". (Marxism &
Revisionism – Lenin). When in 1917, in Russia, under the leadership of the Great
Lenin the Great October Russian Socialist Revolution achieved victory, the roots
of Marxism got strengthened. Because, till then, Marxism was only in the books,
now it became a living reality. The Russian Revolution smashed the
capitalist-imperialist system from one part of the globe and gave birth to the
Socialist Society, a new system of workers & peasants rule, which is the basic
concept of Marxism.
In the process of the
Russian Revolution, at every stage, Comrade Lenin had to fight a fierce struggle
against Revisionism at the international as well as national level — from
Plekhanov, Kautsky to the whole of the Mensheviks, including Martov & Trotsky,
and defeated all those revisionist and counter-revolutionary thoughts. Only then
could the Russian Revolution emerge victorious.
Comrade Lenin
analyzed and described imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism and about
the immediate possibility of revolution in the wake of the increasing &
intensive contradictions of capitalism at the stage of imperialism. Very often
Comrade Lenin had identified the stage of imperialism as the eve of Revolution.
On the question of imperialism and in the situation of imperialistic war what
would be the responsibility of the proletariat and its communist party – Com.
Lenin and Com. Stalin had to fight a fierce struggle against the ardent
revisionist leaders like Bernstein and Kautsky in the second international as
well as against the revisionists within their own Russian Communist Party. For
fighting against the thoughts of traitor Kautsky – defend the fatherland at the
time of the imperialist war, Lenin propounded new thoughts – of converting the
imperialist war into a civil war; that means fighting for the victory of
revolution in the respective countries by their proletariat parties. By
establishing this view Com. Lenin put forth the true responsibilities of
communists and smashed the revisionist theory of Kautsky during the war.
Finally, in continuation of these ideas the Great Russian Revolution under the
leadership of the Great Lenin and Stalin, succeeded by defeating all the
conspiracies of the revisionists. And in this process Marxism reached to its
second developed stage of Leninism. In the process of succeeding in the Russian
Revolution, in the stage of imperialism by intensive struggle against
revisionism and taking class struggle as the basis and by advancing class
struggle it was required to sharpen theory and by developing Marxism to the
level of Leninism this was achieved.
After the demise of
Lenin, in the process of developing socialist construction in Soviet Russia,
Comrade Stalin had to fight a fierce struggle, at every step, against the
revisionists and conspirators. To further the work of Socialism and Socialist
construction and strengthen the dictatorship of the proletariat, Stalin had to
contend at every step with reactionary conspirators and revisionists;
particularly the revisionist-conspirators like Trotsky, Zeinovev, Bukharin etc.
had to be fought with.
In 1953 the Great
Stalin died. Only after that Khrushchev, who was sitting silent in the party
since long, came to the scene with his real face. In 1956, in the twentieth
Congress, Khrushchev put forth the theory of "peaceful transition", "peaceful
competition", and "peaceful co-existence"; and later on with the theory of "the
nation of whole people" Khrushchevite revisionism emerged as an elaborate line.
This Khrushchevite revisionism has been identified as modern revisionism in
place of the old time revisionism. There are two fundamental reasons for this:
a. There was no
State Power in the hands of the earlier revisionism and revisionists. So there
was no question of using & misusing the State Power. Basically, earlier
revisionism was playing the role of opposing revolution in the sphere of
ideology.
b. Khrushchevite
revisionism emerged after the death of Com. Stalin, after acquiring control
over the strongest socialist society and state power related to this, which
was formed by the proletariat under the leadership of the great Lenin-Stalin.
Thus, by using state power, in implementation of the anti-revolutionary theory
of transition to socialism by peaceful means as a strategic principle, had a
greater impact, due to control over the state.
Basically due to
these two reasons Khrushchevite revisionism had been identified as modern
revisionism.
After the emergence
of Khrushchevite revisionism most of the divisions and splits within the various
Communist parties world-wide were seen. Particularly by implementing the
revisionist theory of peaceful transition to socialism as a strategy all of the
revisionist parties and their leaders adopted the programme of taking part in
elections as the major programme. The only goal of the peoples’ movements and
peoples’ organizations organized by them was restricted to prepare MLAs, MPs and
Ministers absorbed into the parliamentarian stream.
The leadership of the
undivided Communist Party of India, which betrayed the great Telangana struggle,
started participating in elections since 1952 and made it their only task.
Khrushchevite revisionism gave this line international acceptance which resulted
in taking them further towards their destruction.
Whatever it may be,
Khrushchevite revisionism, with the collaboration of imperialism, particularly
US imperialism, and conspiring with it, took over soviet state power, and in the
garb of socialism misused the state power to intensify its offensive. Its agent
revisionist parties and their leaders in their respective countries adopted
revisionist principles with more aggressiveness than ever and became the
followers of the "peaceful transition to socialism" line. Socialism in words and
imperialism at heart was the nature of the new Khrushchevite state, and by using
state power Russia first transformed into a social imperialist or social fascist
power, and then a superpower.
In the Second World
War under the leadership of Comrade Stalin the Russian Red Army defeated and
smashed the Nazi forces of fascist Hitler and secured a historical victory and a
socialist camp emerged. And after that in 1949 under the leadership of the great
Mao another world shaking revolution happened — through the protracted peoples’
war the Chinese revolution became victorious. The line of protracted people’s
war propounded by Comrade Mao became the only correct line of liberation for the
people of Asia, Africa and Latin America. For establishing this line Com. Mao
had to fight an intense struggle against the right and ‘left’ revisionists, like
Chen-tu-shu, Li-li-shan, Wang-ming, etc., within the Chinese Communist Party and
also in the International Communist Movement, and only through such struggles
could the Chinese Revolution be victorious. Com. Mao held high the flag of
struggle against revisionism.
After the emergence
of Khrushchevite revisionism the theoretical and ideological struggle waged by
Comrade Mao against Khrushchevite revisionism and modern revisionism has come to
be known as the "Great Debate". Though, since the birth of Marxism the struggle
against these opposing views, i.e. revisionism & Marxism, has continued
uniteruptedly, the struggle in the form of the ‘Great Debate’ against
Khrushchevite revisionism was ever more intensive than earlier ones and it
proved to be a decisive Debate to draw a clear-cut line of demarcation with
revisionism.
As a result of this
Great Debate an intensive struggle of Marxism vs. Revisionism (the central point
was the line of armed struggle and the line of the Parliamentarian way) started
at the international level and in the process of the struggle a polarization of
the two camps of genuine and fake Communists clearly emerged. The camp of
genuine communists under the leadership of Mao became strengthened and the
struggle against revisionism got ever more intensive. As a result, the ongoing
armed revolutions in some countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America became
more effective.
Later on, under the
leadership of Comrade Mao a complex and intensive struggle was waged within
China against the line of the capitalist roaders and the Chinese Khrushchev,
Liu-Shao-chi & Co. who rejected the dictatorship of proletariat and class
struggle and were for restoration of capitalism. This was known as the Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
Through the concrete
practice of the Chinese Revolution, through a active participation in the
international class struggle (as the Great Debate), and an unprecedented role in
the different branches of Marxism-Leninism, Comrade Mao developed
Marxism-Leninism, which we see in the form of Mao’s Thought (now Maoism), to a
qualitative & third stage of development of Marxism-Leninism.
In the same period in
India there was an intensive debate within the undivided Communist Party.
Particularly in 1962, after the incident of aggression on the then socialist
China by the reactionary Indian government, the internal struggle within the
party got more severe & intense. As a result of the thunderous impact of the
Great Debate, the world-shaking Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution and the
great peasants revolt of Naxalbari, the revisionist camp and communist
revolutionary camps were clearly demarcated in India.
But after the death
of Comrade Stalin, and the takeover of the Party and the State power by the
traitor Khrushchev, and replacement of the dictatorship of proletariat with the
dictatorship of bourgeoisie – the first socialist fatherland that was
established under the leadership of the Great Lenin and Stalin collapsed. Then,
immediately after the death of Comrade Mao, four revolutionary comrades were
identified as the "gang of four" and through a counter-revolutionary coup-de-ta,
the Teng-Hua clique changed the colour of socialist China and established the
dictatorship of the bourgeoisie in place of the dictatorship of the proletariat
in China also. That was the fall of a powerful fort of socialism established by
the C.P.C. under the leadership of the great Comrade Mao. Now not even a single
country in world today is in existence having socialism as the form of a social
system. The takeover of the Party & State Power and the restoration of
capitalism by the disguised revisionists and reactionary elements within the
party was the basic reason behind the defeat (even if temporary) of the
proletariat class and socialism.
As a result of these
negative incidents in the international communist movement, revisionism,
revisionist thoughts, methodology and procedures got a chance to raise their
head and made its impact once again. Specially, after the Teng clique changed
the colour of socialist China, the international communist movement had to go
through one more process of splits and so the movement faced a severe set back.
But, this setback to
the International Communist Movement, with revisionism once again asserting
itself is not an absolute thing, if looked at from a dialectical-materialist
viewpoint, but is a relative matter. Thus, if we put strong reliance on the laws
of dialectical-materialism and adopt a practice according to the present
objective conditions, and stand steadfastly on the line of armed struggle and
protracted people’s war, put full faith on workers-peasants and the toiling
masses and involve them in our every task, then only can we transform this
setback into advance, thereby beating back the heightened spread of revisionism,
and once again we can make Marxism as powerful as ever. Everything in the world
exists according to the law of the unity of two opposite things, where the
aspect of struggle is permanent and absolute and unity is temporary and
relative. So, to change bad into good, unfavourable into favourable, everything
is possible through struggle.
That revisionism is a
principal danger, many people accept this in words, but while in practice, they
fail to implement it. In the course of practice since revisionism is a principal
danger, there is a need to draw a clear-cut line of demarcation with the
revisionist methodology & procedures in the field of practice or procedures. If
we do not do this the result is that the struggle against revisionism remains
incomplete. So, the struggle against revisionism is required to be undertaken
continuously from beginning to the end, deeply and un-hesitantly, both in theory
and practice (in words and in deeds). Weakening the struggle against
revisionism, due to whatever reason, would means to extend help to perpetuate
revisionism.
Revisionism cannot
remain static and come in just one form. Revisionism constantly shifts its
positions and constantly like a chameleon changes its form. Revisionism that
came onto the scene at the time of Lenin and Stalin is quite different from the
Revisionism of today, and it will emerge in different forms in future. To oppose
the Red flag by waving the red flag, to oppose the revolution in the name of
revolution, to oppose Marxism-Leninism in the name of Marxism-Leninism and
opposing the Mao Thought in the name of Mao’s thought or opposing Maoism in the
name of Maoism – are the existing forms of revisionism. It could be called as
ultra-modern revisionism.
Giving a
contradictory analysis of the international situation and giving depressing
analysis saying that the situation is not ripe for revolution; negating the
historical and international importance of Maoism; by putting forth the question
of a new situation, concrete analysis, power balance etc.; analyzing that "the
situation is not mature for armed struggle"; and through manipulations
advocating and adopting the parliamentary path – are all characteristics of
today’s ultra-modern revisionism.
In India also, the
traitors of the Telangana Movement, the leaders of the undivided Communist Party
had since long abandoned the armed struggle and adopted the Parliamentary path,
and since then the only task of the revisionists was to praise the parliamentary
path and through participating in elections prepare their MLA, MPs and Ministers
to oppose the revolution by every means and in this way to serve the exploiters
— the ruling classes. But in 1967 after the outbreak of the great Naxalbari
peasant revolt, by unleashing an onslaught on the movement the
counter-revolutionary character of the CPM leaders got exposed in broad
daylight. That was the clear-cut line of demarcation between these traitors, the
newly revisionist CPI (M), and the Revolutionary Camp. Today, revisionism is so
adorable for imperialism, that in West Bengal, for the last 30 years under the
leadership of the gang-leader of the revisionists, the CPI (M)-led left front
government is ruling its reign of terror by suppressing all democratic and
revolutionary forces through their social fascist methods and playing the role
of a confident agent of the comprador bureaucratic capitalists and feudalism.
During the last 30 years rule of the CPI (M), it has misused the state power to
organize its party organs at every level for erecting them as a powerful social
fascist power, who, in the garb of Marxism, wielding red flags in their hands,
are playing the role of an organized counter-revolutionary force. The situation
has arisen that in some states of India it is impossible to advance the
democratic and revolutionary struggle without fighting the fascist offensive of
the CPI (M).
Then in 1972 after
the martyrdom of Comrade C.M., in the name of rectification of the "Left" line,
people like Satya Narayan Singh adopted the Rightist line and proceeded to take
part in elections. Besides, the pseudo followers of Mao’s thoughts, the CPI
(M-L) Liberation and an M-L party under the leadership of Kanu Sanyal had long
back departed from the line of armed struggle and adopted the parliamentarian
path, and plunged into the existing election game of fraud and manipulation for
securing two or three seats in the parliament, assembly and panchayat elections
to get crumbs from the plates of the exploiting classes, as a reward for their
surrender. Playing the role of counter-revolutionaries in the field of the class
struggle by launching vicious propaganda campaigns against the revolutionary
struggle, to get the revolutionary activists arrested and even get them murdered
– are some samples of the misdeeds committed by the Liberation. The disgruntled
Kanu Sanyal has become so adorable for the exploiters-rulers that the central as
well as state governments in collaboration with their police departments are
printing and distributing thousands and thousands of copies of Kanu Sanyal’s
statement against the CPI (Maoist) — that violence is not useful for the masses
and revolution will not happen by these means. The statement distributed in
Jharkhand and Bihar by the Police-Administration is a living example of this.
It is next to
impossible to advance the Revolutionary movements without fighting the armed
offensive unleashed by these types of revisionists. The world-wide history of
revolution also gives us the same lesson.
Ever since the
emergence of the Proletariat movement, the bourgeoisie has indulged,
theoretically as well as ideologically in making the workers corrupt so that the
workers’ movement could remain under the interests of the bourgeois class and
the revolutionary struggles of the masses of the country could become weakened
and diverted. With this objective the bourgeois ideological trend adopts
different forms at different times, sometime it may be rightist or sometime
"Left" deviationist. The history of development and emergence of
Marxism-Leninism-Maoism remains the history of acute struggle against these
trends of bourgeois ideology, whether it may be rightist trends or "Leftist"
trends. It is the duty of the genuine Marxist-Leninist-Maoists not to be afraid
of and run away from the challenges posed by the bourgeois ideological trends
but to follow the ways adopted by great Comrade Marx, Engles, Lenin, Stalin and
Mao, that means whenever there is an attack on the theory, basic line and policy
by bourgeois ideology and revisionist ideology then this attack and offensive
has to be smashed and to ensure the road of victory for the struggles led by the
proletariat class, oppressed classes and castes. The long history of struggle
between Marxism and revisionism shows us that some pseudo communist parties had
completely become revisionists in their essence and form. For example the famous
European parties of Italy, France etc. and the CPI and CPI (M) in India. Some
parties have already decayed as socialist fascist powers and some parties are
forcing their revisionist line and procedures more aggressively and some are
dangling somewhere in between.
But even any genuine
communist party will also have the existence of opposite thoughts to Marxism in
the form of revisionist, bourgeois and petty bourgeois trends. One also sees the
existence of revisionism in our party. Though it is not a principal form, but
manifestations of revisionism, bourgeois and petty bourgeois thoughts exist.
Particularly, it takes the expression of economism, militant economism,
legalism, spontaneity etc. exist within us and within our party. Besides these
we also have the expression of sectarianism, subjectivism and dogmatism in
ourselves and we also notice a lack of modesty and courtesy within us. Besides
this, we also have individualism, bureaucratic trends and ego within us, which
are posing hurdles in unifying and strengthening the newly formed party.
In fact we have both
Marxism and Revisionism. If we say revisionism, it means both the forms, right
opportunist and ‘Left’ deviations, exist in the party. Though the principal
aspect is Marxism, expressions of revisionism exist in the form of a secondary
aspect. So, on the one hand we have to take part in the real class struggle and
class war to strengthen us like steel, while on the other hand it is essential
to wage a continuous struggle against the revisionist expressions that exist
within ourselves. And this process is not required for a short or limited period
but it must be a continuous process.
We have to staunchly
stay with the saying of Comrade Lenin that, "the question of state power is
the basic question for every revolution" and it is our duty to advance the
class struggle and establish the dictatorship of proletariat and also we have to
steadily stand by the saying of Comrade Mao that "snatching political power
through armed struggle, settling the issues through war are the central task and
supreme form of revolution." Along with this we must have to try to adopt
the maxim of – practice Marxism not revisionism; be open and aboveboard; do not
conspire and split but unify – in our revolutionary practical life.
The founder leaders
and teachers of our party Com. C.M. and Com.K.C. had waged an uncompromising
struggle against the revisionism of the CPI and CPI(M) and had drawn a clear
line of demarcation with revisionism and succeeded in establishing the line of
protracted peoples war as directed by Comrade Mao. In continuity of that
struggle in the reflection of this practice was the great Naxalbari peasants’
revolt under the leadership of Com. C. M. proved to be a "Spring Thunder"
in the struggle against revisionism. How the uncompromising struggle against
revisionism is advanced and how revisionism is smashed – we have to learn from
the teachings of Com. C. M. and Com. K. C. and we have to firmly follow these
teachings.
Let’s, stand firmly
on the principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism; participate in the revolutionary
class struggle and the ongoing agrarian revolutionary guerilla war with full
activeness. Fasten the task of building base areas and building the people’s
armed forces. Wage struggle against revisionism and its concrete manifestations,
in words and in deeds. Remember that without waging struggle against revisionism
it is not possible for revolution to advance a single step forward.
The Author is a senior politburo member of the CPI(Maoist)