At the Epicentre: Neither Spring, nor Thunder

So, whatever happened to the peasant revolt led by Naxalite legend Charu Majumdar in the original birth place of the revolution 42 years after?
Chaman Lal Naxalbari (West Bengal)

May 25, 1967. A fierce clash took place between the West Bengal police and poor peasants. The United Front government's chief minister, Ajay Mukherjee, and home minister, Jyoti Basu, were then at the helm in Calcutta. The peasant revolt was led by none else than CPM's Darjeeling area committee, led by Charu Majumdar, who later became the top mass leader of the armed uprising and a legend of the Naxalbari uprising.

However, the original grassroots heroes who for several years painstakingly organised the poor, the landless and other farmers in the area were Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal, as described by Charu Majumdar himself on April 22, 1969, while addressing a massive public rally in Calcutta. The announcement of the formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist -'CPI-ML') was made at this huge mass rally - perhaps the only public rally addressed by Charu Majumdar.

Beijing Radio and Peoples Daily (China), in June 1967, had earlier hailed the revolt in Naxalbari as 'Spring Thunder in India'. China then apparently thought that India will 'make' the revolution in the next few years, as Charu Majumdar also thought. 'Naxalbari' acquired worldwide attention. The word became part of the political lexicon, it's blood-soaked memories and spontaneous rebellion still evoke deep, intense reactions, for and against. Its followers are still scattered all over the country in many groups and forms, overground, doing parliamentary/people's politics, or underground, waging an armed/class struggle.

So what is it about Naxalbari (spelled 'Naksalbari' in Bengal) that stays in essence, meaning and memory, after 42 years of the 'Spring Thunder'?

The uprising gave rise to resonating slogans: Aamar Naam Tomar Naam-Vietnam Vietnam and Aamar Bari Tomar Bari-Naxalbari Naxalbari (My name, your name, Vietnam... My home, your home, Naxalbari - bari means home in Bengali). Today, Naxalbari seems to have lost that slogan or the memory of that slogan: it is not even looking that far away.

It is located about 10-12 miles from Bagdogra airport with good road connectivity. A small town of about 30,000 thousand, it is close to Nepal's border town of Panitanki.

No incident actually took place at Naxalbari on May 25, 1967. The firing on rural poor took place in Prasadujot, a small village further towards Panitanki. There were clashes and tensions in the area since March on the land question and on May 24, 1967, a police official was killed. Next day a huge number of police fired on poor people, who were unarmed. Eight women were killed, two children of about six months were killed in the women's laps and one young man was also shot dead.

Ironically, no memorial had been built in the memory of these poor people, murdered by the police. However, a few years ago, the Naxalite faction that claims Mahadeb Mukhrejee as its leader, built the Charu Majumdar Sarani at Bengaijot village, adjoining the government primary school of the village. A small plot of land was occupied by the political group and statues of Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and Charu Majumdar (No Marx or Engels!) were installed.

Two more pillars stand there in the name of Saroj Dutt and Mahadeb Mukherjee, but without the busts. Saroj Dutt was a legendary intellectual who was shot dead in yet another 'fake encounter' by the police in Calcutta during those bloody days, widely known to be witnessed by great Bengali actor, Uttam Kumar, who was on a morning walk.