History of Naxalbari: The Small Village That Sparked A Revolution, And How It Is Today

Naxalbari is the upcoming ZEE5 Original series is an in-dept look at the threat from naxalites India. Rajeev Khandelwal plays the role of an STF officer who is tasked with curbing Naxalites activity in Gadchiroli, a hotbed for naxal ideology. Satyadeep Mishra, Sreejit De and Shakti Anand are playing the role of naxalites in this series which also stars Tina Dutta and Aamir Ali.

Watch a logo reveal of the series here.

The name Naxalbari is taken from the village in West Bengal. In 1967, the peasants from this village rose in an armed rebellion led mostly by the tribals and the local extemist communist leaders. The leader of this movement, Charu Majumdar felt the time was ripe for a people’s revolt in India after seeing such movements around the world including Cuba, Vietnam and China. What started as a peaceful protest, took a violent turn after police shot down some of the protesters.

The story of the revolution spread across the country and inspired dalits, adivasis and other marginalised groups of society to join the struggle. Their influence is felt in areas right from Bihar to Tamil Nadu and even parts of Nepal. But with this growing influence what happened to the village of Naxalbari?

The arrest and subsequent death of Charu Majumdar seen the end of the armed movement in Naxalbari. However, 25 May is still commemorated every year as Naxalbari day where local naxalite parties oversee the graffiti and slogans to be painted on the walls. The village has not seen much development over the years. The village was brought back in focus in 2017 when BJP president Amit Shah began the West Bengal campaign by eating lunch with a dalit family in Naxalbari.

Watch the Hindi films Chakravyuh and Buddha In A Traffic Jam that offer different views on the naxal threat to India today.