A Study of Communist Periodicals from 1960–90s Punjab (Aggregated by Koonal Duggal)

"Underground or prohibited party literature inspired from Maoist ideology, cheaply printed and circulated in various towns and cities of Punjab."

“The Naxalite movement started in West Bengal in 1967, and soon spread to other states within India. The period from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s is also marked by the Emergency, declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, followed by the emergence of the Khalistani movement demanding a separate Sikh nation… It also explored, alongside a larger critique of capitalism and geopolitics, how the Naxalites responded to state oppression and emerging religious militancy in the context of Punjab during this period.” (Read more)

Souvenir of Fifth Mela Ghdri Babiyan Da held at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall, cover picture of Hindustan Ghadar Party headquarters in San Francisco, 1996, published by Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee, Jalandhar

Rohley Baan (Raging Arrows), August 1972 Issue, hand-drawn, Editor: Paramjit Bahi, Assistant Editor: Ajmer Singh, reference image Che Guevara’s statue, photo courtesy of Sher-Gil Sundaram Artist Foundation and Sahit Akademi reference Library (Ludhiana),

Left text translation: “When people decide to march towards future, When they are the masters of their own destiny, They cannot be deceived, they don’t know fear, rather, they become a fist. - Che Guevara”

Siar (Furrow), hand-drawn, Editor: Pash, Published in Samrala, Jalandhar district, Cover illustration by Chetan Kumar, photo courtesy of Sher-Gil Sundaram Artist Foundation and Sahit Akademi reference Library (Ludhiana)

Surkh Rekha (Red Line), hand-drawn, May special issue 1995, Editor: Jaspal Singh

Ma (Mother), hand-drawn, Monthly magazine, May issue, Editor: Kewal Kaur_,_ photo courtesy of Sher-Gil Sundaram Artist Foundation and Sahit Akademi reference Library (Ludhiana)

Rohley Baan, hand-drawn, February Issue 1973, Editor: Ajmer Singh, photo courtesy of Sher-Gil Sundaram Artist Foundation and Sahit Akademi reference Library (Ludhiana)

Siar (Furrow), hand-drawn, August Issue 1972, Editor: Pash, Published in Samrala, Jalandhar district, Cover illustration by Chetan Kumar with accompanying lines “Azadi dian akkhan vich kanju kiyun? (Why tears in the eyes of freedom?)” photo courtesy of Sher-Gil Sundaram Artist Foundation and Sahit Akademi reference Library (Ludhiana)

From the archive: