ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many Scholars have done pioneering research work on the state of agrarian relations and the history of peasant movement in the State of Bihar. In preparing this report we have
Experience has unmistakably shown that for the Indian media the Emergency was rather a blessing in disguise. Cashing in on the immense credibility provided by the Emergency, various branches of
Vinod Mishra
13th May, 1986
If a colossal miscarriage allowed social-democracy to blow in full bloom in the Indian Communist movement, to be sure, social-democrats too had to pay a heavy penalty
With a total area of 1,74,000 sq. kms. and a population of 6,99,14,734 Bihar accounts for 5.3 per cent of the total geographical area of India and 10.3 per cent
The plains and forests of Bihar are ablaze. From Purnea to Palamau and Bhojpur to Bhagalpur, agricultural labourers and poor peasants are up in arms throughout the State. Armed clashes
Peasant struggles are by no means a twentieth century phenomenon in the history of Bihar. In the nineteenth century itself Bihar had witnessed scores of heroic struggles of the peasantry,
Prior to the Bihar Land Reforms Act, 1950, the interests in land used to be governed in accordance with the Permanent Settlement introduced by the East India Company wayback in
In Bihar the 1980-81 Agricultural Census was conducted on a complete enumeration basis by retabulation of data from land records. For the purpose of this Census, the operational holdings* were
Growing Polarisation in the Countryside
Quite unmistakably, it is the extension of the capitalist mode of production in agriculture that has been the single most dominant motive behind all land reforms
If in the wake of the lifting of the black curtain of the Emergency the country witnessed a general awakening among various social classes and strata, Bihar saw a veritable
1. ‘An Anti-Peasant, Anti-Social Extremist Menace’
If you happen to visit the flaming fields of Bihar, you will perhaps hear a landlord or a well-off peasant saying : ‘It’s horrible !
Some critics of the movement like to interpret it merely in terms of violence and killings. Even some sympathisers, too, see only the fighting spirit of the masses, the heroism
With all its achievements, the movement also has its share of problems and weaknesses. Let us now take a close look at some of the major lacunae, indicating at the
patna
I. Lahsuna-Sikandarpur (Masaurhi PS)
Party work was reorganised in Sikandarpur village in 1979 with the harijans (mainly Musahars and Beldars) offering a strong base. A village committee was formed by
The ongoing peasant struggle in Bihar represents a new phase in the development of the Naxalbari movement. In what follows we have tried to enumerate the salient features which distinguish
Massive intervention of the state, the financial institutions, both native and foreign, and of scores of nongovernmental voluntary agencies has rendered the agrarian scene in Bihar very complex. New agrarian
(Excerpts from the Programme adopted in the first Conference of the BPKS held in Patna, 10-12 March, 1984)
Basic Programme
1. To struggle for the seizure of land belonging to big landlords,
(Policies numbered I, II and III have been formulated by the Bihar State Committee of the Party and the rest by the Central Bihar Regional Party Committee.)
I. On
Dear Peasants,
The Kurmi caste is well known as an honest, hard-working and brave caste. It has produced quite a considerable number of progressive individuals and revolutionaries. Many whole-time cadres of
Dear Brothers of the Yadava Community,
Thanks to years of relentless, painstaking efforts by the CPI(ML), the Party of us all, a militant unity was developing among the people of
