Remembering founder of Naxalite movement

Shubhadeep Choudhury

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SUKHENDU Sarkar, leader of a Naxalite faction, was overcome by emotion when he learnt Naxalite leader Khokon Majumdar was born a Muslim. The venue was Maulali Yuva Kendra, Kolkata, and the occasion a meeting in memory of Majumdar who passed away at Siliguri on May 29. The gathering comprised those from the middle class and ordinary folks from the working class.

The cow vigilante issue naturally came up in the speeches time and again. Reading in a booklet, provided to all participants, that Majumdar was born in a Muslim family, an excited Sarkar remarked: “This is India. Despite being a part of the Naxalite movement, I did not know that Majumdar was a Muslim. Many people think he was a relative of the legendary Naxalite leader Charu Majumdar because of the common surname.”

Majumdar, who was 87 at the time of his death, was named Abdul Hamid by his parents who died when he was still a child. When Pakistan was carved out in 1947, Majumdar, arrested in connection with a political agitation, was lodged in a prison in Berhampore. On his release, Majumdar found that his birthplace Barisal had become “foreign”.

A founder member of the CPI(ML), who was active during the Naxalbari uprising in the sixties, Majumdar was among the small group of Naxalite leaders (which included Kanu Sanyal) who visited Beijing, sneaking into Tibet from Nepal, and met Chairman Mao Tse Tung. Hamid changed his name to Khokan Majumdar to gel better with the masses, and the name stuck with him for ever.

Sister Nivedita

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may visit England in November to take part in a ceremony to accord heritage status to the ancestral home of Sister Nivedita, “English Heritage” having finally accepted the demand of Indians settled in UK in this regard. Swami Vivekananda had stayed in this house in 1899. A blue plaque with the outer structure of the house etched on it will announce its heritage status and history. The function was to take place on October 28, the birthday of Sister Nivedita. But the CM had other engagements on that day. 

Gyan Singh Sohanpal

“Chachaji is much better now”, Dharamjit Kaur told this reporter over the phone from Kharagpur. She is married to a nephew of Gyan Singh Sohanpal and hence calls him “chachaji”. In fact Sohanpal is addressed as “chacha” by one and all in Kharagpur. A record 10-time Congress MLA from the Kharagpur Sadar constituency (he was defeated by BJP state president Dilip Ghosh in the last elections), Sohanpal has not been keeping well and is undergoing treatment at the PG Hospital in Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the hospital authorities that the 93-year-old”sardarji” must be treated with utmost care. “He is better now and is expected to be discharged soon,” says Dharamjit, who speaks fluent Bengali.