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Cancellation of Indian Science Congress is Intertwined with the Hindutva Project

Since the ascendance of Hindutva fascist regime in 2014, the Indian Science Congress (ISC) which was traditionally inaugurated by prime minister, has lost its relevance among professional scientific community and all well-meaning people. Its root cause is the despicable attempt to saffronise the ISC and tame the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) as an appendage of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), now working as per Hindutva diktats. This transformation has begun with the inauguration of the 102nd Science Congress in 2015 by Modi himself who earlier claimed while inaugurating Reliance Hospital in 2014 in Mumbai that the elephant face of the Hindu god Lord Ganesha was evidence of the existence of plastic surgery in India in ancient times. Studies and papers on Ancient Indian Vedas were presented for the first time in this ISC. However, since many scientists are unwilling to toe the Hindutva obscurantist line, and following difference between ISCA and DST, the 109th ISC scheduled to start on 3 January 2024 was abandoned as Modi government has withdrawn financial support to it.

As everybody knows, while taking advantage of the material and technological gains from the rapid advancements in S&T, using the fascist state power and led by the Hindutva political leadership, efforts are in full swing to replace science with mythology and for the propagation of pseudoscience and obscurantism throughout the entire Indian science establishment where Sangh Parivar ideologues are safely seated. And revealingly, the withdrawal of government support to ISC and its unprecedented abandonment take place when Modi government is propping up the RSS outfit Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), and more particularly at a time when Vibha is given charge as the main organiser of the 9th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) which is scheduled in Faridabad during 17-20 January 2024.

The IISF was initiated by Modi regime in 2015 claiming to make “India the most credible centre for scientific learning” as part of the “Amrit Kaal”(the goal of “Amrit Kaal” is to build an India with all the modern infrastructure of the world by 2047). No doubt, the abandonment of Science Congress should not be viewed as an isolated issue, but an inseparable part of the ongoing saffronisation of the entire education including institutions of higher learning and research in tune with the broader Hindurashtra project. And compared with the expenditure required for ISC, the fund mobilisation for IISF from government and semi-government sources is smooth. For instance, according to reports, while the total expenditure for ISC comes to Rs. 5 crore, that for IISF is around Rs. 25 crore

Obviously, ever since the coming of the Modi government in 2014, every knowledge system in India has been subjected to the saffron offensive. In the realm of history, for instance, parallel to the neofascist “new history writing” or “historical falsification” that is rampant in ‘neofascist Europe’ today, attempt to replace history with myth is the increasing trend in education and history research in India. In the same vein, the prime minister, cabinet ministers, and scientists close to the establishment have been consciously engaged in inculcating unscientific, obscurantist and pseud-oscientific ideas. Thus, claims that cosmetic surgery, reproductive genetics, stem-cell research and test-tube technology were practiced in India thousands of years ago, Hindu god Rama flew the first aeroplane, stem cell technology was known in ancient India, mix of cow products such as cow milk, cow dung and cow urine can cure cancer, etc., have been frequently coming out from persons in responsible positions. Hindutva ideologues continue to claim that many discoveries of modern science and technology were known to ancient India.

To be precise, these and similar other statements coming from those at the higher echelons power including prime minister have their policy implications pertaining to science education and research. The agenda is not set by any obscurantist or superstitious mindset, as right from Savarkar onward and including present-day neofascists the world over, many proponents of Indian fascism today need not be theists in their personal life. Rather, the aim of spreading obscurantism including the latest forcible eruption of mass hysteria around the Ram Temple is calculated fascist move to cling on vast majority of toiling people in to a state of ignorance and superstition and divert people’s attention from the threatening and horrific corporate assault on their very sustenance, and thereby accomplish the Hindutva task. The abandonment of Indian Science Congress and propping up of the RSS affiliate Vibha and IISF led by it are to be viewed in this perspective.

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CPI (ML) Red Star observes April 22, Lenin’s birth date, as Party Formation Day since CPI (ML) was founded on April 22, 1969. Of course, the Communist Party of India was founded in Tashkent in 1920 with Mohammad Shafiq as Secretary, and has a glorious history of many valiant struggles against British colonialism and Indian exploiters. However, on account of its failure to recognise the historically determined integral link between India’s inhuman caste system and class formation, the Communist could not carry forward the task of revolution. And though CPM was formed in 1964 following the inner-party struggle against revisionism of CPI leadership, the former also could not make a break from revisionist positions. As a result, the ideological -political struggle against CPM’s neo-revisionism led to the Naxalbari Uprising in May 1967 leading to the formation of CPI (ML) on April 22, 1969.

Today, when we are observing the Party Formation Day, in addition to the neoliberal-neocolonial oppression over India, India is already under neofascism led by RSS, the biggest and longest-running fascist organisation in history. As part of RSS’ majoritarian Hindurashatra agenda, the religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians are targeted and wantonly attacked, even as efforts are in full swing to deny even citizenship right to the former. Since Manusmriti, the ideological basis of RSS, treats Dalits and women as subhuman, they are also stigmatised taking away even the minimum demcratic rights enshrined in the Constitution for them. And RSS that controls both State power and street power, micro and macro spaces, and the entire civil and military spheres of India today, is also engaged in dismantling the present Constitution and replacing it with Manusmriti, it’s long-cherished demand since the adoption of the Constitution during the 1949-50 period.

Meanwhile, as we know, due to the influence of sectarian and adventurist positions, the CPI (ML) that formed in 1969 and the Party Program adopted at the 8th Congress in 1970 failed to make an objective evaluation of the postwar neocolonial phase of imperialism and it’s concrete manifestations in India. This erroneous evaluation coupled with left adventurist practice that was effectively used by the Indian regime for repression led to a disintegration of the of CPI (ML) formed in 1969. However, after the revocation of Emergency, many efforts were taken up rejecting the sectarian approach on the one hand, and evaluation of the neocolonial transformation at a global level and in India. It was this long drawn-out initiative at the level of ideological-political struggle as well as efforts at reorganization of the revolutionary movement totally abandoning the sectarian line that culminated in the formulation of a Program and Path of Revolution in line with People’s Democratic Revolution in India and convening of the 9th Party Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star in 2011.

The 12th Party Congress conducted in September 2022, after taking into consideration the neoliberal-neofascist offensive by imperialism together with the horrific manifestions of mounting RSS fascism in India has updated the Party Documents so as to carry forward the Party’s strategic tasks as laid down in the Program and Path of Revolution and the tactical or immediate task of defeating RSS fascism as laid down in the Political Resolution.

Today, when we are observing the Party Day under RSS neofascism, the Party’s tasks are at three levels:

1. To speed up party-building, develop class and mass movements and launch struggles integrally linking up with class, caste, gender and ecological issues against the neoliberal ruling system and far-right corporate-saffron fascist policies of RSS/BJP, based on our ideological-political line.

2. In continuation of this, strive for a revolutionary left core of fraternal and communist revolutionary forces with a common minimum program against neoliberal corporatisation and all its manifestations.

3. The tactical alliance of building up the broadest possible movement of the people against RSS neofascism joining with all anti-fascist and non-fascist forces which also involves electoral struggles to isolate and defeat the fascists. In this immediate and most urgent task of idefeating RSS/BJP in the forthcoming General Election in 2024, in which non-fascist ruling classes and social democrats who pursue neoliberal policies are also involved, as communist revolutionaries, we have to uphold our independent position from the perspective of the class interests of the working class and oppressed.

Of course, while taking up these domestic tasks, it is our solemn task to strive for achieving ideological clarity on the working of imperialism according to the concrete situation today, especially in the neofascist global context. Since imperialism is the principal enemy of the world people, under the neofascist global context today, we have to take initiative for building up the Anti-Imperialist, Anti-Fascist United Front joining with communist parties and like-minded organisations. To be precise, therefore, while observing the 54th anniversary of the founding of CPI (ML), with our updated Program and other Basic Documents, it is our task to go for an all-out ideological-political offensive against RSS neo-fascism together with consistently upholding our strategic, long-term task of overthrowing the reactionary ruling system as such, and advance towards people’s democracy and socialism.

(Editorial: Red Star Monthly, April 2023)

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Regarding the building up of the broadest possible Anti-fascist Movement against RSS Neo-fascism, the Political Resolution adopted by the 12th congress of CPI (ML) Red Star, among other things, has called for political initiatives including electoral struggles by exploring the possibility of tactical alliances with non-fascist sections of the parliamentary parties according to concrete conditions in states. Such a tactical approach towards a broad anti-fascist movement, of course, without surrendering the long-term strategic interests of the working class and all the oppressed, is also intended to effectively utilise the contradictions among ruling class parties having overlapping interests and integration with corporate capital, so as to isolate the reactionary elements who are allies of fascists. Based on this approach, the Political Resolution reiterated the significance of avoiding a division in anti-RSS votes in the 2024 general election in view of the impending biggest-ever challenge from RSS Neo-fascism.

However, according to the present trends in the mainstream political spectrum, this is going to be a challenging task before the anti-fascist forces today. And if the present trends continue, then it will be easy for RSS/BJP to win the 2024 election and move towards its ultimate aim of establishing a Hindurashtra. For, in spite of being apparent critics of Modi regime, the non-fascist opposition parties are reluctant to study lessons from history, as is evident from the recent Assembly elections in Tripura and elsewhere or as was the case with the Assembly elections a few months back in 2022. For instance, while BJP, the fascist party tried to ally with certain tribal organisations and neutralise or manage others and could take advantage of the friction between indigenous peoples and Bengalis, the CPI (M) and Congress with their shortsightedness utterly failed to a have tactical approach in this regard.

Even now, while the Congress is under the illusion of building up an opposition alliance under its leadership, many regional parties ruling different states are coordinating for a ‘third front’ excluding the Congress. Among the opposition ranks, while opposition chief ministers in the main under threat of central agencies such as CBI and ED are carefully avoiding direct attack on Modi and RSS, they have no qualms in attacking each other both at the national level and within states. For instance, Kejriwal who is vying with BJP to prove himself more Hindutva, is openly attacking Congress. Within Bihar, even the coalition partners JDU led by chief mininser Nitish and RJD led by deputy chief minister Tejaswi are at loggerheads. In UP, there is little scope of rapport between SP and BSP against the ruling BJP. In Bengal, Mamata is eloquent on fighting the 2024 general election alone she is now speaking about her 2024 alliance with the people of India. Prime ministerial hopefuls like Chandrashekar Rao of Telengana are also there. Meanwhile, from the opposition only Rahul Gandhi is consistent in his opposition to RSS and Modi, even as many Congress leaders are soft-Hindutva in their approach.

In this critical situation where the ruling class opposition parties with their roots in neoliberalism are disoriented and divided, being devoid of people’s interests and mired in petty politics and totally lacking an anti-fascist perspective, it is easy for the RSS with state and corporate power and godi media at its disposal and backed by the most reactionary ideology of manuvadi-Hindutva to have its offensive towards the ultimate goal of majoritarian Hindurashtra denying citizenship right to Muslims and human right to Dalits. Hence it is up to the progressive-democratic forces and all well-meaning people to rise to the occasion through a concerted nationwide campaign targeting RSS neofascism that is indispensable for creating a political atmosphere which alone can compel the opportunist non-fascist opposition to take a position for not dividing the anti-BJP votes in the coming elections.

(Editorial – Red Star Monthly – March 2023)

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The first phase of Caste-based Census that commenced in Bihar on January 7, 2023, after collecting data on the total number of households in the state concluded on January 21, and the second phase in which data related to caste are to be collected will be held in April. While the Bihar government of the “Mahagathbandhan” alliance mainly representing post Mandal-era parties is eagerly waiting for taking advantage of the political gains from the caste-based census, the BJP, quite afraid of the potential damage from it, is trying to avoid the same by all means. As part of that, though the RSS/BJP, citing administrative difficulties, approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the caste-census process, the Court’s reluctance to interfere in the matter has added to the concerns of saffron forces.

The only caste census that took place in India was during the British rule in 1931 when available information on caste could be codified officially. After that, though demand for a caste census has been there from various quarters, the upper caste political leaders and bureaucracy who have monopolised the country’s wealth and government jobs were consistently obstructing such a move over the years. In order to appease lowers caste leaders and ensure their support, though the BJP regime in 2018 announced the inclusion of caste as category in the 2021 census, it cunningly backtracked from that position without providing any explanation.

Obviously, the immediate context that prompted the pro-Mandal parties and OBC leaders to go for a caste census in Bihar is Modi government’s constitutional amendment for the wholly upper caste-oriented 10 percent economic reservation and the recent endorsement of the same by the Supreme Court by a majority verdict. During the early 1990s, when backward caste reservation came in to being following the Mandal Report, RSS/BJP pitted ‘Kamandal’ against it through a vicious Hindutva polarisation leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid by saffron goons together with Rao government’s executive order announcing 10 percent economic reservation in government jobs which the CPI (M) was also endorsed at that time. However the 9-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court struck down it interpreting the same as unconstitutional.

However, it took almost three decades on the part of RSS/BJP through Modi.2 for establishing its complete stranglehold over the entire regime including judiciary to go again for the ‘unconstitutional’ economic reservation. Ironically, when the BJP leaders are attacking the Bihar regime for demanding an end to the 50 percent cap on reservation for ensuring the due share of OBCs in government jobs according to their population proportion, they are safely ignoring the manner in which the majority judgement of the SC has already sabotaged this Constitutional mandate.

No doubt, the RSS/BJP which is bent on upholding the interests of the minority upper castes is afraid of a caste census as it will not only expose the concentration of wealth and top bureaucratic posts held by the elite castes, but also the economic, educational and social privileges enjoyed by them. Definitely, the Bihar Caste Census along with its impact in the state, will have its repercussions pan-Indian repercussions. It will create more hurdles in the ongoing saffronisation offensive of integrating many lower castes into the Hindutva-fold or Hindutva umbrella through what is called a ‘deconstruction of castes’. To overcome it, in case the RSS/BJP resorts to a Hindutva counter-offensive, then reminiscent of the Mandal-Kamandal clash of the late 1980s and early 1990s, it may lead to a turbulent political situation in the coming days. To be precise, on account of the inherent contradictions of the Indian caste system, as already noted, the over-enthusiasm of RSS/BJP in ensuring Supreme Court endorsement of 10 percent upper-caste reservation seems to be short-lived, as it has opened a Pandora’s box providing political justification for the Mandal parties to intensively pursue their long-cherished demand for a caste census.

In this context, in view of the political undertones of a caste census in the caste-ridden Indian social order, and taking into account the concrete Hindutva fascist situation today, CPI (ML) Red Star supports the ongoing Bihar caste census. Though the outcome of a caste census today cannot be predicted now, a reliable and official caste data will be helpful for democratic forces in drawing out their immediate task of challenging corporate-saffron fascism today.

(Editorial, Red Star February 2023)

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as the Year 2023 Dawns

As the new year dawns, the RSS, world’s biggest and the longest-running fascist organization, which has established is stranglehold over the entire Indian regime through its political tool BJP is in a maddening pace towards its ultimate goal of establishing a Hindurashtra. As its manifestation, the Modi regime based on far-right turn in economic policies has unleashed a no holds barred corporatisation led by the most corrupt crony capitalists on the one hand, while strengthening Manuvad-Hindutva, the ideological basis of RSS fascism, on the other. As a result, along with horrific levels of wealth concentration with Adani-like crony capitalists, India is also becoming a citadel of global poverty and as its manifestation, unemployment, price-rise, deprivation, starvation and so on are becoming routine. Parliament is made a mere spectator, policy decisions are made in corporate board-rooms and the state itself become a facilitator of unhindered corporatization. Due to the systematic demolition of public enterprises in all sectors including industry and agriculture, the share of organized workers in total workforce is further reduced to less than 3 percent while more than 97 percent of the Indian work force is condemned to the category of informal or unorganized devoid of even minimum means of sustenance, even as all hard-earned rights of working class are systematically being taken away.  

Along with this far-right corporatization agenda, RSS and BJP are resorting to all avenues for further fortifying Manuvad-Hindutva, the ideology of RSS neofascism. Even the basic structure of the constitution is demolished by amending the Constitution through the incorporation of reservation for the elite upper castes under the guise of economic reservation. And even the apex court is becoming amenable to the brahmanical move against the oppressed castes. Along with this Manuist offensive against the oppressed castes composed of the SC/ST/OBC categories that comprise the vast majority of Indian people, the process of further alienation of the minorities, especially the RSS strategy of stigmatization of the Muslims is intensified further by making them second class citizens. The recent move on the part of Modi regime to implement the CAA through backdoor by opening up Indian citizenship route to non-Muslim categories totally excluding Muslim migrants in violation of the secular character of the Indian Constitution should be seen as part of this Hindurashtra agenda. Of course, these new developments including the move towards Uniform Civil Code, adding further teeth to the NIA with the proposal for establishing NIA offices in states and so on are in continuation of the saffronisation of the entire administration including civil and military spheres, judiciary, education and RSS’ full-fledged control over the entire macro and micro spheres of Indian society. 

Now the latest in the armoury of RSS neofascism is the further refinement and extension of the EVM as RVM (Remote Voting Machine) in the guise of enabling domestic migrants to exercise their franchise through remote voting. On account of many doubts raised by even technical experts regarding the security, accuracy, and reliability of EVMs, many technologically advanced countries have banned the use of EVMs in elections. It is in this context that since its ascendance to power, the Modi regime has been superimposing EVM in Indian elections in a fascist way. Now when the same is extended as RVM in the guise of enabling migrants’ voting, along with the already existing apprehensions regarding EVM, many unresolvable procedural, administrative and technical hurdles are going to arise. But in view of the saffron goons holding immense street power along with the RSS hold on state power, this sudden move on he part of Modi regime to resort to RVM, especially in view of the Election Commission’s own past doubts on the practicality of remove voting, is to be viewed in relation to the many possibilities of manipulating EVM/RVM. Hence all progressive-democratic forces along with all non-fascist forces must come forward resolutely opposing RVM as part of the immediate task of defeating RSS neofascism. 

In this context, in the latest Assembly and by-poll elections, though the BJP had a sweeping win only Gujarat, a close analysis of the election results clearly points to a further consolidation towards Hindutva and polarisation against Muslim minorities across the States. And the RSS/BJP centres using brute state power and with the backing of most corrupt corporate billionaires and saffron media are preparing themselves to use the forthcoming Assembly elections as a launching pad for the 2024 General Elections and towards the establishment of a majoritarian Hindutva regime whose ideological basis will be Manusmriti which the RSS put forward as India’s Constitution in 1949 November itself instead of that drafted by the Committee led by Dr. Ambedkar.  No doubt, in the coming days the fascist forces will resort to a series of Hindutva moves by whipping up Hindutva nationalism which is pseudo in essence and polarisation by spreading hatred and suspicion among people on the basis of religion and in gross disregard of diversities, and unleashing all kinds of divisive forces. 

This critical situation calls for concerted evaluation and intervention on the part of the Left, progressive and democratic forces who upholds the perspective of the working and toiling people along with all oppressed comprising the Dalits, Adivasis, women and minorities, especially in view of the possibility of extreme polarisation targeted against minorities  and dalits by RSS goons in accordance with Manuvadi-Hindutva. The intervention now calls for initiatives at two levels. First, on the basis of a minimum agenda against neoliberal corporatisation including all its manifestations on the one hand, and Manuvadi-Hindutva, the ideological basis of Indian fascism on the other, the Left-Democratic forces should form a political core. Based on this, sustained and uncompromising struggles against corporate-saffron-fascist forces are to be developed in all states according to the concrete situation. In the process, working and toiling people, especially the vast unorganised and informal sections composed of more than 95 percent of the Indian working class, peasantry, oppressed peoples including women, Dalits, Adivasis, Minorities, especially the persecuted Muslims, youth and students are to be mobilised against corporate onslaughts, displacement from habitat, environmental destruction, caste atrocities, communal oppression, violation of democratic rights and so on.  State-level initiatives led by revolutionary left, democratic and struggling forces that emerge from such interventions can create an atmosphere for the emergence of a national coordination against corporate- Hindutva fascism based on a common program.

Second is the task to form a united front that can be extended to electoral struggles by exploring the possibility of alliances with anti-fascist, anti-caste and secular sections according to concrete conditions in states. Based on this, efforts are to be taken to participate in the 2023 Assembly elections wherever possible. In continuation of this and utilising such experiences, efforts are required to form a broad anti-fascist movement taking advantage of   the contradictions among ruling class parties isolating reactionary parties and fascists. This should create solid foundations for uniting with all non-fascist ruling class parties also to resist and defeat the biggest challenge from RSS neo-fascism in the 2024 general election. While entering the new year, it is high time on the part of the revolutionary, left and democratic forces to think and act along these lines. 

(Editorial, Red Star January 2023)

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 Strengthening RSS Neo-fascism

In the latest Assembly and by-poll elections in India along with the election to Delhi Municipal Council, though the BJP had an apparent sweeping win only in Gujarat, closer analysis reveals a further consolidation of the Hindutva votes across the States.

Among them, the most striking is BJP’s 7^th consecutive victory in Gujarat, the biggest win in a State election with 156 seats out of 182, and 57 more seats compared to the 2017 Assembly election. Grabbing more than 52 percent of the polled votes in Gujarat, Modi, who was the star campaigner for the election, has declared it as the launching pad for its campaign for the 2024 general election. The election campaign saw all-out effort on the part of BJP/RSS to bring maximum Hindutva votes to be polled on the one hand, and utmost care to divide anti-BJP votes on the other.  No doubt, the reactionary corporate-saffron Gujarat model, the foundation of which was laid by Modi two decades back is going to be the victory symbol of RSS in its no holds barred offensive towards the goal of establishing a Hindurashtra by 2025, the centenary year of RSS formation. 

On the other hand, the 2022 Gujarat election witnessed one of the biggest falls in the entire history of the congress, a steep fall from 77 seats in 2017 to just 16 in 2022 and a decline in vote share by more than 14 percent. Here the entry of AAP with its ‘more loyal than the king’ approach to Hindutva through such demands as Uniform Civil Code, stamping currency notes with the pictures of Lakshmi and Ganesh, free government-sponsored pilgrimage to Hindu temples, etc., turned out to be one of the decisive factors in isolating the Muslim minority and consolidating majoritarian Hindutva votes. Thus the hard-Hindutva campaigns   across the entire Muslim-dominated areas of Gujarat by both BJP and AAP, while immobilised the soft-Hindutva Congress, enabled BJP to reap maximum gains. In the process, AAP also increased its vote share by more than 12 percent, leading to Congress’ biggest fall in Gujarat. Along with Muslim majority areas, AAP’s concerted campaigns in tribal areas, while swept aside the Congress also helped BJP to win 23 out of 27 Scheduled tribe seats in Gujarat. Altogether, the vicious communal polarisation unleashed by both the Hindutva twins, the BJP and AAP, resulted in the total consolidation of majoritarian votes more with the BJP, even as the same helped AAP to emerge as a national party too. 

However, the communal polarisation engineered against Muslims comprising around 10 percent in Gujarat was not workable in Himachal Pradesh where their percent was only around 2 percent. This objective situation in Himachal Pradesh where an aggressive and polarising Gujarat model campaign has limited scope forced both the saffron parties, BJP and AAP to keep a low profile regarding Hindutva in spite of Himachal being the home state of BJP president Nadda. Thus, while the AAP almost turned its attention away from Himachal, the absence of Gujarat-like communal polarisation by RSS-BJP leadership enabled Congress to utilise the anti-incumbency factor against BJP highlighting the problems of apple farmers, the Agnipath scheme of army recruitment, together with the assurance of restoration of old pension scheme of government employees, etc. As a result, though the Congress won the election, still the difference in vote percentage between Congress and BJP was less than one percent, indicating the strong undercurrents of Hindutva in the state. 

Meanwhile, the true colour of Hindutva fascism had its concrete expression in the UP’s Rampur Assembly constituency where Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his associates have won continuously for the last two decades. This stronghold of the Samajwadi Party where Muslim voters are relatively larger has won by the BJP for the first time. As the polling average in the recent bypolls in UP was 55 percent, that in Rampur was only 33.94 percent, while it recorded 56.61 percent in the 2019 polls. Now according to reports, which the corporate-saffron media seldom give priority, while the entire state election machinery being merged with fascist regime, police and administration had used every means to prevent voters in Muslim-majority areas from exercising their franchise on the one hand, and facilitating the consolidation of Hindutva votes on the other. This is may also be a test rehearsal on the part of RSS fascists in the coming elections. 

Along with the Assembly and by-poll elections, the victory of post-ideological, urban middle-class oriented AAP in Delhi Municipal elections also belongs to the Hindutva bandwagon. Along with AAP’s win in Delhi Municipal Council, the growth in BJP’s vote share from 36 percent in 2017 to 39 percent in 2022 is also a reflection of the advance of fascist forces. Obviously, the AAP which, in spite of an anti-corruption plank, has the same wavelength as that of the BJP in its approach to the minorities and Dalits as manifested in the case of EWS, abrogation of Article 370, the CAA and NRC, Uniform Civil Code, etc., is now competing with BJP as another political tool of RSS, the biggest and longest-running fascist organisation in the world. Of course, BJP, as the biggest political party with 18 crore membership and an accumulated wealth much larger than the combined wealth of the next biggest seven political parties in India, is the acclaimed political tool of RSS. At the same time, as its leadership has claimed, the RSS can use any party as its political tool, and in that sense, AAP’s role in the recent elections is fully in conformity with this RSS agenda.

To be precise, during the recent Assembly and by-elections none of the grave issues such as skyrocketing prices of fuel and essential items, unprecedented unemployment, intensifying poverty and destitution, corruption, falling standard of living, crisis in the agricultural sector, sell-out of the remaining public sector, gobbling up of national assets by billionaires and increasing corporate plunder of nature and consequent ecological catastrophe, dismantling of democratic rights, imposition of draconian UAPA and sedition charges on political dissidents, etc., was the main issue in the election campaign. In Gujarat, for instance, corporate media went on projecting Modi as the one who “can take strong decisions”, BJP as a party having “conviction and courage to take bold and tough decisions”, and so on and diverted the whole issue towards celebrating elections as “festival of democracy”. No doubt, in the coming days and in view of the 2024 general election, with the backing of corporate billionaires and their saffron media managers, the fascist forces will definitely enter into an intensified phase of an all-out offensive by resorting to a series of Hindutva moves which are already in the offing and thereby whipping up pseudo-nationalism, spreading hatred among people on the basis of religion and in gross disregard of diversities, and unleashing all kinds of divisive forces. 

However, as the election results have shown, the ruling class parties including the congress are on the defensive and incapable to take a political offensive against RSS neo-fascism. Therefore, as clearly outlined in the Political Resolution adopted by the 12^th Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star, upholding the class interests of the working class and all oppressed and, at the same time, exposing Manuvadi-Hindutva, the ideology of RSS, the revolutionary-democratic forces, uniting with all like-minded forces and joining with non-fascist sections, have to come forward for building up the broadest possible anti-fascist front according to the concrete situation in the States.   

(Editorial, Red Star December 2022)

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Ever since the ascendance of Modi government in mid-2014, RSS, the longestrunning and biggest fascist organisation in the world has been engaged in a systematic and steady offensive towards transforming of India as a Hindurashtra whose ideological basis is Manusmriti that treats both Dalits and women as subhuman and denies Muslims citizenship and human rights. Especially, under Modi.2 since 2019, India is also witnessing a ruthless acceleration of “Modinomics”, the Indian version of crony capitalism today and a multidimensional unleashing of full-fledged corporate-saffron fascism at the all India level.

Today under saffron neofascism, the entire social fabric is confronting a frightening disruption. Through extreme divisive policies, and through instigation, an atmosphere of mutual hatred among people is created leading to feeling of insecurity among Dalits and minorities. Backed by state power, RSS has succeeded its tentacles to every aspect of social life in addition to saffronisation of all Constitutional and administrative institutions in India. Since mid-2019, that is, under Modi.2, the Hindutva offensive got an added momentum. Within three months after his second coming to power, Modi began a series of fascist moves beginning with abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, thereby breaking up of Kashmir into pieces on the one hand and forcibly integrating it into Indian Union on the other. Violating secularism even in name, Modi himself laid the foundation for construction of Ram Temple at the very site of Babri Masjid, followed by the CAA discriminating the issue of citizenship rights against Muslims and thus making them second class citizens. The next move was saffronisation and corporatization of education through NEP 2020 and superimposition of Hindi and Sanskrit over the States. No doubt, the agenda was to transform the multinational, multilingual, multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious India in to a majoritarian Hindurashtra.

Today, to consolidate Hindu vote-bank in the forthcoming Assembly elections and to prepare the ground for a saffron sweep in the 2024 general election, a no holds barred Hindutva offensive is initiated by RSS and the BJP regime. For instance, in the so called Chintan Shivir of State Home Ministers convened during the last week of October, both Shah and Modi did their maximum to further whip up the majoritarian agenda with their rhetoric on superimposing a pan-Indian policing in violation of the provisions of the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and further strengthening of the draconian NIA and UAPA including the plan of opening NIA Office in each State by 2024. In the name of fighting terror, many ideas such as “one data, one entry”, “one nation, one police uniform” and so on were also put forward, along with systematically spreading Islamophobia and depicting Muslims as enemies.

Now the latest in the series of this saffron offensive are Uniform Civil Code and Economic Reservation. Obviously, the objective of the Constitutionally mandated caste-based reservation as elucidated by Dr. Ambedkar was to protect the oppressed castes from the upper caste onslaught in the public spheres of social life. However, by incorporating Economic Reservation by the 103rd Constitutional amendment which the Supreme Court has recently endorsed, Modi regime has undermined caste-based reservation intended to rectify the historical injustice committed against the untouchable and oppressed castes by the brahmanical upper castes. Along with this, in the context of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections, both BJP and AAP have now entered into a cutthroat competition for votes by creating a Hindu-Muslim polarisation once again pushing Uniform Civil Code as the foremost political issue camouflaging the far-right, pro-corporate policies superimposed by Modi regime making people impossible to subsist.

It is in this context that the Central Committee of CPI (ML) Red Star held in the first week of November, 2022 has decided to initiate a nation-wide political campaign against the intensifying RSS neofascism from December 6 to December 25. Obviously, December 6 marks the demolition of Babri Masjid by saffron goons as well as the death anniversary of Ambedkar, the architect of Indian Constitution, while December 25 is the day when Ambedkar burned Manusmriti, the ideological basis of RSS fascism. Along with the anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit and patriarchal moves, BJP-ruled states like Karnataka are treacherously implementing the draconian Farm Laws which Modi was forced to withdraw at the central level due to the historic Farmers’ struggle. Invariably, this political campaign decided by the Party uniting with like-minded forces is in line with the immediate task as outlined in the Political Resolution adopted by the 12th Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star. We appeal to the working class, peasants, and all oppressed together with all progressive-democratic sections to make this political campaign against the fascist regime a great success.

Editorial – Red Star Monthly – November 2022

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The 12^th Party Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star successfully held during September 24- 29, 2022 at Kozhikode, Kerala, has been at a critical situation when neo-fascism is on the ascendance at a global level. Integrally linked up with it, neo-fascist Modi regime propped up by RSS, the longest-running and biggest fascist organisation in the world is on its way towards the transformation of India as a Hindurashtra whose ideological basis is Manusmriti that denies basic human rights to the people categorised under oppressed castes and minorities, especially Muslims. In this context, the Party Congress based on a concrete evaluation of the international and national situation, has adopted the immediate tactical and long-term strategic steps required for resisting and defeating RSS neo-fascism and moving towards democracy and socialism. From this perspective, all the documents adopted in the Congress are in conformity with the various tasks that the Party has to take up in this situation.

Till now, the CPI (ML) Red Star Party Program has been that adopted at the 9^th Party Congress in 2011 that basically altered the 1970 Program of CPI (ML) with the addition of minor amendments in the 10^th and 11^th Congresses of the Party. However, during this period, especially after the World Crisis of imperialism in 2008, neofascism has been an increasing trend across the world, irrespective of imperialist and neocolonialy dependent countries. During this period, using most reactionary ideologies as its basis, and according to the concrete situation of countries, corporate capital has succeeded in installing neofascist regimes in many countries. Its outcome has been a sharpening of all inherent contradictions of the world imperialist system, intensification of far-right neoliberal policies and super-exploitation of the working class by corporate capital effectively utilising a whole set of 21^st century “frontier technologies”, further oppression and marginalisation of the oppressed peoples of the world, terribly destructive wealth appropriation by a few financial elite, unprecedented joblessness and sky-rocketing prices of essential items of sustenance leading to massive growth in poverty, hitherto unknown levels of migration and refugee crisis, and above all a global ecological crisis of horrific proportions. RSS neofascism rooted in the inhuman caste system with its concomitant repercussions is flourishing in India in this global context.

Therefore, the Congress resolved to update the Party Program based on a concrete evaluation of these international and India-specific developments, self-critically taking into account the ideological-political weakness of the communist movement today in putting forward a people’s alternative that too in view of the all-round ideological pollution created by imperialism. In this regard, compared with the 2011 Program which acknowledged the inseparable role of caste in the class analysis of India, the crucial role of uncompromising ideological and political attack on caste system and the subsequent formation of the Caste Annihilation Movement, the updated Program as adopted in the 12^th Congress based on more clarity on caste, has incorporated a specific portion situating class struggle in India in the whole course of transformation of caste system based on Manuvadi-Hindutva. As a testimony to this, in a historic resolution unanimously adopted by the Party Congress, all Central Committee members of the Party have decided to give up all their caste surnames.

At the same time, the stage of Indian Revolution being still that of People’s

Democracy which calls for resolution of the anti-imperialist and democratic tasks, though sufficient updating has been there, the Path of Revolution adopted by the 12^th Congress has no basic departure from that adopted in the 9^th Congress and concretised in the 10^th Congress. However, the concrete evaluation on the sharpening contradictions at the international and national context and the emergence of RSS neo-fascism as reflected in the Party Program are reflected in the adopted Path of Revolution too. Similarly, from the perspective of the updated Party Program and based on the organisational experiences since the 11^th Congress in 2018, the 12^th Congress adopted the various amendments to the Constitution. It also adopted the Central Committee’s Political Organisational Report since the last Congress.

Together with the adoption of the basic documents, the most striking initiative of the Party Congress has been the adoption of the Political Resolution taking up the immediate task of building up the broadest anti-fascist front against the neo-fascism of RSS. Of course, the Political Resolution adopted in 2018 at the 11^th Party Congress, in view of Modi.1’s ruthless unleashing of all round fascist offensives, had called for a broad movement of “all revolutionary, left, democratic and struggling forces … against corporate saffron fascistisation at the all India level” based on a minimum program. However, with the ascendancy of Modi.2 and shift to full-fledged neofascism led by RSS with its multi-dimensional manifestations, the Political Resolution adopted by the Party Congress called for a coordinated all-out offensive among all non-fascist forces to throw out fascism as the urgent and indispensable task.

Here, the ideological-political weakness of the communist movement today should not be a justification for refraining from such a task. Therefore, acknowledging the absence of a powerful communist movement capable of fighting and defeating neofascism, the Political Resolution calls for a tactical alliance with all non-fascist forces including that of social democrats and non-fascist ruling classes. While being part of such an anti-fascist alliance, the communists who are bound to stand with the interests of the working class and oppressed, and being fully conscious of the overlapping interpenetrating class interests among all ruling classes, should not have any laxity in upholding their ideological line linked with class struggle. A specific aspect connected with RSS neofascism that is now moving at a maddening pace towards a majoritarian Hindurashtra as manifested in its manipulations towards denying even citizenship rights to Muslims in tune with the “cultural nationalism” of RSS, is the inhuman brahmanical caste system whose ideological basis is Manusmriti. Hence, as stressed by the Party Congress, appropriate ideological-political and cultural interventions joining with all democratic forces and progressive intellectuals and like-minded forces against Manuvadi-Hindutva are inseparable aspects of anti-fascist struggle in India.

Along with this clear perspective on fighting RSS neo-fascism, the Party Congress also underlined the urgent need for taking appropriate initiatives for resisting the dangerous trend of neofascism gaining ground at a global. Like Indian fascism that uses majoritarian Hindutva or “political Hinduism” as its ideological basis, everywhere corporate-finance capital is adept in effectively utilising majoritarian religion and other reactionary ideologies as the ideological basis of neofascism. Evangelism in the Americas, political Islam in West Asia, Zionism in Israel, neo-tribalism in Africa, Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar are examples. In taking up this global task of challenging neofascism based on proletarian internationalism and in accordance with unity of working class and oppressed, the Party Congress resolved to strengthen ICOR’s (International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organisations in which CPI (ML) Red Star is a constituent) efforts to build up an anti-imperialist, anti-fascist united front at the international level. While shouldering this responsibility, the Party has also decided to carry forward the theoretical and ideological initiative for developing the Marxist understanding on imperialism today, along with the required bilateral interventions in this regard.

Among other things, the Party Congress decided to speed up the process of party-building class and mass movements and people’s movements based on the ideological-political line and organisational guidelines as laid down in the Party documents. More specifically, the 12^th Congress appealed to all cadres to move forward and build up the Party by grasping the most advanced revolutionary theory and based on practical experience from the past and from leading people’s struggles, assimilating the interrelationship among class struggle, the relentless struggle against caste system, the struggle for gender equality and for ecological protection. This will lead to the development of various struggling fronts and movements involving workers, peasants, women, Dalits, adivasis, oppressed minorities, youth, students, cultural and environmental activists which will also enable to bring about a revolutionary left core that can also play a major role in the fight against neofascism. It shall also immensely contribute to arrive at ideological clarity among the revolutionary sections and in exposing and isolating both adventurist and opportunist trends.

Lastly, but significantly, the various resolutions adopted in the Congress highlighting the pathetic living conditions of the people called for the immediate repeal of the far-right neoliberal policies that have transformed India into a citadel of world’s extreme poverty on the one hand, and fabulous wealth appropriation by a tiny corporate-financial elite closely integrated with the neo-fascism everywhere. To put it precisely, the struggle against neoliberal-corporatisation, the manifestations of which among other things are unprecedented unemployment, galloping prices, environmental destruction, etc. is to be taken up as integral part of Party’s strategic task of advancing towards people’s democracy and socialism as laid down in the Program and Path of Revolution adopted by the 12^th Congress of CPI (ML) Red Star.

(Editorial, Red Star October 2022)

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