United Front (1967) - Naxalbari

Naxalbari

Yet a further complication to the United Front government was the internal divisions within CPI(M). Radical elements, calling for immediate revolution, were present in the second-rank leadership of the party in West Bengal. In the northern parts of the state, Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal had built up a power base of their own inside the party ranks. In March 1967 peasants led by the Krishak Samiti, the CPI(M) peasants front, began occupying excess lands in Naxalbari. The revolt grew, and by June reports came that the rebels in Naxalbari had acquired firearms. Inside the United Front differences arose over how to deal with the rebellion. The view of the CPI(M) was that social and economic problems were the cause behind the insurgency, whilst Bangla Congress wished to deal with the rebellion as a law and order problem.