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Internet Edition: June 16-30, 2006
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Online Archives
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Important decisions of the Seventh Plenum of the Central Committee The Seventh Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India was convened in the first half of May, 2006. The plenum summed up the work of the party in the last three months, discussed and analysed what the present situation in the world and in India reveals. The plenum took important decisions about the main focus and thrust of the party’s work in the coming months. The plenum positively assessed the encouraging successes achieved in implementing the decisions of the Sixth Plenum held in February, including the well planned interventions in the struggle against imperialist aggression and war, against privatisation and liberalisation, against demolitions and displacement, in defence of the right to work and right to enjoy a secure and humane livelihood, the right to housing and shelter, etc. It noted that the key to success is that our party comrades have been in the thick of the struggles of the people against the anti-social offensive of the bourgeoisie, sticking to the line of the party and leading the way forward. They have boldly confronted the class conciliators sitting in leading positions in various forums of workers, peasants, women, youth and urban residents. The work to build the popular front as the instrument of political unity of the people is moving ahead. It is progressing rapidly wherever party leadership has been strengthened, and where communists have boldly championed the cause of democratic renewal, including overhaul of the political process. We have put forward the vision of a workers’ and peasants’ republic and a voluntary union in place of the existing fascistic capitalist republic and the colonial and imperial union. The best results have been achieved where the work has been carried out according to a unified plan, and through the party organisations. The plenum assessed the work in all the regions very positively, noting that the influence, contacts and potential recruits of the party are all expanding. The Seventh Plenum noted that the offensive of the imperialist bourgeoisie of the world including that of India is drawing wider and wider sections of the middle strata, in addition to the working class and toiling peasants, into forms of mass protest. It noted the intensification of class contradictions, between the exploiters and the exploited as well as within the camp of the exploiters. It also assessed that the subjective conditions are lagging behind and preventing the resistance movement from leading to a rise in the tide of world revolution. As in India, on the world scale too, the forward march of the working class and communist movement is blocked by both ‘right’ and ‘left’ tendencies of class conciliation. While the situation in our country is pregnant with the possibility of a popular front emerging on the political scene, led by the working class and its vanguard communist party, the class conciliators are acting as the roadblock to this possibility being turned into reality. In particular, the ‘Left Front’ led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is pushing the line that the immediate aim is only to keep BJP out of power, and to fight for some “immediate relief” within the capitalist system. The workers and peasants are being asked to place their faith in the Congress Party and its coordination committee, in which the leaders of CPI(M) and other class conciliators are allowed to sit. Exposing and defeating this class conciliatory line within the communist movement has become an urgent task to be taken up for solution. In order to defeat the line of CPI(M), we must wage the ideological struggle right in the midst of the workers and other oppressed masses. We must carry out educational work on what is communism and what are different caricatures of communism. The plenum decided that the party organisations in all regions must work out creative means of carrying the discussion on communism into the ranks of the working class, peasants, women and youth. It decided that the Regional Committees must ensure that regular discussion meetings are held on this subject. The Seventh Plenum noted that the unfolding situation in Asia and globally points to the urgent necessity for close cooperation among the communists of different countries, to defeat the offensive of the international imperialist bourgeoisie. The important decisions of the Seventh Plenum can be summed up as follows:
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Caste-based reservation policy and the communist approach The ruling bourgeoisie and its parties want to divide Indian political opinion along the lines of being for or against the extension of caste-based reservation. Communists and all enlightened and politically active persons are faced with the pressure to take a stand for or against the move of the UPA Government to further extend reservation for OBCs in central government institutions of higher and professional education. Communists must not fall for these pressure tactics of the bourgeoisie. We must analyse the problem soberly and discuss with all sections of the working people, including those with different opinions on this question. The fact is that a majority of the people of this country face varying degrees of discrimination, exploitation and oppression. A worker gets exploited on the basis of class, irrespective of caste. A worker or toiling peasant who belongs to a low caste gets doubly exploited and oppressed, on account of class and caste. A female dalit worker gets triply exploited and oppressed, as a worker, as a dalit and as a woman. Those belonging to the intermediate castes find a huge gap between them and the higher castes when it comes to occupying management positions and in the most remunerative professions. In addition, numerous sections of society face additional oppression and discrimination on account of nationality, being tribal or belonging to a religious minority. The continuation and combination of caste oppression with class exploitation is the result of the preservation and exploitation of pre-capitalist relations for maximizing capitalist profits. It is a consequence of the fact that the anti-colonial struggle was not taken to its logical conclusion. The democratic tasks of that struggle were left incomplete, as the reactionary bourgeoisie assumed power in 1947 and blocked the road to social revolution. Reserving caste-based quotas became the substitute to the elimination of the caste system. The development of capitalism has produced, at one pole, the big capitalist class that wants to perpetuate and exploit oppressive relations from the past, and at the other pole, the working class that wants to get rid of all forms of oppression and exploitation, including class and caste. The growth of the working class has brought people of different caste backgrounds together, to work under one roof and wage united struggle against their employers. The working class has been learning to combat caste differences and rise above them, as an objective necessity stemming from the daily struggle against capital. Revolutionary thinkers and fighters for justice have contributed to the development of the vision and aspiration of an India without caste differences; and have called on the people to unite across caste barriers. These include the bhaktas and the sufis, numerous patriots of the anti-colonial struggle and the communists who continue to work for political unity against injustice, exploitation and oppression. The task of communists has been and remains to fight uncompromisingly against all forms of caste oppression, discrimination and prejudices, as part of the revolutionary struggle for the overthrow of capitalism, which is the necessary condition for ending the caste system. The working class cannot emancipate itself without emancipating Indian society from the yoke of the brahmanical caste system. Nor can society get rid of this curse without the working class playing its role as the leader and principal architect of the new society. The victims of the caste system are part of the working class and toiling peasantry. They are part of that majority which has been excluded from political power so far. They are part of the main force for the revolutionary transformation and progress of Indian society. Therefore, the approach of communists is the complete opposite of the approach of the bourgeois political parties. Communists approach the caste question from the standpoint of organising and motivating the exploited and oppressed masses of people to overcome the fetters imposed on them, to fight to become the rulers of this country. The CPI(M) and some other parties in the communist movement are supporting and defending the official bourgeois policy of extending caste-based reservations. This is not a communist approach. They claim to be defending the Constitution of the existing Republic from the brahmanical and reactionary forces. Instead of exposing and opposing the ruling bourgeoisie and its official policy on the caste question, they are acting as the greatest defenders of this policy. This does not bring credit to communism. It does not serve the cause of the working class in its struggle against capital. The working class does not gain if communists succumb to the bourgeois pressure to take a stand for or against reservation. As is well known, caste-based reservation in India is a policy initiated by the British imperialists when they were ruling this country. The British colonial rulers initiated this policy not in order to emancipate the socially downtrodden, but to achieve several objectives that were helpful to the cause of maintaining their own rule. Firstly, it helped to confine the aspirations of vocal members of these castes to individual advancement within the existing structures. Secondly, it helped to perpetuate caste identity and caste consciousness among the toilers and tillers, thereby curbing the development of class consciousness and curbing the full development of the human potential. Those who call themselves communists but have joined the ‘pro-reservation’ camp are in effect denying that revolution is necessary and possible. In words, they may say that there is indeed a need for social revolution in order to cleanse society of all forms of oppression, exploitation and discrimination. But in deeds, through the political positions they take, the leaders of CPI(M) and other supporters of this line are acting as champions of the status quo and roadblocks to open the path to revolution. They argue that the policy of caste-based reservation must be defended, allegedly because “something is better than nothing”. In other words, the followers of this line have succumbed to the bourgeois assertion that there is no alternative to capitalism and the status quo, that revolution is a distant future prospect that has no relevance for practical politics today. Underlying the anger and sentiments expressed on different sides of the reservation debate is the genuine, legitimate and widespread concerns among the youth about their increasingly uncertain future. The reservation debate diverts public attention from the crux of the problem– which is the need to reorient the economy to fulfill the needs of all, and in that process employ the productive potential of the entire population. The reservation debate implicitly assumes that it is not possible to provide for all, hence there must be competition among too many people for too few positions and jobs. On this basis, different parties point to different disadvantaged groups to be given quotas, and different ‘creamy layers’ to be excluded from the quotas in higher educational and professional institutions, and in government and private sector jobs. These arguments are fundamentally flawed due to the erroneous assumption that it is not possible to provide for all. The root cause of the increasing deprivation and frustration faced by the broad masses of working people in our country is the capitalist-imperialist orientation of the economy, where social production is geared towards guaranteeing the maximum rate of private profit for a minority of big capitalist monopolies and multinational corporations. Growing unemployment is an inevitable result of this lopsided orientation of the economy. Without reorienting the economy to fulfill the needs of the working people on an ongoing and ever extending basis, any attempt to reserve quotas for any section of the population can only intensify competition and rivalry among the people. It is just like treating a symptom of a disease without addressing its root cause. There are measures that can and should be taken to address the needs of historically disadvantaged sections of the people. It is essential, for instance, that adequate public funds are set aside for this purpose. At the same time, both the quantity and quality of public spending on elementary education have to be radically changed to ensure quality education to all children irrespective of caste, class, gender or any other criterion. At the level of higher education, there is need for a publicly funded system of remedial or bridge courses to enable members of disadvantaged castes to perform on par with others when they enter the regular curriculum. At the same time, there is also a need for special assistance to deserving students from working class and peasant background. However, all these measures can and will be effective only if they accompany and are part of an overall program to reorient the economy to ensure prosperity and protection for all. Instead of educating and inspiring the masses of people to demand and fight for such measures that could make a palpable difference in their lives, the ‘pro-reservation’ line in the communist movement confines its attention to only that which is possible within the capitalist-imperialist system. By implication, what the oppressed castes are being told is that “reservation of quotas within the unjust capitalist system is your right, but do not fight for anything beyond that”. In the context of the current protests against reservation, it is common in the movement to hear that the students and others who are against the extension of the quotas are an “elite” fighting to defend its “privileges”. This is a bourgeois world view that presents society as being divided between a liberal and social-democratic ‘majority’ and a minority that is labeled as elitist or ‘fundamentalist’ or ‘extremist’. In reality, as communists ought to know, society is divided between the minority bourgeois class that enjoys enormous wealth and power, and the majority of working people who are excluded from power and face an uncertain economic future. The bourgeois class is using caste-based reservation as a political tactic, to deepen caste-based divisions and prevent political polarization on a class basis. Those among communist parties that are supporting this ‘pro-reservation’ tactic of the ruling class are not contributing to the development of political unity against the bourgeois class. On the contrary, they are contributing to the destruction of political unity by fostering narrow caste-based rivalry and competition among the people. It is not difficult for communists to criticise various brahmanical prejudices displayed by those who are agitating against the extension of caste-based reservation in the premier central institutions. What is more difficult – but absolutely necessary to advance the movement for social transformation – is to build common cause with youth and thinking people cutting across all castes, to fight for the reorientation of the economy to provide for all. The path to social justice – including complete emancipation from the caste system and all forms of medievalism – does not lie in defending the state-sponsored reservation system. It lies in building the popular front led by the working class, which can politically unite all the discontented sections of society against the status quo – to open the path to social revolution and the complete emancipation of human beings from all forms of exploitation and oppression. |
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Condemn the fascist state terror unleashed by Chattisgarh government on the tribal people It is one year since the Chattisgarh government launched the notorious operation called "Salva Judum" in the predominantly tribal districts of Dantewada, Bastar and North Bastar in the southern part of the state. Salva Judum means "peace campaign" and is a complete misnomer. This campaign is a state organised terror campaign to crush and displace the tribal people of the region from their homes and forests, so that the immensely rich natural resources of the region, including iron and coal, bauxite, as well as precious gem stones including diamonds, can be exploited. It is not coincidental that Tata Steel Limited signed an MOU with the state government in April 2005 for establishing a integrated steel plant with an installed capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum at a cost of Rs.10,000 crore while Essar Steel signed an MOU for another integrated steel plant with installed capacity of over 3 million tonnes per annum at a cost of Rs.7,000 crores in May 2005 and both these are located in the Bastar districts. The tribal people living in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh have been suffering terrible exploitation at the hands of the police, administration and forest officials and timber merchants, as well as unscrupulous traders for decades. The tribal women have suffered rape and humiliation at the hands of such officials and traders for decades. They have been forced to live in miserable conditions, with no education or health care, no electricity and hardly any agricultural development. The tribal people of the region have a rich history of waging struggle against exploitation and oppression from the times of colonial rule. And they have continued to wage this struggle to the present times. Now, with the Indian and foreign multinationals eyeing the rich natural resources of the region for superprofits, they are facing an extremely savage onslaught on their livelihood and rights, on their very existance. What is being faced by the people in other mineral rich areas of India, like Jharkhand, Orissa as well as the Northern tribal districts of Chattisgarh, as epitomized by the struggles in Kashipur and Kalinganagar in Orissa, is taking place here as well. As a part of the ongoing state terror, in an attempt to devastate the tribal people of Bastar through fratricidal civil war, the state is forcing the tribal people of Bastar into refugee camps where they are recruited forcibly into the para military Salwa Judum. This operation was heralded originally as a "peoples initiative" with Congress MLA and leader of the opposition in the State Assembly Mahendra Karma at the head. However, it was clear from day one, and now is as clear as daylight, that this was an operation with the full blessing of the entire state machinery at the Center and in the State, with Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh of the BJP publicly espousing the campaign. Full state backing has been given for this campaign. First, the Naga Battalions and police forces attack and burn down villages, unleash rape and bestial murders, and herd the people into camps. Then the people in camps are forced to carry out similar acts against other villages in the area. In this whole campaign, already 45,000 tribal people are living in Salwa Judum Camps. Seventy villages have been burnt down. Dozens of women have been gang rape and over a hundred people murdered. The method is what US Security forces perfected in Vietnam and Kampuchea during the years of the Vietnam War. The Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has arrogantly declared that the Salwa Judum Operation will not be withdrawn. This comes in the wake of demands by communists and human rights activists in Chattisgarh as well as rest of India for an immediate end to this terrorist campaign. It is clear that both the BJP and the Congress in the state as well as the centre are fully united in this campaign, both keen to serve the interests of the Indian and foreign multinationals of looting and plundering the wealth of the region. Salwa Judum is being justified as directed against "naxalites". In fact it is directed against the mass of tribals, their livelihood and rights. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar unreservedly condemns this fascist reign of terror unleashed by the state on the tribal people of Bastar. All those opposed to state terrorism must resolutely unite and fight for an end to this fascist campaign. |
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Work towards the Alternative to this Bourgeois Dictatorship Report of the speech delivered on behalf of the spokesperson of the CGPI About 200 delegates from various workers' organisations, working class and communist parties participated at the All India Convention on "Working People's Movement - Challenges and Prospects", in Lucknow on 23-25 May 2006. A delegation of the Communist Ghadar Party of India participated in this convention and addressed the theme of the conference. The essence of the speech delivered by the CGPI spokesperson on the occasion is presented here. The CGPI presentation analyzed the situation facing the toilers and tillers of India, and the challenge before us to present the alternative and organise the toilers and tillers around the same for political power. It called on all communists to lead the working class to this end, unequivocally rejecting the falsehood that this bourgeois capitalist system can take care of the interests of the toilers and tillers. The CGPI is working towards this end and it called upon all communists to work towards the same goal, unswervingly. The CGPI delegate emphasized: "Today, the Indian bourgeoisie is pushing full steam ahead on the course of privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation to achieve its aim of becoming a world class imperialist power. Every kind of concession and privilege is being extending to private Indian and foreign capital to facilitate the intensified exploitation labour and ensure their maximum profits. The resources of the country - the mineral resources, forests and urban and rural land - are being handed over to Indian and foreign multinationals at throw away rates while the people are being forcibly evicted from their lands and deprived of their source of livelihood. Privatisation of electricity, water, health and education services is going on despite the opposition of the people to this course. "The bourgeoisie is impatient to implement its amendments to labour laws and the ID Act to ensure easy movement of capital. States are competing with each other to set up Special Economic Zones and Special Economic Regions, where land be handed over to capitalist developers at a pittance, and Indian and foreign capital will establish their enterprises with all kinds of special concessions including removal of all restrictions on exploitation of labour. Whatever labour rights that exist in the statute books will not be applicable in these zones and regions. SEZ's will act as the path breaker for the bourgeoisie to push through anti working class labour legislation, including hire and fire, contract labour, night shift for women, making unionisation illegal and so on. "In the face of this onslaught, the working people everywhere are coming out on the streets and demanding that their voices of protest be heard. We are demanding our right over resources, to livelihood and housing. We must fight with a vision that can rally the entire class and the peasantry and all the exploited and oppressed under one banner. We must put forth the economic and political program of democratic renewal at every opportunity amongst the people. We must firmly uphold that the land, the mineral resources, the forests and rivers, the lakes and seas, the factories and mines belong to the people, and cannot be private property. We must raise the political question: who do these resources belong to, to the people in their collectives, or to the bourgeoisie? We must demand that a universal, efficient public distribution system (PDS) must be put into place which provides adequate quantity of food grains and all other essentials to all the people of good quality. We must demand universal quality primary and secondary education for all as well as good public health care system. "In sum, we must raise the banner of reorienting the economy to provide for all right in the midst of the broad masses of people. Once the working people are convinced that it is possible and fight for its realisation, then no force on earth can stop the working people from marching forward to ensure its realisation. The task of the communists and organisers of the working class is to carry out maximum propaganda and organising work around these issues. The issue must squarely be posed — if this government, this state refuses to provide for all, then it is the duty of the working class and peasantry to society to overthrow this rule and establish a government, a state that will actually implement this, i.e. rule of the workers and peasants. "The alternative to capitalism and the death and devastation it wreaks is socialism and communism. The Communist Ghadar Party of India is consciously engaging the working class in discussion on what is real communism as opposed to the numerous caricatures of communism. The CGPI calls upon all communists to take up this task in all urgency to defeat the falsifiers of socialism and communism in the communist and workers movement. "The question of political power is the most important question confronting the working class movement. Within multi party parliamentary democracy, the working class and peasantry can never hope to win political power, as this system has been designed for bourgeois rule. We must unite to create the alternative to this discredited and anti-people bourgeois rule. Unite and fight for the unity of the toilers and tillers against the bourgeoisie! Inquilab Zindabad!" |
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No to US and Indian imperialist interference in Nepal! Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has just concluded a 4-day visit to India at the head of a high level delegation of the interim government of Nepal. During the visit of Koirala, an agreement was signed for an Indian grant of Rs 1000 crores to Nepal, for allegedly urgent infrastructural works including roads, tourism, and hydel projects. But more significant than the formal agreement was the broad contours of the discussion between Indian and Nepalese leaders. It is reported that while no formal defence deals have been signed, India has offered military assistance to the interim government of Nepal any time it requests, particularly if the talks of Koirala with the CPN(Maoist) leaders breaks down. It may be noted that the second round of negotiations between the Nepalese government and the CPN(Maoist) is scheduled to take place in a few days’ time.
During the talks, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Anand Sharma, said New Delhi backs the direct peace negotiations between the Koirala Government and the Maoists, but wants the Maoists to disarm. "We feel it is important that the Maoists also deliver on their commitment to multi-party democracy and also on the demobilization. However, as we have said, we are all for strengthening multi-party democracy in Nepal," he said. Prime Minister Koirala's visit to India comes in the backdrop of a serious concern expressed by many political forces in Nepal about Indian imperialist interference in the internal affairs of their country. Coalition partners of Koirala expressed their concern that the visit was decided upon without consulting them or discussing the agenda. So strong was the sentiment expressed on this issue that the Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal had to appear in Parliament to reassure the MPs that no agreement would be signed with India by Koirala that would jeopardize Nepalese sovereignty. Meanwhile, the leader of the CPN(Maoist) also warned Koirala that the peace negotiations between the Maoists and the seven party coalition could break down as some of Koirala's ministers were acting as agents of India and the US. He accused Koirala of violating the agreement between the seven parties and his party by not immediately dissolving the parliament. “The present government is headed for dissolution and doesn't have authority to take important decisions”, said another CPN (Maoist) leader. Reflecting the popular sentiments of the people of Nepal and in accordance with the 12 point agreement reached between all the political parties including the CPN(Maoist), the reconvened parliament in Nepal had given the call for an elected Constituent Assembly, to determine the fate of the monarchy and the future form of political power in the country. While the demand of the people of Nepal is for a popularly elected Constituent Assembly, India, the US and other imperialist powers are desperate that power does not go into the hands of the people. The Indian ruling class, which has always backed the most retrograde forces in Nepal to safeguard its imperialist interests in that country, has not changed its colors. It is pushing hard to retain and strengthen its positions in Nepal by stabilising and institutionalising Indian style multi-party democracy in that country. The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard A. Boucher, recently declared in a statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding Nepal that "Areas in which we feel we can make a positive difference include strengthening political parties, expanding rural projects, providing technical assistance and equipment to the Parliament and to a constitutional reform process, assisting reintegration of internally displaced persons, and supporting elections. We also stand ready to provide assistance to security forces if requested by the new government". The concern of the US, as to how to deal with the various political forces in Nepal that have come together demanding the right to determine their own political future, is apparent when Boucher states that "This new relationship between the parties and the Maoists has led to important progress toward peace, but their engagement is not without serious risks". Clearly, the US imperialists want to ensure that political power in Nepal remains in the hands of their tried and trusted agents, through the system and political process of multi-party representative democracy, with which they are most familiar and comfortable. In his statement, Boucher explained the importance of India's role in Nepal at this time. "We look forward to working with international partners to help support the people of Nepal in their quest for a brighter future. Among those partners, India has a key role to play. . .we place high priority on consulting closely with India on Nepal policy". The monarchy and autocracy in Nepal has always had the full backing of the Indian state, US imperialism and other imperialist powers. The people of Nepal have come out on to the streets and shed their blood, with immense courage and fearing no sacrifice, for an end to this hated system of exploitation and elite rule. In these conditions, India and the US are actively stepping up their interference in Nepal and coordinating their moves, with the aim of subverting the demand for people's power and defending and strengthening the imperialist stranglehold over Nepal. The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon all Indian communists, and the working class of our country, to oppose all moves of the Indian government and other imperialist governments including the United States, to interfere in the internal affairs of Nepal and subvert the will of the Nepalese people in the name of helping to establish democracy. No to imperialist interference in Nepal! Let the people of Nepal decide their own system of power and political process, free from all outside interference! |
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Gas pipelines and Indo-US strategic partnership The UPA government recently took the decision to join the US sponsored proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project. A note reportedly submitted by the foreign secretary to the minister of petroleum and natural gas recommended the TAP project says, "It would be in tune with the latest US strategic thinking for the region". This reveals how the UPA government is tying up India's energy security interests with the US strategy for this region. The alacrity with which the UPA government has supported the TAP gas pipeline project proposal as opposed to its dragging its feet on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project proposal comes as no surprise. It is in tune with the strategic partnership, including energy partnership, developing between US and India. The proposed TAP project is an attempt by the US to hit several birds with one stone. For one, as of now, Turkmenistan is committed to sell all its reserves of gas to Russia according to an agreement reached between the two countries in 2003. In another agreement signed with China earlier this year, Turkmenistan has agreed to sell 40 BCM of gas annually to China. The US strategy in Central Asia is to wean away the gas rich Central Asian Republics from Russia and China into a new axis involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Meanwhile, Russia and China are not keeping quite. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is meeting later this month in Shanghai. Apart from Russia, China and four other member states from Central Asia, three states, namely Iran, Pakistan and India have been invited as observers. The US strategy is also to ensure that the SCO does not become a viable strategic and energy grouping and also that India does not coordinate its energy policy with Russia and China. The contours of the Indo-US strategic alliance indicate that India has agreed not to pursue any geopolitical initiative in Central and West Asia, including in the field of energy cooperation, that is not coordinated with US interests and acceptable to the US. The acceptance of the TAP pipeline proposal by UPA government is further confirmation of this. The working class and people of India must step up united opposition to the growing Indo-US strategic alliance which is counter to the interests of the Indian people. |
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On May 1, 2006, the Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the nationalisation of the country's natural gas industry. "The time has come, the awaited day, a historic day in which Bolivia retakes absolute control of our natural resources--- the looting by the foreign companies has ended." The "heroes of El Chaco" decree, named after 50,000 Bolivians who died defending natural resources 80 years ago, calls for state control of gas extraction and distribution, not for outright confiscation. The nationalisation decree was celebrated in May Day rallies throughout the country. Morales also promised that soon mines, the forest resources and the land would also be nationalised. Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linares declared that landless peasants will be given access to large, underdeveloped land holdings. As we go to press, this process has already begun. Spain's Foreign Minister has expressed his deep concern at the nationalisation decree. Spain's Repsol group controls 25.7% of Bolivia's gas production and the Spanish Prime Minister has hinted that aid to Bolivia may be cut. In all, some 20 foreign companies are affected by the nationalisation decree including BP, British Gas, EXXON, and the French Company Total. Negotiations are on between the Bolivian government and these companies to work out new arrangements. Meanwhile, on July 2, Bolivians are going to elect representatives to a constitutional convention which will write a new constitution for Bolivia. |
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The Editor, Sir, I am writing to thank the CGPI for posting a note on the ``Important decisions of the Seventh Plenum of the Central Committee.'' on the website. For the rank and file of the party, such communications play a very important role. Indeed, in this note, the need to educate not just the rank and file but also the workers and oppressed masses has been emphasized. While it has been pointed out that the party has put forward the vision of a worker and peasant republic and a voluntary union, it must be emphasized that this vision has arisen through the work of the party in combating the vision of the bourgeoisie and its hangers on. The note also speaks of the blocks in the forward march of the working class and communist movements from both the `right' and the `left'. Indeed, one attempt to remove these blocks would be to first elaborate on how these blocks have been created and have been fostered and engendered. One example that has been provided is the role of the CPI(M) and its adherence to the line of seeking relief within the capitalist system. Other examples may also be found in the anti-materialist stands taken by various members of the revolutionary camp by arguing for this or that measure of poverty alleviation or arguing for palliatives for this or that form of caste oppression, engaging in pro- and anti-reservation debates, rather than to elaborate on the theory of liberation for the Indian people on a sound materialist basis. In this regard, I find no better words than those expressed in the party's statement entitled ``58 years of Indian independence'' from which I quote:``India is divided today between two opposing camps.On one side stand those who defend the existing system of capitalist-imperialist plunder and justify the negation of people's rights for the sake of making India a big imperialist power by 2020. At the head of this camp stands the big monopoly bourgeoisie.On the other side stand those who want freedom from imperialist plunder, freedom from hunger and want, from exploitation and oppression in any form. This includes all the exploited and oppressed, who make up the vast majority of the population. At the head of this camp stands the Indian working class.'' It is my belief that the unity of communists must be built around this remarkable expression of what the task of the Indian working class is.The Central Committee deserves congratulations on the work it has accomplished in its seventh plenum. Sincerely, |
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