The Communist Ghadar Party of India, founded on 25 December, 1980, celebrated its 27th anniversary in Delhi. Comrade Lal Singh, General Secretary of CGPI, was greeted with applause as he took his place as Chairperson, along with youth communist leader, Comrade Santosh. What followed was a lively and participatory discussion on issues of paramount significance - summing up the lessons learnt from the life and work of the Party in the last 27 years, the present situation in the world and in India, and on the definition and role of the working class in solving the problems of society.

Comrade Lal Singh initiated the evening's discussions with a brief narration of when and how the Party was founded. The fact that our Party is alive and well 27 years later, growing in size and influence and becoming younger in average age, is a major achievement, he said. We have successfully swum against the tide and emerged stronger, in the face of tremendous imperialist pressure against the revolution and communism in this period.

Comrade Lal Singh highlighted three important issues that have characterized the Party's life and work. First, the CGPI has based all its work on the science of Marxism-Leninism, which it has used as the guide to action. This includes our efforts to develop the Indian theory of revolution. Second, the unity of the Party, a voluntary unity built on principles, has been preserved and further strengthened through our struggle against all forms of bourgeois ideology and practices. The Party has stood resolute in its mission in the face of the worst storms. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many communist parties changed their name or gave up the vision of revolution and the aim of establishing proletarian dictatorship. Our Party did not budge from its convictions based on science. Third, from the beginning we were committed to organize the working class to become the ruling class, which we consider to be our central task at this time.

Participating in the discussion about the 27 years of CGPI, several comrades, young and old, reflected on their own individual experiences, including how they were mobilized, how they have grown within the Party and learnt how to give their maximum and struggle to implement decisions of the collective. They gave numerous examples of how CGPI has made its mark on the movement in society, in spite of its small size, thanks to its steel like unity and revolutionary qualities. They pointed out that CGPI was growing younger year by year, by attracting more and more youth to join. They applauded the Party for recognizing the necessity for Indian theory of revolution, and taking up for solution the task of developing this theory. They applauded the wisdom of the leadership of the Party in finding the way to combine the efforts of people of different backgrounds, cultures and languages, into an effective army that speaks and acts as one.

Then followed a discussion on the current situation in the world and India. As we enter the year 2008, economic crisis is brewing in the United States. The US Dollar is falling in value and the supremacy of US imperialism is being challenged both by the peoples and by rival imperialist powers, such as Russia. Growing competition among countries to corner resources around the world points to the continuing danger of imperialist wars. Where capitalism is growing rapidly, the class divide is becoming wider, as seen starkly in the case of India. The UPA government and its slogan of capitalist reforms with a human face, stands exposed. So does the CPI(M) led Left Front government in West Bengal. This is a positive development, but also dangerous because it lowers the prestige of communists in people's eyes.

Comrade Lal Singh pointed out that the growing opposition among diverse strata of society to the offensive of the bourgeoisie will not, in itself, open the door to revolution. It is essential that the working class emerges as a united political force, to lead the struggle towards the overthrow of capitalism. Having stated this, he posed the question: Who is a worker? There was an extremely lively discussion on the definition of worker, on the changing composition and consciousness of the working class. This discussion has just begun, declared Comrade Lal Singh.

Delivering the concluding remarks, Comrade Santosh compared the energy of our youth to the energy of our rivers. Like the dam that allows the river water to be harnessed, our Party is building the mechanisms to harness the energy of our youth for the cause of revolution, he declared amidst thunderous applause. The occasion ended with a militant rendering of the song Communist Ghadar Party ne lalkar lagayi hai!.