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{{Short description|Leader of the Indian Maoist movement}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Deo Kumar Singh |native_name=देव कुमार सिंह
| image = Deo Kumar Singh - Portrait.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1950|11|24}}
| birth_place = [[Jehanabad]], [[Bihar]], India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2018|03|21|1950|11|24}}
| death_place = [[Latehar]], [[Jharkhand]], India
| nationality = Indian
| other_names = Arvind Ji, Vikash Ji, Sujeet Ji, Nishant
| known_for = Prominent figure of the Maoist movement in India, [[far-left politics]]
| occupation = [[Maoist]], [[guerrilla warfare]]
| years_active= 1977–2018
| organization= [[Politburo]] and [[Central Military Commission]] Member of [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]] <br/> [[General Secretary]] of [[Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti]] <br/> Member of [[Central Organising Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Party Unity]]
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|25.267917|84.9872655|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| burial_place = 
| burial_coordinates = {{coord|25.267917|84.9872655|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| monuments = A bust and a 24 feet high pillar erection is underway at his birthplace by voluntary contribution involving physical effort and financial support from the people
| spouse = Prabhawati Devi
| children = 3
| notable_works =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Deo Kumar Singh''' (/dɛv kuˈmɑr sɪŋ/ {{lang-hi|देव कुमार सिंह}}, 24 November 1950 – 21 March 2018), commonly known by his [[nom de guerre]] '''Arvind Ji''',<ref name="IPCS">{{cite news|author=Deepak Kumar Nayak|title=Naxalism: Profile of Deo Kumar Singh Alias Arvindji|accessdate=22 November 2013|publisher=IPCS|date=22 November 2013 | url = http://www.ipcs.org/comm_select.php?articleNo=4189}}</ref> '''Vikash Ji''' and '''Sujeet Ji''', was the leader of the [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency|Indian Maoist movement]] and the [[Politburo]] Member of [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]], a [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)#Legal status|banned]]<ref>[http://www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?id_pk=292 List of Organisations Declared As Terrorist Organisations Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 - Ministry of Home Affairs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928115333/http://www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?id_pk=292 |date=2010-09-28 }}</ref> [[communist party]] in India. He spent his life as a student leader, a mass organiser and later led and strategised the [[guerrilla warfare]] against the Indian state.

==Early life==
Deo Kumar Singh was born in Sukulchak village in the [[Jehanabad]] district of [[Bihar]], the eldest child of a [[Middle class|middle-class]] family. His father, Ram Narayan Singh was a government servant and mother Ajnaso Devi was a housewife. Singh had done schooling from [[Jehanabad]] and [[Patna]] districts in [[Bihar]]. He graduated in science from [[College of Commerce, Arts and Science, Patna]]. He then married Prabhawati Devi and shortly afterwards moved to [[Dehri|Dehri on Sone]], where he started a small food business.

==Political life==

He was known by several aliases including '''Arvind Ji''', '''Vikash Ji''', '''Sujeet Ji''' and '''Nishant'''. Singh started student politics in the era of [[Mahamaya Prasad Sinha]] and [[Jayaprakash Narayan]] movement. He soon entered left-wing politics under the influence of [[Naxalbari uprising]] led by [[Charu Majumdar]] and [[Kanu Sanyal]].

He joined [[CPI(ML) Party Unity]] led by [[Narayan Sanyal (politician)|Narayan Sanyal]] and formed a mass organisation [[Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti]] ({{lang-hi|मजदूर किसान संग्राम समिति}}) to campaign for land reform and to establish minimum wages for agricultural labourers. Later he became [[General secretary]] of [[Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti]] and a member of the Central Organising Committee (top functionary body) of CPI(ML) Party Unity. After the merger of CPI(ML) Party Unity, [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War]] and [[Maoist Communist Centre of India]], a new party [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]] ({{lang-hi|भारत की कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (माओवादी )}}) was formed on 21 September 2004; he became a member of the [[Central Committee]] and [[Central Military Commission]]. In 2013 he was elected to the [[politburo]] of the [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]].<ref name="politburo">{{cite news|author=Bharti Jain|title=Latehar operation mastermind tipped for Maoist politbureau berth?|accessdate=5 February 2013|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=5 February 2013 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Latehar-operation-mastermind-tipped-for-Maoist-politbureau-berth/articleshow/18341449.cms}}</ref>

==Role in Maoist movement==
Singh was one of the most wanted persons by the [[Government of India|Indian government]] and nine states of India including [[Jharkhand]], [[Bihar]], [[Maharashtra]] and [[Chhattisgarh]]. [[Jharkhand]] government alone had announced an award of {{INR}} 10,000,000 for any information leading to his arrest.<ref name=wanted>{{cite web|title=Rs 1 crore reward on four top Maoist leaders in Jharkhand|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/ranchi/rs-1-crore-reward-on-four-top-maoist-leaders-in-jharkhand/story-gfX7K2gc5WbG4ffVTjyD8M.html|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|accessdate=16 June 2013}}</ref> He was known as the mass organiser and backbone to set up and strategise [[guerrilla warfare]] under [[People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (India)]] in Indian forests against the imperialist state. He had proposed a new [[Strategy & Tactics]], '''[[Critic Document]]''' ({{lang-hi|आलोचना दस्तावेज}}), to central organising committee of [[Central Organising Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Party Unity|CPI (ML) Party Unity]] which was accepted as a parallel thought of party line and played a key role in formation of [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]] by unification of several left parties distributed across the country fighting for the same goal.

==Life in prison==
Singh was arrested for the first time in 1990 by [[Bihar Police]] and kept as a political prisoner in [[Bankipur Central Jail| Bankipur Central Jail, Patna]]. After three years, he was released on bail. On 12 June 2003, he was again arrested in [[Patna]] by [[Special Task Force (India)|Special Task Force]]<ref name="secondarrest">{{cite news|author=Sanjay Singh|title=PW chief gives a talk to sleuths|accessdate=13 June 2003|work=The Times of India|date=13 June 2003 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/PW-chief-gives-a-talk-to-sleuths/articleshow/20380.cms}}</ref> and was held as a prisoner in [[Beur Central Jail|Beur Central Jail, Patna]], Jehanabad Jail and Bhagalpur Central Jail for more than two years.

==Personal life==
Singh was affable and courteous with his mates and a charismatic person. After massacre of [[Arwal]]<ref name=arwalmassacre>{{cite web|title=Massacre of Arwal|url=https://studymoose.com/massacre-of-arwal-essay|publisher=Studymoose}}</ref> by police and the state ban on [[Mazdoor Kisan Sangram Samiti]],<ref name=mkssban>{{cite web|title=CM Bindeshwari Dubey's decision to ban MKSS raises doubts about his grip on Bihar|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19860915-cm-bindeshwari-dubey-decision-to-ban-mkss-raises-doubts-about-his-grip-on-bihar-801232-1986-09-15|work=[[India Today]]}}</ref> Singh went underground; he addressed some [[News conference|press conferences]] and gave only a few interviews, which include those with Alex Perry of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine and Ushinor Majumdar, a journalist from ''[[Tehelka]]''.<ref name="cheguevara">{{cite news|author=Ushinor Majumdar|title=The hunt for the last Che Guevara of the East|accessdate=18 January 2014|publisher=Tehelka|date=18 January 2014|url=http://www.tehelka.com/2014/01/the-hunt-for-the-last-che-guevara-of-the-east|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409105936/http://www.tehelka.com/2014/01/the-hunt-for-the-last-che-guevara-of-the-east/|archive-date=9 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Death==
On 21 March 2018, after two months of severe illness, Singh died of respiratory arrest and heart attack at Burha Pahar, [[Latehar]], [[Jharkhand]].<ref name=died>{{cite web|title=Jharkhand's top Maoist commander Arvindji died of heart attack: Police|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/jharkhand-s-top-maoist-commander-arvindji-dies-of-heart-attack/story-7qQlkkw89yuAsTz5WGiWaN.html|newspaper=Hindustan Times|accessdate=21 March 2018}}</ref> [[Government of India|Indian government]] and [[paramilitary forces of India]] wanted to see his body as an evidence of death but failed to recover, they detained his family members and did not allow them to attend the last rites. His body was cremated in [[Latehar]] forest in [[Jharkhand]] under the protection of [[People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (India)|PLGA]] surrounded by local people and sympathisers.

==Monument==

After his death, people planned to put up a bust made of granite on top of a 24-foot high concrete pillar (proposed name: '''Pillar of Strength''') on 0.4 acre land at his native village Sukulchak.<ref name=bust>{{cite news|title=Plan to put up Maoist leader's bust in Jehanabad|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/plan-to-put-up-maoist-leaders-bust-in-jehanabad/articleshow/63570988.cms|date=2 April 2018|first=Debashish|last=Karmarkar|newspaper=The Times of India|accessdate=23 August 2019}}</ref> The process is currently underway by voluntary contribution involving physical effort and financial support.

[[File:Deo Kumar Singh - Bust Construction.jpg|thumb|Memorial of Deo Kumar Singh (under construction)]]
[[File:His wife paying last respects.jpg|thumb|His wife Prabhawati Devi paying the last respect]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mlHk_JERt8 India Today TV: Jharkhand's Most Wanted Maoist Leader Declared Dead]
* [http://old.tehelka.com/the-hunt-for-the-last-che-guevara-of-the-east Tehelka: The hunt for the last Che Guevara of the East]
* [http://www.icawpi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=725:the-international-campaign-against-war-on-the-people-of-india-launched&catid=157:announcements&Itemid=647 International Campaign Against War on the People in India -Launched by ICAWPI]
* [[Arundhati Roy|Roy, Arundhati]] (29 March 2010). [https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/walking-with-the-comrades/264738 "Walking With The Comrades"]. ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]''.
* Thottam, Jyoti (24 October 2010). [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2026792,00.html "India's Scourge"]. ''Time''.
* Sengupta, Somini (30 October 2005). [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/magazine/where-maoists-still-matter.html "Where Maoists Still Matter"]. ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]''.
* [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/4/26/indias-maoist-rebels-an-explainer "India's Maoist rebels: An explainer"]. [[Al Jazeera]]. 26 April 2017.
* [http://www.bannedthought.net/India/MilitaryCampaigns/index.htm "Military Assaults Against Revolutionaries and the Masses in India"]. BannedThought.net. 20 April 2010.
* [http://deokumarsingh.business.site Official Website: Deo Kumar Singh Memorial, Jehanabad]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Deo Kumar}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Jehanabad district]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India (Maoist) politicians]]
[[Category:Anti-revisionists]]
[[Category:Indian guerrillas]]
[[Category:Indian Marxists]]

Deo Kumar Singh - Revision history

UpdateBot at 21:13, 6 February 2022