Volume 1, No. 3, May 2000

This is part of a gondi song, written after the martyrdom of Com. Prabhakar in March ’99, which resounds throughout entire Dandakaranya (DK). While sitting amongst the squad members, I again and again heard the refrains of this song. The tune was haunting and the words conjured up an image of the revolutionary and brought tears to ones eyes. Similar was the effect of the song on the five Tallagudem martyrs, killed in 1998 during a raid on a police station.

Writing songs, singing and dancing is part of the new revolutionary culture taking birth in the forests of Dandakaranya. Top leaders write, cadres write and even the barely literate tribals write. Songs, with a revolutionary theme are woven into the folk traditions of the people. The fusion of revolutionary content and local folk-lore is best depicted in the tribal dances. Today, the vibrant tribal dances are enacted to songs on police brutality, women’s oppression, forest protection, etc, etc.

An example, is the theme song of the peasant organisation, DAKMS, written by CC member, Com. Bhupati. It takes off on the DAKMS flag (red in colour, with a bow and arrow and hammer and sickle), pays tribute to the anti-imperialist tribal leaders of yesteryear who died fighting the British, takes up the current problems facing tribals, and calls on the people to pick up the red flag of the fallen martyrs and advance the New Democratic revolution. At another extreme, is the example of the young tribal comrade, Sunita. She learnt to read and write in the squad, and has till now, written three songs.

What then is the history of the development of revolutionary culture in DK ? It is deeply interwoven with the class struggle of the area and the growth of the movement. It reflects the awakening to a new consciousness of the masses of the area. A consciousness fired by the revolutionary politics of the PW Party. Its history was traced by Com. Gopanna, secretary of the South Bastar Divisional Committee.

He said that from the very start the party has given importance to develop people’s culture. At the time of entry of the squads in 1982, a number of Telugu songs were translated into Gondi. By 1984 some 15 songs had been translated. By 1985 the first song book had been translated and printed in gondi (using Telugu and Devnagiri scripts). This was mostly Dorla Gondi (a particular tribe).

In DK the tribal language is undeveloped and varies from region to region. There is no script and the spoken language has a strong admixture of the neighbouring region’s language (whether Telugu, or Hindi, or Marathi or Oriya). As the dialects differ slightly, in due course, each squad area began printing song books in their local Gondi tongue.

From 1986, for the first time, songs were written on local problems with local tunes (i.e., not just Telugu translations). This trend slowly developed, and in the next three years a number of songs were written on local themes in both gondi and Telugu. The next song book, brought out in 1989, reflected these new songs and was printed in both languages. In the 1990s this gained momentum, and in 1995 the DKSZC (Special Zonal Committee), in a major effort to tap the new talent, brought out a song book for the whole of DK, with some 200 songs. This also included some songs translated from Telugu and Hindi into gondi. In 1996 the DVCs (Divisional Committees) of Gadchiroli, South Bastar and North Bastar, printed song books in their local dialects— i.e., dorla, muria, halbi, Chattisgarhi, etc. Now, on every martyr songs get written in gondi. The tunes are both local and in Telugu (which is also popular in the region).

In 1997 the DKSZC decided to systematise and develop this spontaneous talent. It picked 25 comrades with ability from the whole of DK and organised a month-long cultural training camp. The training was given by the central cultural troupe of North Telangana. It taught the usage of musical instruments (flute, dholak, khanjiri, etc), singing style, presentation techniques, dance and step coordination with the song, and also a little on play-acting (nukkad natak). After this camp it was decided to form cultural troupes throughout the DK.

And so, the CNM, or Chaitanya Natya Manch, was born. Since the last two years, full-time CNM troupes have been formed in some areas at the divisional level and as well as at the squad area level (100 villages). These troupes of about five members (divisional level CNM has seven) are full-time units that go from village to village performing and giving programmes. The central CNM’s programmes are set by the DVC, while the local CNM troupe’s programmes are fixed by the SAC (Squad Area Committee) of the respective squads. Whenever the party takes up a campaign — like, say, election boycott; forest protection; against social evils; martyrs week; 30th anniversary of Naxalbari; 50th Anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Revolution, etc — the CNMs are also given the task to focus on the particular theme for a given period. Often short plays on a particular subject are also performed by the CNM troupe.

Most of the members of the CNM are illiterate and present their songs/plays through memory. Only the commanders of the troupes, mostly ex-squad members, have picked up some literacy while in the squad. For performances they have a specific dress — earlier a white dhoti with red arm/waist/head-bands — which now is a mixture of the earlier white-red dress and the local dress.

Their programmes attract huge crowds. As they enter a village in the evening, and sound the Dholak, the villagers start gathering. Soon the entire village— women, children, old, young — are all there. The programme goes on late into the night. Like the squads, they are then fed by the villagers, and the next day they are off to another village to repeat the performance. In this way they travel from village to village arousing the masses and bringing some entertainment into their lives. On occasions, central programmes are organised. This is done with the assistance of the local peasant organisation/women’s organisation (DAKMS/KAMS) units. Such a programme normally covers 10 to 12 villages with a minimum of a thousand attending. This normally takes place in the afternoons, continues for about three hours, with the songs, dances and plays being interspersed with speeches on the subject for which it is held.

Speaking to Com. Narsanna, a squad area cultural troupe commander, who had earlier been three years with a squad, I asked :

N : We are four. I have picked up some literacy while in the squad, the others are illiterate. One has come from the Balala Sangham (children’s organisation), the other two are direct recruits. As you see, all are young — 17 to 20 years.

A : So far on what themes have you put on plays ?

N : We have put up plays on Election boycott; Jungle Bachao (forest protection); martyrs — 28th July programme; against oppression of women; and against drinking.

N : Very good. Generally the entire village attends our programme. So far we have received offers from 30 youth, including girls, to join our troupe.

N : Our schedules are fixed by the SAC. We perform daily, moving from village to village, unless we are with the squad.

Of course, the presentation of songs has always been part and parcel of the daily meetings, which the squads take as they move from village to village. The eagerness to listen to songs was brought to me sharply in a particular village. I asked the commander, Com. Vijay, why the villagers were not dispersing, as the meeting was over. He explained that, "they are insisting we sing a few songs, as is the norm. We have tried to explain to them, that due to excessive police movements during the election period, it may not be wise to do so. But they are not listening. They say at least sing in hushed tones." Finally, an old man intervened and said that "taking a meeting without songs, is like giving us rice to eat without dal or bhaji (vegetables)." Finally, one song was sung – quietly.

But songs, though the main content of the cultural movement, is not the only aspect — poems, short-stories, novels etc., proliferate. ‘Jhunkar’, a cultural magazine, begun in 1995, has songs, poems, short-stories, etc., written by activists in the movement. So far nine issues have come out, and comrades are allowed to express themselves in whichever language they are most comfortable — whether Gondi, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Oriya — to allow the fullest expression. Even senior leaders write for this magazine. For example, CC member, Com. Bhupati, is said to have written a number of novels and short-stories, the latest being one depicting the life of his guard.

Also, there have been translations of Chinese novels. Notable amongst these is the translation of ‘Gold Flower’ by the unit of the women’s magazine ‘Poru Mahila’. Also, a most popular picture story-book amongst the children is ‘Small Guerrillas’, brought out in Gondi and Telugu. A history, recounting the tribal struggles in DK is also being printed.

The cultural movement in DK, besides bringing entertainment into the lives of the tribals, is helping create a new consciousness, a new set of values and is laying the seeds for the creation of the new communist being.

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