Left Parties Celebrate November Revolution Day in West Bengal With Elan

Kolkata: Through hoisting red flags and symposiums in multiple districts of West Bengal, communist parties in the state celebrated the 105th anniversary of the November Revolution, marking the insurrection of leftist revolutionaries led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin on November 7, 1917, in Russia. The insurrection toppled a  provisional government to transfer all powers to the soviets or workers’ councils, building the base for the Soviet Union.

“It is a thrilling occasion for all of us,” Leftist activist Sagareshwar Das told Newsclick, underlining that the event marked the true rebellion of the working class against its oppressors, and the red flag at kremlin was left flowing for the next 71 years, which is rare in world politics. The event is also known as the October Revolution, as it took place on October 25, 1917, as per the Julian calendar, which was in use in Russia at the time.

In Kolkata, a central programme was held at Muzaffar Ahmad Bhawan. The communist publication house, National Book Agency (NBA), introduced e-commerce in its marketing portfolio on the occasion.  Addressing the gathering, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politbureau member Biman Basu traced the origin of the NBA to Kakababu Muzaffar Ahmad, who established the publication house in 1939 with the help of his associates.

From now on, NBA books will be available in the digital marketplace through the web address nbabooks.in. NBA director Aniruddha Chakraborty, in his speech, thanked the Leftword books and workers of the free software movement for lending the know-how to NBA  to take the digital avenue.  

In West Medinipore district, the November Revolution day was observed at more than 400 places in the district.  The programme itinerary consisted of hoisting red flags and garlanding the martyrs’ columns. At the CPI(M) district office in Medinipore, district secretary Tarun Roy spoke about the significance of the November Revolution. He said that how the ten days of the revolution shook the world was unparalleled in world history.  In the evening,  at Debra Bazaar area, Tarun Roy and other leaders participated in a rally.  In all the 51 area committee programmes, rallies and street corner meetings were organised to mark the historic event. 

In the East Medinipore district,  in 34 area committee areas and 698 branch committee areas,  a 10-day  festivity was organsied as the party offices were decorated with red lights in the night.

In Hooghly district, the day was observed in the factories and party offices; in the evening, Student Federation of India state secretary Srijan Bhattacharya took part in a street-corner meeting at Bandel Church area and elaborated on the significance of the day. In Uttarpara,  workers of Shalimar observed the day. In Shrirampur town, a rally was held. In all, the programmes in more than 50 places in the district celebrated the November Revolution day.

In North 24 Parganas district, the day was observed with elan at more than 35 places. Maldah, Murshidabad, North and South Dinajpur districts, along with the districts of Coochbihar, Darjeeling, Burdwan, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, also took part.