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Today, April 22nd
2003, all genuine communists of India commemorate the 34th anniversary of a real
revolutionary party. A party that, for the first time, illumined a bright new
path for our country. The CPI(ML) was declared at a gigantic rally at Shaheed
Minar in the heart of Kolkatta.
On this day, one
reflects on the essence of genuine Marxism as distinguished from the varied
forms of revisionism, promoted under numerous ‘Marxist’ labels. Being also the
birth anniversary of the great Lenin, a reiteration of his teachings helps make
this distinction.
Marxist ideology does
not evolve through parrot-like recitation of quotations of our great teachers,
like slokas, but by using their methodology and principles to guide our
practice. Society, like nature, develops according to certain laws. It is only
by discovering these, in their universality and also in the particularity of
ones own country, that one can march along the path of revolutionary change. It
is precisely in facilitating this process that the teachings of Marx, Engels,
Lenin, Stalin and Mao act as an indispensable guide.
To negate this,
results in revisionism, which deflects the movement from the real path of change
and leads it into a blind alley. And when these revisionists rise to become a
ruling party within the prevailing exploitative system, they often turn into
social fascists — i.e. socialism in words, fascism in deeds. Dictatorship of a
class — the proletariat — is replaced but the dictatorship of the revisionist
rulers. A fascistic sort of rule comes into existence, utilising a socialist
mask.
This metamorphosis is
to be seen not only with the setbacks to communism in Russia and China, but also
in India. With these setbacks, and accompanied by reversals of communist parties
throughout the world, revisionism has become the main ideological danger to the
International Communist Movement (ICM) today. Notwithstanding all their
‘progressive’ rhetoric or demagogy, these revisionists are nothing but the
bourgeoisie within the working-class movement; and revisionists, who are a major
part of the power structures, are nothing but a part of the ruling classes.
In India such
transformation is to be seen within the original CPI. After the betrayal of the
Telangana movement and adoption of the electoral path of change, after being in
power, these revisionists turned into social fascists. This is most clearly seen
in the CPM government in West Bengal. With Jyoti Basu as the Home Minister, they
were the first to suppress the naxalite upsurge; while later they assisted the
S.S.Ray government in the ruthless massacre of naxalites. Thereby proving their
loyalty to the rulers, they have sustained their power for three decades through
organised terror against any and every opposition. Their wide party network is
used to keep in control the masses; those dissenting are ostracised, humiliated,
hounded out and even killed. In West Bengal, not only opposition parties, but
also left front partners, have witnessed their terror, seeing their
supporters/members beaten, houses burnt, and numerous cadres murdered, by CPM
hoodlums, with tacit support of the police. In Kolkatta city they maintain a
democratic mask, to dupe the intelligentsia and middle-classes; their real
fascist face is to be seen in the countryside.
But now, with the
re-birth of the revolutionary movement in W.Bengal, their fascist fangs have
bared with all its venom. With the setback of Naxalbari, and the growth of
numerous right opportunist trends within the M-L movement, the line of
demarcation with the CPM revisionists became blurred. This was further
aggravated by the CPI (ML)Liberation turning revisionist. But now, with the
revival of the revolutionary movement in Midnapore, Malda, Murshidabad, etc. by
the CPI (ML)(PW) and MCC, the lines are clearly drawn. This came into sharp
focus, with the ruthless clampdown of the PW since the last two years by the CPM
regime of W. Bengal. The kind of attacks has been little different from that of
the TDP in AP and is reminiscent of the kind of terror launched by the S.S.Ray
regime in the early seventies.
First, since 2000,
the attacks began by the armed gangs of the CPM (called Vahinis). In Jan 2001,
CPM hoodlums burnt five squad members alive. Unlike the other political parties,
the PW retaliated. It was then, in 2001/02, that massive state forces were
pushed into the Midnapore region. Here, the police, who first used 15-20
vehicles, later used 105 vehicles in sudden combing operations. The CPM used its
cadre force to set up a huge informer network. Forces, with counter-insurgency
training by the AP Greyhounds were deployed in the strategic areas. Three
companies of the State’s special police force have been deployed in the affected
districts. They have started local recruitment for an Indian Reserve Battalion,
recruiting locals, with a long-term aim for the area. Regular night raids are
conducted on over 200 villages, which are the PW’s stronghold. But, it was the
arrest and torture of Kolkatta and Nadia intellectuals in July 2002, and the
suicide of an excise officer for fear of torture, that brought into focus the
terror methods of the CPM and crystallised public opinion against the government
on the side of the PW.
The intellectuals of
W. Bengal came out in open support of the new spark ignited by the PW. The
disgust for the CPM’s decades of misrule and open implementation of World Bank
dictated policies, finally broke forth in an avalanche of articles to the media.
Protests broke out throughout the state, condemning the repression, sometimes
even by the rank-and-file of the CPM itself.
While posing as
anti-imperialists, the CPM is implementing World Bank projects one after the
other — in the spheres of health, education, electricity production, water
privati-sation, social welfare, etc. It has not hesitated to accept loans with
strict World Bank conditionalities. It has provided land, free of cost, for the
development of free trade zones. It has allowed agri-business to flourish under
the control of transnational corporations (TNCs). It has also been inviting TNCs
to penetrate local industry. In addition, many other projects have been planned,
with the CPM Chief Minister even talking of introducing anti-labour legislation
to attract foreign capital. Worst still, is the reported growing relationship
between Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the Hindu fascist, Advani.
It is quite clear
from all this, that though the CPM may have its contradictions with the BJP, TNC,
Congress (I), etc., this is mere power politics. It is part of the ruling
classes; only its method of serving them is different to that of the BJP. While
the latter are Hindu fascists, the former are social fascists. On many themes,
like secularism, they have an approach similar to many other ruling-class
parties, adopting a policy of appeasement. Against the revolutionary movements
and nationality movements all the ruling class parties, including the CPI/CPM,
are fully united. On the question of Indian expansionism and anti-Pak hysteria
too, they are united. In essence, the CPM too is for upholding the existing
semi-feudal, semi-colonial order — at most it pretends to give it a human face.
On the occasion of
this 34th anniversary let us all vow to uphold Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. Let us
fight against all forms of revisionist distortions of Marxism that deflect the
movement from its revolutionary path. And finally let us unite to expose and
fight back the fascist offensive of the CPI (M) in West Bengal.
*UPHOLD THE REVOLUTIONARY LINE LAID DOWN
BY THE CPI (ML) AND DEVELOPED BY THE CPI (ML) (PW) !
*UPHOLD MARXISM-LENIN-ISM-MAOISM,
REPUDIATE REVISIONISM !!
*LONG LIVE PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM
!!!
Central Committee,
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
(People’s War)
Feb. 15, 2003
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