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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CPI (ML) Red Star Central Party School 2025

Paper 1

Shifting Imperialist Power Balance and India’s Status in the Emerging World Situation

P J James

Part-1

Decline of US Hegemony and 21^st Century Changes in Inter-Imperialist Contradictions

Introduction 

In the Party School Paper entitled “Imperialism Today”, presented to Central Committee in 2017, we have briefly analysed the fast changes that were taking place in imperialism under post-Cold War neoliberal-neofascist period. In fact, the original title of the book by Lenin, that unravelled the basic characteristics of imperialism was Imperialism, the Newest Stage of Capitalism, though its English translation has been Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. That is, by the usage Newest or Latest, Lenin never visualised anything regarding a final epitaph of imperialism. Viewed in this perspective, the 2017 Paper had mentioned about a shake of the imperialist structure or a “restructuring” of the imperialist hierarchy inherited from the twentieth century. For instance, in accordance with the complex dimensions of both accumulation and circulation of capital in the neoliberal context of internationalization of finance capital, the Paper had identified that ‘export of capital’ pointed out by Lenin as one of the essential characteristics of imperialism is taking place even from ‘dependent’ and oppressed neocolonial countries too. When MLPD, pointing out export of capital from countries like India, came forward with its erroneous thesis that India and other 14 countries have become imperialist, we refuted that prognosis based on our understanding. Here, we are not going to a repetition of what we had discussed in the 2017 Paper.

Meanwhile, in the Party Program of CPI (ML) Red Star adopted at the 12^th Congress, in the process of unfolding the international developments, has situated China as a leading 21^st century imperialist power. It briefly explained how erstwhile People’s Republic of China became a bureaucratic state monopoly capitalism following capitalist restoration since the 1980s, and how it eventually transformed into an imperialist power by the turn of the 21^st century. After joining WTO in 2021 and integrating itself with imperialist world system as one of the cheapest sources of labour, and hence production, China emerged as the biggest exporter of both goods and capital as manifested through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), within a short span of time. When the imperialist crisis of 2008, also called “global meltdown” inflicted severe damages on US and EU, it enabled China to emerge as a major contender with the US-led Anglo-Saxon imperialist powers for carving out neocolonial spheres influence. And, today under Trump, who is considered as “grave-digger” of US hegemony, China is challenging and even bypassing US (and EU) hegemonic role in many respects.

Today, when we are in the third decade of the 21^st century, fast changes are taking place in imperialism. The law of impermanence or the idea that every social phenomenon is constantly changing and transforming itself, is becoming more evident in the case of imperialist world system too.  As such, according to concrete evidence that is forthcoming, two centuries of world domination by Anglo-American capitalist-imperialist system is now in a downward phase. 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, when industrial or competitive capitalism gave way to monopoly finance capitalism or imperialism, the US emerged as the leading capitalist-imperialist power, in spite of UK’s continuance as colonial leader. And the US had to wait till the Second World War for the eventual transition from so called “Pax Britannica” to “Pax Americana”.

Thus, after Second World War and following the so called ‘decolonisation’ (i.e., formal ending of colonialism), the US took over the position of world hegemon and supreme arbiter of the postwar neocolonial phase of imperialism. Together with the political, economic and military arrangements required for unleashing neocolonialism, based on the 1946 agreement between US and UK, world’s most powerful and enduring intelligence alliance called the “Five Eyes Alliance” (encompassing 5 Anglo-American countries, viz., UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) led by CIA also came into being. Till the 1970s, on account of the presence of a Socialist Camp, US-led imperialism pursued a policy of state programming of the economy or welfare capitalism. But, when the imperialist crisis strengthened in the form of ‘stagflation’– a situation of economic stagnation coupled with high inflation – taking advantage of the ideological-political setbacks of the International Communist Movement since the beginning of the 1970s, US-led imperialism abandoned the ‘welfare state’ and embraced neoliberalism. Following the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 and formal ending of Cold War, characterising the situation as ‘end of Communism’, US declared Isam as the new enemy and conceptualised the infamous “global war on terror” based on it. Establishment of WTO in 1995and ranging it along with IMF and World Bank in which US already has veto power, further strengthened neoliberal globalisation.

However, by the turn of the 21^st century, especially after the World Economic Crisis or “global meltdown” of 2007-08, as already noted, US stature as world’s leading manufacturer and biggest trader has been lost to Chinese state monopoly capitalism or imperialism. US GDP, which was around half of world total in 1945, has declined to about 25 percent, while US gold reserve which was 75 percent of world total in 1945 has been reduced to less than 20 percent as of now.  This has led to a loss of trust in dollar’s continuity as world currency, leading to a “de-dollarisation” trend 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 leader.

Advent of Trumpism and his Agenda of MAGA 

The declining trend of US imperialist hegemony is now accelerated by the second coming of Donald Trump as US president with his far-right, racist, and Islamophobic neofascist policies codified as MAGA (Make America Great Again). Trumpism is 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 and tariff policies coupled with corporate tax-cuts, business deregulation and drastic reduction in social welfare spending. With his motto “America First” or MAGA, Trump’s bullying tariffs have already sent shock waves even among traditional EU and Anglo-Saxon allies of US.  Meanwhile, following China’s retaliatory tariffs against Trump’s biggest-ever bullying tariffs, he was forced to reach an early deal with imperialist China by drastically reducing the tariff rate from 145% to 30%. Though to a lesser extent, Trump had to make similar compromises with EU and Canada too. In this context, the following is a brief note on how Trumpism is transforming itself as a grave-digger of US imperialism with regard to both domestic and foreign policies.

 Vanishing Domestic Political-Economic Basis of US Hegemony 

Trump’s second coming in January 2025 was with the backing of 13 leading US tech giants and financial oligarchs led by world’s richest billionaire Elon Musk. As such, immediately after coming to power, Trump appointed Musk, as in-charge of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), specifically created for downsizing the government and rolling back it from welfare and social expenditures. However, a few months later, due to irresolvable differences with Trump’s short-sighted and reckless policies, Musk had to resign. Trump’s so-called neoliberal “big beautiful bill” that, among other things, added further corporate tax-cuts, though was finally adopted, initially suffered an ignominious defeat in the House Budget Committee because of opposition from Republicans who joined with Democrats to vote it down. Of course, while the Federal courts have their rulings in tune with Constitutional guidelines, the US Supreme Court has been generally endorsing Trump’s far-right, neofascist policies. At the same time, the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has already predicted an impending catastrophic stagflation and economic doomsday ahead for US consequent on Trump’s isolationist policies. And, Trump finds it difficult to remove him because of a landmark 1935 ruling of the Supreme Court that limited Presidential powers in dismissing Fed Chair, though Trump is exploring other options to force Powell’s exit.

After his ascent to power, the average tariffs on countries imposed by Trump during January-April 2025 were quite unprecedented in over a century of US imperialism. Its immediate domestic impact 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 was reduced to around 15% in June 2025. In imposing unprecedented tariffs, Trump had invoked extra-ordinary powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The consequent countermeasures resorted by EU have resulted in loss of European market for even Tesla like US companies. In brief, Trump’s protectionist tariffs imposed on both friends and foes alike, boomeranged in the form of stock market crash, business uncertainty, chaotic environment in market, all resulting in a threat of “stagflation” on US itself. Obviously, compared with China or even EU, the US today is a money-spinning economy where the financial sphere is growing totally cut off from the productive sphere. Most of the consumer goods are being imported from low-cost global sources such as China, India, etc., where wage is low compared with that in US. Regarding crucial industrial inputs like rare earths which are indispensable for frontier technologies including military technology, vehicles and numerous other manufacturing industries, US is abjectly depending on China which controls 90% of global rare earth processing. In view of large-scale import of goods and industrial inputs from China, the higher tariffs on China coupled with China’s reciprocal or retaliatory tariffs on US goods would adversely affect domestic production and raise inflation too. The decline in the imports of cheap fisheries, agricultural and dairy products, pharmaceuticals, etc from India following tariffs on them will also lead to rise in US domestic prices.  According to preliminary 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.

As already noted, being a typical racist and neofascist, Trump’s tirade against immigrants and foreigners have crossed all limits. In the process of ruthlessly suppressing domestic 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 federal administration. For instance, ever since American Civil War, federalism has provided the internal coherence and strength for US emergence as a leading world power. 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. On the other hand, Trump is undermining all these established liberal and federal traditions. For instance, he has even threated to invoke the rarely used 1807 Insurrection Act that grants executive powers to president in deploying military to deal with domestic issues. Recently, by sidelining California governor, and by using military to quash people’s protests in Los Angeles against his immigration policies, Trump has not only dismantled US federalism but even politicised the military in the process. Of late, he is deploying the so-called National Guards to other important cities too.

Vehemently opposing such fascist moves including Trump’s most inhuman deportation of immigrants to Afro-Asian-Latin American countries, 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. The recent 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. In the 19 October “No King” protests, more than 7 million people participated in 2700 US cities.  All well-meaning people are coming forward against the patriarchal and 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 and in the recent US-backed Zionist strike at Qatar. Trump’s latest Gaza Peace Plan has become a non-starter and a farce. 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. That is, growing people’s resistance against Trump’s economic and political moves, 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 imperialist 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, 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 or US imperialist-led military bloc that acted as the foundation for US hegemony on the one hand, and provided effective ideological-political weapon against Soviet bloc till its collapse, on the other.

However, the short-sighted, reckless and isolationist MAGA 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 taking over Gaza from Palestinians for converting it into a global tourist resort, coercing of Ukraine for arriving at a deal for its rare minerals, softening of the US approach to Russia including bilateral talks with Putin totally excluding EU, 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 even the building up of bilateral trade relations with China and even with neocolonial countries including India.

Of late, though Trump has made a temporary deal with EU amid strong opposition from countries like Spain, his threats 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 – have created strong resentment among EU members. 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 attempts 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 global Anglo-Saxon alliance.

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 Trans-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 “isolationism” inherent in Trumpism.

Trumpism and Tilting of Imperialist Power Balance Towards China 

As noted at the outset, unlike other countries, Chinese retaliation through both tariff and non-tariff barriers following Trump’s imposition of 145% tariff on it 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, even as the Sino-US inter-imperialist contradictions are sharpening in manifold ways. Thus, the trade war against China initiated by Trump exposed one thing: i.e., the US needs China more than China needs the US.

Of course, China is the biggest exporting country today, and after joining WTO in 2001, its exports have soared 14 times during the past two decades from $250 billion to $3.58 trillion in 2024. Today, 60% of the countries of the world is China’s trading partners, while US has only 30%.  And, China is world’s biggest capital exporter, as manifested through $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), surpassing the US. Even if the US market is denied to China, due to its low-cost production, as leader of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), BRICS and RCEP and through many bilateral deals with countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and other countries, it is still possible for China to carve out export markets and create “neocolonial spheres of influence” in Afro-Asian-Latin American countries competing with the US and EU. With its well-defined lead over “frontier technologies” including AI and Biotechnology, China today is home to 24 innovations hubs among WIPO’s (World Intellectual Property Organisation) top 100, whereas US comes second with 20 and India having 4. China is the undisputed manufacturing powerhouse with more than 30% of world total estimated at $5.65 trillion in industrial output, while US holds second place with $2.3 trillion (and India having only $0. 5 trillion, i.e., less than one-tenth of China). To be precise, though US is still considered as the leading imperialist power in terms of billionaire wealth and accounting for 40% of the world military spending, in terms of infrastructure, transport equipment, high speed rail, rare earth, defence and space technology, manufacturing, and in all frontier technologies, China has already surpassed US, and hence controls their global supply chains. And based on Purchasing Power Parity, US GDP is only 75% of China (According to PPP, China’s GDP is $40.72 trillion; US is $30.51 trillion).  This is what forced Trump to reach an agreement with China at the earliest.

It is in this background that amid Trump’s reckless, “protectionist”, “economic nationalist” and “isolationist” policies, a new configuration of postwar world order led by China is challenging the US-led Anglo-American global domination of two- centuries. The 25^th Heads of State Summit of SCO attended by 27 countries, followed by Commemoration of Second World War, led by Xi, Putin and Kim, heads of States from China, Russia and North Korea including the display of most advanced weapons in the Victory Day parade and the statements thereof are curtain-raiser for the emergence of a multipolar world. Of course, this China-led multilateralism, in view of India’s inherent servility to declining US imperialism, may also assume the form of a unipolar Asia under China’s professed multipolarity. For instance, Xi’s unilateral announcement of a SCO Bank at the Summit coupled with the already existing AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank formed in 2016) and NDB (New Development Bank of BRICS since 2015), all led by China are set to emerge as a powerful rival to US-dominated Bretton Woods System.  As history has proved, while Western pundits have characterised this new configuration an “axis of evil”, the emerging world order will not be a text copy of the Anglo-American model, but a different one whose essence will still be “neocolonial” and “neoliberal” in another form. At the same time, together with the geopolitical, economic and financial initiatives such as SCO, BRICS, RCEP, BRI, AIIB, etc., which encompass more than half the world population, this emerging multipolar global arrangement, unlike earlier, is capable to effectively challenge and take up the strategic requisites such as nuclear technology, space missions, electronic vehicles, artificial intelligence and digital healthcare, oils and rare minerals, and above all an alternative currency and payment systems needed to overcome Washington’s financial blockades and payment hurdles, all of which will form the material basis of the emerging global geopolitics, and consequent alterations in inter-imperialist contradictions.

Trend Towards “De-dollarisation” 

In this overall background, the most decisive factor that is going to dismantle US hegemony is the so called “de-dollarisation” or the impending shift away from dollar as the international currency. Dollar as world currency, reinforced by US Treasury and Bretton Woods system, has been one of the foundations of US hegemony. And today, the trend towards de-dollarisation is intertwined with the declining phase of US imperialism. In fact, this trend is there since the stagflation of the 1970s and has gathered momentum since the turn of the 21^st century, especially since the 2008 world economic crisis. Now, Trumpism is acting as a catalyst for this process. Most of the members of SCO and BRICS in their bilateral relations have already bypassed the dollar, and are using their own respective currencies. However, in spite of the biggest tariff blow from Trump, being a lackey of US imperialism and due to pressure from the strong American lobby in India whose fabulous wealth is kept as dollar reserves, except its oil trade with Russia, the Modi regime is still depending on the dollar for its transactions even in BRICS and SCO. Recently, the Indian government has given its assurance to Trump of its non-cooperation with the de-dollarisation move on the part of BRICS led by China.

Of course, de-dollarisation has been an increasing trend since the abolition of dollar-gold convertibility by Nixon on 15 August 1971. 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. The Chinese financial market is opened for Russia as part of speeding up the de-dollarisation process. 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 economic downturn haunting US, the reserve currency status of dollar is likely to decline at a faster rate. And as already mentioned, many options are emerging. Ongoing China-led initiatives (excluding India that acts as an agent of US within BRICS) for a BRICS currency, internationalisation of China’s Renminbi (RMB) or Yuan in its digital version as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) beginning with cross border payments among members of RCEP, China’s bilateral payment mechanism with Saudi, UAE, and Iran, etc., are impending threats to dollar, and are serious moves in this direction.

Obviously, the most decisive material basis of US hegemony under postwar neocolonialism has been the role of dollar as the international medium of exchange, store of value and standard for short-term and long-term payments. Without any material basis, the US can print any amount of dollar and acquire anything from any part of the world using dollar, a power which no other country can exercise. Further, with a public debt of $37 trillion, the largest in the world, the US can dominate the world without questioned by anybody.  And by pushing down the value of other currencies through their depreciation or devaluation, US can suck out real resources and wealth from other countries at cheap rate. Further, to keep adequate quantity of dollar reserves, other countries have to part with real resources. At a global level, super-rich elite sections often keep their wealth in the form of dollar reserves, which indirectly enhance the US economic power over real resources. However, in view of the decline of US hegemony and the possibility of the emergence of new alternatives, now countries are rapidly reducing their dollar reserves and acquiring gold, euro, RMB, and other generally acceptable financial instruments such as bonds. At the same time, fully knowing that dollar as world currency forms the primary roots of US hegemony, and that a de-dollarisation implies the death-knell of a century of US dominance, Trump is now threatening dependent countries like India to move away from such steps now going on under the initiative of China. Revealingly, the powerful US lobby and crony capitalists in countries like India are resolutely opposing a de-dollarisation move. Even Chinese imperialism, which has been spearheading the de-dollarisation initiative, is cautious to avoid a sudden move in this direction, as around 25% of $3.6 trillion of its foreign exchange reserves is still in the form of dollar, though China is trying to reduce its dollar holdings at a faster rate.

To be precise, US imperialism, which became the postwar world hegemon, and which could emerge as the leader of a unipolar world following collapse of Soviet Union, has been in a descending phase in the 21^st century. In fact, Trumpism and its disruptive and reckless policies are only catalyst for this inevitable decline. US continuity as world’s largest military machine has become 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, as already noted, 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 $1 trillion worth BRI that envisages investments in infrastructures such as, roads, ports, airports, etc. till 2049 across 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.  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, in continuation of the Afghan debacle, the latest contradictions that US has with its allies in the Middle East in the context of US-Zionist war crimes on Palestinians are also facilitating a shift in global geopolitics from West to the East. Still, as evident from the latest events in Nepal, US imperialism is continuing with neocolonial interventions including ‘regime change’ in all Asian, African and Latin American countries. Amid these, the crisis confronting US is mounting without any let up. Compared to the earlier phases of crises, when temporary recoveries were possible for US through Welfare Capitalism and Neoliberalism, today Trumpism has imparted an irreversible dimension to the US decline. Of course, Trump’s untrustworthy, deceitful, far-right and isolationist policies and his overtures to allies and foes including efforts to win over Putin regarding Ukraine and treacherous pro-Zionist approach to Middle East, etc., are the immediate causes for the inevitable retreat of US imperialism.

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 world order.

Part 2

India’s Status in the Shifting Global Power Balance

Of course, servility to imperialism, Britain during the colonial period and US under postwar neocolonialism, is inseparable from RSS that controls the reins of Indian fascist regime today through its political tool BJP. During the Nehruvian period, despite US manoeuvres through Bretton Woods, dollar hegemony and PL-480, India could manage US pressure to an extent, taking advantage of Cold War, Non-Alignment, and through Indo-Soviet Treaty. But, in the post-Cold War, unipolar, neoliberal period, in tandem with the steady growth in the stranglehold of far-right, pro-American RSS over Indian polity and society, the Indian regime got exposed itself as a lackey of US imperialism. As it’s manifestation, in gross disregard of erstwhile Gandhian anti-Zionist positions, at this critical juncture when the US-Zionist nexus is accomplishing the biggest holocaust upon Palestinians in Gaza, and even as the international community is isolating Zionist regime through a series of political-economic sanctions, as part of the neofascist Yanki-Zionist-Hindutva alliance, the fascist Modi regime is even strengthening Bilateral Investment Agreement with Zionist “war criminals” regarding arms trade and export of blue-collar Indian workers for construction sites in Gaza.  Obviously, regarding all domestic policy matters, Modi regime is following the diktats from IMF-World Bank-WTO trio and neoliberal centres coupled with policy-making in crony-capitalist-corporate board rooms, keeping the parliament as a mere showcase of democracy. As we have already discussed many times, the outcome of Modi regime’s neoliberal-neofascist policies over the past one decade has been the transformation of India with 146 crore people into a “citadel of global poverty” with 53% of world’s “absolute poor”, whereas India’s rank is No. 3 regarding the number of billionaires. Neofascist regime’s claims of “Atmanirbhar” and “Viksit Bharat” are a mockery for India, the most populous country with 146 crore people, having only 2.8% share in world manufacturing. For defence equipment including fighter jets, and for both soft-wares and hard-wares of all frontier technologies, Modi government is depending on imperialist powers such as US, China, EU and Japan. Poverty, inequality, unemployment, forced displacement and consequent migration, environmental destruction, corruption, and price-rice are sky-rocketing on the one hand, while fascist oppression and atrocities on minorities, especially disenfranchisement of Muslims and Dalits are mounting on the other.

While the foreign policy of fascist Modi government is ultimately dictated by its strategic dependence on US imperialism, its immediate moves are based on the interests of Indian crony-capitalists like Adani and Ambani who are junior partners of MNCs. For instance, rather than the priorities of the people of India, Modi’s concern is to save both Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani from the likely extradition order from US Department of Justice for their offering of $250 million in bribes in violation of US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Similarly, rather than the Indian people, the beneficiary of cheap oil import from Russia is Ambani whose refineries in Gujarat are processing and selling petroleum products to Europe, thereby making huge profits. As such, in spite of Trump’s highest bullying tariff of 50% on India, it is for the sake of Ambani that Modi has placed himself in a weak bargaining position between US and China like putting legs in two boats. Meanwhile, Adani’s recent ban on Russian crude oil vessels from entering its ports, a move to appease US, being a heavy blow to Ambani who is the largest Indian importer of Russian oil, has created apprehensions across crony-capitalist circles.  At the same time, fully knowing that India is not a dependable ally, Xi’s dealings with Modi in the SCO Summit were only formal. Among the major partners of SCO, India is the only country that remains outside BRI, and many of the strategic decisions announced by Xi were together with Putin, Kim and others, after Modi left China. To be precise, India’s balancing partnership with both Washington and Beijing coupled with long-standing contradictions with the latter has placed Modi regime in a real dilemma.

Fully knowing Indian government’s irresolvable contradictions with China, Trump administration is now taking all efforts to tame and bring Modi regime under its firm grip. While US officials are continuing with their unilateral accusations on India, through public statements and social media posts, both Trump and Modi are sharing optimism about “a successful conclusion” to the ongoing trade negotiations and maintain the strategic relationship between the two in the Indo-Pacific, targeting China.  Last year, under diktats from Trump regime, India had completely stopped its import of cheap oil from Venezuela and Iran, and Trump was expecting a similar move from Modi regarding import of Russian oil before imposing punitive tariffs. It was in this situation that Modi tried to use his links with SCO as a bargaining chip with Trump. But it has proved as unviable. As a result, according to the latest information, Indian trade team led by Commerce Minister Goyal has scheduled its Washington trip to carry on the talks for the India-US FTA (Free Trade Agreement). In continuation of that, US is also in a hurry to have India’s participation in the next Quad Summit.  Thus, on account of its inherent neocolonial servitude to US, the Modi regime has no qualms to forget the series of ignominious blows inflicted by Trump such as 50% punitive tariffs (including the threat of raising them to 100%) that may cause around 1% loss in GDP along with joblessness, visa denial to Indian professionals and students, undignified deportations of Indian immigrants in military planes, Trump’s claim on Indo-Pak ceasefire that he repeated around 40 times amid Modi’s revealing silence, and so on.

It is not intended here to go into a detailed analysis of the political-situation of India. However, one thing is to be stressed: on account of Modi regime’s pro-American, Islamophobic and neofascist orientation towards oppressed nations and peoples, globally, it is totally in an isolated position, though Godi media portray it otherwise. India’s expansionist and big-brotherly approach to neighbouring countries is already much discussed. At the same time, being a junior partner of US in latter’s machinations against China, India has been purposefully avoiding all trade agreements and treaties with ASEAN and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), solely because of the involvement of China in them. Take, for instance, the case of 10-member ASEAN with which India under the Manmohan government, more or less, had a good trade relationship. But under US pressure and accusing ASEAN a “B-team of China”, Modi regime cut off all relations with it in 2021. Same was the case with 15-member RCEP (which together with ASEAN includes China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Obviously, it was the China factor that prompted Modi in 2019 to leave RCEP, which now accounts for 30% of global GDP and 30% of world population. If India had continued in these trade agreements, they could have been used as a shield against the Trumpian bullying tariffs by providing unhindered market access for India. In other words, Modi regime’s abject surrender before US imperialism has led to India’s shameful isolation from other countries, thereby putting heavier burdens on the working class, peasants, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) where alone around 13 crore Indian people are engaged for sustenance. Modi’s hurried ‘GST Reform 2025’, the so called “two-slab tax revolution” to boost domestic demand to compensate for the loss of US market was intended to overcome the repercussions arising from Trump’s 50% punitive tariffs on Indian goods. Of course, these and related domestic issues that India has to confront in the days ahead in connection with the US imperialist policies need detailed analysis.

P J James 

11/10/2025 

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Document of the All-India Plenum held in November 2024
(Gist Version of the Document)

1. The Plenum of CPI (ML) Red Star during the 4th week of November 2024 was convened with a view to make a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of Party Line and the lessons therefrom spanning the period from the 9th Congress (2011) to the 12th Congress (2022) of the Party. At the time of the 12th Congress, taking into account the intensifying imperialist crisis and surging global neofascism including RSS fascism in India, when the Party resolved to update its basic documents, viz., Party Program and Constitution, Path of Revolution and Political Resolution, that deal with the strategic and tactical line of the Party, a section who later went out of the Party strongly opposed the accepted ideological-political positions of the Party. Though the Congress adopted the documents according to the accepted Party Line, an objective evaluation of the circumstances that led to the emergence of an anti-party section within Party could not be carried out immediately after the Congress, since the whole Party was fully engaged in the country-wide anti-fascist struggle and campaigns till June 2024. As such, the Central Committee that met in June 2024 immediately after the 18th Indian General Election resolved to convene a Plenum to take up this task.

2. The 9th Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star that held in 2011 had altered the positions of the 1970 Congress of CPI (ML) that characterised India as a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country and the path of revolution as protracted people’s war. Instead, based on concrete analysis of the international and Indian situation, it made a qualitative leap by characterising India as a neocolonial country and the postwar world situation as that of imperialism’s neocolonial phase. Based on a concrete understanding of the inseparability of caste from class in caste-ridden Indian society, the Party Program adopted at the 9th Congress, for the first time, put forward caste-annihilation as a strategic task of the People’s Democratic Revolution. Further, the contradiction between capital and nature was incorporated into the Program as the 5th major contradiction. At a time when many organisations within the broad CPI (ML) spectrum were clinging to the semi-feudal, semi-colonial line of 1970 in a dogmatic way, it was CPI (ML) Red Star that took a path-breaking step based on a concrete analysis of the Indian and international situation.

3. Linked with this, and based on the understanding that postwar world situation is the neocolonial phase of imperialism, the Party had also taken initiative to develop its international tasks and became a founding member of ICOR. By taking responsibility as Deputy Main Coordinator of ICOR, and sticking to the Comintern perspective on World Revolution – comprising two streams, People’s Democratic Revolution in oppressed neocolonial Afro-Asian-Latin American countries and Socialist Revolution in imperialist countries – within ICOR, CPI (ML) Red Star has been in constant ideological struggle with MLPD which, as the Main Coordinator, was always trying to superimpose its Eurocentric approach on ICOR from its very inception. As its manifestation, though MLPD insisted on the slogan “Workers of the World Unite”, since CPI (ML) Red Star and Parties from neocolonial countries insisted on the Leninist position, such that “Workers and Oppressed Peoples of the World Unite” became the clarion call of ICOR at its founding Conference.

4. However, these ideological-political advancements as reflected in the Basic Documents adopted at the 9th Congress and the tasks taken up thereafter confronted many hurdles in course of time. This was primarily connected with the differences on the interpretation and implementation of Party’s strategic and tactical line by those sections/groups who merged with the Party at different times and at various levels. The walk-out of a minority comprising 52 out of 260 registered delegates from the 12th Party Congress was the logical culmination of these inner-party differences that seriously affected Party’s ideological-political-organisational centralisation over a period of time. In this context, the following is only a brief note on the differences with respect to Party’s international and Indian tasks that emerged within since the 9th Congress held in 2011.

5. For instance, regarding the international line of the Party, basic differences began to emerge since the 10th Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star held in 2010 itself. In continuation of MLPD’s Eurocentric approach as already mentioned, in a Seminar Paper presented at the time of the Congress, one MLPD representative repeated the same in another form. In that Paper MLPD argued that 14 countries including Russia, China (MLPD clearly moved away from the accepted Marxist-Leninist position that Russia and China which had already become imperialist), India, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, and so on have become “new imperialist countries”. Of course, this being consistent with MLPD’s Eurocentric positions and in conformity with its international slogan “Workers of the World Unite”, as already noted, CPI (ML) Red Star resolutely opposed this erroneous hypothesis. This is contrary to the accepted position of CPI (ML) Red Star that while Russia and China had already become imperialist, India and others mentioned by MLPD are still neocolonial and hence dependent on imperialism at varying levels.

6. However, two PB members, Sanjay and Pradip Singh, the latter merging with the Party with his group in 2015, took an anti-Party position in this regard. While the former in his capacity as Dy Main Coordinator of ICOR, wrote article in Red Star, Organ of CPI (ML) Red Star in support of MLPD and remained silent when MLPD tried to superimpose its erroneous position as that of ICOR, the latter was opposed to Party’s approach to neocolonialism itself. Based on Party Program adopted at the 9th Congress that evaluated India as a neocolonial country, the independence was formal since instead of British colonial power, from 1947 onward, i.e., in the postwar neocolonial period, India began to depend on the US-led world imperialist system as a whole. For instance, the accepted position of the 9th Congress regarding the “Character of Indian State” was thus: “The transfer of power in 1947 to comprador bureaucratic-bourgeois-big landlord classes bestowed formal independence. India became an open field for exploitation of all imperialist powers.” And this position was consistent with the understanding that the Indian big bourgeoisie’s unilateral dependence on ritain had given way to its multilateral dependence on US-led world imperialist system as a whole. However, Pradip not only rejected this understanding and under his pressure, Party had to amend its Program in the 10th Congress by replacing ‘formal independence’ with ‘political independence.’

7. However, the irony was that in spite of fundamental differences with Party line, both Sanjay and Pradip continued in the Party as its Polit Bureau members till the 11th Party Congress in 2018. And in that Congress, due to basic differences on Party’s strategic and tactical positions, both of them relinquished their position as PB members. While continuing as Central Committee members, both had been in-charge of important organisational responsibilities with differing ideological-political orientation. Along with his position as Party representative in ICOR, Sanjay was Party-in-charge of TUCI, the trade union wing of CPI (ML) Red Star, and even keeping the building in his name which was the Party’s central office. In the same vein, Pradip was in-charge of AIKKS, the peasant organisation of the Party. In essence, Party’s two crucial class organisations were continued to be led by these two persons who altogether abandoned the Party Line.

8. Alik, another Polit Bureau member of the Party who, with his group from Bengal, had merged with the Party in 2011, also took on an anti-Party line opposing Party’s approach to caste as inseparable from class in the Indian context. Revealingly, including Alik, those who went out of the Party in 2022, started questioning Party’s approach to Caste in the specific context when CPI (ML) Red Star began an all-out ideological-political offensive against RSS fascism specifically targeting its ideological basis, i.e., Manuvadi caste system. Like Sanjay, using his position as Party’s PB member, Alik could also use Marxist-Leninist, Party’s Theoretical Journal for publishing his paper on Caste that totally rejected Party’s adopted programmatic understanding on caste and annihilation of caste as strategic task. When the 12th Congress of the Party resolved to rectify this grave error, Alik along with a tiny minority having mechanical approach to Indian caste question also left the Party.

9. With the ascendance of RSS fascism with its ideological basis in Manuvadi Hindutva, CPI (ML) Red Star has put forward its consistent position that it is not a mere text-copy of classical fascism. When the Party took up the anti-fascist task rejecting both revisionist and adventurist approaches to Indian fascism, and appropriately taking into account the strategic or long-term and tactical or short-term dimensions of the anti-fascist struggle in the concrete Indian situation, the aforementioned sections who challenged the Party Line, also started opposing it from varying positions. For instance, Alik was reluctant to identify Modi regime as fascist and, for Pradip, TMC in Bengal was a fascist party, and together with Sanjay, he stood for defeating BJP by entering into political alliance with CPI (M) like parties. In this regard, Party’s position was that while going for the broadest possible anti-fascist front, political alliance with neoliberal and pro-corporate parties ranging from Congress to CPI (M) surrendering our ideological-political independence or strategic interests of the working and oppressed people would be harmful. As an instance, we pointed out the 1943 Dissolution of Comintern, a decision taken to appease the US-UK imperialists for facilitating the Anti-Fascist United Front, thereby the class interests of world working class and oppressed peoples.

10. Of course, these inner-party ideological-political differences on the part of a minority, as is evident, had their organisational repercussions in accomplishing Party tasks, both international and Indian. To a great extent, this organisational failure was connected with the manner in which different groups/sections merged with the Party during the period since the 9th Congress in 2011, though a few individuals like Sanjay who joined the Party by the turn of the 21st century also opportunistically allied with them in course of time. In fact, based on the experience of 2005 Vijayawada Unity Conference, on the eve of 9th Congress, the Party had taken a firm position that merger with other parties and groups should always be only with those having ideological unity. However, since the 9th Congress, this decision was safely ignored from a pragmatic and ad-hoc perspective of building up a ‘big Party’. Its outcome being dilution in adopted positions of the Party, lack of ideological-political centralisation and consequent organisational inability to appropriately carry out Party’s international and domestic tasks.

11. Based on an objective and self-critical evaluation of all these issues, the Plenum resolved the following decisions which are binding to the Central Committee: –

a. Merger/unity with other parties and organisations should be carried out only on the basis of ideological-political unity and the entire Party should be taken into confidence before taking such a decision. t. All pragmatic and ad-hoc approaches and political expediency in this regard in the guise of building up a ‘big party’ surrendering Party’s ideological-political line should be avoided, and every initiative in this regard should be pursued on a case-by-case approach. Where irresolvable ideological differences exist, appropriate united front or forum based on a common program or issue-based activities may be constituted with provisions for ideological debate within that forum.

b. Continue our ideological struggle within ICOR, resolutely exposing the erroneous “new imperialist” hypothesis of MLPD and organisationally resisting latter’s move to superimpose its Eurocentric positions including that on Palestine and other important issues on ICOR. Take all efforts to develop bilateral relations with like-minded parties for building up an alternative international forum based on concrete Marxist-Leninist perspective.

c. While reporting to State Committees and lower committees on any issue, the procedure that followed till now was to report only the decision of the Party, i.e., the majority decision of the Central Committee. Henceforth, along with the Party decisions (majority decision), serious ideological-political-organisational differences/deviations in Central Committee shall also be reported to State Committees and lower committees. This is based on the lessons from past one decade of functioning of the Central Committee. In the absence of such a procedure, vast majority of the rank- and-file cadres the Party were kept in the dark regarding the serious ideological-political deviations of a minority within the higher committee.

d. From Central Committee level to Lower committees, utmost care should be taken for party-functioning based on the principle of ‘democratic centralism’. Safeguarding against bureaucratic and individualistic style of work, collective committee functioning at all levels from CC to lower committees should be ensured. Party-charges in all fields including international tasks, class/mass organisations, etc., should only be entrusted with those upholding Party’s ideological-political-organisational line at all levels – from Central committee to the lowest committees.

e. When the Central Committee decides to publish differing viewpoints or varying interpretations of party members on accepted/adopted Party line, such papers and articles should only be published with a clear editorial note unambiguously explaining Party’s accepted/adopted position on the subject.

f. Transparency and accountability on Party’s movable and immovable assets should be appropriately maintained such that those who question Party Line should in no way be given their charge. Accounting and auditing of Party’s assets and liabilities should be mandatory and accurate information regarding them should be available to concerned committees.

Central Committee
CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi
22.01.2025

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Paper Presented for Party School in 2023

Party School – 2023

Paper by Com P J James

On the Ideological-Political Line of CPI (ML) Red Star Based on the 12 th Congress

Introduction

1. The Organisational Line of CPI (ML) Red Star in the neo-fascist Indian context is explained in the Paper “On Party Building in Neo-fascist Situation”. For a Communist Party, organisational line or party building is a corollary of its ideological-political line or Party Line as laid down in the basic documents of the Party, namely, Program and Path of Revolution explaining Party’s strategic tasks and Political Resolution unfolding its immediate or short- term task. According to the basic documents of the Party from the 9 th Congress to the 12 th Congress, the Stage and Path of Revolution in India remains unchanged, and continue as that of People’s Democratic Revolution.

2. However, if we take the first two decades of the 21 st century, including more than a decade since the 9 th Congress of our Party in 2011, vast changes which are faster than any previous period in history have taken place at a global level and in our country. These changes, among other things, include the advent of a whole set of ‘frontier technologies’ such as Digitization coupled with Artificial Intelligence which are a 21 st century phenomenon, and utilising them corporate capital’s imposition of an intensified super- exploitation of working class through a renewed global division of labour, new forms of oppression and marginalisation through migration and refugee crisis, unprecedented ecological destruction arising from corporate plunder of nature, hitherto unknown levels of wealth concentration, inequality, poverty, unemployment, etc., and above all, the emergence global neo-fascism with its horrific manifestations and growing inter-imperialist rivalries and sharpening of all inherent contradictions of world imperialism. Linked with this international situation, in India, the most populous country in the world today, RSS, world’s biggest and longest-running fascist organisation with its most inhuman and reactionary ideology of Manuvadi-Hindutva has established a fascist regime with its multi-dimensional impact.

On Updating the Basic Documents

3. Properly evaluating these transformations, the 12 th Party Congress has appropriately updated the Basic Documents as adopted at the 9 th Congress and as amended in the 10 th Congress, especially the Program and Path of Revolution from the Marxist-Leninist perspective of ‘concrete analysis of the concrete situation’. Of course, CPI (ML) Red Star from the very beginning has evaluated the post-war period as that of imperialism’s neocolonial phase. Based on that, the Party has been of the firm position that after the 1947 power transfer to Indian ruling classes, the leading sections of whom today are ‘junior partners of imperialism’, India has been continuing as a neocolonially dependent country.

On the Question of ‘Political Independence’ and ‘Formal Independence’

4. However, though our approach to neocolonialism and characterisation of India as ‘neocolonially dependent’ remains as such, in the minor amendment to the Program adopted in the 10 th Party Congress in 2015 in Lucknow, an erroneous evaluation of 1947 power transfer as ‘political independence, though limited in character’ also was incorporated, as against the conceptualisation of ‘formal independence’ upheld by our basic documents since the Bhopal Special Conference onwards. Obviously, a ‘neocolonial dependence’ and ‘political independence’ are contradictory and inconsistent at the outset.

5. Hence, when the Program was updated in 2022 in accordance with the changes in the concrete situation, after prolonged inner-party debate, the term ‘political independence’ was replaced by ‘formal political independence’. No doubt, the conceptualisation of 1947 power transfer to Indian ruling classes by British colonial masters as ‘political independence’ was also connected with the revisionist perspective of ‘weakening of imperialism’ in the postwar period, as propagated by Khrushchevites. Together with this, another prognosis of India as a ‘new imperialist country’ also appeared in a Seminar paper presented by the MLPD representative during the 10 th Party Congress. Since a country simultaneously remaining ‘neocolonially dependent’ and ‘new imperialist’ being impossible, from the very beginning, our Party had totally rejected this hypothesis of ‘new imperialism’. At the same time, we cannot be oblivious to the ideological link between proponents of ‘political independence’ and ‘new imperialism’, since the possibility of a ‘politically independent’ country becoming ‘imperialist’ is perfectly in consonance with the laws of motion of capital today.

6. The formulations of ‘political independence’ and ‘new imperialism’ have other ideological-political dimensions, especially in relation to the principal contradiction as elucidated in the Program of CPI (ML) Red Star. For instance, of the five major contradictions adopted by our Party at the international level, the contradiction between imperialism on the one hand, and oppressed peoples and nations on the other, is the principal contradiction. In the same vein, the contradiction between the alliance of imperialist- corporate bureaucratic bourgeois-landlord classes on the one hand, and the broad masses of people on the other, is the principal contradiction with in India.

7. Thus, according to our Party Program, imperialism is the main enemy not only of world people, vast majority of whom are living in Afro-Asian-Latin American countries, but also for the Indian people as a whole. On the other hand, according to the hypothesis of ‘new imperialism’, vast majority of the people are living in imperialist countries, and not in neocolonially dependent countries. This is inconsistent with concrete reality and is an outright violation of the very core (stage and path of revolution) of our Party program. That is why, along with rejecting the new imperialist hypothesis, while updating the Program, we replaced ‘political independence’ with ‘formal political independence’.

On Concrete Analysis of Indian Society and Interrelation among Class Struggle, Caste Struggle and Gender Struggle

8. On understanding class India, since the 9 th Congress itself, CPI (ML) Red Star has taken a clear-cut position against the mechanical or copy-paste method pursued by many ‘communist’ parties. As such, in analysing class with respect to the specific, historically determined Indian social formation, the Party took the firm position that both class and caste are integral and inseparable. That is, class struggle in India is intertwined and interwoven with the struggle for abolition of the caste system which is a strategic task and not a tactical one. Hence the Path of Revolution adopted by the 9 th Congress opines: “Fighting caste oppression and campaigning for caste annihilation are not in the agenda of many organisations, or even when it is included, no concrete plan of action is put forward. It is the consequence of the reality that even after 150 years of experience of the Communist Movement, the mechanical imposition of the China Wall between revolution in the economic base and revolution in the superstructure is not removed. That is why the close relation between class struggle and struggle against caste system is not correctly understood and the mechanical approach that class struggle will solve all questions like the caste problem is still put forward repeatedly. This mechanical approach should be replaced by the dialectical relation between struggles at these two levels. Or a comprehensive understanding about class struggle itself has to be developed.”

9. Based on this Marxist approach of concretely analysing Indian society, we have already rejected the mechanical and reductionist approach to caste — that caste shall vanish once ‘class struggle’ becomes victorious or that climbing the economic ladder enables a person to overcome the social stigma associated with caste. On the other hand, caste being intertwined and interwoven with India’s mode of production or social formation, according to our Party’s position, rather than a super-structural issue, it cuts across both base and superstructure, and caste continues to play its major role in spite of the penetration of capital into the micro spheres of our society and not merely connected with feudalism as claimed by certain parties, or a “meagre role” as claimed by the erstwhile minority section within the party. Today, our Party position is that in spite of leading many heroic struggles of Dalits and other oppressed, the inability on the part of the erstwhile communist leadership to grasp the caste question in the proper perspective has led to the alienation of the oppressed castes from the communist movement. And we also have an understanding that the rift between the Communist Party and the movement of the Dalits and oppressed castes is to be urgently resolved by taking a positive approach towards Ambedkar and the Ambedkarite movement in general.

10. In the other Party Documents and writings pertaining to caste too, we have consistently pointed out that over the decades even after Power Transfer, caste system has been gaining more and more strength without any let up as is manifested in the mounting discrimination, oppression, atrocities, untouchability and all round alienation and deprivation of the Dalits with region-wise specificity in multi-national, multi cultural, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious India. And it is from this perspective that in the context of the 9 th Congress, CPI (ML) Red Star had taken initiative to form the Caste Annihilation Movement (CAM) to carry forward the ideological-political struggle against Brahmanical Manuvadi caste system in all its manifestations and to strive for the ultimate goal of annihilating caste system fully grasping the dialectical link between class struggle and the struggle for the abolition of caste. Along with CAM, over the years the Party has been earnestly engaged in acquiring more ideological and historical clarity on caste question including developing the required practical struggles in this regard.

11. However, when the task of updating the Party Program was taken up, RSS whose ideological basis is Manusmriti, using its political tool BJP, has already transformed India into a neofascist regime. According to Manusmriti, or Manuvadi-Hindutva, vast majority of the workers and toilers who belong to the ‘untouchable’ and oppressed castes and women are subhuman. And RSS is engaged in converting the Indian Constitution in tune with Manusmriti. In this context, when the Central Committee resolved to situate RSS neofascism in the historical roots of ‘Manuism’ in the updated documents, a few members comprising a minority section, despite their anti-caste rhetoric, vehemently opposed Party’s clear-cut position on caste and eventually went out of the Party. For instance, on the eve of the updated Program drafting, the entire pages of 2021 March Issue of ‘Marxist-Leninist’, theoretical journal of CPI (ML) Red Star were set apart for debate on caste in which this minority’s mechanical approach to caste totally disregarding how caste cuts across various modes of production was also published in detail.

12. Today, many self-proclaimed Marxist scholars claim that caste will wither away through the onward march of modernity and penetration of capitalist relations in to India. This they do based on the experience from Europe where the advance of capitalism could strike at the foundations of feudal, pre-capitalist and patriarchal relations. By hoping to repeat the same in India, these scholars are exposing their inability to comprehend how caste could comfortably sit even on the seat of modern science and technology in India. And corporate capital that penetrated in to the countryside has no qualm to integrate itself with the archaic and inhuman practices such as Khap Panchayat like most despicable caste institutions. As manifested in the renowned ongoing case in a California court against untouchability, Brahmanical techies who migrated to US have succeeded to export caste even to the Silicon Valley-the embodiment of the so called most advanced frontier technology today. The City council of Seattle has recently passed a resolution banning the practice of untouchability which was vehemently opposed by expatriate Manuvadis. Thus an economic interpretation of social change alone is incapable to unravel the underlying forces working at the macro level. To reiterate, today caste remains at the very centre of Indian counterrevolution and Communists have to take up the task of overcoming it as integral part of class struggle against imperialism and its lackeys.

13. In this context, especially in the critical situation of RSS neo-fascism, our basic documents have emphasised all-out offensive against Manuvadi-Hindutva, the ideological basis of RSS together with our uncompromising struggle against neoliberal corporatisation. In this regard, the first four paragraphs of Chapter 3 of our Party Program explains how the caste system evolved through the ancient, medieval and modern periods integrating with the changing modes of production and emerging classes, cutting across base and superstructure, assuming new dimensions of oppression and discrimination and adapting itself to political-economic changes.

14. And, it is in continuation of this historical perspective on caste and in view of the “inherent contradictions and tensions in caste-ridden Indian society” that in Chapter 5 relating to Program of People’s Democracy, the Party opines: “ 5.12 The People’s Democratic State shall take concrete steps for the abolition of the inhuman caste system, eradicate all forms of untouchability, caste-oppression and caste-discrimination from all spheres of life. All caste-practices and reactionary institutions should be suppressed and the perpetrators of such crimes shall be punished. Ensuring caste-based reservation till the wiping out of all caste-discriminations along with required affirmative actions for uplifting the Dalits and oppressed castes and priority to them in land-distribution based on the principle ‘land to the tiller’, along with appropriate administrative and cultural interventions.” Further, in conformity with this position, the 12 th Party Congress unanimously adopted two resolutions in relation to caste: one, on the need of a code of conduct for Party Comrades’ approach to caste and, two, on giving up caste surnames by Central Committee comrades.

15. In the same vein, along with the caste system, the updated Party Program as adopted by the 12 th Congress upheld the question of gender or gender struggle also as inseparable aspect of class struggle. Just as class struggle is directed against the exploiter class, and the struggle for annihilation of caste system is manifested in the form of struggle against the oppressor caste, gender struggle aims at elimination of all forms of gender inequality which is inevitable for democratisation of Indian society where patriarchy based on Manusmriti treats women as subhuman. Party Program says: “5.13 Stop all forms of gender discrimination. Abolish patriarchy in all its manifestations and stop religion and caste-based oppression on women. Stop all forms of discrimination and attacks on women at work places. Stop female infanticide. Ensure women’s equality in all fields, property right to women and equal pay for equal work. All women shall have opportunities to engage in socially productive labor with women-specific and genderfriendly working conditions. In the place of the patriarchal, religious-caste-based family system, the People’s State shall ensure conjugal life of partners irrespective of gender, based on mutual love, respect and consent. “5.14 In view of the exploitation, oppression and marginalization suffered by people of different genders and sexualities such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, etc. (LGBTQIA+), the People’s Democratic State shall take appropriate measures for the protection of the entire spectrum of people that come under the broad category of LGBTQIA+.” These tasks are incorporated in to the Program of People’s Democracy in conformity with our ideological political line that both caste struggle and gender struggle are integral part of class struggle in India.

On RSS Neo-fascism and the Anti-Fascist Struggle

16 . While the strategic task of our Party is to establish a people’s democratic state overcoming imperialism and its junior Indian partners, today the immediate task before us is to defeat RSS neo-fascism, which has been comprehensively elucidated in the Political Resolution adopted by the 12 th Party Congress. We have elaborated this task further including understanding of RSS neo-fascism and on the anti-fascist front in the articles published especially in our organ Red Star. What requires is the building up of the broadest possible anti-fascist united front against the RSS/BJP regime joining with all like-minded forces including non-fascist parties and organisations. However, as communists, in doing so, we should not surrender our strategic task of struggling for the class interests of the working class and all oppressed. This is possible only if we are capable to uphold our independent ideological line while being part of the broadest anti-fascist front. To accomplish this, we have to work at three levels.

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

b. Second is to build up a Left core of all fraternal and revolutionary parties based on a common minimum program against neoliberal corporatisation in all its manifestations. This all India Left core comprises state-level coordinations composed of like-minded revolutionary-left organisations upholding the interests of the vast majority of the working and oppressed peoples.

c. This Left Coordination shall form the starting point for the tactical alliance against fascism or broadest possible anti-fascist united front in which non-fascist ruling class parties and social democrats are also a part. This alliance with an anti-fascist common agenda against RSS neo-fascism also encompasses appropriate ideological struggle against Manuvadi- Hindutva, ideological base of Indian fascism too. While differentiating from the strategic alliance of workigng class and oppressed peoples against the ruling system and neoliberalism, this tactical alliance can also effectively utilise the contradictions within ruling classes in the fight against fascism.

17. If we properly pursue this approach, it will facilitate the strengthening of the anti-fascist movement and creation of the atmosphere for a broad electoral front capable to defeat RSS/BJP in the 2024 election on the one hand, and the presence of a people’s movement capable to resist the threat of a fascist come back thereafter, on the other.

On Ecological Question and Class Struggle

18. CPI (ML) Red Star’s firm position is that ecological issues are inseparable from corporate accumulation and plunder of nature by capital. Hence the struggle for an environmentally sustainable, pro-people development paradigm is inseparably linked with class struggle. Taking the gravity of the ecological question in the proper perspective that it is one of the basis questions to be resolved as part of class struggle, in the 9th Congress itself the Party had incorporated the contradiction between capital and nature as the fifth major contradiction both at the international and national level.

19. Reiterating this position, the Party Program adopted by the 12th Congress states: “3.23. In conformity with the conspicuous international trend towards intensified plunder of nature by corporate-speculative capital under neoliberalism, India also has been witnessing unprecedented ecological devastation during this neoliberal phase. At the instance of global corporates and their Indian junior partners, all laws and regulations in India pertaining to environmental protection are being taken way one by one. The latest EIA amendment, that legalizes the corporate violation of hitherto restrictions on ecologically sensitive and fragile areas and massive displacement of people from their habitat, is the most notorious among them. An essential component of the so called “ease of doing business” and “investorfriendly” measures taken to attract foreign capital is the import of ecologically harmful and toxic industries and dumping of obsolete nuclear plants in the country. At this critical juncture, when the whole issue of ecology and environment is inseparably linked up with the operation of corporate capital, the initiative for a development paradigm in harmony with nature has become the indispensable component of people’s democracy and socialism.” Now the task before the Party is to carry forward this ideological-political line through appropriate organisational initiatives.

Conclusion

20. The core issues of our Party’s ideological-political line highlighted above are that linked with the inner-party struggle leading to the 12 th Party Congress. On many important issues such as federal question, our Party has its distinct line. For instance, instead of the superimposed unitary character of the State, the People’s Democratic State envisaged in the Party Program is fully in consonance with the multi-national, multi-lingual, multi cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious character of India. Hence the Program of People’s Democracy envisaged by the Party is distinguished by a Constitution based on Federal Principles upholding the linguistic, ethnic, economic and cultural rights of nationalities that constitute India. Including this, to get an overall view of our Party Line, all members have to thoroughly read and comprehend the basic documents in their mother tongue. Hence all State Committees have to take up the task of translating them at the earliest and party study-classes based on them are to be arranged in a time-bound manner.

The post On the Ideological-Political Line of CPI (ML) Red Star Based on the 12 th Congress – P J James appeared first on CPI(ML) Red Star.

Paper Presented for Party School in 2023

Party School – 2023

Paper by Com. KNR

On Party Building in Present Neo-Fascist Situation Introduction

Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12th Party Congress on Party Building.

9. The Political Resolution adopted by the 12th Party Congress says: “5.8. In building up the Party with country-wide influence and for leading democratic and revolutionary struggles in the concrete Indian context, while assimilating lessons from erstwhile people’s democratic and socialist experiences, the integral link among class, caste and gender struggles and struggle for ecological protection should be taken up. That is, the party building process needs to assimilate the comprehensive inter-relationship among class struggle, struggle for caste annihilation, for gender equality and for ecological protection. Thus a party equipped with revolutionary theory and having practical experience from leading different struggles of workers, peasants, and all oppressed including women and the entire spectrum of genders, adivasis and dalits and that of environmental protection is the urgent need today.

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

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

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

Unification of Communist Revolutionaries

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

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

Increasing Party Membership

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

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

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

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

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

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

Strengthening State Committees

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Strengthen the District Committee functioning:

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

Importance of Party Education:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Party Finance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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