Two question arise: whether the Left Front has come to exist in this state because the political parties of West Bengal have acted correctly to form it and whether acted this government has worked for such a long time because it is following a common programme. The answer to the first question is that is not true that the Left Front government has been established in this state just because a Left Front or alliance has been correctly formed. But the point raised in the second question is, generally speaking, somewhat true.

Then what are the real facts? Would it have been possible for us to form coalition government in states other than Tripura and Kerala had the Left political parties come to an effective understanding in those states? It is not at all true that the Left Front government has been formed in our state on the basis only of an effective understanding and that the Left Front government has worked for a long time under the leadership of the CPI (M) through such understanding to step into the twenty-third year. The reality is that Left Politics in this state developed from the period of the struggle against British imperialism and the fight of workers and oppression began to be organised under the leadership of the Communist Party. The pre-independence struggle of peasants to establish their rights over crops produced by their hard labour, which received an impetus in post-independence times, formed the foundation on which the democratic movements of people belonging to different sections of society developed. Following this current of the development of mass movements in the state, the undivided Communist Party won twenty-eight seats and its associates, the Marxist Forward Block two seats, when the first general elections were held in 1952. Right from the time of the first general elections the Communist members in the state assembly were continuously vocal against the denial of the rights of workers, peasants, and people in different professions and working people in general. At the same time movements on just demands continued to be organised outside the assembly, in factories, workshops, offices, courts and educational institutions.

In the political scenario of West Bengal, almost every year in the Fifties and the Sixties was marked by movements against exploitation, demanding the end of injustice and the establishment of democratic rights.

In 1953, the Calcutta Tram Company, then under British ownership, proposed a fare increase for its own profit and the Congress government in the state supported the move.

A committee to resist the fare increase was formed and it directed a movement, which caused an upheaval in the metropolis of Calcutta. Ignoring all kinds of repressive measures taken by the government, this movement gradually gained the support of all sections of the people and shaped into a statewide agitation, which included hartals and general strikes. It was possible to prevent the increase of tram fares through a successful statewide general strike. There followed in 1954 the movement led by educationist Satyapriya Roy in the cause of education, for the democratic rights of teaching community and raising the demand to let teachers have living wages. This movement helped to build up mass movements of professional people of different categories all over the state. 1954 also saw a widespread food crisis in the state and the formation of a famine resistance committee including all anti-Congress political parties and headed by the socialist leader Suresh Banerjee; a successful movement was organised all over the state. A movement including all anti-Congress political parties of the state was shaped in 1955 in order to free Goa from the rule of a Salazar, the Portuguese dictator. Geographically West Bengal is far away from and yet, compared to any state in Western India, the volunteers from this state numbered more. This sharply influenced the mass a renewed attempt in 1956 to increase Tram fares and movement against it followed. In the same year, the Congress government proposed the merger of Bengal and Bihar. The struggle for the withdrawal of this proposal was intensively launched and ended successfully with the victory of Mohit Moitra defeating Congress candidate Ashok Sen in the North West Parliamentary by-election. In 1957-58 a student movement in the interest of students and education was followed by a food movement by the whole people to solve the food crisis. On the basis of an assessment of the 1958 food movement, a more extensive food movement was organised in 1959. At the crest of this movement came a huge central rally at the Calcutta Maidan near the Ochterlony Monument (now Shaid Minar). There was a programme of civil disobedience demanding food after the rally. To execute this programme a large procession reached a point beyond which the area controlled by the section 144 began. The police first arrested 13 top leaders and immediately started teargas shelling and extensive Lathi Charge. Several thousand people lay injured along the area now called Sidhu-Kanu Dahar, in Curzon Park, Rani Rashmoni Road and other places. The Congress government’s police crashed the heads of those already grooming from severe injury. In the meantime many peaceful volunteers died from head injuries received during the Lathi Charge. The official reports say that as many as 80 satyagrahis died in this historic food movement. So many people were never killed merely with Lathis in so short a time in any state in our own country or abroad. The next day September 1, 1959 saw a students’ strike all over West Bengal and a protest demonstration reached Subodh Mullick Square the police started Lathi Charges tear gas shelling and frequent firing. The anger of the student community continued to be expressed on September 2 also. In these two days twelve young lives were lost under attacks with Lathis and firearms. As per the non-official sources in three days of food movement over 100 people died.

Several times from 1960 to 1962, the left and democratic forces of West Bengal successfully executed many programmes against the anti-people policies of the Congress government on one hand and the neocolonial designs of American imperialism in India on the other. That a section of the yet undivided Communist Party to which we belonged

demanded again and again throughout the end of 1962 and 1963 for peaceful settlement of the Sino-Indian border confrontation through negotiations between the leaderships of the two countries. As a result we were dubbed pro-Chinese and our leaders and party workers faced repression and extensive arrests by the Congress government. At a largely attended meeting under the Monument Maidan, held on January 30, 1963 Comrade E M S Namboodiripad raised the demand of a peaceful solution through discussions instead of war to solve the border problems of the two countries. It should be noted that much later the government of India decided to discuss the issue and settle it peacefully. Also in 1963 the Jaya Engineering Workers’ Union led a continuos strike in the interest of the workers. Every day rallies voicing fraternal support of different mass organisations were organised at the Jaya factory gate. A new dimension was added to the history of mass movements in West Bengal by this expression of friendship for workers’ movement from people belonging to various walks of society.

In 1964, the seventh Party Congress was held in Calcutta to chalk out the programme of evolving a new chapter in the Communist movement the new Party Programme and Constitution were adopted. Preparations for this Party Congress had started from the end of 1963. In 1965, when American imperialists bombed Hanoi and Haiphong in Vietnam, the students of West Bengal and other sections of the people strongly protested in Calcutta against the action. Later, whenever US planes have bombed any place in North and South Vietnam, people have recorded angry protest everywhere in West Bengal. On some occasions, sit-in demonstrations have been organised in front of the American Consulate or USIS in Calcutta. Different type of programme in expressing solidarity with the just struggle of Vietnamese people continued in West Bengal for several years. In 1965, the Indo-Pak war generated a situation, which became profitable for the military industrial complex in the USA; naturally our party demanded a solution through discussion. Party leaders and part workers were put under arrest for raising this demand. in this year, Tram fares were sought to be increased again and movements against the bid were organised. Movements demanding a solution to the food crisis were also launched in 1965. From the very beginning of the academic year of 1966 Student struggles and mass struggles were organised, demanding food, kerosene and low-priced textbooks and notebooks. To suppress the students’ movement, the police opened fire. Nurul Islam, a schoolboy, died a martyr. His death gave rise to an irrepressible students’ movement all over West Bengal and many students became martyrs. The mass movement was strengthened by the self-sacrifice of students who lost their lives, one by one, in several districts. The food movement of workers and people in general gained a statewide spread. Against the repressive measures of the Congress government, and demanding the release of political prisoners, a 48-hour-long general strike was observed, In the majority of districts, this strike was prolonged into 72 hours. Hartals on three consecutive days on the basis of democratic demands of the people created a new history in India after freedom; this is the first time that this happened in West Bengal as a protest against the barbaric repressing by the Congress government. It was with the history of these fiery struggles in the background that the Assembly elections of 1967 took place, turning the Congress party into a minority and leading to the formation of a United Front government.

A series of conspiracies led to the dissolution of the United Front government of 9 months after its formation. President’s rule was promulgated in West Bengal, followed by the mid-term polls of 1969 which returned the United Front to power with renewed majority, lasting this time for 13 months. After the fall of the second United Front, midterm polls for both Assembly and Lok Sabha were held in 1971. For the first time in West Bengal, this time saw the emergence of CPI(M) as the largest single group in the state Assembly. The leaders and activists of our party, strengthened in self-confidence, became active in every district to build up statewide struggles and movements. Right at this moment, the sectarians who had left our party launched heinous attacks on our party -workers. On the other hand, in areas where the mass struggle had advanced, CRP camps were established to lend support to the Congress thugs who, with active support from the police, attacked our party leaders and party workers, and also attacked party offices. It was in such a political background that elections to the state Assembly was held in 1972. With the help of the civil administration and part of the police administration, the Congress turned the elections into farce. After the elections, Siddhartha Sankar Ray, the leader of the murderous gangs, became the Chief Minister in a rigged up legislature. The elected members from our party refused to take the oath of office in this mock assembly or attend its sessions even for a single day, thus establishing an unprecedented example in the history of parliamentary democracy in India . Meeting were banned, all kinds of democratic rights were taken away, and a planned widespread massacre and destruction began. Trade union offices were forcibly closed and trade union rights denied. CRP attacks were launched on the struggles of agricultural labours for increased wages. Students, movements and union rights were also suppressed. During this short period 1100 of our party workers were killed and 20,000 families were forced to flee their localities. More than 80,000 false cases were filed against our party workers. In the history of West Bengal struggles this chapter is marked as the period of " semi-fascist" terror. The suppression of people’s rights through emergency measures, which the rest of India witnessed in 1975, was a reality in West Bengal as early as 1971-72. To organise the people against semi-fascist terror different tactics were followed in shaping many programmes and in calling upon the people to participate in the struggle to defend democracy and to create an atmosphere free from fear. Keeping this context in view and taking lessons from the successful struggles of the past and the more recent political experiences, the joint ventures of six left parties formed the Left Front in the state. In 1977, the Front by itself fielded candidates in all 294 seats of the assembly, thus reducing the Congress to an object minority. The Left Front achieved an overwhelming majority in the elections. The CPI(M) alone gained absolute majority and thus the first Left Front government were formed with the CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu as Chief Minister. Later the number of parties in the Left Front increased and it is now the combined alliance of ten left parties. The Left Front and its government has changed the balance of class forces in the state by supporting the struggles of different sections of working people, and is now engaged in strengthening the power-base of working people.

Starting from the land reform act, the ‘Operation Barga’ to preserve the interest of the sharecropper, the formation of three tier Panchayati system in rural Bengal and other measures of the first Left Front government, right up to the pro-people policies of

the present fifth Left Front government, a new chapter in the history of parliamentary democracy has been inscribed through the democratisation and regular elections of the different self-government agencies. The existence of the Left Front government in the state for 22 years has been made possible by the effective realisation of the principles of class struggle. For example, it is because the Left Front government has acted in the interest of labouring people that nearly 2250 party leaders, cadre and followers of CPI(M) and other parties of the Left Front have been martyred. Nearly 2000 of these martyrs belong to the CPI(M).