Note

Hemanga Biswas—A Centenary Tribute
A B writes

This is the birth centenary year of Hemanga Biswas. The famous mass singer and composer of yester-years. He died in 1987, survived by one son (Mainak) and one daughter (Rangili). His wife, Ranu Biswas died recently. His fame was multidimensional. He was a singer, composer and musician. His name is remembered in Assam as one of the pioneers of the communist movement there. Scion of a landlord family of Syllet, Hemanga Biswas became involved in the Swadeshi movement in his boyhood and courted imprisonment for that. Later, he joined the communist movement and formed a pivotal role in the formation of trade unions in the tea gardens of Assam. His genius in assimilating the art forms of the songs sung by the rural people and his profound sense of commitment to workers and peasants quickly secured for him a prominent place in the Indian People's Theatrical Association (IPTA). But he was not only a worker of the cultural front; he was a party organizer too.

In the late forties, he had to go underground and remain in hiding for three years. Later, on the recommendation of Muzaffar Ahmed, he got a job in the Soviet consulate, which he resigned in 1974, because his strongly pro-Chinese views about the international communist movement earned the ire of the authorities of the consulate.

Many of Hemanga Biswas's songs became immensely popular among political activists. Some of them were composed following the line of people's war adopted by the Communist Party of India, although he subsequently was bitterly critical about the way the line was implemented. A few songs upheld the fighting spirit of peasants. Some were aimed to mock at the transfer of power. The most famous among the latter category was probably the Mountbatten Mangalkavya, in which the compromising attitude of the Congress towards British-American imperialism was severely lashed at. The Congress Government took a serious notice of it and Hemanga Biswas was arrested. But this fine poetic work continued to be sung in public gatherings organized by the Communist Party of India.

In 1957, he went to China and lived there for two and a half years. During this period, he visualized the movement for the transformation of social and economic relations and was profoundly impressed by it. In 1961, when the language riot broke out in Assam, taking its toll of human lives, he, along with Bhupen Hazarika, conducted anti-riot cultural programme in all the conflict-ridden regions. In the nineteen sixties, when he was an employee of the Soviet consulate, there began the great debate of the international communist movement. He openly took the side of the Chinese, which was an act of rare courage. The authorities did not like it, although they did not sack him. These cultural activities are still remembered in Assam with reverence. In the sixties, he actively collaborated with the Little Theatre Group led by Utpal Datta, and composed the songs for the famous play Kallol (Wave), that created history in the cultural milieu of Calcutta. He was influenced by Naxalbari and did not like the CPI(M)'s denunciation of it. He also played the role of the musician in the play Tir (Arrow), written and staged by Utpal Datta. Influenced by the Chinese Revolution, he also translated a few Chinese songs. In the 1970s, he wrote a few articles trying to analyze the relevance of the folk music of Eastern India from a Marxist standpoint. He was bitterly critical of the way the tendency for cheap urbanization, was distorting the original compositions of famous folk songs.

Like many other sensible persons, he, influenced by Naxalbari, dreamt of revolution. But the way left sectarianism came to dominate the movement disillusioned him. On many occasions, he gave shelters to underground activists and argued with them about the futility and self-destructive nature of the line of urban action. In those days, it was a matter of great risk, but he undertook it. But left sectarianism was fused with petty-bourgeois arrogance, and hence the exhortations of people like him went largely unheeded. This is a sad tale, recalling which is very much painful. His faith in China as the model of socialism and revolution also suffered a setback owing to the developments of the post-Mao period, although it was this faith that had led him to resign his lucrative job in the Soviet consulate. But since he was regarded an old friend of China, the new authorities were eager to use him for their own purpose by offering him warm hospitality and other facilities. Yet when he realized that the persons in power were perhaps going to abandon the principles of socialism, he refused to toe their line and rejected all offers.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 36, Mar 17-23, 2013

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