INTERVIEW WITH JAGDISH JHA This interview took place in Krishanpur, a small West Bengal village, the Headquarters of the PSKS (Agricultural Workers and Peasants League). Jagdish Jha is the leader of the movement; he is a member of the Socialist Workers Party (Indian section of the Fourth International).
-Comrade Jha, can you describe for us the birth and process of development of the movement that you are organising?
The movement started in September 1969. The existing left parties had never taken the slightest initiative in demands for higher wages for the agricultural workers. Our party was the first to put this slogan forward, and in doing so we created a particular situation in the political field. For 22 years the Congress Party and the two C.P.s have been fighting one another, but in this situation they allied themselves in opposition to this slogan. One must point out that the leaders of these parties in the region are rich landowners (including the C.P. leaders).
Despite such violent opposition we had the support of agricultural workers from 55 villages, belonging to five districts. Small peasants joined us too, and we built the PSKS under the recognised leadership of the SWP. It was the first time the agricultural workers had been organised on the basis of their own slogans, on a class base, in their own organisation.
It was decided to stop work from the 26th November onwards if at that date the salaries had not been raised. But enthusiasm was so great in some towns that some people began the strike before the announced date. Demonstrations of around 2,000 peasants were held. I repeat, it was the first time that anything similar had happened.
In the end, after a two-week strike, the salaries were increased almost 75%. —Did mobilisation disintegrate once the aim had been achieved?
No, but we took up the struggle again with a different rhythm There is a law in India forbidding jotedars (rich landowners) to possess more than 12.5 hectares (1 hectare = 2.4 acres). But in fact they put all the rest in the name of their wives, their children, or even their dogs... We began seizing land that was illegally held by the jotedars, as well as the land they had obtained by expropriating poor peasants by dishonest means.
We took these lands by force, our peasants were armed with axes, bill-hooks and other tools. And except for a few places where there was a confrontation, the jotedars retreated outnumbered.
Last June, 1,000 armed agricultural workers occupied 150 hectares. The land was given to a committee which represented ten villages, who decided to work and sow the land immediately. 1,000 people did this so well that by the time the police got there, the work was done: the jotedars were forced to give up recuperating their fields.
This action provoked so much enthusiasm that seizures of land in the region have increased. We have now seized 500 hectares.
In addition, our campaign against the fact that the jotedars expelled poor peasants from land they rent to them at higher rates, which is a very important phenomenon in Bengal, has gained us the militant support of many poor peasants in the region. —How do you organise the peasants? Because we lack the material means necessary for propaganda and moving around, and also because we lack cadres, we have not been able to exploit the success of the first strike to the fullest by building a strong peasants' league Nevertheless, we have had 40-50 meetings in the villages.
After this, the seizures of land have had a big impact on the population of this region. The CPI and the CPI (M) are satisfied with giving the land they seize to their electoral followers and members (to which the agricultural workers do not belong).
Our movement now has a strong influence in three districts, which amounts to an agricultural population of 200,000 to 250,000 people. The PSKS itself is in control of 40 villages, and there are 500 others which are definite sym pathisers. We have 2,000 active militants. These militants organise "village committees", which are kinds of peasant soviets where all decisions are made collectively.
Of course, all the seized lands are collectively cultivated under the leadership of village com mittees.
In addition, we have begun to organise a young peasants militia. —In relation to the militia, what is the degree of repression you are faced with?
To begin with, the jotedars wanted to enter the PSKS to try and corrupt it. We did not accept them; after that they began their repression Eighty-three of our militants are under arrest, including myself. I have even received death menaces, from the Congress Party as well as the CPI and even from the Naxalites. The police have already come to arrest us, but the villagers prevented them doing so. Now they are too frightened to come after us.
All in all, our militia is armed with bows and poisoned arrows which they know how to use quickly and effectively. -What are the movement's perspectives? Our aim is to build a revolutionary mass organisation of agricultural workers and poor peasants on a class basis, with the ultimate goal of socialist revolution. I remind you that the 2 C.P.s and even the Naxalites, in the purest Stalinist tradition, call for a bloc of four classes, for the "democratic revolution" and not the socialist one.
Also we try to link ourselves with the struggles of the urban proletariat, by our slogans (e.g. "Land for those who work it, factories for workers") and through the political education we give our militants. We choose the best of these to bring them into the SWP.
However, in all this, we are extremely hampered by the lack of material resources, which essentially means that we cannot have permanent organisers who can continue to develop our movement as the objective situation in Bengal today would allow us to.
Interviewer: L. Rafael