74 SOCIAL SCIENTIST derable expansion, specially in rural areas. It was at this time that women's organizations were founded by a group of communist women in Calcutta, the Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti (women's self-defence society). As the mass women's front of the GPI it was guided by communist ideology and it concentrated on spreading anti-fascist and anti-Japanese propaganda, involving women in defence organizations such as air raid precaution and fire fighting. The Mahila Samiti went to villages when relief work was taken up during the famine period. Apart from famine relief work, the Samiti began other activities also, such as educating and politicizing rural womenfolk. Cultural programmes, literacy campaigns and cottage industries such as spinning and weaving (this was particularly essential in the 1944-45 period when Bengal experienced an acute cloth shortage) were organized. The idea was to improve the position of women by encouraging them to work and gain independent income and get them directly involved in production. For example, it was argued that women should have the right to control the money gained from selling eggs, poultry or vegetables which were the products of their own labour. Group discussions and meetings were held where general political issues were raised as well as those specially affecting women, such as the proposed Hindu code legislation. Necessity of Organising Women On the basis of building a mass anti-fascist front it was proposed to bring women into the mainstream of political discussion. Consequently, the CPI realized the necessity of organizing women and mobilizing them in mass campaigns, rallies, demonstrations and conferences. Women were encouraged to become members of the Mahila Samiti. Committees were elected at village, district and provincial levels and meetings held when district organizers, mainly middle class and student communist cadres, toured the villages. By the time the tebhaga movement started there were many women's organizations, but the nature of their activities differed from village to village. Women met with opposition from family and caste groups when they attempted to extend the scope of their activities ,from aid to the destitutes [to organizing political discussions. Encouraging women to think for themselves was an anathema and threat to traditional female dependency and the social structure. There were also prejudices against the communists, and rumours were spread of "communist corruption" leading women astray» Prejudices were great; even politically conscious men were likely