India: Free the Badgaon 23

[Editor’s note: A representative from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation will be speaking at Ecosocialism 2024, June 28–30, Boorloo/Perth, Australia. For more information on the conference visit ecosocialism.org.au.]

First published at CPI(ML) Liberation.

On February, 13, Manoj Manzil, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPIML) central committee member and MLA from Agiaon constituency in Bihar, along with 22 other comrades were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a politically motivated murder case. In the case, 90-year-old Comrade Ramanand Prasad was also sentenced to life imprisonment. The case was filed on the eve of the 2015 Assembly elections, and Comrade Manoj had to fight the polls from within jail. He still polled more than 30,000 votes and finished a close third.

The case against Manoj Manzil and other party comrades pertains to the murder of one JP Singh in Badgaon. They were implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy by the feudal forces in an attempt to suppress the burgeoning assertion of dalits and poor in the Bhojpur region. All the comrades, implicated in this fabricated case, have been at the forefront of Bhojpur's historic people's struggle against feudal and communal terror.

The case against Badgaon-23 is part of a long-standing modus operandi by feudal and right-wing forces of unleashing repression and massacres against the poor and dalits and later implicating those who challenge these regressive forces, in fabricated cases in connivance with the police and local administration.

CPIML has filed an appeal against this verdict in Patna High Court.

Killers of comrade Satish Yadav continue to roam free

In 2015, a few days before the incident of JP Singh, popular CPIML leader Comrade Satish Yadav was killed by feudal-casteist forces. Comrade Satish, from Kamariya village of Agiaon had led several struggles in the area for people's livelihood, development, and against feudal crimes.

After the killing of Comrade Satish, the feudal-casteist forces feared massive people's assertion in the Bhojpur region, and in an attempt to suppress this upsurge, Badgaon-23 comrades were implicated in the false case. Despite this ploy to shut the voices of rights and dignity for people, Comrade Manoj, along with others, steadfastly carried forward the flame of resistance lit by Martyr comrade Satish. In 2020 assembly elections in Bihar, Comrade Manoj was given a thumping mandate by the people of Agiaon he won by a margin of more than 48,000 votes. This is despite the fact that the Nitish-BJP regime arrested Manoj just a few days before the election.

And now, as soon as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar somersaulting back to the feudal-communal BJP fold, Manoj and 22 others have been convicted in the case. The thought of the presence of an honest and young dalit MLA inside the Assembly always terrified the BJP.

CPIML General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya said in a press conference on 14 February that BJP backed feudal forces have consistently been conspiring in the Bhojpur region against the rural poor’s movement. They have killed hundreds of people in massacres and filed false cases against CPIML leaders. This is a travesty that none of the perpetrators of innumerable massacres, taken place during the 1990s, have been brought to justice. The same feudal forces succeeded in a conspiracy which eventually led to the conviction of party MLA and agrarian workers’ leader Manoj Manzil in a false and motivated case. The people of Bihar will not tolerate such injustice and give a befitting reply to the communal fascists.

He further said that the conviction against Manoj follows the pattern of Modi government suppressing every voice of opposition, MPs are being suspended in bulk numbers from the parliament, an attempt was made to conspiratorially oust Rahul Gandhi from the parliament, and Chief Ministers like Jharkhand's Hemant Soren are being targeted. The jailing of Manoj Manzil should be seen in this backdrop where democracy, dignity and rights of dalits and poor are under attack.

Comrade Dipankar further added that in today's India we need more leaders like Comrade Manoj Manzil who has always been on the frontlines of people’s struggles since his student days. This judicial massacre of assertion of dalits and poor in Bhojpur will be resisted by the people.

The CPIML has called for a widespread mass contact campaign against the jailing of 23 comrades. Thousands came to the streets in Bhojpur against the shocking judgement. On 14 February, statewide protests were organised. CPIML is conducting a weeklong campaign visiting every village in Bhojpur from 19-25 February to expose the feudal-BJP conspiracy. A statewide mass contact programme has also been taken up from 21 to 27 February with the clarion call of ‘Bihar Ki Janata Ladegi, Tanashahi Haregi’ [People of Bihar will Fight, Dictatorship will be Defeated].

Below are the profiles of Badgaon23 comrades:

Click here to download PDF profile of Badgaon 23

1. Manoj Manzil, 40 years-old: Manoj hails from a dalit landless agrarian labour family. From his early student days, he dedicated himself to the struggles for equality of poor and oppressed castes. He became an activist during his college days and started organising people in villages of Bhojpur. He organised and led several historic struggles in the region, including the Sadak Par School movement for education and better schools and Bhojpur's 'Shaheen Bagh' Movement against CAA-NRC. Manoj Manzil is also the Bihar President of All India Agricultural Labour Association (AIARLA), the biggest organisation of rural workers in Bihar with more than two million members.
   
   During the COVID-19 pandemic and the inhuman lockdown imposed by the Modi government, Manoj Manzil, along with the local party structure, worked tirelessly to provide relief and support to the affected families and workers. For several days and nights, he and other comrades camped inside the district hospital in Ara, actively arranging for treatment, medicines, oxygen and ambulances whenever and wherever required. Manoj was always just a phone call away for anyone who wanted help or support, whether it was a road accident or sickness. The dedicated and unwavering commitment for the rights of dalits and poor people were the reasons behind his immense popularity.
2. Gabbar Chaudhary: 40-year-old from Badgaon, he is a CPIML branch committee member and a brick kiln worker. He hails from Bind Caste. His wife Baby Devi, 35, works as a labourer. They have 5 children, most of them going to school.
3. Nand Kumar Chaudhary, 55 year old from Badgaon, is a brick kiln worker and CPIML Panchayat committee member. His brother is also convicted in this case. His wife Daulato Devi, 52, is an ex-ward member of village panchayat. He has 7 children. This landless family has a house built under the Indira Awas Yojana. He also comes from the Bind caste.
4. Rohit Chaudhary, 46 years old: Lives in Mahavir Ganj in Arwal district. He left his village in Badgaon 30 years ago. He was not in Badgaon at the time of the JP Singh incident. A casual labourer, he hails from Bind caste.
5. Triloki Ram, 55 years old: He is CPIML supporter, who hails from Badgaon and earns his livelihood as a construction worker. His wife Tetri Devi, 56 also works as labourer. This landless family has a pucca house. His father Minik Ram, 80 and mother Pachratani Devi, 78 are suffering from chronic ailments. Four members of this family were also targeted by upper caste feudals in the past. He hails from Chamar caste.
6. Bharat Ram, 50 years old: He hails from Badgaon and is a law graduate but works as migrant worker. He is a CPIML supporter. He has two sons. He is the brother of Triloki Ram, who was also made an accused in this case.
7. Cheena Ram, 60 years old: He hails from Badgaon village and is a graduate. He is a block committee member of CPIML and in the past contested in elections for village mukhiya and for Sarpanch. He is a dedicated activist of CPIML for a long time and had been victimised and jailed earlier too for his activism. He could not continue his studies after graduation because of his family constraints, and was forced to work as a migrant worker to support his family. His wife Savitri, 55 is a casual worker, also a party member and once contested for Mukhiya election. His son’s marriage is fixed in the coming month. The family is in a dire financial state. He hails from Chamar caste.
8. Ramadhar Chaudhary, 65 years old: He is CPIML branch committee member, who hails from Badgaon and works as an agrarian labourer. His wife Phulpati Devi, 60 also works as a labourer. He had contested in the Panchayat Samiti election. Hails from Bind caste.
9. Ravindra Chaudhary, 43 years old: He hails from Badgaon and comes from a landless family. His wife and two sons are also daily wage labourers. Hails from Bind caste.
10. Prem Ram, 52 years old: He is a member of the party's Panchayat committee and hails from Badgaon. His wife Vida Devi and three sons also work as casual labourers and are landless. He was targeted by feudals earlier as well and was jailed for resisting the oppression. The feudal forces are threatening to demolish his house. He hails from Chamar caste.
11. Shiv Bali Chaudhary, 60 years old: He hails from Badgaon village. He and his wife Prabhavati Devi, 52, and their three sons are agrarian workers. They are landless.
12. Tanman Chaudhary, 59 years old: A member of the party's Panchayat committee member, he hails from Badgaon village. He, his wife and four sons are agrarian workers and live on government land in a house built under Awas Yojana. He hails from Bind caste.
13. Ramanand Prasad, 90 year old: He hails from Badgaon and is a CPIML member since the 1980s and was a Sarpanch until 2000 and then again in 2016-2021. He comes from a marginal farmer family with 7 bighas of land and had a pucca house located amidst feudal elements who had displaced him from his house and now lives on government land. He is extremely ill and unable to walk. His wife Suvachan Devi, 80, also suffering from old age ailments and bedridden. His one son died in the Covid-19 pandemic, and his two other sons are migrant workers. He hails from Kahar caste.
14. Manoj Chaudhary, 45 years old: He hails from Badgaon. He is an agrarian worker who lives on a homestead land. His wife Fula Devi, 40, also works as agrarian labour. He hails from Bind caste.
15. Baban Chaudhary, 45 years old: An agrarian labourer from Badgaon has a pucca house on homestead land. Hails from Bind caste.
16. Pawan Chaudhary, 40 Years old: His father works as a driver and share-cropper and his mother is an agrarian labourer, also owns 1 bigha of agricultural land and a house. He hails from Bind caste and is from Badgaon.
17. Prabhu Chaudhary, 75 years old: He is CPIML member since 1983 and is a member of panchayat committee and comes from Badgaon village. A landless labourer lives in a hut on government land. He had been jailed five times in the past for participating in people's struggles. He hails from Bind caste.
18. Rambali Chaudhary, 56 years old: A CPIML sympathiser from Badgaon, works as an agrarian labourer and sharecropper. His wife Phoolmato Devi is a casual worker. He is the brother of Pawan Chaudhary, who was also convicted in this case. He comes from the Bind caste.
19. Sarvesh Chaudhary, 35 years old: A CPIML member, he is a daily wage labourer and a sharecropper. He has a house under Indira Awas Yojana on homestead land. His two sons are school going. He hails from Bind caste.
20. Jai Kumar Yadav, 47 years old: He is CPIML block committee member from Khedi village in Bhojpur. He was elected as Mukhiya in the past.
21. Nandu Yadav, 35 years old: He is a member of CPIML and hails from Khedi village. He is the brother of Jai Kumar Yadav, who is also convicted in this case.
22. Chandradhan Rai, 65 years old: He has been associated with party for long time and hails from Kurmi Chak village. He is a block committee member and was elected for Panchayat Samiti in the past. He had been jailed many times for participating in peoples' struggles. He hails from Kurmi caste.
23. Guddu Chaudhary: 25-year-old resident of Badgaon village in Bhojpur graduated from Jagjivan Ram College Ara in 2017. A supporter of CPIML, he works as a labourer and has two children. His parents are rural workers, who occasionally rent small agricultural land tracts for share-cropping. He was in Ara town at the time of the incident for which he has been convicted. He hails from Bind Caste. 

Release Manoj Manzil and 22 others!

Shame on the NDA government in Bihar!

Stop persecuting Dalit- Bahujan leaders!