Sir,

The statement of the Central Committee of the party entitled 'Long live i nternational Women's Day ' and a related article on its web-site on ' International Women's Day at M. D. U., Imphal.' are both very inspiring and educative.

The statement of the party carries an important theoretical treatment of the subject of the emancipation of women world over. It has been pointed out that the origins of the celebration lie in the history of about a century ago when capitalism had reached the stage of imperialism and was pregnant with proletarian revolution. It points out that it was in this crucible that the working women put forth their demands in the face of brutal exploitation at the hands of the capitalists on the one hand and on the hands of the crumbling feudal order and the associated patriarchal structures left behind. The questions of that day pose themselves anew now, as the world has seen the establishment of socialism in several countries during which women made rapid strides in their conditions. There has also been a setback as the problems in socialist countries could not be resolved for reasons that have been elaborated elsewhere, and classical capitalism has been restored in various former socialist countries. The ruling circles in the world are now proclaiming that there is only one system that is viable, they also dish out platitudes and pay lip service to the condition of women. It is also true that these ruling circles have no solutions at all to the problems that women face, and yet try to subjugate any upswing of any mass movements, or at least turn such movements into their own favour. They try to generate an alternative discourse of trying to discuss the problems in isolation from the reality in which much of the worlds peoples remain enslaved. In the present theoretical treatment the party has openly stated that all those fighting for women's emancipation should unite under the banner of socialism and an alternative to the world view that the bourgeoisie seeks to sustain and propagate, and I compliment the party on this stand.

Furthermore, it is heartening to read the report on the meeting in Manipur which has concretely put into practice these demands. It may be gathered from the report on the event that speaker after speaker has reiterated that the lot of women cannot be improved in the present world system. Manipur is that part of the country where human rights abuses are routine, and the abuses heaped on women are a blot of civilization. Manipur is an ancient land with its own history and culture, where men and women have participated in building a great civilization. It is not surprising that due to the repeated abuses of the people of Manipur that today women have come out as the leading proponents in the struggle of rights. There is a clear recognition there that the bourgeoisie of India , with its ambitions to be a world power, as a rapacious and parasitic class in the country, armed with massive powers of a draconian state, with armed forces deployed routinely around the country to suppress any dissent, cannot provide solutions to the people. Capitalism is at the root of the problem. It is this that needs to be eliminated. By uniting under this banner the delegates at the Manipur meeting have illustrated the power that the people can derive by combining revolutionary theory with practice. I congratulate all the delegates at the meeting.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the Central Committee of the party.for its clear enunciation of the line on the occasion of the International Women's Day , and for carrying a report on the Manipur meeting. I look forward to reading more theoretical treatments of such matters of pressing importance to the movement and reports on revolutionary events of this kind.

Sincerely,
S. Nair,
Kochi