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The women of
Jharkhand have a long history of heroic struggles against the British colonial
rulers and the comprador-feudal rulers of post-British India. The Santhal
rebellion of 1857-58 has made an indelible imprint on the history of India.
Women played an
active role in that rebellion and formed a good chunk of the 30,000 that set out
to march to Calcutta. They participated in the raids on the houses of the
enemies. Many women were killed or arrested during the Santhal hul
(rebellion)
Women were also
active during the Munda uprising at the end of the 19th Century led by Birsa
Munda. The Puritanism and revivalism of Birsa’s religion with its opposition to
the worship of spirits (bongas), the drinking of rice-beer (haria), the
giti ora (the dormitory for youth), the akhara (the dancing
ground) and stress on equality between sexes had a positive impact on the women
who participated as armed fighters in the uprising.
Women also
participated in large number in the campaigns taken up by the Jharkhand
Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the late 1960s and 1970s. Those campaigns were for
the seizure of land, harvesting of paddy and land appropriated by the
moneylenders, for recovery of pawned articles and so on. Women also led the
anti-liquor and anti – wife-beating campaigns and campaign against witch
hunting. In spite of these campaigns, patriarchy remains quite strong though not
as strong as in the feudal-dominated plains. The JMM’s programme
was more and more oriented to train the women as housewives by teaching them
domestic chores such as cooking, stitching, embroidery etc. though the women
have a role in the village councils no role in the higher institutions that take
real decisions. Thus political participation of women has not really improved
over the past century also. Wife beating, witch-hunting, sexual abuse by outside
exploiters (dikus) etc. are still quite conspicuous.
It is against such a
backdrop that the Nari Mukti Sangh (NMS) commenced its activities
in the early 1980s. The NMS emerged after the tribal peasants in Jharkhand
started getting organised under revolutionary leadership against the feudal
oppression of Rajput landlords and the harassment of officials and contractors
of the forest department. It first started in the district of Giridih, a
district in which the majority of the peasantry belongs to the Santhal tribe. It
is a women’s organisation in which almost all the activists and leaders are
drawn from the adivasis – from Santhals, Mundas, etc.
Anti-Feudal
Struggles:
Women were first
organised in the anti feudal struggles. Women faced intense exploitation both
economically and sexually . They had to slog 12 hours with only a meagre
allowance of food. If they didn’t go to work for some reason the goons of the
landlord used to come to their homes and drag them to work. The Rajput landlords
did not treat the adivasis as human beings. The newly wed bride had to spend the
first night with the landlord. They kept some of these women as concubines also.
The whole family, including children, had to do forced labour (bandhua
majduri). Verbal abuse was also routine and common. They could not wear
chappals, and they could not sit on a chair in front of the landlords. Rural
Bihar served as a model of feudal exploitation. It is from the darkness of this
condition that the people, including women started getting awakened in the late
seventies.
Women organisers
spoke against this exploitation and organised women. But they did not fail to
mention the social customs among the peasants which oppressed women and also
about male supremacy at home. At first, men opposed NMS and women’s
participation in organizations. Later when the peasant movement against the
landlords gained momentum and as men and women began participating in them in
large numbers, their attitude gradually changed. They could see how women were
exploited. Women’s resistance opened their eyes and NMS got a strong foothold.
Verbal abuse stopped
completely and now they are addressed as ‘Bhai’ & ‘Behen’. They wear
chappals and are invited to sit in chairs!
The struggles against
the forest department followed, asserting the rights of adivasis on the forest
(produce). The thekedars cruelly exploited the innocent adivasis. The
girls were in addition exploited sexually. All this came to an end with
struggles. Wages increased. Right to forest produce was won.
The change in society
did not stop there. It entered the homes of the poor. Old customs changed.
Especially the role of women in changing society got full recognition. Now the
political arena is open to women. They easily attend meetings. Now the situation
in struggle areas is such that if the husband is in the Krantikari Kisan
Committee, the wife is in the NMS. When one goes to the meeting the other stays
at home to look after children !
After the women
firmly established their role in society, NMS began taking up ‘women’s issues’
extensively. A whole generation (or two?) has grown up witnessing this ‘Vaicharik
Sangharsh’ (cultural change) in the countryside, which changed the fate of
the women in these regions forever. And changed the feudal thinking of men too.
Repression became
severe from 1997. But it has only boomeranged and the NMS emerged stronger than
ever. It brought forth the ingenuity and creativity of women and their
leadership qualities have shone brighter.
This brief
introduction of the history of NMS will not be complete without mentioning
Comrade Bhakthida. He was the mentor and father figure for NMS. An elderly man
worked in Dhanbad district and was a strong defender of women’s cause. He took
along the first, young women organisers along with him and trained them in their
work. Extremely popular among the village women and children, he drew them into
revolutionary struggles as he went along. That is why, whenever the history of
NMS is to be written, the first leaders of the women’s movement remember him
fondly and say that his name has to be engraved in golden letters!
Structure of NMS
According to the NMS
manifesto, the structure is thus: A State Executive Committee (called Rajya
Pari-shad) is elected in the State Conference. A State Body comprising
President, Secretary, Joint Secretary and a Treasurer (called Rajya
Karyakarini Committee ) is to be elected from the Rajya Parishad.
Then there is the district Executive Committee (Zilla Parishad) that is
elected in a district Conference and a district body is elected from the
executive committee. The same procedure is followed for the next layer i.e., the
‘Anchalik Committee.’ (This comprises the street or ward committees in
the cities / towns or gram panchayats.) At least 3 of these committees can form
a Anchalik Committee. The basic or fundamental unit is elected in a basic
level conference if there are at least 15 members.
For now, they could
form up to district committees only. The efforts to hold a State Conference and
elect a State Body & EC are on. They also want to form a Central Executive
Committee combining the units of NMS in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarkhand, Orissa, West Bengal etc.
In the basic
(village) committees and Anchalik committees there are village women
(part-timers) but the leading district committee members are whole timers and a
fulltime worker of the organisation also leads the anchalik committee. The
organizers and PRs form the core leadership of the NMS and are the backbone of
the organization. They are women dedicated to building up a revolutionary
women’s organisation and spreading the revolutionary women’s movement not only
in Jharkhand but in other parts of the country as well.
According to the
manifesto, the Zilla Parishad should meet at least thrice in a year and
the Zilla Karyakarini Committee should meet at least once in a month; the
Anchalik Karyakarini Committee should meet at least once in a month and
the basic level units (committee) should meet at least twice in a month.
Issues taken up by
NMS:
As mentioned earlier,
women took active part in all the anti-feudal struggles and in the struggles
against the jungle thekedars (contractors). Now, let us see how they have
been tackling women’s issues and problems.
(i) Child Marriages:
Among adivasis, girls
do not get married at a very young age but in some areas they are married off by
13 to 15 years. Among the non-adivasis and other castes in the plain areas this
is widely prevalent. And in Bihar in some districts there is a custom called ‘Rasgaddi’.
A girl is married off between 9 to 12 years of age but the boy just puts sindoor
on her head and leaves her at the parent’s home. This is popularly called first
marriage. After she grows up, say, at the age of 18 or so, again a ceremony is
conducted and the girl is sent with the boy. At the time of the first marriage
itself they decide when to conduct ‘Rasgaddi’. The girl’s family has to spend a
lot of money both times.
The NMS has done a
lot of propaganda against child marriages and has created an atmosphere against
it. So they get prior reports of child marriages, which are going to be
conducted. The NMS didis go there and after a long discussion convince the
family that physically and emotionally also it is not good for the children to
get married at such a young age. The people get convinced and stop the marriage.
Then a bond is written that they will not get their children married for another
9 to 10 years. And when they want to marry them off they ask the permission of
the NMS. If all the conditions are fulfilled then the NMS promptly gives the
permission.
Over the years the
NMS stopped many child marriages and carried on political propaganda also. As a
result, in Jharkhand where NMS is strong, child marriages have stopped and girls
are married off only after 18 years of age. Even among the non-adivasis it has
increased to 18 years age. But in the plains of Bihar they could not achieve
much success in this regard, but propaganda work is going on.
(ii) Dowry & dowry
related deaths/harassment:
The practice of
taking dowry is not prevalent among the adivasis, but it has reached an
unprecedentedly high among the non-adivasis. Harassing women for dowry and later
murdering her is also prevalent. Often, the in-laws and the husband just try to
get rid off her and have a second marriage.
NMS has done a lot of
propaganda against giving and taking dowry. (propaganda of NMS on any issue
includes postering, wall writing, rallies, demonstrations, songs, plays and
village level meetings). When NMS comes to know that a marriage is being
conducted with dowry they go and tell them that ‘this is not allowed in the (NMS)
area.’ They educate all the village people. A bond will be written by the
groom and his parents that they will not take dowry nor will they demand it in
future and that they will look after the girl and will not harass her in any
way. The NMS also educates them not to spend lavishly at marriages and if they
agree conducts a ‘shibir vivah’.
After continuous
efforts from NMS now the situation is that no one openly takes or gives dowry.
But yet the give and take goes on clandestinely. Definitely the practice has
come down in the areas where the NMS is strong but to completely eradicate the
evil requires more effort at changing people’s attitudes and a complete economic
change in the society. And the NMS is actively trying for both these changes.
When the NMS comes to
know that a woman is being harassed for dowry or is being thrown out of her
in-laws house they conduct a jan adalat (people’s court). The husband is
summoned and asked to come forth with the reason for abandoning her. Usually
what they get is a lame answer. So they argue with him against it. If he still
insists on leaving her, they just calculate how many years she has toiled in
their house and how much she should get for it and also make a list of all items
she had brought into their house from her parents and the dowry amount is also
calculated. They tell the man that she has spent half her life serving him and
now at her age she can’t remarry so easily, with the children and so that he
should just cough up the whole amount which is her due. Obviously, the man fails
to do so. If he has land, they demand a share in the land also. Then he is
reprimanded for all his wrongs. Normally he takes his wife back. A bond is
written by him promising to look after her well. If the man is ready to give
back the money or a share in land, some times a divorce is given to them.
Usually the woman wants to live with him and only wants him to ‘change’. So NMS
tries to fulfil the woman’s desire.
Now, in the Jharkhand
NMS strong areas dowry harassment has come down a lot. If a girl is killed for
dowry, NMS conducts a Jan Adalat. Once the husband had to return the
dowry and also a compensation of Rs.50,000 to the girl’s parents. He is usually
beaten up as a punishment and made to write a bond that he will not remarry
without the NMS’s permission.
(iii) Shibir Vivah:
The NMS conducts
propaganda against feudal marriage customs and lavish marriage expenses. People
influenced by the propaganda ask NMS to conduct a Shibir Vivah. In this there is
no dowry. It is a simple get together of all the people and relatives. They all
have meals and the marriage is solemnised in a public meeting. The bride and the
groom, mass organisation leaders and of course the NMS didis speak on marriage
and the relations between men and women, how they are in feudal society and how
they should be democratic. The bride and groom wear new clothes garland each
other, shake hands, eat sweets and the marriage is over. Such marriages give the
people a glimpse of the new culture coming up in the struggle areas and have
definitely saved the girl and her parents a lot of expense and trouble. When the
boy and girl love each other or when they are from different castes, they
approach NMS and a Shibir Vivah is conducted.
The people look after
the NMS didis as one of their own family and NMS gets a lot of
invitations to attend marriages. It is interesting to note that in Chattisgarh
NMS tells them straight away that they won’t attend a marriage where dowry is
taken, whereas in Jharkhand they attend the marriages wherever possible or at
least send them their best wishes (sandesh).
(iv) Sexual
harassment, rape:
Sexual harassment
cases and rape incidents have come down in NMS areas. When a rape incident
occurs NMS conducts a Jan Adalat. They enquire and if they find the boy
is from a poor family and has come under the influence of imperialist culture of
TV, cinemas and if he accepts his crime, he is warned severely and let off.
Obviously, having to face the Jan Adalat is in itself a big punishment
for such boys. If the rapist is a goon or has done it before then the punishment
is severe. He is beaten up, his head is shaved, chuna-tikka (spots of
lime) is applied on his head, a garland of chappals placed around his
neck, and he is paraded in the villages. Some times a hand or leg is cut off in
serious cases.
Once a boy had
relations with a girl. When he came to know that she was 5 months pregnant he
fled. The girl had no father. A complaint was lodged with NMS and the people
searched for the boy and within 2 days arrested him and brought him to the Jan
Adalat. The boy’s parents complained to the police. And they landed up just when
the Jan Adalat was going on. Women questioned the police - "we did not invite
you, why have you come? You have no work here!". When the police said they
came to arrest the rapist, women just said, ‘what evidence do you have that
he raped, just get away from here’ and they had to flee. The boy was given a
piece of their mind and a shibir vivah was conducted without any dowry or poojas
and a bond was written in which the boy stated that he will look after her well
throughout his life.
In Bihar in 1994 when
a girl named Meena was raped there was a big agitation and NMS ensured that the
culprit got punished though the police and government tried to protect the boy
from a landlord family.
As mentioned earlier
due to anti-feudal struggles, the sexual exploitation of women by landlords has
completely stopped. In both Bihar and Jharkhand there have been struggles
against the sexual exploitation by forest range officers and contractors and
several of them were beaten up. Now this has also stopped completely.
(V) Anti-liquor
struggles & wife beating
Lot of propaganda
work was done against arrack. The adivasis brew as well as sell arrack. In some
villages NMS conducted raids on arrack shops and brewing centres and have broken
the pots. In a few places they even raided some shops nearby and destroyed
whisky and brandy bottles also. But this struggle has not taken place in a big
way, so only in a few areas it was controlled and propaganda is under way –
against drinking, brewing liquor and the increasing violence on women due to
this. It is interesting to note that in the Jan Adalats conducted on wife
beating, the wife is asked to give the unheeding husband a beating, which
immediately brings him to his feet, and he promises the ‘behenjis’ to
look after her well. But the NMS tries to solve the problem amicably as far as
possible between wife and husband. In the feudal / adivasi society a wife who
speaks up or beats her husband is considered to be a very bad woman, but people
accept it when it is done in a Jan Adalat conducted by the NMS. The
participation of village women in the political arena has increased their
self-esteem in the family and reduces violence on them.
(vi) On Health
problems:
The public health
centres in the villages and forests are in a very poor state and the people
never get any medicines or proper treatment in them. The NMS has taken up the
issue in a big way and every year conducts campaigns and organises rallies
against the Health Dept. Especially during monsoons all kinds of diseases spread
and NMS makes it a point to mobilise people at this time every year. The people
go in a rally to the Health department offices in the nearby towns and hold
demonstrations/ dharnas till the officials agree that they’ll come to their
villages and distribute medicines on such and such a date. The nutritious food,
which was to be given to the pregnant women, was also ensured due to these
struggles. Epidemics were controlled and vaccines like polio are being
administered properly. NMS does propaganda also on the double standards of the
government in giving medical facilities to the rich and the poor. Through songs,
doctors are requested to give treatment to the poor. Apparently some doctors
were beaten up in Jan Adalats for not treating the poor people. But NMS realizes
that only when there is struggle the officials are coming and a continuous
process of treating the poor is yet to begin.
(Vii) Polygamy:
NMS strongly opposes
polygamy. Formerly when a man used to get a second wife for himself either by
abandoning the first wife or without, there would be no opposition from any
quarter of the society. But NMS has taken it up as an issue for propaganda and
agitation. In the Jan Adalats both the man and his second wife are
brought to justice and punished. The people in the Jan Adalat oppose
polygamy, but say "it’s wrong, but once it’s done. What can we do ?". If
possible they ask them to separate and he is advised to look after his first
wife well. Both of them are paraded in the villages in the belief that it will
deter people from doing such things. But on this issue they are relying more on
propaganda than agitation.
(Viii) Equal wages
for equal work:
One of the demands on
which the NMS vows to fight is equal wages for equal work. In feudal Bihar –
Jharkhand, it goes without saying that women are paid much less than men. So
there were agitations for increase in wages and the demand for equal wages to
women is also put forward. Now, in NMS areas women get equal wages and the wage
rates for all have also increased considerably.
10 years back they
used to be given Rs. 4 or 5 for a sekda (100 leaves) of Tendu Patta (Beedi
leaves) over the years it increased to Rs. 50-55.
(ix) Superstitions &
witchcraft
One of the major
problems of a backward society is the prevalence of numerous superstitious
beliefs that make women the worst victims. The backward villagers especially the
adivasis believe in witches and ghosts. Not knowing the scientific reasons for
illnesses, if somebody dies or falls ill they feel some witch has done
something. They go to the Ojha (witch-doctor) who for his own ends points
out to some women indirectly. The ‘victims’ then go and beat her up and
ostracise her family or even kill her. Many poor women have met such a fate for
no wrong of theirs. It’s only natural for the women’s organization to take up
this issue seriously. A lot of propaganda work is being conducted and Jan
adalat held whenever they come to know that a woman had been named a witch.
The witch doctor and the persons who blame her are brought to book. In cases
where she had been beaten, she is asked to beat the ones who tortured her. They
are made to pay all her medical expenses. On this occasion NMS educates the
people on the landlords’ interests behind propagating such superstitions among
poor people and also explains the medical reasons for illnesses. (Usually widows
become victims. In order to confiscate their lands this witch business was
started by the exploiting classes and the men of the poorer classes also
followed suit and many poor widows were killed in this name and their land
confiscated.) Earlier, the victims used to go to the police for justice. But
they used to demand money. Now they have stopped going and look to NMS for
support. The practice of killing and beating women in the name of witches has
come down
(x) Saving the forest
(Jungle Suraksha)
Women have not only
resisted the forest contractors who stopped them from collecting forest produce,
but they have also apprehended forest officials who were smuggling teak or were
assisting those who smuggle. The women lay waiting and caught them red-handed.
They were beaten up and a bond was written not to do such things again. The
carts carrying illegally felled wood were caught by NMS women. NMS takes upon
itself the responsibility of stopping this smuggling and does jungle-suraksha.
(xi) August 15 &
Elections:
Every year on August
15th NMS goes to the schools in the areas and propagates among the children
about fake independence and the children boycott the function organised in the
schools. They even hoist black flags where possible. There is this interesting
incident of a 3rd standard boy, who got inspired by NMS ‘didis’ & led all his
school students (including his seniors) to boycott the function. They took out a
rally shouting slogans on top of their voices. The police came, arrested them
and each boy was made to stand on a bench and given one blow and warned not to
do such things again. And the missionary school authorities dismissed this boy
for leading the students! (he started to move around with the NMS didis and has
now become a good organisor).
The NMS boycotts
elections because they are of the firm opinion that the lives of people are not
going to be changed through this corrupt electoral system and a revolutionary
change is necessary. Hence it conducts propaganda along these lines. In one
village in West Bengal the women were so fed up with CPM goondaism that they did
not want CPM candidates to get elected and wanted to burn down the polling
booths. The police guessed something was wrong and stopped the women. The women
said, ‘we want to cast votes, why are you not allowing us’ and barged into the
booths in 3 places and brought the boxes out. The candidates who come to
campaign are also questioned by the women on women issues. The NMS just conducts
propaganda on this question.
Celebrating
March 8th
As A Struggle Day Of Toiling Women:
99 percent of the
work of NMS is based in the rural areas. But the NMS leadership is very
conscious of the fact that without the support of the intellectuals and the
middle class sections in the cities it will be difficult to carry on. Though
they have not deployed any organizers to work in the towns and cities, it
determinedly celebrates March 8th in big cities every year and propagates its
ideology among the city dwellers. So since 1990, March 8th was being celebrated
in the cities of Bihar and Jharkhand by mobilizing thousands of women form the
countryside. A month long campaign is conducted by volunteer teams of NMS and
Jharkhand Abhhiyan (the cultural front) in the villages and in the city. On
March 8th a rally and public meeting is conducted.
Since 1997, in
various ways the authorities have been trying to stop the NMS from celebrating
March 8th in cities. But the NMS women with a single minded purpose of
celebrating March 8th have been overcoming all obstacles by fighting militantly
and have been literally celebrating March 8th as ‘the struggling Day of
toiling women’. The only reason the police could cite was that ‘NMS
propagates MCC ideology’. The NMS strongly condemns this and pins them down
on the question of whether women have a right to celebrate the International
Women’s Day or not. They have had experiences when permission was not given or
if it was given it was cancelled at the last minute or they were permitted to
hold the meeting but not the rally, if nothing else they are asked to stop for
at least half an hour before taking out the rally. And police stop NMS women
from the villages from coming to the meeting.
The village women try
to find various ways to enter the city but the police do succeed in limiting the
numbers. Once they have reached, they argue their way out and conduct the
programme as planned. Now-a-days to avoid police interruptions the women are
woken up at 3 am and all the proceedings are preponed by a few hours. By the
time the police get wind of it it’s too late to stop. NMS also has alternative
arrangements made to conduct the programme in some other place but till now they
have not had to use them for March 8th.
Campaign teams and
their leaders are also being arrested, but press statements are released and the
demand to release them is also made a part of the propaganda campaign.
In 1997, when six
district conferences of NMS were arranged, police tried to stop each one of
them. NMS had made alternative arrangements to conduct them in a different
place. So when the police blocked all the roads and tried to disrupt the
Conferences, NMS just went and conducted the Conferences in the alternative
places exactly as they had planned. Big processions were taken. And to the ire
of the police immediately posters were put all over that they had successfully
conducted their district conferences!
There is always the
alternative of celebrating March 8th in villages in a decentralised manner. But
the impact a massive rally of toiling women in a city can have is altogether
different. So NMS is determined to carry on the struggle to celebrate March 8th
as far as possible in the cities only.
The following is the
brief summary of the resolutions passed in the meeting arranged on the occasion
of March 8th this year:
1. Against POTA:
along with many others, NMS activists were also arrested under POTA.
2. Against the
barbaric police repression: the police and the para-military personnel’s
repression on the people of Jharkhand is increasing day by day. In the months of
November & December of 2001 the atrocities perpetrated by the State Police, BSF
& CRPF on the women like gang rapes, beating, mass atrocities and murdering
people through beating etc. in the name of Operation Eagle, Operation Shikhar
and Operation X crossed the limits of barbarism even of the middle ages.
On 18/2/02, the
leading comrade of the propaganda team of the March 8th programme, Com Lalitha
Marandi was arrested while returning from a programme by the police of Devri PS,
Giridih Dist. And she was sent to jail under POTA.
NMS appealed to all
the toiling masses and progressive and democratic forces to build a democratic
movement.
3. Against social
restrictions and evils: NMS resolved to fight against the evils of dowry, bride
killings, Sati, child marriage etc and to wage an unending struggle for widow
remarriage, equal wages for men and women, women’s right over property and to
establish equal respect and position for the women in society.
Here is a vivid
description of how March 8th was conducted this year by the NMS.
March 8th Celebrations in 2003:
The first phase of
the propaganda programme was started from 2nd February and went on till 20th
Feb. In every team the number used to be from 70-80. Wall writing, postering,
street meetings, street plays, cultural programme of songs and dances were
performed. The importance of March 8th was explained in the general meetings.
Propaganda was done in villages, towns and cities. Funds were collected for the
programme.
The second phase
started from 24th February and the main aim of this was to propagate in Patna
where the March 8th programme was arranged. About 100 members of the NMS reached
Patna on 20th February. This Central Team did propaganda work till 6th March.
Thousands of people used to attend the meetings. There was a lot of political
propaganda as well. On hearing about the atrocities of the police, people used
to respond and condemn.
During this campaign
Com. Jatin Marandi , Secretary of Jharkhand Avon was arrested. The final
programme was celebrated in Miller School Grounds, Patna in which about 14-15
thousand people attended including from Kolkata, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Ranchi,
Patna, North Bihar, Central Bihar and Jharkhand. And women were more in number.
The programme started
in the morning at 10 with the hoisting of the NMS flag. After singing songs the
martyrs’ column was garlanded. Songs were sung and slogans were shouted in the
memory of martyrs
A procession was
started in the afternoon at 2 PM and went through the main streets of Patna city
finally reaching the School grounds. A steering committee was selected to
conduct the meeting. Various speakers spoke about the importance of the day. The
programme concluded in the night at 9 pm.
Celebration of March
8th in such a manner in the midst of police repression and foiling the police
attempts to obstruct the meeting was a great achievement.
Meeting against the arrest of Com.
Lalitha Marandi:
On 18th February,
2002 Com. Lalitha was arrested by the police of Devri PS, near Bhelvadhali while
returning from the propaganda programme of March 8th. She was beaten up during
interrogation and later sent to Giridhi Jail. This news spread like wildfire
throughout the district. Immediately wall-writing & postering was done and
pamphlets were distributed in the villages and towns of Giridhi, Dhanbad and
Hazaribag districts. Protest rallies and public meetings were conducted in
various places from 25th to 30th March. She was released recently.
Repression &
Resistance:
From 1990 itself,
arrests of the activists had started. Restrictions began to be imposed on public
meetings.
Revolutionaries can
withstand the repression when they are among the people. Similarly NMS activists
live among the people and conduct their programmes secretly and openly according
to the necessity.
Though there was some
repression on NMS from its very inception, 1997 was the turning point. Till now
there are no killings or firings but women have been arrested, tortured, booked
under false cases, beaten up during the combing operations and interrogated. In
many districts village women have also been raped as part of operations
conducted against the Party and the squads/platoons. In Jharkhand, women have
also been booked under POTA (though except for one woman all have been
consequently released). In some villages arrested women have been paraded to
deter other women from joining organizations.
The women did not
take all this lying down and NMS was instrumental in organising the resistance
of women. Many are the instances where women have rounded up the police and beat
them up. In many villages the women (some times the whole village) gheraoed the
police stations to get the arrested persons released. In one village in
Jharkhand such was the anger of the women that they made the police lick their
own saliva! Some times there were firings on people gheraoing the stations.
In Jharkhand the
adivasis beat the drum (called nagaara) whenever the police attack. Hearing it,
all the people from neighbouring villages will gather and resist the police.
They also take their bows and arrows along and sometimes use them. Women take
any household implements they can lay their hands on or else pelt stones. Many
such battles with these militant people have left the police helpless. And in
almost all incidents, the police are made to write a bond in which they
apologize for their ill deeds and promise not to come again. Indeed, they did
not enter such villages after that!
There have been some
heroic instances of resistance by women under the leadership of NMS. In one
instance, 3,000 women did a 24-hour rasta roko against rape by police. The men
stood guard. The rapist policeman was fully beaten up. The DSP apologised and
wrote a bond that they will not do so again.
One Santhi of
Jharkhand was arrested when campaigning for March 8th in 2002, severely
tortured, booked under POTA, sent to jail and was released in 2003. Some women
who were tortured and raped had gone back. But the majority stayed, continued to
work or at least support the organization.
Some girl children
who work in Jharkhand Abhiyan have also been arrested while campaigning for
March 8th. They were threatened not to give programmes. Due to people’s pressure
they were released the next day.
Publications of NMS:
1. NMS ka Aahvan
(Call of NMS), 2. Krantikari Nari Andolan ki disha (Direction of the
revolutionary women’s movement), 3. NMS manifesto, 4. Mahilaon ka lal sena dal
(women’s Red Armed Squad), 5. Chamakta lal Sitara (Glowing Red Star) 6. Stree
swatantrata aur communist naitikata par Lenin ki vichar (Lenin’s views on
women’s liberation and communist values).
The first three books
form the theoretical base of NMS. All the members are educated on the first 3
books. Classes are held and combined study undertaken in committee meetings. NMS
doesn’t have a magazine of its own and all its reports are published in the
magazine Jan-Jwaar (which in fact carries the reports of many other mass
organizations).
All the three basic
books stress on the relationship between class struggle and women’s liberation.
The NMS flag has 5 stars in it which respectively indicate – independence,
democracy, equal rights, women’s liberation and socialism. NMS stands firmly in
the camp of the socialist women’s movement. It stresses that women’s movement
needs the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to develop in the correct
direction. It also says that we should strive for socialism after the victory of
the New Democratic Revolution and realizes that even under socialism the class
struggle for women’s liberation must go on.
Political Education:
The NMS has given
importance to educating women who come into the organisation to work full
time for the movement. Since many of the women and girls who are coming are from
poor peasant families, many of them are not even literate. They are encouraged
to become literate as soon as possible. Then apart from the three basic
books, classes are also being conducted for the organisers on the following
subjects like grammar, geography, history, Marxism, and history of revolutions
in the world in the 20th century and new economic policies.
Three editions of an
audiocassette of songs have also been released by NMS over the years.
Once an NGO named
‘Jago Bahan’ (ironically it has only men in it) called NMS to the meeting in
which the topics were ‘consumerism & women; globalization and women etc. NMS was
not given a chance to speak! So they contented themselves by singing songs,
which depicted their ideology. Actually it was a foreign-funded organization.
NMS innocently invited them for its March 8th programme but they didn’t turn up.
Later they took the stand not to go into fronts with such NGOs.
Thus through hard
work and revolutionary zeal, through a conviction that women’s situation can be
changed only by organising the mass of poor and peasant women, through patient
and determined effort and learning-through-doing has the Nari Mukti Sangh grown
over the years. It has grown and spread along with the spread of the
revolutionary movement in North and East India. But being a rural based
organisation it is little known in other parts of the country. Yet the
organisers and leadership of the NMS have set their sights far beyond the tribal
women of Jharkhand.
As the President of
the NMS Sheila said in an interview :
" So long as feudal
and imperialist exploitation of women persists, so long as the discrimination
against women continues, so long as women live like animals and slaves, so long
as women are deprived of economic and political rights, burnt to death for the
dowry, become victims of the atrocities of the police, mafia and goondas, so
long as export of girls for prostitution and the male domination exists –
struggle has to be waged for the women’s liberation (nari mukti ke liye) which
is possible only with the establishment of socialism in the country. Even after
establishing a socialist society there will be necessity of women’s
organizations as we understand from the discussion of Com. Lenin with Clara
Zetkin.
"Adivasi women had
lesser restrictions and have been active members of NMS. But the non-adivasi
(the ‘mahato’ caste who spoke khorta) women face many restrictions at home and
so have not been very active members of NMS. Though some have joined,
comparatively their number is very less. Some women have had to face a lot of
‘repression’ from home after they joined.
"Adivasi woman have a
double burden. She takes part in production outside the home and the whole
domestic burden is borne by her. She does the cleaning, cooking, washing and
also looks after children. Both share bringing of water and firewood. She works
in the fields (women don’t plough) and also forages the forest. She collects
mahua seeds, wood for fuel, leaves for making plates etc. Kendu Patta is also
collected by women in the season. They also make rope. They even go to the
nearby towns to work as daily labourers. They have no right on land
traditionally.
"In the earlier days,
the organizers of the NMS had to struggle a lot to mobilize women. In the
villages men did not allow their women folk to attend meetings in the night
which is the only free time they have after the daylong toil.. So, NMS
organizers had to adopt methods like also calling men for the meeting and speak
about general problems of the village. Finally the meeting would end up as a
general meeting of the village. But still NMS organisers were able to propagate
their ideas.
"Only after the
general revolutionary atmosphere created through the revolutionary struggle grew
could women come to the meetings on their own.
"In the beginning NMS
work started in three districts – Dhanbad, Giridih and Hazaribagh. Later it
expanded to Dumka, Devghar, Jaamthad Goda, Sahebganj, Bokaro, Ranchi, Simdega,
East & West Singhbhum, Chatra, Palamu, Lathehar, Lohardagga, Garhwa, Gumla,
Kodarma.
"Till now NMS units
have been formed from village level to district level and we are in the process
of forming a State level Committee. Apart from this we are planning to form the
committees of NMS in the States of Bihar, UP, Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh, West
Bengal, Assam, Punjab, Orissa, Delhi etc."
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