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Internet Edition: April 1-15, 2005 |
| TABLE OF CONTENTS Voice of the Party
From the Third Congress of the Party |
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US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits India: Indian Government must refuse to bow to US pressure to cancel the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project Following discussions with India’s External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh in New Delhi on March 16, the visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a press conference that she had conveyed to her Indian counterpart the 'concern' of US about the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. It may be noted that following a long period of hesitation and opposition to this project from sections of the Indian ruling class, the present Indian government has now committed itself to pursue the project. Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyyar is reported to be holding talks with the governments of Iran and Pakistan on the issue. The 'concern' expressed by Condoleezza Rice amounts to blatant interference by the US in India’s sovereign right to develop economic and political relations with other countries to mutual advantage. What gives the US the ‘right’ to decide which country India should strengthen economic and political relations with? And why is the US so desperately opposed to the gas pipeline project, which, as Ms Rice admitted, the US ambassador has publicly and privately made known to successive Indian governments? The US has no ‘right’ to decide on India’s foreign policy. It is able to interfere firstly because of its enormous economic and military might and secondly because some sections of the Indian ruling class are enamoured of the carrot of “strategic US India partnership” which the US keeps dangling before India. The Indian ruling class is striving to become a big imperialist player. These sections hope that this ambition can be achieved by tying India to the US bandwagon. It is not coincidental, that after Ms Rice boarded the plane to Islamabad, she instructed that an announcement be made that the US would sell military hardware including F-16’s to India and that it would consider helping India in civilian nuclear energy. What India would have to do as quid pro quo was not announced. But reading between the lines, India would have to give up the gas pipeline project, support the US encirclement of Iran, reduce its arms purchases from Russia and France and so on. The Indian people have nothing to gain and everything to lose from the so-called 'strategic US India partnership' which means India getting completely embroiled in the US war strategy in Asia, and increased US interference in the region. The US has long been opposed to the oil pipeline project for a number of strategic reasons. The US strategy to control and dominate Asia demands that all other imperialist powers, old and emerging, are kept under a tight leash, and this includes India. It would like to use India against China and Pakistan against India. At present the politics in West Asia and Central Asia is centred on the US establishing it's domination over Iraq and Iran and then extending it to the energy rich Central Asian Republics. Control over energy resources will itself ensure that other aspiring powers, including India, can be strangled at will. The Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, if it takes off, will enable Iran to break out of its encirclement. It will enable Central Asian gas and oil to reach India and South East Asia. It will give India and Pakistan a cheaper and more reliable source of energy. For these reasons it is a project that could prove beneficial to all three countries. In the same measure this project will be detrimental for the strategic goals of the US. Hence the US’s anger and opposition to the proposed pipeline project. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar/ People's Voice calls on the working class and people of India and all political parties and forces interested in the fate and future of India to demand of the government of India to publicly reject the US interference in India’s foreign policy on the gas pipeline question. |
| Millions of people throughout the world protest against occupation of Iraq  In
hundreds of protests organised all over the world on the second anniversary
of the aggression on Iraq, millions of people came out on the streets
to protest against the occupation of Iraq. From Reykjavik in Iceland to
Johannesburg in South Africa, from New York to Manila, people demanded
with one voice that the US-led imperialists should quit Iraq forth with.
One
of the most massive marches took place in London, with an estimated
200,000 people participating in a procession that stretched from Hyde
Park to Trafalgar Square. As the protestors passed the US Embassy, they
shouted slogans denouncing US imperialism and its chieftain Bush. They
carried banners proclaiming: “Bush, the butcher of Baghdad!” “US-UK
forces out of Iraq!” Bring the troops home!” “Bush - world’s No.1 terrorist!”
“Imperialism out of Iraq!” “Labour Party war party!” “End the occupation
of Iraq!”Â
Protests
were held in Mumbai, Delhi and other cities of India. In Delhi, many
organisations such as Citizens against War and Occupation of Iraq, Lok
Raj Sangathan, JNU Students Union, Students Federation of India, and
others took part. They demanded that the US led imperialist coalition
should quit Iraq immediately, and that the Indian government should
have no truck with the Anglo-American imperialist war machine under
any pretext whatsoever.
Protests
were held in many cities of North America including Chicago, Detroit,
Edmonton, Montreal, New York, Toronto and Windsor. In Europe, protests
were held in Bratislava (Slovakia), Copenhagen (Denmark), Madrid, Rome,
Reykjavik (Iceland), and many other cities. Vigorous actions were organised
in Sydney (Australia), Ankara (Turkey), Manila (Philippines) and many
other towns and cities of Australia and Asia.
The massive actions all over the globe show the deep solidarity which is enjoyed bythe valiant Iraqi people who are fighting against the most ferocious occupation force, and who have refused to be cowed down by torture and the killing and maiming of tens of thousands. They show the deep anger of the worlds peoples for the imperialists, self proclaimed liberators of humanity who are in fact the greatest threat to the peace of the world. |
| Budget 2005-06 reveals that the UPA Government is continuing to pursue the imperialist and anti-social program of the big bourgeoisie
A
dispassionate analysis of the facts show that the UPA Government is
actively pursuing the agenda left unfinished by the previous NDA government. This is the agenda of the big bourgeoisie to build India as a
military, industrial, agro-business and IT superpower, through globalisation,
liberalisation and privatisation. It
is pursuing this imperialist anti-social agenda accompanied by new tactics
and old gimmicks to deceive and pacify the workers and peasants, to
dilute and disperse the growing mass resistance to the course being
followed.
Customs
duties have been further lowered, to such an extent that customs revenue
is the only component of Central Government revenue that is projected
to decline in absolute terms in 2005-06. It is projected at 53,182 crore, lower than what was collected
in 2004-05, which is estimated at Rs. 56,250 crore.
 Two of the main beneficiaries of this move are the textiles and IT
enabled services industries. The Finance Minister claimed that in encouraging
investment in and growth of these two industries, the budget has made
a contribution towards employment growth in the country. He was quoted
as saying in a post-budget interview “Clearly, after agriculture it is textile, which is the biggest
employer, which is IndiaÂ’s oldest industry. Therefore, we will do everything
that is necessary to make textiles modern, competitive and world-class.” The bourgeoisie creates this illusion again and again that what
is good for the capitalist is good for labour; the better off the capitalist,
the more fortunate is labour. On the one hand the government wants to
claim that incentives for investment is motivated by its desire to provide
jobs; on the other, it implies that it has to carry out labour reforms
to make Indian industry globally competitive. The bottom line is that
whether it is custom duty reduction or huge outlays on infrastructure,
it is for the benefit of the capitalist class, and not in the interest
of the toilers and tillers.
The
government is claiming that the budget has adopted the vision of Build
India or ’Bharat Nirman’ with its emphasis on six components – irrigation,
roads, water supply, housing, rural electrification and rural telecom
connectivity. What is being disguised is that investments in the countryside
are for the benefit of the minority rural rich and for expanding markets
and avenues for investment for both Indian and foreign capital in the
food processing and other agro-based industries. These investments,
like all those done earlier, will not guarantee livelihood for the poor
and middle peasantry that forms the majority of rural India.
The
Finance Minister declared in his budget speech that he expects increased
foreign direct investments to take place in a number of new areas, including
banking, trade and pensions. This
is a clear indication that the UPA Government remains committed to the
aim of expanding the space for private capitalist corporations, Indian
and foreign, including several critical areas that have in the past
been the preserve of public sector institutions. The aim of privatisation remains in tact, while what has changed
is only the method of pursuing the same aim.
In
the earlier budgets of the BJP-led NDA, proceeds from privatisation
were shown as receipts in the budget that would go to reduce the deficit.
It was a clear statement that the government would be carrying out disinvestment
through sale of public sector enterprises. In this budget, proceeds
from such sale have been taken out of the Union Budget; such receipts
will be accounted separately, in an off-budget fund. The working class should not have any illusion that this constitutes
a halt to the privatisation program, which is the popular demand of
the class and broad sections of the people. It only means that privatisation will be pursued
quietly, in a more cunning fashion than the previous government.
The
budget has initiated a series of important measures “to promote greater
flexibility and autonomy in the banking and financial sector.” What this means is that finance capital, foreign and Indian,
including the banks, will have full freedom for mobility of funds, to
be able to maximise profit. Whether worker, peasant or self-employed,
people will be at the mercy of finance capital that is only motivated
by the highest financial return. In this context, the loans from the
Centre to the States have been eliminated and the States are being told
to borrow from the market for their expenditure. This will mean higher
interest rates, and unreliability of funds with adverse implications
for the peasantry, small and self-employed businessmen.
The
projected finances in 2005-06 show that the Indian Union will continue
to collect the majority of its tax revenue from the workers, peasants
and middle strata of society, while the first claim on the funds collected
will continue to be held by the money lending institutions, Indian and
international. The projections show that the Indian Union will continue to pile
up public debt at a rapid pace during the coming year. It will spend huge amounts on transport infrastructure,
including super highways and rural roads, and expand the reach of the
banking system over the peasantry. This shows that the big bourgeoisie wants to upgrade the infrastructure
for globalising capital and production in India as rapidly as possible,
no matter how high is the cost in terms of additional debt burden.
At
the same time, the big bourgeoisie also claims that it will also spend
more on education, health services and food-for-work programs; but how
much actually gets spent on these depends on whether the projected revenue
increase takes place.
Various capitalists are very happy with the budget. In their opinion, “it is sending the right signals to foreign investors”; at the same time, the ruling class is also desperate to ensure political stability, and hopes to consolidate the support of the ‘Parliamentary Left’ through increased allocations for programs in the ‘National Common Minimum Programme.’ |
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Public Debt and the Fiscal Responsibility
Act Interest and principal repayments, or total debt servicing, will absorb more than 100% of the gross revenue collected by the Central Government in 2005-06. This was the case in 2004-05 as well. The outstanding public debt of the Indian Union is projected to increase from Rs.139,231 crore on March 31, 2004 to Rs.151,144 crore by March 31, 2005 – an increase of 8.5%. This is a sign that the parasitic nature of the Indian Union remains unchanged, despite all the talk about Chidambaram allegedly giving a new direction to the economy with this budget. Once
revenues are exhausted by payments to the money lending institutions at
home and abroad, it means that the government has to incur additional
new debt in order to finance all other expenditures, including that for
the provision of economic and social services.Â
Thus, the broad masses of people are confronted with a situation
where the choice is between the devil and the deep sea.Â
They have to either accept that more cannot be spent on social
services because it involves more debt accumulation than is advisable;
or accept a further increase in the already unbearable burden of public
debt, in the name of expanding social programs. Â
In
July 2004, when he presented his first Budget of the UPA Government, Finance
Minister Chidambaram presented the first argument. He claimed that he cannot allocate much for the promises contained
in the NCMP because he had to stick to the borrowing limits specified
by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. In
February 2005, with his second budget, he has presented the second argument.Â
He has projected a huge increase in the stock of public debt, implying
accelerated growth of the debt servicing burden in future years, allegedly
because there is no other alternative to fulfill the promises contained
in the NCMP. In either case, it is the broad masses of people
and their future generations who are to suffer the consequences, while
the money lending institutions are guaranteed their pound of flesh every
year. Mr.
Chidambaram declared that his ministry has decided to push the PAUSE button
during 2005-06, as far as the Fiscal Responsibility & Budget Management
Act is concerned. What he meant
was that his government has decided to pile up more debt on the heads
of the people than the ceiling prescribed in the FR&BM Act. The question that the working class and broad masses of Indian people need to raise is: Why could not the Finance Minister decide to push the PAUSE button on making debt service payments to the money lending institutions? Suspending interest payments alone, for instance, would mean that the expenditure on social programs could be more than doubled, and that too without incurring more debt on the people’s backs |
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Elections
to Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana assemblies The working class and peasantry must agitate and organise for an end to the party system of rule For 45 days, the people of the country have been witness to the drama of elections and government formation in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. Money and muscle power were deployed by all the major bourgeois parties to get the maximum number of their candidates elected. Those in control of the central state machinery, the trusted servants of the Indian and foreign moneybags—the Congress and the BJP—were at an obvious advantage. The central state machinery—the election commission and the judiciary, as well as the central armed forces—was used to the advantage of the Congress and BJP against regional parties like the INLD, the JMM, and the RJD. The two regional bourgeois parties in power—INLD and the RJD—tried to use the state machinery in their states to their advantage, to little avail. The process of government formation after the votes were counted further revealed that people have no say in the formation of the government. The big bourgeoisie determined government formation. The big bourgeoisie was for either a Congress-led government or a BJP-led government. Where neither was possible—as in Bihar—the big bourgeoisie opted for direct Central Rule. (see box) These elections have once again revealed that the party system of governance is the time-tested and preferred method of the Indian big bourgeoisie to exercise its dictatorship over the whole of society. The working class has to agitate and organise for an end to the party system of governance in order to pave the way for the rule of workers and peasants. Party system of governance stinks The bourgeois media makes out that the buying, selling and kidnapping of MLAs is because some individuals are corrupt, because some parties do not respect the ‘mandate’, ‘misuse money power and the state machinery’ etc. It is made out that the party system of rule would work smoothly if there were only two parties — Congress and BJP—and other parties disappeared from the scene. The smaller parties and independents are made the villains of the piece. In fact the problem is with the party system of governance itself. In this system only a party or coalition which can prove a majority in the assembly forms the government. The executive—consisting of the Chief Minister and his/her Cabinet—work to ensure that the program of the bourgeoisie and imperialism of enriching themselves at the fastest possible rate is carried out, and the resistance of the workers and peasants to this program is diverted and crushed. In the bargain, those holding office and their hangers-on are permitted by the bourgeoisie to enrich themselves and their cronies by plundering the government exchequer. The bourgeoisie, especially its biggest sections, ensures its writ by ensuring that its tested agents are in power. Political parties and factions of political parties which are seriously in the race for political power within this system spend phenomenal amounts of money to influence the voters at the voting stage and to form the government once the votes are counted. They more than recover their investments when they come to power. In the party system of governance, it appears that political parties are ruling. In fact it is the bourgeoisie which is ruling. It finances the election campaigns of these parties and a thousand and one threads tie the main leaders of these parties with the big monopoly houses, as well as the regional bourgeois groupings. The intense dogfight amongst the big monopoly houses for the biggest share of the cake is reflected in the intense fight amongst the ruling class parties for who should have power. It is also reflected in the factional fighting within the parties and coalitions in power. Why should a party or coalition which wins a majority form the executive? Why should parties which do not get a majority sit in the opposition? Why should the executive and legislative powers be separated? Why should the elected legislators together not constitute the executive? Why should political parties be allowed to come to power at all? These are questions that the bourgeoisie studiously avoids when it talks of reforms of the political system. The working class fights to end the party system of governance The working class and peasantry do not need such as system where political parties act as gate-keepers to power and keep the people forever deprived of power. The key question before workers and peasants and all the toiling and oppressed is how to overthrow the rule of the bourgeoisie and establish the rule of workers and peasants. This demands merciless critique of bourgeois rule, of the party system of governance, of the entire political system and political process of representative democracy. The entire political system and process is bankrupt. People of a constituency have no say in the selection of candidates. They are forced to vote at gun point of the private armies of the politicians as well as criminals and the armed forces of the State. The big bourgeoisie, the Central Government and its institutions such as the judiciary and the armed forces, as well as the regional bourgeois groupings, the judiciary and the armed forces all have their say in government formation while the people have none at all.. This political system and process demands thoroughgoing renovation. This renovation must include, as a necessary component, the ending of the party system of governance by which a party or coalition which secures the vote in the house gets control of the executive and then does what it wants. Political parties must not be allowed to impose candidates on the electorate. This right of selecting and electing must belong solely to the electorate. The role of political parties must be to enable the people to make an informed choice. Those political parties which are unwilling or incapable of doing so must be denied any role in the polity. Once elected, all those elected together must constitute both the executive and the legislature. The electorate must have the right to recall any elected representative who fails to represent their interests. The electorate must also have the right to initiate legislation in the assembly. The working class must agitate in this direction. Haryana The Congress Party won a two-thirds majority. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) government headed by Om Prakash Chautala was swept out of office. However, the legislature wing of the Congress was unable to elect a Chief Minister. There were over a half a dozen claimants for the position. The scene shifted to Delhi where the ‘election’ of the Congress Chief Minister was settled. The Congress President Sonia Gandhi declared Hooda ‘elected’ as Chief Minister against the wishes of a large number of MLAs. A number of MLAs led by a former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal boycotted these ‘elections’. Bihar Neither the Rashtrya Janata Dal (RJD) coalition led by former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, nor the BJP-JD (United) coalition led by Nitish Kumar got a majority. Both coalitions needed the support of the LJP of Ram Vilas Paswan to get a majority. He refused to oblige and demanded President’s Rule. The BJP-JDU alliance claimed that the vote reflected an anti-RJD mandate as Rabri Devi’s coalition had been reduced to a minority. The RJD-Congress coalition claimed that it was a ’secular mandate’ because the BJP coalition got a minority. Paswan, whose coalition with the Congress secured only 39 seats, declared that the mandate was for him. All kinds of behind-the-scene manoeuvres are going on to cobble together a Congress-led government while President’s rule is in place. Jharkhand Neither the BJP- JD(U) alliance nor the Jharkhan Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress alliance secured an absolute majority. The two fronts carried out intense horse trading of MLAs and paraded these horses before the Governor. The Congress alliance discovered the virtues of “secularism” and started roping in other parties like the RJD, the Jharkhand Party, the rebels from the JMM and the Forward Bloc in a “secular front”. It presented a list of 42 MLAs to the Governor including 15 MLAs who had fought against the Congress alliance. The BJP alliance paraded 41 MLAs before the Governor, including 5 who had won campaigning against the BJP alliance. The Governor swore Sibhu Soren of the JMM as the Chief Minister. The BJP then transported 41 MLAs from Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, to Delhi through a sensational undercover operation involving cars, planes, and trains and paraded them before the President of India. They then transported 36 MLAs to Sariska wild life reserve in Rajasthan to protect them from poaching by the Congress. The five independent MLAs were sent to Ahmedabad under the care of Gujarat Chief Minister Narender Modi for special security. The Supreme Court intervened and asked that Shibhu Soren prove his majority immediately. When Soren failed the test, the governor swore BJP leader Munda as Chief Minister. Munda got 40 votes in a house of 81 but won because three MLAs who were allegedly part of the Congress alliance failed to show up for the voting. All 5 independent MLAs in the BJP alliance, who fought the elections on an anti BJP plank, had been earlier sworn is as ministers. |
| The only requirement is to receive majority support From the Cuban Newspaper, -Granma daily THE exercise of political rights in Cuba is undergoing another critical test. Beginning today, and until March 24, tens of thousands of voter assemblies will take place, and more than eight million citizens will nominate their candidates for municipal delegates. Anyone may be nominated in these meetings; the only requirement is to receive majority support. To have at once the ability and the legal power to be the person who both proposes and nominates, directly, instead of having electoral machinery do it for you, is a privilege with respect to the current state of the world, affirms Ricardo Alarcón Quesada, President of the National Assembly of PeopleÂ’s Power, in an interview with Granma daily. It is important, he says, that in each voting district, we reflect on who would be the best choice, in the peopleÂ’s opinion. We enjoy a unique privilege, and that power should be used with the utmost wisdom. If we wish to thrive with respect to quality of life, or undertake actions that may contribute to doing so, we must then reflect on who has the best training, experience and spirit of enterprise to be a delegate in our district. That reflection, he clarifies, should be one that does not underestimate the presence of young people and women who possess great virtues. Who would the best candidates be? The answer to that, notes the Political Bureau member, must come from the citizens in each district. Nobody, whether members of the electoral commissions, or government or party authorities, will assume the responsibility of thinking for the people; therein lies the importance of dialogue amongst the people in each nomination assembly. Any distancing of the voters from the nomination process would weaken the labors of the delegate, he affirms, and diminish the efficacy of future People’s Power municipal assemblies. Our system – he recalls – is based on rejecting the demagoguery and cheating that is routine elsewhere, where candidates come into contact with the people and make promises to win votes, but then rarely keep their word, much less maintain periodic contact with their constituents. In the case of Cuba, he reflected, those who occupy elected posts do not change their natures; they continue to be neighbors of the voters; they do not receive privileges or charge a cent for their work as representatives. They continue to be members of the community, their strength is found in their links with the people and this relationship has to be present from the very start of the process: the nomination assemblies. SHARING, NOT HANDING OVER RIGHTS It is not the individual delegate alone who solves problems, such a person does not exist; rather, the delegate should be a citizen whose abilities and effectiveness are in direct relation to collective participation by the community in common tasks and problems, Alarc³n noted. “It is through the delegate that the voters and the political system are naturally joined together. Thus, the delegate should be capable of organizing and leading the community, of participating in the municipal government, and of contributing to the decision-making in both the provincial and national spheres.” The delegate, he emphasizes, is part of the municipal assembly, which among other responsibilities, appoints, controls and supervises local administration. Moreover, any delegate may eventually be president of a municipal assembly, member of his or her provincial assembly or parliamentary deputy. All of these things must be thought about at the time of proposing and nominating candidates. NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS Billions of people around the world, stated Alarc³n, would like to know whether their electoral rights have been recognized. Billions of people want to be able to control these mechanisms in order to counteract the power of the political machinery established to remove the liberties of citizens. Billions of people would also like to have, if only once in a lifetime, the opportunity to nominate candidates. For the Cuban people, he explained, all these aspirations are realities that have been carried out for almost 30 years, and if we are capable of exercising these rights with vigor and intensity, as well creating another political bastion with these elections, we would also be achieving another important step towards perfecting the system of PeopleÂ’s Power. Like all human work, he concluded, the representative structures of the Cuban state are open to improvement, and the key to this step forward is the conscious participation of the people, their genuine incorporation into all aspects of the system, that views the people as the protagonists. “The privilege of exercising civil and political rights is a dream for the vast majority of humanity and deserves a responsible attitude on the part of the Cuban people.” |
| The
Delhi Regional Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party held a day-long conference
on February 27 2005. Several issues
relating to the work of the Party in the Delhi region were discussed, including
the assessment of this work, how to expand the work further, the need to
build and strengthen party basic organisations, need to hold regular study
of the party organ and expand its distribution, and need to build a strong
regional committee.
Two comrades of the Central Committee facilitated the
conference. Delegates of the party units in the Delhi region were present
in large numbers. Party cadres working among different sections of the
people - workers, women and youth participated in the conference.
The presidium was elected at the start of the conference.
Comrades of the presidium presented the report of work of the previous
regional committee, elaborating its successes and weakness in work.
The comrades elaborated on the mission of the party, the organisational
principles on which it is based, basic organisations, regional committee
and central committee and their mutual relations, and the method of
work of the party; all these issues had been discussed and clarified
in the constitution of the Party that had been adopted at the Third
Congress, which had been but recently concluded. Important principles
of party building and expansion of work were emphasised such as the
building and strengthening of basic organisation, mastary of the science
of Marxism-Leninism, study and distribution of Party paper and publications,
writing letters, reports and articles for the paper, ensuring collection
of financial contributions from comrades of the basicorganisation, and
raising money from the masses, organising people to fight for their
rights and participating in mass movements.
Various comrades then presented their views on the issues
presented. Expressing agreement with the views and addressing the concerns
raised by comrades, the presidium suggested ways of dealing with problems
and of advancing the work of the party in various areas and among different
sections of the people. Suggestions were made for building and strengthening
mass organisations of the Party.
The final item on the agenda was the election of the Delhi Regional Committee. Comrades who would be able to contribute effectively to take the work forward in the region were elected unanimously. The Regional Committee elected its secretary and a secretariat to assist the secretary to implement the tasks on a day-to-day basis. All comrades present at the conference were convinced of the commitment of the newly elected regional committeeÂ’s to carry out its work with dedication. |
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There is much media frenzy over the new phase of ‘cricket diplomacyÂ’ with the current India-Pakistan test and one-day matches underway, and with the possibility of the visit of Mr. Pervez Musharraf the President of Pakistan to witness a match (or two) and also to carry out important diplomatic work. He is reported to have stated that in India there is much emphasis only on his love for cricket, and very little enthusiasm for other business that he would like to or plans to conduct during this visit. The contradictory trends of the desire for friendship of the fraternal peoples of India and the need for the elites on both sides to keep the pot boiling, are evidenced by the exuberance of the peoples of both countries on the one hand, and the continuing war preparations of the latter respectively. The international situation in the region is so dangerous now, with the US led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and no one can tolerate further dangers due to a war between the two nuclear neighbours. Furthermore, despite all the lovey-dovey talk the main issue on which the two countries are warring, viz., the dispute over Kashmir has not come any closer to being resolved. While it is well-known that the Pakistani elite and the army caste depend on the permanent status of India as the ‘enemy country’ to perpetuate their domination in all spheres of life, it is less well-known that India’s intransigence in all matters of international disputes that poses a stumbling block in resolution of India’s problems with its neighbours. This latter is intimately related to India’s perpetual ambition and hope to be the regional superpower, at least to the south of the Himalayan region, and through all the waters that extend below its own territory. The pieces of evidence for this are apparent everywhere, right from the response to the call for talks from Pakistan, its attitude towards the Nepal and Bangladesh, towards its goal of being the sole naval superpower. Despite all these pretensions, India does seem to have submitted at this time to the US pressure to come to terms with Pakistan, even though India has held Pakistan responsible for overt and covert support to what it terms terrorist activities in Kashmir and elsewhere in its territories. In other words, while the US has stated that Pakistan is its key ally in its ‘war against terror’, India in unable to force the US to adopt a consistent stand even in this matter. Nevertheless the times offer a rare opportunity for all the progressive forces in the region to rally behind the principled cause of fraternity and peace between the peoples of India and Pakistan. By working for this principled cause in an uncompromising manner and strengthening the friendship at all possible levels, they can work against the danger of war. The times are calling for this. Sincerely, |
Message from Chris Coleman, National Spokesperson of Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) It
is with the greatest joy that our delegation has been participating in your
Third Congress. We bring from our Central Committee and our entire Party
warmest congratulations and greetings to this most important event in the
life of your Party in its 25th anniversary year.
It
has been a great honour and very humbling to have sat here in such a
gathering of fighters from all corners of this great country, stretching
from veteran communists who have had rich experience in the movement,
to the youth, and so many of them, who have imbued the struggles of
the people with their vigour. We
have been moved by the passion and seriousness of the participants in
the discussions.
When
you look at the histories of our two parties, which have emerged from
the womb of our working classes, from the fire of the class struggle,
whose ideological, theoretical and organizational principles stem from
the work of Comrade Hardial Bains, in India and then abroad, you see
inextricable links between our two parties stretching back to the 1979
and 1980 period of our foundings and before.
I
myself, along with many Indian workers and others, participated in the
celebration of the founding of your Party held in Coventry. Comrade John Buckle, the late General Secretary of our Party,
visited India several times in the 1980Â’s and worked closely with you.
I had the honour of attending your First Congress in 1990 in Mumbai
and I remember it very vividly. I have worked closely with Comrade Lal
Singh over many years. I believe that the links and cooperation built
up between our three parties represented here should be upheld and strengthened,
and extended to other parties as well.
We
live in dangerous times. As Comrade Bains pointed out so perceptively
in 1994, and as was reflected in our documents and in your document
Whither India, in this period of retreat of revolution the forces of
retrogression are trying to destroy all the gains of humankind since
time immemorial and impose the kind of bestiality of the Nazis. The
recent events in Iraq confirm this. War is being used as the main instrument
of foreign policy by Anglo-American imperialism. International law and
the principle of sovereignty are cast aside. The rights of people are
under the fiercest attack. Meanwhile the policies of privatisation and
neoliberal globalisation see the selling off for private profit of the
assets created by the people. The
peoples of the world are threatened with devastating war and fascism.
In
the face of this brutal assault, people very often lose their bearings.
But still millions upon millions of people are standing up to affirm
themselves and carry further forward the achievements of humankind to
their full fruition. A huge worldwide movement is arising to fight for
an alternative and another world, against the impending catastrophe.
Such a situation cries out for consciousness and organization and a
vision of a new society. It is only the communists, with contemporary
Marxist-Leninist thought as their guide, who can provide this.
When
we speak of Britain, Blair and his government, like all other bourgeois
governments and parliamentary parties, have revealed themselves as instruments
of the bourgeoisie, and the crisis of such governments and parties is
the crisis of the capitalist system. At the beginning of this epoch,
the October Revolution ushered in a new world. The British bourgeoisie
and other bourgeois states pinned their hopes on fascism to destroy
this new world and all its possibilities. But they did not succeed.
They were drawn into an inter-imperialist war and eventually into the
anti-fascist alliance that defeated German Nazism, Italian fascism and
Japanese militarism. The times cried out for the furtherance of peace,
democracy and the well being of the people. Instead the anti-fascist
alliance was transformed into a crusade against communism. In Britain, as in other countries, a social welfare state was
established, in part to divert the working people from socialism. This did not work. By
the 1970’s severe economic crisis had set in. Again instead of moving forward, the bourgeoisie moved backward. They imposed the economic policies of Thatcher
and Reagan, but these too did not work. The bourgeoisie again went backwards and brought in Tony Blair to
take Thatcherism further, when the Tories were no longer able, under
slogans such as “social justice” and in the name of Labour.
While
some might have had illusions in 1997 when Blair came to power, over
time Tony BlairÂ’s administrations have been revealed as outright warmongers,
as international criminals pushing 19th century colonialism and chauvinism,
putting into place the structures of a corporate fascist state. Since 9/11 a state of emergency has been imposed in Britain,
characterised by rule by exception. Blair himself, called to account when the facts condemned him
over the Iraq war, claimed that all that counted was his “conviction”:
he had only to answer to his maker! In other words, the will of the
leader was paramount. Pure Hitlerism!
A
huge movement for an alternative has developed in Britain of unprecedented
diversity. Two million people marched in London against
the war on February 15. Among several interesting initiatives, a PeopleÂ’s
Parliament was set up by the anti-war movement with several thousand
delegates representing their peer groups. But this initiative, as others,
was organized in the old way, with decisions made behind closed doors
beforehand and a block on mass participation in decision-making. It
fizzled out. What is called for in our opinion is coherence and new
ways of organization. Our Party has called for a widespread discussion
amongst the people on what is the way forward, focusing on the real
problems facing the people, taking political stands irrespective of
ideological differences and finding organisational forms for the work,
building the Workers Opposition so that the working class can take the
lead in enabling the people themselves to set the agenda and control
their own lives. As in 1945, people are today faced with the same issues—democracy,
peace and the well being of the people.
Elections
are pending and our Party is working out ways to intervene, how to manouevre,
and provide leadership. Our comrades are active in various fronts of
work for democratic renewal, in the anti-war movement, among workers,
women, youth and national minorities. We work for the political unity of the people and for the unity
of the communists.
One
of the effects of British colonialism has been the vast movement of
population from India, some to the cold and distant shores of Britain.
The result has been that workers of Indian origin have become an integral
and cherished part of the working class in Britain. No doubt because
of the revolutionary traditions of this country, they have played a
role in the political life of the country far in excess of their numbers.
Indian comrades have played an important role in the work of our Party,
and in such organisations as the Indian Workers Association (Great Britain),
which has always upheld that Indian workers are part of the British
working class, has fought racism and discrimination, and provided information
and support to the struggles at home. At the same time our Party has always stressed that it is the
duty of the entire working class to fight racism and discrimination,
to smash the chauvinism that the bourgeoisie and the labour aristocracy
try to impose on them. We also
stress the duty to support the struggles of the peoples of all lands.
The workers and people of Indian origin are greatly cherished and provide
a bridge between our two peoples. However, the key link is the link
between our parties as the vanguards of our working classes. We stand
shoulder to shoulder with you, as with others, principally by waging
revolution in our own country and supporting those who are doing the
same in their countries.
On
this occasion we wish the Communist Ghadar Party of India every success
in implementing the decisions of your Third Congress and developing
its plan, in the work of developing Indian theory, in providing consciousness
and organisation to the people in renovating Indian society, in smashing
the brutal capitalism, which is the colonial legacy.
Long live the unity between our two Parties!
Long live Proletarian Internationalism!
Workers of the all countries unite! |
Victory
to the valiant Iraqi people! Make the imperialists pay for their war crimes!  The
Anglo-American invasion of Iraq two years ago was not only a blatant violation
of that country’s sovereignty, it was a blatant
denial of the will of the peoples of even the US and the UK. It was a violation
of all canons of relations between countries that peoples of the world had
drawn up in the wake of the victory over Fascism in the middle of the last
decade. The struggle of the Iraqi people and the peoples of the world against
this travesty of all what the peoples have cherished is raging as strongly
as ever. It must be taken to its logical conclusion, to its resolution in
a manner that is in the interests of the world’s peoples. Not only must
the sovereignty of the Iraqi people be restored, the destruction which the
rapacious US-led coalition has caused must be undone and the criminals must
be made to pay for their dastardly crimes.
The
invasion of Iraq was carried out after a decade-long campaign against
the erstwhile regime of that country. The country was first weakened by
means of an economic blockade, and then subjected to a propaganda attack
in order to make the people’s of the world accept the naked violation
of its sovereignty. Canards were spread about the alleged threat to world
peace constituted by the erstwhile regime in order to disarm the force
of public opinion. Before the military campaign, claims were made about
the intentions of the Anglo-American imperialists to “liberate” the peoples
of Iraq and gift them with democracy. In a few short months, however,
all these claims and canards were fully exposed. Not only did the erstwhile
regime not possess any weapons capable of making the regime a “threat
to world peace”, the Anglo-American imperialists themselves stood exposed
as the greatest threats to world peace that mankind has seen. Moreover,
the fact that the imperialists knew full well that these were canards
were spread to sway public opinion, was also laid open. It became crystal
clear to all that the aggression was to gain control over the oil and
resources of Iraq, for the strategic and short-term gains of these imperialists
and those who collaborated with them. After shattering the economy of
Iraq through the blockade and destruction of its cities and peoples in
the course of the war, they wish to make super profits all over again
through the ‘reconstruction’ of Iraq.
The
manner in which the Anglo–American imperialists violated the established
norms of relations between countries has also brought them shame and isolation.
They were unable to convince either the UN Security Council or the UN
General Assembly of the need for the UN to militarily intervene in Iraq.
Hence they bypassed the UN and fabricated a new, fraudulent arrangement,
that of the “coalition of the willing” of aggressor nations, modelled
after the fascists’ infamous “Axis” to aggress on Iraq. The events of
the last two years have once again highlighted the need for the democratisation
of the United Nations in order to ensure that it fulfils its mandate of
being a force that can actually maintain peace and defend the sovereignty
of peoples and nations.
The
US imperialists claimed that the coalition they had cobbled together would
be welcomed with open arms as liberators by the long-suffering Iraqi people.
Far from being welcomed, the Iraqi people put up a most spirited defence
of their land before being run over. While the imminent necessity of “regime
change” was proclaimed before the invasion, two years later, the Anglo–American
imperialists have had to admit that they are still quite far from their
goal of installing a regime of their choice in Iraq. On the other hand,
the demand that the imperialists must quit Iraq forthwith has been getting
more and more support from all over. The principle that it is the Iraqi
people alone who must decide their future is also more widely accepted
than ever. It is clear to all the world’s peoples that the occupation
forces must first quit so that the Iraqi people will in fact be free to
decide what arrangement they wish to have for their future.
The “coalition of the willing” was in fact a manifestation of the most anti-democratic
principle. Vociferous protests of the people in all countries constituting
this coalition showed that the peoples of these countries in fact did
not want to be drawn into the aggression. "Not in our name!"
became the slogan echoed in street after street throughout the world,
including in the US and Britain, the leaders of the aggressor countries.
Moreover, many governments who were part of this arrangement such as those
of Japan are on record, admitting that their participation in this 'coalition'
was opposed by as much as 80 % of their population! This then was the
tattered device used by the Anglo-American imperialists to “bring democracy
to Iraq”. Far from being taken in by the lies spread by these imperialists,
the peoples of the world have kept up their support of the brave Iraqi
people, bringing the very existence of this coalition into question. Due
to the force of this opposition, the imperialists were unable to recruit
governments such as those of India to the coalition. Moreover, government
after government has had to pull its troops out of Iraq. Some, like the
erstwhile government of Spain, have in fact been voted out of office for
being part of this war mongering coalition.
The
Iraqi patriots have fought and continue to fight the US-led imperialist
invasion with all means at their disposal. Far from being overwhelmed
by the most well equipped military, they have made and continue to make
life hell for the imperialists and all those who collaborate with them.
Neither torture, nor the most blatant communalisation of the polity have
damped their spirit. The patriots of Iraq have set a shining example to
anti-imperialist fighters all over the world. The
manner in which the US–led imperialists have fought the war in Iraq has
shamed them in front of the entire civilised world. From the torture chambers
of Abu Ghraib to the killing of unarmed civilians and the wiping off of
entire cities such as Fallujah, the US imperialists have been exposed
again, as they were during the Vietnam War, as one of the most bestial
forces known to mankind. Can such crimes against the Iraqi people and
humanity be allowed to go unpunished? Is not exemplary punishment of those
who plan and execute such heinous crimes against civilisation necessary
to prevent their recurrence? Just as the Nazis were punished after the
victory of the anti fascist forces, and made to pay war reparations, the
Anglo–American imperialists too must be made to pay! The war which they
have forced upon Iraq, in furtherance of their own naked self-interest,
is one of the most heinous crimes against humanity to this day. War tribunals
must be set up and the crimes of these warlords must be fully exposed,
they must be punished and made to pay for their crimes. Bush and Blair
must be brought before such tribunals and punished. The US and Britain
and other aggressor countries must make war reparations to Iraq not only
for the wanton damage caused by years of economic blockade and bombings,
but also for all the loss of lives and all the crimes of torture and worse
that they have perpetrated.
On
the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, People’s Voice salutes
the brave patriots of Iraq and reiterates its support, along with that
of the entire toiling masses of India, to their just struggle. It calls
upon the people of India and the world to redouble their efforts against
the Anglo-American imperialists and ensure that they get no quarter from
anywhere. The struggle must be taken to its logical conclusion—of making
the imperialists quit Iraq and being made to pay for their crimes!
Anglo-American
imperialists, out of Iraq! Victory
to the Iraqi people! Full
freedom and sovereignty to the Iraqi people! Punish the war criminals and make them pay for their crimes! |
International WomenÂ’s Day celebrated with gusto in Mumbai A
number of functions were held in Mumbai and its suburbs on Sunday, 13th March 2005, on the occasion of International WomenÂ’s
Day. In central Mumbai, the function was organised by the local committee
of the Communist Ghadar Party of India along with a large number of activists
and workers of the Ladaku Garment Mazdoor Sangh. About sixty women participated
in the meeting and some of them addressed the meeting. Their call was to
all women and men to unite to fight for the solution of problems relating
to their chawls and for their rights as members of society.Â
The meeting clearly acknowledged that women have to take part in
the struggle for a better society as a necessary step for their emancipation.
Comrades of the Ghadar Party explained the significance of International
WomenÂ’s day, and called on all to work for the establishment of organizations
fighting for the rights of the toilers.
More
then hundred women from Worli B.D.D. chawls gathered together to attend
a meeting organized by the Purogami Mahila Sangathana and Worli Rahiwasi
Samiti. A representative of PMS outlined the history and the contemporary
significance of International Women’s Day. An activist of Worli Rahiwasi
Samiti (WRS) explained how the Worli Rahiwasi Samiti was formed on the
eve of the last Lok Sabha elections in March 2004. He called on the
women to take the initiative to strengthen the WRS as the fighting organization
of the Worli B.D.D residents. The meeting denounced with one voice the
secret plans being drawn up to demolish the Worli B.D.D. chawls and
put up posh housing complexes for the rich, and vowed to unitedly fight
against this attack on their right to housing. To the great delight
of the assembled women, an activist of Purogami Mahila Sangathana, spoke
to them in Telugu; she hailed the aspirations of the people to unite,
as was evident from this meeting of Maharashtrian, Telugu and Gujarathi
members of the community, despite the machinations of political parties
for their electoral gains.
A
representative of the Communist Ghadar Party of India also addressed
the meeting. He reminded the women that nearly 90 years ago, in the
Soviet Union, for the first time in the history of mankind the working
people seized power and built their own state without the capitalists
and against the capitalists. The state of the working people took many
steps for the emancipation of the working people including the women..
He saluted the assembled women for their unity and hailed the initiative
of PMS and WRS in organising this meeting. He called on the residents
of Worli to build their fighting organisation, the WRS. While the meeting
ended at 9.30 p.m., many women stayed behind to discuss how the Worli
Rahiwasi Samiti should be strengthened.
In the far-flung suburb of Ulhasnagar on the same evening, the young men of the Lok Raj Sangathan took the initiative and organised a celebration in honour of their mothers, sisters and friends, to salute the women of the world who are fighting for a society free of exploitation and oppression. Along with revolutionary songs, there was a presentation and discussion on the status of women. |
Addressing the participants, various speakers criticised the recommendations of the Nayyar and Kelkar Committees. These committees have suggested forming a Corporation by dividing the forty weapon factories into three parts. These factories fall under the two hundred year old defence industry and which is directly under the control of the defence ministry. The speakers also demanded wages of the defence employees to be brought on par with the railway employees besides lifting the ban on recruitment. A charter of demands was submitted by a delegation of the Federation to the Defence Minister Pranab Mukherji after the protest march. |
Oppose the proposed fuel price hike The petroleum ministry is again planning to increase petrol and diesel prices. To begin with petrol and diesel prices are to be increased by Rs 2 per litre shortly. The
ministry has also said that in order to bring the domestic retail prices
closer to the international prices, another hike will be announced in
May. With inflation now already over 5%, the proposed increase in fuel
prices means further misery for the toiling people.
However,
while the burden of international oil prices are going to be once again
shifted onto the backs of the working people, oil monopolies in India,
both public and private, will be raking in huge profits. When the crude
oil prices go up in the international market, oil monopolies such as
ONGC and OIL also charge higher prices for their crude. For eg., in
the year 2004-05, crude oil prices per barrel sold by these monopolies
have increased by $10. In April-December 2004, ONGC has recorded a net
profit of Rs 9100 crores. In the year 2003-04, it had made a profit
of Rs 8600 crores. Similarly, IOCÂ’s profits grew by a huge Rs.4000 crores
in the last two year period, from Rs.2884 crores in 2001-02 to Rs.7004
crores in 2003-04.
Similarly
refining monopolies in India are making super profits. It is estimated
that Indian refineries earn a margin of $7 a barrel. It is reported
that Reliance refineries earns a margin of $10 per barrel.
All
this, and taxes levied, increases the end prices for the ordinary person
to unbearable levels. Though the government reduced excise duties on
imported oil marginally, the net duty on oil products is still around
30%. It is estimated that the tax revenue in the form of excise duties
and sales tax on fuel will be of the order of Rs.45,000 crores.
After
the removal of the Administered Price Mechanism for fuels by the BJP-led
NDA government earlier, prices of fuels have sky-rocketed, severely
affecting workers, peasants and the middle strata. The cost of transportation
of essential commodities has increased enormously.
The justification given by the Indian government, that there is no alternative to increasing fuel prices, should be rejected outright by the working people. Petrol, diesel and LPG are essential commodities and the people cannot be left to fend for themselves when prices go up in the international market. The price hike can be neutralised by the Indian government by restricting the profits of the oil and refining monopolies and reducing duties and taxes. The working people have to step up the struggle to compel the Indian government to withdraw any proposal for a hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. |
Three
main demands of the bank employees were : 1. Strengthening of public
sector banks; 2. Nationalisation of all private sector banks; and 3.
Confiscation of properties of all the big industrialists and capitalists
that have defaulted on crores of loan repayment and declare them as
criminals.
Spokespersons
of the Unions asked for immediate action by the government on the demands
of the bank employees. They explained that the government’s banking
policy was against the Indian people. It is the common manÂ’s money that
is collected by the banks throughout the country. This money should
be spent on the well-being of the common people and not on funding big
foreign and Indian capitalists to make huge profits. Giving away of
the banks to foreign capitalists would block the economic development
of the country besides affecting the fixed and floating capital.
Employees
and officers of all the nationalised banks, private banks and rural
banks participated in the strike. The bank employees protested in State
Bank of India’s Head Office in New DelhiÂ’s Parliament Street. Slogans
against the central government and its economic policies were raised.
In a mass meeting organised after the protest, the bank employees condemned
the backward and US influenced policies of the government.
In Mumbai, the bank employees took out a rally in support of their demands which culminated in a meeting in the historic Azad grounds. Displaying courageous unity the bank employees organized similar activities protesting the central governmentÂ’s anti-people banking policies in different cities such as Chandigarh, Bhopal, Indore, Shimla, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and others. |
Militant Demonstration of Peasants against Agricultural Policy On 17 March 2005,
about one lakh peasants from all over India converged on Kisan Ghat in New
Delhi. This demonstration was organised by the Coordination Committee of
PeasantsÂ’ Movements.
The first step in the action was the Kisan Panchayat (Assembly) at the Ghat, where leaders of the movement addressed the assembly. Peasant leaders unequivocally laid the blame for the ruination of the peasantry on the Central Government. “The Agricultural Policy of the Central Government has resulted in the suicides of hundreds of peasants”, they pointed out. Capitalist corporations are allowed to set the prices of agricultural inputs in their own favour under the aegis of the WTO conditionalities, so as to make maximum profits at the expense of the livelihood of the small producers.
The
peasant leaders demanded the peasantry’s right to guaranted procurement
of the agricultural produce by the government agencies and pointed out
that this is not a favour granted by the government. The Government
should fix the remunerative prices for all agricultural produce, and
the quantity, the timing and terms of procurement should be in the interests
of the peasantry and not in the interests of big capitalists and the
party in power.
Those
who addressed the Assembly included the President of the Coordination
Committee of PeasantsÂ’ Movements, Chaudhury Yudhvir Singh (BKU-Delhi),
Ajmer Singh Lokowal (BKU-Punjab), Rajpal Puniya (BKU-Rajasthan), Rai
Singh (BKU-Uttaranchal), Balaram Singh Lambardar (BKU-UP), S.Swamy (Karnataka
Rajya Ryot Sangh), Dr. Sunilam (MP Kisan Sangarsh Samiti), Rajinder
Patel (BKU-MP), Sukhdev Singh Gill (HP), Chaudhury Sukh Ram Singh (Rajasthan
Kisan Union), Paras Nath Singh (BKU-Chattisgarh), Vijay Javadia (Shetkari
Sangatana - Maharashtra), and several others.
At
the conclusion of the Assembly, the caravan of peasants, in their respective
regional attire, began their march on parliament, many hundreds of them
carrying lathis. This large and representative turnout reflected the
agitation of the peasantry over their conditions. An attempt by the
police to stall the rally at Ring Road was unsuccessful, given the militancy
of the peasants, which reduced the police to helpless by-standers. The
caravan reached the parliament where a rally was held; this concluded
much after sunset, when a delegation of the peasants presented a memorandum
of demands to the Speaker of the parliament.
Interviews Ajmer Singh Lokowal - President, Bharatiya Kisan Union -Punjab Q: What are your demands of the government?
A: Our first demand is that the minimum support price
should be fixed according to the consumer price index with 1967 as the
base year. With the Central government withdrawing from procurement,
the state governments are expected to procure the produce, but they
also shy away from this responsibility pleading lack of funds; consequently
the peasants are suffering. We are saying that the Central government
should pass on a fixed share of its revenue to the state governments
to enable them to procure the produce. If the Central governement is
unable to do this, it must, at least, fix the remunerative minimum procurement
price, and ensure that peasants are not forced to sell below that price.
Secondly, all debts of the peasantry should be cacelled. The government
gives huge loans to big capitalists at very low interest rates and then
writes off these debts. On the other hand it charges high interest on
whatever meagre loans are given to peasants.
Q: What is your view of the WTO conditionalities?
A: WTO regime only favours the Indian and foreign monopoly
corporations, and not the toilers and tillers.
Q: What do you think is the difference between the policies
of the UPA government and those of the NDA in the context of the interests
of the peasantry?
A: They are alike, you can see the proof (he points to
the huge gathering).
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Suresh Chandra Sharma - Local
Leader BKU (Barabanki, UP)
Q: Where have you come from? Why have you come here? A: I am from Barabanki, UP. We have come to put forward our demands. Q: What are your main demands? A: Our main demand is for the withdrawal of the Patent law and that we should be provided seeds, water, electricity and fertilisers and other inputs to the peasants at reasonable rates. We also want a ban on the genetically modified (GM) seeds. Q: What is your expectation from the government after this? A: The
truth is this government is not a government of the oppressed people,
and that is why we have been fighting against the government demanding
a solution to the problems of the peasantry. Let us see what happens.
Ram Briksh - a member, BKU
(Gorakhpur, UP)
Q: What is the condition of the peasantry in your area? A: The conditions of the peasantry in our area are no different from those of the peasantry in the rest of the country. Earlier, Gorakhpur boasted of fertiliser factories as well as other industry, which have since been shut down by the government, employment has disappeared. It is unaffordable to carry on agriculture; our problems have multiplied. It is not possible to run the house by tilling the land. Q: You are a peasant, have you ever seen a government that tried to solve the peasantry’s problems? A: No sir, till today I have not seen such a government. This is what we hoped for, but I have grown old living on this hope. Q: Can you say very briefly what the government should do to sol ve the problems of the peasantry? A: If
the government was to provide us with seeds, water, electricity and
fertilisers and other inputs at affordable rates and procures our produce,
our problems will be solved.
Main Demands
|
On the occasion of Shaheedi Divas: Youth of India, make social revolution the mission your lives!
Shaheed Bhagat Singh
and his comrades scathingly rejected the path of toadyism and collaboration
with the colonial rulers that was pursued by the Congress Party and
other such parties of the collaborating classes. They rejected the communal
division of the polity deliberately engineered by the colonialist rulers
and supported by the parties of the Indian bourgeoisie. As proud sons
of the motherland, they wanted to get rid of colonialism and the colonial
slave mentality that the colonisers were imbuing in the Indian people.
They were for an end to the capitalist system that had been transplanted
in Indian soil by the colonialists and were inspired by the triumphant
socialist revolution in the Soviet Union and the ideas of Karl Marx
and VI Lenin. The revolutionary activity of Bhagat Singh and his comrades
and all the other martyrs in the struggle for freedom has always remained
an example and source of inspiration for each generation of youth, including
the youth of today.
It is 74 years since
the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and his comrades and 58 years since India
gained formal independence from colonial rule. However, capitalism and
remnants of feudalism are festering at the base of Indian society and
the superstructure remains of colonialism and imperialism. The Indian
State that came into being in 1950 was and remains a continuation of
the oppressive British colonial state. It perpetuates the colonial legacy,
ensures the flourishing of capitalism, preserves the remnants of feudalism,
and is the instrument for the continuing imperialist domination and
plunder of the land and labour of the Indian peoples by Indian and foreign
capital. It savagely attacks the struggles of the peoples of India and
her youth through state terrorism including communal massacres while
it kow tows to the imperialists and refuses to defend Indians abroad.
Life is increasingly
intolerable for the masses of Indian people, especially our youth. The
aspirations of our youth are being blocked on all sides by the economic,
social and political system. There is only one way out of this situation.
It is to organise for social revolution, for the overthrow of capitalism
and the colonial legacy and for the building of socialism.
The present ruling class
are the progeny of the collaborators and toadies who during the colonial
period refused to fight the colonial rule, refused to stand for the
dignity of India, even as the revolutionaries and true patriots like
Bhagat Singh were kissing the gallows and singing songs of freedom from
slavery. As long as India remains in their control, as long as a clean
break with the colonial legacy is not made, as long as the Indian people
continue to tolerate the present Indian state and the rule of the Indian
ruling class, Indians will continue to be exploited and oppressed and
humiliated in India as well as world over. The youth of India must follow
the example of Bhagat Singh and his comrades, not the example of the
toadies of past and present.
What kind of vision must
the youth have? What kind of organisation must the youth build and strengthen?
The youth of India must have the vision of building a prosperous, free
India where there will be no exploitation of persons by persons; an
India which is a voluntary union of consenting nations and peoples.
An India which would be a proud member of the comity of nations, which
would be neither imperialist to the peoples of India nor to peoples
of other countries. An India which would stand up dignified and tall
in defence of the rights of all the exploited and oppressed peoples
of the world in the face of all the imperialist powers, and fight for
equality of all countries, big or small, all nations, big or small.
An India which is rid of the colonial legacy once and for all. An India
where instead of the rule of the bourgeoisie, there will be the rule
off the workers and peasants and a voluntary Indian union. An India
which will march surely and unhesitatingly forward on the highroad for
the construction of socialism and communism on Indian soil.
On the occasion of Shaheedi Divas, let the revolutionary and communist youth of India pledge to build their fighting organisation with such an inspiring vision and carry forward the struggle of Bhagat Singh and his comrades and all the martyrs for freedom and social and national liberation and communism through to victory. |
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A great deal
of confusion has been created by the bourgeois media about the Union Budget
presented by Finance Minister Chidambaram on 28
