A memorial meeting was held on November 7 at the seminar hall of the Mahabodhi Society in Kolkata to mark the anniversary of the October Revolution and to remember Prashant Bose, also known as Kishan Da, a Politburo member of the banned CPI (Maoist). Despite poor attendance, the organisers sought to project the meeting as a grim reminder to the authorities that Maoism continues to live despite unprecedented crackdown in the recent past.
Bose, a native of Jadavpur, Kolkata, joined the leftist movement in 1967 as a trade union activist. He later joined the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and became its secretary after 1996, following the resignation of Sushil Roy. After the MCC merged with the CPI (ML) People's War, he served as a Central Committee and Politburo member of the CPI (Maoist). He was arrested in November 2021 and died in jail on April 3, 2026, at the age of 82.
Speakers said Bose remained committed to his political cause through severe hardship and played a key role at critical moments in the movement's history. They described him as honest, principled and self-critical, and said these qualities set him apart from what they called revisionists. They criticised his prolonged imprisonment by the state.
Speakers discussed the revolution's significance amid inter-imperialist rivalry and what they described as a growing threat of fascism. They cited Soviet gains in literacy, housing, industrial production and health. They also referred to the "people's wars" in Nepal, Peru, the Philippines and India. Although several of these movements have been suppressed, they said a new wave of revolutionary activity could emerge. They also discussed recent student protests in Paris and Delhi, linking them to the international economic crisis. Speakers further linked Hindu nationalist politics to the economic situation and said the threat of fascism was close at hand.
The gathering was small, but the organisers saw it as evidence that Maoist ideology remains alive despite the movement's recent setbacks, including splits and crackdowns. The meeting did not include a broad range of communist revolutionary groups. Nor did it include a self-critical assessment of the Maoist movement in West Bengal and India, particularly its emphasis on armed struggle.
K Murali, Ravi Narla, Indranuj of the Revolutionary Students Front (RSF) and Dr Kanishko Chowdhury of CPI (ML) Liberation addressed the meeting. Murali (also known as Ajith) and Narla were recently denounced by the CPI (Maoist) as police informers, a charge also made against Seema Azad, Vishwa Vijay, Prashant Rahi and Balraj. Groups such as bsCEM in Delhi and SFS in Punjab have taken a similar position. The Revolutionary Students Front, Kolkata, rejected the charge.
The meeting followed a protest on October 31 at College Square against attacks on Marxist and Maoist literature at bookstalls, allegedly by members of the ABVP and RSS. Several progressive organisations and individuals held a book fair at the site. Its stated aim was to promote new democratic revolution, preserve Marxist-Leninist-Maoist literature and uphold the legacy of the Naxalbari movement. The Revolutionary Students Front and the Democratic Students Association played a major role.
A memorial meeting was also held that day for Arjun Banerjee, who was active in the communist movement in Bihar from the 1970s to the 1990s. After the death of Mahadev Mukherjee, a founding member, Banerjee led the work of the CPI (ML)'s Second Central Committee in Bihar. Speakers said he built mass organisations, including the Bihar Kisan Samiti and later the Progressive Students and Youth Front, and drew in new cadres. They said he remained committed to the line of Charu Mazumdar.
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*Freelance journalist
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