Farmers Movement Archive

Maoists call for three-day bandh in four states

Ranchi: Banned CPI Maoists have extended three-day bandh call beginning November 23 in four states — Bihar, Jharkhand, North Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh — to protest against the arrest and alleged torture of Politburo member Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da, his wife Central Committee member Sheela Marandi and four others of the outfit. The Maoists also protested the killing of 26 “unarmed revolutionaries” in Gadhchiroli in Maharashtra on November 13 and expressed solidarity with the protesting farmers on Delhi borders. The time when the press statement was issued, the Centre was yet to announce recalling the contentious farm laws. Bihar Jharkhand North Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh Simant Regional Committee (BJNCUP-SRC), a Maoist unit under the Eastern Regional Buro of the ultra-leftist party, has described the arrest of Kishan Da and Sheela Di as an act of deceit by insiders. “75-year-old Kishan Da and 65-year-old Sheela Di suffering from multiple ailments were undergoing treatment at an undisclosed shelter from where they were picked up in a joint operation of state police, CRPF, NIA and IB. They were tortured and when their physical condition deteriorated, they were shown to be arrested in transit,” Maoist spokesperson, Manas claimed. Admitting that the arrest of tall leaders of the outfit is an achievement for the Centre and the state government, Maoists have described it as a momentary loss for the revolution. The BJNCUP-SRC in a press communique have shared a brief history of their politburo member who started as a student leader of Communist party of India in the 1960s. “Kishan Da later joined comrade Kanhai Chatterjee (KC) to propagate Mao Zedong ideology. He played a key role in the Naxalbari uprising of 1967 under comrade Charu Mazumdar and later went to Assam to spread communist ideology under guidance of comrade KC. He later came to undivided Bihar and remained active in Dhanbad, Hazaribag and Giridih. He led from the front in adjoining states of Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura,” the statement read. The Maoists have also credited Kishan Da of supporting separate Jharkhand movement and charting out a detailed strategy with Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC) leader A K Rai and Kanhai Chatterjee with the slogan – Jharkhand ko laalkhand me badal dalo (convert Jharkhand into a red zone) to envision a nationwide adoption of communism, starting from Jharkhand. The outfit has also underlined Kishan Da’s role in bringing two revolutionary streams — Marxist Communist Center of India (MCCI) and CPIML-People’s War (PW) under the umbrella of unified CPI (Maoist) in 2004 and supervise the formation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the country. “He neither had a friend nor an enemy in his personal life. Kishan Da was dedicated to the cause of establishing neo-democracy on the foundations of socialism,” Manas said. The banned outfit has also appreciated contribution of Sheela Marandi in organising the women power in the party. “She joined as a child and completed her education within the party. She later founded Nari Mukti Sangh and paved the way for induction of women in the party. It was because of her contribution and dedication that she rose to the level of Central Committee Member (CCM),” Manas said. The outfit has appealed to the administration to treat both the top leaders as political prisoners and ensure their safety, medical care and proper treatment in captivity.

The Times of India

2021-11-20

Ranchi