Volume 1, No. 4, June 2000

Supplement

Break the Chains of the Traditional Style of Trade Unionism and Build a New Revolutionary Trade Union Movement Throughout the Country !

Answer: The history of the working-class movement in India can be divided into three phases. They are: (1) Prior to 1947; (2) 1947 to 1967; (3) 1967 onwards

Prior to 1947: The political orientation of the working class movement in this period made it a part of the antiimperialist movement under the leadership of the Indian National Congress Party representing the comprador bourgeoisie and big landlord classes. During this period the working class fought many struggles militantly, both on their economic demands and on political issues. At the initial stage anti-imperialist struggle was not given due seriousness. It was the formative stage of the CPI led TU movement, basically militant economic in nature. They also supported the anti feudal struggles. For example in the Tebhaga movement it was the Railway workers and the tea plantation workers who took active part in it. Similarly during the armed peasant struggle in Telangana the coal mine workers in Khammam district had actively participated in it. Comrade Sheshagiri became a martyr at the hands of the Nizain’s police, while organising the coal mine workers during this period.

The working class, during this period didn’t confine themselves to the economic struggles and partial demands.’ Its significant political contribution was to create an atmosphere paving the way for the communist movement in India. The Communist Party of India was formed from the workers movement in the industrial towns like Bombay, Kanpur, Calcutta and Madras etc. The Communist Party thus formed from the workers movement, had subsequently led many workers struggles.

During this period the Indian working class had participated in many political and anti-imperialist struggles like the one that followed after the arrest of Congress leader, Tilak. There were many militant workers’movements during this period. Workers under the leadership of the Cormnunist party courageously fought against their oppressors and British imperialism as well. However their political leadership always tried to confine the movements within the framework of the anti-imperialist struggle under the leadership of the Congress party. They never allowed the movement to grow beyond this framework. This was apparent when we look at the attitude adopted by the Corlgress governments at the provincial level towards the workers during the British regime. They even didn’t allow the anti-imperialist struggle to advance in a militant form. The way both the Congress and Communist parties opposed the militant Bombay workers’ strike in support of the Naval uprising against the British imperialists exposes clearly their stand towards the workers movement.

During this period the Indian working class was prepared to wage militant struggles on both economic demands and political issues and they in fact conducted many such struggles. And the situation in the country too was conducive to wage a broad based anti-imperialist struggle. In such circumstances the Communist Party should have taken the initiative to tmnsfortn these militant struggles into an armed struggle aimed at dethroning imperialism and establishing the people’s democratic dictatorship as a first step towards the proletarian dictatorship. But the then Communist party lacked this Marxist vision and made the entire working class’ movement under its leadership, subservient to the Congress Party. The trade union movement on rare occassions took some ritualistic resolutions on the plight of Indian peasantry. Never was it on the agenda of the Indian trade union movement that agrarian revolution its indispensable for the emancipation of the working class as well.

While the question of peasantry was altogether ignored by the revisionist leadership of the TU movement, the very important question of fighting against caste and the question of the rights of Indian nationalities were either shelved or handled with some mechanical, non-Marxist propositions verging on fatalism.

Those ideological blunders on their part, forms an important aspect of the entire workers’ movement prior to 1947. Hence, since its birth onwards, workers’ consciousness was not taken beyond economism. The leadership of the CPI never showed a Leninist consciousness to lead a revolutionary trade union movement country-wide.

1947 to 1967: After the setback of the armed struggles in Putipra-Vailar, Tebhaga and Telangana, there were no armed revolutionary mass movements in the country. So, in the working class front also there were no revolutionary movements. The undivided Communist Party which led the n-filitant workers’ movement and armed peasant struggle in some parts of the country had given up its fighting spirit andjoined parliamentary politics and adopted a totally revisionist line. This was a severe setback for the working class movement. Apart from this, some important developments had taken place during this period in the working class movements.

Firstly, the euphoria created by the political parties after the transfer of power, had created many illusions in the working class. The working class movement was driven into the trap of economism and legalism - the two important evils of the working class movement. During this period all the workers’ struggles were confined to legal methods and economic demands. The main political struggles they conducted during this period was participating in electoral politics of the political parties to which they were affiliated.

Secondly, with the establishment of the Public Sector industries and financial institutions like banks and insurance corporations. One section of the working class in these industries elevated to more economic benefits and previlaged class. Even in the companies owned by big comprddares and MNC’s a miniscule portion of the huge profit extracted from the indian working class have been siphoned off to serve an affluent section within the working class. The first impact of this section was strengthening econornism. Another aspect was that this section, along with the huge state machinery, became the supporters of the capitalist economy. They lost their class character and became appendages to comprador and bureaucratic capital.

Thirdly, during this period all the parliamentary parties formed their own trade unions. Prior to 1947, the workers were mainly organised under the leadership of the Communist party. However, there was no basic difference in the political orientation of these unions. Every union adopted the same method of confining the movements to legal methods and economic demands, and exploiting the workers for their electoral politics. They made the workers run around the management and bargain for their demands through courts and tribunals. They never encouraged the workers to think beyond their partial economic demands. In the name of participative management they actively supported the anti-worker policies of the managements and in the name of negotiations they became brokers between the workers and the management.

They encouraged economism and legalism within the working class as it was a big source for making money. Trad e unions became centres of corruption and an effective means for making a career. In this there was no di fference between the bourgeois trade unions or the revisionist trade unions. It was the general trend in the working class movement during this period. The working class of India which emerged from the class struggle, continued its militant struggles upto 1950s and 60s, under the leadership of AITUC. The political line adopted by the then CPI leadership blunted even the militancy of the working class movements in the later pericid. Consequently the leadership of the bourgeoisie and revisionist trade unions served as a muscle power of the management.

On the whole, an absence of militant workers’ struggles, the strengthening of legalism and economism in the working class movement, the establishment of an affluent working class, the transformation of trade unions into centres of corruption and as instruments in the hands of the management for continuing their exploitation etc., were the important features during this period.

1967 onwards: The outbreak of the Naxalbari struggle in 1967 was a turning point in the history of Indian polity in many aspects, and the working class movement was no exception to this. Naxalbari, brought armed struggle onto the agenda of the Indian revolution. It dealt a death blow to revisionism and revisionist organisations. It clearly established the need for overthrowing the existing oppressive ruling classes through armed struggle and the establishment of a proletarian dictatorship. It highlighted the historical role of the working class in liberating the oppressed masses. For the first time in Indian history the working class was told about the importance of the seizure of state power.

However, due to the ultra left deviations in the party, and due to the fact that all the mass organisations under the revisionist parties were the forts for economism and legalism, the trade union form of organisation was also rejected along with the other forms of mass organisations. But even during this period the working class actively participated in the armed struggle. Advanced sections of many factories in various parts of the country, had left their jobs and directly participated in the revolutionary movement, providing leadership to the armed struggle waged by the peasantry. Gherao—a militant form of protest was extensively utilised in West Bengal in between united front rule and outbreaks of the Naxalbari. The industrial towns of Asansol, Durgapur and Calcutta became prominent centres of revolutionary activities durina this time. But because of the ultra-left tendencies prevailing in the party at that time, emphasis was not given to organise the workers and instead they resorted to some adventurist tactics. Because of these activities the revolutionary movement became an easy target for the enemy who crushed it immediately.

In spite of its ultra left understanding towards the mass organisations, including the workers’ organisation, the Naxalbari armed struggle had made three significant contributions for the Indian working class movement. They are: 1) Highlighting the need for the seizure of political power, to the working class. 2) Highlighting the working class responsibility for actively participating and providing direct leadership to the armed peasant struggle in the rural areas. 3) It thoroughly exposed the existing trade unions before the workers.

Ans: After the setback of the Naxalbari and Srikakulam struggles the revolutionary forces reviewed the movement and drew lessons from the mistakes committed during that time. One of the important lessons drawn from it was to build revolutionary mass organisations in every field, including the workers. It was also recognised that a revolutionary workers’ movement is possible only with the political orientation of seizing state power, and with, direct linkage to the armed struggle in the rural areas with an objective of building guerrilla zones and base areas through protracted people’s war.

With this understanding the CPI (ML) [PW] started efforts to build revolutionary trade unions in AP. In its efforts it succeeded to some extent in the Singareni and Hyderabad areas by co-ordinating the trade union movement there with the armed struggle in the adjacent rural areas. Singareni is surrounded by the two guerrilla zones of North Telangana on one side and Dandakaranya on the other side. The workers’ movement in Singareni was closely integrated with the armed struggle in these areas from the beginning.

For organising the workers in the factories around Hydembad town, a separate armed guerrilla squad was formed. This industrial squad did tremendous work in organising the workers. Because of its organisational potentialities it became a particular target of the enemy.

Experiences of both the Singareni and Hyderabad workers’ movement have proved that the workers’ movement can be built only through the politics of seizing state power through armed struggle. That means it serves the protracted people’s war directly and can play a significant role.

Ans: The CPI and CPI (M) lost its credibility amongst the people. Even its trade unions lost their grip, and particularly, the leadership got exposed amongst workers, due to their passivity towards militancy.

Actually the revolutionary situation was excellent in our country. A political-economical-social crisis gripped all fronts, and all sections of people were forced to wage struggles for their existence. All existing unions’ leadership were exposed due to their hobnobbing with or being a part of ruling class politics. They never bothered to serve the interests of the unions. On the contrary they utilised unions to enhance their own wealth. So, naturally they got exposed and the situation led to spontaneous struggles breaking out at various centres. Due to the impact of Naxalbari politics, the general worker’s consciousness developed, when compared with the old days.

As the existing trade unions were thoroughly exposed due to their line and attitude, and in the absence of revolutionary leadership, workers began looking for alternative leadership. In some places workers themselves formed alternative unions at the local level, while in some places some individuals emerged as strong trade union leaders. Important amongst these were George Femandes, Shankar Guha Niyogi, Dutta Samant, Prafulla Chakraborthy, A K Roy, etc.

All these leaders started their trade union activities with militant economism. They could rise because all th e existing trade unions had stopped responding even to the workers’ economic demands. But these leaders couldn’t sustain, as none had the political outlook of establishing a proletariat dictatorship. All of them had conducted their struggles around legalist methods. All of them diluted their militant economism and the movements they built suffered severe set backs [except in Dalli-Rajahara, where Niyogi had, himself initiated his organisation from the beginning].

Let us see the present status of these leaders who were projected as alternatives to revolutionary politics by some liberals.

George Femades lost all his fire, gave up all his trade union politics and joined hands with the communal forces to safeguard the present rule. Presently he is one of the key players in the government which is formulating a new anti-people policy every day. Both Shankar Guha Niyogi and Dutta Samant gave up their militant economist struggles and started using reformist methods. All these leaders utilised their influence to win Assembly or Parliamentary seats. If they did not field their own candidates, they supported parties of their choice. Peaceful methods, or to say Gandhian forms, were implemented at all levels. Niyogi, and A.K. Roy type leaders accepted Marxism in words but served the capitalists in deeds. Even then, their limited trade union activities were not acceptable to the capitalists, and Niyogi and Samant were killed by the industrialists.

Prafulla Chakraborthy shot into proniinence during the struggles of the Kanoria Jute mills in Howrah,West -Bengal while A.K.Roy organised a strong workers movement amongs coal mine workers in the Dhanbad area. Both of them mainted some " of relationship with the revisionist CPM and their movement faced total stagnation and degenration in the later period. Now it remained only as a negative example bofore the workers.

Ans: After the setback of the Naxalbari and Srikakulam struggles by the early 70’s, the revolutionary forces got fragmented in to many parties. Almost all the ML parties, realising the incorrect ultra left understanding that the party had towards trade unions, took up the task of organising the workers’ movement under their leadership. The majority of these organisations had given up armed struggle and had adopted a rightist line. Armed struggle was no more on their immediate agenda and hence they did neither talk about the armed struggle nor about the seizure of political power. They may have talked about militant economic struggles but, in practice, there was nothing militant about their struggles. The trade unions built by such parties had no basic difference with the revisionist trade unions. They may have taught some general and progressive politics to the workers. Their leaders may have been honest and loyal to the workers. But their honesty, was of no use to the revolution. We can’t expect them to build a strong workers’ movement.

Now, coming to the parties which are continuing the armed struggle. Actually, CPI(ML) (PW) wrote in its strategy and tactics, to give emphasis to its urbanwork by concentrating in Key Industries. However, in practice due to various reasons working class movement couldn’t be intensified. The workers movement in Singareni and Hyderabad were an exception to this.

In a protracted armed struggle, the armed struggle in the rural areas is primary and the urban movement is secondary. Rural areas are first to be liberated and towns encircled and freed towards the end of the revolution. This is the broad strategy of the protracted people’s war. However thig doesn’t mean that we should concentrate on the urban movement only towards the end. We should also concentrate on the urban movement from the very beginning. We should raise the revolutionary preparedness of the urban people by continuously propagating about the armed struggle. We should build a simultaneous mass movement in the urban areas in support of the rural movement, We should make the advanced elements in the urban areas directly participate and lead the rural movement. Similarly we should use the rural movement as a protective base for the urban movement. The workers’ movement in Singareni could advance only because of this understanding.

A similar situation also exists in the coal mine areas of Dhanbad and Asansol which are adjacent to the struggle areas of South Bihar. However the revolutionary forces which are waging the armed struggle in South Bihar did not concentrate on organising the workers with the above understanding.

Ans: Capitalist society has pitted the individual work-er, who is very weak, against the mighty capitalist supported by the huge state machinery. As an individual he is no match for the mighty capitalist. However byjoining hands with his fellow workers he can easily fight. His combined ‘ strength is so powerful that it can bring the entire system to a stand still. For this the worker has to organise himself along with his fellow workers so that they can unitedly take on the capitalists. His fight with the capitalist is a continuous one. The very existence of the capitalist is dependent on the exploitation of the worker.

.In the present system the working class. cannot get justice, however strong their union may be. The only solution for their problems is to overthrow the exploitative ruling classes through armed struggle, with the long-term goal of establishing the proletarian dictatorship. In a semifeudal and semi-colonial country like India, this is possible only through the protracted armed struggle in the rural areas.

Under the present circumstances the working class union should not confine its activities merely to the protection of its own rights but should actively participate in, and provide leadership to the armed struggles with the aim of overthrowing the present exploitative system. In this way they can play the vanguard role in social transformation.They will become instrumental for, not only their own liberation, but also the liberation of the entire oppressed masses. We should see the role of the trade unions in this context only.

While discussing the working class movement, it is essential to talk about Economism and Legalism— the two evils, which led to the rottening of the working class movement.

Economism means confining the workers movement to partial struggles and their economic demands without having proper political tasks. It means organising the workers for improving their living conditions, such as demanding higher wages, better working conditions and for additional facilities, both at the work place and at the place where they stay.

For the working class, this economism is like a trap; once they fall into this, it is very difficult to come out. It isolates the working class from the other oppressed masses. It keeps away the workers from political struggles. Economism opposes the politicisation of the working class and severely obstructs them in discharging their vanguard role in social transformation. It leads to opportunism in the working class and makes them lose their class character. Marxism clearly opposes economism.

One more thing should be kept in mind — no workers’ movement, however strong it may be, can sustain itself, if it is confined to economic demands and partial struggles. We have the examples of the trade union movements built by people like Shankar Guha Niyogi, Dutta Samant and Prafulla Chakraborthy before us. This is because it is impossible, within the present system, for the workers to protect all their economic interests.

However we can’t ignore the immediate economic demands of the workers. We can’t postpone the resolution of these demands till the establishment of the proletarian state. But even while taking up these issues, on the one hand we should try to transform them into political struggles by broadening their scope, increasing the participation of the workers, enhancing their militancy and raising their political consciousness, on the other we should concentrate in political issues and build up political struggles from the very begining.

Legalism means confining the workers’ movement within the framework of the existing legal system and looking for legal remedies to the workers problems.

Even though the existing legal system is heavily biased towards the capitalists, it has some features which can give some relief to the workers. Here we should keep in mind the fact that these pro-worker provisions in the existing legal system are the fruits of earlier militant struggles waged by the working class over many years. However, these provisions are never implemented in total, and are implemented as per the convenience of the managements. As a result implementation of these provisions become an important task for the workers. In

Singareni, the majority of the strikes are for the implementation of demands agreed upon by the management. Similar situations must exist in other places. This situation is exploited by the trade union leadership to create an impression in the working class that their problems can be resolved by the strict implementation of legal provisions. Even for implementing these provisions they never depended on the workers’ strength, but on the courts. They make the workers run around tribunals and courts.

Revisionist and bourgeois trade union leadership never allow the workers’ struggles to go beyond legal limits. They restrict the growth of the movements by strongly advocating legalist methods. But the working class movement can advance only by overcoming this legalist style of functioning. We should oppose these legalist methods for three reasons :

Firstly, we all know that the existing legal system is framed only to protect the interests of the propertied classes and that the oppressed masses, cannot getjustice within this system. What alone is possible, is temporary relief. The permanent solution for the workers’ problems is linked to the overthrow of the existing system, including its legal framework. How can this be possible within the framework of the existing legal system?

Secondly, it is proven, on a number of occasions, that the capitalists and industrialists whose legal system is framed for their own protection, violate their own legal system. When it comes to suppressing the workers’ movement they never bother to see whether their actions are legal or illegal. They do every thing possible to nip the movement in the bud. Suspensions, dismissals, mass retrenchments and lock outs are its available ‘legal’ weapons. Applying repression through the state machinery, by arresting and torturing workers are a common feature in every strike. Organising attacks on the workers, threatening them and killing those mhorn they feel a threat to their interests are a part of the normal activities of the capitalists. They didn’t spare even leaders like Shankar Guha Niyogi and Dutta Samant who never exceeded the legal limits while organising the workers. Then what is tbejustification for asking the working class to honour the legal system which is heavily biased against it, and when it is easily violated by its opponents? In all working class centres, generally when workers try to use their democratic right to strike, managements, even in workers’co-operatives, with TU leaders on theirboard of directors, threaten workers with dire consequences if they dare go on strike.

And finally, confining the workers’ movement to the fixed legal framework is against the basic principles of Marxism. It denies the determining role of the masses. It underestimates the organised strength of the working class. It kills the initiative of the masses and reduces them to the level of mere spectators. Any such attempts have to be strongly opposed by the genuine revolutionary party.

Both economism and legalism are important weapons in the hands of reactionary trade unions and the managements. They help the management contain the workers’ movement and they are the biggest source of money making for the opportunistic leaderships of the reactionary trade unions. Because of their vested interests they are encouraging these evils.

Building a revolutionary trade union movement is not possible without breaking the shackles of these two evils of economism and legalism. We can do this by depending more on the fighting strength of the working class and not on legal remedies, by increasing their participation in the struggles, and by enhancing their militancy and raising their political consciousness by extensively propagating the politics of armed struggle.

Ans: If the growth and development of Indian capitalism is closely studied, one not only finds junker development, the capitalists themselves on many occasions are feudal landlords or having multifarious links with the feudal economy and culture. Recruitment too sometimes follow the feudal lines and especially in case of comprising the management of a unit, certain monopoly houses’give utmost priority to class-caste or community based relations. As a natural corollary to it, it is more often than not that oppressive and exploitative forms too bear the stamp of feudalism, not necessarily of capitalism.

While the question of peasantry was altogether ignored by the revisionist leadership of the TU movement, the question of fighting against caste and the rights of Indian nationalities were either shelved or handled with some mechanical un-Marxist propositions.

At the same time here India bourgeoisie (capitalism) and feudalism coexists and grew together hand-in-hand. But where as in Europe capitalism overthrew the feudalism and fought numerous battles utilising working class for its own (bourgeoisie) emancipation. So, naturally Indian bourgeoisie are adopting feudal oppression and suppression to crush the trade union movement. An organised protest is not tolerated and always it is crushed either in private or in public sectors.

Before 1947 and after 1947 (’47-’67 period), when workers fought heroically, they always were targeted by British imperialists and in later period by Congress and all other successive central governments. Even in the hands of revisionists, workers suffered as much as under other ruling classes’ rule.

You can see in AP, that, if it is Congress’ or TDP’s rule, both created a reign of white terror in urban centres, particularly in Singareni, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. Majority organisers and other leading committee members were shot dead in the name of encounters. SIKASA is banned. Now, Road Transport Workers Organisation is also facing the white terror of Chandrababu Naidu. Even a symbolic organised protest under the leadership of individuals or militant trade unions, and spontaneous outbursts of workers are also facing countless problems.

On the other hand to lead the working class, amidst white terror, there is no proper vanguard party to lead with a revolutionary sprit. CPI (ML) [PWI is struggling to develop proper fonris to advance the TU movement amidst the white terror.

In India, for the last 2-3 centuries, all the peasant revolts faced serious repression and were almost crushed by the state. After the birth of Naxalbari, and in the foot steps of it, the present peasant movement is sustained and is advancing in the midst of white terror. So, we have to learn and analyse concretely how to develop new forms to’ mobilise workers in TUs at the time of serious repression. Without overcoming this problem. Indian revolution’s advancement towards victory will be delayed.

Once British imperialistm directly ruled the country. Now IMF, WB are dictating terms to centre and state governments directly. So, at each step TU should fight with imperialism and shoulder the responsibility to lead and support anti-feudal movement at this juncture. It is the main duty of Indian working class. So, a firm and dedicated leadership is needed and the party should guide its urban subjective elements in this direction.

Ans: Forms of Struggle: There are no fixed forms of struggle for any movement. Many new forms will come forward during the course of the movement. Revolutionary leadership should always be prepared to utilise every such form for advancing the movement. Some of them may be legal and some may be more militant and illegal. We can’t discard any form just on the basis of their legality.

In the case of the workers’ movement, there are many open and secret forms like demonstrations, protests and strikes. But we can’t confine the movement to only these activities. Even for protecting the movement in these forms we need to adopt some militant forms. These militant forms may include resisting the repression unleashed by the management, and government against the striking workers, resisting the armed attacks of goons of the management and taking action against strike disruptors. Strikes can’t be advanced without resisting repression, without controlling the anti-social elements in the trade unions, without taking actions against the strike disruptors and pressurising the managements to agree to the workers’ demands. All these require militant actions from the working classes. An advanced section in the working class will take initiative in these actions under the guidance of the respective party committee.

However, we can’t advance the movement just by depending on the militant activities of the people. Such activities may isolate us from the general workers. We should properly co-ordinate these activities. One should compliment the other. The general principles in choosing the struggle forms would be to decide them based on the general preparedness of the workers, and the organised strength of the advanced sections, and see that they always advance the movement to a higher stage.

Revolutionary leadership should ncker try to restrict the militancy of the working class. It should make efforts to raise their militancy further and lead them towards the armed struggle. All our forms are to be in this direction.

Organisational Forms: All the established trade unions are under the bureaucratic control of opportunistic leaders. Internal democracy is not traceable in these organisations. Leaders are imposed on the workers by the higher leadership. They are not true representatives of the workers. And for most of these leaders, trade unions are a source for making money and a means to build their political career. Such leaders can hardly represent the workers’ interests. We should expose these leaders and fight against their bureaucratic functioning.

As an alternative we should build a revolutionary trade union, genuinely representing working class interests. It has to be formed by the workers, developed from the grass roots level, and led by the core activists who are prepared -to sacrifice everything, including their lives for the working class. Any trade union movement without such leadership, can be anything but a revolutionary trade union.

The revolutionary trade union movement is aimed at overthrowing the existing system and seizing political power. And its activities will not be tolerated by the state for much time. The state will try to crush the movement. For fighting the state, the revolutionary trade union requires a different mechanism. It can’t afford to carry out all its activities openly and expose all its cadres. In such cases the entire movement will become an easy target to the enemy. To avoid this, we should have a mechanism where only a minimum number of activists.are exposed to the enemy. At the same time we shouldn’t confine all our activities, in the name of secrcey.

We should have both open and secret activities, and both open and secret orgailisa:iois. There should be proper co-ordination betweei these tie, activities and organisational forms. Only then can the revolutionary movement sustain and advance to the higher level.

Ans: Politicbation of the working class: Unlike its counterpart in the capitalist countries the Indian working class has emerged from amongst the poor peasants and agricultural labourers and not from the artisans. This factor has played a significant role in the social backwardness of the Indian working class. The level of the political consciousness is very low amongst the Indian workers.

Politicization of the working class in the context of a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country like India is providing them with the politics of seizure of state power through armed struggle and the establishment of a people’s democratic dictatorship. It means propagating the politics of agrarian revolution and highlighting the necessity of integrating the workers’ movement with the on going armed struggle in the rural areas. It means reminding the working class of its historical responsibility to participate and provide leadership to the protracted armed struggle.

Any politicization process which doesn’t talk about the seizure of state power through armed struggle will not be a politicization in the true sense. Concealment of this fact results in nothing but causing harm to the Indian working class, which got such politicization only after Naxalbari.

Without giving this clarity to the political outlook of the working class, the revolutionary movement can’t succeed in India. The revolutionary party should directly lead the workers’ movement by providing these politics. There is no way other than this.

However many ML parties including those who are seriously waging the armed struggle in the rural areas feel that such revolutionary politics shouldn’t be directly propagated through the trade unions. They argue that a separate form of organisation should be formed for propagating revolutionary and armed struggle politics. This outlook will not help in politicising the workers in a true sense.

On some occasions the TU leadership may even talk revolutionary politics. But they will not prepare the broad working forces by linking their economic demands with the political task. They will not bother to develop a core of leadership within the TU, and consolidate broad working forces into a nucleus, that will play an advanced role.

After the setback of Naxalbari, in the name of fighting the left deviation, the majority of organisations tilted towards the right, and in the course of their long practice turned their establishments into reformist and revisionist TU centres.

Where workers are themselves advancing and daring to fight, this leadership puts restrictions on the forms of struggle and on their style of functioning. When the leading body and the respective party committee do not themselves have the preparedness to advance the movement, all struggles under their leadership will turn into economic ones. To advance the movement,- two conditions should be fulfilled by the concerned organisation. Only then can a proper movement be built. 1) Confidence on the revolutionary situation; that means, confidence on the objective situation. 2) Confidence on the subjective forces, and to win over the broad workers to their ideology and practice. Both these are essential factors to build a revolutionary working class movement.

One more important aspect in this connection is that no polificization process can be successful without making the workers participate in the struggles. Actual politicization is possible only through the, practice of struggles.

Simultaneously, with the raising of political and economic demands of the working class, we have to launch a running battle against the caste and sectarian religious consciousness that divide the workers. We have to fight against caste oppression and caste practices among the workers. The question of nationalities fighting for a just cause should be brought before the working class to elevate its consciousness.

Ans: So far we have discussed the various aspects of trade unions. Now let us try to find out the characteristics of the revolutionary trade union and see how it is different from the revisionist and bourgeois trade unions.

1) It accepts and propagates Marxism-Leninism and Mao’s Thought and openly talks about the necessity to overthrow the existing exploitative system. Its politics is the politics of seizing state power through armed struggle. It directs all its struggles in this direction.

2) It strongly believes that the problems of the working class can’t be resolved permanently in the existing system and opposes any effort at undermining this reality.

3) It strongly opposes economism and legalism in the working class movements and works for the complete emancipation of the oppressed masses.

4) It depends on the working class while formulating its struggle tactics and not on the legal system. It is prepared to utilise every form of struggle that comes forward during the course of the movement.

5) It is prepared to carry out any militant activity that is required to advance the movement and protect the struggle victories by organising the advanced section of the workers.

6) It opposes both open and functioning. It as the only one from of struggle and carries out both open and secret activities by properly co-ordinating them.

7) It opposes the bureaucratic functioning of the trade union leaders, and forms unions, by organising the workers at the grass root level, and prepares a core group of activists who are prepared to make the highest sacrifice for protecting the interests of the working class and who can advance the movement to the higher stage.

8) It recognises the importance of integrating the workers’ movement with the armed peasant movement and actively participating in it and providing leadership to it. It always encourages the working class leadership to prepare for leading an underground life and to directly participate in the armed struggle.

9) It will always participate or supportes all the genuine issue based forums of workers and try its level best to expose the role of opportunistic leadership.

In this way a revolutionary trade union is different from the other trade unions in its politics , in its oiientation, in its struggle forms, in its organisational structure and in its method of functioning.

A revolutionary trade union can succeed only when it is aimed towards the seizure of political power, when it is organically linked with the armed peasant movement when it strongly opposes the evils of economism and legalism, when it fights against the authoritarian functioning of the existing trade unions and when its struggle forms are entirely dependent on the workers and when it is led by the committed activists who are prepared to make any sacrifice for protecting working class interests.

Another important necessary condition for a revolutionary trade union is the existence of a revolutionary party which enjoys the confidence of the people. People will respond to the calls given by the party only when they have confidence in its politics and in its practice. A revolutionary party should win over the confidence of the people through its practice. After the setback of Naxalbari no other revolutionary party could gain this status. However, parties which are practising armed struggle enjoy this confidence, but their influence is limited to certain pockets where they are waging the armed struggle. The CPI (ML)[People’s War] which was formed by the merger of two revolutionary parties, is gradually emerging to win the confidence of the people on an all India level.

Q: (10) Summarise the Singareni working class movement, which can help to lead a revolutionary working class movement:

Ans: Singareni Workers’ Movement: In Singareni, revolutionary activities started in the year 1974 but only after the lifting of the Emergency in 1977 did open activities gain momentum. By that time the CPI (ML)[PWI had realised the damages caused by the ultra left trends in the party and had openly accepted it, in its Self Critical Report way back in 1974. By keeping these mistakes in mind the party began its activities in Karimnagar and Adilabad districts with an immediate objective of organising the people into struggles, by forming different mass organisations. As part of these movements, party activities were also begun in the Singareni coal mines area.

Since then the Singareni workers’ movement passed through many stages and advanced along with the armed peasant movement in the neighbouring rural areas. During this period Singareni workers fought many militant struggles under the revolutionary party leadership and became not only a role model but showed a path for the entire working class of the country. Workers in many parts of the country are trying to organise themselves by taking inspiration from the Singareni workers.

The growth of the Singareni movement was not in a straight line. There were many ups and downs in the movement. The state too didn’t keep quiet while the Singareni workers were organising themselves. They unleashed the most cruel repression on the fighting workers. Hundreds of workers were arrested, tortured and implicated in false cases, and many workers lost theirjobs for participating in the struggles. A number of dear son and beloved leaders of the Singareni workers were brutally murdered by the state machinery. The Singareni workers’ movement has faced the worst forms of repression, including the banning of the workers’ organisation and restricting all its activities. They had to face opposition from the local goonda gangs, political leaders, opportunist trade union leaders, oppressive managements, and the state machinery, which of course was the backbone for all these. Even then, inspite of these odds, and in the midst of severe repression, the Singareni workers’ movement advanced. How could this happen? How could they overcome such obstacles?

It could happen only because the Singareni workers’ iovement was organised by a revolutionary party which ias waging serious armed struggle for liberating the vast ppressed masses. Its politics was proletarian politics nder the guiding theory of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Thought, and aimed at overthrowing the exploitative ruling lasses and establishing the proletarian dictatorship.

It could happen because the Singareni workers’ Movement was organised with the clear objective of seizing state power by integrating the workers’ movement vith the peasant armed struggle movement in the rural area. Singareni is surrounded by the intensive armed ,truggle areas of North Telangana and the Dandakaranya guerrilia zones.

It could happen because the Singareni workers’ novement was viewed from the beginning as a part of the Protracted armed struggle for the seizure of political power. Because of this alone, both the Karirnnagar-Adilabad peasant struggles and the Singareni workers’ movement were started simultaneously. Since then there is a Continuous organic link between the Singareni workers’ movement and the armed peasant struggle there. Most of the Singareni workers are poor peasants and agricultural labourers from Karimnagar and Adilabad districts. And because of this factor the impact of the peasant movement in those districts was felt immediately in Singareni. The linkage was so much that whenever some cruel landlord was killed by peasant guerrillas, the Singareni workers used to celebrate and whenever any peasant activist was killed in fake encounters the Singareni workers used to express their dissent by observing bandhs.

This could happen because the party which is organising both the movements has properly coordinated the rural and urban movements within its perspective of protracted armed struggle.

It could happen because the Singareni workers not only supported the peasant struggle but actively participated in it. A number of workers had left theirjobs and went to the rural and forest areas to provide leadership to the armed struggle there. The sons and daughters of the workers joined the movement as full tiniers in large numbers, which also inspired the workers a lot.

It could happen because the armed struggle was also extended to the workers. During this period, workers were also armed to the extent possible. They have resisted repression and also the enemies of the working class through their struggles.

It could happen because we could expose the trade union leaders thoroughly about their anti-worker policies and their nexus with the management, we could punish the anti-social elements and traitors within the working class. Without exposing the opportunistic leadership of the revisionist and bourgeois trade unions and without punishing the traitors in the working class, the Singareni workers’ movement couldn’t have succeeded.

It could happen because we never confined the workers’ movement within the boundaries of economism and legalism. Under our leadership Singareni workers fought many struggles on both economic and political demands. They conducted many political struggles. They fought against government repression on the people’s movements. They fought against the black laws and antipeople policies of both central and state govern ments. The Singareni workers revolutionary union i.e., SIKASA (Singareni Karmika Samakhya) was formed as a product of the historical political struggle against the black law the ‘deduction of 8 days wages Act’. Another important strike to show their proletarian consciousness was the strike organised by the Singareni workers demanding the regularisation of temporary workers. In 1991 about 30 thousand Singareni regular workers went on strike for 29 days demanding the regularisation of about 2000 workers.

It could happen only because the Singareni workers’ movement was expanded without becoming an easy target for the enemy. This was possible because of the proper co-ordination between open and secret activities and between the open and secret formations. We had the understanding from the beginning that the enemy will not allow open activities for a long time, hence we prepared secret forms for carrying out activities, which sustained during periods of repression. Never was our entire force exposed to the enemy. During repression, they lost many units, but losses were confined to those particular areas only. It is only because of this proper co-ordination between open and secret forms that we could overcome the enemy repression with minimum losses.

It could be possible only because the struggle forms were never confined to legal forms. They never hesitated to adopt any form that was necessary for advancing the movement. In the initial stages of the movement we had to face opposition from anti-social elements and the goonda gangs. They opposed every form of struggle of the workers. They created fear among the workers. It became necessary to eliminate certain elements to end the dadagiri in the workers’ colonies. Notorious criminals who put the people to untold suffering were targeted and eliminated. During the course of struggle some trade union leaders openly tried to sabotage the workers’ struggle. They were exposed and punished as per the need. Some management officials, motivated by their class character, particularly subjected the workers to harassment. They intensified

exploitation at the work place, issued charge sheets and suspended workers for questioning them, and got the workers arrested by the police. They deployed the police forces even at the slightest provocation and created a war like situations in the mines. It became necessary to punish such anti-worker officials. Some times strikes would be unnecessarily prolonged due to the indifferent attitude of the management. To avoid such prolongation and to intensify the struggle some militant actions became necessary. State repression had to be resisted through arms.

All these actions were taken during the course of struggle depending on the necessities, and as part of the movement. All these actions were carried out by the advanced section of the working class only. All these militant actions were properly co-ordinated with the mass movements. All forms of struggle were decided, based on the workers’ revolutionary preparedness. What concerned committees did, was to make conscious efforts to raise their political consciousness and revolutionary preparedness. The Party encouraged the initiative of the workers. In Singareni most of the strikes were initiated by the workers. But wherever the strike was started, the respective area organiser guided the. local unit, and the party cell participated in that strike and tried to advance the movement.

Finally, the Singareni workers’ movement could succeed only because it was led by such working class leaders who were prepared to make any amount of sacrifice for protecting the workers’ interests and advancing the movement. More than 60 comrades have laid down their lives for building this workers’ movement. But for their sacrifice, it couldn’t have been possible.

Ans: Capitalism throughout the world is going through a severe crisis. Generally, we describe it as a general crisis of capitalism. They are targeting the oppressed classes and particularly the working class to tide over the crisis they are facing. They are attacking the working classes more directly and more ruthlessly. Their anti-worker policies are being further exposed. Every section of the working class is effected by these policies. They can’t afford to maintain the affluent working class any more. Every section of the working class and every industry is adversely affected by the new economic policies. And every one of them is compelled to go into struggles.

On the other hand the revolutionary forces which can lead these people in struggles are comparatively weak. Under these circumstances the task before the revolutionary forces is to build a militant mass movement comprising all the oppressed sections under its leadership. In the working class movement we should mobilise the maximum number of workers by forming issue basedjoint committees. However while building such militant mass movements and issue based joint action committees we should keep in mind the following points.

In the name of forming broad based mass fronts we shouldn’t dilute our ideological, political and organisational outlook. Because it is only the ideological and political outlook which determines the direction of the movement. We should not allow the opportunistic forces and vested interests to join such mass fronts.

While forming the joint action committees we should ensure that the opportunistic leaders who lost credibility in the masses will not become part of such joint action committees.They will try to use these committees to regain some legitimacy in the working class.

Another important aspect in these joint action committees, is that we should try to form a leading core group of workers from these joint action committees. Through them we can advance the struggle further. From every struggle, we have to consolidate new forces and politicise them on the political line of the party. We have to link these struggles with the seizure of political power politics, i.e., protracted people’s war. Advanced workers should be picked up and organised into party cells and in every work place, our part time party members should concentrate on leading the movements on the just demands of the workers. A leadership nuclei should develop and these sections should prepare to lead the movement. Wherever we form TU units, in all of them we should follow this procedure and transform them into revolutionary trade unions.

And finally all our efforts should be aimed towards the overthrowing of the existing system and establishing the people’s democratic dictatorship through armed struggle, as a first step towards socialism and the proletarian dictatorship.

Currently an excellent revolutionary situation prevails in the country. Revolutionary struggles are surfing ahead in many parts of the country. People are gradually getting convinced of the necessity to overthrow the present system. And on the working class front, the working class has conducted many struggles in the past century. It has won many victories and faced many setbacks. Under these objective conditions the Indian working class will have the following tasks.

1. The working class should overcome the limitations imposed on them by the revisionist and bourgeois trade unions. They can no more depend on these unions and hence they themselves must protect their interests by organising militant struggles and joining revolutionary trade unions in the model of the Singareni workers.

2. Comparatively, the revolutionary forces are weak to lead immediately, country-wide trade union struggles and to absorb the spontaneous outbreaks of the workers’ struggles. This situation may be exploited by opportunistic forces. The working class should protect themselves from the opportunistic forces and advance their struggles. To implement this properly, wider revolutionary political propaganda is needed.

3. The working class movement can’t achieve its ultimate aim of seizing state power, without armed struggle. And there are already armed struggles going on in many parts of the country.Re immediate task before the working class is to integrate its struggles with the armed peasant movements of AP, NT, DK and Bihar.

4. Due to the new economic policies of privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation under the guidance of the imperialist forces like the IMF, WB and WTO, the attack on the working class has become more severe. More and more sections of the people are compelled to go in for struggles. The working class should organise all the oppressed sections and fight these policies.

At the centre, the NDA government, under the leadership of the BJP, and state governments under the leadership of various parliamentary parties, are like the head and tail of a coin. All are singing the same tune. So, to oppose and defeat them will be one of the main tasks before the working class.

5. And finally, the working class should be organised on the clear political outlook of seizing political power through armed struggle and in each unit this concept should be given properly.

If the working class fulfils the above tasks, the revolutionary struggle will further advance. The revolutionary forces under the leadership of the revolutionary party, will utilise this situation to take the revolution to success. Only by fulfilling the above tasks can the working class discharge its historical responsibility of liberating the entire oppressed masses.

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