Comrade Moni Singh, one of the national heroes of Bangladesh, accepted Marxism and leninism at an early age. In his autobiographical book, ‘Jiban Sangram’, Comrade Moni Singh says that he joined the communist movement of workers and peasants during the last stage of the twenties. He used to organize the workers first and subsequently he launched the struggle for the betterment of life of peasants and other toiling masses of the people. During this tíme, Comrade Moni Singh met in Calcutta a number of famous communists including Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed.

Comrade Moni Singh's maternal uncle was a feudal lord or 'Raja' of Susong Durgapur in greater Mymensing district. But Moni Singha turned an anti-Britisht anti-feudal radical of the period. He organised secret societies or radical groups in the area and came in touch with the other groups who were working for the betterment of the ethnic minorities like Garo, Hajong and other downtrodden communities.

At the time the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 took place in Russia, Comrade Moni Singh was a young man. He and his comrades, both in Calcutta and Mymensingh, became highly jubilant, as if they themselves had made the November 7 Revolution.

In India the first communist Party was founded by M N Roy in 1920. But the party officially started functioning from 1925. The British sought to nip communist movement in the bud. They started three conspiracy cases, one in Peshawar (1922-23), one in Kanpore (1924) and the third in Mirat (1929). The Government took up the mirat case very seriously.

Communist and working class leaders were held all over India. Following are the names of those who were arrested in connection with the Mirat case:

1. Muzaffar Ahmed

2. Dharani Goswamy

3. Gopen Chakrabarty

4. Radharaman Mitra

5. Shamsul Huda

6. Gopal Basak

7. Kishor Lal Ghosh (non-communist)

8. Phillip Sprat and

9. Shibnath Banerjee

Police did not spare comrade Moni Singh. His residence and textile unions were searched. Newspaper men inquired from the I.B. officers if comrade Moni Singh had been arrested. (As I came out with the news Moni singh's arrest.)

In many parts of Bengal peasants used to mortgage to the money lenders their land for some money. When the peasant failed to make the payment on date the money-lender would grab the land. In most cases, money-lenders would not disclose to the loanee the actual date of payment of the money. With this way money-lenders became landlords in course of time and the peasant would finally be thrown out of his land.

The peasants of Hasnabad rose against their money-lenders in 1928. The movement was led by Mokhlesur Rahman who was not a communist but a genuine peasant leader. Yakub Miah who was well-known as Baro miah, was a communist and a strong supporter of Mokhlesur Rahman. The two leaders talked to the money-lenders who ultimately accepted a settlement outside the court. This way the two leaders became very popular.

In 1926 Comrade Moni Singha, along with a number of other