In Noida, Uttar Pradesh, several migrant workers who had come from West Bengal had been living for a long time. Among them were Sonali Bibi and Sweety Bibi from Birbhum district of West Bengal. Hearing them converse in the Bengali language, the Uttar Pradesh police detained them under the “Drive Out Bangladeshis” campaign. Pregnant Sonali, along with her husband Danish and their eight-year-old son, as well as Sweety Bibi and her two minor children, were handed over by the central government to the Border Security Force (BSF). Despite repeated protests by these people, the BSF pushed them back across the West Bengal–Bangladesh border and sent them into Bangladesh.

In this manner, many Indian citizens have been forcibly pushed into Bangladesh and continue to be pushed out. The Modi government ran into difficulty only when a Bangladeshi court identified them as Indian citizens and sent them to jail. Meanwhile, there was considerable uproar in West Bengal over this issue. On the appeal filed by Sonali Bibi’s father, Bhodu Sheikh, seeking the return of Sonali, her son, and her husband to India, the Calcutta High Court expressed a positive opinion, stating that Sonali is an Indian citizen and pregnant, and directed the central government to immediately make arrangements to bring her back to India. However, the Modi government stood by its decision, declared Sonali to be Bangladeshi, and refused to bring her back.

The Calcutta High Court then initiated contempt proceedings against the central government and once again ordered it to bring Sonali back from Bangladesh. Even then, the Modi government did nothing, treating the matter as an issue of prestige. The case then went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court directed the central government to secure the release of the pregnant Sonali Bibi from a Bangladeshi jail, bring her back to India, and ensure proper medical treatment for her.

One of Sonali’s relatives went to Bangladesh and tried to arrange bail for Sonali Bibi and Sweety Bibi. On humanitarian grounds, a Bangladeshi court granted bail to Sonali Bibi. However, her husband Danish, Sweety Bibi, and Sweety’s two minor children have still not been able to leave Bangladesh. After Sonali Bibi and her eight-year-old child returned, the West Bengal government ensured proper medical treatment for her. Sonali is very happy to be reunited with her family in Birbhum, but she remains deeply worried because her husband Danish and Sweety Bibi are still stranded in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, during the SIR process in Birbhum, since Sonali Bibi’s father Bhodu Sheikh’s name appeared in the 2003 voter list, Sonali’s name has also been updated in the new SIR list.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the self-proclaimed new “Hindu Hriday Samrat” Yogi Adityanath, has now resolved to outdo Assam in promoting this new model of Hindu Rashtra. During the CAA/NRC period in Assam, under labels such as “illegal migrant,” “infiltrator,” or “stateless foreigner,” people were arrested on mere suspicion, incarcerated in detention camps on a massive scale, tortured and harassed, and driven to the point of suicide. Now, under Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, Uttar Pradesh is moving in the same direction.

Proof of this is the recent order issued by the Uttar Pradesh government to all district collectors, instructing them to identify infiltrators, illegal migrants, and foreigners in their districts and to set up temporary detention centers in every district. Identified “illegal migrants/foreigners” are to be sent to these centers and then deported as per central government directions. At present, in districts such as Bahraich, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Mirzapur, Aligarh, and others, the Uttar Pradesh police are engaged in a witch-hunt-like search for so-called Bangladeshi or Rohingya infiltrators. In this campaign, the UP police are particularly targeting Muslims, especially Bengali-speaking Muslims from West Bengal.

For now, the lapdog media has no other work except hunting for “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas” in Uttar Pradesh and using this as a pretext to spread hatred and division. Switch on the TV and one is confronted with hateful headlines such as: “Yogi’s Strike, Panic Among Infiltrators” or “Bulldozer Baba’s Terror, Wrath on Bangladeshi Infiltrators,” and so on. This endless hatred claimed the life of Ramnarayan Baghel, a Dalit migrant worker from Chhattisgarh who had gone to Kerala in search of work. In Palakkad district, saffron goons beat him so brutally on the suspicion of being Bangladeshi that he died. According to the doctors who conducted the post-mortem, they had never seen such brutality—every part of his body was broken. What is more, even in supposedly progressive Kerala, when saffron goons demanded proof of Indian citizenship and beat Ramnarayan, he was not speaking Bengali but Hindi-mixed Chhattisgarhi. Yet, the RSS goons killed him. Similarly, in Maharashtra, Odisha, and several other states, Muslim migrant workers from West Bengal have been killed by saffron gangs in this storm of hatred.

After Bihar, among the 12 states where the Election Commission has implemented SIR, Uttar Pradesh stands out as the state with the largest number of voters in the country. The real objective of SIR is not to identify fake voters but to identify migrant workers/citizens, strip them of their voting and civic rights, and promptly send them to detention centers for deportation—this is abundantly clear from the actions of the Uttar Pradesh government. The Chief Minister has justified this in the name of maintaining law and order, communal harmony, and above all “national security.”

According to the latest SIR figures from these 12 states, Uttar Pradesh has a total of 154 million voters. In the SIR process, the highest number of names deleted from the voter lists anywhere in the country—28.9 million—has been in Uttar Pradesh. Yogi Adityanath and his administrative officials surely know that the United Nations has classified Rohingya refugees among the most persecuted communities and has urged governments worldwide to take special measures for their protection. In any case, the number of Rohingya refugees in India is very small; most are in Bangladesh.

As long as the Awami League under Sheikh Hasina was in power in Bangladesh, the fascist Sangh Parivar had no concern about “Bangladeshi infiltrators,” because the Modi government enjoyed cordial relations with the Hasina government. But circumstances have changed. Since Hasina was ousted from power in Bangladesh and granted diplomatic asylum by the Indian government, the Sangh Parivar and its blind followers have been projecting infiltrators—especially Bangladeshi or Rohingya Muslims—as the cause of all problems in the country. In BJP-ruled double-engine states such as Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, and Assam, all these maneuvers are driven by Islamophobia—hatred toward Muslims and an attempt to isolate them.

In Uttar Pradesh, under recent government instructions, 17 municipal corporations have been asked to identify Bangladeshi and Rohingya workers employed alongside sanitation workers and hand over lists to the police. The Yogi government has even abolished the Christmas holiday on December 25.

While this orgy of hatred and division is underway in Uttar Pradesh, the state ranks very low on the Human Development Index according to official data. Unemployment and poverty are at their peak. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, atrocities against Dalits/oppressed communities, women, and minorities are the highest in the state. Demolishing the homes of the poor, workers, and minorities with bulldozers; allowing upper-caste strongmen’s hooliganism to reach its zenith; and killing oppressed people and minorities in fake encounters and declaring the state “crime-free”—these are the Uttar Pradesh government’s crowning achievements. But none of this is visible to the petty journalists of the corporate-controlled lapdog media who survive on crumbs while worshipping Bulldozer Baba daily.

In Assam, the state government justified detention centers as necessary for securing the northeastern borders. But Uttar Pradesh shares an international border with only one country—Nepal. So which country is Uttar Pradesh threatened by? Relations with Nepal are stable, and Nepali citizens in Uttar Pradesh are not being harassed by saffron goons or the state government. Then why this hateful campaign against Bengali-speaking working people in Uttar Pradesh?

Across all BJP-ruled states, hateful and violent campaigns against Muslims and, more recently, Christians are intrinsic to their Hindu Rashtra project. On December 23, in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, the police forcibly picked up 120 elderly Muslims—many of them women—who had just returned from the Haj pilgrimage, from their homes at midnight, detained them all day, and subjected them to humiliating interrogation. The Muslim community in Raipur protested against this. Similarly, in every BJP-ruled state, there is a hunt for infiltrators—especially Bengali-speakers—leading to indiscriminate arrests and harassment.

In reality, this violent campaign to crush “infiltrators” under the guise of SIR has a larger objective: to conquer Bengal. With this aim, on the occasion of the RSS completing 100 years, its chief Mohan Bhagwat organized several conferences in Bengal, including public recitations of the Gita. According to him, everyone residing in India is Hindu, and there is no need to declare a Hindu Rashtra—India already is one. Mohan Bhagwat, who reveres Hitler, has even claimed that this time there will be “change” in Bengal and a pro–Hindu Rashtra government will be formed. That is why the political arm of the Sangh Parivar, the BJP, is aggressively targeting Bengali-speaking working people.

Among BJP Chief Ministers, there is intense competition over who can run the most violent Islamophobic campaign. In this race are Himanta Biswa Sarma, Devendra Fadnavis, Pushkar Dhami, Bhajan Lal Sharma, and Mohan Yadav. Vishnu Deo Sai is busy proving himself a “pure Sanatani,” while Rekha Gupta has mastered hate speech. And Yogi Adityanath is running just behind Modi in the race to become the supreme “Hindu Hriday Samrat.” Therefore, even after the Bengal elections, the fascist Sangh Parivar’s primary weapons—hatred, fear, and division—will continue unabated, whether in Uttar Pradesh or in whichever state faces the next election.

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Modi regime’s role as a corporate-facilitator together with its maddening pace towards a majoritarian Hindu Rashtra, is steadily assuming unprecedented far-right political-economic dimensions. A notable move in this direction, which is also perfectly in tune with the ‘cultural nationalism’ of RSS, has been the anti-Federal move towards simultaneous elections to Parliament and State Assemblies (also called “One Nation One Election” – ONOE). As is obvious, the objective behind this is the establishment of a unitary, highly centralised and majoritarian fascist regime and total demolition of whatever left of Federalism in the Indian Constitution. And, it is also inseparable from the ongoing efforts to super-impose one culture, one religion, one language, one police, and so on, at the pan-Indian level.

Along with opposition parties, all democratic forces and well-meaning people from all walks of life have come up against this fascist move, even as the ruling regime has justified simultaneous elections in terms of saving in cost and for avoidance of disruptions in development work due to elections. In September 2023, the government had appointed a High Level Committee headed by Ramnath Kovind, former President of India, to examine the whole issue of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and Local Bodies of all States. And, in spite of serious objections, the Modi government has introduced the 129th Amendment Bill for changing the basic character of the Constitution in relation to this. Now, this Bill which was introduced in Lok Sabha in December 2024, is referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for scrutiny.

Revealingly, two prominent neoliberal economists have recently appeared before the JPC in the guise of sharing valuable insights regarding ONOE. Of the two, one is the renowned Gita Gopinath, a naturalized American citizen. As a prominent American economist from Harvard, which plays a leading ideological role in shaping global neoliberal governance, Gita became the Chief Economist and later the First Deputy Managing Director of IMF, the key promoter of neoliberal corporatism, the hallmark of which is unfettered cross-border mobility of corporate capital through liberalisation/deregulation, privatization and globalisation. Revealingly, till her appointment as Chief Economist of IMF, during 2016-18, Gita was the Honorary Economic Advisor to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, leader of the depoliticised CPI (M). She was also a Member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters for India’s Ministry of Finance. Gita’s appearance before the JPC, as the former IMF Deputy Managing Director, and sharing of her views ardently supporting ONOE, have already got much attention from Godi media.

The second expert, who appeared before JPC and shared his positive views on ONOE along with Gita, was Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) since 2022, with the rank of Secretary, Government of India. Though a neoliberal economist by profession, Sanyal is widely known as a Sangh Parivar ideologue, especially as a staunch advocate of “new history writing”, a major trend in 21st century neofascism at a global level. As such, while remaining an EAC-PM member, Sanyal’s main work is linked with the ongoing majoritarian and Islamophobic campaign to create a new Hindutva-oriented history. Many concerned scholars and historians have already exposed his affinity to majoritarian prejudices, accused him of “historical distortion”, lack of scholarly rigor, depth,”contextual understanding, and even called his conclusions as “bastardized form of early colonial interpretations”. However, as usual, the corporate -saffron media have no qualms in eulogising him and highlighting his appearance to JPC along with Gita Gopinath.

As representatives of neoliberal corporatism, the wholehearted support of far-right experts like Gita and Sanyal to ONOE serves an ideological function too. Of course, already being integrated with the Hindutva bandwagon, Sanyal’s support to ONOE is perfectly in tune with his anti-federal, unitary, and majoritarian Hindutva orientation. On the other hand, Gita’s solidarity with simultaneous indian elections is intertwined with IMF’s prescription on downsizing of government and rollback of state expenditures. At a time when horrific proportions of public funds are appropriated by corporates and crony capitalists, and even as trillions of rupees worth corporate tax exemptions are available to them, Gita’s main concern is with the expenditures (for Lok Sabha election, average total expenditure by Election Commission, Parties and candidates is estimated at around ₹50000 crore in India) required for separate elections. Another argument in favour of ONOE by Gita is that separate elections will disrupt the development effort which, amid the rhetoric of Viksit Bharat, is very appealing to Indian rulers.

As a matter of fact, if Gita Gopinath, as an American citizen and as a former IMF expert, is that much concerned about election expenditures, then she should have raised this issue before appropriate US bodies or in front of US voters. For, as already noted, when the Indian parliament election requires ₹50000, US presidential election alone needs an expenditure of ₹ 135,000 crore ($15 billion dollar). Further, US presidential election and State elections are separate and take place at different levels, and the entire election proces including constitutional procedures and funding, etc., amply reflect significant powers for federal states, which have different sets of rules and regulations. All these make American election expenditures several times larger than that of India, the most populous country in the world. Obviously, US imperialism, the supreme neocolonial arbiter does not require Gita Gopinath like experts’ advice in this regard. Same was the case when GST was super- imposed over India, the blueprint of which was prepared by a whole a set of US agencies. When GST that took away the federal tax powers of States in India, no neoliberal expert has come forward with a similar GST proposal for the US.

To be precise, the direct involvement of pro-corporate neoliberal experts in the Hindutva fascist project of demolishing Indian federal structure emanates from global corporate capital’s need of a unified Indian market in gross disregard of the complexities and diversities of multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious India. In the specific case of India, in accomplishing this task, Gita Gopinath like Indian-born American experts act as bridge between neoliberal imperialism and Indian ruling regime, it’s faithful lackey.

Postscript : In this context, the adorable initiative on the part of a group of leading International Experts including Nobel Laureate, renowned economists, policy experts, and others, in writing an Open Letter addressed to Modi government on MGNREGA repeal, should be duly acknowledged. Raising their concerns on demolishing MGNREGA, world’s largest rights-based public employment programme, and replacing it with VB-G RAM G as a tool of Central regime that puts the financial burden on States, these world-famous experts, mainly from US and EU, have characterised the move as a “structural sabotage” and a “historic error”. While upholding the heartwarming response of these concerned scholars and experts, as Indian citizens, it is our task to expose the pro-corporate and anti-people essence of neoliberal think-tanks.

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On the Immediate Task of Building up the All India People’s Movement against RSS Fascism!

(Synopsis of Keynote Speech at the Anti-Fascist Convention on 6 December 2025)

Introduction

6th December, is the day when Sangh Parivar goons demolished the Babri Masjid 33 years ago, i.e., on 6 December 1992. 6th December is the death anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar too, and is observed as “Mahaparinirvan Diwas” (a term borrowed from Buddhism) to honour the great contributions of Dr. Ambedkar as the chief architect of Indian Constitution. True, Ambedkar is widely considered as the “greatest ideological enemy” of RSS and its Hindu Rashtra agenda as codified in Manusmriti (Code of Manu) which Ambedkar burned on 25 December 1927. And, when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Indian Constitution on 26 November 1949, RSS even proposed Manusmriti, which identified Dalits and Women as subhuman, as India’s Constitution.

Since the time of its founding on 27 September 1925, the RSS has been the proponent of “Sanatan Dharma” (as laid down in Manusmriti) that is synonymous with Indian Caste system, the most inhuman social institution in history. The “cultural nationalism” of RSS is rooted in Brahmanical “Sanatan Dharma”. Golwalkar, while interpreting “Hindu Nation” as synonymous with “Casteism” also defined “Hindus as a nation unto themselves”. As such, he also identified Muslims, Christians and Communists as internal enemies, with particular emphasis on Muslims as enemy number one. And, together with its genocidal hatred towards Muslims, the RSS totally dissociated from the Indian Independence struggle. Thus, the “cultural nationalism” of RSS has been a camouflage for its servility to British colonialism and betrayal of Indian independence struggle. Therefore, “cultural nationalism” of RSS is the antithesis of oppressed people’s “nationalism”, which is invariably anti-colonial and anti-imperialist in essence. Of course, before its proposal of Manusmriti as Constitution, the RSS was banned for some time following the assassination of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi by Godse in 1948. Since then, for almost two decades, i.e., till the 1970s, the RSS kept more or less a low profile.

RSS’ Sudden Shot Up Since the 1970s

Historically, fascist forces are adept in transforming crises into opportunities, and this is applicable to RSS also. Thus, the 1970s that witnessed turbulent political-economic crisis leading to the abandonment of “welfare state” and embrace of neoliberalism at a global level, had its repercussions in India too, leading to the declaration of Emergency in June 1975. This turned out to be a godsend opportunity for RSS to come to the political limelight from more than two decades of its relative obscurity. Taking advantage of the weakness of progressive-democratic forces, the RSS came to lead the anti-Emergency struggle that also enabled its pan-Indian expansion. After the Emergency, the RSS replaced Jan Sangh with BJP as its political tool in 1980. Today, the BJP has become the world’s biggest political party, whose ideological fountainhead is RSS, the largest and longest-running fascist organisation in the world.

Since the 1980s, the RSS had to traverse a series of Hindutva milestones marked by Ram Janmabhoomi movement that began in 1984, Shilanyas of 1989, demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, ascendance of the first BJP government led by Vajpayee by the turn of the 21st century, 2002 Gujarat Pogrom on Muslims, and a number of riots (such as Nellie pogrom on Bengali Muslims, 1983; Anti-Sikh violence in Delhi, 1984; Bhagalpur massacre of Muslims, 1989; Kandhamal violence against Christians, 2008; etc.) targeted against minorities, more frequently against Muslims, finally culminating in the coming of Modi regime since 2014. And now under Modi 3.0, RSS’ fascist hold over the Indian state power is of unimaginable proportions. Today, RSS has its tentacles over the entire micro and macro spheres of Indian society. Using the BJP regime, it has systematically penetrated into all institutions of power including civil administration, military, judiciary, police, culture, education and even scientific research. Affiliated organisations or wings of RSS, which come under the umbrella Sangh Parivar, have spread across trade union, organisations of women, students, youth, tribals, medical service, media, legal profession, religion, industry, agriculture, finance, rural mission, cooperative societies and even charity and philanthropy. As such, though not a registered organisation and accountable to none, leading hundreds of secret and open organisations including innumerable overseas extensions and affiliates, RSS is now in a maddening pace towards the establishment of an intolerant, majoritarian, theocratic Hindu Rashtra.

Multi-Dimensional Political-Economic, Social and Cultural Impact of RSS Fascism

Obviously, with its far-right, pro-corporate political-economic agenda, coupled with Manuvadi and Islamophobic “cultural nationalism” as ideological basis, the brunt of the multifaceted fascist oppression unleashed by RSS-BJP is borne by common people comprising the super-exploited workers, caste-oppressed Dalits, Adivasis, Women and above all Minorities, especially, Muslims. While Modi himself is claiming that India is on the verge of becoming world’s third largest economy in his third term, according to the latest World Hunger Index, India’s rank is 105th out of 127 countries. With more than half of the world’s “extreme poor” (or “absolute poor”) people, India has become a “citadel of global poverty” and one of the most unequal countries of the world now. While 40% of the country’s wealth is appropriated by the top one percent of the superrich comprising crony capitalists like Adani and Ambani, the bottom 50% of the population holds only 3% of the country’s wealth. Parliament remains a spectator under ‘crony capitalism’ – i.e., close nexus between most corrupt capitalists and the regime that is transformed as a ‘corporate-facilitator’ – while policy decisions are taken in corporate board rooms or in RSS headquarters. Public assets and national wealth are systematically sold out to crony capitalists while laws pertaining to tax, labour and environment are liberalised for facilitating corporate plunder. More than 90% of the Indian working class now belongs to the category of informal or unorganised workers and are condemned to subsist as bonded labourers or contract workers, devoid of basic democratic rights. The draconian pro-corporate Farm Laws and Labour Codes were designed to deny peasants and workers their hard-earned rights, as they are increasingly driven to landlessness, unemployment, poverty and destitution.

Since 2014, concerted efforts have been in full swing to alter the basic structure and character of the Constitution, including undermining of Federalism, which Golwalkar interpreted as a “poisonous seed” of disruption. Many of the moves in this direction were aimed at the establishment of a unitary, majoritarian Hindu Rashtra. For instance, the superimposition of GST in 2017 undermined the economic basis of federalism in India. Islamophobic undertones of Abrogation of Article 370 that took away the special status of J&K, the CAA that incorporated religion as a criterion of citizenship, prime minister himself leading the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir constructed at the very site of demolished Babri Masjid, Waqf Act, move towards Uniform Civil Code and so on, are self-evident. And, the ongoing SIR is functioning as the re-incarnation of CAA and NRC, specially constituted for disenfranchising Muslims. For instance, according to reports, 24.7 lakh Muslims alone were removed from voter’s list through Bihar SIR. Move towards simultaneous elections to Parliament and Assemblies, and proposals like ‘one nation, one police’, ‘one nation, one language’, etc., are all aimed at altering the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious character of India.

Meanwhile, by incorporating upper caste-oriented EWS into the Constitution through 103rd Constitutional Amendment, caste-based reservation is also undermined or diluted. On the one hand, RSS is trying to deconstruct various caste organisations by depoliticising and disorienting them, while on the other, a process of integrating the oppressed castes into the Hindutva bandwagon is also going on, thereby diverting attention from the badly needed Caste Census. A process of saffronisation, Sanskritisation and corporatisation of the entire education is taking place through the NEP. As part of it, Sanskrit, already a ‘dead’ language, and Hindi are superimposed on other linguistic nationalities in disregard of their cultural traditions. In tune with the Hindutva fascist agenda, vicious moves are there to re-write and falsify history through “new history writing”. Democratic and scientific thinking among the younger generation is obstructed through eulogization of Brahmanical, Casteist, Sanatan traditions, obscurantism, superstition and pseudoscience. Rejection of all values of modernity such as rational and critical thinking, worship of heroism and elitism, etc., have become the new normal. Those who question the fascist regime, or say their opinion freely, or express dissent and disagreement, are treated as anti-nationals and traitors and are subjected to draconian laws.

Building up the Broadest Anti-fascist Movement as the Immediate Task

In this horrific situation, it is the solemn task of all democratic forces and peace-loving people to come forward for building up the broadest possible anti-fascist front for resisting and overcoming the horrors of RSS fascism. Obviously, the political-economic basis of 21st century fascism at the global level is far-right, neoliberal-corporatism, the victims of which are the working and oppressed peoples everywhere. However, the ideological basis of Indian fascism led by RSS, whose ultimate aim is the establishment of a majoritarian patriarchal Hindu Rashtra, is Manuvadi caste system together with anti-Muslimness or Islamophobia. Viewed in this perspective, the anti-fascist movement has to evolve as the broadest peoples’ movement against corporate-Hindutva fascism and all its multifaceted political, economic and cultural manifestations. Taking the concrete specificities of linguistic states, and with the orientation of building up a pan-Indian anti-fascist movement, such an initiative has to unite with struggling organisations of workers, peasants, oppressed women, Dalits, and Minorities. While uniting with the most exploited workers, majority of whom being in the unorganised or informal sectors, and oppressed Dalits and Minorities, such an anti-fascist movement has to join with all like-minded organisations fighting for people’s right to livelihood and sustenance, basic democratic rights and freedom of speech and expression.

In this grave situation, along with the indispensable ideological and political struggles and campaigns against Manuvadi Brahmanical casteism, Islamophobia, and patriarchal measures of RSS-BJP, sustained struggles against the far-right, pro-corporate, anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-federal policies of the fascist regime are indispensable. It is high time on the part of all anti-fascist, progressive and democratic forces, to come together and join with the super-exploited workers and all oppressed, to rise up for an all-embracing offensive against the vicious political, economic and cultural agenda of RSS fascism. To make this initiative effective and successful, it is also indispensable to put forward a common minimum agenda mutually acceptable to all the constituents of such an Anti-fascist Coordination.

P J James
General Secretary
CPI (ML) Red Star

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Mahakal Temple: In the Race to Build Shiva, Mamata Builds a Monkey

Shankar

Before the cement at Digha’s Jagannath Temple even had a chance to dry, Mamata Banerjee announced that the next Mahakal temple would be built in Siliguri. The vote-bound state has become preoccupied with religion. As the BJP’s assertion of Hindutva intensifies, Mamata Banerjee’s competitive embrace of Hindutva is likewise increasing. The Trinamool Congress lacks the capacity to mount an effective political challenge to the BJP; instead, in an effort to defeat BJP, TMC is trying to capture its votes in religious line, the Trinamool has further degraded West Bengal’s political environment. What could be more grotesque than a state, already beset by unemployment and losing millions of working people who migrate to other states in search of jobs, whose share of national output is falling behind and whose debt burden is rising toward the stratosphere, proceeding to build temple after temple? It is difficult to imagine a more ignoble spectacle.

Most important is this paradox: in attempting to contain the BJP, Mamata Banerjee is legitimizing and implementing many of the BJP’s odious policies and trying to surpass the BJP by adopting the same playbook. Whether she and her party understand the implications is doubtful, but the effect is that the BJP benefits politically. If the BJP’s policies continue to become entrenched in this fashion, there will come a moment when voters will prefer the original BJP over ersatz imitations. It is likely that Mamata and her circle do not possess the political insight to foresee this.

The success of a state and its government should be measured by how far they secure for their citizens the fundamentals of livelihood: education, health, housing, safety, and democratic freedoms. It is well known that since coming to power, the Trinamool Congress has neglected these core responsibilities. Unemployment is a pressing problem in the state. From many districts millions of young men have migrated outward. According to 2023 figures, nearly 1.5 million Bengali workers are in Kerala alone. The 2011 census showed about 2.9 million workers from the state employed as migrant laborers in other states; since then hundreds of thousands more join them each year. Altogether, approximately 3.5 million workers from the state currently work in other states—and that number increases daily. Recent incidents in BJP-ruled Odisha and in northern BJP-ruled states—where Bengali workers were labeled as Bangladeshis, arrested, abused, beaten, and in some cases forcibly deported—provoked widespread outrage. In response, the West Bengal chief minister announced that returnees to the state would receive a monthly allowance of five thousand rupees: an initial one-time payment of five thousand rupees, followed by five thousand per month until they find new employment. She gave the scheme a florid name—“Shramshri”—but her government has no coherent policy for creating dignified, sustainable employment. There is no plan. The Trinamool government has now been in office for fourteen years; their continued failure to address these matters is an unforgivable dereliction.

Meanwhile, corruption has reached extreme levels. Public-sector recruitment examinations have become nightmarish. Ministers and leaders accused of corruption spend days in jail. The picture is the same in education and health. The private sector has flourished everywhere while public hospital systems have been progressively degraded under Trinamool rule. Hospitals have become hubs of malpractice. Doctors who have protested corruption have themselves been subjected in hospital settings to rape and even murder. The market in dead bodies, fake medicines, and expired drugs is rampant; innumerable other illicit, shameful trades persist. Private hospitals and nursing homes have exploited and plundered patients. Contractual employment has proliferated nationwide, but in West Bengal it appears to have shattered all previous records. From police forces to healthcare workers, from college and university lecturers to municipal sweepers, contractual recruitment dominates. The extensive corruption and malfeasance in hospitals are repeatedly linked to the treatment of contract employees. Disturbing reports have even emerged of a security guard employed at one public hospital entering another hospital disguised in a doctor’s coat and participating in sexual assaults.

Education, too, has become a site of disorder. Enrollment in government and semi-government schools has declined considerably; the government seems unconcerned. Rather than strengthening public education, authorities have closed clusters of schools. Budgetary allocations to education have shrunk. The Mid-Day Meal program is faltering; in many places substandard food is supplied under the scheme. For months on end universities have had no permanent vice-chancellors. Educational institutions have become arenas for the assertion of power and dominance—an objective that, like the BJP, the Trinamool now appears to pursue. Consequently, the future of the public education system in the state is increasingly insecure under both the BJP and Trinamool.

Amidst all this, yet another temple is to be constructed with state funds. As with the Digha project, public money will be spent. The Digha Jagannath Temple reportedly cost ₹250 crore. The exact budgetary allocation for the proposed Mahakal Temple remains unclear, but it is reasonable to assume that it will not receive less allocation than the Jagannath Temple.

First, West Bengal is a state with acute fiscal constraints. The government must borrow substantial sums each year simply to maintain operations. In 2023–24, the ratio of the state’s total debt to its GSDP was approximately 34.2 percent; it has since risen toward 39 percent. According to the 2023–24 financial-year budget, the state’s total debt stood at roughly ₹5.86 lakh crore; by the close of 2024–25, estimates in the budget presented by the present government project the debt could rise to about ₹6.5 lakh crore. The Fifteenth Finance Commission of India recommended that states keep this ratio under 20 percent. West Bengal is evidently far from that target. Moreover, a significant portion of the debt services old loans and interest. A large share of the state’s revenues—on the order of ₹40,000–50,000 crore per year—goes merely to interest payments on past debt. Consequently, little remains for developmental expenditure on education, health, roads, drainage, and so forth. Although the state government claims GSDP growth in recent years has exceeded the national average (approximately 6–7 percent), allegedly approaching 8–10 percent, the plausibility of these claims is doubtful; even if they were accurate, they would still be insufficient to sustain government expenditures given the debt-to-GSDP ratio. In short, the state’s economy is in decline. It is astonishing that the government can justify spending hundreds of crores on temple construction in such circumstances.

Second, in a secular republic such as India the state should maintain a safe distance from the construction of temples, mosques, and other religious undertakings. There must be no entanglement of religion and state—that is the principle of secularism. Yet since independence this principle has rarely been applied rigorously. Where political expediency permitted, the Congress linked official functions to religious rituals. Inaugurations were sometimes accompanied by Hindu rites; ministers and party leaders were frequently seen at Iftar parties when Muslims broke their fast. Under the BJP these practices have been pursued more openly and assertively, reflecting their programmatic promotion of Hindu religious activities. Two distinctions separate Congress and BJP practices: first, BJP leaders actively perform and sponsor Hindu rites and institutionalize Hindu religious activities; second, the BJP is the only major political force that has taken an explicit theoretical position against secularism. This is a bold departure from previous norms and places the party in a category of overt majoritarian Hindutva—indeed, tendencies that can be characterized as fascistic in their scale and audacity.

Fascist parties do not exist in isolation; there are parties that surrender to fascism’s pressures. In India, among the parties that have capitulated to BJP policies, the Trinamool Congress increasingly presents itself as a leading example. As Modi’s leadership consolidates a form of authoritarian governance across India, the political criminality inherent in adopting, implementing, and attempting to outdo the BJP’s Hindutva agenda is grave. Mamata Banerjee and her colleagues do not seem to perceive this. Should they ever do so, there may be no political refuge left for them.

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya was constructed under a trust structure set up by the BJP rather than through direct state funding. By contrast, the Digha Jagannath Temple was built with direct state funds and under the chief minister’s explicit supervision. The proposed Mahakal Temple will follow that same model. The chief minister’s public declaration—“I will build a Mahakal temple; I will build the largest Shiva idol”—disregards the normative constraints of modern state governance. The situation is so absurd that even BJP leader Sri Shubhendu Adhikari felt compelled to remark that building a temple with personal funds is one thing, but constructing one with government money is not the government’s role. Different observers will judge Adhikari’s remark differently. Mamata may take pride in having placed the BJP in a difficult position over Hindutva competition. But defenders of democratic norms will say that secularist rhetoric from the mouths of fascistic Hindutva proponents is like a pearl necklace on a monkey—and Mamata herself has placed that necklace around the monkey’s neck. The monkey is dressed before the god is sculpted. In this manner, instead of effectively resisting the BJP, Mamata Banerjee and her cohort are paving the way for a future in which a sectarian, Hanuman-centric polity may be established.

(The article was originally published in Nagorik.net in bengali.)

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When Co-perpetrator of Genocide Becomes Peacemaker!

P J James

Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan that calls for immediate ceasefire and wide-ranging peace process, comes in the context of growing international isolation of Zionist regime. Among other things, the Plan involves demilitarization of Gaza and making it a terror free zone along with disarming and decommissioning of Hamas which has been resolutely resisting Zionism; release of hostages, first by Hamas and then by Israel; creation of a US-led “international stabilization force” with the involvement of Arab States and a Transitional Authority led by Trump and Tony Blair (who, as part of Bush-Blair notorious “evil axis” slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi people in 2003); de-radicalisation of Gazans who are survivors of holocausts through religious dialogue; etc. On the other hand, there is no mention of punishing the war criminals like Netanyahu for the crimes he committed against humanity, disbanding the IDF, GHF and others for the horrors unleashed on civilians including children and pregnant women. A meaningful peace plan should have also included appropriate measures for dealing with US, which, through weaponization and funding, acted as the patron and co-perpetrator of the Zionist crimes. Of course, nothing of the sort can be expected from a peace plan designed by Trump and endorsed by Netanyahu, co-perpetrator and perpetrator of the genocide.

As such, Trump’s peace-deal is totally silent on the core issue of the right of return of Palestinians to Israel from where they were driven out since 1948 Nakba that followed the UK-US superimposition of Zionist state on the Palestinians. In fact, the present Trump-Netanyahu peace plan that is superimposed on the Palestinians without even consulting them is also a tragic repetition of what the US-UK axis together with Zionists did in1948. And, above all, Trump’s peace deal ignores the most fundamental question of self-determination and statehood for Palestinians.

No doubt, this Trumpian exercise in deception, is an ingenious move to save his closest ally Netanyahu, who is declared a “war criminal” by ICC, from the wrath of the global community, and in the process to whitewash the “crimes against humanity” committed by the US-Zionist Nexus. For, after endorsing Trump’s plan that cunningly covers up the accountability of US-Zionist nexus in Gaza genocide, at the White House Press Conference on 29 September, Netanyahu praised Trump, his patron and imperialist master thus: “You’ve proven time and again what I’ve said many times – you are the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.” Equally despicable is the quick endorsement of the Trump plan by Anglo-Saxon allies of US and Arab lackeys who are all complicit in the ongoing holocaust on Palestinians. As reported, the leaders of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have issued a joint statement “welcoming” Trump’s “sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza”, thereby falling into the US-Zionist trap and betraying the Palestinian people. And, in tune with the Zionist-Evangelist-Hindutva unholy nexus, the neo-fascist Indian regime has also upheld the peace plan of imperialist Trump.

If the Trumpian plan comes into force, then Gaza will be taken over by the International Stabilization Force (ISF), a kind of outsourcing of Gaza to an ‘external force’, but linked with the vicious US-Zionist nexus, in tune with standard neocolonial arrangements of US imperialism. As already mentioned, the Transitional Authority and Board of Peace led by Trump-Blair duo will begin overseeing the transition indefinitely, regarding which no time frame is scheduled in the ‘peace plan’. And, while the core issues of the Palestinians including statehood are kept out of the agenda. Hamas will have to leave the scene, even as Zionist regime and troops will continue in Gaza unchallenged, giving them new avenues of infiltration and expansion to West Bank.

In spite of that, far-right and extremely reactionary Zionists in Netanyahu’s cabinet like finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a declared “war criminal” has condemned Trump-Netanyahu plan as a “political failure”. And to appease such elements like him, Netanyahu had also stated that “Israel will retain security responsibility for the foreseeable future” in Gaza. True, while imperialists of all hues, neo-fascists and their apologists alike are eulogizing the Trumpian plan, just hours before, Zionist regime has ordered Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate the city or be considered terrorists. Meanwhile, reports on Israeli navy intercepting vessels that form part of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) and detaining the activists aboard including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, are also coming in.

Thus, the Zionist regime is again revealing itself as the embodiment of criminality and terrorism. The much trumpeted Trumpian ‘peace project’ is intended for whitewashing this criminal and terrorist character of Netanyahu government and to grant impunity and exonerate it from the crimes that it has committed against humanity, by diverting the attention of world people, thereby hoodwinking them, and for the unabated continuity of Zionist “settler colonialism”. It is becoming more and more evident that an independent, secular, and democratic Palestinian State cannot co-exist with Zionist regime. Hence, it is upto the international community to reject this 20-point (or 21-point) Trumpian Gaza Peace Plan which is an ‘exercise in deception’.
P J James

When Co-perpetrator of Genocide Becomes Peacemaker!

Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan that calls for immediate ceasefire and wide-ranging peace process, comes in the context of growing international isolation of Zionist regime. Among other things, the Plan involves demilitarization of Gaza and making it a terror free zone along with disarming and decommissioning of Hamas which has been resolutely resisting Zionism; release of hostages, first by Hamas and then by Israel; creation of a US-led “international stabilization force” with the involvement of Arab States and a Transitional Authority led by Trump and Tony Blair (who, as part of Bush-Blair notorious “evil axis” slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi people in 2003); de-radicalisation of Gazans who are survivors of holocausts through religious dialogue; etc. On the other hand, there is no mention of punishing the war criminals like Netanyahu for the crimes he committed against humanity, disbanding the IDF, GHF and others for the horrors unleashed on civilians including children and pregnant women. A meaningful peace plan should have also included appropriate measures for dealing with US, which, through weaponization and funding, acted as the patron and co-perpetrator of the Zionist crimes. Of course, nothing of the sort can be expected from a peace plan designed by Trump and endorsed by Netanyahu, co-perpetrator and perpetrator of the genocide.

As such, Trump’s peace-deal is totally silent on the core issue of the right of return of Palestinians to Israel from where they were driven out since 1948 Nakba that followed the UK-US superimposition of Zionist state on the Palestinians. In fact, the present Trump-Netanyahu peace plan that is superimposed on the Palestinians without even consulting them is also a tragic repetition of what the US-UK axis together with Zionists did in1948. And, above all, Trump’s peace deal ignores the most fundamental question of self-determination and statehood for Palestinians.

No doubt, this Trumpian exercise in deception, is an ingenious move to save his closest ally Netanyahu, who is declared a “war criminal” by ICC, from the wrath of the global community, and in the process to whitewash the “crimes against humanity” committed by the US-Zionist Nexus. For, after endorsing Trump’s plan that cunningly covers up the accountability of US-Zionist nexus in Gaza genocide, at the White House Press Conference on 29 September, Netanyahu praised Trump, his patron and imperialist master thus: “You’ve proven time and again what I’ve said many times – you are the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.” Equally despicable is the quick endorsement of the Trump plan by Anglo-Saxon allies of US and Arab lackeys who are all complicit in the ongoing holocaust on Palestinians. As reported, the leaders of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have issued a joint statement “welcoming” Trump’s “sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza”, thereby falling into the US-Zionist trap and betraying the Palestinian people. And, in tune with the Zionist-Evangelist-Hindutva unholy nexus, the neo-fascist Indian regime has also upheld the peace plan of imperialist Trump.

If the Trumpian plan comes into force, then Gaza will be taken over by the International Stabilization Force (ISF), a kind of outsourcing of Gaza to an ‘external force’, but linked with the vicious US-Zionist nexus, in tune with standard neocolonial arrangements of US imperialism. As already mentioned, the Transitional Authority and Board of Peace led by Trump-Blair duo will begin overseeing the transition indefinitely, regarding which no time frame is scheduled in the ‘peace plan’. And, while the core issues of the Palestinians including statehood are kept out of the agenda. Hamas will have to leave the scene, even as Zionist regime and troops will continue in Gaza unchallenged, giving them new avenues of infiltration and expansion to West Bank.

In spite of that, far-right and extremely reactionary Zionists in Netanyahu’s cabinet like finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a declared “war criminal” has condemned Trump-Netanyahu plan as a “political failure”. And to appease such elements like him, Netanyahu had also stated that “Israel will retain security responsibility for the foreseeable future” in Gaza. True, while imperialists of all hues, neo-fascists and their apologists alike are eulogizing the Trumpian plan, just hours before, Zionist regime has ordered Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate the city or be considered terrorists. Meanwhile, reports on Israeli navy intercepting vessels that form part of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) and detaining the activists aboard including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, are also coming in.

Thus, the Zionist regime is again revealing itself as the embodiment of criminality and terrorism. The much trumpeted Trumpian ‘peace project’ is intended for whitewashing this criminal and terrorist character of Netanyahu government and to grant impunity and exonerate it from the crimes that it has committed against humanity, by diverting the attention of world people, thereby hoodwinking them, and for the unabated continuity of Zionist “settler colonialism”. It is becoming more and more evident that an independent, secular, and democratic Palestinian State cannot co-exist with Zionist regime. Hence, it is upto the international community to reject this 20-point (or 21-point) Trumpian Gaza Peace Plan which is an ‘exercise in deception’.

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Trump’s UN Speech Reveals Corporate Neofascism as Biggest Enemy of Nature and Planet Earth!

P J James

During his first term itself, as the staunchest critic of climate science and policies, far-right, neofascist Trump had proved himself the deadly enemy of all efforts towards a pro-nature development paradigm. His withdrawal from Paris Agreement was its telltale example. However, Trump’s tirade against climate science including the total denial of “climate change” at UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 23 September, has surpassed all limits in this regard. As president of USA, his characterization of climate change as the “greatest con job perpetrated on earth”, “carbon footprint a hoax”, etc., exposes him as the biggest enemy of climate politics and biggest facilitator of corporate plunder of nature today. While Trump utters such irresponsible comments, ocean warming and sea-level rising coupled with extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent.

Of course, as a reckless real estate developer rather a statesman, Trump is the true spokesperson and champion of the corporate billionaires whose major share of wealth now comes from plunder of nature along with that of labour as usual. His statement also brings to the fore the role of all far-right neofascist regimes who are hands in glove with reactionary corporate billionaires. And, more surprising is so called world leaders’ total silence on Trump’s false, baseless and irresponsible allegations against the climate interventions even by UN. Obviously, while the perpetrators of climate catastrophe are imperialist countries and leading MNCs from them, the brunt of the devastation and destruction from frequent climate changes is borne by world’s most oppressed and exploited people in Afro-Asian-Latin American countries.

Meanwhile, one of the justifications of Trump for withdrawing from Paris Accord was that “America was paying so much more than every country”. But, what Trump covered up was the fact that since 1850, it was the US that contributed 24% of the human-caused carbon dioxide. This is one of the reasons for biggest increases in global temperatures over the past 40 years. On the other hand, the entire African continent with 4 times the population of the US is responsible for only 3% of global carbon emission.

In fact, while Trump questions all climate interventions as “stupid”, at the floor of UNGA, it is an insult to all environmental initiatives undertaken by UN affiliated institutions and arrangements like United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, etc. To be precise, Trump and his project MAGA, together with the coterie of corporate billionaires with him, have now become the biggest enemy, not only of the working and oppressed peoples of the world, but also the very sustenance of nature and planet earth itself.

The post Trump’s UN Speech Reveals Corporate Neofascism as Biggest Enemy of Nature and Planet Earth! – P J James appeared first on CPI(ML) Red Star.

Class, Caste Marxist Theorist – Kolla Venkayya!
(27th Death Anniversary of Kolla Venkayya – September 17, 2025)

Kolla Venkayya was a freedom fighter of distinction and a unique personality in theory, politics, and practice at the national level of the Indian Communist movement.

He was born in 1910 in Pedanandipadu, the center of the tax-resistance movement, into a wealthy landlord family as the eldest son among six children of Kolla Krishnayya and Rattamma. He completed his primary education in Pedanandipadu, high school in Bapatla, and his Intermediate and B.A. at Andhra Christian College, Guntur. Under Baba Apte, he became a Hindi scholar and received the Visharada degree and an honor shawl from Mahatma Gandhi at the South India Hindi Mahasabha in Madras. He participated in the national movement against British imperialism and was imprisoned. In 1928, when Gandhi visited Pedanandipadu, Venkayya played a key role in organizing the event alongside village elders like Lavu Ankamamma, Parvataneni Veeraiah, and Govindulu.

After August 15, 1947, when the national government was formed, he stood at the forefront of the struggles against landlordism and capitalism under communist leadership. Though he began his political life under Gandhi’s peaceful leadership, even as a student in 1931 he campaigned against untouchability and caste discrimination across Bapatla taluk. He attended the 1934 Bombay Congress as a delegate. Initially a Congressman, his life turned towards communism in 1936 while at A.C. College, Guntur, influenced by Pole Peddi Narasimhamurthy, Pulupula Venkata Sivaiah, Makineni Basava Punnayya, and Nanduri Prasad Rao. From then until his death, he never turned back from the struggles for the liberation of the oppressed.

When ITC and other tobacco companies exploited peasants, he mobilized farmers in Guntur and Krishna districts, and as a result, was elected chairman of the Guntur District Tobacco Growers Association (1944–48). During the Telangana armed struggle, the central communist leadership appointed Venkayya as convener, along with Madala Narayanaswamy and Pedavali Sriramulu, to lead anti-landlord struggles in the plains. Over 200 youth joined these struggles under their leadership. He was elected twice to the Central Control Commission of the united Communist Party and held many posts: district secretary, state executive member, state secretariat member, and state peasant front secretary.

He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952 (Ponnur constituency), to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in 1957, and to the Lok Sabha in 1962 from Tenali, defeating Acharya N.G. Ranga. He became the first MP to resign (1967) from Parliament on the demand that Visakha steel belongs to Andhra. As splits shook the communist movement, he moved from CPI to CPI(M), and later, with T. Nagi Reddy, D.V. Rao, and Chandra Pulla Reddy, towards the Marxist-Leninist movement. He opposed CPI(M) in the Palakollu Plenum (Andhra) and Bardhaman Plenum (West Bengal). He lived underground (1948–51), faced trial in the Parvathipuram Conspiracy Case (1968), and spent over 10 years in jail, including during the 1975 Emergency. He donated his share of 4.5 acres of land, the proceeds from selling it, and his MP pension to the party.

In over 70 years of political life, he stood out as a spotless leader of peasants, the rural poor, and the oppressed, advocating “land to the tiller,” civil rights, and Marxist-Leninist revolutionary theory. He passed away on September 17, 1998. Kolla Venkayya was a national treasure, deeply studied in Marxism-Leninism-Mao thought. His simplicity, integrity, theoretical rigor, ceaseless study, social analysis, and dedication to the oppressed remain an ideal for future generations.

After the Karamchedu Dalit massacre, debates arose within and outside the communist movement on caste in Indian society. Critics argue communists prioritized class analysis and economic struggle while failing to address caste as a structural question. Though communists made immense sacrifices for land struggles of Dalits and Adivasis (Telangana armed struggle, Srikakulam tribal struggles, Godavari valley resistance, Kondamodu, Rompicherla, Indravelli uprisings, etc.), a systematic annihilation of caste was not pursued. But Venkayya had a unique perspective—unlike many others, he emphasized caste in his writings and speeches as early as 60 years ago.

In the 1955 Andhra State Communist Party conference at Revendrapadu, he presented a “note” analyzing landlord caste domination. He argued:
“Landlords are inherently casteist; they exploit backward castes’ weakness for village dominance. Caste has been a foundation stone of feudalism in India. Ignoring caste is a mistake. Majority-caste landlords use caste unity for dominance, while minority/backward castes rally to us as allies. Feudalism in India is deeply entangled with caste; without analyzing caste, we cannot understand which side rich peasants, bourgeois intellectuals, or political actors stand on.” (Collected Works of Kolla Venkayya, Vol. I, pp. 39–40).

He also noted that upper-caste landlords use caste unity for dominance, while weaker castes use it for survival. He saw caste as a special form of division of labor, similar to Marx’s writings on India and Egypt (1848). He criticized early communist errors, e.g., dismissing Dalit tenants’ self-organizing in Maharashtra (1924) as “caste movements.” He insisted that rejecting caste struggles as “divisive” was a grave mistake.

He further cited Engels (1890) clarifying that while economic production/reproduction is ultimately decisive, Marx and Engels never claimed it was the only factor. Social and caste structures also shape history. Venkayya repeatedly emphasized that social and economic struggles must proceed in coordination, not competition.

He was a tireless agitator on people’s issues—leader of the Nallamada anti-submergence movement, founder of the Rural Poor Association in Guntur-Prakasam, and a fighter who went up to the Supreme Court for implementation of 1973 land reforms. His writings include: Indian Languages-Nations-Democratic Solution, Our Basic Theory, Evolution of Indian Society, Caste System: Origins and Development, and Need for Reconsideration in the Communist Movement.

Comrade Kolla Venkayya, a martyr in public service, stands as a model of philosophical depth and pure patriotism for today’s generations.

Revolutionary Salutations,
Mannava Hariprasad,
Politburo Member, CPI(ML) Red Star
82 47 72 82 96
mannavahariprasad@gmail.com

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On the occasion of International Indigenous Peoples Day (9 August)

The condition and direction of the tribals at the international and all India level

– Tuhin

Introduction – The United Nations General Assembly declared 9 August as the International Day for the Indigenous Peoples of the World in December 1994. It was decided that during the International Indigenous Decade between 1995-2004, 9 August would be celebrated as International Indigenous Day every year. In 2004, the General Assembly declared the second International Indigenous Decade between 2005-2015 as a “decade of work and importance”. According to the United Nations estimates, about 370 million indigenous people (tribals) live in 70 countries of the world. And this is a little less than 6 percent of the total population of the world and belongs to 5000 different branches in 72 countries. The ancient civilizations of the world were created by the indigenous people. Some of these were highly developed like the Maya, Inca and Azteca civilizations of Mexico, Peru and South and Central America and there are also such communities which keep themselves aloof from any kind of external influence like the Sentinelese and Jarawa communities of the Andaman Islands. Many communities of indigenous people have become extinct from this earth, many groups are on the verge of extinction and many groups are going through various processes of change.

Victims of the cruelty of colonialism – When European colonialism began to gain a foothold in the whole world in the Middle Ages, a mountain of sorrows fell on the indigenous people of Asia, Africa, South America and Australia. After the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, European colonial powers, especially Spain, Portugal, Holland (Dutch), Britain, Denmark, France, Belgium etc., forcibly took ships full of African indigenous people from the African continent to America in the name of populating the American continent. European colonial powers burned down villages in Africa and forcibly took the people of Africa (where the light of the first human civilization spread on earth) to North and South America and enslaved them. European colonialism flourished by the slave trade of the natives of Africa. The people who nurtured and populated America with their blood and sweat, even today those African-Americans are second class citizens in America and are the biggest victims of the racist apartheid policy. Even though slavery has been abolished legally in America, they are still the poorest, most miserable, unemployed, victims of violence, deprived of human rights and are imprisoned in the largest numbers there.

On the one hand, slavery was imposed on the natives of Africa in North America and inhuman exploitation was done, while on the other hand, the Red Indian community of the natives of South America (Latin America) like Maya, Inca, Azteca etc. were completely destroyed. In Peru, the cruel Spanish commander Pizarro brutally murdered countless tribals including the tribal king Atahualpa in greed for gold treasure. It is said that European civilization in South America has flourished on the foundation of the blood and flesh of the Red Indian natives. In South America, apart from France’s domination over Haiti and Portugal’s domination over Brazil, the entire continent remained under the control of Spanish colonialism. Similarly, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium and France colonized Africa, while Britain, France, Portugal, America and Holland colonized various Asian countries. In Australia, after Captain Cook discovered the continent, British colonialism laid the foundation of European civilization by exterminating the natives there and settling all the tainted criminals of Britain in Australia. The resistance struggle of the people of the colonies, especially the indigenous people/tribals, continued against first colonialism and then imperialism, the highest form of capitalism.

After the Second World War, the imperialists, seeing the intensity of the people’s liberation struggle in the colonies and their own time of crisis, adopted a new strategy to loot the world. Due to the weakening of British imperialism after the Second World War, all the imperialist powers considered America, the new imperialist power that suffered the least loss in the world war, as their leader. Therefore, under the leadership of America, all the imperialist powers started adopting the neo-colonial strategy of indirect control instead of direct control, instead of the old type of colonialism. Under this, the imperialists in Asia, Africa and South America declared formal independence in their old colonies after 1945 for show and by handing over power to their stooges (who were the indigenous agents of the imperialists, capitalists and feudal landowners), started controlling and interfering in the politics, economics, strategic policy etc. of the neo-colonies from behind the scenes. Under their neo-colonial policy, the imperialist powers no longer need to occupy poor, backward or developing countries through forceful military intervention or invasion (as is done by the US in Iraq, Afghanistan or other countries), but they hollow out the above-mentioned countries by looting them through the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO) and Multinational Corporations (MNCs).

Resistance of Indigenous Peoples – Against this new slavery, the struggle of all the oppressed people including the indigenous people for their rights on water, forest and land, for true freedom and for the establishment of an egalitarian society against the neo-colonial ruling classes by exposing the deception of the so-called colonial-free world after the Second World War is continuing in Asia, Africa and South America. We get a glimpse of this in the country of Bolivia where the indigenous people staged a massive movement against the indiscriminate exploitation and commercialization of underground water by a multinational company in an area called Cochabamba. Evo Morales was one of them and was the leader of the indigenous people in that movement. Later, due to the influence of that movement, Evo Morales won the general elections and became the President of Bolivia. After becoming the President, he first gave the gift of May Day to his countrymen by nationalizing all the multinational petroleum companies on the occasion of International Labor Day on 1 May 2006. Due to this, he had to face strong opposition from America and multinational companies. But this did not change his decision. He and many heads of state of South America, including the late President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, together have continued to try to maintain the control of the local people on the natural resources of their country and to maintain the sovereignty of their respective countries despite facing strong pressure from the imperialists (called developed countries) / multinational companies. On one side are they and on the other side are we who see the rulers of our country who, in the name of ‘Make in India’, are hell-bent on looting all the resources including the natural wealth of the country at the hands of the imperialists and putting the sovereignty of the country at stake.

Tribals in India – According to the 2011 census (because since then the fascist Modi government has not conducted the census conducted every ten years to stop caste census), tribals constitute 8.6 percent or 104 million of India’s population. In India, tribals/indigenous communities reside in various states, especially in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal and the northeastern states and Andaman and Nicobar. According to government data, there are 757 Scheduled Tribe community people residing in different states across the country. Before the Aryan invasion in India, the indigenous tribal and Dravidian communities were the originators of the country’s ancient civilization and culture. The world-famous urban civilization of Mohenjodaro and Harappa is also included in this. In the feudal era, from the Maurya period to the Sultanate period and before the British rule, the tribal society was able to maintain its rights over water, forest and land to a large extent. But the British rule in India took root after the victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. After the Battle of Plassey, the wealth of India was diverted to Britain like a rainy river. This wealth helped a lot in completing the industrial revolution in Britain. Steam engines, powerlooms and machines for mass production of goods were invented. After the completion of the industrial revolution, the problem of market arose in front of the British industrialists. They needed a market to sell the goods of their factories. They had their eyes on the huge market of India. For the profit of the British industrialists, it was necessary to destroy the industries of India and make it a purely agricultural country. In this interest, in 1793, Governor-General Lord Cornwallis took a new step to ruin the farmers by making ‘Permanent Settlement of Land’. Due to this settlement, the ownership rights of the farmers on the land were lost and a new landlord class came into existence, which became the owner of their land without giving any kind of compensation to the farmers. By creating this landlord class, the British merchants created the social base of their government. These new landlords became the pillars of British rule. The ‘Permanent Settlement Act’ had the worst effect on the indigenous tribals of the country and their anger against the British rule and their indigenous agents, the landowners and moneylenders, continued to erupt for the next two hundred years, even after 1947. On 18 September 1798, Lord Cornwallis sent a report to England, ‘I can say with pride that one-third of the Company’s (East India Company) land in Hindustan has now become a forest, inhabited only by wild animals.’ British imperialism and its indigenous agents not only snatched the tribals’ right to water, forest and land, but also tried to make them serfs on their own land by snatching their freedom from them, which continues in various forms even today.

Resistance struggle of the indigenous people/farmers of India –

It can be said with authority that the glorious and major part of India’s freedom struggle against British rule in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries was the continuous rebellion of the indigenous people or tribals. But the British imperialists and many Indian historians, who were its stooges, did not give the great role of the tribals the place they deserved in history or school textbooks, under the influence of colonialism. Rather, they promoted the leaders of the elite class, who were pampered and nurtured by British imperialism, as freedom fighters. They were the people of the ruling class, who never took the fight against the British to a decisive stage, and never made any major sacrifice. It was because of their compromising attitude that the British handed over the power of the country to these so-called freedom fighters as a reward in 1947.

The British imperialists and their servant historians tried to cover up these glorious struggles of the Indian people to the best of their ability. They left no stone unturned to defame the tribal heroes who tried to drive the imperialists out of India by calling them dacoits, robbers, murderers etc. In their view, people like Clive, Warren Hastings, Dalhousie, who strengthened the foundation of the British Empire in India by adopting the path of deceit, treachery, open loot and robbery, were great, but Veer Narayan Singh, Gundadhur, Majnu Shah, Titumir, Tirath Singh, Velu Thampi, Sidhu-Kanu-Chand-Bhairav, Ram Singh Kuka, Tikendrajit, Tilka Manjhi, Birsa Munda etc. who led the fight against their loot and plunder were criminals and deserved to be punished. It is the responsibility of historians and true patriotic intellectuals to tear apart this veil of lies, slander and bad propaganda. Brief description of selected rebellions –

1. Sanyasi Rebellion (1763-1800) – This rebellion in Bengal and Bihar marked the beginning of the rebellion against colonial rule.

2. Medinipur Rebellion (1766-67) – The tribal communities named Khaira and Manjhi of Medinipur district of Bengal were the main force of this rebellion.

3. Dhalbhum Rebellion (1766-77) – The rebellion of the natives took place in Dhalbhum of Bengal.

4. Moamaria Rebellion (1769-99) – The rebellion of the Moamaria sect of North Assam.

5. Chakma Rebellion (1776-89) – The Chakmas, a hill tribe of Chittagong in East Bengal (now Bangladesh), revolted.

6. Paharia Rebellion (1788-90) – This rebellion took place in the then Birbhum-Bankura district of Bengal.

7. Chuad Rebellion (1798-99) – The Chuad tribals revolted in the south-west of Bankura district and the north-west part of Medinipur district. This revolt troubled the feudal lords-landlords-Britishers so much that the word Chuad started being used as an abuse in Bengali (which is used for bad and lowly).

8. Travancore’s War of Independence (1808-09) – The rebellion of the natives took place in Travancore of Kerala under the leadership of Velu Thampi, the leader of the anti-British rebellion.

9. Bhil Rebellion (1818-1831) – The region from Vindhyachal in the north to Sahyadri or Pachchimi Ghat in the south-west has been the old abode of the Bhils. Their rebellion is famous.

10. Ho tribal front (1820-21) – The Ho tribes revolted in Singhbhum district of Chhota Nagpur (now Jharkhand).

11. Mer rebellion of Rajasthan (1820)

12. Pagalpanthi rebellion (1825-33) – This rebellion was the rebellion of Garo and Hajang tribes of Mymensingh district of Bengal.

13. Gadhdhar Singh’s rebellion (1828-30) – The first rebellion of Brahmaputra valley in Assam.

14. Khasia rebellion (1829-33) – Revolt of the militant Khasi tribes in Assam. 15. Singpho Rebellion (1830-31) – Singpho tribals living on both sides of Assam and Burma border revolted.

16. Rebellion of Aka tribals of Assam (1829-38)

17. Kol Rebellion of Chotanagpur (1831-32)

18. Front of Coorgis of Karnataka (1833-34)

19. Gond Rebellion (1833) – Strong resistance of Gond tribals of Sambalpur region of Madhya Pradesh now Odisha.

20. Khamti rebellion of Assam-Burma border region (1839)

21. Surendra Sai’s rebellion (1839-62) – Even after the Gond rebellion (1833) in Sambalpur region, Surendra Sai continued to organize tribals and other exploited farmers against the British and raised the flag of rebellion during the great rebellion of 1857.

22. Rebellion of Kolis of Maharashtra (1839-50)

23. Bundela Rebellion of Gond tribals in Sagar, Damoh and Jabalpur of Bundelkhand of Madhya Pradesh (1842)

24. Khond Rebellion of Orissa (1846)

25. Rebellion of Garo people of Assam (1848-66)

26. Rebellion of Abors of Assam (1848-1900)

27. Rebellion of Lushais living in Lushai Hills of Assam (1849-92)

28. Front of Nagas of Nagaland (1849-78)

29. Santhal Rebellion (1855-56) – The Great Santhal Rebellion is also called ‘Hool’. In Chhotanagpur region/Bihar/Bengal, first Amar Shaheed Baba Tilka Manjhi and then the famous Santhal rebellion took place under the leadership of four brothers named Sidhu-Kanu-Chand-Bhairav. Which shook the foundations of the British in Jharkhand. The battle of ‘Bhagnadihi’ is very famous in the Santhal rebellion.

30. In the first freedom struggle/great rebellion of 1857, the indigenous people played a big role in the entire country. Especially in Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

31. Martyr Veernarayan Singh’s rebellion (1856-57) – The flames of the great rebellion reached Chhattisgarh (then CP & Berar). Veer Narayan Singh of Sonakhan of Raipur district, along with the local farmers who were suffering from famine and hunger, raised the flag of rebellion against the British and the local moneylenders. He was friends with the rebel leader Surendra Sai of Sambalpur. After the fierce battle of Kurupaat Dongri, Narayan Singh was caught and hanged in Raipur on 10 December 1857. At the same time, Magazine Lashkar Hanuman Singh led the rebellion of Indian soldiers under the British Army in Raipur. Seventeen Indian soldiers were martyred in this rebellion (all belonged to the 3rd Regiment). 32. Indigo Rebellion of Bengal, Bihar (1860-61)

33. Rebellion of Jaintia Hills region of Assam (1860-63)

34. Kuki Rebellion of Tripura, Chittagong (1860-90)

35. Many rebellions in Assam (1861-94)

36. Kooka Rebellion led by Ram Singh Kooka in Punjab (1869-72)

37. Peasant Rebellion of Pabna in Bengal (1872-73)

38. Rampa Rebellion of Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh (1879-80)

39. Tikendrajit’s Rebellion and Martyrdom in Manipur (1891)

40. Birsa Rebellion (1899-1900) – Birsa Rebellion was actually a rebellion led by Birsa Munda. The tribals deprived of water, forest and land due to the Chotanagpur/Santhalpargana Tenancy Act of the British were very angry with the locals, landlords/moneylenders and the British Raj. This famous rebellion is also called ‘Ulgulan’. After the suppression of the rebellion, Birsa, imprisoned in Ranchi jail, died on 9 June 1900. 3 Birsa followers were given death sentence, 44 were given Kala Pani in Andaman Nicobar and 47 were given severe punishment by the British to ruthlessly suppress the rebellion.

Contribution of Bastar of Chhattisgarh in the anti-colonial struggle –

It is very important that we remember the series of fierce wars that the tribals of Bastar fought against the British Raj and feudal lords between 1774 and 1910.

(1) Halba Rebellion (1774-1779)
(2) Bhopalpatnam Struggle (1795) (This was not a rebellion but a false rebellion)
(3) Paralkot Rebellion (1825)
(4) Tarapur Rebellion (1825)
(5) Periya Rebellion (1842-1863)
(6) Great Liberation War (1856-57)
(7) Koi Rebellion (1859)
(8) Mudia Rebellion (1876) – This rebellion is famous in the history of Bastar.
(9) Rani Cho Ris (1878-1882) (This was also not a rebellion but a false rebellion)
(10) Great Bhumkal (1910) – This rebellion led by Gundadhur is famous in the history of the entire Central Province. The rebellion was ruthlessly suppressed by the British Raj with the help of military units from Nagpur and Madras. At present, the struggle of the tribals continues in the neo-colonial system as in the colonial era. Because even today, their rights over water, forest and land have not been established. Nor have they got true freedom or liberation like the common working people of the country. Despite being only 9 percent of the total population of the country, the tribals are being destroyed due to the so-called development projects of successive governments and 56 percent of the total displacement is of tribals. In the current situation, for the last ten years, the rule of the Sanghi Manuwadi / Brahminist fascist forces of the enemy corporate houses of the people, the tribals, Dalits / oppressed backward, women, minorities and poor working people are facing the most misery. Because according to Manusmriti, the revered text of the fascist RSS / BJP, which is a staunch opponent of democracy, constitution and secularism, tribals, Dalits / oppressed and women have not been given the status of humans. Whether it is in the name of suppressing the so-called Maoism in the anti-people BJP ruled states, especially in Bastar of Chhattisgarh, or in the name of suppressing the ‘Pathalgadi Movement’, an expression of the anguish of the tribals, or whether it is the indiscriminate cutting of Hansdev forest, called the lungs of Chhattisgarh, under the aegis of Modi (Modi and the corrupt corporate Adani), the poor hardworking tribal people have to pay the price of the ‘development’ being carried out on the initiative of big corporate houses like Adani, Ambani, Jindal or Tata. In tribal dominated areas, tribals become the victims of suppression and atrocities like killing of tribals in fake encounters, rape, custodial killings, filling innocent tribals in jails for the corporate loot of natural resources. Whether the Chief Minister is a tribal or the Governor, or even the President is a tribal, ethnic cleansing of tribals is not stopping.

Even today, the largest number of illiterate, uneducated, unemployed, sick, starving, landless, poor farmers, agricultural labourers and those imprisoned and deprived of human rights are the indigenous or tribal people.

In fact, on the occasion of World Indigenous Day, it feels like even today the indigenous people are fighting against the rule of corporate/multinational companies in many countries including India. This means that in the agenda of the fascist Modi government, no matter how many good days they claim, the welfare of the tribals, Dalits, exploited, hardworking people, women, minorities and the oppressed class is nowhere in the priority list. In the agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its government, which represents the corporate rich ruling classes, making the super-rich even richer, increasing their bank balances, their wealth even more and getting full guarantee of the safety of their capital is the priority. Therefore, the indigenous exploited, working class is being marginalized more than ever before. Except for forming a broad common struggling front with other Dalit/oppressed classes, women, poor working people and forces fighting for people’s democracy and fighting for radical changes in the existing exploitative Manuwadi system to build a truly democratic, secular, egalitarian, casteless, rational, scientifically conscious, gender equality based non-exploitative progressive society, there will be no relief from the tragedy of the indigenous/tribal people. And neither will the dream of India of great martyrs like Sidhu, Kanu, Phoolo, Jhunno come true. References-

1. Bharater Swadhinata Sangram: Suprakash Rai (Bengali)

2. India’s Freedom Struggle: Ayodhya Singh

3. History of Bastar: Ram Kumar Behar

4. Chhattisgarh’s first peasant revolt and Veer Narayan Singh’s will: Shankar Guha Niyogi and Hari Thakur

5. Struggle of the indigenous people of Africa and South/Latin America: Red Star magazine and various English, Bengali and Hindi newspapers

Contact – (Author Tuhin is the All India convenor of Revolutionary Cultural Forum Kasam,

Mobile- 095899-57708, 94255-60952

E-mail tuhin_dev@yahoo.com)

The post The condition and direction of the tribals at the international and all India level – Tuhin appeared first on CPI(ML) Red Star.

Introduction

Impermanence or dynamic nature of every phenomenon is a core principle in philosophy and science. The same law, that every social phenomenon is constantly changing and transforming itself, is applicable to history and political-economic systems also. For instance, several empires, including the Roman empire that spanned over a millennium, have risen and fallen or replaced by contending powers. Two centuries of capitalist-imperialist system is also no exception to this historical trajectory. The flourishing industrial capitalism of more than a century from mid-18^th century to the last quarter of the 19^th century took place mainly under the leadership of Britain which, on the one hand, performed the role of ‘workshop of the world’ and on the other, remained as world’s leading colonial power with an ‘empire upon which the sun never set’. However, towards the last quarter of the 19^th century and by the turn of the 20^th century, industrial or competitive capitalism gave way to monopoly finance capitalism or imperialism, when USA emerged as the leading capitalist-imperialist power, though UK continued as colonial leader. And the US had to wait till the Second World War for the eventual transition from “Pax Britannica” to “Pax Americana”.

Thus, the US took over the position of postwar imperialist hegemon and leader of the Anglo-Saxon camp when Second World War came to a close. Of course, in this transformation as supreme global arbiter, the US has undergone many strategic policy shifts with ascending and descending phases during the colonial period and in the postwar neocolonial-neoliberal phase. However, with the beginning of the 21^st century, especially after the world economic crisis or “global meltdown” of 2007-08, its stature as world’s leading manufacturer and biggest trader has been lost to China. Following the sharp decline in US gold reserve which was 75 percent of world total in 1945 to less than 20 percent as of now, that resulted in a loss of trust in dollar’s continuity as world currency, has unleashed a “de-dollarisation” trend too, in which China has its overt and covert role. And of late, as a manifestation of the inability to carry out the super-power responsibilities incumbent on it including the maintenance of around 750-800 military bases across 80 countries of the world, US imperialism has been backtracking from its international commitments, especially to UN-affiliated institutions, which, to an extent, were political tools propped up by US itself that enabled it to carry on the tasks as postwar neocolonial arbiter.

However, this irreversible and multidimensional declining trend of US imperialist hegemony is now accelerated further by the second coming of Donald Trump as 47^th US president. Trump’s policies, codified as “Trumpism” (or “Trumponomics”), are characterised by extreme ‘economic nationalism’, the main pillars of which are assertion of US hegemony and boosting of the economy through highly ‘protectionist’ and ‘isolationist’ trade policies coupled with corporate tax-cuts, business deregulation and drastic reduction in social welfare spending. Being symbolised or encapsulated in the motto MAGA (Make America Great Again) and “America First”, Trumpism has already sent shock-waves among traditional US allies, especially among Anglo-Saxon imperialist circles. Meanwhile the biggest-ever bullying tariffs imposed on countries by Trump in tune with his isolationist and protectionist perspective are now boomeranged as a looming threat towards “stagflation” – a situation of economic stagnation coupled with high inflation – on US itself. However, unable to face retaliation from China coupled with pressure from US allies, Trump has forced to keep his unilateral tariff move in abeyance, engaging in a series of trade talks with countries. Meanwhile, domestic opposition to Trump’s policies are surging on an unprecedented scale. According to reports, compared to the 2.4 percent growth in 2024, US GDP is going to be plummeted to its half, i.e., 1.2 percent in 2025. Of course, while these developments and their outcomes call for an objective evaluation, it would be in order here to briefly situate the important policy shifts that marked both the ascending and descending phases US imperialism over a century. This will also enable to situate Trumpism from a concrete historical perspective.

Emergence of US as Supeme Neocolonial Arbiter under Keynesianism

As already noted, though Britain continued as the colonial leader, US had become the leading imperialist power by the turn of 20^th century itself. By the time of First World War, US became world’s principal creditor, and along with pound sterling, countries had begun to accept dollar also as a major reserve currency. Still, it needed the Second World War for setting the stage for dollar to be recognised as the international currency totally replacing pound. In the meanwhile, the Great Depression of 1929-34 fuelled by speculation and “Wall Street Crash” led to a collapse of the US economy together with the entire imperialist world. It shattered the very foundations of imperialism by halting the process of capital accumulation itself. As its manifestation, the index of industrial production almost halved in US (and in other imperialist countries too) where unemployment rate rose from 3.2 percent in 1929 to 24.9 percent in 1933. However, Soviet Union, which was outside the orbit of imperialist capital flows at that time, experienced a doubling of its GDP during this period. At the political level, the Great Depression led to the growth of ‘economic nationalism’ and national chauvinism that facilitated fascism in Italy and Germany and in other European countries.

However, such an outcome was avoided in US, and later in other imperialist countries through the adoption of “Keynesianism” that called for an alteration in imperialist policy by rejecting the orthodoxy associated with “laissez-faire” or free market policies which relied on the “invisible hand” of market forces in maintaining adequate levels of employment, production and purchasing power of the people. Contrary to this view, to avoid social upheavals such as fascism on the one hand, and Soviet-type revolution on the other, Keynes suggested appropriate ‘state programming’ of the economy through large-scale state-led investment in heavy industry and arms production together with a ‘euthanasia’ for speculative capital that triggered the Great Depression. In fact, Keynesian redefinition of the role of the state got wide acceptance in imperialist circles at that specific historical context when the ‘threat of Communism’ was looming large over Europe and America. Thus, US as the leading imperialist power, started applying the ‘Keynesian medicine’ in the form of ‘New Deal’ in two stages, during 1933-35 and 1935-39. In general, Keynesianism meant the shift from laissez-faire to state intervention as a policy of finance capital, leading to the emergence of ‘welfare state” with enlarged economic and social functions of the state including progressive taxation and increased public expenditures.

When Second World War began, the ‘New Deal’ merged into the war economy such that during the five years from 1939 to 1945, it was mainly through war-oriented production under the Military-Industrial Complex that the GDP of US rose by around 75 percent, and unemployment becoming practically nil. To be precise, the relative political-economic and military strength of US substantially grew during the War, and when Second World War came to an end in 1945, US accounted for almost half of the combined GDP of capitalist-imperialist world, along with around three-quarters of world gold reserve under its custody.  Following US-initiated ‘decolonisation’, Britain was relegated to the background and US formally took over as leader of the postwar imperialist camp. A series of political, economic and military arrangements, such as UN and its Security Council, IMF and World Bank with US alone having veto power in them, NATO, SEATO, CENTO, etc., also came into being. Above all, backed by US political-economic and military power, replacing the pound sterling, dollar became the global currency to be used as international medium of exchange, store of value, and means for deferred payments.

The upshot of the argument is that while global Keynesianism and prime role of state as initiator of development including state-led welfare provision, not only created the material basis for overcoming the Great Depression by putting US as the imperialist hegemon, but the same became an ideological weapon for US-led imperialism in the global anti-Communist offensive. And, the quarter century following Second World War came to be characterised as “golden age of capitalism”, as during this period that ended by early 1970s, output expanded by around 5 percent per annum in all major imperialist countries taken together, which was unprecedented in capitalist-imperialist history. Unemployment rate also remained very low due to the strengthening of ‘Welfare State’. This boom provided by ‘Keynesian welfare capitalism’ at a global level was firmly rooted in the political-economic and military hegemony of US imperialism, especially in the absence of competition from rival imperialist powers. Simultaneously, it also acted as imperialism’s ideological-political weapon against the continuing Communist threat and national liberation movements till the 1970s.

Reaganomics and US-led Neoliberalism followed by 21^st Century Neofascism

In fact, Keynesianism emerged in the 1930s for treating economic stagnation or depression on the one hand, and as ideological weapon against Communism, on the other. However, by the beginning of 1970s, imperialism began facing persistent “stagflation” – combination of stagnation and inflation – that defied the central logic of Keynesianism. More serious was the challenge faced by dollar that had an unparalleled hegemonic position in the ‘golden age’, which the pound-sterling could never attain even in the heydays of British imperialism. However, coupled with stagflation, dollar holdings outside US went on increasing resulting in an absolute decline in mandatory US gold holdings as per Bretton Woods agreement.  US gold stock that was around 70 percent of imperialist world’s total in 1945, dropped to 21 percent in 1972, while that of European Common Market countries rose to 41 percent of world’s total in the same year. The consequent “crisis of confidence” in the Bretton Woods system based on dollar-gold standard compelled Nixon, through an official proclamation on 15 August 1971, to withdraw the convertibility of dollars into gold including a series of stringent measures against people such as wage controls coupled with many protectionist measures against the rest of the world.

All these developments led to the collapse of the ‘welfare state’ and its policy of international Keynesianism. The ideological-political setbacks of the Left including its failure to evaluate the international situation and appropriately intervene, also enabled US-led imperialism to use the new crisis as an opportunity for abandoning Keynesianism and embrace neoliberalism. Starting with Thatcherism in Britain and Reaganomics in USA, neoliberalism initiated a neoconservative redefinition of political economy that replaced state-led development with global market-oriented policies comprising financial deregulation, drastic reduction in corporate taxes, curtailing hard-earned rights of the workers, trade liberalisation and privatisation of public enterprises. It emphasised a downsizing and rollback of the state, confining its role as a ‘facilitator’ of corporate accumulation. Since raising the profit rate from stagnating productive sphere became difficult, neoliberalism initiated new avenues of financial speculation. Through globalisation, since 1980s, neoliberalism abolished all restrictions on global financial mobility leading to the building up of a financial superstructure sitting on the top of world economy, comprising both imperialist and neocolonial countries. Unless Keynesianism in which financial expansion had moved more or less in tandem with production and employment, under neoliberal globalisation, the financial sphere, being cut off from production, geared itself for self-expansion through unhindered speculation. Meanwhile, the collapse of Soviet regime along with that of Eastern Europe by the turn of 1990s provided the US to take on the leadership of a ‘unipolar’ world for a brief interregnum, aggressively implementing neoliberalism at a global level. However, the laws of motion of neoliberal imperialism again altered the situation by the first decade of the 21^st century.

One of the direct outcomes of the unabated speculation and growth of the ‘bubble economy’ entirely disconnected from the process of production under neoliberalism, of which US is a typical example, was the ‘global meltdown’ and financial crash of 2008 whose epicentre also was US. In spite of the pumping of around 4 trillion dollars, euphemistically called “quantitative easing” in to the coffers of US speculators and similar policies in European Union, and in China with its own specificities, instead of boosting the productive economy, it boosted financial speculation further. Intensification of neoliberal policies sharpened the social contradictions, and the brunt of this burden has fallen on the shoulders of workers, immigrants, refuges and all oppressed, and their struggles against the ruling system also began surging across the world. As a response to this, unholy nexus between the reactionary corporate-financial oligarchs and their political leadership has given rise to far-right neofascism (fascism under neoliberalism) at a global level whose material basis has been internationalisation of corporate capital.

Meanwhile, following capitalist restoration since the 1980s and traversing the path of ‘bureaucratic state monopoly capitalism’, China had emerged as an imperialist power by the turn of the 21^st century. Its entry into WTO in 2001 was a milestone in its full-fledged integration with global market and international finance capital. With its inexhaustible source of the cheapest labour, China also transformed itself as the most profitable destination of investment and production for both local companies and MNCs from western imperialist powers. Within a span of two decades, Chinese bureaucratic-state monopoly capitalism became the biggest gainer of neoliberal globalisation. And, during the period after 2008 world crisis, while US and EU faced economic setbacks, China has transformed itself as world’s biggest manufacturer and commodity exporter. Through one trillion-dollar worth of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2013, world’s largest capital export strategy in imperialist history, China has already laid down the material basis for its capturing ‘neocolonial spheres of influence’ across Eurasia, Africa and even Latin America, effectively challenging US and EU imperialists in the process. And, as already noted, even in the case of 21^st century technological revolution including that of AI, China is much ahead than that US- led imperialist bloc, as proved by the threatening impact on Silicon Valley by cost-effective and potentially more efficient DeepSeek from China.

Trump’s Undermining of both US Hegemony and Anglo-Saxon Global Dominance

The emerging trends in US and at a global level under neofascist Trump’s second term should be seen in the broad historical background as elucidated above. Suffice it to confine this discussion to a few of the core political, economic and military trends in this regard.

Loss of Domestic Coherence that Acted as Basis of US Hegemony

Trump’s second coming in January 2025 backed by his unholy nexus with 13 leading US tech giants and financial oligarchs led by world’s richest billionaire Musk, is in disarray now. Musk, who was in charge of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) specifically created for downsizing the government and rolling back it from welfare and social expenditures, has already resigned due to irresolvable differences with Trump’s short-sighted and reckless policies. Trump’s so-called neoliberal “big beautiful bill” that, among other things, extended further tax-cuts initially suffered a devastating defeat in the House Budget Committee because of opposition from Republicans who joined with Democrats to vote it down. Even the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has predicted an impending catastrophic stagflation and economic doomsday ahead for US consequent on Trump’s isolationist policies. As a typical Islamophobic neofascist, Trump’s tirade against immigrants and foreigners have crossed all limits. Domestically, in the process of ruthlessly suppressing opposition to his policies, Trump is undermining judiciary and rule of law, autonomy of universities, media freedom and long-established rules and procedures of US administration.

Ever since American Civil War, federalism has provided the internal coherence and strength for US. While preventing concentration of power with the central regime, it divided power between the Central and State governments, ensuring both unity and` diversity, which no US president has challenged so far. For instance, Trump is continuing the dismantling of US federalism by sidelining California governor, and use of military to quash people’s protests in Los Angeles against his immigration policies, and in the process, even politicising the military. He has even threated to invoke the rarely used 1807 Insurrection Act that grants executive powers to president to deploy military to deal with domestic issues. Vehemently opposing such fascist moves including Trump’s most inhuman deportation of immigrants to Afro-Asian-Latin American countries, against his patronage of Zionist genocide of Palestinians including his criminal and illegal attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, millions of people are rising up in Washington and all major states across US, challenging Trump’s presidency.

More specifically, the anti-Trump “No King” protests have taken place in 2000 cities in US attended by millions of people including university students, scholars, intellectuals and wide spectrum of democratic sections, quite unprecedented in US history.  All well-meaning people are coming forward against the patriarchal, Evangelist Trump’s dehumanizing language towards differently-abled people like LGBT including even those with disabilities like autism, against racial minorities, and undocumented people. And, the social-democratic leader Bernie Sanders and Democrats including even disenchanted Republican law-makers have raised bipartisan challenges to Trump’s pro-Zionist military involvement in Iran. All these developments and the widespread opposition against Trumpism have already imparted irreparable damage to the US image as “paradise of democracy” that formed the solid domestic basis for US projection as world hegemon.  In other words, the growing people’s resistance against Trumpism which has assumed the character of an anti-Trump movement across US is now speeding up the erosion of the domestic base essential for its global hegemony.

Undermining of NATO and Trump’s Withdrawal from Multilateral Agreements

Secondly, the decline and downfall of US hegemony is integrally linked up with the shaking of the postwar strategic US-EU alliance. The European powers who were weakened by the Second World War had also accepted the 1941 Atlantic Charter or the Anglo-American blueprint prepared jointly by the eclipsing and rising global hegemons that envisaged the essential political, economic and military arrangements for the postwar world. Accordingly, the UN system including all its affiliated and specialised institutions, the Bretton Woods Monetary system (IMF and World Bank with US veto power in them) and the dollar as world currency, and a whole set of military arrangements such as NATO, SEATO, CENTO, etc. and world-wide US military bases were the essential tools at the disposal of postwar neocolonial order led by US. And through Marshall Plan, or European Recovery Program, US took the initiative for reconstructing war-torn Europe. The NATO or Transatlantic Military Alliance led by US and founded in 1949 that included Canada and 10 EU members (which expanded overtime to include 32 members) began as the largest US-led neocolonial military organisation that strengthened the Anglo-Saxon global dominance. To be precise, it has been this Western imperialist or Anglo-Saxon military bloc that acted as the foundation for US hegemony on the one hand, and provided effective ideological-political weapon against Soviet bloc on the other.

However, the short-sighted, reckless and isolationist MAGA approach of Trump has already subverted the very basis of this US-EU alliance so assiduously built up over decades as the central pillar of postwar US hegemony. In continuation of his repeated and senseless statement on Canada, calling it the “51^st state”, threatening of taking over of Greenland from Denmark, and Panama Canal from Panama and even Gaza from Palestinians, coercing of Ukraine for arriving at a deal for its rare minerals, softening of the US approach to Russia, etc., have alienated all erstwhile US allies. However, most important is Trumpism’s weakening of US-EU alliance including NATO, though the NATO-led Ukraine war had imparted a European cohesion till Trump’s coming to power in January 2025.  Now, most of the European powers, and the Eurosceptic and xenophobic far-right in particular, no longer consider US as a reliable ally, and for them, the postwar American shield for Europe or the security guaranteed by US through NATO in return for EU’s recognition of US as world leader, has become meaningless. Moreover, in the context of Trump’s unilateral tariffs, the EU members have begun seeking trading partners from ASEAN, Mercosur and including even building up of bilateral trade relations with China.

One of Trump’s threats was to withdraw from NATO and questioning of the merits of NATO’s Article 5 – which says that an attack on any NATO country is an attack on all of them. Article 5 was inserted to protect Europe from Soviet Union during Cold War. However, according to Trumpism, in the post-Cold War world situation, the huge NATO expenditures of US is an obstacle for the road towards MAGA. As such, in addition to repeatedly criticising EU members for not meeting their defence quota of 2 percent of GDP, Trump has demanded an increase in their defence spending to 5 percent of GDP, which the EU members of NATO in its recent meeting have agreed in principle, even as left-leaning Spain revolted against it. Trump’s attempt to make deals directly with Putin bypassing EU members of NATO has sent shock waves across leading European powers such as France, Germany, Italy, etc., who were safely enjoying the military protection of US till now in the absence of a European military. This has prompted European Commission to move towards greater defence integration independent of NATO with the scope of potential European military force. Its immediate outcome is European Commission’s “ReArm Europe” plan having an outlay of over 800 billion euros (900 billion dollars) within four years. Even discussion on an independent European nuclear defence umbrella is also in full swing. The ultimate outcome is a weakening of the strategic US-EU cohesion in the days ahead.

In fact, together with the undermining of US-EU alliance, Trump had initiated US withdrawal from several international agreements and treaties during his first term itself. Examples are the Tans-Pacific Partnership, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, 1951 Refugee Convention, UNESCO, UNHRC, and even WHO, though Trump’s withdrawals from the last three were later rescinded by Biden. However, there are reports that Trumpism may repeat and intensify this process based on its “America First” policy that focuses on bilateral deals and disregards multilateral agreements. Of course, the most vicious form of this bilateral deal today is the long-standing US-Zionist alliance by which the latter acts as former’s postwar ‘military outpost’ in Middle East, regarding which there is unshakeable unanimity among Republicans and Democrats. However, Iran’s counter-attack on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq following US illegal bombing of Iranian nuclear sites and Trump’s unilateral announcement of cease-fire, and seeking the help of China to pacify Iran, amply prove the demise or fragmentation of postwar unipolar US dominance in the Middle East. The inhuman and undignified deportation of immigrants, travel-ban restricting entry into US from 12 countries, imposition of visa restrictions to 7 countries, and so on, are other manifestations of ‘splendid isolation’ inherent in Trumpism.

Trump’s Bullying Tariffs and Surrender before China

The series of highly protective Trumpian tariffs on all countries exporting goods to US that raised average effective US tariff rate from 2.5% to around 27% during January-April 2025 is quite unprecedented in over a century of US imperialism. Immediate response to Trump’s tariff war against other countries was a plunge of the stock markets in US, EU and Asia. Initial estimates had put Trump tariffs’ impact at around $1.4 trillion worth of US imports by April 2025. However, following strong domestic opposition and resentment from EU, coupled with the challenge from Chinese retaliatory tariffs, Trump was forced to partially rollback his unilateral tariffs. As such, the estimated average tariff rate is reduced to around 15% in June 2025. In the unprecedented tariff war, Trump has invoked extra-ordinary powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose universal tariffs affecting all imports into US. The consequent countermeasures resorted by EU leading to loss of European market for even Tesla like US companies have backfired on US itself. It is reported that Trumpian policies including tariff wars will decrease US GDP growth rate to 1.2 percent in 2025 from 2.4 percent in 2024. The stock market crash, business uncertainty, chaotic environment in market and, above all, the threat of inflation, have prompted the crony capitalists including Musk who were in unholy nexus with Trump, to part company with him. Meanwhile, even federal courts have ruled Trump’s use of IEEPA for tariff war as unconstitutional, though appeal on the case is scheduled for 31 July 2025.

However, Chinese retaliation through both tariff and non-tariff barriers following Trump’s imposition of 145% tariff on China was a severe blow to Trump. During his first term itself, the trade war initiated against China was a total failure. After his second coming in 2025 with the motto MAGA, Trump reiterated his accusation against China for its intellectual property thefts, long-standing unfair trade practices including dumping of US market with cheap Chinese products resulting in huge trade deficit for US, forced transfer of American technology, etc. But China’s tit-for-tat imposition of 125% tariff on US was quite unexpected for Trump with the economistic mindset of a real-estate developer rather than that of a seasoned politician. At the same time, China could ease the impact of reduced exports to US by easily diverting its exports to South and Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. This would have serious disruption on US economy leading to a loss of $1.6 trillion in GDP. However, sensing the danger, Trump managed to strike a deal with China. Accordingly, US will reduce tariffs on Chinese products to 30% and China will cut the tariffs to 10% for three months. Since China’s productivity is high and exports are very competitive, it is easy for China to absorb the 30% tariff without damage. However, contrary to Trump’s earlier demands, China has not opened its markets to US tech giants, or agreed to buy more planes and pharmaceuticals from US. To be precise, the trade war against China initiated by Trump exposed one thing: i.e., the US needs China more than China needs the US.

De-dollarisation Gaining Momentum under Trumpism

Though de-dollarisation – the shift away from dollar – has been an increasing trend consequent on the abandonment of dollar-gold convertibility since the stagflation of 1970s, Trumpism is now acting as a catalyst for it. Dollar as world currency, reinforced by US Treasury and Bretton Woods Twin, has been one of the foundations of US hegemony. Today, the trend towards de-dollarisation is intertwined with the declining phase of US imperialism. In essence, since the unshackling of gold standard, in tandem with relative decline of US economy, the trust in dollar has been eroding and today dollar continues as global currency only in the absence of an alternative arrangement. Meanwhile, concerted efforts on the part of China towards regional and bilateral agreements for alternative payment mechanisms are strengthening. As a result, the share of dollar in global central bank reserves has been steadily falling, now reaching around 57% compared to 85% in mid-1970s. And, in view of the recession haunting US, the reserve currency status of dollar is likely to decline at a faster rate, enabling China to internationalise its own Yuan in its digital version as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

It is in this overall context that Trump’s protectionist tariffs coupled with his isolationist political-economic policies further undermine dollar’s position in international monetary system. Though total replacement of dollar with another alternative currency is not imminent, China’s initiative in the realm of digital currency for cross border payments using CBDC with members of RCEP, bilateral payment mechanism with Saudi, UAE, and Iran, coupled with its move in BRICS for internal payment arrangements among members or even the creation of an alternative currency, etc., are impending threats to dollar. However, Trump’s isolationist policies breaking the Anglo-Saxon alliance have created favourable conditions in Europe also to end the reliance on dollar and seek an alternative international payments mechanism. Further, as global public opinion is growing against isolationist and protectionist policies of unpredictable Trump including his threat to impose 100% tariffs on countries that opt to trade using alternative currencies, coupled with reports of stagnation in US will further erode global investors’ faith in dollar. In the ultimate analysis, in a multipolar world order in which US will be one among the leading players, a post-dollar multipolar currency system is a viable alternative.

Conclusion

US imperialism, which has been the postwar world hegemon, is now on its descending phase like an old lion without manes. In fact, Trumpism and its disruptive and reckless policies are catalyst for this inevitable decline. For instance, US is still world’s largest military machine having one of the largest stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction with world-wide military bases and accounting for over 40% of world military spending (China being second), which itself is unsustainable given the crumbling economic foundations of US. From a political-economy perspective, US is much weaker than China. While US has higher nominal GDP, based on Purchasing Power Parity, US GDP is only 75% of China. Today, 60% of the countries of the world is China’s trading partners; US has only 30%.  US industrial production or manufacturing today is only half that of China. China is the largest trading partner of Latin America which was once called the ‘backyard’ of US, while China’s trade with the entire Africa is three times that of US.  Coming to the crucial issue of export of capital, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that envisages an investment of $1 trillion in infrastructures such as, roads, ports, airports, etc. till 2049, and spanning Asia, Africa, Europe and even Latin America, is the largest capital export program in imperialist history. In the process, many countries have already become China’s neocolonial dependencies.

Even as many US-led global agreements and treaties have ceased to exist or are in disarray, since its entry into WTO by the turn of the 21^st century, and in tandem with its transformation as a leading imperialist power capable to challenge US on many fronts, China has taken the initiative for establishing and/or leading many political-economic agreements such as SCO, BRICS, RCEP, AIIB, etc., along with innumerable bilateral arrangements. As already noted, in the sphere of “frontier technologies” such as AI, Digitisation, Biotechnology, etc., imperialist China is much ahead than that of US or Anglo-Saxon powers. And, as proved by its Afghan debacle (in which the role of China was less-discussed) and the latest Iranian strike at its military bases in Qatar and Iraq, following the criminal bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, US hegemony is often challenged due to the shifting of global geopolitics from West to the East. Compared to the earlier phases of crisis, when temporary recoveries were for possible for US through Keynesianism and Reaganomics, today Trumpism has imparted an irreversible dimension to US decline.

As mentioned at the outset of this note, since every phenomenon is constantly changing, the unfolding global situation is not going to be a repetition of the two centuries of Anglo-Saxon imperialist trajectory. Obviously, during the preceding quarter century of neoliberal globalisation, and under internationalisation of corporate capital, though China has transformed into a major imperialist power capable to challenge the US, it’s modus operandi is entirely different from that of Western imperialist bloc. As an inexhaustible source of cheap labour for super-exploitation, while integrating itself with global corporate capital, China’s neocolonial domination and building up ‘spheres of influence’ are not a text copy of the US-led Anglo-Saxon model. At the same time, the inherent crisis of world imperialism as manifested in geo-political tensions, economic, cultural and ecological crises that threaten the very sustenance of humankind are applicable to China also. Unless the working and oppressed peoples of the world are coming forward with a political alternative, the crisis confronting humankind in manifold ways will intensify further, irrespective of whether US is replaced by another hegemon or another imperialist bloc, or a by a different multipolar order.

(Courtesy: Countercurrents.org)

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