Tribal guerrillas : the Santals of West Bengal and the Naxalite movement

In this ground-breaking study, based on valuable field data, Edward Duyker examines the historical roots of the Santal participation in the Naxalite movement; discusses the implications of the Naxalite use of traditional weapons and forms of tribal warfare; describes the use of oral tradition to incite revolutionary fervor; and analyzes the role of clan and kinship in determining Santal participation in the movement. Title Page 3 Contents 6 List of Tables 8 Acknowledgements 10 Abbreviations 12 Glossary of Terms 13 Introduction 19 PART I: MODERNIZATION AND THE SANTALS 42 CHAPTER 1: The Early History of the Santals 45 CHAPTER 2: The Early History of the Santals 58 CHAPTER 3: Contradictions in the Green Revolution 68 PART II: THE NAXALITE RURAL CAMPAIGN IN WEST BENGAL 83 CHAPTER 4: The Naxalbari Uprising: 1967 85 CHAPTER 5: The Midnapore Uprising: 1969-70 98 CHAPTER 6: The Birbhum Uprising: 1970-71 106 PART III: NAXALISM AND THE SANTALS 119 CHAPTER 7: The Vanguard 121 CHAPTER 8: Naxalism and Santal Cultural Rationalizations 132 CHAPTER 9: Inter-Tribal and Inter-Caste Response 155 CHAPTER 10: Epilogue 172 CHAPTER 11: Conclusion 181 Some Ethnographic Notes on the Santals 187 Programme of the Communist Party of India 195 Bibliography 203 Much has been written about the Naxalite movement, but little is known about the nature of Santal participation in it. This book looks at the interactions between the Santals and the Naxalites, and explores a politically turbulent period of recent Indian history.