THEFT, gambling, abusing women, etc. have been very much eradicated in Sahar, Hilsa, Poonpoon, Jehanabad and certain other blocks in the areas of struggle. In many other areas, the incidence of such social evils has come down by 75 per cent. However, the big thieves have managed to shift their areas of operation, while socio-economic rehabi­litation of the petty thieves is yet to be achieved.

A large number of peasants in such areas, particularly the new generation of peasant youth, are more or less free from all sorts of superstitious beliefs. Addiction to liquor and untouchability have been considerably reduced.

Few years back, the drama staged locally in the villages was based either on mythological themes (e.g., Bir Abhimanyu, Satya Harishchandra etc.) or on the exploits of dacoits kings (e.g., Sultana Dakoo, Chambalka Lutera etc.). A perceptible change is noticeable nowadays — while the youths of upper-caste and landlord families continue to stage the same old types of plays, with the addition of chauvinistic themes like Tiranga Jhanda, poor peasant youths have switched over to plays of an altogether new variety, like Inquilab (Revolution), Khoon ka Badla Khoon (Blood for Blood), Roti aur Insaf (Bread and Justice), Karwan Dilli Jayega (The Caravan Shall March to Delhi), Janjirein Tod Do (Smash the Chains), Derh Bigha Jamin (One Acre of Land), Sava Ser Geinhu (One and a Quarter Seer of Wheat) and so on and so forth. While some of these plays are their original creations, many are in the old tradition of what are called ‘Bhagalpuria plays’ with the modification that whereas the traditional Bhagalpuria plays use to end in defeat for the rebel peasant fighters despite many a heroic deed, the present plays conclude on an optimistic note and many revolutionary songs are interspersed in between. Staging such plays has become a very common and widespread phenomenon in the areas of struggle and often engenders serious conflicts with the landlords as the latter try to stop such plays at all costs. Often these plays are also banned by the police.

Obscene songs and dances that earlier formed an important component of rural culture have now been greatly replaced by revolutionary songs, many of which proved to be quite popular with the masses. In fact, many poets have sprung up from illiterate poor peasants themselves. Revolu­tionary songs are also an important medium of the propa­ganda conducted by armed units and many poor peasant fighters are good composers and singers. Here are the first few lines from some of the most popular songs.

Master Jagdishji rachalan Bhojpur ke rachanava/Roye zalim zamindar/Jiya banchi na hamar/Bharat nagari mein (Jagdish Master was the architect of the great saga of Bhojpur. ‘Nothing can save me in this land’, weeps the tyrant landlord.). Lakhanji Surdas roams all around Bhojpur, singing such inspiring songs, composed by none other than himself, amidst the masses. The police have tried all means to silence this blind singer, but in vain.

Goli kahe moral bekasur ho/Nayanwa se dur bhaila babua (Why did you shoot my innocent son? Oh, my eyes will not see him any more). This song composed by a fighter of an armed unit depicts the agony of a mother whose son has been shot dead by the police. The song ends with the mother urging his thousands of sons to take revenge for their lost brother.

Kahat Akari, Bihari mazdoor par/Sahat ada bhaiya, kauna kasur par. This song composed by Akari, an illiterate poor peasant, calls upon the workers of Bihar to refuse to submit to exploitation and oppression.

The Birha (a popular folktune ) team of Bansiji of Aurangabad is quite popular among the masses. He has composed a song on the Kaithibigha incident.

Many revolutionary intellectuals have also come up with their songs, stories, plays and novels on the theme of the peasant struggle in Bihar. Most notable among them are Gorakh Pande of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and Brijendra Anil, a teacher of a village school in Bhojpur, whose hands were broken by a gang of landlords led by Birbahadur Singh, an ex-MLA, so as to prevent him from wielding his pen.

Many revolutionary teams like the Yuva Niti of Arrah, Hiraval of Patna, and Lalkar of Rohtas, to name only three, often visit the countryside to sing their songs and stage their plays before the masses. These organisations have had to face severe repression in the hands of the landlords and the police. Dr. Bindheswari, who heads a cultural organisation in Rohtas, was mercilessly thrashed by the police and was subsequently falsely implicated in a case of rifle-snatching. Members of the Hiraval cultural team from Patna were severely beaten and arrested by the police so as to prevent them from campaigning in favour of the IPF candidate at Masaurhi. Cultural teams of Bhojpur and Nalanda have also been arrested many a time. This repression has, however, only strengthened their resolve all the more and they cling to the countryside as the testing field for their cultural creations, for they believe in ‘art for the people’s sake’ and in ‘raising the standard’ of their cultural creations through constant interaction with the masses.

This cultural awakening has also had a positive impact on the social conditions and status of the rural poor. The people of the lower castes now enjoy some dignity in the society and upper-caste men are forced to address them in a different tone.