Skip to main content

Punjab students' march revives memory of Moga firing incident half a century ago

By Harsh Thakor* 
On October 6 the memories of the police firing on students at Moga on October 5-7, 1972 were resurrected by the Punjab Students Union (Shaheed Randhawa). Even if not so large in numbers, it gave a qualitative effect in resonating the message of the martyred students. I was privileged to be part of the gathering and the march.
The firing at the Regal Cinema turned a spark into a prairie fire, being the cradle of the student and youth rebellion or precursor to the Moga Sangram rally of April 1974. It symbolized the wrath of the students community against the injustice of an autocratic society and garnered forces from all walks of life to confront the oppressive social order.
It coincided with the student movement in Paris, the anti-Vietnam war protests, the Naxalite upheaval and the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Youths, seeking to liberate themselves from the oppressive shackles, valiantly waged the battle against corruption, unemployment, fee hikes, and lack of proper educational facilities.
Today the cinema hall is in tatters manifesting the dark days. But the event still flashes like an inextinguishable light. The Moga agitation arose from a clash between college students and the management of the Regal Cinema in Moga.They boldly raised their powerful voices against the black marketing of cinema tickets in the magistrate’s office. The management paid them deaf ear, as it was a threat to the vested interests of the private owners.
A protest match was organised on October 5. After the management displayed complete apathy, the students were infuriated, picked up sticks and lathis from shops, and attempted to set the hall on fire. The police burst tear gas shells, but were unable to quell the students, and resorted to firing. Four persons, including a college student, were killed. Prohibitory orders were enforced with imposition of Section 144.
On October 6 the spark turned into a prairie fire with the flame of struggle spreading to colleges of Jagraon, Ludhiana, Jalandhar etc. Residents of Moga formed a students' council. On October 7 members of the council set the cinema hall on fire. The police again counter retaliated by firing, resulting in killing of two more persons. This crystallized an uprising all over Punjab. The Punjab government ordered the closure of all colleges. In almost every city of Punjab, the student community burnt roadway buses and cinema houses defying the prohibitory orders.
Photos of martyrs Kewal, Harjit, Gurdev and Swarn were garlanded at the inauguration of the conference on October 6, 2022. The Punjab Students Union (Shaheed Randhawa) spokesman Amitoz Mann spoke of the history behind the Moga Cinema firing and its repercussions. In vivid detail he traced its historical genesis in soaring unemployment, corruption illiteracy, male chauvinism, casteism, religious communalism etc. In spite of the Green Revolution, feudal practices were still rampant in agriculture with absentee landlordism the order of the day.
Amitoz delved into the background of the movement of the stage managed encounters in the Naxalite movement, the Jayprakash Narayan movement and the imposition of the Emergency. Illustratively he summarised how the Moga firing crystallised a powerful revolutionary democratic system, hitting the ruling classes at their hardest point.
In Amitoz’s view, a genuine mass based movement was shaped in a most cohesive manner, which made inroads amongst the peasantry and landless labourers. He projected how the movement demarcated from the revisionist path of the All-India Students Federation, who backed out of the movement, when it was soaring at a height. In Moga, the AISF cadres had to flee to rescue themselves from the rage of the cadres of the Punjab Students Union.
On October 6, 1972 the spark turned into a prairie fire with the flame of struggle spreading to colleges of Jagraon, Ludhiana, Jalandhar
Amitoz highlighted how a revolutionary alternative was projected by the Punjab Students Union and the Naujwan Bharat Sabha recounting the Moga Sangram rally of 1974, the 1977 march for democratic rights of around 2,000 persons, the methods of struggles adopted to confront days of the Emergency, the murder of Prithipal Singh Randhawa, and subsequent protests, the protest against the bus fare hike in 1980, the revival of Sikh communal politics from 1982-85 etc. He narrated how it was the weakness of the Left and democratic movement that paved the way for the ascendancy of the Sikh communalism and the Khalistani movement.
Punjab Students Union (Shaheed Randhawa) secretary Hoshiyar Salemgarh spoke about how globalisation and privatisation had penetrated the education system, and given a crippling blow to any welfare of the student community .He reflected how today privatization had aggravated the economic crisis in education worse than the turmoil of the 1970s, making education almost unaffordable, selling it on the platter of the corporates.
Hoshiyar spoke about how students were driven to go abroad being lured into careerism. He delved on the social attacks waged by the government on deprived student sections, and how the policies were breaking the unity of the student community. He reflected on how the Punjab Students Union inculcated a scientific spirit, which is the very need of the hour today, with religious revivalism at a height.
Naujwan Bharat Sabha leader Ashwini Gudda spoke about the grave economic crisis in the country. He delved on the criminal attacks of the BJP government and the anti-people economic policies. He said, it was imperative to unite students, workers, peasants and labourers. The manner globalisation tore the fabric of any welfare for the poor, was touched upon. He also spoke about the dangers of the rekindling of Sikh religious fundamentalism.
BKU (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan reflected on how the Moga firing crystallised a new chapter. He a spoke about how the student community should play a vanguard role in challenging fascism. He demanded the construction of a library for students in the venue in the memory of the persons killed and heritage status for the venue.
---
*Freelance journalist who has covered mass movements around India and frequently toured Punjab to report programmes

Comments

TRENDING

Reducing emission? India among top nations whose coal as energy source going up

By NS Venkataraman*  The State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the year 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global temperature of 1.4 degree celsius above pre-industrial 1850-1900 base line.

Lockdown 'total failure' of science more than of politics: Open letter on 4th anniversary

Counterview Desk  In an open letter to fellow academicians, scientists and medical practitioners in India, marking the fourth anniversary of India's lockdown (25 March 2024), the Managing Committee* of the Universal Health Organisation (UHO) has insisted on the need to "repair two years of immense damage to science".

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor*  Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

'Wrong direction': Paris NGO regrets MNC ArcelorMittal still using coal-based steel

By Rajiv Shah  A new report by Paris-based non-governmental research and campaigning organization, Reclaim Finance, has blamed the MNC ArcelorMittal – formed in 2006 following the takeover and merger of the western European steel maker Arcelor (Spain, France, and Luxembourg) by Indian-owned Mittal Steel – for using use “climate destructive” metallurgical coal for its projects in India.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Attack on foreign students: Gujarat varsity's reputation, ranking at stake, say academics

Counterview Desk  Expressing anguish over the attack on international students in Gujarat University hostels, a letter claimed to have been signed by 122 current and former academics has asked the Gujarat Vice Chancellor, Dr Neerja Gupta, to provide emotional support to the attacked students and to ensure their physical safety.  

As double engine takes backseat in Odisha, BJP is pitted against 'firmly rooted' BJD

By Sudhansu R Das  BJP has got 25 years to build its party base in Odisha. After 25 years, it felt helpless and insecure to fight elections on its own strength. The party was almost crazy to have an alliance with the ruling BJD in Odisha.  Looking for alliance at the time of election shows that the party has not groomed its grassroots level workers into potential leaders.  The state BJP leaders woke up and convinced the Central leaders that they are capable of going solo; the alliance was stillborn. The question is can BJP defeat BJD which is firmly rooted in Odisha after launching piles of populist programs in the state.