Satyanarayan Singh (, commonly known as SNSLahiri, Asisha. Naxalbari and after: a Frontier anthology, Vol. 2. Kathashilpa, 1978.) was an Indian communist politician. Singh was one of the early leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), being its secretary in Bihar.Roy, Asish Kumar. The Spring Thunder and After: A Survey of the Maoist and Ultra-Leftist Movements in India, 1962-75. Calcutta: Minerva, 1975.
Satyanarayan Singh hailed from Bhojpur, Bihar. As of 1948 Singh was an underground cadre of the Communist Party of India.Liberation. Comrade Ram Naresh Ram Will Always Remain Alive in Ours Hearts
Political life Singh supported the line of annihilations of class enemies of Charu Majumdar, and implemented it to a certain degree in Musahari and other areas in Bihar. However he disagreed with Majumdar on the issue of killing rich peasants.Dasgupta, Biplab. The Naxalite Movement. Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1974. p. 153 In 1968-1969 the Musahari Naxalite movement grew from seizures of food crops to guerrilla struggle and killings of landlords. By May 1969 the movement encompassed 50,000 people.Dasgupta, Biplab. Naxalite Armed Struggles and the Annihilation Campaign in Rural Areas As of 1969 Singh argued that rejection of the annihilation line meant advocating co-existence between landlords and the village peasantry. Singh recorded his analysis of this phase of struggle in the document Musahari and its lessons.Ashwani Kumar. Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar. London: Anthem Press, 2008. p. 199
Singh emerged as the leader of dissent inside the party against the party general secretary Majumdar. By July 1970 he had rejected Majumdar's policy on annihilation as 'individual terrorism'.International Socialism. The ironies of Indian Maoism In September 1970 Singh charged the CPI(ML) Central Committee with following a left sectarian line. Singh led the revolt against Majumdar inside the CPI(ML), setting up a parallel Central Committee.Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 8. Sameeksha Trust, 1973. p. 1954 In November 1971 the new Central Committee officially declared Majumdar expelled from the party for having adopted a 'Trotskyist adventurist line' and elected Singh as the new general secretary.Banerjee, Utpal K. Operational Analysis and Indian Defence. New Delhi: Concept, 1980. p. 66The Marxist Review, Vol. 8. Ajit Roy, 1974. p. 330 His party would be known as the Provisional Central Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), and would reject Majumdar's annihilation line.Karat, Prakash. Naxalism today
Singh's CPI(ML) supported the anti-Emergency struggle launched by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974.Judge, Paramjit S. Insurrection to Agitation: The Naxalite Movement in Punjab. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1992. p. 142 Singh's CPI(ML) opposed the Gang of Four and gave support to Hua Guofeng's leadership as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party.
With the lifting of the Emergency in 1977 Singh began to favour a more conciliatory approach to the state, for example negotiating for the release of prisoners.Basu, I.. Security and Development - are they two sides of the same coin? In the same year Singh's CPI(ML) decided to participate in elections for the first time. Singh's CPI(ML) presented three candidates in West Bengal, one in Bihar and one in Punjab.Jaffrelot, Christophe. L’Etat face au défi maoïste en Inde For the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly election, Singh toured ten constituencies during the electoral campaign.Krishna Rao, V. Communism in Andhra Pradesh: Rise & Decline. Hyderabad: Cauvery Publications, 1989. p. 107
Satyanarayan Singh died in a cardiac attack in 1984.Myrdal, Jan, and Bjørn Bergstrøm. Indien väntar. Stockholm: [Norstedt], 1985. p. 414 A few months before his death, his party had split with most of the Provisional Central Committee members siding with Vaskar Nandy.The Marxist, Vol. 3. Communist Part of India (Marxist). p. 62
See also
Jagdish Mahto
References