This is the first part of the speech delivered in Assamese by Comrade Asit Bhattacharyya, Polit Bureau Member, SUCI(C), in Guwahati, on 5 August, on the occasion of observance of 44th Memorial Day of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the great leader of the proletariat. Second part will be in the next issue. Responsibility of translation error, if any, lies with the Editorial Board
You are aware that Fifth August is the Memorial Day of the great leader Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the Founder General Secretary of our Party, SUCI ( Communist) and one of the fore-ranking Marxist thinkers of this era. It was on this date in 1976 that he breathed his last from sudden severe cardiac attack. Since his demise, we observe this day each year from a deep revolutionary purposiveness with profound political significance underlying the observance. Each year we recollect his thoughts with all seriousness, analyze and evaluate the prevailing national and international situations with a view to fixing our revolutionary tasks and to determining the course to move ahead as well as to reiterating our pledge to accomplish anti-capitalist socialist revolution without delay on the basis of his thoughts. Judged and observed this way, it is no ritual, rather a political action carrying great revolutionary significance in it.
You must have noted that today when we are observing this day, our country and the entire international arena are entangled in an extremely difficult condition. An intense all-out crisis in every political, economic, social, cultural sphere has engulfed people of the world. All its aspects cannot be discussed in a single mass meeting. I will just try to highlight the most basic issues involved.
Capitalist economy is robbing people of the minimum right to earn a livelihood
In India, such an unbearable economic condition has been created that it is leaving virtually no way for common people for sustenance and survival. The problem that is haunting people’s life every moment is that of earning a livelihood. Man cannot survive without a proper job ensuring a decent means of sustenance. So finding a proper means of livelihood is the greatest problem in man’s life. It does not mean just getting a job in a public or a private institution. In a stable economy, one can earn one’s livelihood by producing something or other, rendering this or that service, by means of labour, be it manual or intellectual. Government or private jobs are mere instances among those. By and large, people’s means of livelihood are created through development of industries. Another major means lies in the field of agriculture. But today earning a livelihood through agriculture has become impossible in villages. With growth of population, amount of per capita land available is fast reducing, so much so that it is becoming impossible to make both ends meet with that land. Besides, all over the country, the farmers are not getting the right price for the agricultural products they are producing. The problem is taking such a menacing shape that, not to speak of keeping a margin over cost of production for a minimum earning, even the small and middle peasants in many instances are not being able to recover the cost. On the other hand , when their products are reaching the market in cities and towns, the businessmen who have purchased those from the farmers are minting profit by selling those out at a 7-8 fold raised price. The farmers cannot garner necessary capital, and are thus forced to take loans from the usurers. Unable to repay, debt-stricken farmers are taking recourse to suicide. Once about 70-80 per cent of the population of the country depended on agriculture. A large section of them has now become surplus in villages as there is no work for them. As a last resort, some of them are trying to survive, barely though, by switching over to fruit cultivation, cottage industries, fishing, sericulture or such other means. But unsuccessfully here too. Facing such a desperate situation, people are migrating to cities or towns just to find some means for survival. You must have noted how all-out crisis is overwhelming people’s life. It has become so intense that whereas a single earning member of a family could have maintained the family before independence, nowadays even with all members of the family earning more or less, they are not being able to make ends meet, and finding it hard to survive. They are leaving villages for towns in search of livelihood. But even there they find no jobs. Leave aside development of new industries, even those set up during the old days of British rule are downing their shutters, one after another, in these days of crisis-ridden capitalism. The public-sector industries that were set up after independence under the pressure of people’s demand, have also been closed down or are being handed over to the capitalists at throwaway prices. In consequence there is no way left for earning a livelihood also from industrial development. The index of industrial production is continuously sliding down. Products are remaining unsold in the market from lack of demand. Demand has slumped as people have no purchasing power. Students of economy and its science know it well that in capitalism production is made with a view to earning maximum profit. To earn maximum profit, the capitalist owners pay workers lower and lower wages. Then again with the greed of maximizing profit further, they retrench workers and thereby slash down people’s purchasing power more and more. So the toiling people can no longer buy from the market even what they may need; demand slumps. And it is the workers, poor peasants and low-earning employees that make up the bulk of population, some 95 per cent or so. Their income has touched the bottom. With no demand, capitalists become reluctant to carry on industrial production and without it there is no employment. This is the cyclical puzzle of capitalist production. Not only in India, in the entire capitalist world has such a situation been created. Even in those known as developed capitalist countries like America, England, France, Germany and such others the hard reality is the same. People are wildly running after jobs. But they fail to find out the ways to survive. These frantic directionless masses are pouring out on the streets every day not just in our country, in the entire world, in every country, in search of livelihood with a view to finding reprieve from the intense economic crisis perpetrated by the exploitative capitalism. Without proper leadership, even then they wage spontaneous movement. They have one-point demand, a single slogan—they want means to survive, they need a livelihood. At the same time it can be noted that in the mass mind the urge is growing, gradually though, for knowing what has caused this unbearable situation. Needless to say, it is Marxism alone that can provide the answer. Marxism has shown that with uninterrupted industrialization, there won’t remain any problem for people to earn their livelihood. Industry requires land, labour, capital and technology. These are the principal means or ingredients of production. You must have noted all these four elements required for industry are adequately available in different countries of the world, including ours. In our country, natural resources, minerals and ores or in one word, all kinds of raw materials are present in large quantities. Intellectual labour which is essential for production is also readily and adequately available. With no scope available for its utilization within the country, this intellectual labour force is going abroad to try its luck elsewhere in the world. All the essentialities are available, but still no industries are coming up because of the capitalists’ motive of earning maximum profit. And this is causing unemployment problem to assume such a disastrous shape. In every capitalist country this explosive unemployment problem is taking more and more menacing form. But, look, in the media, print or otherwise, owned by the capitalists there is no mention of this problem. The news that trickles out clearly shows that not only in our country, in all the capitalist countries of the world there has emerged one single fundamental problem, a problem of life and death. And that is the problem of finding means of livelihood. Nowhere in the world, not only are new industries not coming up; everywhere those which were barely sustaining themselves are fast closing down.
People work; they want to live by earning their living. And there is nothing wrong in it. There is neither any dearth of able-bodied people in our country. Definitely they constitute a big asset for the country. By utilizing their labour power aided and assisted by science and technology, we can enhance production and change the face of the country. But in the prevailing capitalist order it does not happen, nor will it ever happen. A phrase has come in vogue: ‘hire and fire’ or ‘showing the doors’. It means nothing more than shedding a part of the work-force, of the workers and employees, by whatever means and in whatever number possible. Not to speak of private sector, both in the private and public sectors high-tech machines are being used to step up earning maximum profit of capitalists and with that, a large number of workers are being laid-off or retrenched. Machines are doing a 100-hour job in an hour. So the prime question that comes out now: should the machines be used and if yes, to what extent. It is the government who is to take the right decision on these issues. If use of machines causes starvation and death of our countrymen, the poorer section of people, why should we go for that? Certainly this is no mark of wisdom. Growth and development of science and technology are definitely desirable. But that is meant for people. Consequent upon use of machines hundreds of thousands of employees are losing jobs in banks, quasi-government or government offices. On the other hand, many of those who could still continue in their job, are being forced to opt for voluntary retirement. The scene is the same in schools, colleges, government hospitals, everywhere. The Indian Railways stand out as one of the most developed and largest transport system in the world. Since its inception millions of people have been employed in the Railways and earned their livelihood. Already hundreds of thousands of railway workers and employees have been retrenched there. The remaining ones are counting the days. The Railways is still a government department, but in effect it is being handed over to the capitalists.
It is needless to explain the importance and indispensability of healthcare system in people’s life. Life and healthcare are inseparably intertwined. But to whatever little extent the public healthcare system of the country had developed after independence, is now being wiped out today. It is almost totally crumbling. There are some government hospitals here and there, but without proper facilities and infrastructure. The healthcare system of the country has virtually been gifted over to the capitalists. The extent to which privatization is going on in education system was never to be foun1d before independence. It is true, during the British rule there were not many schools and colleges. But those which were there, belonged either to the government sector, or were run on philanthropic lines by great personalities of our country or by missionaries. With each passing day after independence, the poorer section of people are being pushed aside from the system of education. Privatization has manifold increased expenses of education. As a result, the minimum number of poor students who could avail of education are now being deprived of it. They are virtually being driven out from the arena of educational institutions. Such is the very brief portrayal of the situation in the country.
At the same time, it can be noted how the ruling capitalist class is now covering up the truths of this cruel, brute exploitation by using a massive propaganda machinery owned by them. With its help they are turning black into white and white into black. They are trying to pass off truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth. In this way, in the capitalist system the ruling capitalists are making life hell for the 95 per cent of the population. About 50 per cent of the population are without employment, either totally unemployed, or virtually unemployed or only partially employed. If that be the facts, if half of the population do not have jobs and there is no reprieve from that, nor there is any sign of recovery, how are the people of the country going to survive? Is it not a serious issue to ponder over? Each man wishes to live with self-esteem and dignity. He or she wishes to work for life, to earn a decent living, to produce things for society and to be paid due wages in return for him- or herself as well as his or her family to survive. Where in the country is that minimum scope for people? Without that, what remains for them to derive pleasure and happiness from life?
Capitalism is continually giving birth to horrendous social-cultural crisis
On the other side, this intense economic crisis has been accompanied by equally horrible social-cultural crisis. People are dying from capitalist exploitation, but even those who are surviving, are they alive with the essence of humanity in them? The media, print, radio, TV or otherwise, are simply replete with accounts of murder, deaths, fatal clashes. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, our beloved leader and teacher and one of the foremost Marxist thinkers of this era, showed long back, that without finding the right way to live and carried away by the conspiracy of the capitalist class, a section of people, students and youth are turning anti-socials and taking recourse to unethical means of livelihood. Today you find people killing each other has become so rampant that I would tend to say it has turned into a profession in the country. Just think of it, where it is leading to. Unthinkable, it is. The most dangerous point is that the capitalist class and the political parties subservient to them, are deliberately pushing people towards this end. Did the freedom fighters of our country, freedom-loving people ever think of an independent India where people will get involved in such inhuman fratricidal acts, a father will murder his children or the children their parents, a husband will kill his wife or vice versa. But that is the reality. This is what the capitalists have brought the country to, the society to, during these 73 years of independence.
Undeniably this is an outcome of the rule and exploitation by the capitalists. And every day the situation is becoming worse. You yourself can see from around you that there is no happiness, peace and satisfaction in family life. In fact families stand shattered nowadays. All the relationships, be it between a father and his son or between husband and wife , have been reduced to a monetary give-and-take relation. Not only that; humans are being dragged down to even below the levels of beastly animals. Rape is something unknown to animals. But how are men behaving these days? Rape of women, even of children, trafficking them for flesh trade, all these have assumed alarming proportions. The situation has become so horrific that women coming out of their home constantly fear the possibility of being raped at any time under any condition. The question is : are these happening all on their own, spontaneously? Do not such brute acts have any cause and effect relation behind them? That people are starving, are half clad, are not having education nor any medical help : do these take place without any cause? Science has established cause and effect relationship. It has proven that any event must have a cause behind it, and a cause will bring on an event, an effect. Scientific analysis points to one single cause and that is capitalism and its heartless exploitation. It is not that today capitalism is crushing people only with economic exploitation. To continue to remain in power, the capitalist class and their subservient governments are all out to destroy people’s sense of morality and ethics, their sense of humanity. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh said : ‘A nation can stand erect even if it goes hungry, if it possesses higher human attributes.’ It is here that the capitalist class is bringing down its severest attack. It is for this reason that they are shattering the moral backbone. The capitalist class has rightly sensed that the suffocating situation that is being created because of their ruthless exploitation, is sure to lead people to raise their head in demand of ending with it. So they have conspired to see that the revolutionary organization against this capitalist rule and exploitation does not emerge and grow in strength, that protests and resistances do not develop by any chance. This is the heinous design which lies behind this attack on human morality and ethics.
Even poverty-stricken people’s right to vote is being snatched away
In the political field too, the capitalist class is bringing down ceaseless attacks. What prevails in the country in the name of democracy is nothing but coercive rule of the capitalist class, unadulterated dictatorship of the capitalist class from behind the scene. There is nothing positive left any more in bourgeois democracy. Once, the ideas and thoughts of democracy emerged in the course of struggle against monarchy and feudalism in the West. It was the capitalists who raised the slogan of ending with the rule of monarchy, rule of autocracy. Instead, people were to rule themselves. They would choose their rulers through elections. In those elections, each citizen will have equal right, equal franchise. The government would be formed on people’s choice, their votes. Every 5 year there would be a new election. If any government acted against the interest of people, they would be removed from power by none other than the people themselves who would vote for a different party to form the new government. This right to vote, this right to choose constituted one of the highlights of bourgeois democracy. But to what level this democracy has slumped down today? Is there any slightest trace of democracy left in it? What has become the character of election held in the name of democracy? Elections have been reduced to a mere farce. Everybody is aware what a fat sum of money the capitalist class spends in each single election. And so if a candidate standing for capitalism spends 1 or 2 crore ( 10 -20 million) rupees to purchase voters and their votes, once elected it does not take a span of even a year for him to pile up 8 to 10 crore rupees by usurping money of the people. So election today is a grand deception in the name of democracy. Its results are determined on casteism, religion, ethnicity, by instigating dangerous division, fratricidal clashes and communal mass killings. And finally the verdict is arrived at riding on the deluge of limitless money power and unbridled propaganda.
The ruling capitalist class is crying itself hoarse, day and night, about India being the largest democratic country to blunt exploited people’s ability to divine the truth. And today, in this ‘largest democracy’ the majority of people are facing starvation and death. In the democracy of these days people have no power left for themselves. All the power, economic, political and others are concentrated in the hands of the capitalist class. Naturally, the question arises, for whom is this democracy, which section of people is it meant for? And in this society known as democratic what we clearly find is that it is with full patronage from their master, the ruling class, that the political parties subservient to them are buying votes of people and forming governments, becoming ministers keep exploiting people even more severely. Every day they are deceiving people, lying to them. Simultaneously, these governments are snatching away the hard–earned basic rights of people, one after another, their right to protest and resist, right to hold meetings or processions, workers’ trade union rights, right to develop democratic movements. In the Parliament election held recently, the flow of money, falsehood, hypocrisy, deception, and fanning up of horrendous form of communalism etc., have surpassed all earlier records. Everybody could see it. Some reports about how much money the BJP has spent to win this election have come in the media, though the actual amount remains unknown. Not only BJP, bourgeois parties like Congress etc., even those who still call themselves leftists, all these parties have received money from corporate houses or the monopolists on an unthinkable scale, and obviously that money has been spent in the election to buy votes. Wherefrom does this money come which the capitalists are pouring into the election. You all know that it is by exploiting poor people that the capitalists are continuously amassing immense wealth. It is from that sum thus accumulated, that they are giving huge funds to those parties who are contesting the elections to stand for the rulers. You can see that the capitalists are spending this money to buy anything and everything, from people’s right to vote to people’s conscience. Reality makes it amply clear that the only right remaining for people in the political field which was the universal franchise — everybody’s right to vote — even that is being snatched away by the capitalists today. It is clear as daylight, that only those forces who serve the capitalists are now winning the elections. No candidate genuinely representing poor people and their cause is being able to come out victorious. This is the situation that has been created in the name of holding election. Not just that, the conspiracy goes deeper. The situation has come to such a pass that in case the party or the candidate representing poor people cannot be prevented from contesting despite obstacles created from play of casteism, money power or the like, designs are being hatched to snatch away his/her right itself to contest on this or that plea. Under such circumstances there is hardly any chance for any genuine representative of people to be elected to Assembly or Parliament, leave alone the question of forming government. All these developments clearly show that there is no semblance of democracy left in the so-called elections. This is the basic reason behind why bourgeois elections have no relation with people’s interests. All the elections that had taken place in the last 70 years, be it at the Union or the state levels, all the governments which were formed at these levels, present one single trend. The rich have become richer and the 90/95 percent, the poor, have become poorer. Nobody can deny this truth.
True leftism cannot give birth to rightist politics, which unfortunately prolonged rule of CPI(M) has done
A hellish situation has been created in all spheres of life in the country because of this exploitation and oppression of capitalism. In this background it is urgently necessary to strengthen genuine leftist movement in the country; it is imperative to develop sustained powerful mass movement on problems of people’s life based on the edifice of genuine leftist thoughts. But the stark reality is that today there are no leftist parties other than ours to develop powerful democratic movement on this correct line. Other so-called leftist parties like CPI(M), CPI etc., have not only shunned this path of movement long back, instead, like bourgeois parties, by practising vote-politics only, they managed to rise to governmental power in states like West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura with the backing from the bourgeoisie, and carried on their rule in the same fashion as any bourgeois party would have done. The way they had ruled over these states, perpetrated oppression and crushed the legitimate democratic movements of people with the help of brute force, the way they had trampled even the fundamental rights of people, all these drove people’s opinion severely against them. Not only that. The ideology and appeal of Marxism Leninism, socialism and communism used to attract people of these states like magnets. But because of these anti-Marxist activities of these so-called leftist parties, its attraction has been lost to a large extent, albeit temporarily. You are aware that in 1977 politically conscious masses of people of West Bengal by virtually uprooting the utterly reactionary rightist National Congress party brought the so-called leftists to power. You also know from then on, they continued to rule for long 34 years. During this period of over three decades the CPI(M) government tried to strangle people economically, politically, socially and culturally. Witnessing their extremely oppressive activities, naked organized corruption, injustice and brute attacks upon democratic movements, people could not find any difference between their rule and the rule and exploitation of the Congress and other bourgeois parties. It was under these circumstances, that people, unable to bear these conditions, threw them out of power based on Singur-Nandigram movement, and seizing this opportunity Trinamul Congress (TMC), a break-away fraction of the rightist Congress, rose to power. Obviously, it was the CPM-brand of ‘leftism’ that could give birth to a powerful rightist political force. In this very same course, taking advantage of the utter anti-people misrule of the TMC, and you may be stunned to know that with cooperation from none other than the CPI(M), the BJP, a much more dangerous rightist force has gained victory on the soil of West Bengal in 18 parliamentary seats out of the total 42 in the last Lok Sabha election. You have found yourselves that the same thing happened in Tripura Assembly election in 2018. There the RSS-BJP have captured power, putting an end to the continuous 25-year long rule of CPI(M), by drawing people out of its fold. In Kerala, the election contest is confined between two fronts: one a Congress-led Front of bourgeois, petty bourgeois, communal and reactionary parties and the other an exactly similar Front of bourgeois, petty bourgeois and regional communal parties led by the CPI(M). The two Fronts, remaining within confines of electoral competition, come to power practically alternately and whoever wins — the winner continues to rule in a totally bourgeois way of governance. I am sure, you would agree that there is no inkling of leftism in running a government in the interest of capitalism, accepting its prevailing order and without going into any confrontation with it. For, this constitutes rightist politics, bourgeois social democratic politics. As opposed to this, the essence of leftism and leftist politics lies in conducting uncompromising struggle against capitalism in the interest of the exploited masses of people. The second historic truth is that rightist politics always gives birth to further dangerous rightist force; it can never give birth to leftism. On the other hand, true leftism gives birth to still more advanced leftism, it cannot give birth to rightist politics. The revolutionary party of the proletariat always guides exploited people towards revolutionary struggle, following this course. Notwithstanding the fact that there are different means and methods of judging the real character of CPI(M)-CPI, simply judging from above yardstick only the truth becomes apparent that knowingly or not, they are practising rightist politics, a politics that serves and aligns with the capitalists. Many of you know that the undivided CPI was formed in 1920. At the time of their inception, they did not practise bourgeois parliamentary politics and the politics of shunning mass movements, as they are doing now. Reformist, though, their line was, they waged some struggles in the interest of workers, peasants and lower middle class people. And while engaged in such struggles they had to face batons, bullets and imprisonment. All these are true. Giving due cognizance to this, Comrade Shibdas Ghosh our beloved leader and great teacher spelt it out unambiguously, after coming out from the jail in 1945 that a genuine communist party, a genuine revolutionary party of the proletariat, grows only by strictly following scientific Marxist methodology. The CPI had not grown that way. They could not initiate the struggle of freeing themselves from the middle class, petty bourgeois mentality, self-interest, private property and private property mental complex, and concepts of family stemming from these, and, above all bourgeois individualism and thereby getting de-classed while founding the communist party. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh further said that regarding fulfilment of another Leninist precondition for building up a communist party — the correct revolutionary theory — the correct strategic line — correct determination of class character of the state — the CPI failed totally. That India was transformed into a sovereign capitalist state with attainment of independence on 15 August 1947 – they also completely failed to grasp this truth. Just think of the situation: when within the country and beyond it, in other countries, the CPI was being applauded, even under such circumstances Comrade Shibdas Ghosh firmly placed this analysis. He said: In such a situation one cannot sit idle; without any further delay immediately struggle must be started to develop the correct revolutionary party of the working class on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, the genuine communist party. Needless to say he was virtually alone. But that could not deter him from pursuing this line. You know, it was in its course that SUCI (Communist) emerged. At that time several other parties besides the CPI were professing Marxism. There were also some individuals familiarly known as Marxist pundits and scholars. M N Roy who had also worked and associated with Lenin, was one of them. But none of them could make the scientific analysis of the undivided CPI and the defects and shortcomings of the Marxist movements of those days. The foundation of SUCI(C) and its rapid progress overcoming all obstacles, vividly uphold what deep wisdom, knowledge and farsightedness, Comrade Shibdas Ghosh had acquired by then. It is in the light of his teachings, by organizing exploited common people into sustained struggle, that we are advancing fast and widely.
CPI(M)’s designation of Congress as secular is totally incorrect and only helping the RSS-BJP to gain ground
Today, anti-movement mentality of these so-called communist political parties, their hobnobbing with bourgeois parties and attitude of bonding with the capitalist class are coming out vividly even to common people, not only to us. This feature is causing such resentment in people than many, despite expressing their support and empathy for our Party, ask our cadres with a resentful mind, if we are allying ourselves with the CPI(M). If anybody takes up a proper analysis of their last election results, it will be apparent that they are fast losing their mass support. In a situation when the rightist fascist forces of RSS-BJP are rising up alarmingly, and when for fighting them unitedly it has become a historic necessity to unify the left-democratic forces, it is not welcome by any means for us to see them in such a pathetic condition. But how does it matter to them, if we or the people at large suffer from their downfall. Their bonding with capitalism is not going to get affected.
I would like to apprise you of a few other dangerous outcomes of this disastrous politics of theirs. You now find CPI(M) to have shunned the path of movement and to have got bogged down in the mire of parliamentary politics simply from their greed for power. For just one or two seats, they are set to form electoral combination with the Congress, a trusted party of the capitalists, calling it a secular force. This is the general line they have publicly proclaimed. People of the country, one and all, know that the Congress is one of the most trusted parties of the capitalist class. Right now they are not in power. But for nearly 53/54 years in the near past they were in power and from that position of theirs they only strengthened and consolidated the Indian capitalist system, by faithfully serving the interests of the capitalist class. The CPI(M) is now adorning them with the cloak of a secular party, merely in the interest of vote politics. There is a definite concrete history of emergence of secularism. In those days of bourgeois democratic revolution when capitalism was flourishing, when democratic concepts and democratic values were blooming – it was at that time that the concepts of secularism emerged. During monarchical rule, the state was dominated by the church, rather by religion. The political system, state machinery were all under the domination of the church or religion. People fought a prolonged battle against these. And in course of that struggle, the concept emerged that religion was completely an issue of personal faith. There should not be any relation between religion on the one hand, and the state, state structure, and the running of the government and the state, on the other. At a still later and higher stage, the newer concept that appeared held that genuine secularism meant ‘non-recognition of any supernatural entity’. This is a historic truth that secularism did not evolve during the rule of feudalism and monarchy; rather it emerged in course of the struggle for overthrowing those. Secularism appeared in the way of development of democratic values. It was the historic necessity of that period. During those days, the rising capitalism was giving birth to democratic values on the one hand, and on the other, was waging fierce battle against feudal discriminations, all sorts of separatism, divisiveness, religious fanaticism and such others. But today, it is the age of utter decadence of that capitalism. Today, from its fear complex of revolution, capitalism in its frantic bid to hang on to power is itself shattering everything that it once created. It is burying all democratic values it once gave birth to, and is hell bent upon disuniting people to whatever extent possible in the name of caste-language-religion-colour etc. and by any means whatsoever. They are even trampling under-foot the lofty ideal of secularism, which rests on higher democratic values. The situation being thus, how can we call a bourgeois party secular, more so in this age of decadent capitalism? Great Lenin repeatedly reminded us that the concept of democracy is not supra-class. Definitely it has a class character; on one side is the bourgeois democracy, on the other is the proletarian democracy, democracy of ninety five percent of population. To this extent, in this age of utter decadence of capitalism there is not a semblance of genuine democracy and genuine secularism to be found today in the capitalist class, or the parties and their governments serving the class. Afraid of revolution, capitalism has turned into a demon. It is destroying its own creations. So in this capitalist system, no bourgeois party can bear the banner of secularism, being simply anti-government while in opposition. How unfortunate the case is : CPI(M) which still goes with its Marxist banner is trumpeting this totally false theory and thereby is creating in the mass-mind of exploited people a false dangerous illusion about one of the most trusted parties of the capitalist class. Who among us are not aware of the heinous attacks on religious minorities, and indiscriminate murder of them, that took place during the 53-54 years of the Congress rule. The role of the Congress can also not be denied in bringing the rabid communal forces like the RSS-BJP to where they have reached today.
Necessity of elaborate discussions and ideological struggle and consolidation of organizational strength to combat and arrest the rising menace of RSS-BJP
No doubt, BJP is another party highly trusted by the capitalists. But their predecessors could not gain a foothold at the time of the freedom movement. Even after independence, for some time when the effect of the freedom movement still permeated the social ambience, the RSS could not make any dent in the mass-mind. Savarkar, who is now being projected as a hero, could not make any impact on people’s mind during the days of the freedom struggle. Rather, he not only belittled but actually went against the freedom movement taking the side, and joining hands, with the British imperialists. He even wanted the British rule to continue. After independence, it was the Congress which indulged this RSS, Hindu Mahasabha, Jan Sangh and BJP. Without facing any obstacle from the Congress government rule, day in and day out, these forces engaged in bitter anti-Muslim hate campaign, brought down attacks on Muslim people, ignited communal riots and indiscriminately butchered innocent people. But the Congress government was nowhere found to mete out punishment to any of the assailants. Rather taking advantage of the absence of powerful united left-democratic movement of toiling people, and the tacit backing and patronage of the Congress government and the ruling capitalist class, the RSS-BJP rose to their present position. Both the Congress and the BJP are bourgeois parties. There is no difference between them in their serving their master, the capitalist class. You must have noted the political events of Karnataka which took place a few days back. A bulk of Congress MLAs joined the BJP to bring down the Congress-Janata (S) government from power and place the BJP in its place. Such changing allegiance from Congress to BJP and vice versa is nothing new. It happened earlier and still happens time and again. If this be the fact, where lies the ideological struggle of the Congress against the RSS-BJP? Where is strong opposition and struggle from the Congress against the communal venom that the RSS-BJP have spewed across the country today? You yourself can see what filthy kind of communalism the RSS-BJP are spreading in the name of Hinduism and Hindutva. Renowned religious preachers of the past from Ramkrishna, Vivekananda, Sankaracharyya, Chaitanya, Shankaradev and so many others have elaborated different facets of Hinduism. Nowhere in their teachings there is Muslim hatred or slighting of other religions. Rather they have called all religions equal; they have pleaded for multiple views on life fulfilment of dharma and multiple ways of devotion. On all these aspects, our Party is conducting elaborate discussions and ideological struggle. Through these, we are trying to hammer the truth that the words and activities of the RSS-BJP contain intense anti-Muslim feelings reflecting fascist outlook. These do not uphold greatness of Hinduism, by any means. 150/160 million Muslims now live in India. If they are continuously steamrollered, being dictated in every aspect of life from what to eat or what to wear and anything and everything, if they are continuously ordered in public to convert themselves into Hindus, it not only infringes upon their fundamental rights, in fact it turns them into slaves. This is what is fascism — this is nothing but Nazism of Hitler. If the same treatment is meted out to the Hindus in Bangladesh, what would the RSS-BJP leaders say? We strongly believe, that it is urgently needed that there hould be thorough discussion, intense exchange of opinions on these issues of communal politics. We appeal to common people of the country: stand up and resist, save the situation, save the country from impending destruction. At the same time, we would urge you to realize that it is the capitalist class which is using religion in their own interest. Religion is a great refuge for them today. Mainly in the interest of this class the RSS-BJP is creating such a hellish condition in the country. Horrendous anti-Muslim feelings, terrible hatred at the very sight of them – an all-out effort is being made to create such an ambience throughout the country, replete with the poison of such horrific enmity. To take anti-Muslim mindset to deeper levels, even the history of the country is being distorted. During the days of monarchy and feudalism Muslim kings had raided India coming from outside. Those days such raids and invasions were characteristic of feudalism and monarchy. Without explaining these events in the proper light of history, the RSS-BJP are using these to whip up anti-Muslim mindset. Day in and day out, in every remote nook and corner of the country they are carrying on this hate campaign. In absence of propaganda of the real truth, their campaign is leaving its mark on the mind of common people too. So it must be understood that the RSS-BJP is not just a political force, it constitutes at the same time an arch-reactionary communal fascist ideology. What then is the way to confront and thwart this reactionary trend? Such reactionary ideology cannot be combated only through votes. In different elections different political parties came into combinations against the BJP, and sometimes these have caused the defeat of the BJP, too. But how far have such defeats reduced their communal politics, to what extent has it been fought back and thwarted? Rather, without finding any opposition, they are assuming more and more dangerous shape with passing days. So it must be seriously probed by the thoughtful section of people of the country, to what extent the thoughts of the RSS-BJP can be uprooted from the soil of the country simply by anyhow forming an electoral combination with some bourgeois parties like the Congress, and others terming them secular. We have been repeatedly showing that this contention is entirely wrong. Treading this incorrect path, the CPI(M) leaders have not only brought their own party to ruination, they have brought debacle to leftism even. Time and again we spelt out that with a view to arresting this reactionary ideology of the RSS-BJP, we must give birth to a higher ideology, to higher thoughts.. There is no simple short-cut method for that.: Today Marxism alone provides these higher thoughts: Marxism is that higher ideology. All exploited toiling people irrespective of their caste-religion-language-community, etc. need to be united on the basis of this ideology. They need to be united on the slogan : “Workers of the world , Unite!”, the same slogan which was raised by Karl Marx in 1848. And with this unity of toiling people achieved on the strength of that invincible slogan, incessant powerful mass movements need to be launched and conducted on the edifice of higher morality-ethics and culture to fulfil the legitimate demands of exploited people and with the goal of total emancipation of people from exploitation at the fore. The great leader and teacher Comrade Shibdas Ghosh reminded us time and again that while building up and conducting these movements all efforts must be made at every step to cultivate class consciousness, whereby exploited people have to be freed from the influence of thoughts and views of bourgeois parties that prevail in the existing capitalist system. He cautioned us that there is no other way left. For this reason he said, that from the angularity of revolutionary struggle, the present situation must be judged as the phase of democratic movement. At this stage the revolutionary task is to establish the revolutionary leadership over the democratic movements. You must have noted by now that on being saddled in power, the BJP is not just carrying on their communal politics in the name of Hindutva; they are also taking to the politics of doling out privileges among the toiling people. It cannot be denied that in absence of movement on legitimate demands without sufficient momentum, this privilege-seeking politics has created a kind of illusion about them in the mass-mind. In such a situation it will not be easy to defeat the RSS-BJP simply through votes. This is particularly true because they have a strong all-out support from the capitalist class and a total grip on money, judiciary, in one word the entire state machinery, aided and abetted, above all, by a powerful propaganda machinery.
If the base political line of a revolutionary party remains correct, a party initially small inevitably grows into a big party
Judging all these we reiterate that the correct strategy today is to develop sustained united movement of exploited people on demands for amelioration of their burning problems of life, and at the same time making unceasing efforts to make people conscious about the bourgeois character of the RSS-BJP, their heinous communal character and activities, thereby making people class conscious too. The historic struggle that lies ahead today must be conducted with these two important objects before it. You can see it clearly that just as in the case of developing movements on people’s burning problems, at this critical hour before the country, all political parties other than ours have fled the field of actual struggle against the RSS-BJP, chanting slogans of giving defeat to them only through votes.
As in other cases, on the question of resisting RSS-BJP, too, it is becoming clear that whatever may be the apparent differences among these bourgeois parties, in reality they are all acting as one single camp. In opposition to them, we alone are acting as the other camp. As the revolutionary Party fully conscious of our tasks , as the Party leading the Indian revolutionary movement, it is on us that the historic task has devolved to provide leadership to the movement for resisting this rabid communal force of RSS-BJP enjoying and moving with all-out patronage of the capitalist class. And that struggle must be accepted as inalienable part of our responsibility that we have to discharge by building up and conducting the day-to-day struggles of the masses. This is the correct line along which we must immediately strengthen this historic struggle all around the country. Howsoever limited may be our strength, if we can draw in the exploited masses, the movement will take on its momentum and advance. In the mass mind or even in the mind of our own cadres and supporters there may arise the question: with the apparently limited strength of ours how far it is feasible to develop a powerful movement under our leadership. I am of the opinion that on the question of accepting the challenge of fulfilling any other historic task, the first step is to take up the responsibility, for that is the first step. There is no other choice. The same approach is necessary to take up the apparently impossible task of organizing revolution on the basis of Marxism in one country after another, and as indispensable part of it the task of founding and nurturing the respective revolutionary party. To initiate this task brooks no delay by arguing: where is the necessary strength? Strength is acquired in the course of marching ahead along the correct line. The history of development of revolutionary movement in the world has also confirmed that in whichever country the struggle was initiated on correct line, there was fast progress in the process of founding and developing the revolutionary party. On this historic day of remembering the great leader Comrade Shibdas Ghosh I would reiterate how the history of foundation of our Party corroborates this very truth. When Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the great leader of the Proletariat, had initiated the struggle of building up this Party with only a handful of comrades, when he had propounded the indispensable methodology of formation of revolutionary party (following Leninist principle), when he had propounded the invincible correct strategic line of Indian revolution — accepting all these wholeheartedly a few dedicated comrades pointed to the limited strength at the very initial moment of the struggle and questioned if it were wise to take up the task at that stage. While answering them Comrade Shibdas Ghosh had said : howsoever limited we may be in our strength first we must decide : can we opt to become slaves, should we shut our eyes to the truth? It is now part of history how fast the struggle advanced which Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the great leader of the proletariat had then taken up at that time, based upon correct realization of truth and correct line. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh repeatedly reminded the necessity of determining the correct theory and following the correct methodology — a task that is indispensable. You are well aware that starting from zero, through continuously developing higher realization of this revolutionary theory and following the required methodology correctly, during the span of 28 years between 1948 and 1976 he shattered the cloak of communism that CPI-CPI(M) had been wearing and brought our Party to its present stature. During the 43 years following his demise, despite the heart-breaking absence of a great leader of his height, this Party founded by him, is winning recognition as a revolutionary party from people of every state of the country. And that has been possible only by establishing the correctness of his thoughts in every sphere. In this regard I would like to recall a significant teaching of another great leader of the proletariat, Mao Zedong. In the Tenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party he firmly reiterated the truth : If the base political line of a revolutionary party, that is, the basic theoretical analysis and strategy remain correct, even a small party will inevitably grow into a big party at a certain stage. On the contrary, if the base political line of a big party is wrong, it would no longer remain big, it will fast face its downfall. Even if it had gained state power its downfall will be inevitable.
By establishing the invincibility of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh thought, the Party is winning recognition as a revolutionary party from people
In the same vein, I would emphasize that we are no longer in the stage of infancy. Organiza-tionally, we have garnered strength to quite a perceptible extent by conducting sustained mass movements based on the teachings of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh and on the edifice of higher sense of morality and ethics. Our opponents, different bourgeois parties including RSS-BJP, are coming to realize that and are trying to get united to stall our further growth. In future they will bring down upon us fierce attacks; there is no doubt about that. There is one single way to thwart their attacks and that is by consolidating our position among the masses by conducting mass movements incessantly. Following this fundamental approach we must realize that it is indispensable to develop united powerful struggle under our leadership with a view to thwarting the rise of this reactionary rabid communal fascist force, the RSS-BJP. We must take up this historic task as an inalienable part of the historic responsibility of accomplishing socialist revolution, uprooting the capitalist class, as early as possible. Let this be our concrete pledge on the 43rd Memorial Day of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the great leader of the proletariat and one of the foremost Marxist thinkers of the present era. We appeal to the entire masses of toiling people of our country to also come forward with the pledge of self- sacrifice at this historic moment of resisting the rise of fascist RSS- BJP. I end here with my heartfelt greetings to you all for being present at this Memorial Meeting.
Long Live Revolution
Long Live SUCI (Communist)
Red Salute Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, Great Leader of the Proletariat.
