Sir,

I write to thank you for the important, analytical and thought provoking article entitled “On the 58th Republic Day: The call of our times - a Republic of workers and peasants and a voluntary Indian Union'' carried on the front page of the January 16-31, 2008 issue of People's Voice. Indeed, as this letter is being written the media has been gloating about the Republic Day parade in Delhi where the military might is indeed being trotted out to impress the millions through electronic and print images, and to impress the visiting dignitary Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, who is the chief guest at the function. Notable among the military hardware that is on display is the nuclear-capable missiles. Much is also being made out about the salute being taken by Mrs. Pratibha Patil, the first woman President of India.

It is worth keeping in mind that this is the Republic Day of the state that came into being formally in 1947 with the transfer of power, which adopted its Constitution on January 26, 1950, and hence commemorates the Republic Day on this day of each year. Keeping in mind it is not just that the state is in the service of the needs of the bourgeoisie – it is a state that has been created by the colonial masters after the failed first war of Independence of 1857 – it is a state that has been inherited by the then nascent Indian bourgeoisie in 1947 and one that has been perfected to meet the needs of the bourgeoisie to perpetuate their hegemony – it is a state that stands today as the custodian of the imperialist yearning of an ambitious, aggressive, ruthless bourgeoisie. It is therefore no wonder that the Republic Day of such a republic is festooned with military regalia and pomposity.

It is no surprise that the chief guest is the leader of another of the hated imperialist powers, which has seen its hey day and is searching for a new role in a crumbling order that has been dominated by a sole superpower since the collapse of the socialist bloc a decade and a half ago. There is no doubt that France is here to look for a reliable strategic ally, fishing in the troubled waters of imperialist intrigue where the ambitions of the USA, China, Russia and India are colliding. France is also here to sell its military hardware to India, one of the leading buyers of hardware. It may be readily concluded that India is not a customer for military hardware as a peaceable country, but as one that is an aggressive bully in its putative sphere of influence. The impoverished people of India, as well the people of its neighbours cannot but be alarmed at this state of affairs, which spells nothing but disaster for all of them.

Indeed, as has been pointed out in the article, there is a movement in the country which is questioning the very fundamentals of the Republic and the manner in which has been constituted. There is an awakening that it is indeed the state and its organs that lie at the root of the problems that the Indian people face today. There are popular movements across the length and breadth of the country, in its cities and towns, in its villages, in its fields and forests which are each questioning what this is really about. There is a recognition that the bourgeoisie treats the entire land of the country as its personal property, with its mineral wealth, natural wealth, water, air, and resource to be its own, that it treats the labouring masses as its chattel, paying it wages that cannot support what can be called a human existence. The women of India bear indignities on an ever increasing scale – the fact that the Republic Day salute is taken by a woman hardly mitigates this grim reality. On this very day, a leading newspaper The Deccan Herald carries a picture of delegates at a conference in Delhi protesting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in force in Manipur, and another picture of a militant bank employee protesting at a strike called on the previous day by their Trade Union federations. Thus, the history of India has reached a critical stage – one where there is a contest in the shaping of what the country's future is. One where the people will demand that the state is in their service. One where the nations that constitute India will decide how a Union must come into being that respects their national rights. One where the workers and toilers shall reap the benefits of their own labour - not one where these benefits will end up in bank lockers of the money bags or in numbered Swiss accounts.

On this note, I would like to thank you for carrying this article. I am confident that the Communist Ghadar Party of India will play a leading role in this historic mission.

Sincerely,
A. Narayan, Bengaluru