peasantry of our country . 70 percent of the Terai peasants are poor and landless . 20 percent are middle peasants and 10 percent are rich
peasants . These heroic peasants
� the state power through a compromising and peaceful treaty with the British Imperialists , by nullifying all the heroic revolutionary struggle and aspirations of the people of India . 3 . The newly formed Indian Government adopted the same Constitution , as was prepared and adopted by the British Imperialists , and also adopted the same administrative norms and practices as developed by the British rulers . 4 . As regards the economic policy of the newly formed Indian Government , the socio-economic interest of the Indian big bourgeoisie 18 dealt merciless blows to the obsolete and rotten feudal elements-the jotedars , landlords and unsurers . The State apparatus of the compradorbureaucrat bourgeoisie , landlords and jotedars is preserving the feudal system by force and carrying on an armed rule . Inspired by Chairman Mao ’ s teaching , “ Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun ,” the heroic peasants opposed this armed rule with armed revolt .
The peasants of Terai not only dealt a fierce blow at feudalism , they also expressed their intense hatred for the imperialist exploitation of India , specially the exploitation by US imperialism , swept into the dust the political , economic and social authority , dignity and prestige built up in the villages by the landlords and jotedars , who represent feudalism , and established the rule of the peasant committee in the villages through their armed revolt . That is why the Naxalbari struggle has shown the path for the liberation of India ’ s oppressed classes .
We have seen how the criterion for judging political events changed as soon as the struggle of the heroic
- big landlord classes has been made fully secured by bringing in various new laws and regulations . The same initiative has been taken for securing the interests of the Imperialists .
Thus , all the above activities of the Congress-led Indian bourgeoisie classes and the subsequent steps taken by the newly formed Indian Government clearly establishes the teachings of Lenin that , in the case of semi-colonies , the Imperialists ’ hands over the state power into hands of their trained and loyal agents . And therefore , Feature - 2 of India being a Semi-Colonial country , has been proved to be quite correct . � peasants started and thus proved how true are the teachings of Chairman Mao . The struggle made it clear as daylight who in a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country like ours is a revolutionary and who is a counterrevolutionary , who is progressive and who is reactionary , who is a Marxist and who is a revisionist , and which political party wants to advance the cause of democratic revolution , that is , the agrarian revolution , and which party wants to cover up the semi colonial and semi feudal system in order to preserve it . ( From pages 664-665 ) 2 ) Our Deviations and the Lessons we Learnt :
Taken as a whole , internationally and nationally , the revolutionary situation in our country is excellent . The armed struggle of the peasants of the Siliguri sub division has been after the fourth general elections at a time when Anglo-US imperialism specially US imperialism , finds itself in an acute crisis and the quarrel between the imperialists has become bitter , when the US imperialist capital is unable to rely fully on the influence of the Congress Party in matters of investment , when all the hoax of economic planning of the Congress Party , the organisation of the comprador bureaucrat bourgeoisie and landlords , is falling into pieces , when the people are suffering from the effects of an acute economic crisis and when people ’ s lack of confidence in the Congress has become even more pronounced , as reflected in the ending of the monopoly rule of Congress ministers in eight states .
We know that we must adopt an offensive tactic in our struggle when the enemy is beset with crisis and internal quarrels , and must adopt the
Class Struggle