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AB Vajpayee (in middle) and Balraj Madhok (right). Pic credit The Hindu NK SINGH from Patna The main outcome of the 16 th session of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was perhaps the outburst of Madhok-Vajpayee rift. Balraj Madhok arrived one day late and left one day earlier. The first symptom of controversy appeared in the working committee meeting when it failed to adopt the draft resolution on political situation, even after eight hours of discussion, as it was sharply divided over the policy to be adopted towards the Congress. Madhok group felt that the JS was nearer (in ideology) to Syndicate Congress and an alliance should be formed with it. But Vajpayee group maintained that there was very little difference between the Congress before and after the split. As a result, the working committee had to redraft the official resolution. Although the leadership of the Jana Sangh had gone too far to meet Madhok line on various issues, he was conspicuously indifferen...

Dinman Schedule Tribes: Gandhi Centenary and our five crore forest dwellers NK SINGH यदि प्रदर्शनों और आंदोलनों से ही समस्या की गहराई को आँका जाए तो कहा जा सकता है कि   भारत में आदिवासियों कि कोई समस्या नहीं है और यदि है भी तो वह (कोई) ज्यादा गहरी नहीं है। लेकिन वस्तुस्थिति यह है कि भारत में बसने   वाले इन पाँच करोड़ वनवासियों की समस्या बहुत गहरी है. प्रत्येक प्रादेशिक सरकार को जंगलों से लाखों रुपए की आय होती है। यह बात जितनी सही है उतनी ही सही यह बात भी है कि जंगलों में बसने वाले इन आदिवासियों के घर कई-कई दिन हांडी नहीं चढ़ती। इन आदिवासियों को भी अब धीरे-धीरे यह बात समझ में आती जा रही है कि इस देश में बिना चीखे-चिल्लाए, यानि बिना प्रदर्शन या आंदोलन किए किसी को कुछ नहीं मिलता। कहीं-कहीं छोटे-छोटे आंदोलन के छिटपुट समाचार भी सुनाई पड़ते हैं। छोटानागपुर के आदिवासी सदियों से चली आ रही समांतवादी परंपरा के शिकार हैं। इन पहाड़ियों में प्राकृतिक संपदा का भंडार है, लेकिन यहाँ बसने वाले आदिवासियों के लिए केवल अभाव और दारिद्रय का ही भंडार है। यहाँ भारत का 45 प्रत...

Jaipal Singh, founder of Jharkhand Party. Pic credit velivada Hills of Chotanagpur are ablaze as adivasis revolt against exploiters   NK SINGH छोटानागपुर की हरी-भरी पहाड़ियाँ पिछले साल से मुखरित हो उठी हैं। गत वर्ष आदिवासियों के एक हिस्से ने बिरसा सेवा दल के नेतृत्व में एक सफल आंदोलन चलाया। उन दिनों रांची में प्रायः रोज ही प्रदर्शन हुआ करते थे, जिनमें पचासों मील पैदल चल कर आदिवासी नौजवान, बच्चे-बूढ़े, औरतें और लड़कियां अपने पारंपरिक हथियारों का प्रदर्शन करते हुए भाग लिया करते थे। नक्सलवादियों का ‘शुभागमन’ भी उसी समय रांची में हुआ था। उन्होंने आंशिक सफलता भी पाई। लेकिन आदिवासियों में अपरिचितों पर जल्द भरोसा न करने की प्रवृत्ति प्रबल हुआ करती है। अतः जब नक्सलवादियों और आदिवासियों के एकमात्र सम्पर्ककर्ता राय गिरफ्तार हो गए तो सारा संपर्क टूट गया। नक्सलवादियों को पुनः गहन अंधकार में रास्ता टटोटलने पर विवश होना पड़ा। इस आंदोलन की जड़ में था बरसों से बेरोकटोक पल्लवित हो रहा शोषण एवं सुरसा के मुख की तरह बढ़ती गरीबी। शोषण और गरीबी ने आज ऐसी सूरत अख्तियार कर ली है कि   ‘...

Gandhi's arrest at Champaran. Pic credit India Today NK SINGH Champaran – here Mahatma Gandhi started his first mass movement. Land inequality is sharper in Betiah area because of land erosion by the Gandak river. The problem begins from both ends; either land has been eroded or a new piece has come out of the belly of the river because of the change in its course. Usually, the latter type of land is forcibly occupied by big landlords. If a landless peasant (who had probably lost his land in erosion) tries to get a piece, officials backed by landlords act against him. An enormous number of applications from landless peasants and sharecroppers are pending in Government offices, demanding Government land. But bureaucrats are indifferent. But farms of big people are opening daily on the Government land called “Kaiser-e-Hind Zamin” . Naxalite or no Naxalite, Champaran, which consists of 40 per cent landless peasants cannot remain peaceful for ever. In Lakhaur...

Charu Majumdar. Pic source Wikipedia NK SINGH The police have registered a large number of cases of looting of crops in many areas of Bihar. Local newspapers carry daily reports of some incident or the other under the headline “Naxalite terror”. The Government reviewed the increasing activities of Naxalites in the districts of Bhagalpur and Tirhut divisions and decided to post additional police force in these areas. In Bihar several groups of Naxalites are active. Three important groups are: CPI (Marxist-Leninist), which accepts Charu Mazumdar’s version of Maoism, Prithviraj Singh’s group, which is attracted to T Nagi Reddy , and BK Azad’s group in Khagaria, which declares even the CPI (ML) as “ neo-revisionist. ” Prithviraj Singh’s group is not affiliated to Nagi Reddy Revolutionary Coordination Committee. It is active only in Gaya and Dhanbad districts, though some of its supporters can be traced in Naugachia and Bihpur of Bhagalpur also. CPI (ML) is more a...

Jawaharlal Nehru with Ho Chi Minh, Pic credit Wikimedia NK SINGH Dr Ho Chi Minh – familiarly known as “Uncle Ho” – is a legend among North and South Vietnamese alike. No leader of a small nation has ever left so deep an impression on the history of his time as Uncle Ho. There are many others who have led their people to independence from colonial rule. But no one has had to face the kind of desperate odds Ho had to in waging armed struggle against a host of adversaries for so long a time. Ho Chi Minh belonged to the generation of Gandhi and Nehru, the Asian generation that challenged the defeated the 200-year-old imperialism of Europe. He was to Vietnamese what Gandhi was to Indians. Nehru said about him: “Judged by any standard, he is most remarkable man of our time.” Uncle Ho’s life was a story of struggle. He was born on 19 th May 1890. He was originally named Nguyen That Thanh or Nguyen Van Thanh. His father Nguyen Sinh Huy, a scholarly aristocrat in court, w...

Palamu. Map credit NIC NK SINGH   Palamu in grip of famine पलामू पर फिर अकाल मंडराने लगा है। देश ने बिहार (अब झारखंड) के इस सबसे छोटे जिले का नाम 1966-67 के अकाल के दौरान जाना था। उस बार  अकाल की विभीषिका  सबसे घोर यहीं थी। इस बार भी जिले की पूरी फसल सूखे की चपेट में या गई है। और आसरा इस जिले को बस एक खेती का ही है. उद्योग के नाम पर ले-देकर एक जापला सिमेन्ट कारखाना है। पलामू के तीन विधायकों ने बयान जारी किया है कि भूख से यहाँ 13 व्यक्ति मर चुके हैं। जिले के कुल 4,921 वर्गमील में से 2,146 वर्गमील जंगल है। जिले के 4 लाख निवासी राज्य के सबसे पिछड़े और गरीब लोग हैं। सिंचाई के लिए वर्ष के अलावा और कोई सहारा नहीं। जंगल-वासियों के लिए महुए का बड़ा सहारा रहता है. वे भोजन के काम आते हैं। इस बार महुए के फूल का भी अकाल पड़ा हुआ है। राज्यपाल ने आदेश निकाल कि 500 रुपए से काम कर्ज कि वसूली रोक दी जाए। कर्ज कि वसूली तो रुक दी गई, पर लगान की वसूली मुस्तैदी से की जा रही है. सबसे सम्पन्न पर सबसे गरीब पलामू का भूगर्भ राज्य में सबसे अधिक सम्पन्न है। ...

Palamu. Pic source NIC NK SINGH Palamu In Bihar (now in Jharkhand) became known widely during the famine of 1966-67. Of the district’s 4,921 sq mile areas, about 2,146 sq miles is covered by forests. The total cultivable land is 13,15,751 acres. Average rainfall is 52.55 inches a year. According to the 1961 census, the total population of the district is about 14 lakh. It is the smallest, poorest and most backward district in Bihar. But it is also the riches district due to its mineral wealth. However, all the minerals are underground and people remain unemployed, poor and hungry. The average per capita income in all districts is the lowest among all districts in India. Except Japla cement factory, there is not a single big industry. Large number of people migrate in search of jobs. Agriculture depends upon the vagaries of weather. Once every few years, Palamu is in the grip of drought and farmers are unable to grow even a single crop. Shadow of fa...

Tribal agitation in Chotanagpur. Pic Credit Cultural Survival NK SINGH   Last year a militant Adivasi movement was stated by Birsa Seva Dal in Chotanagpur area of Bihar. Even the villagers were influenced by this movement and they demonstrated in Ranchi town carrying their traditional arms. Naxalites were active in Birsa Seva Dal because they saw Chotanagpur hills as a good place for guerrilla warfare. The movement was an expression of the new militant mood of the tribal people. The movement took a violent turn when the police lathi-charged Adivasi girls in Ranchi and opened fire on Adivasis in which 6 tribals were killed. Mundas and Oraons were the first to come to Chotanagpur when it was merely a vast tract of jungle. Then came the Dikkus (non-tribals) who became Rajas and zamindars of the area. They took to trade and owned up every means of production. Tribal versus non-tribal Ninety-nine per cent of Rajas and zamindars of the area are non-Adiva...

Haria. Pic source Wikipedia NK SINGH O my beloved you have gone far away You have gone far away indeed Where shall we meet Where shall we see each other When the Hasa Jatra (fair) will be held We will meet each other We will see each other again. If I meet you in Bamani fair, I will give you a garland I will give you a ring and then we will talk. I will put the garland on your neck   (Translated by anynmous) Rice beer or ‘Haria ’ is of great importance to the tribes of Chotanagpur , specially for the Mundas.  ‘Haria’ is a kind of beer or wine prepared from rice. It is both beverage and food, but generally it is a drink. The Oraons, the Mundas, the Hos and the Santhals drink it as frequently as drinking water.  Important on all occasions, it plays a dominant role in the tribal culture of Chotanagpur. For more details, please see my earlier article . Excerpts from Frontier 16 August 1969 Frontier 16 August 1969 P1 Fr...