Naxalbari<\/a> and had lunch at a tribal home and presently, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) plans to set up units in West Bengal\u2019s Darjeeling, Kalimpong Hills, and neighboring Sikkim.<\/p>\nFunctionaries aware of the matter said decisions in this regard were taken at a four-day meet RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat held this month in West Bengal\u2019s Naxalbari, where a clash between armed peasants and the police in May 1967 triggered the Naxalbari movement influenced by Mao Zedong.<\/p>\n
Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal, who belonged to the educated urban middle-class, led the Naxalbari uprising. Jangal Santhal, a tribal who organized tea garden workers and peasants, was another important leader of the movement, which led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), or CPI (M-L). The rebels were called Naxals since the movement started in Naxalbari. Mazumdar was arrested in July 1972 and died in police custody. Over time, the CPI(M-L) evolved and now takes part in elections.<\/p>\n
Mohan\u00a0Bhagwat arrived in Siliguri on February 10 and stayed in Naxalbari till February 14 speaking with workers and office-bearers at Sarada Vidya Mandir, an RSS-run school, before leaving Bengal on February 17. Bhagwat also addressed meetings in the East Burdwan district and Kolkata.<\/p>\n
The RSS has around 1,800 branches in Bengal and around 450 of them are in the state\u2019s northern districts. Most of these were set up after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was voted to power in the state after decades-long Left Front rule in 2011. The RSS has three organizational zones in the state.<\/p>\n
An RSS functionary, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said during an evaluation of activities in the North Bengal zone, it was pointed out that they have no branches or schools in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and Sikkim. \u201cWhen office-bearers pointed out that it is difficult for people from the plains to travel to hilly areas to run such operations, Bhagwat said we must start recruiting local people and expand our activities in these areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier on a survey of eight districts of North Bengal, it was discovered that around 100 of the 450 branches were shut down either because of the COVID-19 pandemic or the violence after the 2021 assembly polls.\u201cBhagwat said these branches must be reactivated as soon as possible,\u201d said the RSS functionary.<\/p>\n
Charu Majumdar\u2019s son and CPI (M-L) leader, Abhijit Majumdar, said RSS\u2019s choice of Naxalbari for Bhagwat\u2019s meeting was a strategic decision just like Shah\u2019s 2017 visit. \u201cThe RSS has heightened its activities in North Bengal since 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said for the RSS, Naxalbari has an ideological value because its primary ideological enemy is the communists. \u201cThough the Communist Party of India and the RSS were both born in 1925, the former propagates the concept of a socialist state while the latter wants a Hindu Rashtra. RSS wants to demean the Naxalbari movement through its preaching on so-called coexistence and peace. It has been running an ashram in the adjoining Kharibari village for years,\u201d said Majumdar, a college professor, who lives in Siliguri.<\/p>\n
He said that the RSS runs residential schools in North Bengal and organizes mass marriages of poor tribals. \u201cThe BJP has been the indirect beneficiary if one goes by recent election results. Presence of the Dalit Rajbanshi community and tribal people has helped the BJP spread its identity politics in the districts bordering Bangladesh,\u201d Majumdar said.<\/p>\n
Political observers say RSS\u2019s activities and work have helped the BJP gain popularity in Bengal in recent years. Last year, the BJP bagged 30 of the 54 seats in the eight North Bengal districts. The TMC swept the polls by winning 213 of the state\u2019s 294 seats to return to power for the third time. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP got eight of the state\u2019s 42 seats. In North Bengal, it secured seven of the eight seats.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, BJP and TMC leaders are silent on the RSS\u2019s expansion plans.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Udayan Bandopadhyay cited his visit to parts of North Bengal and interactions with people working on the ground and said though the BJP won most of the Lok Sabha and assembly seats in the region, its organization has lost strength over the last year. \u201cThe RSS may increase its activities but the BJP is not in a position to leverage that politically.\u201d<\/p>\n
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