Sumendra Tamang
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| Major Durga Malla : Statue by Amir Sundas |
On 25th August, 1944 Major Durga Malla was hanged by the British colonialist rulers of erstwhile India. He along with many freedom fighters of Indian National Army were fighting for the liberation of Indian people from the clutches of imperialist oppression. He was labelled a #Deshdrohi (terrorist) by the then colonial British regime. Captain Durga Malla, a Gorkha ( Indian Nepalese) from Dehradun and an eminent freedom fighter of INA, was caught in forest of Malaya by the Japanese forces, and was hung in the central jail of Delhi on the 25 August 1944. He was charged with “Waging War against King emperor” and “Committing a civil offence contrary to the section 41” under the Indian Army Act. He was demonised as a #Deshdrohi. He fought alongside Captain Mohan Singh, who himself was the General and Commander in Chief of Army for liberation of India and its people. Captain Mohan Singh even chose Captain Durga Malla as the Major of INA and he was assigned for gathering information from the British group.
BRAVERY : Not only as pawns of ruling class but also as fighters against Imperialism.
The history of Gorkha nationality as narrated by the ‘mainstream and mainland historians' mostly focus on the loyalty of Gorkhas for the ruling class. Gorkhas are ‘brave’! This imposition of an imagery limits or portrays the entire community in a monolithic manner. The popular narratives uttered frequently in society are mostly created by the ruling class, and as they have a strong campaign machinery, these narratives spread widely too. British colonialism identified the Kharia & Sabars as a "criminal" tribe,as they did identify Gorkhas as "brave". But can a community as a whole be identified in such a homogeneous manner? This narrative of 'brave' revolves around the idea of the Gorkhas as an exclusive ethnic group juxtaposed with the liberal nationalist imagination of the ‘Indian nation’. ‘Brave’ are those in history who serve the purpose of the then ruling class. And it goes on changing with the handover of the baton of rule.
But is it that black and white? People in a community are of different types. Various aspirations, dreams, livelihood steer the lives, and the objective reality as well as ideological beliefs often pave the thought processes. So we need to tear apart this veil and look upon deeply into the narrative.
In a meeting called by the Bengal provincial Congress at Jalpaiguri in 1939, Subash Chandra Bose gave a call to all Indian Nepalese to join the INA. Approximately 1000 people from the hills of Darjeeling joined INA. Major Durga Malla, Captain Ram Singh Thakuri, Dalbahadur Thapa, Savitri Devi, Major Purna Singh Thakur are a few names that we all must reckon when we talk about the freedom fighters of Indian liberation and independence. Indreni Thapa and Sabitri Thapa, the two Gorkha teenagers of ‘Janbaz’ reached the zenith of martyrdom by blowing up British tanks, making themselves human bombs by strapping mines on their bodies and crawling under the British tanks camouflaged as bushes. Reportedly, non other than Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was the eye-witness of this supreme sacrifice.
Pushpa Kumar Ghising participated in the Naval Uprising of 1946. He resigned from the Navy on September 8, 1946 to plunge into the independence movement now on its ultimate stage. He got into the naval ammunition dump alone and taken its control after bringing down at least three British soldiers stationed there. The weapons thus procured were used by the Indian sailors to hold back the British for 5 days. On the fifth day, Ghising and his friends were arrested and taken to the Mulundi Jail where he was court-martialed but acquitted during the trial. The name of such brave Gorkhas does not end here. The list holds other names too who participated in the freedom struggle, Bhaktabahadur Pradhan, Dalbir Singh Lohar,Pratap Singh Subba, Deo Narayan Pradhan, D. B. Pradhan, Jungabir Sapkota and Krishna Bahadur Mukhia among many others. As a matter of fact, they are the ones who truly deserves to be called as “Brave” among the Gorkhas. Bravery draws it’s inception from the greater feeling of freedom and liberation of the people in general but the ‘Bir’ dichotomy has always relied on the narrative of the ruling class, in giving away lives while fighting for the ruling class. But there may be just a handful of us who know about these people. Like every other freedom fighter of our country, they have fought for the freedom from the imperialist British clutch, so why their effort and sacrifices does goes out in vain? Don’t they deserve the place in history?
The way ahead: Claiming the pedagogy of the oppressed.
Even after the transfer of power in 1947, this relentless fight against the imperialists still exists today. Of course the form has changed. Liberalisation, Globalisation and Privatisation is the new market orientation of global imperialism. Freedom is cornered and appropriated explicitly as the freedom of trade only. All other forms and aspirations of freedom are banished, individualism is strictly restricted to the owning of private property. All previous cultures of exchange between people have been transformed into the fetishism of money and capital.
The growing pseudo-nationalism trend of Indian polity has been slowly selling away all the natural resources, land, wage labour to the highest imperialist bidders of global capital. The role of imperialism in global poverty, exploitation and systematic oppression is ever growing as we speak. In the name of 'ease of doing business' all of our ancestral lands, forests, water, education, health, environment is being up for sale. Fixed term employment, hire and fire system, long and intensive working hours, absence of social security, non regulations of minimum wage for the workers is rampant and legalised by the Indian state. Different legislative laws like National Education policy 2020, Codes on labour,2020 environment conservation rules,2022 etc are being hastily passed taking in no regard of the opposition from the people. The share of education and health in the annual budget has reached low figures. Actually all these legislations actually ease the imperialist powers with easy access to Indian economy through FDI, FII and other forms of Imperialist investments in the economy. Neo liberal capital and Imperialism, under the direct support of revisionists/ fascists/ fundamentalists/ authoritarian forces of Indian parliamentary politics have been the primary danger to this country, its toiling working people and middle class small scale businessmen. Therein lies the character of Imperialism, fighting against which Durga Malla once gave away his life.
Today as we speak, many people are fighting against this regime of imperialist dictatorship and like the older times ( British colonialism), these people are being labelled as Deshdrohis by the now Indian state. The form has changed but the demonisation remains the same as #Deshdrohis. We then see that the notion of Deshdrohi is also a form of witch hunting revolutionaries and activists who dare to speak up against the ruling class. Durga Malla did so and so will the coming generations because wherever there is oppression of any form, resistance will be followed.
The contraction is majorly between the oppressing and the oppressed class of people, between the masters and the serfs, between capital and wage labor. The pedagogy of the oppressed should not lay it's foundation on the language of the oppressors. We must deconstruct and annihilate this ruling narrative and construct a new knowledge system on the basis of oppressed solidarity.
Today after 78 years of sacrifice by Durga Malla and all the freedom fighters against imperialism ,we must understand this language of the oppressors and the intent behind them. To demonise all form of dissent against pseudo-nationalism and aggravated imperialism is the real intention of the ruling class. We must rise above it. We must rise from the ashes.
My revolutionary salute to Shahid Durga Malla.
My revolutionary regards to all those who laid their lives fighting against Imperialism.
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