The Communist Ghadar Party of India organized a school on the Ghadar of 1857 on 9 June in Delhi. Workers, peasants, intellectuals and youth from different parts of the country participated in this school. Recognising the importance of this school, correspondents of People's Voice interviewed participants on the following questions.

1. How did you feel while participating in the school on Ghadar of 1857?
2. Would you like to say something on the presentation made on Ghadar of 1857?
3. Which are the historic facts about the Ghadar of 1857 that the have been kept from the masses of Indians? Or have been presented in a distorted manner?
4. What is the relevance of the Ghadar of 1857 today?

We had published some of the Interviews in the previous issue of the paper and we are continuing with more in this issue

Hanuman Prasad, Teacher, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan

I feel that the school organized on 9 June 2007 by CGPI on the Ghadar of 1857 was very appropriate given the present conditions. It is very important to recall 1857 in today’s perspective. Party organizing this type of school, for workers and peasants, was particularly relevant and important given the newer and newer ways of imperialist plunder. This type of programme should be organised more frequently.

Capitalists and their parties believe that the Ghadar of 1857 was merely a feudal uprising and some others believe it to be the result of religious sentiments getting hurt due to the introduction of cartridges having animal fat. I feel that the entire period between 1757-1857 was full of many struggles and revolts - by peasants, tribal peoples and general masses against the plunder being unleashed by the British colonialists - starting from the battle of Plassey in 1757. The great Ghadar of 1857 subsumed all these small revolts against the colonialists.

The presentation brought out clearly that the Ghadar of 1857 actually represented the sentiments of all the Indian people – peasants, landlords, kings and others – who wanted to completely uproot the colonialists. Also this revolt was very carefully planned and organized. Bahadurshah Zafar did not declare himself as the emperor but the revolutionaries made him their leader. Bahadurshah said, “I don’t have funds to pay even salaries to the soldiers fighting against the British”. He called upon the Indian people to decide the kind of rule they wanted.

The present capitalist system in India wants to completely remove from people’s minds the real spirit of 1857. Many conspiracies are being hatched to achieve this. Vasco de Gama came to India in1498. After that the British colonialists established the East India Company to rob the Indian people of their natural resources and labour. Till today the same thing is happening. Today, in the year of globalization multinationals - in a very organized and meticulous way – are busy destroying the cultural, national and economic fabric of our country. The capitalist parties in our country are fully helping them. By providing lavish living conditions to these traitors the imperialist powers are plundering the Indian people and their natural resources. In 1857 sufis, saints and leaders from different religions joined the masses in their valiant struggle against the British to protect the Indian culture. Time will definitely come when we will be able to completely remove the remains of the colonial legacy and Eurocentric thought and annihilate the capitalists rulers. We will set up a new world of our own which will have not any place for exploitation.

Charu, Special Reporter, Daily Newspaper

The school - unlike centres of learning in the bourgeois world - was genuinely democratic in its functioning. All questions were entertained and answered sincerely, providing all with a deeper understanding of the subject - the history of struggle of Indian people over the past 190 years, and what we should learn from it. Students were actually encouraged to ask questions without worrying whether others would consider them “silly.”

What was particularly wonderful was the unique mix of people - young and old, from cities, towns and villages, speaking a variety of languages from different corners of the country - that attended the school. The school was truly national in character - with each “student” bringing to the forum her or his own experiences. It was exhilarating, and must be repeated.

The school was a great example of Communist learning - detailed, incisive and political, with scientific analysis replacing the prejudiced propaganda that is so prevalent in bourgeois schools.

The meticulous planning that went into the school is also commendable.

Only through the most detailed and thorough research could such a clear, unambiguous presentation have been prepared. The study of Indian history has traditionally been mired in prejudiced positions, taken with the specific aim of achieving certain pre-ordained conclusions. It is evident from this presentation that the researchers studied all material available to them, and scientifically analysed the validity of claims made - based on documents that the original authors used, of the time itself.

Several facts that I for one was unaware of - perhaps because they are never brought out in the mainstream education system - were brought out through the presentation.

The extent and depth of collusion between sections of the ruling classes of India, especially during the 1857 Ghadar and in the years that followed, was exposed in a crystal clear manner that has left an indelible imprint on one’s mind.

What also became clear through the presentation, is that the current ruling classes of India directly owe their allegiance to the British - for the simple reason that they were groomed and placed in power by the former colonial power.

For instance, as the presentation brought out, the British actually assisted the politically young Congress leadership gain experience in administration and the rule of Bourgeois law - meant to deprive people from their rights - in the decades preceding formal independence in 1947.

As was explained by the presenter, the Congress leadership were first given opportunities to administer local areas, then given the right to frame local laws, and then participate in national politics. Only after the British were confident that the Congress leadership could ‘handle’ the jewel in their Crown did the British hand over the reins of India.

Such an elaborate training program is something even the Congress would struggle to organise for its own cadres today!

The word ghadar to me literally means the struggle against oppression. In the context of the Ghadar of 1857, the proper noun Ghadar represents the hopes and aspirations of the millions of martyrs who fought against the tyranny of the British and their Indian stooges. Their dreams of an India where her people decide the future course for themselves and the country is still far from being realised. Bourgeois democracy - practiced as the Westminster style Parliamentary democracy - has only increased the distance between the people and political power. Parliamentarians in this system play a role similar in many ways to the ones powerful middlemen play in agriculture, or Brahmins, Mullahs and other preachers play in religion. People are made to believe that they cannot access power themselves - just as they cannot access the divine, or their just prices in the case of farmers. And when the political system plays the role of a middleman, it quite simply, has to go. As a comrade explained in the school, ghadar - in its conceptual form as the struggle against oppression - is never ending. Only the forms of oppression, and the nature of the struggle evolve. The fundamental nature of oppression - capitalist exploitation - has however not changed since the Ghadar of 1857. Which is why: "Ghadar Jari Hai!"

Rudal, Student, New Delhi

Because I am a student of science, I did not know much about the Ghadar of 1857. I have studied a little about it, but I was ignorant of what it was, when and who revolted. After this school, I realized that I was really clueless about the real historical legacy of my country.

I got to know many facts; normally one would not get to know these facts or would get to know only distortions of them. For instance, post-1857, who were those Indians who took up the struggle for the right of people to rule themselves?

Thousands of patriots were martyred; a patriot was hung from almost every tree on the grand trunk road. On the contrary, amongst those who betrayed the country were many Indians belonging to families such as the Scindia House, the Nizam of Hyderabad, Raja of Patiala, and other kings. Among them was Gangadhar, the grandfather of Nehru. Also among them was the founder of the Aligarh Muslim Anglo-Oriental College, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Alisha, the father of Aga Khan III who went on to become the President of the All-India Muslim League.

The colonizers went on to bestow their legacy with these very traitors in 1947. What use is the “independence” of 1947 when the Indian people are not free of starvation, disease, want and unemployment? In this context, Ghadar is the only path .

Santosh Kumar, Hind Naujavan Ekta Sabha

I liked it. We thought we’d have to take our schoolbags, but it was nothing like that. There were all kinds of people present in the school; workers, peasants, women, intellectuals and youth participated. I am proud to have been a part of such a school which was so rich in learning.

Each point that was presented was elaborated and fully explained. The colonizers came as traders in the beginning. They encouraged the kings to build huge armies using their wealth, not so much to protect those kings, but to expand their own influence.

Generally, our text books taught us that the Ghadar of 1857 was simply the revolt of a few sepoys and religious people; whereas, this was a country-wide revolt, covering the whole expanse from Kashmir to the South, East and West, Assam, Meghalaya, and the Gangetic Plains. The aim of this Ghadar was to completely get rid of the British Rule and its institutions. We Indians have been kept in the dark about this aspect of our history.

Like Comrade Lal Singh pointed out, the British realizing the strength of the Indian uprising, established institutions which would ensure the destruction of Indian values; they also created a class which would work in favour of advancing British interests in India, that would look Indian but would be dedicated to the consolidation of British institutions.

The history of 1857 is invaluable to us Indians. The masses of people, including the tribal peoples, peasants, artisans, sages, and some princely warriors, fought for the overthrow of the British rule and for the right to decide their own destiny. These are the same values today which form the basis of the fight against the capitalists. Today, the struggles appear fragmented but when all of them coalesce we will have the next Ghadar.