The Naxalite leader Charu Majumdar died on this day in police custody. He was one of the founders and leaders of the Naxalite movement.
Majumdar started and was general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPIM-L). Born in Siliguri, he had joined the Communist Party of India during the Indian nationalist movement. In 1967 a peasant uprising had taken place in Naxalbari, a village in north Bengal that gave the radical left movement its name, led by Majumdar’s comrades Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal. Majumdar was the ideologue who joined them later.
Majumdar’s writings, including the Historic Eight Documents, became the foundation of the Naxalite movement. He was arrested on July 16, 1972, and taken into police custody, where he died on July 28, 1972. His followers believe his death was caused by torture but police claimed it was the result of a massive heart attack.