THE IMPORTANCE OF IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL STRUGGLE IN BUILDING REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

The Importance of Ideological and Political struggle in building Revolutionary Movement.

Com. Subodh Mitra

We are here to celebrate the Great October Socialist Revolution. Hundred years ago in 1917 under the leadership of Bolshevik Party led by Comrade Lenin the people seized the power overthrowing the tsarist regime. The Bolshevik Party, Com. Lenin and the entire Central Committee had to encounter the external and internal conspiracies inside and outside the party before and after the revolution. So it was a very hard and long drawn struggle. As you know that Lenin started his carrier as a professional revolutionary as a Marxist just at the age of twenty years. And he actually not died. He was a victim of bullet injury. He finally died in the year 1924 at the age of 55 years only. So his life pan was shortened. A man of 55 years old had created a new hope for theentire working class of the world. While preparing for the revolution just before the First World War Lenin had told that there can be no revolution without a revolutionary party. So in his work, he had given a very strong importance to the building of a revolutionary party. The Bolshevik party was a product of the struggle for the party. The Bolshevik party was formed in 1912. In Russia, the struggle had to be waged against Narodism, revisionism, Trotskyism and socialist revolutionaries – all kinds of people who were actually the direct agents of imperialism.

Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848 with the aim of developing the Communist Movement at the international level. In 1864, the Communist International was formed as a platform of working class movement. But even then Marx had to fight against the enemies within. In the Communist International, there were people who took the name of Marx every day. Bakunin used to tell that Marx was more than his father to him. But the same man said he hated the Jews. Marx happened to be a Jew. So Bakunin’s struggle was to destroy Jews, ie., Marx and Engels. And he conspired. He had taken money from the imperialist powers. He purchased many workers in the head quarters and finally the First International had collapsed. In 1871, there was the Paris Commune. The workers held power for 71 days. This was the first time the workers had successfully seized the power. But because of inexperience, the absence of a Communist Party and strong revolutionary leadership it failed. After the collapse of the First International, the Second International came into being under the leadership of Engels. But this Second International, in the period of First World War during 1914-19, the line of peaceful transformation of society was brought to the fore under the leadership of Karl Kautsky. He said Marxism cannot be implemented; Marxism needs to be changed in view of the changed international situation. He said that the balance of powers had changed between the workers and imperialist powers. So there is no question of revolutionary change; the revolution can be brought and completed by peaceful means. This was the line when the First World War had begun in 1914. This was called Kautskyism. It influenced the German Communist party and the parties in various other countries, including Russia.

So Lenin was of the view that the revolution was not possible without waging the struggle against the revisionist ideas called Kautskyism. He had seen that Marx had said in the last para of the Communist Manifesto that the “Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims” and their aims can be achieved only through a forcible overthrow of the existing order. No revolutionary change is possible in the society without the destruction of the existing order. Lenin had taken the lessons from the experiences of Paris Commune, 1905 Russian revolution and the February Revolution of Russia (1914). He wrote three important works, like “The Lessons of Revolution”; “Fundamental Questions of Revolution” and “Renegade Kautsky and Proletarian Revolution.” He had exposed Kautsky and called him a ‘social-imperialist.’ He said, Kautsky had actually betrayed the working class, acts as a reactionary and revisionist agent of imperialism. In these three ideological works Lenin had categorically said that without armed overthrow, without a party which is steeled, strong and capable to lead the working class and also without foiling this kind of conspiracy internally the revolution cannot be achieved. He also called for an ideological struggle

against various ideas alien to Marxism. So, naturally, the revolution had advanced with this kind of struggle. In 1917 Lenin was in exile. Stalin was arrested. After the 1917 February Revolution, Lenin arrived Petrograd. Stalin came to know of this. He escaped from the custody while he was being taken by the tsarist army for the purpose of forcing him to serve in the army. He walked on foot in the severe cold atmosphere and reached Moscow. He met Lenin in Petrograd. This was the time when the revolutionary peoples’ movement was growing into a mighty upsurge. Lenin gave the party the April Thesis which said that the time has matured for the seizure of power by the proletariat and for the socialist revolution. It said that the Bolsheviks can and must seize power. Then, what about Trotsky? He was the editor of a paper. Just before three months of the seizure of power he came to Moscow, contacted Lenin and joined the Bolshevik party. Perhaps, Lenin thought that he may be helpful for revolution. But Trotsky took it as an opportunity. He became a Minister. But Trotsky continued to work against Lenin even after joining the Bolshevik party. His line was, the revolution and socialism are not possible in a single Country. He advocated a ‘world

revolution.’ In spite of this, he was given the membership of the Bolshevik Party and also an important position in the Central Committee. However, the Bolshevik blueprint of revolution was leaked by Trotsky and Zinoviev. These two were the important members of the Central Committee. It was leaked to the enemies. Lenin and Stalin could expose comrades and were able to lead the proletariat to seize power. Once the power was seized, the question before the Bolsheviks was how to sustain it. First World War was going on at the time for a division of loot and territories among the imperialist powers. Russia was encircled by the German forces. And also in Siberia and other parts of Russia there were forces of the so called allied (imperialist) powers which were opposing Germany. The American, British and other imperialist powers thought that the Soviet power cannot survive for long. They thought that the Bolshevik party is too weak and therefore cannot sustain power. They hatched the conspiracies. They have sent a British agent to Moscow to carry out the conspiracy to liquidate the Bolshevik leaders. And in 1918, Sidney Ralle got the report that on 21 st August, 1918 the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party was going to meet in Moscow in a theater house. He reported that he had purchased a security chief Wendie by paying him 50,000 rubles as an advance. This security chief of the central Committee was supposed to guard and provide the security to the Central Committee. But, unexpectedly,the Central Committee meeting was deferred to September 8 th . On Sept, 7 th, when Lenin was coming out of a factory after giving a lecture, he was shot by a British agent. The upper portion of Lenin’s lungs was damaged. He was immediately rushed to the hospital. The conspiracy was to arrest all the Central Committee members together with Lenin, take them along the street and shoot all of them down in the open day light. This conspiracy was foiled because of the vigilance of Red guards, vigilance of Stalin all

the conspirators were arrested. Somehow Ralle could escape from Moscow. But, as Lenin was shot one day before the Central Committee meeting, naturally, his health went on deteriorating. It was really sad even though he lived for three more years and played an active role. Before this shooting incident, the Germans were controlling some Russian territories. So the peace talks were to be held between Russia and Germany. At that time, Trotsky was the Foreign Secretary. He was sent to peace talks to sign the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty. The Central Committee and Lenin gave specific instructions to Trotsky. But Trotsky had shown no interest in it. He violated all the instructions and as a result the treaty could not be signed. Germany attacked the Russian territory in three fronts. As a result, the Petrograd and Moscow were on the verge of collapse. The Red Guards and the armed workers and peasants actually stopped the German forces from annexing the territories. Another team was sent to Brest-Litovsk to negotiate and sign the peace treaty. Trotsky was excluded from the team. A treaty was signed at the cost of losing some territories. Trotsky hoped and believed that the Bolsheviks cannot sustain, but collapse. He hatched conspiracies but failed.

After a long time in 1957, Khrushchev raked up the question whether Stalin’s leadership had Lenin’s approval knowing well that Stalin was elected as the General Secretary of the Party right in the presence of Lenin and Lenin was clear in his evaluation of Stalin as well as in his choice of Stalin as the General Secretary of the Party. Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev and others sought to make use of a small incident where Stalin was said to have behaved rudely to sow misunderstanding and blow it into a rift between Lenin and Stalin. But they miserably failed. Stalin was very much annoyed by these attempts. He made an open apology. He submitted his resignation before the Party Plenum. But the Plenum had unanimously decided Stalin to continue as the General Secretary of the Party. Trotsky and his group too accepted it. Again, in the Party too Stalin had placed his resignation letter. The entire Congress including Trotsky had rejected his resignation letter and asked him to continue as the General Secretary. Then Stalin wrote, ‘yes Comrades, I am rude. I am rude to those who try to turn the wheel of history back. Sorry, I cannot be polite. This is my task.’ Trotsky never stopped his conspiracies. Even after Lenin’s death, he wrote several things. The discussion on the questions of building socialism, industrialization of Russia was very much needed. The Five Years Plan was prepared by Stalin and successfully implemented. Socialism was advancing, new industries and new working class were coming up as a result. But, on the other side, the

conspiracies continued. Trotsky and followers formed themselves into a group called ‘Fifth Column’ consisting of 500 people and three layers of leadership. One would be headed by Trotsky himself. It was the first group. The second group of leadership was in the hands of Bukharin as he was the Minister. He was able to contact the people if the first group was exposed. The third group was under the leadership of Kamenev. This conspiracy went on. The Bolshevik party and Stalin were vigilant against this conspiracy. Stalin gave more responsibilities to these conspirators so that they can get exposed. Finally in 1929, these conspirators decided to kill Stalin as the only way to kill best of the Bolsheviks. Com. Stalin, Com. Kaganovich, Com. Molotov, Com.kinov, Com. Maxim Gorky, and other Comrades were in the top of the list of 42 people they wanted to kill. This is history. Now it is known to every- body. They could kill many of them.

In 1935, when Kirov was coming out from a political meeting, he was shot dead. The culprit was caught and the whole conspiracy was exposed. First, Trotsky was sent to Siberia. The Bolshevik Party gave him money and everything to live Siberia. But in Siberia too he continued his conspiracy. Driven out from Siberia, he first came to Turkey’s Constantinople. He went there on the plea of leading a world revolution. But his main objective was to destroy Socialist Russia and give a new turn to the world proletariat. Turkey’s Communist Party led a huge struggle against the govt. there to get Trotsky a shelter. The imperialist powers too were pressing the Turkish govt. for it. So he was sent to Constantinople, an island, to provide him a shelter. From there he continued his activities. Please let me be brief. Maxim Gorky was killed. His son was killed in 1936. Best Bolsheviks were killed. But Stalin’s leadership had succeeded in exposing the conspiracies and finally there was a Moscow trail. All the hard core revisionist leaders like Kamenev, Zinoviev, Rykov, Tomsky, and Bukharin accepted their crimes. They confessed and finally punished. This was the history. An unparalleled incident in open camera and all the international representatives were sitting. In the open camera and Supreme Court had the hearing and gave its verdict and many convicted persons were shot dead. The first phase of Moscow trail the conspiracy was exposed. Then came the Second World War. As we all know, under the leadership of Stalin the struggle against Fascism became victorious. The whole world was saved. It was the struggle led by Stalin that defeated fascism headed by Hitler and protected socialism and led to its advance. And thirty years under his leadership the socialism advanced winning many victories.

So, Comrades! To conclude from the Great Russian October Socialist Revolution, the imperialists are the enemies of Socialism and Marxism. The imperialists always try to wage wars, hatch conspiracies against the proletariat, against the socialist ideas, against the proletarian ideology. So we have to wage the ideological struggle. We must be vigilant. We have to build and develop the

Communist Party, taking lessons from the Russian revolution, Lenin’s concept of the Party and the way he had developed the Bolshevik Party.

 Today we have to develop such a party and wage struggle, concrete struggle. Today, as you know, the ruling classes are very active. The Soviet Union had collapsed because of the betrayers. Today we are living in a very crisis ridden situation. So, taking lessons from the Russian revolution, remembering Lenin’s struggle, remembering the victorious socialist revolution in 1917 we have to pledge to go ahead, to march ahead and protect Marxism-Leninism.

Inquilab Zindabad

=========================================================

HAIL RUSSIAN GREAT SOCIALIST REVOLUTION. - CPI(ML) CC Statement.

HAIL RUSSIAN GREAT SOCIALIST REVOLUTION.

Let us Take the Message of Socialist Revolution to the People.

Let us Make the Centenary Commemoration Meeting a Success.

November 7 at Gymkhana Grounds, Vijayawada, Andra Pradesh.

CPI(ML) CC Statement.

November 7 – a memorable day for all the working class, oppressed and toiling people. Hundred years back, on this day, the Russian people led by Lenin, Bolshevik Party had overthrown the rule of exploiting classes and raised the flag of victory of Socialist Revolution. On this day, a most inspiring, promising and beautiful future, a new life was unveiled before the eyes of vast masses of world people who were being crushed under the heavy and oppressive chariot wheels of feudal, colonial, capitalist and autocratic rulers. On this day,the revolutionary people of Russia had emphatically proved in practice that the mighty exploiting systems and the rule of exploiting classes inevitably collapse like castles of cards if the exploited and oppressed masses of people get united and organized under the leadership of working class and rise in revolution. The Russian Socialist Revolution – popularly known as the October Revolution – is a tremendous revolutionary victory, a leap forward in the prolonged struggle of the human beings for a change and progress. This is a victory of the working class, oppressed and toiling people of the entire world.

During 1900 – 1917, the Russian Proletariat led the democratic revolution first against the feudal exploitation and oppression and the tsarist autocratic rule. The working class, peasants, oppressed nations and all the toiling people had united in this revolution. They waged countless small and big struggles in the midst of repression and wrong trends. Millions of workers and peasants rose in waves of struggles. They have learn from the defeat of 1905 Revolution. The proletariat has done a patient, determined and relentless work to unite and further strengthen the worker – peasant alliance and succeeded too.

From the beginning, Lenin had guided and led the Russian revolution. This had ensured a dependable guarantee for the victory of democratic and socialist revolutions in Russia. Lenin had applied Marxism and revolutionary experiences to the Russian conditions and the practice of crores of people. He had developed a correct path, tactics and methods of work that led the revolution to victory. More particularly, he emphasized that the proletariat alone can and must lead the democratic revolution through to the end and win the socialist revolution. He taught that a Communist Party, Bolshevik Party which shuns all kinds of deviationist trends, which is genuine, sacrificing, disciplined, with unwavering confidence in the revolutionary potential of the people and which is having countless dedicated cadres and leaders linked with the masses of people in all their conditions and provide the leadership to them. Lenin had tirelessly worked to build such a Party. Stalin was Lenin’s closest comrade in arms in all phases of struggle and provided the leadership.

Led by Lenin, the Russian people foiled the conspiracy of tsarist rulers who colluded with a group of imperialist powers in the first world war to destroy the Russian Revolution. “Oppose the imperialist war; intensify the civil war” - this call of Lenin became a battle cry for the Russian people and a death bell for the exploiting rulers. The revolutionary waves of crores of workers, peasants, armed forces and other oppressed people that erupted in Russia had grown into a great revolutionary upsurge and swept away the exploiting rulers. The flag of victory of Socialist Revolution was unfurled everywhere in Russia.

The Socialist Revolution in Russia is a great victory for the practice of Marxism. It took Marxism, Communist Party and the tasks of Proletariat to every nook and corner of the world. It inspired to take up this task. The Communist Parties had emerged in China and India only in this light. Their activities had expanded.

The proletarian state in Russia under Lenin and Stalin introduced and implemented the new policies totally different from those of the exploiting systems. The exploitation of man by man, a nation by another nation was abolished; the exploitation of labour and inequalities were banished; colonialism, imperialism, aggression, interference and war policies were rejected. The Socialist Russia stood as a most dependable ally of the nations struggling for independence and liberation and people’s revolutions. The solidarity and support of the Socialist Russia greatly helped the people of various countries, including China in sustaining, advancing and winning the revolutions.

At the time when the imperialist powers were in a serious economic crisis, in a dog fight among themselves for a better share in the loot, the Socialist Russia was in a better economic and political situation and advancing. In the second world war, the imperialist powers had conspired to destroy the Socialist Russia and turn the outcome of the war in their own favor. The role played by the Socialist Russia under the leadership of Stalin in foiling these conspiracies, in inflicting a death blow on German Fascism and in seriously weakening imperialism is unprecedented and historic.

The failure of imperialists and Fascists in their frenzied attempts to turn the wheel of human progress some decades backward had given a great push to the advance of world revolution. The Peoples Democratic Revolutions were successful in East European Countries. The New Democratic Revolution was victorious in China under the leadership of Chines Communist Party and Mao. Revolutions advanced in a number of Asian, African and Latin American Countries.

The World Communist Movement came to lead Socialist,Peoples or New Democratic States, powerful class and revolutionary movements and enjoy extensive prestige and popularity among the democratic and peace-loving forces in the world. Thus it emerged as a powerful political force in the world arena which can challenge imperialism and reactionary forces. It can be said as a most inspiring and highest stage in the life of World Communist and Revolutionary Movement.

However , the theories of Khrushchev in 1956 had set Russia on the road of reversal and capitalist restoration. The entire World Communist and Revolutionary movement suffered a serious setback. The Capitalist Restoration had gained an upper hand, in China too after Mao. It inflicted one more serious setback to Communist and Revolutionary movement. It was a most painful development for the Communist, Progressive, Democratic, Peace-loving forces and the world people as a whole. But, the exploiting ruling classes and imperialists who themselves are in neck deep and inextricable crisis, rocked by the contradictions among themselves and encircled by the ever rising flames of people’s discontent, anger and struggle owing to their utter failure to solve any problems of the people are making many feats to show these setbacks as their own victory. They are preaching that the people now are left with no other way except living under the capitalist system. They are circulating tons of literature in the world to drown the people in feelings of demoralization, despair, surrender, defeatism, retrogression, reactionary ideas and cultures.

In the face of these adverse developments, the Communist Revolutionaries in India are holding high the flag of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought. They are trying to develop the Class Struggles and Revolutionary Movements. They are carrying on this revolutionary work in the face of repression by ruling classes and their tactics to divide and divert the people. They are struggling to overcome the deviationist trends manifesting in the movement and in the midst of ups and downs and setbacks facing he movement.

On the eve of completion of 100 years of Russia’s Socialist Revolution, the CPI(ML) is holding a meeting in Vijayawada (AP) on November 7, 2017 to widely take the Message of Socialist Revolution to the people. We hope that this meeting will help to understand the questions like how this revolution was achieved? How it withstood? How it fought Imperialism and Fascism? What inspiration and strength this revolution gave to the people fighting throughout the world for socialism, democracy, independence and peace? The representatives from various states are massively participating in this meeting. There will be cultural programmes by the people’s artists. We invite the Communist sympathizers and people to attend the program in large number. We appeal to all to extend liberal help and cooperation in all possible forms for the success of the program.

With Revolutionary Greetings,

Central Committee

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (Marxist-Leninist) .

=============================================================

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SITUATIONS AND OUR TASKS.

National and International Situations and Our Tasks.

Political Resolution Adopted by the Central Committee, CPI (ML)

International situation:

The world economic crisis which struck various countries with different intensity is cyclical in nature. With each cycle of crisis, the basic contradictions of the world capitalist system are getting accentuated: between imperialism and oppressed nations and people of the world; between capital and labor, and between various imperialist powers.

Though the leaders of imperialist countries claim that the economy had come out of the 2008 financial crisis, it continues to haunt the world capitalist system. The so- called measures the imperialist powers had taken to contain the crisis, such as bailouts to the banks, had only fattened the pockets of financial monopolies and drove the people into the mire of unemployment and poverty.

The methods of placing the burden of the crisis on the backs of working people in the imperialist countries are taking various forms. In Europe, there are massive layoffs, reduced wages and increasing contract jobs with less pay and benefits in the name of labour flexibility. Along with these the monopoly bourgeoisie in the US is resorting to cutting down health care and pensions for workers. They reduced retirement benefits by a staggering 25 per cent between 2001 and 2015.

The corporate bosses have eliminated age old practice of employer paid ‘Defined Benefit’ retirement scheme for the newly hired workers, replacing it with ‘Defined Contribution’ plans which are funded by the workers contribution. According to a study, the employers offering definite benefit plans plummeted from 45 per cent to just 7 per cent between 2001 and 2015. Another study noted that the number of Americans aged 65 or over who are working jumped from 13 per cent in 2000 to 19 per cent in 2016 and is expected to increase to 32 per cent in the next five years.

The employer paid retirement and health care benefits were the result of fierce struggles waged by the working class in 1940s and 50s and defended in the struggles into 1970s. Now the capitalist class is ripping apart this social contract on the basis of distorted arguments as was made by the CEO of Delphi. The “social contract inherent in the defined benefit programmes perhaps made some economic sense when you worked for an employer till the age of 65 and then died at 70” he argued, “people can start work at age 20, retire at age50 and expect full pensions and health care till age 90 or so” makes no sense. It is clear that the monopoly bourgeoisie is hell bent upon to deny the legitimate dues it had to pay them and thus maximize its profits.

Faced with unabated crisis and growing disenchantment and ire of the people, the imperialist countries are increasingly resorting to brutal and repressive policies against the people. These include the restriction of civil and democratic rights and their gradual abolition. Exercising authoritarian powers in the name of so-called war on terrorism became a daily routine. The continuation of state of emergency by the French government after the Paris terrorist attack points to the rising trend of authoritarian rule in the name of saving democracy. In addition, the imperialist powers are raking up anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments and racism. The US president’s open defense of racist violence at Charlottesville is the latest example. While the white race supremacists’ rampaged through the town and terrorized students and other residents, the police stood by and winked their encouragement to the attackers. Trump described these racist attackers as “very fine people” and as resisting “violent left-wingers”. Similarly across the Europe, the ruling classes are encouraging no-Nazi forces and their organizations by raking up racism through anti-immigrant feelings.

This is the strategy adopted by the Western imperialist powers to divert the growing people’s anger against deteriorating conditions of life which was the result of crisis inherent in capitalist system. Trump’s slogan of America First, jobs for Americans only etc are only a part of this strategy.

Many people consider Trump as an ‘evil’ and attribute most of his policy pronouncements to his personal traits. They are unable to see the fact that Trump represents the financial monopolies and he is the outcome of growing fascist trends in American political system. It is well known that fascism is the product of capitalism in extreme crisis.

The Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency exposed the criminal activities of US imperialism all over the world. Carter launched US war in Afghanistan that led to the creation of Al Qaeda. Reagan initiated attacks on social security plans internally, while unleashing illegal war of subversion in Nicaragua. Bush senior invaded Panama and carried out first invasion of Iraq. Clinton bombed Iraq and imposed sanctions that killed millions of Iraqis and their children. He unleashed war on Serbia. Bush junior initiated wars on Iraq and Libya that killed millions of people and sanctioned torture as an instrument of policy of suppression. Next came the candidate of ‘hope’ and ‘change’, Obama. He sanctified drone assassinations and domestic spying, while hundreds of billions of dollars were squandered to benefit the financial sharks.

Imperialism, particularly the US imperialism, to maintain and further strengthen its grip over the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, is seeking to perpetuate its domination. It is demanding and wresting more concessions from the third world countries by imposing more liberalization in trade, services and intellectual property rights beyond what was stipulated by WTO. It is now proposing regional trade agreements so that it can plunder the nature, human and financial resources of the third world countries.

Correspondingly, the imperialist powers are trying hard to continue their political domination, by resorting to use their military might. This is evident in the massive increase of military budgets, growing number of military interventions and threats of aggression against the third world countries.

Under the constant threats of aggression from US imperialism, North Korea tested a long range ballistic missile and nuclear bomb. The US imperialism is demonising this self defense act of North Korea as a potential threat to the humankind. The truth of the matter is that the US imperialism, while sitting on a huge pile of nuclear weapons that can destroy the whole earth more than four times, wants to disarm other countries as it wants to impose its rule over the world with its nuclear monopoly. Every country has the right to defend itself from the attacks by imperialist countries, particularly the US imperialism and acquire weapons and armaments including the nuclear weapons to defend themselves.

The imperialist powers are vying with each other for share in the loot. As the crisis continues to hit them hard, their wrangling over the spoils is getting louder and louder. The reverberations of this wrangling were clearly heard in the recent G-20 summit held in Germany. The EU, particularly Germany and France, vehemently opposed the US proposal to have a Trans Atlantic trade and

investment participation treaty, which aimed at achieving US dominance over the European countries. Similarly another US proposed Trans Pacific Trade and Investment Participation treaty did not make headway. At the same time, the US imperialism is facing the Russian assertion for its place in the world affairs as an imperialist power, which at present thwarted plans to topple the Assad government in Syria. The Russian attempts to join hands with China which is growing as an economic power and entering into Africa with the finance capital, has become a threat to the interests of US imperialism. To counter this, the US imperialism is paying particular attention to the South Asia. It rallied Japan, Australia and India into what is calling the pivot to Asia aimed at curtailing the Russian and Chinese access to Indian Ocean. This clearly shows the sharpening of contradictions among the imperialist powers.

In all the countries the people are seething with discontent and anger. They are protesting and are looking for a way that leads to the resolution of their problems. All over the world the working class is struggling not only for economic demands but also for certain democratic and political demands.

When the peoples’ movement took the shape of anti-imperialism, it is being manipulated, with the active co-operation from the local reactionary classes, to save the interests of imperialism as was witnessed in the events of Tunisia and Egypt. When the governments that came into power at the crest of peoples’ movement, implemented democratic and national policies as opposed to imperialist dictated ones, the US imperialism tried every dirty trick to topple those governments. After the death of Chavez, the national bourgeoisie of Venezuela succumbed to the pressure of US imperialism as was evident in the policies of Madura government.

The people of the world are not remaining passive. They are developing their struggles and organizations. They need correct leadership - the leadership of a Communist Party – to lead their struggles against imperialism and domestic ruling classes, thus leading them towards the emancipation from exploitation and oppression.

NATIONAL SITUATION:

The BJP led government completed three years in power. The Prime Minister in his fourth Independence Day address triumphantly announced the achievements of his government. Deft at coining new slogans, Modi gave another slogan ‘Bharat jodo’. The Part II of the Economic survey 2017 released on the next day, the last day of the monsoon session of the Parliament to avoid any discussion, belied the hopes that Modi tried to stoke.

The manufacturing sector was in disarray when Modi was sworn in. He announced ‘Make in India’ programmes ostensibly to rejuvenate the manufacturing sector. After three years, the manufacturing sector showed a historically low capacity utilization of 70 per cent. Due to transition to GST and effect of demonetization, observes the Economic survey, “15 of 25 subgroups in this sector recorded contraction”.

On employment generation, the most important indicator of economic activity, 1.5 million jobs were lost during January- April 2017 alone. The PM conveniently bypassed his own promise to create 2 crore jobs every year and now extolled the youth to become job givers instead of job seekers. Apparently the Modi Govt shrinks from the responsibility of providing jobs by yet another promise of providing the youth with opportunities for self employment.

The Economic Survey observed that “India’s combination of low real investment, low export volume and low credit growth with high GDP growth was unprecedented and difficult to maintain.” Such a gloomy situation cannot provide opportunity to youth to find self employment. Modi praised the job creation impact of the MUDRA loans. But the scheme with its low level of loans advanced cannot create large number jobs. The number of beneficiaries under MNREGA is being shown as creation of jobs knowing well that it is distress mitigation scheme. People avail this scheme only when there is no alternative source of income.

Moreover, the Economic Survey showed how the demonetization devastated the informal sector. There is deflation; but it came at the cost of peasants and those in the informal sector. The RBI Annual Report 2016-17 revealed that the demonetization had not achieved all its declared objectives. 98.96 percent of banned Rs.1000 and Rs.500 notes were deposited in the bank accounts. The RBI is yet to count the notes deposited in the co- operative banks and in Nepal. If

these are accounted, almost all the banned notes returned to the RBI. Even according to the Central bank’s figure, about Rs. 16,000 crore worth of banned notes were not returned, which means that those holding illegal cash are insignificant in number or that they found ways of depositing cash into formal banking systems.

Contrary to the claims of the government that demonetization is “immensely beneficial to Indian economy and people”, undue costs and hardships were imposed on the poor people and on the informal sector of Indian economy. The regular economic activity was disrupted for months. The Economic survey stated that decline in GDP growth rates “predated demonetization but intensified in the post demonetization period”. As was suspected by many at the time of announcement, the demonetization had only helped the banks with liquid money as demonetization is not complete even after six months. Seen from the tall claims made by the government, the demonetization remained as a futile exercise.

The much placated one Country- one tax reform, GST has paralyzed the informal manufacturing sector. Textiles, leather and construction are worst hit. In the name of streamlining the tax regime to improve tax compliance the government has shut down the businesses and extinguished livelihoods. The GST as we had anticipated cleared the way for the foreign private capital to gobble up the informal sector which is the mainstay of Indian economy and put the finances of the state governments in deep morass.

The rhetoric and cliché slogans apart, the BJP led government is pursuing the same policies of the UPA government with much more speed and ruthlessness. It removed all the barriers remained for the entry of foreign private capital, including the defense sector. It is continuing the policy of privatization of education and medical and health services to its logical conclusion of surrendering them to the foreign capital. The long drawn process of formulating the national education policy in the garb of democratic discussion, while parts of it being put in to implementation and recently pronounced new health policy stands as proof of this.

Unable to solve not even a single basic problem of the people the BJP government is doing everything to polarize the Indian society on communal basis. It is blowing up every issue out of proportions, be it beef, inter- religious marriages or religious conversions or even the habits of wearing different dresses to rake communal hatred and national chauvinism and then resorts to physical attacks and murders. Communalism and national chauvinism are being used to cow down the dissenters and opposition. This indicates the growing fascistic trends in the Indian polity.

Through the assassination of Bengaluru based journalist Gauri Lankesh on 5 September the killers sent out a message to other journalists and critics who believe, that they have a right to question and criticize those in power, to dissent from dominant views, to investigate social evils, and to expose violations of human rights and corruption in high places, that they will be silenced. The

assassination of Gauri Lankesh is part of a larger design to silence those intellectuals who oppose communalism and caste discrimination as promoted by the Hindutva forces. The list is long... M.M. Kalburgi, Pansare and many others.

The mainstream media in India is largely pliant and unquestioning, although there are few exceptions. Given the prevailing ownership of media by big bourgeoisie, it is virtually impossible for individual journalists to investigate or expose the powerful unless the owners agree. Hence, the parroting of what is being given by the government on everything ranging from the economy to foreign affairs to terrorism fills the columns of print media and consumes the prime time of electronic media. The dissenting voices are very rarely heard. Her brutal death ought to be a wake-up call for all journalists and democrats. It is not just the lives of journalists and democrats that are at stake, it is the future of free and fearless journalism and the democratic values that are in danger of being eliminated.

The continuing economic crisis had its repercussions in the political arena. The concentration of powers in the hands of the central government at the expense of state governments has become a daily phenomenon. In the name of co- operative federation it is curtailing the powers of state governments’ finances. Replacing the Planning Commission with NITI Ayog is one example. Even the BJP ruled states started to grumble on GST which has thrown their finances into disarray. While agriculture is a state subject it is moving in the direction of enacting an all India Agricultural Produce Market yard Committee law to replace all the APMC laws made by the state governments, in its bid to create a single agricultural market as dictated by the WTO to facilitate Agribusiness of MNCs.

The BJP which came to the power raising the slogans of Ram Janma bhoomi, love Jihad and Ghar Wapsi, now added gau raksha in its armory. Along with these communal slogans, it used caste permutations that are different from the opponents to win the Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.

In a bid to prove its capacity in implementing the neo liberal policies dictated by its imperialist masters, the Modi government and BJP are arm-twisting and black mailing the state governments under the rule of opposition parties. The way Nitish Kumar was brought back in to the fold of NDA breaking its ties with RJD in Bihar is a stark example.

It is using peoples’ anger against the deteriorating conditions of life to pressurize the state governments. As in the Nirbhaya case in Delhi, it used Jallikattu issue to mobilize the people and abruptly withdrew when it found that the rising Tamil national sentiments may work against it. Taking advantage of the vacuum formed due to the death of Jayalalitha, it made the IT department to take up raids on the AIADMK’s sources of finance accrued through corruption. The role of BJP in breaking and realigning the factions in the AIADMK is obvious to everyone.

The BJP is using communal agenda to brow beat the TMC government and covertly raking up demand for separate Gorkhaland to gain its narrow political ends and to put Mamata Banerjee in trouble, but not to support this long standing demand of the peoples movement. It also began to create troubles in the two Telugu speaking states - AP and Telangana- even though the regional parties are extending their support to the NDA government. The bulwark of BJP, Amit Shah told in a recent meeting of cadres of BJP that harnessing support from TDP and TRS is only a tactic and they must work with the aim of gaining power in these states at any cost. It is using every trick to break the attempts of the opposition parties to forge an alliance.

Since India and US formed a “Global strategic Partnership” in 2009, the Indian big bourgeoisie has inclined more towards US imperialism. As a continuation of this, India allowed to use its military facilities and ports by the US military under the Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement signed in August 2016. Since coming to power in 2014, Narendra Modi government and BJP unabashedly declare that Washington is a strategic ally of India. It turned India into a front line state in the hegemonic designs of US imperialism in Asia and Indian Ocean. It joined the trilateral military ties with US, Japan and Australia.

This is evident in the standoff at Doklam with China. India entered into a territory, which is a dispute between Bhutan and China and on which talks are going on to find a solution between China and Bhutan, though it has no legal right to do so. The 2007 treaty with Bhutan freed itself to conduct its foreign affairs independently without the need to consult India. Yet the Indian government sent its troops saying that Chinese army trespassed the border and when this was proved not correct, it put forth the plea that it took the measure at the request of Bhutan.

The BJP is using this situation and raking up national chauvinism to divert the peoples attention from the basic issues. The blow hot and blow cold statements from both sides of the Himalayas may not immediately lead to an armed conflict between China and India. But the India’s totally unwarranted adventure will definitely lead India into the clutches of US imperialism. One has to demand the government to settle all the outstanding border disputes with neighboring countries through talks and find an amicable solution and stop meddling in the affairs of Nepal and Bhutan.

Here there is every need to expose the real intentions of the Indian ruling classes and its imperialist masters in using communalism and national chauvinism to divide the people. During the last two years we have witnessed turmoil in the campuses of centers of higher education. Be it JNU, DU or Rajasthan University or Central University of Haryana or Hyderabad Central University and be it Rohith Vemula, Kanhaiya Kumar, Rajasree Ranawat, Umar Khalid or Nivedita Menon, the RSS forces are branding anyone who does not agree to their Hindu nationalism as anti-national are being subjected physical attacks. The students with support from the democratic minded people and forces resisted these attacks to the extent possible. Such a resistance is very much needed; otherwise the juggernaut of communalism would tear asunder the fabric of communal harmony and peace that used to prevail in campuses and the society outside.

Yet, not only have the immediate issues like hostel facilities, building of universities, land issues for colleges, research funding etc, but also the issue of policy that shapes the higher education like redesigning curriculum to suit the needs of industry, tying up the universities with foreign funding that decides every aspect of education to be imparted to the students etc., were effectively side lined by the government. While the students are engaged in resisting the communal forces, the government has pushed through almost all its so-called reforms that bring adverse consequences for the students and education system, except forming the proposed Higher Education Commission to replace the University Grants Commission, AICTE and Medical Council of India. This is what the finance capital wanted. Previously, these universities witnessed the resistance from the students to these so-called reforms.

This is also true as regards the other sections and classes of people. The real aim of the BJP and RSS on behalf of the Indian ruling classes in raking up communalism and national chauvinism is to divide the people and weaken their resistance to the anti-people policies being implemented by them. It is the duty of the Communist revolutionaries to organise resistance to and join hands with the forces that are opposing and resisting the attacks from Hindu communal forces, while at the same time expose the hidden agenda of the ruling classes sought to be pushed through by the communal forces before the people so that their resistance and opposition do not limit to the immediate danger of attacks but extend to the larger issues. By this way we can make the people aware of the nefarious acts of the Indian ruling classes and their political representatives.

The Modi government is sharpening the teeth of repressive laws and machinery so as to trample the hard earned democratic rights of the people. It aims to monitor every movement of its citizens by linking everything with UID (Aadhar card) In the situation where the parliamentary opposition parties including the left have accepted imperialist globalisation as a fact of life and are implementing the same where they were in power, the people as well as the Country are faced with future fraught with grave danger. This calls upon the Communist revolutionary forces to come forward to take on the challenge. They should close their ranks; strengthen themselves organizationally and in terms of class and mass organizations and movements. They must strive to forge unity and alliance with democratic and patriotic forces in order to fight the dangers ahead and mobilize and organise the people for united struggle on the following demands:

1. Scrap land acquisition legislation.

2. Scrap mining and mineral Ordinance.

3. Implement land reforms.

4. Scrap labour reforms.

5. Increase allocation to social sectors like education and health.

6. Oppose communalism.

7. Stop communalisation of education and culture.

8. Oppose national chauvinism.

9. Stop construction of nuclear power plants.

10. No to foreign capital.

11. Oppose imperialist aggressions.

12. Solidarity with struggling people and oppressed nations.

*****************************************************************

DISRUPTION OF UNITY UNDER COVER OF OUTCRIES FOR UNITY - V.I. Lenin.

V. I. Lenin

DISRUPTION OF UNITY
UNDER COVER OF
OUTCRIES FOR UNITY

---

The questions of the present-day working-class movement are in many respects vexed questions, particularly for representatives of that movement's recent past (i.e., of the stage which historically has just drawn to a close). This applies primarily to the questions of so-called factionalism, splits, and so forth. One often hears intellectuals in the working-class movement making nervous, feverish and almost hysterical appeals not to raise these vexed questions. Those who have experienced the long years of struggle between the various trends among Marxists since 1900-01, for example, may naturally think it superfluous to repeat many of the arguments on the subject of these vexed questions. 

 
But there are not many people left today who took part in the fourteen-year-old conflict among Marxists (not to speak of the eighteen- or nineteen-year-old conflict, counting from the moment the first symptoms of Economism appeared). The vast majority of the workers who now make up the ranks of the Marxists either do not remember the old conflict, or have never heard of it. To the overwhelming majority (as, incidentally, was shown by the opinion poll held by our journal[161]), these vexed questions are a matter of exceptionally great interest. We therefore intend to deal with these questions, which have been raised as it were anew (and for the younger generation of the workers they are really new) by Trotsky's "non-factional workers' journal", Borba.


1."FACTIONALISM"
Trotsky calls his new journal "non-factional". He puts this word in the top line in his advertisements; this word is stressed by him in every key, in the editorial articles of Borba itself, as well as in the liquidationist Severnaya Rabochaya Gazeta, which carried an article on Borba by Trotsky before the latter began publication.

What is this "non-factionalism"? 

 
Trotsky's "workers' journal" is Trotsky's journal for workers, as there is not a trace in it of either workers' initiative, or any connection with working-class organisations. Desiring to write in a popular style, Trotsky, in his journal for workers, explains for the benefit of his readers the meaning of such foreign words as "territory", "factor", and so forth. 

 
Very good. But why not also explain to the workers the meaning of the word "non-factionalism"? Is that word more intelligible than the words "territory" and "factor"? 

 
No, that is not the reason. The reason is that the label "non-factionalism" is used by the worst representatives of the worst remnants of factionalism to mislead the younger generation of workers. It is worth while devoting a little time to explaining this.
Group-division was the main distinguishing feature of the Social-Democratic Party during a definite historical period. Which period? From 1903 to 1911. 

 
To explain the nature of this group-division more clearly we must recall the concrete conditions that existed in, say, 1906-07. At that time the Party was united, there was no split, but group-division existed, i.e., in the united Party there were virtually two groups, two virtually separate organisations. The local workers' organisations were united, but on every important issue the two groups devised two sets of tactics. The advocates of the respective tactics disputed among themselves in the united workers' organisations (as was the case, for example, during the discussion of the slogan: a Duma, or Cadet, Ministry, in 1906, or during the elections of delegates to the London Congress in 1907), and questions were decided by a majority vote. One group was defeated at the Stockholm Unity Congress (1906), the other was defeated at the London Unity Congress (1907).
These are commonly known facts in the history of organised Marxism in Russia. 

 
It is sufficient to recall these commonly known facts to realise what glaring falsehoods Trotsky is spreading. 

 
For over two years, since 1912, there has been no factionalism among the organised Marxists in Russia, no disputes over tactics in united organisations, at united conferences and congresses. There is a complete break between the Party, which in January 1912 formally announced that the liquidators do not belong to it, and the liquidators. Trotsky often calls this state of affairs a "split", and we shall deal with this appellation separately later on. But it remains an undoubted fact that the term "factionalism" deviates from the truth.

 
Consider the present state of affairs from the viewpoint of the young Russian workers who now constitute nine-tenths of the organised Marxists in Russia. They see three mass expressions of the different views, or trends in the working-class movement: the Pravdists, gathered around a newspaper with a circulation of 40,000; the liquidators (15,000 circulation) and the Left Narodniks (10,000 circulation). The circulation figures tell the reader about the mass character of a given tenet. 

 
The question arises: what has "chaos" got to do with it? Everybody knows that Trotsky is fond of high-sounding and empty phrases. But the catchword "chaos" is not only phrase-mongering; it signifies also the transplanting, or rather, a vain attempt to transplant, to Russian soil, in the present period, the relations that existed abroad in a bygone period. That is the whole point. 

 
There is no "chaos" whatever in the struggle between the Marxists and the Narodniks. That, we hope, not even Trotsky will dare to deny. The struggle between the Marxists and the Narodniks has been going on for over thirty years, ever since Marxism came into being. The cause of this struggle is the radical divergence of interests and viewpoints of two different classes, the proletariat and the peasantry. If there is any "chaos" anywhere, it is only in the heads of cranks who fail to understand this. 

 
What, then, remains? "Chaos" in the struggle between the Marxists and the liquidators? That, too, is wrong, for a struggle against a trend, which the entire Party recognised as a trend and condemned as far back as 1908, cannot be called chaos. And everybody who has the least concern for the history of Marxism in Russia knows that liquidationism is most closely and inseparably connected, even as regards its leaders and supporters, with Menshevism (1903-08) and Economism (1894-1903). Consequently, here, too, we have a history extending over nearly twenty years. To regard the history of one's own Party as "chaos" reveals an unpardonable empty-headedness.
Now let us examine the present situation from the point of view of Paris or Vienna. At once the whole picture changes. Besides the Pravdists and liquidators, we see no less than five Russian groups claiming membership of one and the same Social-Democratic Party: Trotsky's group, two Vperyod groups, the "pro-Party Bolsheviks" and the "pro-Party Mensheviks".[162] All Marxists in Paris and in Vienna (for the purpose of illustration I take two of the largest centres) are perfectly well aware of this. 

 
Here Trotsky is right in a certain sense; this is indeed group-division, chaos indeed! 

 
Groups within the Party, i.e., nominal unity (all claim to belong to one Party) and actual disunity (for, in fact, all the groups are independent of one another and enter into negotiations and agreements with each other as sovereign powers). 

 
"Chaos", i.e., the absence of (1) objective and verifiable proof that these groups are linked with the working-class movement in Russia and (2) absence of any data to enable us to judge the actual ideological and political physiognomy of these groups. Take a period of two full years -- 1912 and 1913. As everybody knows, this was a period of the revival and upswing of the working-class movement, when every trend or tendency of a more or less mass character (and in politics this mass character alone counts) could not but exercise some influence on the Fourth Duma elections, the strike movement, the legal newspapers, the trade unions, the insurance election campaign, and so on. Throughout those two years, not one of these five groups abroad asserted itself in the slightest degree in any of the activities of the mass working-class movement in Russia just enumerated! 

 
That is a fact that anybody can easily verify.
And that fact proves that we were right in calling Trotsky a representative of the "worst remnant of factionalism". 

 
Although he claims to be non-factional, Trotsky is known to everybody who is in the least familiar with the working-class movement in Russia as the representative of "Trotsky's faction ". Here we have group-division, for we see two essential symptoms of it: (1) nominal recognition of unity and (2) group segregation in fact. Here there are remnants of group-division, for there is no evidence whatever of any real connection with the mass working-class movement in Russia. 

 
And lastly, it is the worst form of group-division, for there is no ideological and political definiteness. It cannot be denied that this definiteness is characteristic of both the Pravdists (even our determined opponent L. Martov admits that we stand "solid and disciplined" around universally known formal decisions on all questions) and the liquidators (they, or at all events the most prominent of them, have very definite features, namely, liberal, not Marxist). 

 
It cannot be denied that some of the groups which, like Trotsky's, really exist exclusively from the Vienna-Paris, but by no means from the Russian, point of view, possess a degree of definiteness. For example, the Machist theories of the Machist Vperyod group are definite; the emphatic repudiation of these theories and defence of Marxism, in addition to the theoretical condemnation of liquidationism, by the "pro-Party Mensheviks", are definite. 

 
Trotsky, however, possesses no ideological and political definiteness, for his patent for "non-factionalism", as we shall soon see in greater detail, is merely a patent to flit freely to and fro, from one group to another. 

 
To sum up:
1)Trotsky does not explain, nor does he understand, the historical significance of the ideological disagreements among the various Marxist trends and groups, although these disagreements run through the twenty years' history of Social-Democracy and concern the fundamental questions of the present day (as we shall show later on);
2)Trotsky fails to understand that the main specific features of group-division are nominal recognition of unity and actual disunity;

3)Under cover of "non-factionalism" Trotsky is championing the interests of a group abroad which particularly lacks definite principles and has no basis in the working-class movement in Russia.
All that glitters is not gold. There is much glitter and sound in Trotsky's phrases, but they are meaningless.


II. THE SPLIT
"Although there is no group-division, i.e., nominal recognition of unity, but actual disunity, among you, Pravdists, there is something worse, namely, splitting tactics," we are told. This is exactly what Trotsky says. Unable to think out his ideas or to get his arguments to hang together, he rants against group-division at one moment, and at the next shouts: "Splitting tactics are winning one suicidal victory after another". (No. 1, p. 6.) 

 
This statement can have only one meaning: "The Pravdists are winning one victory after another" (this is an objective, verifiable fact, established by a study of the mass working-class movement in Russia during, say, 1912 and 1913), but I, Trotsky, denounce the Pravdists (1) as splitters, and 2) as suicidal politicians.
Let us examine this. 

 
First of all we must express our thanks to Trotsky. Not long ago (from August 1912 to February 1914) he was at one with F. Dan, who, as is well known, threatened to "kill " anti-liquidationism, and called upon others to do so. At present Trotsky does not threaten to "kill" our trend (and our Party -- don't be angry, Citizen Trotsky, this is true!), he only prophesies that it will kill itself ! 

 
This is much milder, isn't it? It is almost "non-factional", isn't it?
But joking apart (although joking is the only way of retorting mildly to Trotsky's insufferable phrase-mongering). 

 
"Suicide" is a mere empty phrase, mere "Trotskyism".
Splitting tactics are a grave political accusation. This accusation is repeated against us in a thousand different keys by the liquidators and by all the groups enumerated above, who, from the point of view of Paris and Vienna, actually exist. 

 
And all of them repeat this grave political accusation in an amazingly frivolous way. Look at Trotsky. He admitted that "splitting tactics are winning [read: the Pravdists are winning] one suicidal victory after another". To this he adds:
"Numerous advanced workers, in a state of utter political bewilderment, themselves often become active agents of a split ." (No. 1, p. 6.)
Are not these words a glaring example of irresponsibility on this question? 

 
You accuse us of being splitters when all that we see in front of us in the arena of the working-class movement in Russia is liquidationism. So you think that our attitude towards liquidationism is wrong? 

Indeed, all the groups abroad that we enumerated above, no matter how much they may differ from each other, are agreed that our attitude towards liquidationism is wrong, that it is the attitude of "splitters". This, too, reveals the similarity (and fairly close political kinship) between all these groups and the liquidators. 

 
If our attitude towards liquidationism is wrong in theory, in principle, then Trotsky should say so straightforwardly, and state definitely, without equivocation, why he thinks it is wrong. But Trotsky has been evading this extremely important point for years. 

 
If our attitude towards liquidationism has been proved wrong in practice, by the experience of the movement, then this experience should be analysed; but Trotsky fails to do this either. "Numerous advanced workers," he admits, "become active agents of a split" (read: active agents of the Pravdist line, tactics, system and organisation). 

 
What is the cause of the deplorable fact, which, as Trotsky admits, is confirmed by experience, that the advanced workers, the numerous advanced workers at that, stand for Pravda ? 

 
It is the "utter political bewilderment" of these advanced workers, answers Trotsky. 

 
Needless to say, this explanation is highly flattering to Trotsky, to all five groups abroad, and to the liquidators. Trotsky is very fond of using, with the learned air of the expert, pompous and high-sounding phrases to explain historical phenomena in a way that is flattering to Trotsky. Since "numerous advanced workers" become "active agents" of a political and Party line which does not conform to Trotsky's line, Trotsky settles the question unhesitatingly, out of hand: these advanced workers are "in a state of utter political bewilderment", whereas he, Trotsky, is evidently "in a state" of political firmness and clarity, and keeps to the right line! . . . And this very same Trotsky, beating his breast, fulminates against factionalism, parochialism, and the efforts of intellectuals to impose their will on the workers!
Reading things like these, one cannot help asking oneself: is it from a lunatic asylum that such voices come? 

 
The Party put the question of liquidationism, and of condemning it, before the "advanced workers" as far back as 1908, while the question of "splitting" away from a very definite group of liquidators (namely, the Nasha Zarya group), i.e., that the only way to build up the Party was without this group and in opposition to it -- this question was raised in January 1912, over two years ago. The overwhelming majority of the advanced workers declared in favour of supporting the "January (1912) line". Trotsky himself admits this fact when he talks about "victories" and about "numerous advanced workers". But Trotsky wriggles out of this simply by hurling abuse at these advanced workers and calling them "splitters" and "politically bewildered"!

 
From these facts sane people will draw a different conclusion. Where the majority of the class-conscious workers have rallied around precise and definite decisions, there we shall find unity of opinion and action, there we shall find the Party spirit, and the Party.
Where we see liquidators who have been "removed from of fice" by the workers, or half a dozen groups outside Russia, who for two years have produced no proof that they are connected with the mass working-class movement in Russia, there, indeed, we shall find bewilderment and splits. In now trying to persuade the workers not to carry out the decisions of that "united whole", which the Marxist Pravdists recognise, Trotsky is trying to disrupt the movement and cause a split. 

 
These efforts are futile, but we must expose the arrogantly conceited leaders of intellectual groups, who, while causing splits themselves, are shouting about others causing splits; who, after sustaining utter defeat at the hands of the "advanced workers" for the past two years or more, are with incredible insolence flouting the decisions and the will of these advanced workers and saying that they are "politically bewildered". These are entirely the methods of Nozdrev,[163] or of "Judas" Golovlyov.[164] 

 
In reply to these repeated outcries about a split and in fulfilment of my duty as a publicist, I will not tire of repeating precise, unrefuted and irrefutable figures. In the Second Duma, 47 per cent of the deputies elected by the worker curia were Bolsheviks, in the Third Duma 50 per cent were Bolsheviks, and in the Fourth Duma 67 per cent. 

 
There you have the majority of the "advanced workers", there you have the Party; there you have unity of opinion and action of the majority of the class-conscious workers. 

 
To this the liquidators say (see Bulkin, L. M., in Nasha Zarya No. 3) that we base our arguments on the Stolypin curias. This is a foolish and unscrupulous argument. The Germans measure their successes by the results of elections conducted under the Bismarckian electoral law, which excludes women. Only people bereft of their senses would reproach the German Marxists for measuring their successes under the existing electoral law, without in the least justifying its reactionary restrictions. 

 
And we, too, without justifying cuirass, or the curia system, measured our successes under the existing electoral law. There were curious in all three (Second, Third and Fourth) Duma elections; and within the worker curia, within the ranks of Social-Democracy, there was a complete swing against the liquidators. Those who do not wish to deceive themselves and others must admit this objective fact, namely, the victory of working-class unity over the liquidators. 

 
The other argument is just as "clever": "Mensheviks and liquidators voted for (or took part in the election of) such and such a Bolshevik." Splendid! But does not the same thing apply to the 53 per cent non-Bolshevik deputies returned to the Second Duma, and to the 50 per cent returned to the Third Duma, and to the 33 per cent returned to the Fourth Duma? 

 
If, instead of the figures on the deputies elected, we could obtain the figures on the electors, or workers' delegates, etc., we would gladly quote them. But these more detailed figures are not available, and consequently the "disputants" are simply throwing dust in people's eyes. 

 
But what about the figures of the workers' groups that assisted the newspapers of the different trends? During two years (1912 and 1913), 2,801 groups assisted Pravda, and 750 assisted Luch.[*] These figures are verifiable and nobody has attempted to disprove them.
Where is the unity of action and will of the majority of the "advanced workers", and where is the flouting of the will of the majority?
Trotsky's "non-factionalism" is, actually, splitting tactics, in that it shamelessly flouts the will of the majority of the workers.


III. THE BREAK-UP OF THE AUGUST BLOC


But there is still another method, and a very important one, of verifying the correctness and truthfulness of Trotsky's accusations about splitting tactics. 

 
You consider that it is the "Leninist" who are splitters? Very well, let us assume that you are right. 

 
But if you are, why have not all the other sections and groups proved that unity is possible with the liquidators without the "Leninist", and against the "splitters"? . . . If we are splitters, why have not you, uniters, united among yourselves, and with the liquidators? Had you done that you would have proved to the workers by deeds that unity is possible and beneficial! . . . 

 
Let us go over the chronology of events.

 
In January 1912, the "Leninist" "splitters" declared that they were a Party without and against the liquidators. 

 
In March 1912, all the groups and "factions": liquidators, Trotskyists, Vperyodists, "pro-Party Bolsheviks" and "pro-
* A preliminary calculation made up to April 1, 1914, showed 4,000 groups for Pravda (commencing with January 1, 1912) and 1,000 for the liquidators and all their allies taken together.

Party Mensheviks", in their Russian news sheets and in the columns of the German Social-Democratic newspaper Vorwärts, united against these "splitters". All of them unanimously, in chorus, in unison and in one voice vilified us and called us "usurpers", "mystifiers", and other no less affectionate and tender names.

 
Very well, gentlemen! But what could have been easier for you than to unite against the "usurpers" and to set the "advanced workers" an example of unity ? Do you mean to say that if the advanced workers had seen, on the one hand, the unity of all against the usurpers, the unity of liquidators and non-liquidators, and on the other, isolated "usurpers", "splitters", and so forth, they would not have supported the former?

 
If disagreements are only invented, or exaggerated, and so forth, by the "Leninists", and if unity between the liquidators, Plekhanovites, Vperyodists, Trotskyists, and so forth, is really possible, why have you not proved this during the past two years by your own example?
In August 1912, a conference of "uniters" was convened. Disunity started at once: the Plekhanovites refused to attend at all; the Vperyodists attended, but walked out after protesting and exposing the fictitious character of the whole business. 

 
The liquidators, the Letts, the Trotskyists (Trotsky and Semkovsky), the Caucasians, and the Seven "united". But did they? We stated at the time that they did not, that this was merely a screen to cover up liquidationism. Have the events disproved our statement?

 
Exactly eighteen months later, in February 1914, we found: 

 
1.that the Seven was breaking up. Buryanov had left them. 

 
2.that in the remaining new "Six", Chkheidze and Tulyakov, or somebody else, could not see eye to eye on the reply-to be made to Plekhanov. They stated in the press that they would reply to him, but they could not. 

 
3.that Trotsky, who for many months had practically vanished from the columns of Luch, had broken away, and had started "his own" journal, Borba. By calling this journal "non-factional", Trotsky clearly (clearly to those who are at all familiar with the subject) intimates that in his, Trotsky's, opinion, Nasha Zarya and Luch had proved to be "factional", i. e., poor uniters. 

 
If you are a uniter, my dear Trotsky, if you say that it is possible to unite with the liquidators, if you and they stand by the "fundamental ideas formulated in August 1912" (Borba No. 1, p. 6, Editorial Note), why did not you yourself unite with the liquidators in Nasha Zarya and Luch ? 

 
When, before Trotsky's journal appeared, Severnaya Rabochaya Gazeta published some scathing comment stating that the physiognomy of this journal was "unclear" and that there had been "quite a good deal of talk in Marxist circles" about this journal, Put Pravdy (No. 37)[*] was naturally obliged to expose this falsehood. It said: "There has been talk in Marxist circles" about a secret memorandum written by Trotsky against the Luch group; Trotsky's physiognomy and his breakaway from the August bloc were perfectly "clear". 

 
4.An, the well-known leader of the Caucasian liquidators, who had attacked L. Sedov (for which he was given a public wigging by F. Dan and Co.), now appeared in Borba. It remains "unclear" whether the Caucasians now desire to go with Trotsky or with Dan.

 
5.The Lettish Marxists, who were the only real organisation in the "August bloc", had formally withdrawn from it, stating (in 1914) in the resolution of their last Congress that:
"the attempt on the part of the conciliators to unite at all cost with the liquidators (the August Conference of 1912) proved fruitless, and the uniters themselves became ideologically and politically dependent upon the liquidators."
This statement was made, after eighteen months experience, by an organisation which had itself been neutral and had not desired to establish connection with either of the two centres. This decision of neutrals should carry all the more weight with Trotsky!
Enough, is it not? 

 
Those who accused us of being splitters, of being unwilling or unable to get on with the liquidators, were themselves unable to get on with them. The August bloc proved to be a fiction and broke up. 

 
By concealing this break-up from his readers, Trotsky is deceiving them. 

 
The experience of our opponents has proved that we are right, has proved that the liquidators cannot be co-operated with.


IV. A CONCILIATOR ADVICE TO THE "SEVEN"


The editorial article in issue No. 1 of Borba entitled "The Split in the Duma Group" contains advice from a conciliator to the seven pro-liquidator (or inclining towards liquidationism) members of the Duma. The gist of this advice is contained in the following words:
"first of all consult the Six whenever it is necessary to reach an agreement with other groups. . . ." (P. 29.)
This is the wise counsel which, among other things, is evidently the cause of Trotsky's disagreement with the liquidators of Luch. This is the opinion the Pravdists have held ever since the outbreak of the conflict between the two groups in the Duma, ever since the resolution of the Summer (1913) Conference was adopted. The Russian Social-Democratic Labour group in the Duma has reiterated in the press, even after the split, that it continues to adhere to this position, in spite of the repeated refusals of the Seven.
From the very outset, since the time the resolution of the Summer Conference was adopted, we have been, and still are, of the opinion that agreements on questions concerning activities in the Duma are desirable and possible; if such agreements have been repeatedly arrived at with the petty-bourgeois peasant democrats (Trudoviks), they are all the more possible and necessary with the petty-bourgeois, liberal-labour politicians. 

 
We must not exaggerate disagreements, but we must face the facts: the Seven are men, leaning towards liquidationism, who yesterday entirely followed the lead of Dan, and whose eyes today are travelling longingly from Dan to Trotsky and back again. The liquidators are a group of legalists who have broken away from the Party and are pursuing a liberal labour policy. Since they repudiate the "underground", there can be no question of unity with them in matters concerning Party organisation and the working-class movement. Whoever thinks differently is badly mistaken and fails to take into account the profound nature of the changes that have taken place since 1908. 

 
But agreements on certain questions with this group, which stands outside or on the fringe of the Party, are, of course, permissible: we must always compel this group, too, like the Trudoviks, to choose between the workers' (Pravdist) policy and the liberal policy. For example. on the question of fighting for freedom of the press the liquidators clearly revealed vacillation between the liberal formulation of the question, which repudiated, or overlooked, the illegal press, and the opposite policy, that of the workers. 

 
Within the scope of a Duma policy in which the most important extra-Duma issues are not directly raised, agreements with the seven liberal-labour deputies are possible and desirable. On this point Trotsky has shifted his ground from that of the liquidators to that of the Party Summer (1913) Conference.

 
It should not be forgotten, however, that to a group standing outside the Party, agreement means something entirely different from what Party people usually understand by the term. By "agreement" in the Duma, non-Party people mean "drawing up a tactical resolution, or line". To Party people agreement is an attempt to enlist others in the work of carrying out the Party line. 

 
For example, the Trudoviks have no party. By agreement they understand the "voluntary", so to speak, "drawing up" of a line, today with the Cadets, tomorrow with the Social-Democrats. We, however, understand something entirely different by agreement with the Trudoviks. We have Party decisions on all the important questions of tactics, and we shall never depart from these decisions; by agreement with the Trudoviks we mean winning them over to our side, convincing them that we are right, and not rejecting joint action against the Black Hundreds and against the liberals. 

 
How far Trotsky has forgotten (not for nothing has he associated with the liquidators) this elementary difference between the Party and non-Party point of view on agreements, is shown by the following argument of his:
"The representatives of the International must bring together the two sections of our divided parliamentary group and jointly with them ascertain the points of agreement and points of disagreement. . . . A detailed tactical resolution formulating the principles of parliamentary tactics may be drawn up. . . ." (No. 1, pp. 29-30.)
Here you have a characteristic and typical example of the liquidationist presentation of the question! Trotsky's journal forgets about the Party; such a trifle is hardly worth remembering!
When different parties in Europe (Trotsky is fond of inappropriately talking about Europeanism) come to an agreement or unite, what they do is this: their respective representatives meet and first of all ascertain the points of disagreement (precisely what the International proposed in relation to Russia, without including in the resolution Kautsky's ill-considered statement that "the old Party no longer exists"[165]). Having ascertained the points of disagreement, the representatives decide what decisions (resolutions, conditions, etc.) on questions of tactics, organisation, etc., should be submitted to the congresses of the two parties. If they succeed in drafting unanimous decisions, the congresses decide whether to adopt them or not. If differing proposals are made, they too are submitted for final decision to the congresses of the two parties.

 
What appeals to the liquidators and Trotsky is only the European models of opportunism, but certainly not the models of European partisanship. 

 
"A detailed tactical resolution" will be drawn up by the members of the Duma! This example should serve the Russian "advanced workers", with whom Trotsky has good reason to be so displeased, as a striking illustration of the lengths to which the groups in Vienna and Paris -- who persuaded even Kautsky that there was "no Party" in Russia -- go in their ludicrous project-mongering. But if it is sometimes possible to fool foreigners on this score, the Russian "advanced workers" (at the risk of provoking the terrible Trotsky to another outburst of displeasure) will laugh in the faces of these project-mongers. 

 
"Detailed tactical resolutions," they will tell them, "are drawn up among us (we do not know how it is done among you non-Party people) by Party congresses and conferences, for example, those of 1907, 1908, 1910, 1912 and 1913. We shall gladly acquaint uninformed foreigners, as well as forgetful Russians, with our Party decisions, and still more gladly ask the representatives of the Seven, or the August bloc members, or Left-wingers or anybody else, to acquaint us with the resolutions of their congresses, or conferences, and to bring up at their next congress the definite question of the attitude they should adopt towards our resolutions, or towards the resolution of the neutral Lettish Congress of 1914, etc." 

 
This is what the "advanced workers" of Russia will say to the various project-mongers, and this has already been said in the Marxist press, for example, by the organised Marxists of St. Petersburg. Trotsky chooses to ignore these published terms for the liquidators? So much the worse for Trotsky. It is our duty to warn our readers how ridiculous that "unity" (the August type of "unity"?) project-mongering is which refuses to reckon with the will of the majority of the class-conscious workers of Russia.


V. TROTSKY'S LIQUIDATIONIST VIEWS
As to the substance of his own views, Trotsky contrived to say as little as possible in his new journal. Put Pravdy (No. 37) has already commented on the fact that Trotsky has not said a word either on the question of the "underground" or on the slogan of working for a legal party, etc.* That, among other things, is why we say that when attempts are made to form a separate organisation which is to have no ideological and political physiognomy, it is the worst form of factionalism. 

 
Although Trotsky has refrained from openly expounding his views, quite a number of passages in his journal show what kind of ideas he has been trying to smuggle in.
In the very first editorial article in the first issue of his journal, we read the following:
"The pro-revolutionary Social-Democratic Party in our country was a workers' party only in ideas and aims. Actually, it was an organisation of the Marxist intelligentsia, which led the awakening working class." (5. )
This is the old liberal and liquidationist tune, which is really the prelude to the repudiation of the Party. It is based on a distortion of the historical facts. The strikes of 1895-96 had already given rise to a mass working-class movement, which both in ideas and organisation was linked with the Social-Democratic movement. And in these strikes, in this economic and non-economic agitation, the "intelligentsia led the working class"!?

 
Or take the following exact statistics of political offences in the period 1901-03 compared with the preceding period.


Occupations of participants in the emancipation movement prosecuted for political offences (per cent)
Period	Agriculture	Industry and Commerce	Liberal professions and students	No definite occupation, and no occupation
1884-90 1901-03	7.1 9.0	15.1 46.1	53.3 28.7	19.9  8.0


We see that in the eighties, when there was as yet no Social-Democratic Party in Russia, and when the movement was "Narodnik", the intelligentsia predominated, accounting for over half the participants. 

 
But the picture underwent a complete change in 1901-03, when a Social-Democratic Party already existed, and when the old Iskra was conducting its work. The intelligentsia were now a minority among the participants of the movement; the workers ("industry and commerce") were far more numerous than the intelligentsia, and the workers and peasants together constituted more than half the total. 

 
It was precisely in the conflict of trends within the Marxist movement that the petty-bourgeois intellectual wing of the Social-Democracy made itself felt, beginning with Economism (1895-1903) and continuing with Menshevism (1903-1908) and liquidationism (1908-1914). Trotsky repeats the liquidationist slander against the Party and is afraid to mention the history of the twenty years' conflict of trends within the Party.

 
Here is another example.
"In its attitude towards parliamentarism, Russian Social-Democracy passed through the same three stages . . . [as in other countries] . . . first 'boycottism' . . . then the acceptance in principle of parliamentary tactics, but . . . [that magnificent "but", the "but" which Shchedrin translated as: The ears never grow higher than the forehead, never![*]] . . . for purely agitational purposes . . . and lastly, the presentation from the Duma rostrum . . . of current demands. . . ." (No. 1, p. 34.)
This, too, is a liquidationist distortion of history. The distinction between the second and third stages was invented in order to smuggle in a defence of reformism and opportunism. Boycotts as a stage in "the attitude of Social-Democracy towards parliamentarism" never existed either in Europe (where anarchism has existed and continues to exist) or in Russia, where the boycott of the Bulygin Duma, for example, applied only to a definite institution, was never linked with "parliamentarism", and was engendered by the peculiar nature of the struggle between liberalism and Marxism for the continuation of the onslaught. Trotsky does not breathe a word about the way this struggle affected the conflict between the two trends in Marxism! 

 
When dealing with history, one must explain concrete questions and the class roots of the different trends; anybody who wants to make a Marxist study of the struggle of classes and trends over the question of participation in the Bulygin Duma, will see therein the roots of the liberal labour policy. But Trotsky "deals with" history only in order to evade concrete questions and to invent a justification, or a semblance of justification, for the present-day opportunists!
"Actually, all trends," he writes, "employ the same methods of struggle and organisation." "The outcries about the liberal danger in our working-class movement are simply a crude and sectarian travesty of reality." (No. 1, pp. 5 and 35.) 

 
It is a fact that Severnaya Rabochaya Gazeta for March 13 wrote the following:
"Instead of emphasising the definite and concrete task that confronts the working class, viz., to compel the Duma to throw out the bill [on the press ], a vague formula is proposed of fighting for the 'uncurtailed slogans ', and at the same time the illegal press is widely advertised, which can only lead to the relaxation of the workers' struggle for their legal press."
This is a clear, precise and documentary defence of the liquidationist policy and a criticism of the Pravda policy. Well, will any literate person say that both trends employ "the same methods of struggle and organisation" on this question? Will any literate person say that the liquidators are not pursuing a liberal-labour policy on this question, that the liberal menace to the working-class movement is purely imaginary? 

 
The reason why Trotsky avoids facts and concrete references is because they relentlessly refute all his angry outcries and pompous phrases. It is very easy, of course, to strike-an attitude and say: "a crude and sectarian travesty". Or to add a still more stinging and pompous catch-phrase, such as "emancipation from conservative factionalism".

 
But is this not very cheap? Is not this weapon borrowed from the arsenal of the period when Trotsky posed in all his splendour before audiences of high-school boys? 

 
Nevertheless, the "advanced workers", with whom Trotsky is so angry, would like to be told plainly and clearly: Do you or do you not approve of the "method of struggle and organisation" that is definitely expressed in the above quoted appraisal of a definite political campaign? If you do, then you are pursuing a liberal-labour policy, betraying Marxism and the Party; to talk of "peace" or of "unity" with such a policy, with groups which pursue such a policy, means deceiving yourself and others.

 
If not, then say so plainly. Phrases will not astonish, satisfy or intimidate the present-day workers. 

 
Incidentally, the policy advocated by the liquidators in the above-quoted passage is a foolish one even from the liberal point of view, for the passage of a bill in the Duma depends on "Zemstvo-Octobrists" of the type of Bennigsen, who has already shown his hand in the committee.

* *
*
The old participants in the Marxist movement in Russia know Trotsky very well, and there is no need to discuss him for their benefit. But the younger generation of workers do not know him, and it is therefore necessary to discuss him, for he is typical of all the five groups abroad, which, in fact, are also vacillating between the liquidators and the Party. 

 
In the days of the old Iskra (1901-03), these wavers, who flitted from the Economists to the Iskrists and back again, were dubbed "Tushino turncoats" (the name given in the Troublous Times in Russia to fighting men who went over from one camp to another[166]). 

 
When we speak of liquidationism we speak of a definite ideological trend, which grew up in the course of many years, stems from Menshevism and Economism in the twenty years' history of Marxism, and is connected with the policy and ideology of a definite class -- the liberal bourgeoisie. 

 
The only ground the "Tushino turncoats" have for claiming that they stand above groups is that they "borrow" their ideas from one group one day and from another the next day. Trotsky was an ardent Iskrist in 1901-03, and Ryazanov described his role at the Congress of 1903 as "Lenin's cudgel". At the end of 1903, Trotsky was an ardent Menshevik, i.e., he deserted from the Iskrists to the Economists. He said that "between the old Iskra and the new lies a gulf". In 1904-05, he deserted the Mensheviks and occupied a vacillating position, now co-operating with Martynov (the Economist), now proclaiming his absurdly Left "permanent revolution" theory. In 1906-07, he approached the Bolsheviks, and in the spring of 1907 he declared that he was in agreement with Rosa Luxemburg. 

 
In the period of disintegration, after long "non-factional" vacillation he again went to the right, and in August 1912, he entered into a bloc with the liquidators. He has now deserted them again, although in substance he reiterates their shoddy ideas. 

 
Such types are characteristic of the flotsam of past historical formations, of the time when the mass working-class movement in Russia was still dormant, and when every group had "ample room" in which to pose as a trend, group or faction, in short, as a "power", negotiating amalgamation with others. 

 
The younger generation of workers should know exactly whom they are dealing with, when individuals come before them with incredibly pretentious claims, unwilling absolutely to reckon with either the Party decisions, which since 1908 have defined and established our attitude towards liquidationism, or with the experience of the present-day working-class movement in Russia, which has actually brought about the unity of the majority on the basis of full recognition of the aforesaid decisions.