for debate - A new book by Amit Bhattacharyya

Posted by admin on June 17th, 2017

Storming The Gates Of Heaven
The Maoist movement in India is one of the longest surviving communist revolutionary movements in the history of the world. Born in 1967, has been able to withstand state brutality for so long and rose like a phoenix from the ashes time and again implies the existence of some deep-rooted socio-economic needs that the existing system has failed to satisfy. Today, every protest is identified with ‘Maoism’, every dissident voice is being branded by the powers-that-be and sections of the corporate media as ‘Maoist’. ‘Maoism’ in India has, for good or bad, been identified with the fight for dignity, justice and human values.
This is a modest attempt at the first-ever comprehensive history of the movement made by a professional historian.  This movement is not the tale of senseless violence,  but an epic story to create a beautiful world free from exploitation,  greed and bloodshed altogether.  Hitherto untapped material has been used to analyze the bitter struggle between MCC and CPI(MLI Party Unity and CPI(MLI People’s War and the formation of the CPI(Maoist).  Its impact on society,  culture and historical study,  Bhojpur struggle role of woman warriors with entirely new approaches to man-woman relationships radical mass organizations.  Emergence of Maoism and the pro-people development model in Dandakaranya have been discussed in detail.  This movement,  successful,  is likely to make a deep impression everywhere in India and abroad.

A chapter on Primary Sources,  rare photographs of places–Naxalbari killing,  Charu Mazumdar’s residence,  of cover pages of forbidden literature and a list of departed woman activists further enriched the quality of the book.
The main title of the book is borrowed from Karl Marx who hailed the Communards of Paris for daring to”Storm the Gates of Heaven” in 1871.
Dr.  Amit Bhattacharyya.(Ph.D,  D.Litt.),  Professor of History,  Jadavpur University,  Kolkata,  was educated at Presidency College and Jadavpur University.  His areas of interest are Indigenous National Industrial Enterprise in India,  Social History of Science and Technology,  History of Modern China,  Environment and People’s Movements.  His major publications are on ‘Swadeshi Enterprise in Bengal 1880-1947 in two volumes),  Transformation of China,  Modern Japan,  Chinese Civilization,  Women and the Chinese Revolution and Civil Rights Movement.
Contents
Acknowledgement
Preface

1. Introduction
2. A Note on the Sources
3. Naxalbari movement: Its Impact on Politics, Society, Historical research and Culture
4. Armed struggle in Bihar
5. 1972 and after: Splits and attempts at reorganization—CPI(ML)PU in 1978, CPI(ML)PW in 1980, MCC in 1969. Two distinct streams—one revolutionary that adhered to the path of armed struggle by summing up experience of past struggles on the basis of criticism and self-criticism; the other going back to the age-old parliamentary path by renouncing, though not openly at the initial stage, the path of area-wise seizure of political power through armed struggle. Brief histories of CPI(ML) Subrata Datta @ Jahar-Bhojpur, CPI(ML) Party Unity, CPI(ML)PW, MCC and others. Self-criticism by CPI(ML)PW, CPI(ML)PU and other parties. Points of ideological unity and disunity among different organizations. Armed conflicts between MCC and CPI(ML)PU and between MCC and CPI(ML)PW. Self-criticisms and merging. Formation of the CPI(Maoist) in 2004.(Giving Kanai Chatterjee the same importance as Charu Mazumdar is a-historical; was it a compromise?)
6. Formation of radical mass organizations some of which basically adhered to the revolutionary line, without necessarily being frontal organizations of the revolutionary parties. RWA, Jana Natya Mandali, Ryuthu Coolie Sangham, AILRC, AIPRF(New Delhi conference on Nationality Question in 1996—posters that adorned the walls of the hall both inside as also outside), AIRSU, SFPR, RYL, RSA, RSF, AIPRF, various women’s organizations etc. Their programmes and activities.
7. Women and Revolution
8. Transition from Mao Tse-tung Thought to Maoism.
9. The People’s War in Dandakaranya(DK) and the Janathana Sarkar: Part I: The Maoist Movement and the Socio-economic Changes: A case study of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. Part II: DK and the Alternative Model of Development: Other Regions.
10. Concluding Observations.