Political Resolution

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Introduction

1.1.    The 12th Congress of our Party is held at a time when vast changes have taken place in the overall global and national political arena since the 11th Congress in 2018 including the further intensification of world imperialist crisis. The ruling class attempt to shift the burden of this crisis to the shoulders of working class and oppressed peoples has also got new dimensions. It is sharpening all the inherent contradictions in imperialist world system, giving rise to the general global trend towards neo-fascism. In our country too, after the 11th Congress, especially since Modi 2 in 2019, corporate-saffron fascism backed by the arch-reactionary ideology of Manuvad with its multi-dimensional offensive has been advancing at a maddening pace. Hence framing of the political resolution for the 12th Party Congress in the proper perspective calls for concrete evaluation of the major transformations of the past four years, both at the international level and in India.

2.     International Situation

2.1.    The Covid pandemic that ravaged whole world since the beginning of 2020 which kept the entire political-economic foundations in a frozen state for months has been a historic turning point. Even as production, trade, transportation and consumption collapsed along with a halt in the entire global supply-demand chains, using the fast-emerging frontier technologies such as digitisation, the ruling classes everywhere used the pandemic as an opportunity to make horrific levels of wealth appropriation including plunder of nature, driving the working class and oppressed peoples everywhere to more unemployment, poverty, inequality, deprivation and ecological devastation. Even as world economic growth rate became negative, the number of global billionaires and concentration of wealth with them have become unprecedented. As a concomitant of far-right neoliberal policies, neo-fascism backed by extreme xenophobic hatred towards racial, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, refugees and all marginalised and oppressed sections of the people is gathering strength in many countries.

2.2.    It has accentuated all inherent crises and contradictions of imperialism in the neoliberal period. While all other imperialist powers including the US faced an absolute decline or negative growth, social imperialist China remained as the only country with a growth rate in the positive territory, though at a lesser rate. During the pandemic days, not only Afro-Asian-Latin American countries, but even western powers had to depend on China for the badly needed medical supplies. Though US still remains as world’s biggest military machine, China which is ahead in many spheres of fast advancing technologies including biotechnology, robotisation, ecommerce, digitisation, etc., especially through its BRI—Belt and Road Initiative– is engaged in more intensive export of capital effectively challenging US imperialism in political-economic fields.

2.3.    In continuation of its leading role in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, BRICS, RCEP, etc., China has succeeded in carving out its spheres of influence and political-economic clout not only in Asia but also in Africa and even in remote Latin America and many poor countries have already become dependent on China. The new wave of neoliberal political-economic crises that are reported from Sri Lanka and Nepal in South Asia, Sudan in Africa, etc. are also related to specific character of Chinese penetration into these countries. China’s recent Security Pact with Solomon Islands in the strategically vital South Pacific is another shock to US imperialism. China is also in the process of entering into bilateral economic relations even with members of NATO. For instance, Italy which had to depend on China in the initial days of the Pandemic has already joined the BRI as its member. In the same vein, together with its long-term strategic role in Iran, recently China has entered into a deal with Saudi, Iran’s arch-rival in West Asia, for the import of petroleum products with Yuan as the medium of exchange. Latest Chinese effort to design a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a Digital Yuan and project it as an international currency is a serious challenge to the US hegemonic position in the post-War international economic and financial relations. Recent Russian insistence for Rouble payment for import of its oil by countries is also a blow to the global position of dollar.

2.4.    This has sharpened the contradiction between US imperialism and social imperialist China more than ever. Immediately after its withdrawal from Afghanistan following which China emerged as a strategic player there, US imperialism has initiated the AUKUS — a nuclear-based Anglo-Saxon military alliance composed of Australia, UK and US –thereby intensifying its provocative interventions against China in the Asia-Pacific and in East and South China Sea, projecting Taiwan as a geopolitical hotspot. In signing this nuclear-military pact, it kept members of NATO including France in the dark, the latter already having a submarine deal with Australia, leading to France immediately withdrawing its ambassador from Washington. Though the issue was temporarily settled, it exposed the inherent weakness in NATO. For, after British delinking from the EU through Brexit followed by former’s close integration with US imperialism, leading powers of EU have started serious homework for the formation of an European army independent of US led NATO.

2.5.    The recent attack on Ukraine by imperialist Russia though condemnable is integrally linked up with US efforts to reinvigorate the 30-member NATO by enlarging its membership further. When the Cold War ended in 1991 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the NATO membership was 16, and when NATO was inaugurated by Truman in 1949 as the crucial military institution for leading the Cold War, its membership was only 12. As is obvious, the Russian attack on Ukraine was the outcome of US machinations compelling neo-Nazi Ukraine regime to join the NATO together with US attempt to militarise all countries bordering Russia. Now Ukraine is like a pawn in the hands of US-led NATO forces and what is going on is an inter-imperialist conflict between US and NATO on the one hand, and Russia on the other, where Ukraine is a mere proxy.  Ukraine war, while facilitating more wealth flows in to the coffers of world’s leading arms manufacturers, especially those from US, and the three biggest agro-multinationals, Cargill, Monsanto and Dupont who have already bought around 17 lakh hectares of highly fertile land in Ukraine, has been another opportunity for crisis-ridden finance capital to shift the burden of the crisis to the shoulders of world’s toiling and oppressed people, through rise in the prices of fuel, food and other essential items of sustenance.

2.6.    The Russian attack on Ukraine and the continuing war there without any let-up have given rise to far-reaching repercussions of global importance. It has further sharpened the inter-imperialist contradictions between US and its allies on the one hand and China and Russia on the other. As a direct outcome of the increasing US focus in the Asia-Pacific directed against China, the latter has taken initiative for a ‘Global Security Initiative’ particularly targeting at the AUKUS pact—the foundation on which the US is envisaging an “Asian NATO”. Of late, US House of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan followed by China’s military exercises encircling Taiwan and surrounding areas in retaliation followed by US deployment of its Seventh Fleet to South China Sea has further heightened Sino-US tensions. The latest Chinese assertion in the 20^th Congress of CPC of a “rock-hard and unshakable approach” towards “completion of Chinese unification” by resolving the “Taiwan question” is certainly going to make the situation from bad to worse. As US is spreading its tentacles towards the East, China together with its allies particularly Russia, is moving towards the West encroaching areas formerly monopolised by the US and its allies, leading to a “new cold war”.

2.7.    A noticeable global trend related to US targeting of China is the latter’s growing involvement in Africa and Latin America where China had little sway before the 2008 World Economic Crisis. Now China is African continent’s biggest trading partner and China’s latest backing of the military junta in Sudan is already acknowledged. China has already established its political-economic clout in countries like Algeria, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Congo, Kenya Angola, etc. in addition to its declared military base in Djibouti since 2016 along with that of other imperialist powers. Covid Pandemic has been an opportune moment for China to accelerate its investments in Africa. Today China is the leading bilateral lender in 32 African countries and the top infrastructural financier and international lender to the African continent as a whole. With 46 African countries signing into BRI, Africa has become its largest regional component.

2.8.    China’s political-economic role in Latin America is also growing fast. It has developed close economic and security ties with Venezuela and Brazil, the largest country in the South American continent. Revealingly, though Latin America was once considered the backyard of US imperialism, China has already surpassed US as Latin America’s largest trading partner. With 19 Latin American countries already signed up to BRI, Chinese state firms and financial institutions play a major role in infrastructural development there. Recently, along with US and other imperialist powers, China also has become a member of Inter-American Development Bank. Obviously, Chinese capital investment in Latin America will have its concomitant political, diplomatic, security and cultural ramifications.

2.9.    Even as this ‘westward’ expansion in Chinese capital and commodity exports is creating acute inter-imperialist contradiction between US and China, Latin America today is witnessing the rise of a “second pink tide” marked by the advance of left-wing and progressive movements in many countries. This progressive political shift in Latin America is mainly attributed to the people’s simmering discontent and resistance against Covid mismanagement and consequent aggravation in economic crisis on account of IMF-World Bank backed neoliberal policies, corruption, extreme poverty, unemployment and ecological devastation across Latin America during the past two years. As estimated by the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean, during 2020, Latin America had a pandemic-induced catastrophic growth contraction of 6.8 percent.  Recent electoral victories of Gabriel Boric in Chile, Luis Arce in Bolivia, Pedro Castillo in Peru, Xiomara Castro in Honduras, Gustavo Petro in Columbia and Rodrigo Chaves in Costa Rica are manifestations of people’s growing resentment against neoliberal-neo-fascist regimes serving imperialism.

2.10.   In Western Asia (Middle East), in view of the advance of China and the trend towards decline of the dollar-empire and consequent impact on petro-dollar, US imperialism is planning to have a reconfiguration of the geopolitics there. This was manifested in the Abraham Accords signed in December 2020 that claimed to normalise relations between Zionist Israel and a grouping of Arab countries led by UAE. Almost a year later in October 2021, in a virtual meet led by the US, foreign ministers of US, Israel, UAE and India decided to strengthen cooperation and partnerships on the back of Abraham Accords. Though the political dynamics in West Asia is different from that in Indo-Pacific, the new US initiative has been characterised as ‘Middle East Quad’ akin to Quad or Quadrilateral composed of US, India, Australia and Japan in the Asia-Pacific designed to deal with China.

2.11.   Meanwhile, under the cover of Abraham Accords, human rights violations on Palestinians by Zionists are mounting. In occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza strip, along with Israeli police and official security apparatus, Zionist terrorist groups are also unleashed against Palestinian people to instill fear among them and weaken their struggle for survival. The agenda behind this renewed approach by US is to create the political atmosphere for deliberate neglect of the Palestinian cause and cover up the mounting repression on them that amounts to crimes against humanity. The impact of pandemic on the Zionist occupied areas has been the most disastrous as the Zionist security forces used it as a golden opportunity to put horrific restrictions, socio-economic miseries and burdens on the Palestinians in the guise of implementing Covid protocols.

2.12.   In our neighbourhood, Sri Lanka is now in an unprecedented economic collapse and socio-political crisis, typifying the case of a neo-colonially dependent country pursuing neoliberal-corporatisation trajectory at the diktats of imperialist centres. Though Sri Lanka had the highest ‘Human Development Indicators’ in South Asia until the onset of the crisis, its major earnings came primarily from tourism and export of primary products. The entire debt-financed infrastructures built up there were oriented to attracting tourists. The basis of economic and social crises was already laid down through the configuration of many factors such as steep reduction in corporate taxes, total economic mismanagement including lop-sided and short-sighted polices, extreme corruption and crony capitalism integrally linked up with the Rajapakse family holding the entire reins of administration backed by the ideology of Sinhala Buddhism. In this background, almost two years of pandemic preceded by Easter Bombing and followed by the Ukraine war have completely dried out foreign tourist inflows on the one hand, and skyrocketed fuel, food and medicine prices that wiped out both private and government savings on the other.  Various infrastructures and social overheads built-up in Sri Lanka including those connected with China’s BRI have become huge debt-liabilities for the country without yielding any substantial income on a regular basis. Today, the bankrupt Sri Lankan regime is knocking at the doors of neocolonial financial institutions and various imperialist powers for a bail-out program with its concomitant stringent conditionalities.

2.13.   Thus, today the international situation in general is marked by horrific levels of wealth accumulation in the hands of a few corporate billionaires, unprecedented levels of extreme poverty, ecological destruction of catastrophic proportions and shifting of the burden of imperialist crisis to the shoulders of working class and the oppressed. Along with sharpening inter-imperialist contradictions, exploited and oppressed peoples are rising up in different forms in many parts of the world against the ruling system. The ruling classes of a few countries like India have also utilized this deepening imperialist crisis to strengthen their bargaining position with imperialist powers. However, in the absence of communist parties capable to lead these struggles and movements, the ruling classes and their imperialist masters are diverting people’s fury to safe channels.

2.14. Taking advantage of the deepening crises of imperialism, neo-fascist forces have come to the fore all over the world. In many countries, like Hungary, Turkey, India, Russia and others, fascist regimes have already come in to existence whereas even leading imperialist countries like the UK and US are part of this trend towards neo-fascism.

3.     Our Tasks at the International Level

3.1.    In today’s crisis-ridden context where the objective international situation for revolutionary transformation is favourable, while the subjective factor essential for social change is weak, what is required is coordinated action among Communist parties and revolutionary organisations against imperialism and neo-fascism.  The Political Resolution adopted by the 11 the Congress held in 2018 had pointed out: “As the reactionary essence of imperialism is becoming more and more catastrophic, a worldwide anti-imperialist movement that can effectively challenge the threat of aggression, resist corporatisation and fascistisation and all forms of reaction and moving towards democracy and socialism has become an urgent necessity.”  Today after four years, our analysis of the international situation makes this task all the more significant.

3.2.    To fulfil this task, ideological clarity on imperialism and on neoliberal corporatisation both at the global level and in the concrete conditions of particular countries is of utmost significance. So, while taking an active role in ICOR and its campaigns as one of its leading members, one of our urgent international tasks is to carry forward the ideological-theoretical debate in ICOR and among Marxist–Leninist forces in general to arrive at clarity on the basic understanding of imperialism today and related issues like the characterization of the neo-colonial dependent countries under the impact of neoliberal globalization, corporatization policies

3.3.    We have to develop bilateral relations with revolutionary parties and like-minded organisations especially in neo-colonially dependent countries for achieving ideological clarity pertaining to anti-imperialist, anti-fascist struggles and for arriving at practical cooperation at the international level.

4.     National Situation

4.1.    The 10th Congress of the Party was held in 2015 when the Modi regime had completed just 8 months of its tenure. Summing up the far-right turn in policies, the Political Resolution adopted then noted: “2.9 Modi’s ascendancy to power has been followed by a ruthless acceleration of Manmohanomics as is manifested in the extrapolation of former’s ‘Gujarat model’ to the whole of India with the corporate-friendly catchwords such as ‘minimum government,’ ‘good governance’, ‘development friendly’, etc. The  ‘road map’ for Modi  regime’s economic policy in the coming years containing transparent policy environment for business including reforms to enhance “ease of doing business”, liberal tax regime, full liberalization of FDI regime even in strategic sectors such as defense and railways, … outsourcing of public sector banking operations to MNCs and corporate giants such as Reliance, building up of 100 cities equipped with world class amenities, etc. based on PPP, a euphemism for privatization, attracting private investment in coal sector, completion of nuclear power projects and operationalization of  international nuclear agreements, modernization and corporatization of agriculture, time-bound forest and environmental clearance for projects, and so on are fully in conformity with the diktats and requirements of crisis-ridden international finance capital.” Of course, superimposed Demonetisation and GST that took away state governments’ Constitutional Federal rights of resource mobilization have acted as catalysts to this far-right neoliberal process.

4.2.    By the time the 11th Congress was held in 2018, Modi government had completed four years. The Political Resolution adopted by it stated: “2.i. More than four years of Modi regime has brought India to a frightening disruption of its socio-economic and political fabric. In a situation of RSS led extreme divisive policies, instigation of mutual hatred among people, and in an atmosphere of increasing feeling of insecurity among Dalits and minorities, BJP government has brought every aspect of social life under the firm grip of corporate capital. Strengthening India’s position as the junior partner of US imperialism and entering in to strategic alliance with it, Modi has destroyed to a great extent the erstwhile non-aligned position that India had in international relations. All institutions of parliamentary democracy are degraded so as to facilitate the corporate, saffron fascist offensive.”

4.3.    Now, when the 12th Congress is held, the corporate-saffron fascist regime under Modi.1 and Modi.2 has completed more than 8 years in power. Backed by the ideology of Manuvadi Hindutva that serves corporate capital, the most reactionary fascist regime of Modi has become a facilitator of both corporatisation and saffronisation. By now, RSS, the world’s biggest fascist organisation has spread its tentacles to every aspect of social life leading to the saffronisation of all Constitutional and administrative institutions in India.  Under Modi.2 since mid-2019, unleashing a series of fascist offensives such as abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution by breaking up of Kashmir into pieces on the one hand and forcible integration into Indian Union on the other, construction of Ram Temple at the very site of Babri Masjid, making Muslims second class citizens and even denying citizenship to them by amending the Citizenship Act, saffronisation and corporatization of education through NEP 2020, move towards a Uniform Civil Code, etc., RSS is now using the Modi regime to move towards super imposition of a majoritarian Hindurashtra over the multinational, multilingual, multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious India. To facilitate this, cult of tradition and obscurantism are fostered and values of modernity and rational-scientific thinking are rejected. While minorities are suppressed in general, Muslims are particularly targeted through spreading Islamophobia. And the RSS-controlled saffron regime integrating itself with the reactionary corporate-finance capital has turned India in to a typical neofascist regime. Under neofascism, unhindered corporate plunder of nature facilitated through amendments to EIA, etc., has resulted in an unprecedented ecological devastation too.

4.4.    On the eve of Covid pandemic itself, on account of demonetization, GST and outright loot of national assets and huge wealth accumulation by MNCs and Indian corporates, India had been in the firm grip of an economic contraction, record unemployment and mass pauperization. With his second coming in 2019 Modi has been more vigorous in the process of completing total disinvestment of the remaining public sector units such as Railway Stations, Airports, LIC, Arms Factories, etc. In continuation of this, the Modi regime used the pandemic as an added opportunity for its corporate-fascist agenda. Without even consulting the parliament, and without any preparation, the neofascist regime superimposed world’s most stringent and most coercive lockdown for months abruptly collapsing industry, freezing trade and transportation, and even impacting agriculture and above all making administration more oppressive, especially targeting migrants and unorganized workers, denying them even minimum food and livelihood, in the guise of enforcing pandemic regulations. As a result, while pandemic-triggered global contraction by mid-2020 hovered around an average of 6 percent, in India it was around 24 percent. Thus Covid can only be a partial explanation for India’s unparalleled economic breakdown; the main reason has been the far-right neofascist policies of Modi government serving corporate capital.

4.5.    The CAA was an ingenious RSS move towards Hindurashtra by stamping Muslims second class citizens. The country-wide anti-CAA agitations including the historic Shahinbagh movement put the neofascist regime on the defensive. But with the advent of the pandemic and in conformity with Covid protocols, suppression was mounted and conditions were created compelling the withdrawal of the movement.

4.6.    However, even when the country was reeling under the burden of the pandemic, using Covid as an opportunity, Modi regime imposed the three Farm Laws aimed at agricultural corporatisation at the behest of WTO in September 2020 without even subjecting them to scrutiny by regular parliamentary committees. Against which a more serious historic struggle led by farmers emerged months after the withdrawal of the anti-CAA movement. The historic Farmers’ Movement continued for more than a year.  It compelled the regime to withdraw the Farm laws.  It was a great victory in the context of the inability of the depoliticized mainstream trade union leadership to initiate a similar offensive against the pro-corporate Labour Codes that the neofascist regime is planning to push through replacing the existing 44 labour regulations in the country. More importantly, experience from the prolonged farmers’ struggle has shown the extent of the penetration of the Green Revolution induced changes in the agricultural sector, and opened up new possibilities for a broad alliance among working class, peasantry and all oppressed against corporatization and neofascism.

4.7.    At the same time, the farmers’ movement has brought forward the urgent need for specific organizational initiatives capable of properly handling the emerging tasks in the context of intensifying agricultural corporatization.   Though the Party has concrete understanding of the agricultural transformation brought under neoliberal- corporatization policies, there is lot of unevenness in our work in the agricultural front in different states. In many areas it is mainly confined to organizing landless poor peasants for their demands.  Against the GR induced changes also some campaigns and struggles have taken place, especially after the farmers’ movement reached the Delhi borders.  Struggle for protecting farmers’ land, to ensure remunerative prices for agricultural products through establishment APMCs with legal backing for MSP, etc. are indispensable for the sustenance of peasant based agriculture. According to the demands of the present situation, and based on our own experience, appropriate steps have to be taken, including developing programmatic and organizational changes to carry forward these two inter-related, but at same time different tasks, for the overall development of the peasant movement.

4.8.    After BJP’s success in the recent Assembly elections, especially after its return to power in four states ruled by it, a frightening situation is developing all over the country. Starting with Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi, within a few weeks, innumerable communal attacks led by RSS goons directed at Muslims which are reminiscent of the ‘partition days’ have taken place in various parts of the country. The entire administration and police remained as spectators, and cases are charged on the victims while perpetrators of the crimes are left scot-free. In BJP-ruled states such as UP, MP, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, etc., a literal ‘bulldozer raj’ is imposed, i.e., razing down houses and properties of Muslims by the fascist regime using its police and security forces.

4.9.    Most horrific was the situation in Jehangirpuri in national capital like areas, where armed saffron goons marched to the masjids with provocative slogans and attacked and destroyed Muslim houses and establishments branding the residents as Rohingyan and Bangladeshi encroachers, followed by bulldozer raj by the administration. Even after the intervention of the apex court, the demolition continued backed by rumours of illegal migrants continuously relayed by corporate- Sanghi media. Comparable to what happened during the days of Hitlerite fascism, hatred towards Muslims is created in a systematic and planned way creating conditions for genocides, setting the stage for extreme communal polarisation during the 2024 general election and move towards the Hindutva-fascist agenda of declaring India a Hindurashtra on the occasion of the centenary celebration of RSS.

4.10.   In this planned move towards Hindurashtra, the condition of the oppressed Dalits and women, who are ‘subhuman’ according to Manusmriti, is becoming worse. Casteist oppression, discrimination, attacks and even murders are regularly reported.  With the open and secret, official and non-official patronage from the Manuvadi-Hindutva regime, Brahmanical caste system is well entrenched in the entire ruling system, in polity, economy, culture, science and research and so on. By guaranteeing economic reservation through the 124th amendment to the Constitution, BJP government has diluted caste-based reservation. It is leading to further monopolisation of government jobs by the upper castes with whom the country’s wealth and political power are concentrated. Along with this, RSS and BJP are also engaged in dividing and deconstructing organisations and parties of Dalits and lower castes. As its manifestation, with the offer of power-sharing, Hindutva forces have succeeded to make allies among ‘neo-Ambedkerite parties and sections who uphold identity politics, who discard Ambedkar’s program on caste annihilation. In view of the integral link among class, caste and gender, this critical situation calls for urgent ideological and political initiatives by the Party together with vigorous revitalisation of the Caste Annihilation Movement and women’s movement.

4.11.   In continuation of the anti-federal GST, true to its fascist character, the Modi regime is systematically engaged in undermining the country’s federal character through the imposition of Hindi, misusing post of governor, reluctance to share revenue with states, keeping states in the dark regarding pan-Indian policy formulations and so on. This has its ramifications in different regions of the country. As already noted, repeal of Article 370 has totally alienated the Kashmiri people and the J&K issue has become irresolvable now. In the entire north-east like Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and even in Tripura, Fascist Modi Government is playing the dirty game of pitting different nationalities, ethnicities and religious sections each other. Of late, though rhetoric on repealing AFSPA is there with piecemeal withdrawals from some regions, it seems to be selective and intended to serve the reactionary interests of Hindutva regime for diverting attention from the ever-intensifying persecution of the victims. Imposition of NRC and CAA had already done immense damage to the minorities and oppressed sections in the north-eastern states. This critical situation calls for sustained people’s struggles for the reconstitution of India as a Union of States based on federal principles and recognizing the linguistic, ethnic and cultural rights of different nationalities.

4.12.   Covid pandemic, global economic crisis, fluctuations in oil prices, etc. have made life unsustainable for the more than 6 million Indian expatriates still working in Gulf. Over the past several years, they have been playing a significant role in maintaining India’s foreign exchange reserve. On account of the pandemic, many of them were forced to return to India. This necessitates urgent political interventions regarding their rehabilitation and appropriate policy initiatives in relation to Gulf countries where majority of Indian migrant workers are concentrated.

4.13.   Since Modi government’s ascension to power in 2014, relations with India’s neighbours have been continuously worsening. On account of its big-brotherly approach to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the SAARC has already become defunct. Modi regime’s erstwhile effort to thwart the formation of a secular government in Nepal is already known. The Hindutva attitude towards the Rohingya refugees, the most persecuted minority according to UN, has further alienated Bangladesh. Modi’s expansionist designs including strategic alliance with US against China in the Indo-Pacific, has prompted Sri Lanka and other to move closer to China. And in the border question with China, Modi government’s inability to handle imperialist China is already exposed. The Indian regime’s role as a junior partner of US is sharpening its contradiction with China, which is hindering any amicable solution to the border issue.

4.14.   On the other hand, being a big market for international capital, India’s bargaining position between Russia and US is self-evident in its approach to Russian attack on Ukraine.  Historically and politically incapable to take an anti-imperialist position on the Ukraine question, Indian government’s dependence on Russian weapons and cheap oil has come out in the open right from the very beginning. To balance this, an all-out effort is also in full swing on the part of the government not to antagonise the US by faithfully remaining as a strategic partner in Quad and in US’ indo-pacific machinations targeted at China.

4.15.   Abandoning yesteryears’ non-alignment traditions, the neofascist Modi regime is taking conspicuously antagonistic position towards all oppressed nations and peoples while siding with the oppressor nations. In particular, the RSS that leads the Indian regime, is engaged in a global Hindutva campaign joining with Zionists against Muslims using Islamophobia through its innumerable international affiliates mainly located in US. The Hindutva-Republican coalition modelled after Republican-Jewish coalition in the US is active in lobbying work in conformity with RSS international tasks. The latter is having the same relationship with many neo-Nazi and neofascist groups and movements in Europe too.

5.     Our Immediate Task in the Context of RSS Neofascism

5.1.    Regarding our immediate task, the Political Resolution adopted in the 11th Party Congress in 2018 noted: ‘’3. ix …we have to urgently engage in building up Party, strengthening class/mass organisations and peoples’ movements and developing class struggle. Together with this, using all available means we should go for a resolute ideological-political campaign against imperialism and ruling system, against corporate-saffron fascism, on the need of developing Marxism-Leninism according to the concrete condition of our country. In this background, our party should actively strive for discussion with all revolutionary, democratic forces along with other struggling forces for a national coordination seeking the possibility of drafting a common manifesto to resist and defeat the corporate communal fascist threat.”

5.2.    Under Modi.2, and following the recent Assembly elections, as briefly analysed above, RSS is engaged in the final push towards Hindurashtra. It shows India is in a neofascist situation with the threat assuming multidimensional character. Acknowledging this transformation, the Political Organisational Report adopted by the 12th Congress concludes thus: “We are passing through the most dangerous days of fascist offensive. To take up this challenge, we have to relentlessly continue to wage uncompromising ideological struggle against all alien trends, and continue to strive for building the broadest possible united front against fascist Modi raj.  We should pursue the line of independent left assertion. We should speed up party building uniting with all the communists who based on the draft Program and Path documents put forward. We should strive for forging the revolutionary left core based on the program for people’s democracy and socialism, combining with launching of revolutionary struggles in the coming days. In this way we can definitely overcome the present stagnation of the communist movement, intensify the fight against the growing fascist offensive of RSS, complete remaining tasks of democratic revolution and advance towards socialist revolution.’’

5.3.    Thus, as outlined, “building the broadest possible united front against fascist Modi raj” based on “uncompromising ideological struggle”, pursuing “the line of independent left assertion” and speeding up “party building uniting with all communists” are inseparable and intertwined components of the immediate political task of resisting and defeating fascism. In spite of our organisational weakness, though in a limited form, it was based on this political clarity that we organized the ‘Defeat BJP, Save Democracy’ campaign in UP which is RSS’ laboratory of corporate-Hindutva fascism today.

5.4.    In the case of the non-fascist ruling class political spectrum, none of the parties or fronts among them have so far taken a clear-cut anti-fascist position. The non-BJP ruling class opposition parties including the Congress that has already become weak, and the state-level and regional parties with caste-communal orientation, with their close adherence to neoliberal corporatization, are mainly interested in forging opportunist alliances for power sharing so far. Though some of them may utilize people’s resentment against the most corrupt, majoritarian, saffron fascist danger, due to their class line and ideological-political bankruptcy, none of them has so far taken the initiative for fighting neofascism.

5.5.    Coming to the broad Left spectrum, as proved time and again, the left adventurist political line has little role to play in the fascist situation. The left adventurists do not make a distinction between fascist and non-fascist sections of the ruling classes, and due to this sectarian approach, the ascendancy of neofascism is a mere change of regime for them.  On the other hand, the CPI (M) that leads the social democratic stream has not acknowledged the Indian regime as a fascist one. Obviously, being adherents of neoliberal corporatization when in government, the CPI (M) has already exposed themselves as incapable of leading political struggles against corporate capital, the material basis of fascism. Following Singur and Nandigram, the CPI (M) has decimated in Bengal and Tripura. Its present policy of superimposition of pro-corporate policies and ruthless suppression of people who oppose them together with wanton use of fascist weapons like UAPA in Kerala is alienating it further from the working class and the oppressed.

5.6.  At the same time, this is a critical situation where a communist movement which is politically and organizationally capable to lead the anti-fascist movement uniting all non-fascist, secular, democratic and progressive forces is yet to emerge. However, mere acknowledgement of this fact shall not be a justification for refraining from the immediate and urgent task of building up an anti-fascist movement for defeating RSS neofascism. This is a complex task which calls for our interrelated involvement at various levels.

5.7.  Of course, as laid down in our basic documents, we have to speed up party-building, develop class and mass movements, and launch people’s struggles against the ruling system and far-right neoliberal policies based on our ideological-political line. According to the concrete manifestations of neoliberal imperialism, this task of party building has two components- international and country specific. The first is already mentioned in the International Tasks explained earlier.

5.8.    In building up the Party with country-wide influence and for leading democratic and revolutionary struggles in the concrete Indian context, while assimilating lessons from erstwhile people’s democratic and socialist experiences, the integral link among class, caste and gender struggles and struggle for ecological protection should be taken up. That is, the party building process needs to assimilate the comprehensive inter-relationship among class struggle, struggle for caste annihilation, for gender equality and for ecological protection. Thus a party equipped with revolutionary theory and having practical experience from leading different struggles of workers, peasants, and all oppressed including women and the entire spectrum of genders, adivasis and dalits and that of environmental protection is the urgent need today.

5.9.  Such a unity of the workers and all oppressed achieved through struggles against neoliberal-corporatisation in all its manifestations is also indispensable to bring about a revolutionary left core of all fraternal and communist revolutionary forces with a common minimum program. This foundation that upholds the interests of the vast majority of the working and oppressed peoples shall be the starting point for a broadest possible anti-fascist front capable of challenging and defeating RSS-led neofascism.

5.10. In a neofascist context as is the case with India now, the fascists will not tolerate even the minimum basic political right for organisation, assembling, freedom of speech and so on that are essential for taking up essential political tasks.  Under fascism, therefore, the task of building up party and revolutionary left core and that of antifascist movement cannot be put in a ‘one after another’ order. Rather, both tasks are inter-dependent and need to be approached dialectically, and it is the resolute struggles against fascism that set the stage for building party by winning over progressive and democratic sections who will be joining the anti-fascist movement in a big way. And even for overcoming the present stagnation in communist movement and for advancing towards democratic and revolutionary tasks, building up the anti-fascist movement is indispensable.

5.11.  To reiterate, in the fascist context, both class struggle and anti-fascist struggle are interlinked and inseparable. For instance, elements of both were involved in the anti-CAA movement and in the historic Farmers’ Movement, directed against Hindutva fascism and neoliberal corporatization. This experience provides ample scope for developing sustained and uncompromising struggles against saffron-corporate fascism joining with all anti-fascist and non-fascist sections.

5.12. While engaging in such resistance struggles of people, conscious political interventions are needed to build up a people’s alternative against corporate-neofascism. In a vast country like India with many diversities, such initiatives can take the form of state-level coordination joining with revolutionary left, democratic and struggling forces leading to the emergence of a national coordination against Corporate-Hindutva fascism based on an anti-fascist common agenda, which also involve electoral struggles for isolating and defeating RSS neofascism. Of crucial relevance here is appropriate ideological-political interventions against Manuvadi-Hindutva, the ideological basis of Indian fascism.

5.13. While being part of such broad anti-fascist movement in which non-fascist ruling classes along with social democrats who even do not acknowledge the advent of fascism in India are involved, there should not be any laxity on the part of communists to untiringly uphold their ideological position from the perspective of the class interests of the working class and oppressed. That is, the ‘tactical alliance’ in the antifascist struggle that also aims at effectively utilizing the contradictions within ruling classes shall be differentiated from the ‘strategic alliance’ of the working class and oppressed against the ruling system, against neoliberalism and corporate capital today. Otherwise, opportunist alliances in the name of ‘anti-fascist unity’ surrendering proletarian independence and the ideological-political line of communists will result in altogether abandoning of class struggle itself and will be detrimental to the interests of working class and oppressed.

5.14.  With this clear-cut perception, while moving forward with the fundamental tasks of class struggle including the strive for initiating a revolutionary left core starting from the effort to build up party, class and mass organisations and people’s movements, we have to engage ourselves in the immediate task of overthrowing RSS neofascism by building up the broadest possible antifascist front comprising non-fascist sections which involve electoral struggles too. While engaging in this interrelated task, communists have to take up uncompromising ideological struggle of upholding the independent line that always identifies with the toilers and all oppressed. Only such an approach can avoid both sectarian and opportunist deviations.

Resist Manuvadi-Hindutva Fascism; Build-up Anti-Fascist Movement!

Build up Party Based on Proletarian Internationalism!

Fight against Imperialist Proxy War and War Mongering!

March towards People’s Democracy and Socialism!