Red Flag of the Warlis | LeftWord Books
Com. Godavari Parulekar, former President of AIKS was the leader of the Warli Adivasi Struggle. She has narrated the struggle for dignity and survival of the Warli Adivasis in “Jehva Manus Jaaga Hotho” in Marathi which won the Sahitya Akademi award. It was later translated in English as “The Awakening of Man” by Nikhil Gavankar.
On the occasion of the 34th All India Conference of AIKS to be held at Hisar, Haryana a book “Red Flag of the Warlis” a history of the ongoing struggle of the Warlis in Talasri and Dahanu in Thane district (now Palghar) based on oral history interviews with veteran Kisan Sabha activists. It covers the glorious struggle from 1945-52 and right up to the present days. Written by Prof.Archana Prasad the book will be released by Com.Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister of Tripura. The book in tribute to Godutai and innumerable Adivasi men and women fighters has been brought out attractively by LeftWord Books for All India Kisan Sabha.
This is bound to be a valuable resource material for activists and researchers. It shall continue to inspire generations to be a part of the ongoing struggle in Maharashtra and elsewhere.
From the back cover of the book:
The Warli Adivasi Revolt in Thane district of Maharashtra from 1945 onwards was a historic event. It was part of the massive post-Second World War and pre-Independence peasant struggles in various parts of the country that were led by the All India Kisan Sabha. These peasant struggles raised the banner of revolt against feudalism and landlordism. They vastly strengthened the organisational base of the Kisan Sabha and the political influence of the Left.
This book is about the struggles for survival and dignity of the Warli Adivasis in Talasari and Dahanu talukas of Thane district (now in Palghar district after bifurcation) in Maharashtra. It is based on a series of oral history interviews with veteran and contemporary Kisan Sabha activists. They describe the ways in which the Warlis have sustained their struggles against an oppressive State and its allies since the first glorious resistance of 1945-52, right up to present times.
In doing so it captures the voices of Warli activists who actively participated in struggles over many years and whose histories have been erased by historians of mainstream academia. Documented over a period of four years of research, this book places on record some of the most remarkable struggles that have influenced the building of a strong class-based Adivasi leadership.
Archana Prasad is Professor at the Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is the author of ‘Against Ecological Romanticism: Verrier Elwin and the Making of an Anti-Modern Tribal Identity’ (2011), and ‘Environmentalism and the Left: Contemporary Debates and Future Agendas’ (LeftWord, 2004).
(Courtesy: Vijay Prashad)
