Learning new things always enamors me. And here I got a job which allows me to get divulged to various situations and places to understand, learn and experience. I was planning to go to Bastar District this month and had planned my Itinerary for the month accordingly. As a wont, before going to any place, I generally try knowing the metier of the place. This I do by asking people, or searching on internet. Here in Chattisgadh, Bastar is known for its tralatitious Bastar Art on wood and wire and most importantly know for Naxalites.
Naxalites, what is this? Who are they? Is this a philosophy or a way of life or just a criminal group? Where does this thought aroused? Lot of questions hovering inside my subconscious mind. What to do, where to go to satisfy my inner soul by answering these questions!
Yes, I have some books on the same topic. And the Ethernet world is open for me, waiting for me to log on and let me shower with the knowledge on the topic.
Naxalite or Naxalism is an informal name given to communist groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the communist movement in India. Ideologically they belong to various trends of Maoism.
The term Naxalites comes from Naxalbari a small village in West Bengal. Here a section of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal led a violent uprising in 1967, trying to develop a "revolutionary opposition" in opposition to the CPI(M) leadership. The insurrection started on May 25, 1967 in Naxalbari village when a peasant was attacked by hired hands over a land dispute. Local peasants retaliated by attacking the local landlords and the violence escalated. Majumdar greatly admired Mao Zedong of China and advocated that Indian peasants and lower classes must follow in his footsteps and overthrow the government and upper classes whom he held responsible for their plight. He engendered the Naxalite movement through his writings, the most famous being the “Historic Eight Documents” which formed the basis of Naxalite ideology.
This movement started going beyond the poor and peasant. The philosophy has contaminated the youth also. The Naxalites gained a strong presence amongst the radical sections of the students’ movement in Calcutta. Large number of students left their education to join revolutionary activities. Majumdar adjusted the tactics of CPI(ML), and claimed that the revolutionary warfare was to take place not only in the rural areas but everywhere and spontaneously. Thus Majumdar's 'annihilation line', a dictum that Naxalites should assassinate individual "class enemies" as a part of the insurrection was put into practice not only against landlords, but also against university teachers, police officers, politicians and others.
Throughout Calcutta, schools were shut down. Naxalite students took over Jadavpur University and used the machine shop facilities to make pipe guns to fight the police. Their headquarters became Presidency College, Kolkata.
The Naxalites soon found ardent supporters among the educated elite, and Delhi's prestigious St. Stephen's College, alma mater of many contemporary Indian leaders and thinkers, became a hotbed of Naxalite activities.
This philosophy became hot topic for film fraternity too. The British musical group Asian Dub Foundation has a song called Naxalite. This song was part of the soundtrack to the 1999 film Brokedown Palace. In 2005 a movie called Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi directed by Sudhir Mishra was released with the backdrop of Naxalite movement. In August 2008, Kabeer Kaushik's Chamku starring Bobby Deol and Priyanka Chopra explored the story of a boy who takes arms against the state.
There is a reference to a character, in the novel, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, joining with the Naxalites.
The 1998 film Haazar chaurasi ki Maa starring Jaya Bachchan gives a very sympathetic portrayal of a Naxalbari militant killed by the state.
The Naxalites say they are fighting oppression and exploitation to create a classless society. But since last couple of year, the way their movement have changed shows that somewhere there philosophy has been shifted from class war to a terrorist movement. In fact a week back, some of the extremists had been caught by Chattisgadh Police with very automatic weapons which was claimed to be got by some terrorist group cross border.
Though this topic on Naxalite have come to my mind randomly, unintentionally. But as I started reading to understand the movement, at some part I started getting convinced with the philosophy. No, conviction doesn’t mean that I am going to join some Naxalite group. But it means to actually see the movement closely. But then, the way this movement has started shaping, I think, the basic soul of the movement is dropping off.
Next time will write on its spreading in India.
Naxalites, what is this? Who are they? Is this a philosophy or a way of life or just a criminal group? Where does this thought aroused? Lot of questions hovering inside my subconscious mind. What to do, where to go to satisfy my inner soul by answering these questions!
Yes, I have some books on the same topic. And the Ethernet world is open for me, waiting for me to log on and let me shower with the knowledge on the topic.
Naxalite or Naxalism is an informal name given to communist groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the communist movement in India. Ideologically they belong to various trends of Maoism.
The term Naxalites comes from Naxalbari a small village in West Bengal. Here a section of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal led a violent uprising in 1967, trying to develop a "revolutionary opposition" in opposition to the CPI(M) leadership. The insurrection started on May 25, 1967 in Naxalbari village when a peasant was attacked by hired hands over a land dispute. Local peasants retaliated by attacking the local landlords and the violence escalated. Majumdar greatly admired Mao Zedong of China and advocated that Indian peasants and lower classes must follow in his footsteps and overthrow the government and upper classes whom he held responsible for their plight. He engendered the Naxalite movement through his writings, the most famous being the “Historic Eight Documents” which formed the basis of Naxalite ideology.
This movement started going beyond the poor and peasant. The philosophy has contaminated the youth also. The Naxalites gained a strong presence amongst the radical sections of the students’ movement in Calcutta. Large number of students left their education to join revolutionary activities. Majumdar adjusted the tactics of CPI(ML), and claimed that the revolutionary warfare was to take place not only in the rural areas but everywhere and spontaneously. Thus Majumdar's 'annihilation line', a dictum that Naxalites should assassinate individual "class enemies" as a part of the insurrection was put into practice not only against landlords, but also against university teachers, police officers, politicians and others.
Throughout Calcutta, schools were shut down. Naxalite students took over Jadavpur University and used the machine shop facilities to make pipe guns to fight the police. Their headquarters became Presidency College, Kolkata.
The Naxalites soon found ardent supporters among the educated elite, and Delhi's prestigious St. Stephen's College, alma mater of many contemporary Indian leaders and thinkers, became a hotbed of Naxalite activities.
This philosophy became hot topic for film fraternity too. The British musical group Asian Dub Foundation has a song called Naxalite. This song was part of the soundtrack to the 1999 film Brokedown Palace. In 2005 a movie called Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi directed by Sudhir Mishra was released with the backdrop of Naxalite movement. In August 2008, Kabeer Kaushik's Chamku starring Bobby Deol and Priyanka Chopra explored the story of a boy who takes arms against the state.
There is a reference to a character, in the novel, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, joining with the Naxalites.
The 1998 film Haazar chaurasi ki Maa starring Jaya Bachchan gives a very sympathetic portrayal of a Naxalbari militant killed by the state.
The Naxalites say they are fighting oppression and exploitation to create a classless society. But since last couple of year, the way their movement have changed shows that somewhere there philosophy has been shifted from class war to a terrorist movement. In fact a week back, some of the extremists had been caught by Chattisgadh Police with very automatic weapons which was claimed to be got by some terrorist group cross border.
Though this topic on Naxalite have come to my mind randomly, unintentionally. But as I started reading to understand the movement, at some part I started getting convinced with the philosophy. No, conviction doesn’t mean that I am going to join some Naxalite group. But it means to actually see the movement closely. But then, the way this movement has started shaping, I think, the basic soul of the movement is dropping off.
Next time will write on its spreading in India.
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