Articles by Ranajit Das Gupta

Marxist and progressive-minded historians have undoubtedly made important contributions, particularly in the area of workers' struggles, trade unions and the influence of political and ideological movements on these struggles and organisations. But their writings have often ignored the complexities of the historical formation of the Indian working class and have not dealt with many critical areas and major themes, among them, labour process and labour forms, control over and subordination of labour, leadership patterns at different levels, the relationship between the workplace and the community life outside it and proletarianisation and class formation. Furthermore, larger themes of culture, ideology and mentalities, gender dimension, or protests and deference at the macro as well as micro levels and interrelations between these and the politics involved have been neglected.

Sharecroppers' Movement in Bengal Ranajit Das Gupta Sharecropping and Share Croppers' Struggles in Bengal 1930-1950 by Adrienne Cooper; K P Bagchi and Company, Calcutta; pp 360, Rs 225, THE book under review is an important addition to the literature on evolution of sharecropping (barga system) and sharecroppers' (bargadars or adhairs) struggles in Bengal during the first half of the 20th century with special focus on the tebhaga movement of 1946-47. Adriene Coqper combines the methods of oral history, particularly interviews with leaders and activists of the movement, with conventional ones like consultation of archival materials as well as of secondary sources.

Popular Movements in Jalpaiguri District Ranajit Das Gupta I AM thankful to Sharit Kumar Bhowmik for his critique entitled 'Tebhaga Movement in Dooars; Some Issues Regarding Ethnicity and Class Formation' (EPW, May 31) of my article 'Peasants, Workers and Freedom Struggle: Jalpaiguri 1945-47' (EPW, July 27, 1985). His sharply critical tone notwithstanding, I am sure his poser of certain important issues will contribute to a better understanding of the history of popular collective actions, processes of class formation and also of freedom struggle in colonial India, particularly during the crucial period

Peasants, Workers and Freedom Struggle Jalpaiguri, 1945-47 Ranajit Das Gupta This essay makes a preliminary attempt to deal primarily with the stream of popular movements, particularly peasant and worker movements, in Jalpaiguri, a district in North Bengal that had a significant role during the climactic years of 1945-47 in India's struggle for freedom. It discusses popular participation and analyses the nature and significance of such participation in the national movement It also touches on the links and interactions between different streams of the national movement, different approaches to freedom struggle and, further, the interventions made by the major anti-imperialist political forces.