On Party Building in Present Neo-Fascist Situation Introduction – K N Ramachandran

Paper Presented for Party School in 2023

Party School – 2023

Paper by Com. KNR

On Party Building in Present Neo-Fascist Situation Introduction

Introduction

1. The CC of CPI(ML) Red Star has repeatedly pointed out that, in the present situation when the working class and the peasantry in general, and the whole people, especially, the women, Dalits, Adivasis and other oppressed sections including the minorities, especially Muslims, are facing unprecedented, targeted fascist onslaughts from the Manuvadi-Hindutva forces, in order to organize resistance and to overthrow it the Party building should be given top priority. At the international level too, in spite of the objective situation when all the contradictions are unprecedentedly sharpening, leading to possibilities for mighty spontaneous people’s upsurges breaking out in many countries, there is not a single Communist Party capable of leading them to revolutions to overthrow the imperialists and their junior partners in power and to capture power, leading to advance towards people’s democracy and socialism.

2. It is a Marxist-Leninist Understanding that based on the concrete analysis of the concrete conditions, once the ideological-political line, and based on it, the Program and Path of Revolution are developed, then the most important task is the Party building. There can be no revolution without a revolutionary party capable of analyzing every change in the situation, developing the Party line appropriately, and leading the whole organization for mobilization of the masses to seize the political power.

3. When the neo-fascist Modi government is consolidating its domination in every field very fast, launching various attacks on the working class and oppressed people as a whole, especially on the Muslim minority, dalits, Adivasis, women and other oppressed classes and sections, the expectation was that, if not all, at least major section of the CR organizations shall come forward to unite in to a stronger party or at least join the Revolutionary Left Coordination with a common program to challenge the fascist forces with the approach. But, many are in old rigid frames even after vast socio-economic, political changes in all fields linked with the emergence of fascism have taken place.

4. So, in order to take up the party building by winning over the communist forces and attracting the new generation, intensive ideological political struggle has to be launched. How the new forces can be attracted to the communist party is a big challenge. The new generation is not familiar with Marxist literature. Mainstream media that project the parliamentary left as communists have degenerated to ruling class positions and implementing neoliberal policies wherever in power.

5. In the context of the severe setbacks suffered by the communist movement all over the world with all former socialist countries abandoning the socialist path, in the atmosphere of powerful anti-communist onslaughts by the imperialists and their lackeys, the new generation will give credibility to the communist vision, and be attracted to it, only if we take up the struggle for gender equality, caste annihilation, ecological issues, and for an alternative development path against the mainstream capitalist development paradigm. These issues are to be taken up as integral part of class struggle. This should be the Marxist approach to party building.

6. The party building also calls for a vigorous campaign against the majoritarian Manuvadi- Hindutva, the theoretical base of RSS neo-fascism. Along with developing struggles against increasing anti-people policies of Modi government, and developing united movements, a powerful campaign to expose and defeat Manuvadi Hindutva is needed. Today, except a small section of revolutionary intellectuals and Communist Revolutionary(CR) forces, others are not attacking the Hindutva-Manuvad of RSS/BJP. Even when the 2024 general election is near, the opposition parties including social democrats are not yet prepared to unitedly move against RSS/BJP.

7. It is in this context, the significance of the call given by the CC to launch a powerful campaign against Manuvadi-Hindutva immediately after the 12 th Party Congress and in conformity with the immediate task as laid down in the adopted Political Resolution. Accordingly, we are engaged in building up the broadest possible anti-fascist front uniting with all those who oppose RSS neo-fascism, while, at the same time, upholding our independent political position of fighting for the class interests of the working class and all oppressed. Regarding the latter, which is linked with our strategic and long-term tasks, the Party has to work among toiling masses, women, youth, students, in the cultural and caste annihilation fronts and develop organisations and movements through launching campaigns and struggles.

8. Today, Party building is intertwined with waging ideological struggle at two levels: firstly, we shall carry forward the theoretical/ideological attack on the Manuvadi-Hindutva which is the base of RSS neo-fascism with the help of revolutionary intellectuals, and trying to mobilize Dalit, Adivasi, women organizations and other progressive forces, writers, cultural activists etc., trying to mobilize the youth and student organizations also. Secondly, we shall wage ideological struggle against all alien trends in the communist movement, putting forward our ideological political line. These campaigns as well as our involvement in the struggle against the anti- people, neo-fascist policies shall provide a favourable atmosphere for recruiting new comrades from all fields and to strengthen the task of party building.

12th Party Congress on Party Building.

9. The Political Resolution adopted by the 12th Party Congress says: “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.”

Thus, only under the leadership of an ideologically, politically and organizationally equipped communist party, surrounded by class/mass organizations/movements, the task of development of class struggle and people’s movements can, be effectively carried forward, and the united front activities according to the demand of the present situation can be initiated and developed. It is evident that unless the task of party building is taken up as primary, all other tasks shall remain unfulfilled.

10. The Political Organizational Report (POR) adopted by the !2th Congress explained the various aspects of party building thus: “6.1. In the present international and national situation, when the objective situation is becoming increasingly favorable for a new wave of revolutionary upsurges, right and left deviations and eclectic, opportunist positions among communist forces, only create frustration among the people who are faced with unprecedented deprivation under neoliberal imperialism, and impending danger of ecological catastrophe. Our approach to …Party building in this complex situation is to launch a healthy ideological-political struggle and win over all genuine communist forces for building a Party capable of giving leadership to revolutionary upheaval in the present neoliberal, corporate phase of imperialism…”

Unification of Communist Revolutionaries

11. Regarding the criteria of Communist unity, the POR continues: “6.2… Firstly, a positive approach to proletarian internationalism, and for uniting the ML forces at international level for joint campaigns and struggles wherever possible. Secondly, recognizing that in the concrete conditions of our country, the class struggle, caste struggle and gender struggle are integrally related to each other and should be taken up accordingly, waging the caste annihilation movement and gender equality struggle along with the class struggle. Thirdly, recognizing the significance of protecting ecology with a now or never approach, when the imperialist system has pushed humanity to the verge of ecological catastrophe. Fourthly, continuing struggles to complete remaining tasks of agrarian revolution including land to the tiller, and completing anti-imperialist tasks to create conditions for advancing to the stage of socialist revolution. Based on these, the process of uniting the CR forces should be speeded up with the aim of building a powerful communist party at all India level.”

12. This question of winning over the communist forces to the party should be taken up at three levels: Firstly, though their number may vary considerably from state to state, there are many former members of organizations belonging to the ‘communist spectrum’ who can be won over and enrolled after convincing them about our party line; Secondly, there are many groups of comrades, especially in states where the left movement had good influence, who have left their previous organizations due to ideological or political or organizational differences. For winning over them also initiative should be taken; Thirdly, active efforts should be made to find out organizations who are nearer to our party line and to win over them through protracted discussions and, if necessary working together with them for some time forming coordination committees.

Increasing Party Membership

13. Over the past few years, there has only been nominal increase in the membership of our Party. Even among these existing members, many are not fulfilling the responsibilities of party members as explained in the Party Constitution. Below central committee level, levy system is yet to be implemented properly. This is to be rectified at the earliest. Considering the enormous tasks the Party has to take up, the existing membership is absolutely insufficient. Urgent steps should be taken to increase the membership. The following steps are proposed to accomplish this task:

a. We have formed Party Sub-Committees in all class/mass organizations and people’s movements at central level. They are constituted at state level also at least in few states or in few fields. Make these committees active and through them take steps to politicize the members of these class/mass organizations and for their enrolment as party members from all fields, especially from among the trade union members, agricultural workers and peasantry.

b. Though 65 percent of India’s population is below the age of 35, our membership among youth and students is very limited. This is because of our weakness in building the student and youth organizations in spite of repeated decisions. Hence more emphasis is to be given for recruiting large number of candidate members from students and youth.

c. Women constitute half of our population. Without giving emphasis to women’s liberation, party cannot advance the revolutionary movement. But proportion of women among our party members and their presence in party committees are much less. Attention should be given for recruiting large number of women as party members, politicize and activate them, and create healthy conditions in the party committees for their active involvement.

d. An active campaign should be organized to hold continuous discussions to win over politically advanced elements from other communist organisations/groups including those who are disgusted with the political-ideological line of these parties or are inactive because of many reasons.

e. The most important source of recruitment to Party is peoples movements and struggles. Basti Suraksha Manch in Odisha, land struggles in other parts of the country, etc. are examples. If we can politicise such cadres who are active in such struggles, large number of cadres may be recruited from landless /homeless poor and oppressed sections.

Strengthening State Committees

14. In a multi-national/multi-lingual/multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country like India, the state committees have to play a very important role if we have to build up party and lead the revolutionary movement. But many of our state committees are very weak. Many of them have no proper office or office functioning. Many of them do not bring out the state party organ or issue statements on important developments. We have to wage consistent struggle against the influence of liberalism on the one hand and sectarianism on the other to strengthen the state committee functioning, taking following practical steps:

a. Give maximum emphasis to get a regular office, however small it is and start its functioning with one whole-timer comrade in charge for it.

b. Give importance to bring out state party organ; make effective use of social media and online publications for party and class/mass organizations.

c. Start regular practice of issuing press statements on all important state issues, along with issuing CC statements on important issues; organize a library and organize political education to party members on a regular basis.

d. Central, state, district fund collections should be systematically organized at appropriate time according to local conditions;

e. Give emphasis to regularize levy system at all levels, maintain levy and account registers;

f. In line with the Central Committee, the SC/SOC should send Party Circulars regularly to District Committees and state reports to CC regularly.

Strengthen the District Committee functioning:

15. The district committees link the state committee with the grass root party committees, and in the party structure of the communist party it has to play an important role. It should have an office and regular office functioning, including the practice of issuing press statements on important developments. It should coordinate the working of area committees and the grass root functioning below them. It should collect the levy regularly and ensure the propagation of party organs and literature. It should maintain levy register and account register. It should send circulars to lower level committees on the one hand, and send regular written reports to state committee.

Importance of Party Education:

16. In spite of repeated decisions, necessary emphasis is not given to party education at state and district levels and below. Though Central Party Schools are regularly conducted from 2010, Party Schools are not organized at lower levels including translation of all Central Party School papers in most of the states. All the state committees should ensure that immediate steps are taken to overcome this weakness. In the present fascist situation, the importance of party education by organizing regular party classes has further increased. It also calls for making necessary basic Marxist classics available to the comrades. The state committees should give increasing attention to these points. Party education should be taken up at following three levels:

a. Central Party Schools organized by the CC every year based on papers prepared and distributed earlier on important currently relevant subjects. It is regularly taking place.

b. Party classes organized by the state committees at district and areal levels to impart education on Party documents, basics of Marxism and classes on various issues which are connected with developing class struggle.

c. Self study by Party members: It is very important. The practice of reading party documents, statements, basic Marxist books, daily newspapers, weeklies and documents and statements of other organizations should be developed. The central, state, district, area committee leaders attending the party committees should give emphasis to this subject.

d. In order to help the members and sympathisers to develop ideological, political understanding, the Party should make available basic Marxist books, Party documents, relevant books on current developments, Party organ, etc in their mother tongue. For this publication centres are needed.

Building Grass-root level Party Committees linking with 3- tier Panchayat System and Capture of Political Power at Local Level

17. CC has been repeatedly emphasizing the importance of organizing and strengthening party committees at the grass root level, that is, party committees at Branch, Local and Area levels and Party Sympathizers’ Groups. Decline in the strength of our mobilization and our poor performance in the elections even in the districts where we have waged many struggles are due to the weakness of our party at grass root level. Since the time of the introduction of 3-tier Panchayat system, all ruling class parties have started giving lot of importance to actively participate in the activities of the Gram, Block and District Panchayats, deploying even their senior cadres for it. Since enormous funds are available for local bodies, to control them and to create mass base for Assembly and LS elections, these main-stream parties use corruption and create caste and communal vote banks at grass root level. So, without fighting them we cannot maintain our mass support achieved through the people’s struggles.

18. However, our state committees are not giving importance to grass root level party building, Due to negligence or inactivity of district and area level work, we are losing party members and large number of class/mass organizations members in many areas. Besides, as our state committees are not giving necessary attention to grass root level party committees and to provide party education and political guidance to them, even many of our own comrades elected to these panchayat system became corrupt and left the party.

19. The issue is also linked to developing Party’s understanding on the link between parliamentary struggle and class struggle, along with fighting all influences of parliamentary cretinism. Unlike the revisionist approach, this question of putting forward an alternative approach to development and democracy at grass root level and fighting for it cannot be postponed to be settled after revolution. We should give political and organizational importance to strengthening grass root level party committees. In districts and taluks/blocks where our district and area committees are functioning, select gram and block panchayats where our party presence is there; strengthen the branch committees at village/town/municipal ward level and Local Committees at Gram/Town panchayat levels; chalk out people’s programs based on our approach to development and democratization and form people’s committees to capture panchayats. By striving to make these panchayats to function according to our political and organizational line, consistently strengthening the direct participation of the people in its activities through strengthening the functioning of the neighborhood committees we can take class struggle to the grass root levels.

20. While giving emphasis to party building, along with the emphasis to grass root level party building at Area, Local and Branch committees, their activities should be linked to our active participation in the numerous struggles of the people, and with the functioning of the 3-tier panchayat system. In the Central Party School in 2013, though a paper on OUR APPROACH TO PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS was presented and discussed, still we could not make any advances in this field. Not only that, almost all our comrades elected to local bodies so far, by and large either got influenced by corrupt practices or left our party.

21. According to our experience, if the gains from people’s struggles are not used for consolidating our mass base and effectively utilised at the local body elections very soon the gains would be lost. Further, many decades of parliamentary experience of traditional communist parties also teaches that if the parliamentary institutions including the 3-tier panchayat system are not used in a revolutionary manner as part of the class struggle, they can lead to negative results.

22. Presently, under neo-liberal corporatisation, both imperialism and its junior partners, the ruling classes, are effectively utilizing local self governments for their far-right agenda. In this context, it is imperative on the part of the struggling left forces to put forward a class approach to local body elections, and the continuation of it even if our comrades get elected to only one seat. In this way the so called top-down decentralization imposed under the labels like “participatory democracy”, “participatory development”, and “empowerment”, etc. as advocated by the imperialist agencies can be exposed. Such decentralization is not intended for genuine people’s political power at the local level. On the contrary, it leads to making local bodies as appendages of global corporate capital.

23. At the behest of neo-colonial agencies such as the World Bank and IMF, as part of rolling back the state, almost all of the erstwhile social welfare and developmental tasks of the central and state governments are put on the shoulders of fund-starved local bodies, who are made direct dependencies of WB, ADB and other funding agencies. In spite of the economic burden imposed on them, the right to collect land revenue, which is now with the State government, is not set apart for local bodies. The bureaucratic set up of the local bodies has also changed little in the midst of many talks on decentralization. Even today, the elected representatives of the Panchayat system are not vested with any real powers. All the financial and executive powers are vested with the executive officer or secretary of the Panchayat system at village, bloc and district levels. More precisely, the elected local bodies still lack autonomy regarding local planning, resource mobilization and executive powers of implementation.

24. Focusing on these aspects, according to concrete conditions, a people’s alternative of bottom-up decentralization inseparably linked with the development of class struggle aimed at basically altering the existing property relations and power structure can be put forward. In continuation to the active functioning of the grass root level party committees, and the people’s struggles taken up by them, the Party should actively participate in the local body elections and utilize the panchayat raj for the political program of transforming the local bodies as primary centers of people’s political power. The participation in local bodies elections should be linked with the struggle for redistribution of land on the basis of land to the tiller, confiscation of land held by land mafia, distribution of such lands and surplus land among landless, agitation against displacement, against all super-imposed neocolonial-neoliberal projects, etc. The Party should reject the neo-liberal decentralization experiments pursued In different states. To develop this orientation, lessons from the positive experience of socialist construction in former socialist countries should be assimilated according to our situation. All State Committees should prepare a model manifesto specifying Party’s program including specific demands for land, shelter, food, drinking water, healthcare, education, employment, etc. as part of the people-oriented and ‘sustainable development’ perspective. Based on it, the party committees or people’s committees responsible for the gram/block/district panchayats can draft their program according to concrete demands of the people. In this way, the parliamentary struggle for panchayat boards can be made part of the revolutionary alternative we put forward at state and national levels.

25. Taking up this challenge of party building at the grass root level where we have party’s presence and some mass contacts through local struggles means coming in to contradiction with the already well—entrenched mainstream parties as well as vested interests. It will politically educate the party as a whole not only to develop grass root level mass base, but to get invaluable lessons for developing the class struggle for people’s political power at the grass root level also. The theoretical/ideological questions connected with the transformation of communist parties to bureaucratic parties in erstwhile socialist countries are also associated with the abandoning of people’s power centres established during the initial satages of revolution. So, our work in the 3-tier Panchayat System should be seriously taken up recognizing the fact that not only for immediate purpose of developing our mass base, but also for long term revolutionary socialist transformation of the society and for establishing people’s political power at the grass root level also.

26. From a communist perspective, the question of ‘communes’ which is linked up with people’s political power, in the present context, needs to be discussed in relation to our participation in local bodies. The People’s Communes in China which was the basic unit of holding political-economic power was based on the slogan ‘power to the people’. All party committees have to seriously understand the ideological-political- organisational ramifications of communes as the centres of people’s political power based on the experiences of ‘Paris Commune’, the ‘Soviets’ in the Soviet Union, and the ‘People’s Communes’ in China. Therefore, instead of waiting for revolution, from the pre-revolutionary period onward, we have to seriously take up the task of developing communes where ever we have mass base and local political power taking into account the concrete social formation in our country.

Party Finance

27. The Party has to depend on the people entirely for its finance. It is against any form of extortion or forcible collection, any form of ‘money actions’, collection of contributions from mafia, anti-people and corrupt forces. The money collected by every committee and the expenses should be fully accounted for. Every functioning committee from the CC to the Branch Committee, there should be an Account Book, in which all receipts and expenses are recorded. Except in the case of bucket collections in the streets, receipts should be given for collections, and an accounting system, including the auditing of the accounts should be developed. Based on the experience of the communist movement from its inception and our own experience, the Party has developed a fund raising method and levy collection from Party members as follows:

a. Central Fund collection: For helping the functioning of the CC, a Central Fund collection should be organized and coordinated CC and by all SCs and SOCs every year at a stipulated time as by CC. There should be publicity through party publications, posters, handbills and through social media.

b. State Fund Collection: Every State Committees should decide the best period for the state fund collection. Giving good publicity through social media, posters, hand bills etc, the state fund collection should be organized for two weeks with all the party members participating in it compulsorily. A quota may be decided for the District Committees and total quota for the state. Out of the amount collected, the SCs may give 10% for the CC. The SCs should see that completion of fund collection should be followed by proper auditing and closing of accounts.

c. District Fund Collection: As decided by the SC, all the DCs should plan fund collection for one or two weeks with the participation of all party members and sympathisers. The DCs can decide the quota. From this collection, 75% is for the DCs and grass root level committees, and 25% for the SC or as decided.

d. Party membership fee for an year is Rs 20, which should be paid at the time of renewal of membership or recruitment. This entire amount should be sent to Party Centre along with the district-wise membership list.

e. Party Levy Collection: According to Party Constitution, every Party member/candidate member should pay levy every month which ranges from 2 to 8 % of his/her income. For whole timers, unless otherwise decided, it shall be Rs 20 per month. Every party committee should decide the levy for its members and collect it regularly. Out of the total levy ccollected in a state, 50% goes to DCs and below, 40% to the SC and 10% to the CC. Every functioning committee should have a levy register and collection should be recorded in it. The SCs should organize fixing and collection of levy’s through party committees and report it which should be followed by DCs. A party member who without valid reason fails to give levy continuously for three months, may be issued a notice by the concerned committee, and if the explanation is not satisfactory may be removed from Party roll and should be reported to the next higher committee.

f. Apart from these regular fund collection, contributions can be collected from party sympathisers and friends by the party committees. For struggles, campaigns, etc., also funds are needed and should be collected. The basic principle to be followed is except in the case of bucket collections, all other collections should be made giving receipts in which the contact no and address of the concerned committees are given.

g. Reflecting the vast unevenness in our SCs and SOCs, there are vast differences in the collections also. In spite of all difficulties proper procedures are to be followed in all cases of fund collections.

Conclusion

28. Comrades, Our aim is to build a Bolshevik style Communist Party surrounded by class/mass organizations and various people’s movements which is capable of facing any changes in the political situation in the country. Under RSS Neo-Fascism today where even dissent and difference are treated as treason, the ‘democratic space’ for work is shrinking fast. All party committees should be aware of this and be prepared to face any eventuality. At the same time, we shall strive to utilize the the existing situation for open work to link the party with the masses as long as possible. Our party committee system and organizational functioning should be properly streamlined so that it is capable of confronting all eventualities by making the party committees capable of utilizing all open and secret, parliamentary and non-parliamentary means to make the party safe, while developing class struggle continuously. Let us strengthen our party building with all our might, overcoming all past mistakes and present weaknesses.

(Updated and Edited Version of the Papers Presented in 2013, 2019 and 2020)