Challenges Confronting the Communist Movement: On Proletarian Internationalism, transcending bourgeois democracy, building people’s political power from grass root level, advancing alternative development paradigm and socialism, overthrowing the capitalist imperialist system and defeating neo-fascism of RSS!
K N Ramachandran
Presently the socio-political-economic condition of our country, is in a critical juncture. Under RSS led Modi rule, the Manuvadi Hindutva policies are saffronizing every walk of life ever more fiercely. Under its cover the corporate loot is intensified by leaps and bounds. It is leading to unprecedented impoverishment of the vast masses. Along with unemployment and rise in prices of all essential commodities, housing, healthcare, education and all other services are becoming beyond the reach of common people. As the masses react against this unprecedented miserable condition, utilizing control of the state apparatus, media, etc., the most revanchist, chauvinist, sectarian ideas are spread to divide the people by the RSS neo-fascist forces to win the coming assembly elections and the 2024 elections, to facilitate the transformation of India in to Hindurashtra by 2025 when the centenary of RSS is going to be celebrated. In this situation, people’s simmering discontent and anger are intensifying as reflected in the continuing resistance of the Kashmiri and Northeast people, the countrywide anti CAA movement, the militant outbursts of youth against unemployment, the historic farmers’ struggle which broke down all state-led terror tactics and obstacles to reach Delhi borders laying siege around the capital for more than a year etc. are indications of the possibilities for a mega- Sri Lankan style uprising in this vast sub-continent. In the present neoliberal phase of imperialism, when the corporate forces are intensifying exploitation of human labor and plunder of nature to unprecedented levels, the ruling forces, the imperialists and their junior partners everywhere are imposing neo-fascist terrorist rule to divide and maim the masses using religious fundamentalisms or political-religion, racism, national chauvinism, caste system like revanchist ideas as socio-cultural-theoretical tools to curb people’s movements. In spite of these, the people’s uprisings are bound to happen with more frequency and ferocity in larger number of countries in the coming days.
In short, presently the objective conditions for revolution are increasingly favorable. But, after the revolutionary upsurge in Vietnam and other Indo-Chinese countries in 1975, in spite of so many massive people’s uprisings in large number of countries, nowhere the imperialist forces and their junior partners could be overthrown. What are the reasons for it? Why, even after Mao’s persistent struggle till his last days through building people’s communes and unleashing Cultural Revolution, the capitalist roaders could usurp power in China also? Why, even in the Indo-China region, soon after victory of the revolution after so much of sacrifices, how the capitalist roaders could usurp power so soon? Even an over view of these past experiences in building socialism shows that it is the result of the communist parties becoming incapable of making concrete evaluation of the quick changes made by the imperialist system to overcome the ever-mounting crises confronting it, in analyzing the concrete situation in each country to develop the Marxist theory and practice according to present international and national situation. As a result, in spite of the objective situation remaining favorable for revolution, the subjective force, the communist party, remains theoretically, politically, organizationally incapable of overcoming the imperialist challenges. If the international communist movement (ICM) had become a mighty force by the mid-1950s, with the East wind of socialism looking like prevailing over the west wind of imperialism (Mao), it is facing severe setbacks, weakening everywhere, why?
Take the case of our country, for example. In India Communist party building started in the 1920s inspired by the October Revolution. But what happened to it after a century in spite of numerous glorious struggles in the past? Why it has splintered to numerous ideological, political streams and micro groups, in the main, making them incapable of playing any important role in the mainstream political scene! Why so, when the RSS formed in 1925 has captured power and is in the process of consolidating its neo-fascist hegemony in every field, arrogantly moving towards declaring India a Hindurashtra on its centenary year?
Why the capitalist imperialist system which was facing repeated crisis right from its very beginning continues to rule over the world, while the ICM which had developed in to powerful socialist camp, with 13 countries with one-third of world population, and in many other countries leading powerful national liberation movements by 1950s, has weakened so much and fractured, with all the socialist countries degenerated to capitalist path, when the communist parties b everywhere has become incapable of leading the powerful people’s upsurges to victory? Does it not calls for a serious introspection?
It is in this situation, the CPI (ML) Red Star is convening its 12th Congress. It has taken up the challenge to update its program, path of revolution and political resolution according to the present concrete conditions in continuation to its continuous efforts for the last four decades. An over-view of the hitherto development of our party from the time of its formation in 1979 as part of the re-organization process of the CPI(ML) movement shows that it could achieve whatever progress it could make so far only because of its uncompromising struggle against right opportunist and left adventurist deviations, trying to develop its theory and practice according to concrete analysis of the Indian social realities and the vast changes taking place at international level during the Second World War and later; especially after the US led imperialist camp imposed neo-liberal policies of globalization-liberalization and privatization, and went on intensifying them to present all-round corporatization and financialization leading to unprecedented accumulation of wealth in few corporate hands, extreme miseries to the toiling masses and to ever-increasing plunder of nature by capital leading to ecological catastrophe, threatening the very survival of the humanity on earth. Even in such a perilous situation, instead of taking bold initiatives to overcome it, how the communist movement became so weak? Without taking up a thorough evaluation of the past experience, and present stagnancy and theoretical weakness, answers cannot be found out and rectifications could be made to enable the ICM to make a new upsurge.
The greatness of Marx’s analysis is that it scientifically points out how capitalism is a world system, how it recreates the whole world in its own image, how it globalizes every aspect of international field. In the Communist Manifesto along with Engels he emphatically declared that only by overthrowing the capitalist system and uncompromisingly building the alternative, the communist society developed through uninterrupted socialist transition the humanity can be saved from its barbarous hegemony, and nature can be saved from the plunder of capital. Marx through his brilliant studies of capitalism pointed out how the transition from the class divided society to classless society can be achieved. As an integral part of these studies, he called for continuous transformation of the superstructure to deepen and strengthen this transition to a new world. When the Communist Manifesto was drafted for the Communist League and the First International of the working class was launched, it gave a boost to the revolutionary movement. The Manifesto explained: “…The Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; but in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of the future of that movement. …the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things… In all these movements they bring to the front, as the leading question in each, the property question, no matter what its degree of development at the time…. “
“’…The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!” (Extracts from the concluding section of Communist Manifesto)
Inspired by the internationally coordinated workers’ movements, the Paris Commune broke out in 1971, which demonstrated that working class can storm the citadels of the capitalists, can capture political power, and initiate the building of working class alternative to capitalism. Though it was suppressed by the combined forces of the capitalist governments, Marx saluted the revolutionary heroism of the Communards, and called on them to get more firmly organized and to win support of the international proletariat so that the revolutionary center can advance without the danger of getting overthrown (Civil War in France). The specter of Paris uprising forced the capitalist powers to speed up the process of monopolization of capitalism, which led to the era of imperialism. Soon the whole world was divided among the handful of imperialist countries.
But the export of finance capital and colonial plunder did not end the recurring crises faced the imperialist countries and the increasing rivalry among them for re-division of the countries under colonial domination. The latter soon led to the First World War. The Basle Conference of the Second International had called on its constituent social democratic parties to mobilize the working class for turning the inter-imperialist war, if it breaks out, in to civil war against its own bourgeois ruling class. But when the War broke out in 1914, in most of the countries the leaderships surrendered to the bourgeoisie of their own countries. It led to the liquidation of the Second International. It was in this situation that Lenin explained how the capitalist system had become more barbarous during the imperialist era. He called for its overthrow starting from its weakest link, the Tsarist Russia. The October Revolution led to the formation of Soviet Union, launching of the socialist construction and to the building of the Communist International. These revolutionary steps paved the way for the upsurge of the movement which created the possibilities for the world-wide defeat of capitalist imperialist system by the 1950s. But, these great possibilities faced grave challenges leading severe setbacks in all fields when the ICM failed to correctly evaluate the US led post-Second World War neo-colonial counter- revolutionary offensive and to put forward the socialist alternative with better clarity taking lessons from the experience of the socialist models hitherto practiced. It was this weakness of the soviet communist leadership, who became apologists of neo-colonialism, which became evident in 1950s that led to the severe setbacks to the ICM. Combating these capitalist roaders, though Mao led a great struggle spearheading Cultural Revolution and launching People’s Communes throwing out capitalist roaders from power, the ‘left’ sectarians with new era concept usurped power for few years and caused severe setbacks from another angle by erroneous evaluation of the post-War moves of US led imperialist camp. Under their influence the newly emerging Marxist-Leninist forces around the world soon suffered setbacks and disintegrated. Utilizing these setbacks suffered by the ICM, and to overcome their own crisis, when the US camp launched the neo- liberal offensive in the 1970s, on the one hand the right opportunists degenerated to social democracy announcing “there is no alternative to neo-liberal policies”, the ‘left’ adventurist stream got further alienated from the left masses by pursuing sectarian policies, on the other.
It was in this critical situation at international level, which was reflected in India in diverse forms, throwing the ML forces to disarray, that through concrete analysis of Indian situation and developing ML theory and practice according to it, we had initiated our own efforts to re-organize the CPI (ML) movement. Four decades of these efforts started with the formation of the CRC CPI (ML) in 1979 and the convening of the First All India Conference in 1982. This process has led to the convening of the 12th Congress of the CPI (ML) Red Star. It will take up the task of further updating the Party Program, Path of Revolution, and Political Resolution. These draft documents discussed and adopted by the party Congress shall make the party capable of confronting the challenge posed by the RSS neo-fascism. It will provide the basis for making all out efforts to help the building of the broadest possible anti-fascist front. This will be done while taking care to pursue independent left assertion learning from past mistakes. The CPI (ML) Red Star has grown from a small group confined to few pockets in two or three states in to its present ideological clarity and organizational strength through this process. So it is the responsibility of the whole party and all its members to make the 12th Party Congress a great success.
