Ashok Bose

Ashok (Prakash Roy) was born on September 23, 1922, in Bara Zugalia village in Nadia district, West Bengal. His father was Bisad Kumar Bose and his mother Binapani Devi. His father was a Jotedar, renting out paddy-growing land for share-cropping. He died when Ashok was two years old. After which he was looked after by his grandmother, Mrinalini Devi, the niece of the famous revolutionary Bhupendranath Datta, and the youngest brother of Swami Vivekanand. Bhupendra Nath had attended the congress of Communist International in 1921 in Moscow and had met Lenin and other prominent leaders. Mrinalini Devi wanted Ashok to grow with the mindset of Bhupendra Nath and in so doing, she encouraged Ashok to mix up and play with the boys of the poor families of share-croppers in the village. However, Ashok's father did not like Mrinalini Devi's approach, taking Ashok away from his village and getting him admitted to New India English High School in Calcutta.

Ashok stayed in a hostel in Calcutta and took part in many cultural and social activities. When in Class IX, a call was given by national leaders in 1937 to observe ‘Demands day’ for the release of all political prisoners from Andaman Jail. Ashok led a successful strike of students and also organized picketing. The Assistant Headmaster of the school called the picketers in his room and caned them thoroughly, claiming he was "preparing" them to bear the future punishments they would suffer at the hands of the British Police. It was in the course of this movement that Ashok came in contact with some Communist activists in that locality. They advised him to read books of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and also on the history of revolutions. They also advised him to develop his contacts with the villagers. Ashok frequented his village and in this, his grandmother Mrinalini Devi extended a helping hand. He passed matriculation exams with distinction and was sent to a college for further studies. But finding Ashok moving towards a ‘dangerous’ path, his father cut short his studies and got him employed as a clerk in Post & Telegraph Department in Calcutta.

The Second World War broke out in 1939. Ashok, along with many others, were transferred to the Patna Office of the P&T department. In Patna, he came in contact with the well-known leaders of postal employees, such as Bhupen Ghosh and K.G. Bose. They had prior knowledge about Ashok and handed him responsibilities in trade union work among postal employees. The Great Bengal Famine broke out in 1943. Ashok gave up his postal service and went back to his home district to serve the famine-stricken people. Conflict with his father grew further. Ashok touched the feet of Mrinalini Devi, getting her blessings, vowed to become a whole-timer, and left his home. He contacted provincial leaders of the Communist Party, Bhowani Sen, and Nityananda Chowdhury, for necessary guidance, who advised him to work in the Kisan Sabha.

Famous Communist leaders like Moni Singh in Mymensingh district and Irabot Singh in Manipur were leading Kisan struggles then. Ashok organized the kisans of Haringhata against forcible dispossession by the British authorities of over nine thousand acres of land. He led thousands of kisans, hoisting a red flag on captured land. They tilled and harvested grain and distributed it. The displaced kisans took back their land. Ashok was also in the nearby district of 24 - Parganas. After some time, he was elected district secretary of CPI in 24-Parganas. In Bengal during the 1940s, there was a great upsurge among the share-croppers against the landlords, demanding a due share of paddy produce. In 1946, tens of thousands of share-croppers in more than 20 districts of Bengal demanded ‘two-thirds’ of their harvest (hence the name ‘tebhaga’ or three parts) instead of the half they got till then. Ashok Bose was their effective leader.

Tebhaga struggle was led by Kisan Sabha and Communist Party in 1946, spreading to districts of 24-Parganas, Nadia, Midnapur, Maldah, Bankura, Jalpaiguri, Mymensingh, Jessore, and many more districts, involving some 60 lakhs of share-croppers including thousands of women. It was recognized internationally as one of the major peasant movements of the world. CPI general secretary P. C. Joshi played a crucial role in guiding it. The demand for Tebhaga was first raised in the Provincial Kisan Sabha Conference held at Jessore district (now in Bangladesh) in 1940. The British government formed a Commission to recommend ways and means to increase revenue. They decided to collect more than half of the paddy produce from the share-croppers. Kisan Sabha opposed, raising the demand of ‘Tebhaga’.

1946-47 were difficult years as communal riots engulfed Calcutta, 24- Paragans and other areas. Ashok Bose and his team mobilized their volunteers to prevent communal riots and conducted relief work. Despite the communal situation, Tebhaga's struggle continued for months together, and forced the Muslim League Ministry in West Bengal to propose a bill in 1947 named "Abolition of Landlordism and Tenant Rights Bill". There was widespread support from workers and creative left intellectuals for the Tebhaga struggle. Famous singers like Salil Chowdhury and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay composed several popular songs in support.

Kansari Halder, Ashok Bose, and others were at the forefront of this historic struggle. About 2000 volunteers mobilized, while landlords and jotedars sought help from the government and police force. British authorities deployed a heavy police force at different centers. Arrest warrants were issued in the name of Ashok Bose, Kansari Haldar, and many others, and they were forced underground. Ashok, however, kept up his contact with the base areas of the Tebhaga movement, moving from place to place under the guise of names like ‘Bidyut’, ‘Nikunj’. There was terrible repression in Chandanpiri and nearby areas, particularly on women. Ashok Bose was the first accused in Kakdwip Conspiracy Case, the second one being the famous Kansari Haldar. Ashok went underground under the name of ‘Prakash Roy’. Proceedings were started against Gajen Mali, Manik Hajra, and others, 26 in all, and were also sent underground.

Once Ashok Bose was caught by police in Budakhali village in Kakdwip, put in shackles, his body was bound with ropes and prepared to be shot. People including women surrounded and snatched him away from the police.

‘Shishu Telangana’ was established in the Sundarbans in 1949–50 with Lalganj as the centre.

BTR Line of 1948 forced Tebhaga to struggle to resort to arms. Volunteers had to take up traditional arms to resist police, as they lacked modern weapons. An armed struggle took place in the delta area of the Bay of Bengal in Kakdwip, Mathurapur, Jainagar, Sandesh Khali, Hasnabad, and other places, but failed, as reality conflicted with the party line. Path of armed struggle led to havoc and destruction of the movement. Under PC Joshi, Tebhaga was following a successful mass line.

Besides Ashok Bose and Kansari Haldar, Hemanta Ghosal, Rashbehari Ghosh, Manik Hazra, Abdul Razzak Khan and others were the leading figures. Police with modern arms beat down Tebhaga's struggle with repeated attacks on volunteers. There were firings in Donga Jora and other places. 13 criminal cases were lodged by police against Ashok Bose, with the government of West Bengal announcing a reward of Rs 50,000 to capture him, dead or alive. Down with T.B., Ashok was shifted by the party to Rajnandgaon in Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh).

He was arrested for 6 months in 1948 and lodged in Alipur Central Jail. On release, he went underground in the Sundarbans.

Ashok Bose came to Rajnandgaon along with his wife Madhavi Devi and son Amit of age 2 years, in June 1952. He was now ‘Prakash Roy’, so much so that even today, very few know his real name. They lived in a labour colony, running a study center for some 40 Bidi workers. Madhavi was a trained nurse. They together worked among Bidi workers’ families, organizing them under the red flag. Workers’ families sustained Prakash's family. Prakash explained his wretched financial condition in a meeting of workers. They, particularly the women, decided to supply food grains, pulses, vegetables, oil, etc. every week to his family. This went on for four years. On occasions, they even had to go hungry.

Rajnandgaon being a big Bidi centre, thousands of workers worked under the ‘ghar-khata’ system under merchants. The majority of workers were women. Prakash and Madhavi led many memorable struggles. Prakash Roy organized motor vehicle drivers and also BNC Mill workers under the red flag. In an incident, he lay before a truck, whose driver apologized for keeping the engine running to run over him. Intellectuals like Professor Gajanand Madhav Muktibodh, freedom fighter Kanhaiya Lal Agrawal, Dr. Nandulal Chotiya, Ramesh Yagnik, Advocate Atal Bihari Dubey, journalist Sharad Kothari, and others gathered around Prakash Roy. Party became a strong political force in Rajnandgaon.

Bhilai Steel Plant and its captive iron ore mines at Dalli-Rajhara, situated near Rajnandgaon, had come up by then. General secretary of AITUC S.A. Dange sent Prakash Roy to organise mining workers under AITUC. Prakash's colleagues included Bajirao Shende, Arjun Shyamkar, Ganesh Ram Yadav, Mahadev Bomble, Nasim Alam Naqvi, and a few others. Prakash Roy organized 15,000 manual contract workers. 3000 regular employees also got enrolled in the new union registered in 1960 with the name Samyukta Khadan Mazdur Sangh (SKMS). Branches of the union were opened in coal, limestone, dolomite mines, and also at Bailadila and Bacheli iron ore mines in Bastar under NMDC. Senior TU trade union leaders like S. K. Sanyal (Nagpur), S. D. Mukherjee and P. K. Thakur (Jabalpur), Krishna Modi (Balaghat), and Sudhir Mukherjee (Raipur) helped work in Dalli - Rajhara and elsewhere.

Prakash also met CR Bakshi, who as a student had been arrested during Tebhaga and sentenced to one and a half years. Prakash Roy initiated labour co-operatives at Dalli-Rajhara, Nandini Lime Stone Mines, and Hirri Dolomite Mines. Ten thousand local workers under contractors were regularized as BSP employees. All this while, Prakash Roy did not disclose his past background.

On December 7, 1961, the CPI delegation of SA Dange, Bhupesh Gupta, EMS, Ajoy Ghosh, and Sohan Singh Bhakna met Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with a memorandum demanding withdrawal of cases against Prakash Roy and others. A large number of prisoners were released in various states on August 15, 1962. Warrant against Ashok Bose alias Prakash Roy was withdrawn by West Bengal Government. CPI put up Prakash Roy as a candidate for parliamentary election from the Rajnandgaon constituency. He polled more than 40 thousand votes.

Prakash Roy was elected to the National Council of CPI in 1971 (Cochin, 9th congress), and also in the Tenth Congress, Vijayawada, 1975. When Indira Gandhi's government attacked workers’ rights during the emergency, Prakash Roy gave a call for strike by workers in BSP mines and Bhilai Steel Plant. Prakash Roy worked hard to build a party in Madhya Pradesh along with state secretary L.S. Khandkar, Homi Daji, Shakir Ali Khan, Balkrishna Gupta, and P.K. Thakur. Prakash organized the regional Kisan Sabha Conference at Rajnandgaon, and also the regional TU school. Ill health and brain hemorrhage prevented Prakash Roy from active work, yet he continued to participate in mass activities.

Prakash, Madhavi, and their son Amit visited Kakdwip, Chandanpiri, and other places in 1973. They were warmly welcomed by villagers in large numbers.

Madhavi Roy died on December 3, 1975. Prakash Roy's health deteriorated further. Even then, he attended the Bhatinda Congress of CPI in 1978 and actively took part in the debates. He also attended the 12th Party Congress at Benaras. Prakash Roy wrote a brief autobiography after his wife's death.

He attended a meeting in September 1983 against a decision of the state government to divide the forest division. Despite illness, Prakash Roy went to address the public meeting called by the political parties. While speaking, he suffered a massive heart attack. He was rushed to hospital, and died the next day on September 3, 1983, at the age of 61.