Portrait Gallery of Heroic Martyrs
Map of guerilla zones (click to expand)
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15th August 1947..... The Union Jack is lowered, the tri-colours unfurled. A hope is awakened. Independence, freedom and a better life is expected and promised by the new rulers. A great enthusiasm envelops the country. Time passes and so does Nehru, the first Prime minister of the country. Slogans of socialism, non-alignment of the Nehru era give way to Shastri's Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and then Indira Gandhi's Garibi hatao. Now, twenty years have passed, a full two decades. The situation remains the same. The hopes are dashed, the expectations turn to frustration. The British are gone, but their capital remained, their laws remained, their colonial structures remained.... merely added was the parliamentary edifice. To British capital, was added American capital. While people continued to live in grinding poverty, the Tatas, Birlas of the country filled their coffers with enormous wealth. People's cries for justice were as ruthlessly suppressed, as in the British Raj. The slogans of the rulers remained as mere slogans, the reality seemed different. The people were now searching, seeking something genuine, seeking real answers. The people's frustrations was reflected in the results of the February 1967 general elections; when, for the first time, non-Congress governments were formed in eight states. And then in the spring of 1967, a new ray of hope, shattered the darkness engulfing the country. A fresh breeze from the East began to displace the stagnant, putrid air of the past twenty years. The veil of lies and deceit behind which our rulers took protection, was torn asunder. A clap of thunder struck the remote village of Naxalbari in North Bengal, and its reverberations shook the conscience of the entire country.
18th March, 1967.... The red flag is hoisted. The peasant convention of the Siliguri sub-division is in session, at Naxalbari. Five hundred delegates, some armed with bows and arrows, chalk out a new path for their future. Revolutionary leaders explain the bankruptcy of the CPI (M) and the peaceful path to change. The Chinese revolution is given as an example of how the poor can seize political power in a backward semi-feudal country. The convention ends with a call for the immediate seizure of land and the setting up of liberated base areas. The peasants prepare for launching their offensive against the landlords of the area..
