Sir,

For some time now, the party has been observing that the Indian bourgeoisie has oriented its strategy to emerge as a big player on the international scene, with the concomitant emergence of India as a regional power in collusion with the Anglo-American camp. In this regard, one cannot ignore the major moves of atleast two of the big industrial houses in the very recent past, i.e., the acquistion of Corus steel by Tata Steel which now makes the latter the fifth biggest steel manufacturer in the world, and the acquisition of Novelis by Hindalco, one of the flagship companies of the Aditya Birla group. One cannot ignore the fact that these developments have come at a time with the Anglo-American camp itself is mired in deep crises especially in the international political scene. It has been pointed out in one of the recent party statements that there is the distinct possibility of the US economy entering an `economic abyss' and also that of the collapse of the dollar. The Indian bourgeoisie is working overtime to consolidate its strength at this time. The bourgeoisie has finally come out with great vigour, after having overcome the setback it received from the collapse of social imperialism in 1989.

In the meantime, the Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram has gone to town expressing his great delight at the Tata-Corus mergre and stated that his Government would be ready to help the Tata group if approached, to complete the formalities of the merger and did not commit himself to whether or not financial help would be extended. Such generosity has never been forthcoming from Mr. Chidambaram or any of his colleagues in the UPA Government, or any officials of the state Governments when confronted with the problems of farmers who are on the brink of physical extermination from the adverse winds of the market forces. There has been no offer of help to the farmers to overcome their debts resulting from loans accrued to cultivate their fractured farmlands. Therefore, there should be no doubt in any one's mind as to whose Government the UPA Government really is.

The working class must take note of all the developments above. It must ask why it has not been able to overcome the debacle that it faced with the collapse of the Soviet bloc. It must combat the assault against socialism and communism that is being carried out by the world bourgeoisie and also by the Indian bourgeoisie. It must carry out the ideological struggle and must equip itself with the tools needed to prevail in the struggle. The Indian working class in particular must show to the world that the plan that the Indian bourgeoisie has in its mind cannot be for the benefit of the Indian or the international working class. Its track record over the last century first in undivided India and later in `independent' India is there for everyone to see. It has developed it economic muscle at the expense of the working class and the devasated peasantry. Its policies spell nothing but disaster for the Indian people and that of its neighbours --- it envisions a chauvinistic India which is a threat to the peace in the neighbourhood.

The working class and the communist movement are faced with the challenge of combating this vision and that of putting forth their own vision of that future for the working class as well as all the peoples of India and indeed that of the world.

Sincerely, A. Narayan,
Banglore