Buxar: Rapid Strides

Buxar district was previously a sub-division of Bhojpur district comprising 7 blocks. In the 1970s, after the martyrdom of leading comrades from Brahmapur, Dumraon and Nawanagar blocks, there was demoralisation and inaction in the Party. During these years the Party work was concentrated in the eastern and southern blocks of Bhojpur. In the later period, party work was reorganised in this area and responsibility was given to some senior comrades. With the formation of Buxar district in 1992, a leading team of 9 members was formed here. Even though there has been a continuity in party work from the very beginning, the reorganisation of work based on the Party's new line, however, could be taken up only after the formation of the new district. The leading team emphasised on restructuring the party forces and taking new initiatives. This way a political battle was launched against the other political parties in the district.

The main political parties in the district are the Congress, BJP, CPI and JD. BJP wrested the parliamentary seat from the CPI in the elections last year, which the latter had wrested from the Congress in the previous elections. Out of the four Vidhan Sabha seats in the district, Dumraon and Brahampur are with the JD, the Buxar Town seat with CPI(M) and Rajpur with CPI. We were in the second position in Dumraon in the last assembly elections. BSP has also made inroads into the district, coming second from the Rajpur seat. However, the main struggle today remains between CPI, CPI(ML) and BJP.

In July 1995 we held our first district conference. After the conference, new developing forces were taken into the leading core. The task of expanding and consolidating party work was before the leading body. For the consolidation of party work we based our work on developing our struggles and on party education. Raising general political issues and the burning issues of the masses, we took many initiatives and concentrated our efforts on land struggles. Land struggle in the district took place at 6-7 points. These struggles were much talked about in the district. On the political front we centred our attack on the communal designs of BJP and the opportunism of CPI which had an effect on people outside the district as well. We also have an influence among the intellectual sections here.

The landlords and goons of the upper castes have a clout over the economic, social and political matters of the district. Leaders of BJP, Congress and even JD hail from these upper castes. That is why each tries to outdo the other in winning over the upper castes towards itself. Even the CPI has indulged in this kind of a casteist politics. Its main leader represents the powerful Yadavs here.

The problem of crime and corruption has aggravated in the district. 4-5 blocks have been paralysed by the activities of kidnapping gangs. There are about 5-6 such gangs operating here and most of them are from dalit and backward castes. Two types of persons are to found in these gangs. One, professional criminals and the others who join out of vengeance against some repression. With the tilting of political and social balance in our favour, the incidence of such acts by these gangs has reduced. Nevertheless, these gang leaders have links with corrupt political leaders and the administration.

The ideological ground and social base of BJP is quite strong in the district and all its efforts are centred around mobilising the upper castes. The upper echelons of Banias (petty businessmen), traders and urban shopkeepers constitute its traditional mass base. Backwards, Muslims and dalits constitute the other camp. Generally, the backward-forward divide operates here. Maintaining this situation and keeping alive these tensions and fuelling them from time to time has worked in the interests of the bourgeois parties including CPI. Our class line, class basis, class viewpoint and class mobilisation have made significant interventions in the district and 1996 proved to be a notable year for us. It completely turned the political composition of the district upside-down. So far BJP, Congress and CPI occupied the first three places in the district and Dumraon Maharaja, Kamal Singh was an important political personality in the state. But with the last parliamentary polls, he and the Congress were pushed to the fringes. We emerged from the fringes to replace the Congress. This was made possible by the initiatives taken by hundreds of our cadres in raising the pressing issues of the people at the grassroots level, taking up land struggles and taking all these struggles to a political platform.

CPI failed to take up any effective step against the communal agenda of BJP and instead has acted as a shield against all our attacks on BJP. Currently, a sharp struggle exists between BJP and us. At the grassroots too, in various villages, even CPI people are involved in struggles against various landlords belonging to BJP. But CPI's weak opposition to BJP and their strongly opposing our struggles blunts all their initiatives.

Presently, we have expanded our work more or less, all over the district. We have a 15-member district committee now. Accepting the challenge of becoming the number one party in the district, we are consistently taking up newer initiatives. Buxar and Dumraon are the two important political centres in the district and at both the places we have maintained our strong presence. Here the Party has a positive influence among the upper castes too and despite all sorts of attempts, any larger mobilisation of the upper castes against us has not been possible till now. Due to the situation created by the emergence of Laloo Yadav and the nurturing of Yadavwad by CPI, Yadavwad stands before us as a major impediment.

In spite of all this, we have already emerged in the forefront as a champion of the aspirations of the people of the district. Now it is for us to rapidly develop our organisational structure and resources, sharpen our struggles and only then will we be able to bring the broader masses into our fold. We are determined to accomplish this end.

Darbhanga: Dogged Advance

The Party is gradually expanding its base in this district. Here, Party has been facing brutal attacks by CPI(M) in connivance with the feudal forces for the last 5 years. Recently, the notorious feudal, Mukhiya Atmeshwar Tiwary, with the support of CPI(M) henchmen, kidnapped two full-timers of the Party, inflicted burns on them and poured acid into their eyes. The Party organised a sustained movement against this barbarity and this generated a serious debate within the rank and file of CPI(M). Many of them, including more than a dozen prominent cadres of CPI(M), have joined our Party during the last six months.

This year we successfully intervened in the flood-relief movement and gheraoed the union agriculture minister, Mr.Chaturanan Mishra. We called for a Mithilanchal Bandh against Bathani Tola massacre which was supported by local CPI. All these developments culminated in the first ever anti-corruption rally in the district on November 30, which was addressed by Party General Secretary, Comrade Vinod Mishra, Comrades Ram Naresh Ram, Ramjatan Sharma and others. The AISA activities have been restored while RYA is being launched. We have just concluded our district party conference after having more than doubled the membership. These political initiatives have helped us in projecting our Party as a developing political centre in this region which has long been a strong bastion of the opportunist left.

Madhubani: Re-emergence of CPI(ML)

This district is one of the oldest epicentres of the Naxalite movement. In 1967, it witnessed the first impact of the Naxalite movement - the sacrifice of two popular comrades, Srinarayan Thakur and Badar Paswan. Again in 1987, there were severe feudal attacks in which six comrades became martyrs in Bhatsimer village. Thereafter, it got mired into factional feuds. In the interregnums it became the hotbed of CPI due to our failures and this is the reason why this district alone sends 5 MLAs and one MP of the CPI.

With a new vigour and perspective, Party restarted its work here recently. We have successfully restored a leading team here brushing aside all sorts of futile factional contradictions. Some new comrades have been sent here to start work afresh. This has yielded a good result. In 2 or 3 blocks, party work is gaining ground. We have organised a series of dharnas, protest marches and seminars. Very recently, perhaps for the first time after a long gap, our masses have seized 10 acres of paddy land. Uniting the sharecroppers, we have foiled the evil designs of JD-BJP-Congress combine. Here all three got united against the emergence of CPI(ML). This has generated good confidence among our rank and file. We have also developed a good interaction with the mass base of CPI.

Samastipur: Better Prospects

The Party has been working here for a long time and has a good impact too. But due to organisational problems our advance was hindered. A new process has been initiated to restore the organisation. This year we contested the by-elections and got around 3000 votes, leaving behind Samajwadi Party led by Pappu Yadav. In some areas land struggles have been launched and in some cases they have reached the point of victory. The party committees at lower levels have been restored. In many blocs, impressive movements have been launched against corruption and police atrocities.

The AISA-RYA have taken a series of good initiatives. During the preparations for Vidhan Sabha March, the SP himself arrested six AISA leaders and sent them to jail. It became a major issue in the district. The Party, with the help of all its mass organisations, organised a successful Samastipur Bandh which was supported by the local CPI & CPI(M). The repressive attitude of the district administration could not deter the CPI(ML)-AISA-RYA activists from continuing consistent struggles.

Purnea: Towards an Organised Party Structure

Party work in Purnea began with the martyrdom of Comrade Brajesh Mohan Thakur in March 1986. Only a couple of days earlier he was deputed to the district by the then North-East RC of the Party. The Sankalp Sabha on May 30, 1986 at Dhamadaha, the sub-divisional headquarters, attracted a large gathering, especially of poor peasants, who saw a new and powerful anti-feudal fighting force in the then IPF and CPI(ML), making its way in these vast fertile tracts under the reign of some of the biggest and brutal landholders of Bihar and their mafia gangs armed to the teeth.

Later history of party work in the district is marked with a number of daring land struggles along with other struggles of the lower strata of the peasantry under the leadership of the Party. Some of the noted ones are: (i) a ten-month long wage strike in 1987-88 against 6 notorious landlords including the family of Sitaram Singh, one of the killers of Comrade Brajesh. Sitaram Singh had been killed on 7 June 1986 to avenge the death of the martyr; (ii) the land struggle against a notorious Congress MLA Amarnath Tiwari during the years 1988-93; (iii) a land struggle in 1988-89 against Manchand estate, owned by one of the most vicious Rajput landlord of Bihar with a strong hold on the administration by virtue of having family ties with over a dozen IAS officers and politicians like Madhuri Sinha, till recently a JD MP; (iv) a land struggle against Bhishna estate in Rupauli in 1988-89; and (v) a land struggle against Tirthanand Mandal, a relative of Barahari estate family, a pillar of BJP in the district, who is denounced by the peasantry as the most cruel landlord of the district. However, the Party in the district failed to organise its vast support base and build the network of party structures among them.

To meet this challenge, in the later half of 1996, the district leading team was mobilised to study the sociological peculiarities of the district and to reorganise all existing party structures in the district and to build new ones in all the villages under the influence of our Party. In the meanwhile, our Party in the district led a land struggle on 253.58 acres of surplus land (under ceiling act but not distributed by the district administration due to landlords' influence over the administration) against a notorious landlord Lalan Singh, one of the main behind-the-screen men of the Rajput mafia don Bootan's gang. This gang in the district is synonymous to Rajput feudal domination and it functions under the political patronage of Anand Mohan Singh, a notorious Rajput mafia chief in Bihar. Bootan Singh is also known as the right-hand of Anand Mohan Singh and has presently been nominated by him as the Samata Party president of the district. Another prominent member of the Bootan gang, Tolana Singh has recently organised North Bihar Liberation Army and the Shiv Sena in the district with the help of this gang of marauders.

Lalan Singh shot dead a peasant woman Shanti Devi and her three-year old kid, Ranjit Rishideo, on 31 August 1996 to terrorise the fighting dalit landless peasants. Two years ago, CPI too had launched a land struggle against this landlord. At that time, Lalan Singh killed a CPI DC member, Ramvilas Oraon, a block committee member, Mahendra Oraon, and another CPI DC member, Nand Kumar Singh was brutally beaten up and rendered permanently handicapped. But the district leadership of CPI failed even to sue the landlord. However, this time under the leadership of our Party, the peasantry stood staunchly against the threats of landlords, the Bootan gang and the apathy of the police-administration. The SP was pressurised to send the thana police to take possession of the deadbodies and register a case against the landlord. Remarkably, the thana police refused to go to the site for the next 36 hours so as to give time to the landlords to destroy the evidence and conceal the deadbodies. But the peasants did not allow them to do so. On September 2, a procession was brought out with the deadbodies to the district headquarters followed by a Purnea bandh on September 6. Despite all sorts of assurances, the district administration refused to take any action against the culprits. On the contrary, the SP began propagating a cock-and-bull story that

Lalan Singh was quite innocent and the dalits had filed a false case against him, so as to demoralise him in the land struggle. Our Party organised a Pratirodh Sabha with over 3,000 participants on September 29 at block headquarters. A mass petition of 8,000 signatories was sent to CM, DGP and IG. Due to the growing protests, the landlord went underground. The administration was forced to 'confiscate' his property and declare him an absconder. The peasants are also preparing to erect huts over his surplus land.

Despite our preoccupation with the struggle, we never overlooked the task of rebuilding the party structures. We have reorganised the leading team. At the end of 1996, we successfully organised our first district party conference and came up with an overall study of the district as well specific tactics. In the main, we have decided to concentrate our struggle against Rajput mafia domination as well as against the backward caste Pappu gang. Besides expanding kisan sabha membership to 10,000 by June 1997, we have decided to form student-youth and women's organisations. We could treble the Party membership and are planning for block conferences. We are running Party classes as well. We hope to achieve greater successes in 1997.

Gaya: An Impressive Comeback

In the light of Diphu Conference decisions, we began the year 1996 with the task of organisational consolidation of the Party. Party members were organised into party branches. Some 45 branhes were set up in which 60% of the membership was organised. On an average one class a month was organised on Marxist philosophy at district level. The party branch meetings were regularised and mobilisation of party members was made the basic measure of success of a political initiative or an agitational programme. This has helped us in activating party members. The target of 10% membership for women comrades was also achieved. Around 80% of party members are now paying their levy.

As part of the national campaign leading to the March 11 party rally at Delhi, our political campaign was extended to many villages and a participation of more than 5,000 people was ensured.

To provide momentum to the party work in the district, we concentrated our work in the three areas of Barachatti-Mohanpur, Tekri and Khijirsari. Cadres scattered in various other areas were brought to these three areas. Work in other areas was carried on in a general way. While paying special attention to anti-feudal struggles in the above three areas, other struggles were combined with these struggles. As a result party work accelerated in these areas.

In some selected centres in various blocks of the district, land-seizure movements were started. The poor peasants participated in these movements in large numbers. At Bishunpur village of Barachatti block, Lahathuva of Mohanpur, Lodipur of Tekari and Nagriyawan village of Khijirsarai, the people attained success in the movement fighting against combined attacks of the landlord, their goons and the administration. In Lodipur math of Tekari block 35 bighas of land was seized and flags were pitched over 200 bighas of Bhoodan land in the Nagriyanwa village of Khijirsari and hutments were put up consequently. In many villages movement for hike in wages of labourers was also launched. In these movements we achieved success in the Belharia village of Bela block and the Gherwan village of Khijirsarai block.

In the Naili village of Atri block and Dhansingra village in Khijirsarai block, resistance struggles against the repression of feudal landlords was developed. Mass meetings were organised and dharnas were staged. In these struggles many such repressive elements were also wiped out. Repression by the police-administration also continued. In Sakhoa village of Barachatti block, two villagers were killed by the police. Centering on this, various local mass meetings were organised.

Taking up the issue of land, wages and pucca houses for the poor, a week-long relay dharna was staged in front of the district headquarters which was regularly attended by 400-500 people.

To provide momentum to work in urban areas, five localities in Gaya town were concentrated on. Work here involved forming unions among persons involved in various professions, organising women and students and spreading our work among the intellectual sections in the town. The town committee was reorganised and party branches were organised in three localities. In January, a demonstration was organised highlighting the various civic problems faced by the people here. This was followed by dharnas on various occasions.

Disgusted by the opportunist politics practised by the CPI unit here, a section of the railway hawkers broke off from them and came over to us and the union has kept growing ever since. Through the Inquilabi Muslim Conference, work among the Muslim population has also picked up and active units of IMC have been set up in three Muslim localities. Under its banner a successful demonstration was staged with the participation of about 300 Muslims. Jan Sanskritik Manch, the cultural platform, also held two seminars here.

To organise Muslim women, a seminar under the banner of Tehreek-e-Niswan was organised on the issue of uniform civil code. Women activists also gheraoed the DM on the question of crime against women. A successful movement was launched against an incident of molestation in Magadh University.

We participated in the election process twice in 1996. First, in the Lok Sabha elections and then in the by-elections to the assembly segment of Barachatti. While in 1990 we had won this seat, we suffered a setback subsequently when the elected MLA deserted the Party along with many party workers and joined the JD. However, we have made an impressive comeback. In these by-elections we could not poll as many votes as in the previous elections.

MCC attacks on our party workers continued through 1996. This year too, MCC killed two of our party workers and one activist. To counter the MCC offensive we have strengthened and expanded our work in the three areas of concentrated work and are also developing a broad mass resistance against them; side-by-side we have also adopted a policy of taking up prompt retaliatory measures to the MCC attacks. While strengthening our forces, we can bring the sections dropping out of MCC towards us.

We have already launched an anti-corruption movement in the district. Dharnas and mass meetings have been organised at the various block headquarters. A programme to hold people's court has been taken, and this will be developed to the block and district level involving a broad section of the population.

Recently we held our party district conference on 11-12 January. New plans were made to develop our ongoing struggles and reassert our strength in the district.

Nawada: Succesful Land Struggles

After a long lull in the peasant movement in this district, first launched by Swami Shajanand Saraswati and then by the CPI, it was in 1992 that under the leadership of CPI(ML) the movement once again shot up to prominence. With the martyrdom of two of our comrades, Ramavtar Paswan and Ganesh Yadav in Dhamni village of Rajouli block in March 1994, the repression by the reactionary forces and the police repression in connivance with CPI(M) state secretary, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, the Party had been pushed back a lot. In these conditions, along with stabilising the peasant movement, the past weaknesses in party building were seriously looked into. At the same time there were many contradictions within the party ranks. Conducting debates on these various contradictions, we successfully held our first district conference in December 1994. Before this, we were able to build up our organisation in some of the villages in Warisaliganj block, then a stronghold of CPI.

After the conference, taking up the issues of land, wages, social oppression and development, we started taking initiatives in Warisaliganj block. With the defeat of CPI in the 1995 Vidhan Sabha elections, there was a rapid shift of the landless poor to our camp. This shift was effected more by the the militant resistance struggle conducted by our party over 30 acres of government land in Rampur Mauza which for long had been under the control of the feudals. About 1500 landless peasants participated in the struggle. Continuing the struggle, parchas (legal landownership documents) were also secured for 10 acres of the land. On this land the villages named Jayant Nagar (in the memory of Com. Jayant Ganguly) and Ganesh Nagar (the martyr of Dhamni) and in Daryapur, Ramavatar Nagar (the martyr of Dhamni), were set up. Com. Ram Naresh Ram, PB member of CPI(ML) inaugurated the villages.

Expansion in Warisaliganj was rapid after the struggle and presently we have our organisation in 75 villages of the block. In the neighbouring block of Akbarpur and Nawada Rural too, growth has been rapid. While at the time of the Social Change Rally in Patna our mobilising power was just 1,000, it rose to 3,400 during the Adhikar Rally in Delhi last year.

After that, centering Warisaliganj and Nawada Vidhan Sabha area, we stressed on spreading our work and our struggles. Especially, the impact of our wage struggles in Warisaliganj and Akbarpur blocks was considerably good among the poor and the landless. Due to these struggles wages were increased in many villages.

While conducting struggles on the basic issues of the people, we also launched struggles on the questions of including the Sakri water-reservoir project in the current Ninth five-year plan, immediate starting of the proposed paper industry at Kauwakol, double line in the Gaya-Kiul section and other struggles connected with the development of the district. After the Bathani Tola massacre, we organised a successful anti-communalism week in the district.

With a view to expand our area of influence and to assert in a big way in the politics of the district, we organised a Vikas Rally on 11 October, 1996. The basic and general issues of the masses were raised in the rally. While the issues raised a lot of enthusiasm among our mass base, it also found the acceptance of the middle sections. In the meantime, in reaction to the police firing on women protesting on the national highway near Pachgama in Akbarpur block on September 26, the anger among the masses was growing. As a result, a protest struggle was waged against the police which went on for a week. The success of this struggle was reflected in the Vikas Rally when 5,500 people attended it with about half of them being women. Com. Vinod Mishra addressed the rally. With this rally, our influence has penetrated into the middle sections.

While on the one hand the influence of our struggles and movements has spread fast, we have not been able to keep pace in consolidating on this growing influence with the present party organisation. Recently, we held our second district conference on 27-28 December, which was a success.

Siwan: Growing Strength

"Laloo pura karo ailan, dhoti, dharti, pucca makan!" (Laloo fulfill your promise for providing dhoti, land and pucca houses) With these slogan demonstrations were organised in January-February 1996 in our new work areas, the blocks of Barharaia and Siwan block headquarters. Participation in these programmes ranged from 1500 to 5000. All these blocks were under the influence of JD and CPI.

More than 9000 people from the district participated in the March 11 Adhikar Rally in Delhi, the maximum ever for a rally. Immediately after our return from the rally we plunged into preparations for the Lok Sabha elections for the Lok Sabha seat of Siwan. Our major competition was with the JD. We were successful in cutting through the mass base of JD. In the assembly segments in which JD had the lead, like Goria Koti, Jeeradei, Raghunathpur and Siwan, we got respectable votes. (9000, 7000, 20000 and 8000 respectively). There was no Party candidate for Goria Koti in the 1995 assembly polls and in other seats we had obtained 1600 for Jeeradei, 9500 for Raghunathpur and 1800 for Siwan. In the new areas of work we were able to improve our votes by over 30,000 votes.

Even for the two seats of Mairwa and Darauli, where we were victorious in the 1995 polls, we increased our position. While in Mairwa we improved our tally by more than 6,500 votes, at Darauli there was a drop of 3,500 votes. The main reason behind this drop was the unprecedented booth capturing by JD goons which we were unable to stop. However, even then, we have broken into the mass base of JD in Darauli.

In the entire district, a total of 31 Party branches and 22 activists' groups were formed in 1996. In Darauli 8 Party branches and 6 activists' groups and in Mairwa 9 Party branches and 4 activists' groups were formed. Party membership (permanent and candidate membership combined) rose from 1113 in 1995 to 1397 in 1996. Between 1-14 December we held our block and area conferences in all the blocks of the district.

When District committee members, Com.Surendra Yadav and Com.Kedar Prasad were murdered by the JD MP, Shahbuddin. More than 8000 people attended the funeral procession of their dear leader, Com.Surendra Yadav. JD supporters killed the brother, child and father of Com.Ghulam Haider. On 11 December in the Mania village of Aandar block, the JD and BJP jointly committed a massacre killing five of our party supporters and seriously injuring 13 others. On 21 December we organised a Vikalp Sabha which was attended by more than 5000 people and addressed by Com.Vinod Mishra.

1996 was a year of struggles against crime in Siwan. We concentrated our struggle against the alliance of Shahbuddin and the district administration. We also launched a campaign ..... on a large scale. Through pamphlets, dharnas, mass meetings etc. we kept raising our voices against crime in the district. Even during the elections our main slogan was against crime and was well received throughout the district. Party's struggle on the agenda of crime made a positive impact on the people of Siwan. All sections of the population extended their moral support to this struggle and this helped us in increasing our influence in the district. Even though the terror still continues in Siwan town, our Party's struggles against crime has forced the JD to join hands with the social base of BJP. JD backed criminals are now providing strength to the mass base of BJP in a new way and have stepped up their offensive on our Party in the recent days. This JD-BJP alliance came up clearly in the Mania massacre.

Work in Raghunath Vidhan Sabha area has picked up with new vigour after a relative stagnation in 1995. Party has expanded into new villages. The district committee has plans to concentrate work in Raghunathpur like in Mairwa and Darauli. We are making consistent efforts in this regard and have already received positive results.

Gopalganj: Steady Advance

We began the year 1996 with our district conference in which an 11-member district committee was formed. Through the conference, a lack of clarity about the struggles and federalist thinking entering into the party were identified as main alien trends. Stress was laid on changing this style of thinking and expanding our base in the Vidhan Sabha areas of Kataiya and Mirganj. Stress was also given on organisational consolitation.

After the conference, cadre workshops were held twice last year. In these workshops, discussions centred on the achievements and problems of our movements, what should be the direction of the struggles, etc; and also on the problems of leaders' behaviour. This had a good effect on the party cadres. A party class comprising of the leading cadres was also conducted on the booklet What do Communists Stand for?

In the Lok Sabha elections, we were able to maintain our previous position in Bhore assembly segment. Our vote share got reduced in Mirganj segment but in Kataiya and Barauli segments we were able to draw votes from new sections. On the whole, we recorded an increase of over 1000 votes.

In the month of February, we held a people's court against the feudals of Bijayeepur in which about 3,000 people participated. The feudal goon of Bijayeepur block, Ramadhar Singh had tortured a 12-year old girl, Bhavana Kumari of Bharpurwa Piparahia, who had dared to ask for her wages and denied to corvee for the landlord. The Party immediately filed a case against Ramadhar Rai. After this, goons led by the JD leader and Bijayeepur block pramukh, Subhash Yadav, and JD MLA, Indradev Majhi, attacked a Yadav-dominated village under our stronghold. In the attack, one woman, Srimati Devi, was killed and three other supporters of the Party including Yuguli Devi were seriously injured in the gun fire. In retaliation, Ramadhar Rai was killed by the people. After this, JD and feudal goons in large numbers united and attacked the villages of Bangra Majharia and Chhitauna. The goons picked up the pumping set and destroyed several houses. Two injured persons from the village were arrested by the police.

Mass meetings were held in these villages against this police repression and a 5-day long dharna was staged in front of the collectorate. The administration along with the JD goons tried to disrupt the dharna. When two of our district leaders went to meet the Collector at his invitation to resolve the issue, they were arrested and charged for the murder of Ramadhar Rai, although their names did not appear in the FIR on kidnapping Ramadhar Rai. We peristed with the movement and with 500 people took out a protest march in Gopalganj Town and burnt the DM's effigy at several places. A 700-strong women's rally gheraoed the DM. The movement culminated in our favour and we were able to regain and broaden our mass base. In this process, we also saw a number of new leaders emerging in the district.

Assembly-area level conference was held in Bhore on 15 December where a 9-member area committee was elected and on 20 December an area level convention was held in Mirganj in which an area organising committee was constituted. In Karaiyya block, where we have made a new and impressive beginning, we were able to mobilise about 2500 people for a demonstartion on 27 December. A 5-member leading group has been formed here.

We have been successful in extending our influence to Fulwaria, the home block of Laloo Yadav. On 20 January 1997 we held an anti-corruption rally here. In Barauli and Baikanthpur also, bordering Gopalganj, similar positive results have been obtained. Here too, successful anti-corruption rallies were held in January this year. A section of CPI has come over and joined us. People's court is to be organised against corruption on 21 January this year in Bijayeepur and on 29 January in Bhore. A protest mass meeeting against the repression of feudal elements is also to be organised at Kushaudhi Bazar of Hathua block.

Party branches formed last year were confined to formal work and hence could not become active. A target of forming 100 party branches and activists group has been taken for 1997. Till now only 5 have been formed. We were able to mobilise 3,500 people for the Delhi rally. Our mobilisation capacity for mass programmes is around 7000 at present and we hope to increase it to 12,000 this year. It has also been planned to increase party membership to 1,500 (which is at present over 850) and that of Kisan Sabha to 25,000 by this year. A big rally at the district level is planned sometime after the Hulla Bol rally in March.

Taking regular initiatives in the coming days we would strenghten our image as the champion of the downtrodden and as a strong force opposing the conspiracy of JD, feudals and their goons against the poor of the district.

Bhagalpur: Prospects for Development

The main centre of our work in this district of eastern Bihar falls in the diara (riverside) area between the rivers Ganga and Kosi. For a long time anti-feudal and land reform movements have been going on in this area. Some notable initiatives have been taken in the past one year. Our struggles against the criminals of the entire Naugachia sub-division have kept up the revolutionary and pro-struggle image of our Party among the masses. Overcoming the loss suffered with the martyrdom of Com. Maheshwar Bhagat, we have organised many big mass meetings against the various criminal gangs (most of them enjoy the support and patronage of JD) at Teentanga, Kadva Dholbajja etc. and have organised armed rallies of peasants against the terror spread among the people.

Bataidari (sharecroppers') struggle has been going on for a long time in the entire diara region. 2-3 years back in the Kadva region, 8 bighas of land had been seized from the local landlord and about 70 houses (mainly of poor-landless and lower middle peasants) were set up. A struggle against the government officials for getting possession of the legal housing land-plot ownership document is currently on. The land on which the poor are being settled has been given the name Ganga Nagar (in memory of Com. Ganga Mandal who laid down his life in the struggle for this land).

In the same area, meetings on various occasions were held and dharnas and processions were taken out demanding availability of seeds, fertilisers and pucca houses. Propaganda campaigns, demonstrations and dharnas were also held against the political patronage provided to the criminals.

In the Fulkia diara area of Naugachia area, dharnas, processions and mass meetings were organised to raise the question of diara area development by the Diara Development Committee (a mass organisation formed by the Party). Movements were also launched in this area on the question of development regarding roads, electricity, education, fertilisers, seeds etc. along with demanding for compensation to the victims in flood-ravaged areas.

We also protested against the irregularities in the settlement of water tax and ferrying of boats. In the beginning of 1996 we also organised various village-level meetings to highlight the effect of the NEP on the farmers. District-level demonstrations were held directly under the leadership of the Party against the widespread educational anarchism and disorder in the schools of the rural areas. There was a good participation from the people especially the teachers. In the preparation for the Delhi Rally, many mass meetings, padyatras, campaigns were undertaken. Bhagalpur University was completely closed in the AISA-sponsored students' strike. Many persons in CPI have been impressed by our work.

We have a district committee here in Bhagalpur. Eight party (2 of them are inactive) branches, 1 area committee, 1 town leading team and 1 area leading team are there. We have a BPKS subdivisional committee. There are about 200 party members and BPKS has about 3,000 members. But there is a lack of party training. There is also a lack of whole-timers and women activists. From the point of development this district is quite important.

Araria, Supaul and Saharsa: Spreading out in East Bihar

In east Bihar, apart from Bhagalpur our party has some scattered work mainly in the rural areas of Araria, Supaul and Saharsa. Our struggle against the upper caste feudal forces in the Bhargama block of Araria district still continues. There a sustained struggle has been going on on the question of land, wages, legal housing land plot ownership document and against the kulaks. Many of our comrades have been implicated in false cases. On these questions many dharnas and demonstrations were held. At Farwisganj and Jogbani seminars were held against NEP and criminalisation of politics. Party work expanded after the elections but due to a shortage of wholetimers, development has been slow. There are about 100 party members and about 2,000 BPKS members in Araria. One district leading team is there along with 5 party branches. BPKS has one regional committee here.

A dharna had been planned for 7 January against corruption, price rise, criminalisation and eviction at Bhargama in Araria district. Following the distribution of a pamphlet calling for mobilisation in the dharna, local police started attacking our comrades and arrested 7 of them with the active help of local feudal and criminal elements. Despite all their attempts to create terror among the people to foil our dharna, some 250 people participated in it. This has further boosted the morale of party activists and kept up the prestige of the Party. A block-level mass meeting has been planned to be held on 17 February.

Currently, Party has no structure in Supaul. However, several initiatives have been taken up by BPKS in Raghopur block of Supaul on the questions of corruption, atrocities on women, etc. On local-level questions dharnas, demonstrations and processions have been brought out from time to time. Mass meetings have also been taking place there. Our base in this district is mainly among dalits and most backward castes.

Activity has also picked up in Saharsa where an initiative was taken along with other left forces against the murder of an activist by landlords. District level demonstrations and dharnas were organised.

Munger: Scope for Development

For the time being, the earlier district of Munger now divided in four parts, is an important district from the point of Party's work. These four districts are Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura and Jamui. In these 4 districts about 150 villages are under the influence of the Party. In these 4 districts, especially in the districts of Jamui and Sheikhpura, movements have been launched on the question of land, minimum wages and social oppression along with the various issue connected with the multifarious aspects of development, especially effective movements against corruption of the mukhias and the block development officers have been undertaken. The various aspects of the development of party work is being presented in the following way.

Building up mass organisation: In the two disticts of our work, Jamui and Sheikhpura, BPKS has a district level coordination committee and in two blocks, block committees are working. In both the districts BPKS has a membership of about 3000. In Lakhisari district BPKS membership has reached 1000. A target of 15000 membership has been set for the combined four districts for the year 1997.

Party building: In the past one year no comendable initiative could be taken in the work of party building but the work of inducting new members has been set into motion. In all (all 4 districts combined) 120 permanent members and 250 candidate members are there. For all the 4 districts, joint district committees are functional and for each, district leading teams have been formed. There are plans to have party committeess in two blocks and form 30 party branches.

Other mass-organisations: AISA is present only in one block in Munger Sadar and it is fast developing. Recently, in Jamuui and Sheikhpura districts, the local units of RYA have been constituted and a plan has been chalked out to enroll 1000 members.

Party's expansion in various blocks: In 7 blocks of Jamui district, expansion is continuously taking place. Right now 5 blocks are under our influence and in 2 we have developed good contacts. We have good work in 2 blocks of Sheikhpura, and in 1 we have some contacts.

Important movements: About 150 bighas of ... and ceiling surplus land was seized and this land been put under cultivation. In the same district of Jamui, a struggle for land seizure and taking possession... of 450-acres of land is ongoing. We are constantly clashing with feudal goons. Movements against the oppression of women, social oppression and corruption in the forest department are also taking place. Effective movements against the Lata Rani rape case and the death of Deepa Murmu were also organised.

The animal husbandary mafia and cooperative mafia in Sheikhpura, Rajo Singh was targetted and ours was the only party that launched an anti-corruption mmovement against him. This led to an expansion in our social base among the various classes and social groups in society.

After the Bhatani Tola massacre, there was a lot of ... in the district. There is no gap in implementing the party programmes here. Even though, there is ample scope of developing party work and building movements on a large scale in these districts, but due to various reasons like lack of wholetimers and a lack of serious understanding of this area, progress has been slow and below expectations.