THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Telangana has been celebrating the heroic armed struggle of Telangana peasants throughout the state for a week culminating on the 17th of this month, reiterating its resolve to unite the people in the struggle against the divisive and communal politics and capitalist policies of the RSS and the Modi government. Highlighting the glorious struggle and sacrifices made by the peasants for land, livelihood and liberation from the then oppressive and exploitative Nizam rule and deshmukhs and zamindars, rallies and public meetings are being held.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, Brinda Karat addressed a meeting organised on this occasion on the 10th of this month at Hanmakonda by the district committee of the Party.  She asserted that the Telangana armed struggle of the peasants is a great class struggle. Ignoring this historical fact, it is atrocious on the part of the BJP to distort it as a struggle between the Hindus and Muslims, she criticised and warned that the people invariably reject those who distort history at anytime and anywhere.

Tributes were paid to Ilamma on the occasion of her death anniversary. Brinda Karat recollected the valiant struggle of Ilamma against zamindars and the Nizam rule. Hailing from a poor family, with the support of the Communist Party, Ilamma fought firmly against the exploitation by the zamindars. Regretting that the problems for whose resolution Ilamma fought then are still continuing even now, Karat gave a call for taking the land struggle forward. In the struggle against the Nizam ruler, irrespective of religion, people stood united. Extending the struggle to 3000 villages, 10 lakh acres of land was distributed to the poor. The Indian army searched for communists in 3000 villages and tortured and killed them more atrociously than the Razakars. Now the RSS and BJP is trying to distort and conceal the history, Brinda Karat said.

She said the BJP while facilitating and supporting exploitation on one hand, is hatching conspiracies to divide the organised poor in the name of religion, on the other. Reminding that RSS had no role in the struggle for independence and that it supported the British, she cautioned that, that is the reason why its leaders spew venom in whatever they say.  Uniting the people in struggles is the real antidote against the divisive and communal politics and pro-corporate and anti-people policies of the RSS-BJP, she made it clear and assured that the Red Flag would stand by them in the struggle. P Sudarshan, CPI(M) state secretariat member and other leaders participated in the meeting presided over by B Chakrapani, district convenor of the Party.

A bike rally was taken out in Maheswaram mandal in Ranga Reddy district on the 12th of this month and a public meeting was held at the headquarters of Kadukur mandal. Addressing the meeting, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member B V Raghavulu reminded that in the Telangana Armed Struggle, 4000 Communists sacrificed their lives and 50,000 were imprisoned. Because of that struggle, the Nizam government came down and surrendered to the Indian army. Raghavulu criticised that the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha acted as servants of the British and had no role in the national movement for independence. Now they are making a hubbub in the name liberation and merger of the Nizam state in the Indian union and the BJP is organising meetings on the 17th of this month for political gain, he said. There is no meaning in the padayatra of the state president of the BJP and it is intended for winning the elections and loot the state, Raghavulu criticised.

He said chief minister of the state, K Chandrasekhara Rao is cheating the people with his dishonest talk about golden Telangana and ignoring the problems of the people. Raghavulu demanded allotment of land to the landless and house sites to the houseless, payment of compensation as per law to the farmers getting dispossessed of their lands for Farmacity etc. Another public meeting was held at Nedunur. CPI(M) state secretariat member John Wesley and district secretary K Bhaskar and others participated.