The Nabiyan National Liberation Front (Thrakur: नबियान राष्ट्रीय मुक्ती आघाड, Nabiyāna rāṣṭrīya muktī āghāḍī) or simply the NLF, is a revolutionary, socialist political party and rebel group operating within Nabiya. Formed by 1934 as a union of the Nabiyan Communist, Nationalist and Republican parties as an attempt to fight for Nabiyan independence against Rythene and Tyrnica the group has since evolved into a anarcho-socialist revolutionary group occupying areas of southern Nabiya and current engaged in an on-and-off conflict against the Senapati-led government of the Arani Empire.
Organisation
History
Ideology
The ideology of the NLF has shifted across a number of years since its initial creation in 1934. As a political alliance of the Communist, Nationalist and Republican parties, the NLF represented a broad range of political ideals with the overall aim of achieving complete independence for the state of Nabiya. With the takeover of the group by the Communist party through entryist tactics, the NLF came to embody a form of revolutionary socialism which aimed to achieve a socialist state in Nabiya through violent revolution, first with the overthrow of colonial rule, and later the Senapti-led monarchy as well as violent struggle against private ownership of land and property.
With the NLF's initial failure to take power in the aftermath of Nabiyan independence, the group looked to organise itself as a parallel state to the Senapti government in the few territories it maintained control over. The NLF mainted its own standing army, bureaucracy and administrative system which were largelly formed with the aim of waging a guerilla war against the Arani Empire, particularly within the southern regions of Karakh, Malakkad and Oranna where NLF influence was greatest post-independence.
Dhamdherism
By the 1960s the groups's brand of revolutionary socialism evolved under the leadership of Gautami Dhamdhere who governed the NLF from 1967 to 1984. This new platform labelled Dhamdherism after the group's leader dominated party discourse throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. Dhamdherism looked to combine elements of revolutionary socialism with aspects of Nabiyan nationalism, accelerationism and agrarian socialism. Additionally the ideological shift under Dhamdhere also led to greater restrictions on the political freedoms of those under NLF rule with the government utilising increasingly authoritarian tactics to control its population and suppress dissent. Simultaneously, this period led to the development of a cult of personality around Gautami Dhamdhere and the wider Dhamdhere political dynasty.
Under Gautami Dhamdhere the NLF reached the height of its power post-independence due to the expansion of its conflict against the Empire as well as a serious intensification of agricultural and military production. Nevertheless this period also conicided with widespread political oppression millions of deaths and allegations of genocide from some international observers.
Anarchism
By the mid-1980s, Dhamdhere's political influence had began to wane with other more moderate candidates taking control of the NLF and reversing many of the more extreme aspects of Dhamdherist rule. These changes had the effect of fragmenting much of the centralised political control that the NLF exerted over its territories leading some territories to come under the control of independent councils or warlords. With the onset of the twenty-first century, this decentralised control was embraced by a new wave of NLF leaders who embraced a model of governance more closely aligned with anarchism rather than the more authoritarian approach of Dhamdherist rule.
Despite this shift towards anarcho-socialism, various different socialist ideologies continue to be promoted amongst the party leadership.
Administration
Leaders
The Leadership of the National Liberation Front has evolved over time with the type of leadership and method of election changing based on amendments to the party's constitution. Originally, the NLF had no designating leader and instead operated with a leadership council made up of all three independent party leaders. Each leader would share authority over the group with any decisions or amendments to the party's constitution requiring unanimous agreement between all three.
As the independence struggle deepened however this proved unworkable leading the constitution to be amended to include a rotating presidency. Under this system the President of the NLF would serve a 4-year term which would rotate between candidates from the Nationalist Party, Nabiyan Republican Party and Communist Party of Nabiya. This system of a rotating presidency existed between 1938 and 1952 when it was replaced by a system of election by committee from all parties in the coalition without any system of rotation. This amendment greatly benefitted the Communist party which by this point had gained almost complete control over the party committee and membership due to entryist tactics which largely displaced the influence of the Nationalist and Republican groups. Under the current system, the party presidency has evolved from periods of almost dictatorial control during the 1970s and 80s, to the more democratic system seen under the modern anarcho-socialist party today.
№
|
President
|
Term of office
|
Political Party
|
Portrait
|
Name (Birth–Death)
|
Took Office
|
Left Office
|
Days
|
1
|
|
Leadership Council
|
7 August 1934
|
14 February 1938
|
1287
|
-
|
Between 1934 and 1938 the NLF Presidency was held by a Leadership Council consisting of the leaders of the Nationalist, Republican and Communist Parties. At this time the leaders of each party included Rahul Rajavade of the Nationalists, Ulhas Risbud of the Republicans and Anup Pudke of the Communists. With the outbreak of the Second Great War in 1937, the council of leaders proved ineffective at launching widespread independence rebellions and movements, leading the party constitution to be amended to a rotating Presidency.
|
2
|
|
Rahul Rajavade (1865-1941)
|
14 February 1938
|
2 August 1941
|
1265
|
Nationalist
|
Rahul Rajavade was the leader of the Nabiyan National Liberation Front from 1932 until his death in 1941. Rajavade had also previously led the Nabiyan Nationalist Party since its formation in 1912. Rajavade was an early leader of the Nabiyan independence movement having been educated overseas in Rythene and his approach and philosophies would come to define the early movement. His leadership proved integral to the formation of the united National Liberation Front where he served as leader as a part of the Leadership council and sole President from 1938 to 1941. Rajavade played an important role in organising the NLF and ensured the group gained strong footholds in towns and villages across rural Nabiya. Rajavade was an important leader of the Sindhu uprising in 1940 in coordination with Songha forces during the Second Great War. Rajavade died at the age of 76 of suspected cancer. He was replaced by his deputy Shyam Pandit.
|
3
|
|
Shyam Pandit (1873-1967)
|
2 August 1941
|
14 February 1942
|
196
|
Nationalist
|
Shyam Pandit took over leadership of the Nationalist Party and the National Liberation Front following the death of Rajavade. Pandit held the leadership of the front for a total of 196 days until the Nationalists 4 year term expired. Pandit continued the hard-line approach of his predicessor, working with Songha forces to fight for Nabiyan independence. Pandit would remain leader of the Nationalist party until he officially left the NLF in 1951.
|
4
|
|
Abhijeet Phatak (1882-1977)
|
14 February 1942
|
14 February 1946
|
1461
|
Republican
|
Abhijeet Phatak took over leadership of the National Liberation Front in 1942 in the midst of the Second Great War. Compared to his predicessors Phatak took a more moderate stance, moving towards greater negotiation with colonial authorities over armed resistance as it became clear that Rythene would be unable to maintain its foothold in Nabiya. This approach caused considerable tensions with the other parties within the coalition, especially the Nationalists who favoured armed resistance. Such divisions significantly reduced the influence of the NLF over the Nabiyan independence movement, leading the Senapati to gain control over the Rythenean colonial army and a significant portion of the country's provinces as Rythene retreated from Nabiya.
|
5
|
|
Satish Dagade (1894-1957)
|
14 February 1946
|
14 February 1950
|
1461
|
Communist
|
Satish Dagade was the first Communist leader of the NLF and the leader of the organisation throughout much of the Nabiyan War of Liberation. Dagade's leadership was controversial throughout the NLF due to his tenture overseeing a wide degree of entryists joining the front, leading to widespread Communist control of the front's administrative organs. Nevertheless, Dagade was also controversial within the Communist party itself due to his governing approach which sought consensus with the other parties in the coalition. In the aftermath of the NLF's defeat during the Liberation War, the front was forced underground leading to a significant exodus of Republican and Nationalist members.
|
6
|
|
Rohit Gadkari (1886-1953)
|
14 February 1950
|
6 April 1952
|
782
|
Nationalist
|
Rohit Gadkari was the final Nationalist leader of the NLF. Gadkari's leadership saw the NLF attempt to reorganise to wage a guerilla campaign against the new Senapati government. Gadkari's tenture was wrought with division in the NLF due to a mass exodus of Nationalists, some of whom were supportive of the new government, and the rising influence of the Communists. Gadkari would be forced to contest re-election as NLF leader in 1952 due to constitutional changes which abolished the rotating presidency. Gadkari lost the subsequent election to Anjal Vyas. Under the Vyas regime Gadkari would be caught up in the purge of remaining Nationalist and Republican members and would be tried and executed for treason the following year.
|
7
|
|
Anjal Vyas (1887-1973)
|
6 April 1952
|
6 April 1960
|
2922
|
Communist
|
Anjal Vyas was leader of the NLF from 1952 to 1960. His leadership was integral to the reformation of both the Nabiyan Communist Party and the NLF. Vyas promoted a philosophy of Continued Revolution which advocated using guerilla tactics to wage a civil war whilst reforming the NLF into a parallel state to the Senapati government. Vyas's approach would define the party from the 1950s until the late 1980s when the NLF was at the height of its power. Vyas would be re-elected as leader in 1956 but would choose not contend the 1960 election, stepping down as leader NLF to be replaced by Madhev Sane but remaining leader of the Communist party until his death in 1973.
|
8
|
|
Madhav Sane (1910-1964)
|
6 April 1960
|
6 April 1964
|
1461
|
Communist
|
Madhav Sane was elected as leader of the NLF following Vyas' decision to step down in 1960. Sane's leadership however saw the NLF become increasingly subordinated under the Communist party, with many seeing Sane as merely a puppet of Vyas who continued to hold real control of the organisation. Sane's leadership saw the NLF lose much of their northern holdings to the Senapati government resulting in his removal from office in the following election.
|
9
|
|
Niraj Potdar (1904-1967)
|
6 April 1964
|
12 June 1967
|
1162
|
Communist
|
Niraj Potdar was elected leader of the NLF in the 1964 elections.
|
10
|
|
Gautami Dhamdhere (1902-1967)
|
12 June 1967
|
6 April 1984
|
6143
|
Communist
|
|
11
|
|
Kavish Juthani (1917-1991)
|
6 April 1984
|
6 April 1988
|
1461
|
Communist
|
|
12
|
|
Vikas Karkare (1922-2001)
|
6 April 1988
|
6 April 1991
|
1095
|
Communist
|
|
12
|
|
Ananka Zende (1928-2014)
|
6 April 1991
|
6 April 1999
|
4017
|
Communist
|
|
13
|
|
Jitendra Ekbote (1938-2014)
|
6 April 1999
|
4 March 2004
|
1794
|
Communist
|
|
14
|
|
Jaswant Dhamdhere (1947-2005)
|
4 March 2004
|
12 June 2005
|
465
|
Communist
|
|
15
|
|
Kapil Satam (1952-2005)
|
12 June 2005
|
6 April 2006
|
398
|
Communist
|
|
15
|
|
Narayan Khatmode (1963-)
|
6 April 2006
|
6 April 2014
|
2922
|
Communist
|
|
16
|
|
Mukesh Tambe (1968-2024)
|
6 April 2014
|
6 April 2021
|
2557
|
Communist
|
|
17
|
|
Ravi Goyal (1970-)
|
6 April 2021
|
|
1359
|
Communist
|
|