Continuing the Soviet tradition in Uncle Ho's homeland

Soviet fire burns down the district office

After the opening struggle of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement broke out in Vinh - Ben Thuy on May 1, 1930, the fighting spirit of workers, farmers and soldiers quickly spread to Nam Dan, urging the masses to stand up for freedom and food and clothing.

Faced with that situation, in early June 1930, the Nam Dan District Party Committee convened a meeting, advocating to organize a demonstration right at Don Market on June 18, 1930 (lunar calendar), to protest the colonial government's repression and terror of the workers and farmers in Vinh - Ben Thuy and in Hanh Lam (Thanh Chuong).

At dawn on June 18, 1930, Don market was crowded with revolutionary masses. District chief Le Khac Tuong panicked, sent his men to investigate, and upon hearing the news, he hurriedly got on a rickshaw and planned to flee to Vinh to escape. Discovering his intention, the masses intercepted him, so he had to return to Don market to receive the petition from the people. Under pressure from the masses, the District chief had to promise to present the petitions to the Governor of Nghe An.

This is one of the large-scale struggles, carefully prepared by Party cells and inter-branch committees and achieved the set goals, contributing to strengthening the people's trust in the leadership of local Party cells.

Next, respondUrgent callof the Vinh General Confederation of Labor published in the Nguoi Lao Kho newspaper - the mouthpiece of the Central Region Party Committee, Nam Dan District Party Committee continued to meet to discuss plans to fight for the abolition of high taxes and duties; release all those arrested in the struggles; no terrorism, repression, shooting of those participating in rallies, demonstrations, freedom of speech, freedom of strike, demonstration...

On the morning of August 30, 1930, under the leadership of the Party committees at all levels, thousands of people in the district took to the streets from early morning, gathering at three main locations: Tam Duong Pagoda, Ghenh ferry, and the King Mai temple. People from the villages went to Nam Tan and Ke Tria ferry at 3-4 am to cross the river as planned. The people in neat ranks, with flags, slogans, sticks, spears, etc., joined the march with great enthusiasm and marched to the District Office.

Faced with the overwhelming momentum of the revolutionary masses, they broke into the prison, freed prisoners, burned documents and books, and forced District Chief Le Khac Tuong to sign the petition with the commitment ""Do not harass the people", cThe Nam Dan district government was almost paralyzed. The fire of struggle that flared up again at the district office caused the ruling government in Nam Dan to fall into a state of panic.

The unique point in Nam Dan is that this struggle combined political struggle with armed struggle. This event had a great influence on the struggle movement in Nghe Tinh, affirming the maturity of the Nam Dan District Party Committee in organization and leadership.

When the struggle of the people of Nghe Tinh entered a new, more intense phase, the people of Nam Dan and the people of Hung Nguyen continued to stand up to fight, creating a historic demonstration on September 12, 1930, forcing the French colonialists to send planes to bomb and massacre the demonstration, killing more than 200 people and injuring hundreds. The Thai Lao demonstration broke out on Hung Nguyen land, but the number of people from Nam Kim commune of Nam Dan district participated in large numbers and many sacrificed. In the face of those challenges and losses, the people of Nam Dan were not shaken, and continued to stand up to fight with the spirit:

“…In the wind the red flag flutters straight

White paper spread out on the ground

A battle broke out in the middle of the road.

"The other side has iron bullets, our side has golden livers."

Despite the enemy's terror and brutal repression, the Soviet government was still established in many villages and communes of Nam Dan district. Although it only existed for a short time, it was a great achievement of the people's strength, under the leadership of the Party, making history in the 1930-1931 revolutionary movement in Nghe Tinh homeland.

Turning Soviet spirit into endogenous strength in the new era

Promoting the heroic spirit of the Nghe Tinh Soviet, during the two long resistance wars of the nation, the Party Committee of Nam Dan district led the people to shoulder extremely heavy responsibilities, both striving to build and protect the rear and directly fighting and supporting the front line.

The Party Committee and people of Nam Dan have highly promoted revolutionary heroism, united in strength and unity to achieve many glorious feats, making great contributions to the cause of national liberation and reunification. With outstanding achievements in the resistance war against the US to save the country, Nam Dan district was honored to be awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the Party and State.

Entering the period of building and defending the Fatherland, with dynamism, creativity and constant efforts, Nam Dan district has gradually overcome difficulties, building the homeland to become increasingly rich, beautiful and civilized.

The appearance of the district has undergone many remarkable changes: politics is stable, the economy is increasingly developing, culture and society have many improvements, national defense and security are maintained, the material and spiritual life of the people is constantly improved. Nam Dan district has been granted a Certificate of recognition by the Government for meeting new rural standards. Notably, this is one of the four districts in the country that the Central Government has issued a pilot project to build a model new rural district. The district is confident, making efforts and determined to complete the criteria and achieve the status of an advanced new rural district; and by 2025, it will complete and achieve the status of a "Model new rural district in the direction of cultural development associated with tourism".

After 5 years of implementing the construction of a district meeting advanced new rural standards, Nam Dan district has mobilized the participation of the entire political system with high determination, strongly changing the awareness of cadres, party members and people in the whole district. Up to now, 15/18 communes in the area have met advanced new rural standards according to the set of advanced new rural criteria for the period 2021-2025, reaching 83% of the communes. The district has basically implemented 9/9 criteria for advanced new rural districts according to the provisions of Decision No. 320/QD-TTg dated March 8, 2022 of the Prime Minister.

The production of the people here is now on a concentrated agricultural commodity scale, focusing on diversifying crops and linking them in chains to increase added value per unit area, with 1 hectare of cultivated land reaching 168 million VND/ha. By 2023, the whole district will have 69 OCOP star products, of which 9 products will meet 4-star standards.

Tourism activities in Nam Dan are growing stronger and stronger, welcoming over 2.5 million tourists every year, of which foreign visitors account for about 2%, the number of guests staying is increasing; tourism service revenue in 2023 reached over 350 billion VND.

These efforts have helped Nam Dan take on a new look. The district’s per capita income increased from 43 million VND in 2018 to 65 million VND in 2023. The poverty rate is now only 0.67%, and the quality of education and health care is increasingly comprehensive.

Based on the development orientation until 2025, the government and people of Nam Dan have clearly identified key issues to focus on implementation, such as completing the district planning in a fundamental, systematic manner, with a long-term vision, in line with the long-term planning of the Central and the province.