The Great October Revolution on 7 November 1917 and establishment of Soviet Socialist Republic under Lenin’s leadership was one of the most strategic milestones for the International Communist Movement (ICM). Following October Revolution, under the initiative of Comintern (Communist International) formed in 1919, and later backed by the clarion call “Workers and Oppressed Peoples Unite” adopted at the Second Congress of Comintern in 1920, efforts were taken to form Communist parties comprising working and oppressed peoples across the world. Along with Socialist Revolution in imperialist countries, Peoples Democratic Revolution in dependent colonial and semi-colonial countries became two streams of World Revolution. Many advancements including Chinese Revolution also took place in the course of time.
However, under the neoliberal-neofascist global situation today, while imperialism/global corporate capital is inflicting the biggest-ever offensives on world people through wars and genocide as in Palestine, Iran, etc., the Communist Movement is facing many ideological-political setbacks. Due to this, though working and oppressed peoples in many parts of the world are rising up against imperialism and their lackeys, a political-organisational initiative on the part of revolutionary communists to lead them is lacking at a global level. This enables reformist parties and apologists of neoliberal corporate capital, having no political alternative to neoliberal corporatism, to come to power, taking advantage of the situation.
In this context, India, the most populous and one among the most oppressed and super-exploited countries, is under the stranglehold of fascism led by RSS, world’s largest and longest-running fascist organisation. As part of this, while majority of the people continues as poor, India is also home to world’s largest number of “absolute poor”. As part of RSS’ majoritarian Hindu Rashtra agenda, the religious minorities, especially Muslims, are targeted, stigmatised and wantonly attacked, and through SIR and other means, efforts are in full swing to disenfranchise and even deny citizenship right to them. Rather than the Constitution, the Courts have started following the Manusmriti, the ideological guideline of RSS that treats Dalits and women as subhuman. The minimum democratic rights enshrined in the Constitution are being taken away. Even the basic structure and character of the Constitution itself is undermined. And all Constitutional, judicial, legal and administrative institutions are saffronised. A typical instance is the Election Commission which has become a majoritarian tool under the fascist regime.
Thus, today when we commemorate October Revolution, the world, including India, is at a critical juncture where far-right neofascism propped up by globalised corporate-finance capital is having its grip over every aspect of social life. And, the Communists can play their role only if they are capable to concretely evaluate 21st century imperialism and fascism, both at a global level and in India. As such, while commemorating October Revolution, it is the task of Communists to have ideological clarity on neoliberal imperialism and fascism and develop political practice accordingly. Of course, compared to Lenin’s time, imperialism and finance capital have undergone many qualitative transformations in the 21st century. Same is the case with twenty-first century fascism or neo-fascism compared to classical fascism of the interwar period. Rather than pursuing a mechanical stereotyped or copy-paste approach, both neoliberal imperialism and neofascism need to be understood as extremely complex that require concrete analysis according to the concrete situation, a method pursued by Lenin in accomplishing October Revolution. And today, this is the crucial task before Communists while commemorating the Great October Revolution!
CPI (ML) Red Star
