Kanu Sanyal

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Kanu Sanyal

| image =

| image_size =

| alt = Kanu Sanyal

| caption = Kanu Sanyal

| birth_name = Krishna Kumar Sanyal

| birth_date = {{birth year|1932}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and given age|df=yes|2010|03|23|78}}

| death_place =

| death_cause = Suicide

| party = Class Struggle Group
CPIML{{small|(1969–1972)}}

| nationality = Indian

| other_names =

| known_for = Naxalism

| occupation =

| module = {{infobox criminal|embed=yes

| criminal_charge = Criminal conspiracy

| criminal_penalty = Jailed (1970–1977)

| criminal_status =

}}

| office1 = Politburo Member of CPIML

| termstart1 = 1969

| termend1 = 1971

| office = {{nobr|General Secretary of CPIML Class Struggle}}

| termstart = 2004

| termend = 2009

| office2 = CPIM committee member
for Darjeeling district

| termstart2 = 1965

| termend2 = 1967

}}

Kanu Sanyal (1932{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1100324/jsp/siliguri/story_12254481.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327084023/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100324/jsp/siliguri/story_12254481.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 March 2010|newspaper=The Telegraph|location=India|title=Naxalbari movement founder kills self|date=24 March 2010|first=Avijit|last=Sinha|accessdate=26 June 2018}} – 23 March 2010){{cite journal|jstor=2642225|title=India's Third Communist Party|first=Marcus F.|last=Franda|date=1 January 1969|journal=Asian Survey|volume=9|issue=11|pages=797–817|doi=10.2307/2642225}} was an Indian communist politician. In 1967, he was one of the main leaders of the Naxalbari uprising and in 1969 he was one of the founding leaders of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI (ML)).{{Cite web|url=http://www.bannedthought.net/India/CPI(ML)-Orig/index.htm|title=CPI(M-L) [original party formed in 1967]}} Sanyal died by suicide on 23 March 2010.{{cite news|title=Top Naxal leader Kanu Sanyal commits suicide|url=http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/mar/23/top-naxal-leader-kanu-sanyal-commits-suicide.htm|accessdate=14 August 2012|newspaper=Rediff news|date=23 March 2010}}

Formation and growth of CPI (ML)

Kanu Sanyal joined communist politics, first as a member of CPI then CPI(M). He announced the formation of the original CPI (ML) on Vladimir Lenin's birthday in 1969 at a public rally in Calcutta. He came out with the seminal Terai report on revolution in India, which openly denounced the anarcho-nihilist policies of Charu Majumdar and his loyalists.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

After the failure of the Naxalite uprising, Sanyal went into hiding. The death of his colleague Charu Majumdar was followed by the breakup of the Naxalite movement, and Sanyal is claimed to have abandoned violent means and accepted parliamentary practices as a form of revolutionary activity.{{cite web |url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl2221/stories/20051021008801000.htm |title=The road from Naxalbari |website=flonnet.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017003722/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2221/stories/20051021008801000.htm |archive-date=17 October 2006 |url-status=dead}}

Arrest and jail

He was eventually cornered and arrested in August 1970. News of his arrest sparked region-wide violence by radical communists. CPI(ML) cadres destroyed property, raided and attacked educational institutions, and engaged in rioting.{{cite web|url=http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/131-3-77.shtml|title=Naxalites on Hard Times|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219135653/http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/131-3-77.shtml|archivedate=19 February 2008}}

For seven years Sanyal was imprisoned in a jail in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in a case known as the Parvatipuram Naxalite Conspiracy. He was convicted by a sessions court.

Release and renewed political engagement

Sanyal was released from jail in 1977, following a change in government in New Delhi as well as in West Bengal. Jyoti Basu, the new CPI(M) chief minister, personally intervened to ensure Sanyal's release.{{cite web|url=http://pd.cpim.org/2004/0704/07042004_interview%20bb.htm|title=Bengal Left Front Govt Steps into 28th Year|access-date=5 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301202849/http://pd.cpim.org/2004/0704/07042004_interview%20bb.htm|archive-date=1 March 2012|url-status=dead}} By the time of his release, Sanyal had publicly condemned the original strategy of the armed struggle of the CPI(ML).[http://www.flonnet.com/fl2221/stories/20051021008801000.htm The road from Naxalbari] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017003722/http://www.flonnet.com/fl2221/stories/20051021008801000.htm |date=17 October 2006}}

After his release, Sanyal rallied his supporters and formed the Organising Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (OCCR).{{cite web |url=http://www.cpim.org/marxist/198501_marxist_naxalism_Prakash.htm |title=Naxalism today |access-date=5 February 2007 |archive-date=4 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604130709/http://www.cpim.org/marxist/198501_marxist_naxalism_Prakash.htm |url-status=dead }} He continued to attend CPI(M) all-party meetings until his death.

In 1985, Sanyal's faction, along with five other groups, merged to form the Communist Organisation of India (Marxist-Leninist), and Sanyal was appointed leader of the CPI(ML).{{cite web|url=http://www.massline.info/India/Indian_Groups.htm|title=Maoist Revolutionary parties and organizations in India|first=Scott|last=H.}}

Later years

In his later years, Sanyal continued his broad engagement in political activism, including the labour movement and land rights. For these activities he was arrested and detained several times.

On 18 January 2006, while protesting against a lockout of tea garden workers in the region, Sanyal and other fellow agitators were arrested for causing a train to be held up at the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station in Siliguri, North Bengal.{{cite web|url=http://www.nchro.org/index.php/2006/01/18/kanu-sanyal-arrested-for-rail-roko/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722152337/http://nchro.org/index.php/2006/01/18/kanu-sanyal-arrested-for-rail-roko/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=22 July 2018|title=Kanu Sanyal arrested for "rail roko"|publisher=NCHRO|date=16 January 2006|accessdate=28 July 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/kanu-sanyal-arrested-for-rail-roko/article3241868.ece|title=Kanu Sanyal arrested for rail roko|website=The Hindu|date=18 January 2006}}

By late 2006, Sanyal had become a prominent figure in the opposition to land acquisition in Singur.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} On 8 December, he was arrested and detained along with three other Naxalite leaders after the police stopped and charged a demonstration.{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061209/nation.htm#1%5D,|title=Buddha invites Mamata for talks. Police lathi charges mediapersons, seven hurt|newspaper=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Nation|date=9 December 2006|accessdate=28 July 2019|archive-date=21 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821000720/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061209/nation.htm#1%5D,|url-status=dead}}

Death

On 23 March 2010, he was found hanging at his residence at Seftullajote village, 25 km from Siliguri (West Bengal), where the Naxal movement had begun under his leadership. Sanyal was suffering from old-age related cardio-pulmonary ailments. At the time of his death, he was the General Secretary of the new CPI(ML), formed by a merger of several splinter groups of the original party.{{cite news|author=Saugata Roy|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-23/india/28145460_1_kanu-sanyal-top-naxal-leader-charu-majumdar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811051749/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-23/india/28145460_1_kanu-sanyal-top-naxal-leader-charu-majumdar |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2011 |title=Top Naxal leader Kanu Sanyal found dead in his house |date=23 March 2010|work=The Times of India |accessdate=14 August 2012}}