Comrade Provash Ghosh at the 5 August Memorial Meeting in Kolkata
This is the text of the speech delivered in Bengali by Comrade Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI(C), at the 44thMemorial Meeting of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, our leader, teacher and guide and one of the foremost Marxist thinkers of the era, , held on 5 August 2019, at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata. , West Bengal. Comrade Chandidas Bhattacharyya, Central Committee Member and West Bengal State Secretary presided . In his speech, Comrade Provash Ghosh dwelt on various important aspects of present political situation. The first portion of the speech is published in this issue. The second part will be in next issue. Before publication, Comrade Provash Ghosh has elaborated a few points and added some new points. For translation error or incorrect expression, if any, the Editorial Board of Proletarian Era stands responsible.
Comrade President and Comrades,
It does not require mentioning that this Day is steeped in deep pain, emotion and memory in our life. None of our programmes is a ritual, not to speak of observance of the Memorial Day of our great leader, teacher and guide, Comrade Shibdas Ghosh. Some of the griefs subside and die out with the passage of time. On the contrary, there is another kind of grief which, as the days and years roll by, continues to make so deep an appeal to our consciousness and realization, amidst the cross-currents of events, that our conscience and sense of responsibility are stimulated and revitalized more and more.
Today, our Party has grown much bigger. This memorial meeting is being observed in 23 states of the country. Now many students, boys and girls from the workers’, peasants’ and middle class families have joined the Party. Many of them are not aware in what adverse a situation and in course of conducting what an arduous all-embracing struggle Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, as the worthy continuer of Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin-Mao Zedong, had built up this Party with just six of his revolutionary compatriots. I shall discuss this aspect later.
Parliamentary Democracy did not emerge from the Vedas, the Quran or the Bible
First of all, I shall place before this meeting the analysis of our Party based on MarxismLeninism -Shibdas Ghosh Thought in regard to the recently concluded parliament election and its result. I want to remind you at the outset that parliamentary democracy did not exist in history since antiquity. Nor had it emerged from the gospels of the Veda-Vedanta, the Quran or the Bible. Parliament, parliamentary democracy, individual liberty, right of an individual to protest and agitate, secular humanism or humanism free from the influence of religion, scientific rational bent of mind, democratic society—everything appeared in history in course of accomplishment of bourgeois democratic revolution by waging blood-wrenching struggle against feudalism and monarchical rule. These were all declarations and endowments of this evolution. Industrial capital born in the womb of mercantile capital then at the stage of small industry. In the interest of development of industrial capital and widespread industrialization, capitalism in its rising period fought against religion-based monarchy. At that period, under the leadership of the progressive bourgeoise, the serfs were freed from the tentacles of feudalism, and parliamentary democracy or democratic republic was set up by abolishing religion-based feudal-monarchical system. It was decided that governance would no more be based on the prescripts of any scripture including the Bible, but would be conducted according to the constitution framed by the elected representatives of the people. There was free and wide competition among the small industries. Based on this multi-industry emerged the multi-party democracy. Its declaration was of equality-fraternity-liberty and establishing a governing system ‘by the people, of the people and for the people’. Though at its initial stage of development, capitalism could honour this declaration to some extent, the moment transformation of small capital into big capital and then big capital into monopoly capital began to take place, capitalism threw into dust the banner of progress and turned reactionary. From then onwards, the lofty slogan of equality-liberty-fraternity began to be trampled underfoot. Democracy began to be subverted. Uttering a crammed speech of parliamentary democracy, monopoly capital and the bourgeois rulers who had attained imperialist character not only ruthlessly exploited the working classes of their respective own countries, but also made to prostrate at their feet the undeveloped countries, unleashed colonial and semi-colonial plunder and oppression there and ruthlessly suppressed the national liberation struggles surging forth in these victim countries. Twice the imperialists generated world wars centring on grab of market. In 1917, when capitalism had attained monopoly stage and acquired imperialist character, Lenin said about election: “To decide once every few years which member of the ruling class is to repress and crush the people through parliament — such is the real essence of bourgeois parliamentarism, not only in parliamentary-constitutional monarchies, but also in the most democratic republics”1And Comrade Shibdas Ghosh said in 1969 that “Election is a bourgeois politics. If the masses do not have revolutionary consciousness, if the working class has no class organization and is not in class struggle, if there is no mass movement and if the people are not armed with the strength of a conscious organization, the big industrialists, big business and reactionaries create such a hype with the help of money and media power that the common masses get swayed like straw.”2Please have a look at the election in our country. Who decides who would win the election? Is it the people? So there is nothing as ‘by the people, of the people, for the people”. Now it is “by the bourgeoisie, of the bourgeoisie, for the bourgeoisie”. The bourgeoisie only decides who would win the elections. So election results no more reflect people’s opinion. It is the verdict of the bourgeoisie which is determining everything. Even if I leave out all other questions, one aspect needs to be pondered over. Nowadays, to contest in the parliament election, one has to deposit Rs 25,000. For contesting an assembly seat, deposit amount stipulated is Rs 10,000. Can any ordinary worker or peasant dream of contesting in any election? But, it is they who constitute the bulk of the voters. Besides, crores of poor people labour all day long just to eke out a bare living, move from one place to another in search for job and have no access to education. Where is the scope for such toiling millions to cultivate politics unless the revolutionary party of the proletariat organizes them, makes them politically conscious and morally strong? So these downtrodden people presume that politics is for the rich and not the poor. So, during the election time, they sell their conscience in lure of whatever little money is thrown at them as crumbs by the big capitalists and businessmen and are swayed by media propaganda just like a straw in wind.
Election has become a game of money
Millions and millions are unemployed in the country. These unemployed millions, mostly the youths, wait for election to come. Then they work for the party which pays them the most. During the election time, the vote-based political parties employ them to do anything and everything in exchange of money, liquor and food. Another feature is also indeed very sad. A thought has gripped the impoverished countrymen that since there is no chance for them to get anything in normal course from these parties, at least they would get something during poll time. Likewise, the poverty-stricken people sell their votes. The bourgeois parties spend huge sum of money to purchase votes like this. Common people tell us: “How would your party win election? Others give money for votes. But you ask for both money as well as votes from us. You are insane. It is not possible for you to win election.” Our reply has been that we do not want to win in that unprincipled unscrupulous manner. Because, if we are to purchase votes with money, we shall have to sell our Party to Tata, Ambani, Adani and ilk. The BJP has received Rs 210 crores from them through electoral bonds. The Congress has got Rs 5 crores. Even the CPI (M) has got Rs 2 crores. All these parties are nurtured and kept alive by the corporate sector in its own interest. What has happened in the last parliament election? Before elections of 2014, the BJP promised to usher in “achhe din” for the people, credit Rs 15 lakhs to each one’s bank account by unearthing black money, provide 2 crores of jobs every year, waive the outstanding loans of the peasants, bring down the price line and thwart corruption. ‘Na khaunga na khane dunga’ (neither shall we indulge in embezzlement of money nor shall we allow anyone to do so) —such was their pre-election declaration. Disgusted with the misrule of the Congress, the people thought perhaps the BJP would do something positive. But all these were bluffs. The BJP President had himself admitted candidly that ‘all these promises were ‘Chunavijumla’ (electoral rhetoric). In the BJP rule also, people’s misery soared further. So the accumulated grievances were also immense. Taking advantage of that, the Congress almost won the Gujarat assembly election. In the states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which were long known as the BJP’s strongholds, the Congress emerged victorious. In the bye-election of Gorakhpur parliamentary seat, the BJP faced defeat. From all these, the opposition camp assumed that they would win this time. So the opposition parties continued last minute bargaining over seat adjustment based on their respective calculations of electoral arithmetic. It was much like the proverbial saying: “To count one’s chickens before they are hatched”. No one was prepared to surrender an inch to the other. Despite several rounds of meetings, the national and regional non-BJP parties could not achieve unity. All their efforts became abortive. There were five to six contenders for the prime ministerial seat. On the other hand, the monopoly houses, corporate giants and multi-nationals who are the real determiners of the election results found that the service they received from the BJP in last five years of the BJP rule had surpassed the record of the Congress. Secondly, when there was so much of conflict and disunity over seat adjustment and prime ministership, any coalition government after election would not be a stable one. Conflicts and quarrels would be more. So they decided to make the BJP victorious once again. In order to achieve that objective, they ensured that 95% of the corporate funding through electoral bonds goes to the BJP. The BJP is reported to have spent Rs 27,000 crores in the election. But this is the published figure. The actual figure would be much more. Who has supplied this huge sum of money? This money has been given by those for whom the BJP brought in “achhe din”.
During the last tenure of the BJP, 73% of the country’s wealth has become concentrated in the hands of 1% of the super-rich. This 1% super-rich or corporate barons have increased their wealth by Rs 20,913 crores in 2017-18. So, obviously, they were to back the BJP. Mukesh Ambani, the industrial tycoon, earns Rs 300 crore a day on average. In the last three years, his wealth has increased by 66%. Net worth of Gautam Adani, another monopolist, rose by 124.6 in 2017. Saffron-clad Ramdev has augmented his income by 173%. Now Ramdev has extended his business to almost all sectors. The income of the BJP President himself has swelled by 300% whereas the income of his son has gone up by a whopping 16,000 %. The BJP government has waived their bank loan worth of Rs 1,56,702 crores. Bank fund means public fund. The total tax concession and exemptions granted to the industrial houses and corporates have been around Rs 13,00,000 crore. This has been an additional windfall to the monopolists. All of them have indulged in reckless corruption, stashed away thousands and thousands crores of rupees in safe havens overseas. Who accumulate black money? The small shop-owners and traders or these corporate tycoons? So, the BJP could not find any black money. Even they have not been able to trace any black-money holder. How could they? Because all the black-money holders and shady businessmen are bosom friends of the BJP and moving with the ruling party leaders and ministers. They are now the financiers of the BJP as they had once been of the Congress.
Election situation made favourable by using Balakot incident
You have all seen how low the contesting vote-based parties stooped during the election period, how they have indulged in mudslinging and trading charges against each other in the filthiest possible language. The bourgeois politicians have crossed all limits of indecency and uncivility. They are capable of doing anything and everything for ministership and power. In such a situation, the Congress accused the BJP of indulging in corruption while inking the Rafael deal with France. The then French President himself admitted that at the request of the BJP prime minister, the bulk of the order had to be channelled through Anil Ambani’s Reliance Aerostructure, which was not commissioned even, let alone having any past experience and expertise of manufacturing aerospace and defence equipment. It was revealed in the media with documentary evidence that as per allegations of the defence ministry officials, the prime minister’s office had interfered in this deal out of procedure. Unable to rebut these allegations, the BJP raked up the issue of Bofors scam against the Congress. This scam is still under the carpet. Now after the election, the Congress is maintaining an eerie silence over the Rafael deal. It might again be dug out of the grave when another election would be forthcoming. Both the parties are aware of the history of scams and scandals of each other. They rake up such issues when necessary and then again put them on the backburner. Have you ever heard of any big industrialist, minister or bureaucrat having been punished for corruption? Only the petty thieves face conviction. This is the underbelly of Modiji’s proclamation: ‘Na khaunga na khane dunga’. There is no proper answer yet to the question as to who helped fugitive scamsters like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya to flee abroad after fleecing the banks of thousands of crores of rupees. In such a milieu when election fever was slowly rising and people were confused about what would bethe shape of things to come, suddenly there was a terrorist attack in Pulwama in Kashmir. Many army jawans were killed. Not that suchan incident was anything new. Earlier also, many jawans lost their lives in encounters with the terrorists. The government itself stated that for killing two terrorists, the life of one jawan is sacrificed. 2:1 is the rate. This sad incident of Pulwama was immediately made an election issue by the BJP. In a stated retaliatory action, Indian government conducted air strikes in Balakot of Pakistan. Within no time, there was a countrywide propaganda, what a heroic person the prime minster was and how he had taught Pakistan a lesson. Earlier, the Congress also similarly used Kargil war, the liberation struggle of Bangladesh and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 to clinch electoral victory. Thus, the BJP raised a storm in the media over the Balakot strike which became its trump card in the election.
Politics of the Congress is no different
Apart from this, the Election Commission had nakedly worked for the BJP. Nowadays, elections are rigged in many ways. A probe is going on as to how even the last US presidential election was rigged in favour of Donald Trump. During the last phase of election, the BJP prime minister went to Kedarnath, wore a saffron dress and was engrossed in meditation. Prior to that, he did everything to secure Hindu vote by inciting religious passion. The Congress now a close ‘secular’ ally of the CPI (M) had also never lagged behind in doing so. In order to compete with the BJP in wooing Hindu sentiment, the Congress leaders also indulged in temple-hopping and securing divine blessing in this or that shrine. Even it tried to outsmart the BJP by being first to offer prayers in certain well-known temples. But the Kedarnath visit escaped the itinerary of the Congress. Whatever it might be, it was the bourgeoisie who had actually decided the ‘Kedarnath prayer’ to ensure victory of the BJP once more and they did so. So you have seen who were present during the oath taking ceremony of Narendra Modi. All the top monopolists and corporate barons. It was in fact their victory celebration. Please keep in mind that now-a-days, there is no king but there are kingdoms. The bourgeoisie runs their empire under the camouflage of democracy. And the cabinet ministers are the political managers of and subservient to the ruling bourgeoisie.
On the other hand, after the electoral reverse, the Congress, the main bourgeois opposition at the national level and the other regional parties are in a precarious state. All are suffering from frustration. However, when in future the BJP, like the Congress, would become extremely unpopular, the bourgeoisie in its class interest would again resurrect these parties and project the Congress as the ‘saviour’. Such alternating of power between two parties or combinations in accordance with the proposition of ‘2-party democracy’ is happening in Europe, USA as well as our country.
Condition of both CPI (M) and CPI is equally perilous. Undivided CPI [within which were then the present CPI, CPI (M) and the various Naxalite groups] emerged as the second largest party in terms of seats in the first parliament election of 1952 and thus emerged as the biggest opposition party. But thereafter the various factions of the undivided CPI had practised such a ‘leftism’ that in the last election, the CPI (M) could bag only one seat based on its own strength. With the backing of the DMK-Congress combination, the CPI (M) and CPI could manage to win 2 seats and one seat respectively in Tamil Nadu. Such is their success! The leadership of the parties made frantic efforts to reap electoral benefits and to secure a few seats by uniting with the Congress and other regional parties. For that purpose, they even did not hesitate to project the Congress as well as other casteist-parochial-provincial parties as ‘secular’ and ‘democratic’. But the fact is that the Congress during the freedom movement openly compromised with religion. After riding to power, it also, like the BJP, engineered communal riots in places like Bhagalpur in Bihar, Rourkela in Odisha, Nellie in Assam by fomenting religious blindness. Similarly, the Congress orchestrated anti-Sikh carnage in Delhi. Do all these acts indicate professing of ‘secularism’? Essence of secularism is that religion would have no connection with or say in politics, education or socio-cultural affairs. Religion would entirely be a matter of personal belief. This is the concept of secularism which the European renaissance and bourgeois democratic revolution espoused for. In our country, Netaji Subhaschandra, Bhagat Singh as well as Rabindranath-Saratchandra-Nazrul-Premchand-Subramania Bharati- Jyotiprosad Agarwal and such other revered personalities had upheld this very concept of secularism. But the way Indian national bourgeoisie and the Congress, their political representative, haunted by the fear-complex of anti-capitalist socialist revolution, had politically opposed the revolutionary trend within the freedom movement, in the same manner they compromised with religion in the socio-cultural arena to prevent growth of scientific rational mindset. As a result, the religious minorities as well as most of the so called lower caste populace considered the Congress leadership to be that of upper caste Hindus and hence stayed out of the freedom movement. Seizing that opportunity, the British imperialists engineered communal riot and partitioned the country with the approval of the National Congress, Hindu Mahasabha, Muslim League and RSS.
During its rule in independent India, the Congress had not only clamped emergency but also enacted a slew of black acts like TADA, MISA, AFSPA and UAPA. They have also killed hundreds of workers-peasants-students-youths to suppress democratic mass movements. The same Congress is called ‘democratic’ by the CPI (M) and CPI. Almost all the regional parties are practising casteist-provincial as well as religion-based politics. While in power, they all, like the Congress and the BJP, followed the policy of forcibly crushing legitimate mass struggles. Just from the lure of a few seats, the CPI (M) and CPI leaders tried to forge unity with these parties by labelling them as ‘secular’ and ‘scientific’. But despite their frantic efforts, no one other than the DMK else had responded.
In this connection, we would like to mention further that when the workers-peasants-students-youths were spontaneously bursting forth in protest against the misrule of the erstwhile BJP government, we wanted that the leftists unitedly provide leadership to these protest movements. In that case, class and mass struggles would have intensified, and united powerful left-democratic movement would have surged forth. But instead of responding to our call, they remained absorbed in working out an understanding with the Congress. In absence of leadership, the spontaneously developed movements had fizzled out. In the past also, the CPI supported Indira Congress by calling it ‘secular’ and ‘democratic’ and entered into an understanding with them in the name of fighting communalism. Similarly, they did not join the countrywide mass movement that grew in 1974 under the leadership of Jayprakash Narayan. That gave opportunity to the RSS-Jan Singh to sneak into the movement, reap political benefits and increase their strength. Again during the 1977 election, the CPI (M), raising the bogey of fighting autocracy of the Indira Congress, combined with the Janata Party which had the RSS-BJP in its fold. On the same logic, the CPI (M) and the BJP jointly supported VP Singh government in 1989. Jyoti Basu and Atal Behari Vajpayee addressed a joint rally in Kolkata Maidan. The CPI (M) also ran Kolkata corporation with the support of the BJP. The CPI (M) leaders repeatedly practised such opportunistic politics for the sake of votes.
SUCI(C) always fight election based on revolutionary line
You are aware that in such a situation, as the genuine Marxist party on the soil, the SUCI(C) singularly fought the election in many states based on the distinct revolutionary line enunciated by Comrade Shibdas Ghosh. We knew very well that given the way elections are conducted today, we would not win a single seat. We would also not receive that many votes in the backdrop of sharp polarization and huge money-spilling. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh had taught us that “So long as revolution is not accomplished, whether people want elections or not, like it or not, they get dragged into it, involved in it. Revolution means that people have realized that there is no need for elections, when they are all organized and boycotting elections in an organized manner, not negatively but have positively reached the stage of seizure of power and are saying: ‘No more election; capture power.’ Only at that point does taking part in the election become infructuous, unnecessary. Or else the people do get time and again enmeshed in the election. And in order to stay with the masses, both revolutionaries as well as non-revolutionaries — all have to participate in the election. …The genuine revolutionaries too have to do that…when the party of the proletariat participates in the election with the object of revolutionary purposiveness, being compelled by the necessity to remain with the people, it does so on the basis of mass revolutionary political line. It also tries utmost to win seats. But the essence of its objective is never to anyhow grab maximum seats. The revolutionary party’s focal point is to educate the people as to how to fight the election on the basis of a mass revolutionary line and in doing so, if we can win maximum seats; all the better. If we cannot, not even a single seat, so be it. …But the central, the focal point can never be to anyhow grab some seats. … But instead if you raise this bogey ‘do anything and everything to defeat the enemy’, then you, too, on the pretext of fighting the enemy and by donning revolutionary mask, would be trying to retain the very same method and tactics used by the bourgeoisie to fight election. Of course, you would do all these in the name of revolution. Is this the way to become a revolutionary? Does this advance the revolutionary task? No, in this way no one can become a revolutionary, nor does this advance the revolutionary task.” 3
Spurred on by this teaching, several thousands of our Party workers and supporters have worked in the election. They have reached out to several lakhs of people round the country with this revolutionary thought of the Party. It is true that many have not cast vote in our favour because they thought that we would not win. But they have provided moral support to us. It is the common people who have contributed liberally to our election fund so that we could meet all the election expenditures including nomination fees. Our workers have collected funds in the streets, by knocking at door to door and the people wholeheartedly responded because they know that ours is a Party of the poor.
It is known to all that armed with the teachings of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, our Party has never sold itself to the big industrialists and businessmen, never asked for money from them. In order to meet the day to day expenditures of the Party, to conduct movements or for organizing any programme, we seek donations from the common people. They also liberally donate out of love and affection for us. Rather many of them cut jokes with a tinge of affection saying that we are mad and that is why, we are unable to win election. Other parties give money and gifts, make many other promises and then seek vote in exchange for all these. It is a kind of quid pro quo. They receive so much of publicity in the media. On the other hand, there is a complete media blackout of your Party. You ask for donations as well as vote. In today’s context, can anyone dream of winning election solely based on ideology, principles and scruples? Reminding them of the teachings of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, our comrades tell them: “we may get or may not get votes. But our strength lies in your affection and ardent support. We shall not run after the media for publicity to secure votes. Likewise, as a revolutionary party, we are growing and would continue to grow.” Though we did not win any seat in the last election, we have received many new workers and supporters. We have established contacts and connections with many honest left-minded people. These new recruits, supporters and sympathizers comprise all sections of toiling people like the workers-peasants-students-youths as well as middle class intelligentsia. We have received contacts in hitherto unexplored areas and warm affection from many. Repeatedly they have said that while all others have become rotten, ours is the only Party they repose confidence in. They sincerely desire speediest growth of our Party. Our workers are highly inspired and revitalized at this overflowing support during the electioneering period. There is not even an iota of frustration among them. Because they know from the teachings of great Lenin-Stalin-Mao Zedong-Shibdas Ghosh that nowhere revolution was accomplished by winning election or based on the number of seats captured. Success of revolution was driven by the strength of people’s power—people who were educated in revolutionary ideology, well organized and possessing high ethical-moral standard.
Cause behind increase in strength of the BJP
As a preparation for revolution, it is necessary to develop working class struggles and mass movements extensively. Parliamentary democracy has now turned into parliamentary fascist autocracy notwithstanding maintenance of all outward shows of it. Comrade Shibdas Ghosh sounded caution way back in 1948 that though the fascist axis of Germany-Italy-Japan was defeated in the Second World War, fascism has appeared as a general feature in various forms in both developed as well as developing capitalist countries. He also pointed out that fascism kills the very process of developing man worth the name. It is fascism which is fostering blindness, conservatism, irrationality, ultra-nationalism and traditionalism. The Congress had established the base of fascism in our country. After ascending to power, the BJP is further intensifying all these fascist measures. You need to understand how could the BJP emerge so strongly? It is true that it has been receiving all-out backing of the ruling capitalist class. The Congress too had enjoyed the same earlier. Apart from this, there have been three main reasons behind surge of the BJP. First of all, out of the fear of anti-capitalist proletarian revolution, the national Congress right from the days of freedom movement did not fulfil the task of democratization of the society. Instead, it compromised with religion, casteism, provincialism, regionalism, traditionalism, and such other decadent medieval thoughts. As a result, scientific process of thinking, democratic thoughts and true secularism could not develop on the soil. United CPI also did not build up any effective movement to counter such compromising and regressive thoughts. As a fallout of this, religious sentiment particularly Hindu religious sentiment as well as hatred centered on religion-caste-ethnic-nationality-language continued to exist in our society. During the freedom movement, there was a kind of unity based on the urge for freeing the country from the alien rule. But in post-independence period, the RSS, the Jan Sangh and later the BJP used that very Hindu sentiment and traditionalism to raise their ugly heads. Secondly, absence of a united powerful left-democratic movement contributed to their menacing rise. Not only the big left parties like the CPI, CPI (M) did not develop any socio-cultural movement based on scientific outlook and true secular democratic principles free from any religious influence against all such medieval obsolete feudal thoughts and ideas, undivided CPI had joined the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League in supporting the bizarre concept that the Hindus and the Muslims constitute two different nations. So the leaders of undivided CPI gave a seal of approval to the partition of the country based on the strange and most unscientific theory of religion-based nationalism. All these paved the way for the RSS-BJP to gain strength.
There is a third and important factor which you need to take into cognition as well. So long the mighty socialist camp led by great Stalin and Mao Zedong against the imperialist-capitalist world was in existence, it inspired the anti-imperialist liberation struggles in the colonial and semi-colonial countries as well as the working class struggles and democratic mass movements in various countries to intensify. Anti-war militant peace movement also gained tremendous momentum. In such a world situation, despite imperialism-capitalism having attained a reactionary character, there was a dominance of democratic values, scientific rational thought process and progressive mindset throughout the globe. But after sad dismantling of socialism due to capitalist counter-revolution propelled by defeated bourgeoisie from within and aided and abetted by imperialist conspiracy from outside, there is a gushing wave of religious fundamentalism, racial hatred, reactionary medieval obscurantism, blind irrational thoughts bereft of scientific outlook sweeping across the world. This world situation is also helping the RSS-BJP to become powerful. In this connection, I would read out a warning of Romain Rolland which he gave way back in 1931. He said: “a formidable coalition of imperialist powers is being formed in the world against the Union of Soviet Republics…If it is crushed, it would no longer be the proletariat of the world alone who would be enslaved, but all liberty, social and individual; …The world will be thrown back, several stages behind”4 If you look around the world today, you would find such indeed is happening.
[ To be continued in the next issue]
Source of Quotations:
1. State and Revolution
2. From an unpublished speech of 1969
3. SW Vol. IV pp. 540-42
4. I will not rest
