Indian Revolution –
Indian Communist Movement
Approach Paper
Ninety years had
passed since the formation of the communist Party of India. Since its
inception the party was subjected
to repression. This repression was unleashed on the freedom loving
national revolutionaries as well as on the communist fighters who
participated in the independence struggle with anti-imperialist aim.
They were implicated in Peshawar, Lahore, Kanpur and Meerut
conspiracy cases. In the trial of Kanpur and Meerut conspiracy cases,
Communists had not concealed their ideals and causes. They declared
that it is not at all a crime to wage struggle for the liberation of
people of India from the imperialist shackles and to emancipate the
toiling masses of workers, peasants and weaker sections from
economic, political and cultural exploitation. They voiced the
necessity for the people to organize against feudalism, imperialism
and capitalism.
We, as communists,
during 1925 to 1947, and then up to 1952, had built the movements of
workers and peasants while participating in the independence
movement. We have organized many a militant struggle of working
class. The middle class employees and teachers got organized under
our leadership. We organized the writers and artists with patriotic,
democratic and socialist aims. We fought for the rights of women and
made them part of the movement for independence and peace. The
communist party established itself as the party of the toiling people
with the policies andslogans: oppose
fascist war, protect socialism, Oppose communalism and national
chauvinism, and oppose the attempts of the imperialist, feudal and
capitalist forces to flare up communal, caste and regional clashes
among the people.
Until 1942, for two
decades, the party through its hard and untiring work in the face of
many repressions got itself identified as the third largest party in
the country. It gained wide recognition among the people even in the
midst of internal struggles on the policies of the party. The peoples movement had reached
the level of armed resistance.
The party worked with a concrete programme against feudal ideology. It owned up and brought to light many social reformers and progressive writers. It showed the way for a new culture by promoting on a wider scale the widow marriages. Model marriages as against the traditional form of marriage. It opposed the child marriages and marriages against the will of the girls. It worked for the gender equality. The communist party swam against the tide at a time when the untouchability, caste discriminations and blind faiths andpractices were prevalent.
The party worked with a concrete programme against feudal ideology. It owned up and brought to light many social reformers and progressive writers. It showed the way for a new culture by promoting on a wider scale the widow marriages. Model marriages as against the traditional form of marriage. It opposed the child marriages and marriages against the will of the girls. It worked for the gender equality. The communist party swam against the tide at a time when the untouchability, caste discriminations and blind faiths andpractices were prevalent.
The communist party
educated the people on how to resist the feudal atrocities: if you do
not have a stick in your hand even a goat will bite you; get your
selves armed and fight against caste oppression and communal attacks.
It was the party which inculcated the consciousness among the people
and made them to organize around the general slogans of independence,
democracy, socialism and world peace and led the people’s movements
and built the organized peoples resistance against imperialism and
feudalism. The dedicated work without expecting anything in return
personally and even laying down their own lives by thousands of party
members and hundreds of party cadres were invaluable. We cannot
forget the positive impact they have made on the society. The values
and commitments established by that generation of communists continue
to inspire and worth emulating to us even today.
The communist
movement means the organisations and the agitations and struggles
conducted by the organizations
of patriots, democrats, workers, peasants, other toiling people in
urban and rural areas, women, youth, students, children, writers and
artists as well as they defying the atrocities committed by the
exploiting classes and repression by the state. More than this the
communist movement means the movement built through the life
scarifying work with a social cause.
This was one phase.
It was the best phase in the communist movement. But it could not
marchforward. Why it was
so? True, it could not march ahead; faced setbacks. Yet the cause of
communism is there standing tall before us. With the strength of this
cause, we will review the history; learn lessons from it and march
forward.
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Defeat of fascism in
the Second World War and the victory of peace- loving, democratic and
communist forces has brought many changes in the world. The victory
of Soviet Union; its reconstruction of the country from the
destruction wrought by the fascist war; the march of socialist
construction; the coming to power of workers parties in East Europe;
the victory of Chinese revolution; the rise of peasant struggles in
our country; the progress of the party in various sectors – all
this had two types of influence on the party leadership and ranks.
Subjective thinking had overtaken the dialectical materialist
approach. The central leadership of the party led the workers and
peasants movements with two types of guidance.The differences in
the political and ideological understandings in the leadership was
the reason for this situation. There was struggle on two or three
understandings at the level of central leadership.
We cannot forget the fact that the root cause for the split in the communist party was the differences on the assessment of the character of bourgeoisie in India and the ideological differences that arose in the international communist movement. A friendly discussion on these issues can enable us to correct the mistakes in our understandings and show the way for our unity.
We cannot forget the fact that the root cause for the split in the communist party was the differences on the assessment of the character of bourgeoisie in India and the ideological differences that arose in the international communist movement. A friendly discussion on these issues can enable us to correct the mistakes in our understandings and show the way for our unity.
Along with the
above issue, there is another crucial issue: the confusion prevailed
in deciding the character of our society. At what stage we are now in
the process of development of society from slave to semi-slave to
feudal to semi- feudal, capitalist and to socialist system? The
communist movement is plagued with the confusion and differences on
this issue.
The character of big
bourgeoisie in India and the process under which the power had come
into its hands; its subservient relations with imperialism ; the
support of imperialism to feudalism and feudal landlords support to
imperialism helping each other to withstand or not – does these
questions remain as points of difference? Are not serious differences
existing in the assessment of these issues?
Who is the national bourgeoisie? Is it industrialist or big business? Is it upper caste of middle class that owns and earns private property? Have not lack of clarity on this issue led todisunity in the party?
Who is the national bourgeoisie? Is it industrialist or big business? Is it upper caste of middle class that owns and earns private property? Have not lack of clarity on this issue led todisunity in the party?
Has not the
phenomenon manifested in the leadership of the party that was over
awed by the philosophical
thinking of and qualities of the bourgeois leadership of national
movement, blunted our class orientation and the edge of our class
struggle? Has not the role of our party as one of the
leaders of national movement got reduced? As a result of this, had
not the basic classes of the party – rural toilers and urban
workers – ran behind the mirage of reforms by the exploiting government? Had not
many alien theories raised their ugly heads due to abandoning of
dialectical and materialist principle in conducting class struggles?
Has not the party’s mass base and hold got weakened?In the struggle of
proletariat, who stands by our side and who takes the side of
exploiting classes? Are we taking the decision on these questions on
the basis of class analysis? Are not our capabilities are being lost
because of alien class outlooks on this issue?
Many communist
sympathisers, well-wishers of revolutionary movement, even our
adversaries are thinking that the
personal ambitions, egos and careerism are the reasons for the
inability of communists to remain in one organization. Consequently
pessimism is being expressed. Are there no ideological, political and
organisational reasons for the spread of such tendencies?The communist party
is not discussing the differences on the basis of ideological
principles and class struggles. The discussions are being focused on
non-issues and secondary issues.
Taking this as an advantage, some opportunist intellectuals who vulgarise communist ideas are mixing some progressive ideas with romanticism. They are spreading certain theories and ideas that are anti Marxist and serve the interests of exploiting classes. They are trying to project themselves as the ‘guides for the misguided communists’. This is a prominent trend today. Our failure to be sufficiently cautious about these intellectuals who maintain close relations with the communists and move around spreading wrong interpretations to communist theories and the histories of class struggle. As a consequence, alien class theories trends and practices are creeping into the party and are creating impediments to the process of our development.These forces cannot destroy us, but they remain as hurdles for class struggles and the unity of class movements.
Keeping this whole situation in our view, where to begin our discussions? What are the ideological tenets to formulate clear cut policies? We have to concentrate on these issues.
Taking this as an advantage, some opportunist intellectuals who vulgarise communist ideas are mixing some progressive ideas with romanticism. They are spreading certain theories and ideas that are anti Marxist and serve the interests of exploiting classes. They are trying to project themselves as the ‘guides for the misguided communists’. This is a prominent trend today. Our failure to be sufficiently cautious about these intellectuals who maintain close relations with the communists and move around spreading wrong interpretations to communist theories and the histories of class struggle. As a consequence, alien class theories trends and practices are creeping into the party and are creating impediments to the process of our development.These forces cannot destroy us, but they remain as hurdles for class struggles and the unity of class movements.
Keeping this whole situation in our view, where to begin our discussions? What are the ideological tenets to formulate clear cut policies? We have to concentrate on these issues.
What is the
character of Indian society? What is the stage of Indian revolution?
There is a need for deeper and wider
discussion on these issues. There is need for discussions on the
feudal and semi- feudal and colonial and semi-colonial characters, Is
the understanding on penetrationof capital into rural economy new? Is
then the idea that the entry of capital into rural India would change
the nature of Indian society is being pushed forward? Then should the
communist party adopt achieving socialism as its sole aim and work?
If so, have we to change the understanding that imperialism,
feudalism class Struggle and comprador bourgeoisie have become main
impediments for the progress of people of India?
Then are we proposing to put aside our programme of CPI (ML)? No, not at all. Our documents have to be tested in the practice. If we let the documents to remain as just documents and move in our own way, will not our integrity towards our policies be questioned? So we have to continue our practice based upon our party’s documents. At the same time, we are placing the above questions and issues for discussion keeping in view the long term perspective and the task of rallying and uniting forces on a broader scale. It is not unnatural if questions like is it correct to engage in academic discussions and is it necessary to open up the Pandora’s Box now etc. crop up. Yet it will cause no harm to the movement as long as we have enough convictions and commitment towards the cause and practice.
The confusions being spread by the opportunist theoreticians and intellectuals have been influencing the genuine communists, Marxist- Leninists and disheartening the well- wishers of the communist movement. So the above issues are meant for wider discussion. Without keeping aside our practice, discussing the problems faced by the revolutionary movement dispassionately stands as a historic task and responsibility before all the communists today.
Let us make a
success of the seminar on 3 &4 th April 2015 commemorating
comrade KanuSanyal and thousands of communists fighters and martyrs.
With Revolutionary greetings.
Andra Pradesh State Committee
COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST-LENINIST).
With Revolutionary greetings.
Andra Pradesh State Committee
COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST-LENINIST).
