u/DioTheSuperiorWaifu

Power of Rahul 🔥

> As we observe the 30th death anniversary of Godavari Parulekar, her legacy endures as one of the most formidable in India’s communist, anti-imperialist, and peasant movements. A pioneer who broke social conventions from an early age, she became Maharashtra’s first woman law graduate before abandoning personal comfort to plunge into the freedom struggle, trade union mobilization, and revolutionary agrarian organizing.

> Alongside her husband Shamrao Parulekar, she provided the decisive leadership that steered the historic Warli Adivasi Revolt of 1945–1947, transforming an oppressed, bonded people into a militant, class-conscious force under the Red Flag. Rising to become the only woman president of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in its long history and a twenty-five-year member of the CPI(M) Central Committee, her life stands as a testament to unflinching dedication to the liberation of the toiling masses.

> Godavari Parulekar, born Godavari Gokhale on August 14, 1907, in Pune, was the daughter of the renowned lawyer Laxmanrao Gokhale, a cousin of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. She graduated in economics and politics from Fergusson College-where her contemporaries included S.M. Joshi, N.G. Goray, and Achyutrao Patwardhan-and went on to earn her law degree, making her Maharashtra’s first woman law graduate. Drawn to the freedom movement, she participated in individual satyagraha in 1932. Her conviction and imprisonment by the British authorities incensed her politically moderate father, who severed family ties with her upon her release. Relocating to Mumbai, Godavari joined the Servants of India Society in the early 1930s as its first female life member.

> Under the guidance of trade unionist N.M. Joshi, Godavari worked alongside Shamrao Parulekar, an Akkalkot Dewan’s son who had likewise abandoned a privileged background to serve the working classes. Godavari initiated an extensive adult literacy campaign across Mumbai's working-class neighbourhoods during 1937–1938. Declining an invitation by Bombay Chief Minister B.G. Kher to head a new state adult literacy department, she declared that "there are some people yet who cannot be purchased". She pioneered trade unionism among domestic workers, organising a 10,000-strong demonstration in 1938 while also mobilising peasantry in Kalyan and Murbad. Godavari and Shamrao married on May 24, 1939, embarking on an enduring personal and political partnership.

> Engaging closely with working-class realities, Godavari and Shamrao underwent an ideological shift from moderate reformism to Marxism, joining the Communist Party in 1938–1939. When the Second World War began, deep ideological divisions fractured the Servants of India Society. Rejecting unconditional or conditional support for Britain, the Parulekars authored a confidential circular advocating unmitigated opposition to the imperialist war. In March 1940, during the 40-day Mumbai textile workers' strike, Godavari took the lead after Shamrao and other top leaders were arrested, and she herself was jailed for anti-war propaganda until 1942. This led the Society to terminate their memberships.

> Upon their release, Godavari and Shamrao focused on organising the peasantry, convinced that India’s rural masses were essential to a successful revolution. Moving through several districts, they helped build the AIKS base in Maharashtra. Godavari travelled on foot to more than 700 villages and addressed 160 meetings to prepare for the foundation conference of the Maharashtra Rajya Kisan Sabha at Titwala on January 12, 1945. At this gathering of over 7,000 peasants and agricultural workers, Godavari was elected its first joint secretary, Shamrao its first general secretary, and Buva Navale its president.

> The Titwala conference drew fifteen Warli Adivasi delegates from Thane district, who appealed for Kisan Sabha leadership to resist landlord exploitation. The Warlis endured unbridled feudal tyranny: their ancestral lands had been expropriated, reducing their land ownership in Dahanu and Umbargaon tehsils to 6.8% and 2.2% respectively by 1945. Landlords and moneylenders subjected them to debt slavery, serf tenure, and unpaid forced labour (vethbigar). Landlords whipped Adivasis, buried resistors alive, yoked them to ploughs, and treated Adivasi women as personal property.

> On May 23, 1945, at Zari in Umbargaon tehsil, Godavari and Shamrao addressed a conference of over 5,000 adivasis, giving four directives: refuse to cultivate private land without a daily cash wage of 12 annas; refuse free labour; resist assaults; and remain united. Within weeks, the Warlis abolished forced labour across the area and struck down serf tenure. The movement swept into Dahanu tehsil, liberating thousands of bonded debt slaves.

> In October 1945, when Warlis struck for a minimum grass-cutting wage, authorities and landlords colluded to trap the peasants. A fabricated rumor that Godavari was under attack brought over 30,000 adivasis to Talwada on the night of October 10. Police opened fire on the gathering from a moving van over a 15-hour period, killing five Warlis-including Jethya Gangad-and injuring dozens. Despite repeated gunfire, the adivasis shielded the Red Flag with their bodies, refusing to disperse until a Kisan Sabha organizer instructed them to do so. The administration instituted a reign of terror and externed the Parulekars, yet the strike persisted until the landlords conceded wage increases and rent reductions.

> In late 1946, another strike for forest and grass-cutting wages was met with severe state repression. The interim Congress ministry, headed by B.G. Kher and Home Minister Morarji Desai, declared an Emergency, arrested adivasi activists, externed the Parulekars, and prepared to deploy the British Army. The government halted the military deployment within four days after Mumbai's working class and nationalist presses voiced fierce opposition, threatening a general strike. The adivasis retaliated against police brutality by burning down hundreds of landlord farmhouses. On April 5, 1947, the government retreated and agreed to wage demands, initiating subsequent tenancy reforms.

> Image: Godavari with Harekrishna Konar, Harkishan Singh Surjeet and A K Gopalan

> From November 1946 until January 1953, Godavari was barred from entering Thane district due to externment, underground work, and detention. When she and Shamrao returned to Mahalaxmi in February 1953, they were welcomed by thousands of Warlis who had sustained the struggle independently. The Parulekars engaged in widespread political schooling, teaching Marxist principles to illiterate adivasis. In 1954, they directed the armed liberation of parts of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule. They mobilized thousands for the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, joined Dadasaheb Gaikwad’s joint land satyagrahas in 1958, and spearheaded campaigns demanding the vesting of forest lands in adivasi cultivators.

> During the 1964 CPI split, the Parulekars adhered to the CPI(M). While detained in Arthur Road Jail under the Defence of India Rules, Shamrao died suddenly of a heart attack on August 3, 1965. Overcoming profound grief, Godavari completed her landmark Marathi memoir Jevha Manus Jaga Hoto (Adivasis Revolt) in jail, later earning the Sahitya Akademi Award, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Lokmanya Tilak Award, and Savitribai Phule Award.

> Image: Godavari receiving Soviet Union Nehru Award from President R Venkitaraman in 1972

> Following her release in 1966, Godavari continued as a member of the CPI(M) Central Committee for over twenty-five years until 1992, led the Maharashtra Rajya Kisan Sabha as its president for more than two decades, and became the first woman president of the All India Kisan Sabha in 1986. She organized relief and agrarian campaigns during the 1972–73 drought-forcing the establishment of the Employment Guarantee Scheme-and freed over 1,000 debt slaves in Wada tehsil during the Emergency.

> Her final public appearance was on March 24, 1995, at the golden jubilee rally of the Warli Revolt in Talasari. Godavari Parulekar passed away on October 8, 1996, and was cremated on Martyrs Day, October 10, at Talasari in the presence of tens of thousands. Having willed all her personal possessions to the Party, she left behind an enduring communist tradition among Maharashtra’s toiling peasantry.

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> Reddit is retiring RSS and its remaining public Data API access, giving moderators, app developers, and organizations several migration deadlines.

> സിപിഐ എം പ്രവർത്തകരെ ബോംബെറിഞ്ഞ്‌ വധിക്കാൻ ശ്രമിച്ച അഞ്ച്‌ ആർഎസ്‌എസുകാരെയും പതിമൂന്നര വർഷംകഠിനതടവിനും 75,000 രൂപ വീതം പിഴയടക്കാനും തലശേരി അഡീഷനൽ ജില്ല സെഷൻസ്‌ (3) കോടതി ജഡ്‌ജി റൂബി കെ ജോസ്‌ ശിക്ഷിച്ചു. മോട്ടോർ സൈക്കിളിൽ യാത്രചെയ്യുന്നതിനിടെ ചക്കരക്കല്ല്‌ തലമുണ്ട അപ്പക്കടവ്‌ മുത്തപ്പൻ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിനടുത്ത തുണ്ടിക്കണ്ടിയിൽ ഹ‍ൗസിൽ കെ സമേഷ്‌ (36), സുഹൃത്ത്‌ ചക്കരക്കല്ല്‌ കണയന്നൂരിലെ ഓറോറക്കണ്ടി ഹ‍ൗസിൽ ഒ കെ രാജേഷ് (42) എന്നിവരെ സ്‌റ്റീൽ ബോംബൈറിഞ്ഞ്‌ വധിക്കാൻ ശ്രമിച്ച കേസിലാണ് ശിക്ഷ. ഒന്നാം പ്രതി കോയ്യോട്‌ ചെമ്പിലോട്‌ കോവിലിലെ കൊടിവളപ്പിൽ ഹ‍ൗസിൽ കെ വി സിനോജ്‌ എന്ന ചക്കി സിനോജിന് (37), സ്ഫോടക വസ്തു നിയമത്തിലെ വിവിധ വകുപ്പുകൾ പ്രകാരം 16 വർഷം കഠിന തടവും 60,000 രൂപ പിഴയുമുണ്ട്.

> ആർഎസ്‌എസ് പ്രവർത്തകരായ ഏച്ചൂർ അങ്കണവാടിക്കടുത്ത അയ്യപ്പൻ മല ചടയൻ ഹ‍ൗസിൽ സി ലനീഷ്‌ (33), ചെമ്പിലോട്‌ കോവിൽ കോരൻ നായർ സ്‌മാരക വിഞ്ജാന കേന്ദ്രത്തിനടുത്ത മയൂരം ഹ‍ൗസിൽ കെ ശിശിർ (31), സഹോദരൻ കെ വി ശിരോൺ, ചെമ്പിലോട്‌ കോവിൽ പാറക്കൽ ഹ‍ൗസിൽ സി കെ ഷനിൽകുമാർ (44) എന്നിവരാണ് ശിക്ഷിക്കപ്പെട്ട മറ്റ് പ്രതികൾ. പിഴയടച്ചില്ലെങ്കിൽ 9 മാസം തടവ് അനുഭവിക്കണം. ഒന്നാം പ്രതി പിഴയടച്ചില്ലെങ്കിൽ ഒരു വർഷവും ഒമ്പത് മാസവും തടവ് അനുഭവിക്കണം. പിഴയടച്ചാൽ മൂന്ന് ലക്ഷം രൂപ സമേഷിന് നൽകാനും കോടതി നിർദേശിച്ചു.

> 2016 ജനുവരി മൂന്നിനായിരുന്നു ബോംബേറ്‌. മോട്ടോർ സൈക്കിളിന്‌ മുന്നിൽ ചക്കി സിനോജ് ബോംബെറിയുകയും ബൈക്ക്‌ മറിയുകയും ചെയ്‌തു. ഓടിരക്ഷപ്പെടുന്നതിനിടെ രാജേഷിനും സമേഷിനും നേരെ സിനോജ് വീണ്ടും ബോംബെറിഞ്ഞു. സമേഷിന്റെ കാലിൽ കൊണ്ട് ബോംബ്‌ പൊട്ടി. ബോംബെറിൽ സമേഷിനെ പരിക്കുപറ്റിയത് കണ്ട് അടുത്തേക്ക് വരാൻ ശ്രമിച്ച രാജേഷിന് നേരെ വീണ്ടും ബോംബറിഞ്ഞു. ബോംബേറിൽ ചിതറിപ്പായ സമേഷിന്റെ ഇടതുകാൽ പിന്നീട്‌ മുറിച്ചുമാറ്റി. രാജേഷിനും ഗുരുതര പരിക്കേറ്റു. സമേഷിന്റെ ശരീരത്തിൽ നിന്നും ബോംബിന്റെ അവശിഷ്ടം പൂർണമായി നീക്കം ചെയ്യാൻ സാധിച്ചിട്ടില്ല.

> സമേഷ് ഇപ്പോൾ കൃത്രിമ കാലിന്റെ സഹായത്തോടെയാണ് ജീവിക്കുന്നത്. അഞ്ചാം പ്രതി ഷനിൽ കുമാർ സിപിഐ എം അഞ്ചരക്കണ്ടി ഏരിയ കമ്മിറ്റി ഓഫീസ് ബോംബെറിഞ്ഞു തകർത്ത കേസിലും രാജേഷിനെ വെട്ടി കോലപ്പെടുത്താൻ ശ്രമിച്ച കേസിലും പ്രതിയാണ്. സ്‌ഫോടനം നടന്ന സ്ഥലത്തിനടുത്ത വീട്ടിൽ നിൽകുകയായിരുന്ന ചെമ്പിലോട്‌ കോവിലിലെ പാലിച്ചാലിൽ ഹ‍ൗസിൽ സഫിയത്തിനും ബോംബിന്റെ ചീള്‌ തറച്ച്‌ പരിക്കേറ്റിരുന്നു. സിഐമാരായിരുന്ന കെ എസ്‌ ഷാജി, പ്രകാശൻ പടന്നയിൽ, കെ വി പ്രമോദൻ എന്നിവരാണ്‌ കേസന്വേഷിച്ചത്‌. കണ്ണൂർ സിറ്റി സിഐയായിരുന്ന പ്രദീപൻ കണ്ണിപ്പൊയിലാണ്‌ കുറ്റപത്രം സമർപ്പിച്ചത്‌. കേസിൽ 23 സാക്ഷികളെ വിസ്‌തരിച്ചു. 40 രേഖകൾ പ്രേ്ാസിക്യൂഷൻ ഹാജരാക്കി. പ്രോസിക്യൂഷന്‌ വേണ്ടി അഡീഷനൽ പബ്ലിക്‌ പ്രോസിക്യൂട്ടർ കെ രൂപേഷ്‌, അഡ്വ വിനോദ്‌കുമാർ ചമ്പളോൻ, അഡ്വ പി പി പ്രണിൽ എന്നിവർ ഹാജരായി.

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> The Left Alliance reclaimed the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) Union, defeating the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The Left Alliance won all six major seats in the election.

> The Left Alliance panel consisted of the Students Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Association (AISA), Dalit Students Union (DSU), Telangana Students Federation (TSF), and Ambedkar Students Association (ASA).

> SFI’s Dilshada Raihan was elected as the President of the HCU Students’ Union. She defeated Naresh Podishetti of the ABVP-Sevalal Vidyarthi Dal (SLVD) alliance. SFI’s Korra Nithin Chauhan won the Vice President post, ASA’s Pratik secured the General Secretary post, and AISA’s Sidhant won the Joint Secretary post.

> The resounding victory of the Left Alliance comes in the time of sustained student mobilisation against the Union government’s education policies.

> SFI also made history at Mariani College in Assam by winning the students’ union. SFI secured victory in key posts such as General Secretary, Debate Secretary, Social Service Secretary, and Major Games Secretary.

> Meanwhile, SFI also secured a victory in Uttarakhand. Shailendra Singh won the post of Vice President at DAV PG College, securing a victory by a margin of over 1,000 votes. This marks the first time in history that SFI has won the Vice President’s post at the college.

> Recently, a Times of India report revealed that SFI has been gaining major support from Gen Z, with its membership increasing in most states.

> The success of the Jantar Mantar protest and many other student struggles led in various states across the country have made a profound impact among the student community.

> These victories in union elections reflect the impact of sustained struggles led by SFI and other left student organisations across campuses against examination irregularities, question-paper leakages and the Union government’s attempts to saffronise India’s education sector.

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