Kishna Singh, who took to task feudal practices, Bihar landlords' authority

By Harsh Thakor*

On 17th June we commemorated the 40th death anniversary of Krishna Singh, who was one of the pioneers in igniting the spark of the peasant movement in Bihar. His martyrdom planting the seeds for many red roses to bloom.

The Jehanabad-Palamau region was one of the most backward regions of Bihar. In this area the rule of the landlord lay unchallenged. The scenario received a dramatic transformation with the integration of the Unity Organisation (later CPI-ML Party Unity). The Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti (MKSS) was formed by this group in 1978.

MKSS made path breaking experiments in waging resistance against feudal exploitation through a sporadic rupture from old line in practice with respects to now working on mass organisation and movement. The mass character of the movement was an important characteristic. All old feudal practices and landlord’s authority were taken to task.

Struggles for wage increase, social boycott of landlords, crop seizure, forming people’s panchayats, combating the social oppression of women and scheduled castes, and confronting the auction of forest produce, encovered its agenda. The most commendable achievements were seizure of illegally occupied land and its re-distribution, resistance for dignity of the most backward castes and winning of higher wages. Most heroically or defiantly it withstood the onslaught or terror of the Kurmi rich peasant caste and landlords who gained the patronage of the administration.

The organisation comprised of many non-party members. It was a unique experiment with the MKSS was the first Naxalite led organisation to invite Jayaprakash Narayan and Lohiaite followers into the membership and leadership.

Krishna Singh's life bio sketch

Krishna Singh was born in Badem village in in Navinagar, being the oldest of three brothers and four sisters. His family possessed 10 acres of land. He studied till inter in his village. He later worked in a cement factory in Japla in Dalmianagar,where he organized workers.

He gained his first political tutelage under Guru Darshan Singh of the Central Organising Committee of the CPI (ML) and then joined that group. When the unit of MKSS was established he joined the organization with Yamina Singh, Gupteshwar Singh, Triveni Singh and Bhuvneshwar Singh. He concentrated his work within the periphery of Navinagar area. With meticulous skill his leadership fortified movements, and enabled them to penetrate in surrounding regions. He was appointed the first secretary of MKSS.

On June 17th 1984 Krishna Singh presided the first conference of the MKSS at Jharha in Palamau district he was attacked by goonda elements led by a landlord. At first the peasants valiantly resisted but the landlord retaliated with a bunch of goondas and forced the peasants to vacate. Displaying unflinching resilience Krishna Singh remained unmoved but was tragically gunned down. The police literally endorsed the action of the culprits.

After his death a spark was literally turned into a prairie fire, with red flags fluttering all over regions of Palamu, Aurangabad and Jehanabad. His murder was followed by a resilient protest movement against his killing, which led to the criminals being punished. On 10th death anniversary in 1994, a memorable gathering was staged in his native village.

Developments after the death of Krishna Singh

After assassination of Krishna Singh, a massive mass struggle was triggered for fair wages of agricultural labourers and abolition of various bondages, which spread to about 30 villages in Hussainabad, with the main centre being Japla. Later it penetrated Mohamdganj, Bisrampur and Mohanadganj, where in forest areas militant struggle was waged against ‘Rangadari tax’ from the poor.

At the same time at Hyderanagar police station massive protest against arrest of leaders of mass organisations shook the police compelling them to apologise before the people. Later in 1987, in Panki bloc there were many actions of rifle snatching. The peasant upsurge crystallised movements of youth, women and transport workers, leading to united struggles.

Economic struggles began to ignite political struggles against repression in Palamau zone. On 24th March in 1986, peasants converged at Chatrapur police station, snatching their leader Jagdeo Sharma from the police van, with considerable participation of women.

A firing took place in Arwal in Jehanabad region on April 19th. It was a response of the police in connivance with the landlords to supress the landless Dalit labour from occupying their plot of land which was robbed from them. After the bloodshed, MKSS was banned. Very soon the state imposed a ban on several mass organizations. Subsequently a 40,000 strong protest rally was organised in Patna, creating effect of a tsunami, and bringing the culprits to the book.

In June 1987 a debate took shape within MKSS on aspect of subordinating to armed movement and backing armed squad resistance as the main form of struggle. One faction was now led by Dr Vinayan and the other led by Arvind. A section of the MKSS leadership led by Dr Vinayan and Jang Bahadur Singh and some Party Unity cadre opposed the attachment of armed squads to the organisation and proposed open functioning which was challenged by the party leadership. A major debate sprung up in MKSS on the mass organization relationship with the party, with majority of non-party members leaving the organization. Now great antagonism was triggered within the organisation between conflicting trends from local to district committees.

Former MKSS leader Arjun Prasad Singh felt that the practice of the Party Unity group was most meritorious till 1987 with no individual armed action, but only struggles waged with traditional weapon, which was later was disoriented and bent. After 1987 the path of the Party Unity veered towards the road of armed squad resistance as principal form of struggle, similar to one of the erstwhile Peoples War Group in Andhra Pradesh. In the 1990s, a feature of the struggles of peasant revolutionary resistance were that of involvement of red armed corpses, incorporating line of ‘annihilation of class' enemy. It undertook actions non-coherent with the peasant movement.

---

*Freelance journalist

Comments

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar* Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler* In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT).

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

This book examines dialectics of complex caste and class relationship

By Harsh Thakor* In Caste and Revolution by N. Ravi, the author addresses questions raised by Dalit and Bahujan intellectuals inspired by revolutionary parties. These questions center on caste issues and seek to formulate a profound diagnosis to chart a path toward the annihilation of caste. The book explains how caste-based feudalism and comprador bureaucratic capitalism intertwine to perpetuate the caste system. It asserts that only the path of a New Democratic Revolution can eradicate caste. The book delves into the need for an equal position for oppressed castes in all layers of society to abolish caste discrimination and oppression. It offers an analytical diagnosis, a penetrating navigation, and a detailed account of the dialectics of caste and class across diverse spheres. Annihilation of Caste and the New Democratic Revolution A revolutionary party develops a perspective document on the caste question, integrating its understanding of caste and the program for caste annih...

34 Dalit families in IIT Kanpur without toilets in Open Defecation Free India

By Sandeep Pandey When Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur was set up in 1959, two villages were uprooted. The farmers were given meagre compensation for the standing crop. No compensation was given for the land to build this institute of national importance. Each family was promised a job but what was not told to them was that one would require specialised skills to get a job at IIT. Some members of these families were, of course, absorbed for menial work. Some washerfolk families were also invited from outside to live on campus to take care of the laundry needs of students, staff and faculty members. One of these men was cajoled by IIT authorities then to forego a regular employment at IIT and instead take up clothes washing work.

प्राकृतिक संसाधनों के दोहन करने की प्रतिस्पर्धा: बढ़ रही पर्यावरणीय और सामाजिक चुनौतियां

- राज कुमार सिन्हा प्राकृतिक संसाधनों और कॉमन्स, जैसे सामुदायिक भूमि, वन, चारागाह और जल निकाय स्थानीय समुदायों के लिए महत्वपूर्ण हैं जो इन संसाधनों पर निर्भर हैं और उनके सतत् उपयोग एवं संरक्षण के लिए पीढ़ियों से प्रयासरत हैं। कॉमन्स न केवल हमारी पारिस्थितिकी को संतुलित रखते हैं, बल्कि ग्रामीण आजीविका, जैव विविधता, और जलवायु अनुकूलन के लिए भी महत्वपूर्ण हैं। दुर्भाग्यवश, हर साल इन संसाधनों में 4% की कमी आ रही है, जिससे पर्यावरणीय और सामाजिक चुनौतियां बढ़ रही हैं। इन कॉमन्स के संरक्षण और पुनरुद्धार के लिए दीर्घकालीन योजना पर कार्य करने की आवश्यकता है। जिससे एक बेहतर, समान और टिकाऊ भविष्य का निर्माण हो सके।

Balod tech fest tests students’ interest in innovative ideas in the fields of science, engineering, start-ups

By A Representative A techno fest scheduled on December 20 and 21 in Balod district of Chhattisgarh will test the innovative ideas of school students in the fields of science, engineering and start-ups. For this two-day fest organised at Maheswari Bhawan of the district, a total of 824 models made by students were initially registered. Out of those, a selection committee chose 200 models from several schools spread over five blocks of Balod. These will be on display on these two days from 10am to 4.30pm. Out of many ideas, one of the most interesting models is a smart glove which can be used by children with impairments and disabilities. For those who cannot speak at all or have speech difficulty, they can ask for help from caregivers by pressing their fingers on the glove after wearing it. This will attract attention.

Local businessman subjected to physical assault, verbal abuse: Demand for accountability, justice

By Kirity Roy* On October 9, 2024, a disturbing incident of harassment and abuse took place in the Swarupnagar Block of North 24 Parganas district, involving a local businessman, Hasanur Gazi, who was subjected to physical assault, verbal abuse, and religious discrimination by a Border Security Force (BSF) constable. The incident, which occurred at the Hakimpur Checkpost, has raised serious concerns about the safety and dignity of citizens living in border areas, especially those belonging to religious minorities.

Search This Blog