Name Jangal Santhal | Died 1981 | |
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Jangal Santhal, also known as Jangal Santal (1925 – 3 December 1988) from Hatighisa village, Darjeeling district in north West Bengal, is one of the founders of the Naxalite movement (along with Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal).
Santhal was a well-respected figure among the Adivasi sharecroppers, peasants and tea labourers of the hill and tarai areas of Darjeeling district. He stood unsuccessfully for elections in February 1957 and 1962 on a Communist Party of India and also in 1967 on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) ticket.
On 18 May 1967, Santhal was part of a Peasants' Council that resolved to re-distribute the land to the sharecroppers, via armed struggle. On 23 May, a sharecropper peasant was beaten up by the landlord's men while attempting to till his allotted land. The next day, when a police party headed by inspector Sonam Wangdi arrived to arrest some peasant leaders, they were ambushed by Santhal's group armed with bows and arrows. Sonam Wangdi was killed. In retaliation the police open fired killing nine women and one child on 25 May 1967.
Santhal was eventually arrested on 10 August 1967 and he was released in 1979, but found himself isolated. He died on 3 December 1988.