January 2018
The ‘Spring Thunder’ and Kolkata
An epic story of courage and sacrifice 1965-72
by Amit Bhattacharya
The city of Kolkata was known as a city of processions and demonstrations until the ‘Spring Thunder’ crashed over Naxalbari in 1967. Since then, this historic city–shot down many a time–witnessed a saga of heroic struggles, undying revolutionary optimism and self-sacrifice. Inspired by Mao Tse-tung Thought and Charu Mazumdar, radical youth, students and workers rebelled against reaction to ‘make the ’70s the decade of Liberation’ in a way never seen before or after. This is the first modest attempt at writing the history of the city during that tumultuous phase. It includes rare photographs of activists, buildings and columns of importance and cover pages of original Party booklets and leaflets.
