Legacy and History of Indian Maoism - A Tribute to Tarimala Nagi Reddy and the Telangana Armed Struggle

A couple of day's ago Mr Thakor , a research scholar based in Mumbai
mailed me his research work which I am reproducing here.

I would like to thank Mr Thakor on behalf of all readers of Naxalrevolution
for sharing his excellent research work with us


Legacy of Indian Maoism-A Tribute to Tarimala Nagi Reddy’s 30th death anniversary and the 60 th anniversary of the launching of the Telengana Armed Struggle.

An extract from the research article

1.Telangana Armed Struggle

In 1946 a red Letter was written in the history of the Indian Communist Movement. This event was the Telengana Armed Struggle led by the Andhra Pradesh Unit of the Communist Party of India.Thousands of acres of land were redistributed.Mass revolutionary line was practiced. The relationship between the agrarian revolutionary Movement and the armed struggle and formation of the peoples army was established and the issue of armed revolution and the principle of forming a people’s army based in the agrarian mass revolutionary programme and movement. was formulated.

The struggle suffered political defeat, not because of class enemies and the state ,but at the hands of the revisionist policies of the general staff of the C.P.I.
The C.P.I.leadership withdrew the Struggle and veered it towards the parliamentary path. The foundation for the Struggle was the meticulous mass work carried out between the years 1941-1946 ,similar to the launching of the Chinese peasant armed revolutionary struggle.

In 1948 a historic letter was written in Andhra on 9th July called the Andhra thesis., which highlighted that the Indian revolution would follow the Chinese path of ,of protracted peoples armed struggle with the peasants being the main force. The Indian economy was characterized as semi-colonial and semi-feudal., the peasant question as the core of Indian revolution, and the stage of revolution as ‘New Democratic’.

When the document was written the Telengana Struggle was at it’s peak. The concept of the united front with the middle and rich peasants was advocated. Resistance bases of the Chinese Type were to be formed The guerilla Warfare was deployed to defend the land and the village Soviets. Land was distributed in 3000 villages and the guerilla squads launched significant armed struggle against the Nizam’s army and the Razakars.The police sided with the Razakars and in retaliation the guerilla squads began to attack the police. The police used to attack in the day, while the people would retaliate at night.

The socio-economic conditions prevalent in Hyderabad stae led by the Nizam led to the uprising.Hyderbad was a multi-lingual state

4 factors influenced the movement:

1. Hyderabad was a multi-lingual state comprising 3 linguistic units, the Telegu speakingregion, the Marathi Speaking Region and the Urdu Speaking region.

2. The continuous conflict between the Muslim Rulers and the Hindu Subjects. The Muslims though comprising 12%of the population, occupied most of the high posts in the State.

3. 60% of landholdings were under the governmental revenue system known as Diwani, 30% under the Jagirdari system and the remaining 10% were the Nizam’s own estate. Agricultural labourers and tenants were subjected to merciless exploitation.

4. A forced labour termed “Vetti’ was imposed on the tribals and backward communities. Each family had to send one member of the family for labour. No money was paid to him in cash or kind.

5. The Conditions of the working class were awful.

6. The British monopoly of Indian Resources at the beginning of the 2nd World War were increased.

1000’s of acres of land was distributed in People’s Courts. Guilty landlords were tried and people’s Self defence Corpses defended the villages from attacks of Army and Police. Nehru sent the Army in and ruthlessly crushed the Uprising. This long protracted Struggle had set up village Committees which facilitated re-distribution of land to the landless and poor peasants. The Vetti System was virtually abolished. The capitulationism of the Communist Party of India to electoral politics led to the surrender of the Armed Struggle.


2. Tarimala Nagi Reddy

On 28 th July this year the Indian Communist Revolutionary Movement will be observing the 30th death anniversary of Comrade Tarimala Nagi Reddy. His contribution to the Indian Communist Revolutionary Movement was invaluable In the 50th year since the U.S.S R. became revisionist his struggle is more noteworthy.(1n 1956 Kruschev introduced his class –collaborationist line)

He was born in a wealthy family on February 11th 1917.His schooling was done in the Theosophical and Rishi Valley schools which were reknowned for their discipline and all –round development of personality. Here he learnt about the dignity of labour ,which was professed by the schools. This teaching set the trend for his revolutionary career. He meticulously studied Marxist –Lenisnst theory and moulded himself with revolutionary consciousness.Remarkably he launched a struggle against the landlord of is own family.

Comrade Nagi Reddy’s political ideas were not tolerated by the governing body of the Madras Loyoal college ,thus he moved to Benarus Hindu University,where he had greater avenues to express his political thought. Making untiring efforts he led the student masses towards nationalist politics, socialist ideas and proletarian revolution.Inspite of carrying the burden of leading the student’s movement and participating in the secret organization of the party, his upper-class background prevented him from attaining party membership early.In 1939,the Communist Party of India had full faith in Nagi Reddy’s proletarian revolutionary qualities ,a nd awarded him party membership.

Marge Grower ,the then vice-chancellor of Delhi University ,openly challenged the national slogan for the formation of a constituent assembly.Comrade.T.N,openly opposed this,being the leader of the Students Union.Fascinatingly,the Indian Congress leadr Gandhi opposed himGandhi wrote a letterto the Vice –Chancelor of the B.H.U.to demand an apology from T.N.T,T.opposed it andw as thus failed in his law examinations.

Angered T.N.left the college and returned to his village. He started organizing students and youth into the Communist Movement. Several youth were attracted to Comrade T.N’s simple, down-to –earth style of explaining politics and economics. This made the Congress leaders helpless.(They opposed the Communists in the Freedom Struggle)





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RELATED LINKS

Watch the movie Maa Bhoomi which is based on the Telangana Peasant Armed Strugge

Maa Bhooomi - Our Land