People's Democracy

BIHAR

Feudal-Criminals Attack Sharecroppers

ON March 11, a group of criminals armed with lethal weapons entered Kehar Mandal Tola Beldaur, Khagaria village and shot dead comrade Murali Mandal and started firing at sharecroppers in which several comrades were injured. Sahdeo Mandal was admitted to hospital with serious injury. Comrade Murali Mandal was murdered in broad day light by the feudal criminal forces because he led the bataidari struggle and defeated the conspiracies of the landlords who tried to divide the bataidars by transferring one’s land to another with the help of criminals, police and administration.

The sharecroppers had won the rights on the land as a result of glorious bataidari movement led by the Communist party after the independence. A spate of attacks and counter attacks took place thereafter but the tillers could not be evicted. In 1975 the collector had to recognise the rights of the sharecroppers but the landlords did not reconcile. They obtained stay order from the High Court which also referred the matter to the Revenue Board.

After the attack, the Party soon regrouped and organised a rasta roko on national highway which forced the administration to come and register the case and give a promise (false) to apprehend the killers. One junior police officer was suspended. The party rose in protest through out the district and even outside.

A condolence meeting was organised on March 22, to pay homage to the memory of comrade Murali Mandal. S Ramachandran Pillai, Polit Bureau member of CPI(M) attended the meeting and said “ we will continue to organise workers, peasants and other sections of working people facing threats, and even murderous attacks by the feudal forces in Bihar and throughout India. We will sharpen the class struggle so that the balance of forces is turned in favour of sharecroppers, poor peasants, weaker sections led by the working class.” Thousands of people thronged to this village on March 22, to pay homage.     

After JD(U)-BJP government came to power in Bihar, the morale of  feudal forces has risen high  and they got emboldened to hire criminals to reclaim the lost estate. The higher officials and police are also helping them. In the above case, Party state committee members, Gita Yadav, Yogendra singh, former MLA, Dange Singh, district secretary, Devendra Chaurasia had informed the district administration that landlords are trying to let loose terror and organise bloodbath during Holi or afterwards, but no preventive action was taken.