‘‘…what is the essence of democracy ? Does it mean writing some articles in newspapers, or publishing speeches of the Members of Parliament ? No. The real strength of democracy lies in people’s consciousness stemming from democratic mass movements and democratically organized unity. So, if democratic movements cannot be safeguarded and if the strength of becoming democratically organized is not allowed to grow, if avenues cannot be opened up for people to imbibe democratic consciousness, democracy will die anyway. It will die despite the loud cry of the journalists. They will fail to save democracy, even in its bourgeois sense. So, the votaries of the rule of law, who equate democracy with that, should grasp that it is impossible to save even this rule of law by simply writing articles in the newspapers. They must come out with fortitude and stand by all the legitimate democratic mass movements. They do not seem to realize that if powerful democratic movements are not built up then the military can step in one day and disband the elected bodies to seize power, using law and order as a pretext, especially if it receives support from parties like the Jana Sangh and Swatantra. Our journalist friends cannot save parliamentary rule then. It is the collective political consciousness and democratic revolutionary movement of millions of common people that can save the country from such an eventuality. This is the real purpose of the United Front government’s declaration on democratic mass movements.’’
(Labour Policy of First UF Government of West Bengal : Its Real Significance, SW Vol III)
LONG LIVE COMRADE SHIBDAS GHOSH THOUGHT
