India : 50th Anniversary of Srikakulam Armed Struggle by Harsh Thakor

ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HISTORIC SRIKAKULAM ARMED STRUGGLE LET US RESSURECT ITS GLORY. 

WE MUST ALL DIP OUR BLOOD IN MEMORY OF ALL THE MARTYRS OF THE STRUGGLE WHOSE NAMES SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN GOLDEN LETTERS 

THE REVOLT DEFINED A NEW EPOCH IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN PEOPLE WAGING PATH OF PROTRACTED PEOPLES WAR IN CHALLENGING THE REACTIONARY BASTION OF THE INDIAN STATE AND BUILDING THEIR OWN REVOLUTIONARY POWER..


5O years ago on November 25th 1968 ,a new epoch was carved out in the history of India with the birth of the Srikakulam Armed peasant struggle Similar to the armed struggles of Telengana and Naxalbari it classically followed the Chinese path of protracted peoples war formulated by Chairman Mao.

It imbibed the spirit of the martyrdom of Comrade Che Guvera and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which strived to create the new Socialist man.


The armed struggle had it's genesis in the murder of two tribal activists on October 31st in 1967 Koraana and Maganna.and in the formation of the Girijan Sangham in 1959 which led a series of agitations.

Organized by communist school teachers Vempatapu Satyanarayana  and Adibhatala Kailasam the Girijan Sangham launched struggles for the distribution of cultivable banjar lands, abolition of debt-peonage,fair prices for minor forest produce collected by the tribes, lifting of the prohibition on the use of forest timber by girijans,and agency autonomy under local tribal governance.

After 1964 with the slit of CPI,The Sangh supported the CPM. However Naxalbari was the focal point when the mass movement took a new shape and the landlords demanded further police protection and deployment.Clashes took place subsequently and section 144 was declared of the Criminal procedure code.wa sunlawfully declared.It was in this background that in Levdi on October 31st 1967 2 peasants were shot down..

In September 1968 the court acquitted those responsible for the murder of the 2 activists .In October 1968 after consulting Charu Mazumdar the Ryotana Sangrama Samiti was formed as a body to seize political power in the villages.The crux of the rise in tempo of the tribals was their heightened understanding of the nature of their opression and the zeal to build a new alternative. It was a combination of the opPressive conditions with the elevated political consciousness. 

With Charu Mazumdar’s consent in October 1968,a decision was adopted by the AICCR to adopt the armed struggle and set up the Ryotanaga Sangrama Samiti as a body to facilitate the seizure of political power .

On November 25th the spark was lit with the raiding of the residence of notorious landlord-cum moneylender Teegala Narasimhulu ,seizing possession of hoarded paddy and food grains ,and seizing promissory notes and other legal records related to the debts of peasants had incurred over the years.The anti-landlord vigour was completely revealed here.


The preparation period had great significance from 1959-1967.The mass organization ,the Girijan Sangham created the fulcrum for building a broad based peasant movement.

10 demands formed the pivot of the struggles.

1.All lands seized illegally from the girijans from non -girijans should be returned.
2.Distribute banjar lands to non -girijans immediately.
3.All debts obtained by illegal methods should be abolished.Credit facilities should be provided sufficiently.
4.Agricultural implements and cattle should be supplied to Girijans to carry on agricultural operations.
5.Forest produce should be purchased from girijan s at reasonable rates.Consumer good sshould be suppplied to them at fair prices.
6.Those who extract labour from girijan 
s should be severely punished.
7.Salaries to Palerla(farm servants) and wage rates for agricultural workers should be fixed in consonance with the cost of living.
8.There should be no restriction on the use of forest timber by Girijan s for their house construction and daily needs.
9.In the new atmosphere that will be created when the above programme is implemented ,educational and cultuarl programmes should be organized on a large scale.
10.Girijan areas should be declared as autonomous regions and its adminstartion should be handed over to the representatives of girijans.


The exploitation of the girijans was in the following forms.


1.Money Lending-To clear the debts ,Girijan shad to sell the grain,other crops and forest produce at lower rates to those money lenders.
2.Occupation of Girijan lands .Those who could not clear debts had to mortgae and sell awy their lands to money lenders.
3.Exploiting the agricultural labourers .In lands thus lost to landlords Girijan shad to work as palerlu and daily labour for nominal wages.
4.Purchase of forest produce .Girijan Corporation officers ,sahukars,money lenders were purchasing forest produce from Girijans at nominal rates and selling them outside for huge profits.
5.Exploitation of forest officers.The forest officers wee obstructing the girijans from cultuvating podu in forests and from collecting forest produce.Then they were demanding bribes ,mamuls and forced labour.(Vetti)


The following were the gains of the girijans.


1.From 1959 itself Girijans gradually re-occupied lands which were illegally seized by non -girijan sahukars.and landlords from them.Also they began to cultivate such lands.


2.1500 acres of forest waste lands were occupied and cultivated by girijans.
3.they refused to clear debts to the tune of about Rs 2 lakhs .
4.They got free timber for their agricultural use.
5.Attained reasonable rates for forest produce at weekly markets.
6.Free labour has been completely abolished.
7.The nominal rates for palerlu and daily labour were increased.Daily wage rates increased upto 12 times.
8.Forest timber has been taken freely for house construction and daily needs.
9The implementation of this programme brought a big mass upsurge.The cadre utilized this to raise the political consciousness of the Girijan sthrough cultural programmes ,night schols and reading to them the party journals regularly..


Communist revolutionaries on the organizational front constituted girijan comitees and party units.As part of the political education,Girijan cadre as part of the district cadre ,were imparted lessons on Telengana armed struggle and its experiences.Basic political propaganda was carried out that problems like land and constitution of autonomous regions will be solved only by the establishment of peoples democratic rule.


By the beginning of the 1967 rainy season,Girijan movement reached a new stage.Girijans had already occupied some of their lands.They occupied 800 more acres of land in posession of landlords and began cultivation.2500 acres of forest waste land was also cultivated.As a result of acute food shortage the people prevented the landlords and sahukars from exporting their grain to outside the are with a view to realize high rates.They saw that sufficient grains were stocked in girijan areas.Even the rates were decreased and merchants were made to sell rice at 2 sers per rupeee.Thus land distribution and grain distribution were implemented which led to amass revolt with people participating in huge numbers.Thus the girijan strugggle reached a higher stage.


Threatened by the mass upsurge the landlords and their goondas blocked some delegates who were going to the taluk conference and beat them mercilessly.When people protesed supporting the delegates ,the landlords opened fire and asassinated two girijan activists-Koranna and Maganna.

All this took place in village Levidi.A public rally to pay homage to the 2 martyrs was staged .Like wildfire protest rallies were launched al over the district like a spark turning into a torch ,blazing the flame of resistance.