• Comrade Hardial Bains, 1939-1997: Founding Member and Architect of our Party 

• Communists in Maharashtra Discuss Urgent Tasks Facing the Movement 

• Lok Raj Sangathan Releases Manifesto for 13th Lok Sabha Elections 

• Rally under the Banner of Waging War Against Poverty 

• Lively Lok Raj Sangathan Meeting in Pune 

• Call of the Youth in the Lok Raj Sangathan Meeting in Thane: 

We are Neither for Electoral Politics nor with the Politics of the War  

• The Right to Elect and be Elected is a Sham! 

• Selling out People's Livelihood and Food Interests 

• Privatising Investments of Provident and Insurance Funds 

Oppose the Plunder of the Life Savings of the People 

Comrade Bains lived and worked in the second half of the 20th century, a period marked by unprecedented attack on the theory and ideology of Marxism-Leninism by US imperialism which had such powerful allies as Khrushchevite revisionism among others. The last decade of the 20th century in particular was witness to the final collapse of the Soviet State and the vicious anti-social offensive of the world bourgeoisie. Under such conditions, Comrade Bains personified what was most revolutionary and most humane in the history of civilization. Under conditions of world-wide retrogression, he led the work that enriched modern communism.   

As the leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) since its founding, Comrade Bains left behind a party on the granite foundations of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism. His untiring work to imbue the party with modern definitions both in theory and practice gave rise to the program for the Renewal of Canada. It also strengthened the new journalism that the party had pioneered in the 80's and culminated in the emergence of basic organisations as instruments of class struggle and building blocks of the mass communist party.   

Comrade Bains pioneered the internationalist working relations between fraternal Marxist-Leninist parties. As a theoretician he enriched contemporary Marxist Leninist thought by summing up the historical experience of the struggles of the 20th century including the construction of socialism and the subsequent restoration of capitalism following the collapse of the Soviet state. He was a master strategist and organizer who answered the most complex political questions of the 20th century, including what kind of party the working class needs. In all this and more, Comrade Bains has left behind a body of philosophical, theoretical and ideological work that will be the foundation on which the communist and workers' movements of the 21st century will advance.   

Born in India in 1939 to a patriotic and communist family and raised in the bosom of the communist and worker's movement of the post-Second World War years, Comrade Bains emigrated to Canada at the age of 20. He embraced social consciousness over tradition as his value and went on to organise students and youth for social progress wherever he lived and worked. Out of the all-sided theoretical and organisational work of the 60's arose the group known as the Internationalists, and later on the Marxist-Leninist parties, not just in Canada but in other continents as well. A number of revolutionary communist parties around the world today can trace their origins and links to the movement spearheaded by Comrade Bains from the 60's.   

Our Party, the Communist Ghadar party of India was born out of the movement ushered in by the Naxalbari uprising and was nurtured by the revolutionary ideological, political and organizational work carried out under the leadership of Comrade Bains. The guiding principle of the Internationalists, summed up by Comrade Bains in his historic Necessity for Change pamphlet as "understanding requires the conscious participation of the individual, an act of finding out", was and continues to be the single most distinguishing feature of the Communist Ghadar Party of India in its struggle first to found the revolutionary communist party in the 70's when the vanguard party of the Indian working class had been decimated by splits and opportunism, in the struggle to build and consolidate the party in the 80's and in the monumental work to modernize Indian political theory and restore the unity of the Indian communist movement in the 90's. Today, as the CGPI is implementing its program "Hum Hai Iske Malik, Hum Hai Hindustan, Mazdoor, Kisan, Aurat aur Jawan!" and preparing to lead the working class and people of India to hoist the red flag over the Red Fort in the not too distant future, Comrade Hardial Bains is very much with us, beckoning to us to march ahead on the path of revolution. The Communist Ghadar Party of India is proud to declare that Hardial's revolutionary legacy is our legacy, Hardial's fist is our fist. The path that he trailblazed for modern communism is the path of our party.   

On the occasion of the 60th birth anniversary of Comrade Hardial Bains, we express our deepest respect for this departed revolutionary leader who can never be away from the life and work of our party, and who will continue to inspire future generations of communists not just in India and Canada but around the globe. The deeds of the people as they mount the barricades of revolution in the new millenium will be the tribute of mankind to the life and work of Comrade Hardial Bains and of all those martyrs and patriots who have fought for the same ideals.   

Long Live the Life and Work of Comrade Bains! 
Long Live the Fraternal Unity between the CGPI and the CPC(ML)! 
Long Live Proletarian Internationalism! 
Glory to Marxism-Leninism! 
Inquilab Zindabad! 
 

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) dedicated the monument to communism in Canada on August 15, 1999, the sixtieth birth anniversary of Comrade Hardial Bains. The ceremony in Ottawa was attended by over 200 communists and working people from around Canada . 

A delegation of the CGPI headed by Comrade Lal Singh, General Secretary,participated in the ceremonies. 

On behalf of the CGPI, the chairperson welcomed the gathering and said that the main question to be addressed by the various representatives and other speakers was what should be the common set of political demands which all communists can take up at the present time to defeat the plans of the bourgeoisie at this time?   

Comrade Radhika Kanavi, The Maharashtra State Secretary of CGPI, presented the views of the Party. She said that a very serious situation was facing the communist movement today. The working class and toiling people were being made to bear the brunt of the economic crisis. After reaping the benefits of the first wave of liberalisation launched in 1991, the bourgeoisie was preparing to launch a fresh wave of liberalisation to expedite their program. This would immeasurably increase the burden on the working people. The bourgeoisie wanted a stable government of either the BJP front or the Congress front to be able to implement this program which has already been decided upon. The coming elections are an attack on the people - a means of legitimising this program, she said. The bourgeoisie was trying to make out that there are two choices before the people in the form of the BJP front or the Congress front. But these are not choices at all, since in any case they were planning to implement the same anti-people program. The chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries revealed that 95% of the industrial funding is going to go to these two parties.   

Comrade Radhika then spoke about the warmongering being carried on by the bourgeoisie. She said that it was being used as a pretext to militarise the economy, which would further enrich the Indian bourgeoisie and foreign imperialists at the cost of our people. Workers were being asked to tighten their belts further and support the state in whatever it does. She said that in these circumstances the communists have to tell the people clearly that the bourgeoisie is behind both the Congress as well as the BJP. The demand of the times was for all communists to unite and chalk out a common political program, and to lead and inspire the working class.   

Comrade Tyagi of the SUCI also stressed the need for communist unity and said that political unity was something that could be achieved rightaway. He said that the Congress was as communal and fascist as the BJP and that both the parties were supported by the bourgeoisie. The tragedy was that parties that ought to have been exposing the Congress have been tailing it and strengthening it, and thereby strengthening communalism as well. He agreed to the need to chalk out a common plan of action.   

Comrade Shashi of the Kashtakari Yuvak Sanghatana agreed with the points raised in the CGPI presentation and with the need to work out a common program. As far as communist unity was concerned, he felt that, while it was very desirable, it was bound to be a long process.   

Comrade Murthy of the AIFTU said that it was possible to have issue-based. He deplored the fact that certain communist parties support the Congress and the New Economic Policy in fact, though they raise slogans against it in front of the workers. He said that there was no democracy in the country as far as the workers and common people are concerned. We will win through revolution, not elections, he said. A stable government was only in the interests of the bourgeoisie.   

Comrade Shekhar Kapre of the LGKU felt that all communists should unite. They should all put their program before the people and allow them to choose. He explained the importance of using the parliament to expose the system. He also talked about a number of immediate demands that can be raised by the people, such as the right to recall representatives, seizure of black money and the money in Swiss banks, nationalisation of wholesale trade, etc.   

Many others present in the meeting also expressed their views in an atmosphere marked by great camaraderie. Comrade Radhika, while summing up the discussion, said that communist unity, which we all aspire for, cannot be built by raking up issues from the past. The future will show who is a communist and who is not. It will be proved before the people, in the fight against the bourgeoisie. Fighting against the bourgeoisie together is in itself a great cementing factor. All those present agreed to have a campaign in the coming weeks with the following slogans:   

• We want war against poverty, not against neighbouring countries!
• No to militarisation of the economy! 
• Down with the second wave of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation! 
• Fight for a pro-social program! 
• Fight against American imperialism and intervention! 
• No to the internationalisation of the Kargil issue! 

The manifesto points out that the LRS has taken the important decision to participate actively in the coming elections with the following objectives in mind: to raise the level of political debate and the level of participation of the broad masses of people in political life; to strengthen the movement against the dangerous course being pursued by the present rulers of India; and to create the embryo of the institutions and mechanisms for people's empowerment.   

The manifesto further contains a draft program for the democratic renewal of India. It elaborates how the democracy that exists in India today is a democracy by and for the propertied minority, a system designed to exclude the majority from political power. This entire political system and process is outdated and unacceptable, and needs to be replaced by a system in which the real masters of India - the workers, peasants, women and youth - constitute the sovereign power. The manifesto also presents an immediate plan of action, which includes the organising of mass meetings among electors to discuss the people's agenda and select and reject candidates, cooperation with political forces standing against the political system dominated by the likes of the BJP and Congress, and the fielding of candidates who will popularise the people's agenda and the program of democratic renewal. The key slogans and demands of such an agenda and program have also been spelled out.   

People's Voice hails this timely manifesto brought out by the Lok Raj Sangathan, which provides the kind of positive, non-sectarian program around which all forces that stand on the side of the people can rally in the present political conditions. As the manifesto rightly says, the people of India are like a giant, but a giant unaware of its own strength. They are fully capable of addressing the problem of the renewal of India. What is needed is that the people need to be made aware of their power and drawn actively into the movement to develop the theory and mechanisms of India's renewal. An initiative like this is an important step in this process.   

Now the bourgeoisie is preparing the conditions for unleashing its "second wave" of liberalisation, which will further devastate the lives of workers and peasants through price rises, job cuts, privatisation of electricity, transport, health, education and other services. The bourgeoisie wishes to acquire the people's "approval" for its plans through the elections.   

There are three fronts contesting the elections in Maharashtra: the Congress led front, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance and Sharad Pawar's group. All of them are committed to implementing the second wave of liberalisation and privatisation, as well as militarising the economy. The situation demands that the working masses do not get divided and diverted from their struggle to stay the hands of the bourgeoisie. The call of the times is for all communists and progressive forces to rise up to the occasion and unite the forces of all the oppressed in the fight against the second wave of liberalisation and privatisation and for democratic renewal.   

Liberalisation and the Politics of Violence and Diversion

One of the methods the rulers have used to keep the working people divided is their time tested communal violence, which rocked Mumbai in 1992 - 93, coinciding as it did with the height of the "first wave" of the liberalisation program. Attacks on leaders of the working people have been carried out often by gangsters in the pay of the rich, most notable of which was the assassination of Dr Datta Samant in January 1997. The increasing resistance of the people to the attacks on them meant that parties that had become discredited could not rule the state any longer. For over 35 years, with Sharad Pawar and others at its head, the Congress and its avatars had ruled Maharashtra. So, about five years ago, through the assembly elections, the Shiv Sena - BJP combine was brought in to rule the state. The Shiv Sena promised the people "Shiva Shahi" - another golden era. But what did the rule of Shiv Sena mean for the people of the state?   

Further Exposure of the Parties of the Rich

What has actually happened during the rule of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance is that the conditions of the working people have worsened further. Jobs are growing scarcer and prices dearer with every passing day, for "sons of the soil" as for everyone else. Many factories were allowed to close down, adding tremendously to the army of the unemployed. The living conditions in the working class areas of Mumbai and other cities have worsened too, with the policy of malignant neglect on the part of civic administrations. Hospitals like KEM in Mumbai which were once renowned for the quality of health care they provided to working people are today starved of funds and facilities, and working people are forced to fend for themselves. The policies of liberalisation and globalisation have had their nasty effects in the countryside too, with thousands of peasants being ruined.   

Shiv Sena's Shiva Shahi is in no way different from the grand vision of the bourgeoisie for an India over which they can lord and venture forth to capture markets and profits from neighbouring countries, a vision which spells untold miseries for the common people.   

Opportunities for the Communists

The Indian bourgeoisie is preparing a fresh and even more ferocious onslaught on the working people to achieve its aims of being an imperialist power. It is militarising the economy and preparing to unleash its "second round" of liberalisation and privatisation, with consequences which are bound to be worse for the toiling people. It is preparing to crush the resistance and struggles of the toiling people through increased repression and state terrorism. Regardless of which of their formations is elected to power during the present elections, regardless of which issues these formations pick on as "election issues", this is the program of the bourgeoisie which it will want to be implemented. The elections thus serve as a legitimisation of the bourgeoisie's plan of action.   

The working class and peasantry of Maharashtra have seen all the bourgeois parties in power, both in the state and in the Centre. They can see how their movement has been disrupted and diverted by the big bourgeoisie in various ways in the past decade. They are seeking an alternative. In this situation, communists must strive to rally the workers, peasants and toiling people of Maharashtra around the program of war against poverty, the program of thoroughgoing renewal of the Indian economy and the political process. The toiling people must have political power that they can wield to ensure that the wealth created by them is used for the well being of themselves and their coming generations. All the progressive forces of Maharashtra, all those seriously opposed to the increasing attacks and marginalisation of the people, all those who wish to fight against caste oppression, communalism and communal violence, all those fighting against imperialist domination, must join hands in a single powerful front to wage the war against poverty, oppose the second wave of liberalisation and privatisation, and fight for complete democratic renewal of India.   

The main presentation made on behalf of the LRS, while pointing to the situation of continuing instability and crisis in the country, noted that the cause of crisis lies in the stubborn refusal of the parties of the rich to break away from the path of loot and plunder, the path of militarisation and wars, the path of economic restructuring in the narrow interest of their rich patrons. Voting for one of the fronts, whether that of the BJP or the Congress, means to continue the politics of division and deception. LRS, the speaker said, has taken up the task of participating in the elections with whatever means possible in order to raise the level of political debate so that ordinary people can also make their contribution by placing the basic issues that concern them on the agenda in the coming elections.   

The speaker pointed out that the rulers want to disarm and depoliticize the people. They are promoting the thesis that people can only entrust their future to some chosen few, the so-called leaders imposed on them. But why can't people organize such systems in which they do not need middlemen between themselves and the political power. The "Westminister" model of democracy being followed in India, whereby parties rule on behalf of people, is outdated. The task before the people was to create new forms of political power so that people can exercise their sovereignty in actual practice.   

Even on paper, the present Constitution does not guarantee the basic human rights like right to life, the right to a human existence, the right to conscience, the rights of nationalities, the rights of women etc. Even the fundamental rights listed in the Constitution can be negated through the provision of a "reasonable limits" clause. In short, just like British colonial state, the present Indian state treats every Indian citizen, unless otherwise proved, as an insurgent. It is this philosophic basis of the Indian state, that leads to state terrorism and brutal suppression of all kinds of dissent in the society. But just like the patriots persecuted by the colonial state, such as the immortal Shaheed Bhagat Singh, laughed at the courts and at the charges of those in power then, and put their accusers in the dock, so too the people today have to expose and repudiate the legitimacy of the present-day rulers and their system, under whom the ruthless plunder of the land and labour of the toiling people has been carried forward for so many years.   

A very lively discussion, encompassing issues such as the true meaning of nationalism and internationalism today, as well as on the ways in which the people can exercise power themselves in their own interests, followed the main presentation made by the speaker from LRS. That the need of the hour was to build political unity for the cause of the empowerment of people, was stressed by several participants. In the end it was unanimously decided that LRS, Pune would organize exhibition-cum discussion meetings at various college campuses and localities in the coming months, particularly during the period running up to the elections.   

Call of the Youth in the Lok Raj Sangathan Meeting in Thane: 

We are Neither for Electoral Politics nor with the Politics of the War 

The essay competition was organised to give an impetus to discussion on two very significant subjects. The first was the issue of war, under the title 'What is the effect of the war on the common people of India and Pakistan?" and the second was "What is my role in the political affairs of our country?"   

The overwhelming response to the competition- more than eighty essays were received from half-a-dozen schools/colleges in Thane, as well as from youth in the far-away suburb of Ulhasnagar-clearly showed that the youth of our country are seriously concerned about the war and its effects, as well as about the conditions of the people and the political crisis in the country.   

Almost all the essays expressed the empathy of the youth with the bereaved families of the soldiers killed in the Kargil conflict. At the same time, they also recognised the political capital that politicians would make of this to their selfish advantage as well as the hardships faced by the people living on both sides, close to the border. Many of them rejected the view that war would solve the Kashmir problem. And still others admitted that the common people would have to bear the financial burden of the war. A majority of them pointed out that there are many unsolved problems of the people; avoiding war at all costs and initiating negotiations is what they recommended.   

In the meeting on August 21, which was attended by well over 150 people, the youthful participants once again got their chance to put forward their opinions in person. One after another, they commented on the decay in the present political system and the active role that people needed to play to transform society. "Think and act" was their main message. One young person urged his friends to follow the path of Bhagat Singh and affirmed that "yuv shakti" would change Indian society. Another said with confidence that if the one billion people in this country put their thoughts and acted together, no force can stop the transformation of Indian society and its effect would be felt on the world as well. After these interventions by the youth, the Convenor of the Mumbai branch of LRS then made a presentation on some aspects of the Lok Raj Sangathan manifesto, which the audience listened to with careful attention.   

The prizes for the best among the essays were given away and the formal meeting was concluded. But the informal "charcha" continued well afterwords.   

How is this right restricted? It is restricted by the rules of service at the workplace in many organisations. All persons working in government organisations and institutions are barred from standing for election. Just like that. This means that an individual has to resign her or his job before seeking to contest an election. But since there is no guarantee of a victory, how does she or he get re-employed? Why is a citizen to be penalised for seeking to contest in elections? How can a service rule be adopted that conflicts with the fundamental law of the land, as laid down by the Constitution? In whose interest is such a rule?   

Persons working in private organisations face similar restrictions about not being eligible to take part in any political activity. In the absence of explicit rules, there are implicit restrictions which in effect debar the person for fear of losing her job. For example, any worker who has been active in the union, who has stood up to the management and fought for workers' rights is more vulnerable than others to losing his employment. Such workers do not have the freedom to stand for elections because the management is waiting to throw them out under any pretext. In the last couple of weeks, this has been our experience. The conclusion one can draw is only this - that only those persons who have the guarantee of someone being able to take care of them as long as they live, after the elections, can afford to quit their jobs to contest the elections. Otherwise, only those who are unemployed or self-employed can do so. In other words, one cannot be a respected, employed citizen! Mostly, one has to be either jobless or willing to sell one's soul to one or other political party if one wants to contest in the elections and realise one's fundamental political rights!   

As it is, the sheer expenses that a candidate has to incur and the machinery that is needed for any candidate to be able to contest, is a barrier to the ordinary people putting up a candidate from among their peers. Even if one is ready on the basis of one's convictions to stand up and contest elections with whatever means one has, these kind of "service rules" and restrictions imposed on government and other employees make it impossible for people to act. The effect of such restrictions is to consolidate the power of the political parties who are monopolising the political process today. It has ensured the creation of a "political class". Ordinary people are being told that politics is to be left to this class and all we should be doing is to enable them to rule by voting for them! People should raise their voices against this injustice and denial of basic rights. They should demand an explanation for such injustice and not succumb to it under the pressure of observing the "rules". Rules have to serve society at large and not some minority or elite class in society. 

As we all know, a substantial quantity of the wheat grown in our country is grown in Punjab. The wheat that is not consumed directly by the producers is either procured by the government or sold through traders to the flour mills. Lately, particularly in the last two years, wheat market prices have been on the higher side and have not fallen below the minimum support price stipulated by the government. The wheat purchased by traders at this market price has been sold to the flour mills at prices that have been quite unviable for the flour mills, especially for the smaller flour mills.   

Death of small flour mills

Livelihood and Food for People versus Profitable Business for Big Corporations 

Secondly, who decides how much and what quality of wheat is to be grown? It has been reported that Cargill is "committed to procuring and exporting only the best quality wheat from farmers" and will encourage them to grow better varieties and to follow "best-growing practices." We are already seeing the effects of the hybrid-seed, irrigation-intensive and fertiliser-intensive agriculture. It has now been admitted that in Punjab the kind of farming that has been practised, since the "green revolution", has robbed the land of all nutrients. In some areas, the groundwater sources of the state have become depleted, while other areas have become water-logged. Under a contract with Cargill, the peasants will have no power or scope to decide these issues in favour of the long-term sustainability of the land. Finally, whether wheat or some other crop needs to be grown and how much wheat should be milled into flour, should be decided on the basis of the needs of the people for chappatis and bread. The government has not raised this issue even as the Cargills of the world enter our agriculture. An equally important issue is that Cargill's entry will internationalise the prices of wheat flour. With the purchasing power of an average Indian being what it is, the Indian people will have to pay much higher prices than they are currently paying for reasonable quality flour.   

Privatising investments of provident and insurance funds

Oppose the Plunder of the Life Savings of the People 

This Charter is full of promises on how the NDA will serve the big bourgeoisie the best if elected to power. The promise with respect to the PF and insurance funds would mean that instead of investing these monies in government securities, they will be now diverted to fuel speculation in the stock markets and provide windfall profits for big capitalists.   

The proposal to privatise these people's funds comes close on the heels of the decision to privatise the insurance sector itself, awaiting formal clearance from the Parliament after the Lok Sabha elections.   

World over, the big bourgeoisie eyes the PF and insurance funds with great avarice, like a hyena eyeing its kill, because they are among the cheapest and most regular long-term funds available in the market. They are particularly suitable for long gestation core sector projects such as infrastructure, telecom, etc.   

In India, the incremental deposits every year in Provident Funds alone is about Rs. 60,000 crores. This is entirely made up of the year's life savings of workers in the manufacturing and service sectors. At present, the workers get a measly 12 per cent interest on these funds. With the proposed liberalisation, the big bourgeoisie will be able to borrow from these funds, promising a marginal additional interest to the workers, and earn many times more the capital and interest.   

A part of this money will be also invested in the stock markets, again under the justification of increased interest income for the workers. The big bourgeoisie and the big stock market speculators will earn super profits by boosting the share prices in the market with these investments and offloading their shares at the right time. In the last few months, precisely this kind of speculative purchases has pushed the stock market index, the Sensex, from around 2800 to 4600 points. Along with the Sensex, the market capitalisation of stocks, i.e., the total market value of shares, has risen by several thousand crores, increasing the wealth of the bourgeoisie tremendously while actually the Indian economy is still in recession and several sectors have shown negative growth rates. For e.g., while the entire Indian information technology (IT) industry produced goods worth Rs.26,000 crores in 1988-99, the market capitalisation of the stocks of IT companies stood at Rs.79,000 crores in August.   

Privatisation of PF and insurance funds is but one of the measures that the two fronts of the big bourgeoisie, the BJP led front and the Congress led front are contemplating after the elections. The working class should vigorously prepare itself for meeting this renewed offensive of the bourgeoisie head on. It should come out on the streets, unite in joint actions and defeat this offensive.