After withstanding 13 year-long imperialist-backed civil war and international sanctions, the sudden collapse of Assad regime in Syria within 12 days, is the outcome of a host of factors, the most important being the fall-out of inter-imperialist conflict in Ukraine and Zionist aggression on Palestine. Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine war and its abrupt withdrawal from Syria based on a reported deal with US president-elect Trump, even as Biden Administration is increasing its arms-supply to Ukraine, coupled with the shift in priorities of Iran, the strong ally of Assad and weakening of Hezbollah like forces in the war with Israel are the immediate factors facilitating the fall of Assad regime which was in deeper political-economic chaos, with its GDP declining from $ 68 billion in 2011 to $ 9 billion in 2013!

This enabled the anti-Assad forces, especially the Turkey-backed Islamist Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS) and its ally Syrian National Army (SNA) and others like Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) patronised by US to advance towards Damascus  and capture power forcing Assad to seek asylum in Russia. Taking advantage of the situation, the Israeli regime, the US imperialist military outpost in West Asia, amid its horrific genocide in Gaza, had unleashed around 400 missile strikes on Syria and is in the process of its biggest occupation of Golan heights inside Syria, for which, it has announced a $11 million plan of doubling it’s population there.

Now,  the Islamist militia HTS,  backed by both Turkey and US and indirectly by NATO forces, now in major hold over the Syrian regime, lacks an ideological- political economic orientation  needed for overcoming the biggest downturn of Syria and, as such, there is little hope of any improvement in the living conditions of the masses in the days ahead. Meanwhile, with Turkey on the North and Israel from the South, both directly backed by US imperialism, are going to play their respective destabilising roles in Syria. Definitely, other countries, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon from other sides, and other gulf countries having varying links with different forces in Syria, the coming days will be of utter chaos and unpredictable, especially in view of the experiences from US role in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lybia.

Meanwhile, Russia will have to take extra efforts if it wants to protect its sole naval base in Mediterranean, along with its air base in Syria. At the same time with history’s largest military budget of $895 billion, the US, and led by it, the NATO forces and all far-right regimes of Europe will utilise the political vacuum and chaos in Syria for their heinous geopolitical agenda including destabilization of the entire West Asia. In the immediate context, the regime that is taking charge there will be a tool of imperialist manoeuvring, while Syria with its strategic location is going to be one of the most important geopolitical hotspots in West Asia. The most serious threat of all is that the developments in Syria will act as a catalyst for intensification in imperialist-Zionist horrors on the most persecuted Palestinians, and its escalation to entire West Asia.

Most painful of all is the inhuman response on the part of European powers which generally welcomed the downfall of Assad. For, many EU imperialist regimes led by Germany have already issued threats against Syrian asylum-seekers and of massive  deportation of Syrian refugees, as HTS advanced towards Damascus. The irony is that during Assad’s rule there was a tacit encouragement from EU sources for massive exodus from Syria.

At this critical juncture, it is the task of all democratic, progressive and revolutionary communist forces the world over to rise up in solidarity with the exploited and oppressed people of Syria, and unite with all like-minded forces there in resisting, and keeping away the heinous machinations of all reactionary forces, especially the US-Zionist axis. It also requires the intervention on the part of working class and all oppressed peoples of the world with an ideological-political clarity to rise upto the ocassion with a political alternative to imperialism and fascism that carry on holocaust upon holocausts on world people.

In this context, CPI (ML) Red Star declares its wholehearted solidarity with all democratic, revolutionary and like-minded forces in Syria and the world over in the uncompromising struggle for democracy and liberation of Syria from imperialists and their lackeys of all hues.

International Department

CPI (ML) Red Star

The High-Level Committee (HLC) constituted in September 2023 and headed by former President Ramnath Kovind for examining the issue of holding simultaneous elections, has submitted its Report on 14 March 2024. The Modi Cabinet that approved the suggestions of HLC on 12 December 2024 has decided to introduce the draft legislation for simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and Assemblies in the ongoing winter session of the parliament. Since a separate constitutional amendment that require the ratification of state assemblies is needed for simultaneous elections to Local bodies, it will be taken up separately.

After the formal adoption of India as a republic in 1950, during 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967, both Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections were held simultaneously.  However, on account of the subsequent premature dissolution of Lok Sabha and Assemblies on many occasions, elections to them started at different times. Since then, recognising this concrete reality, no serious discussion had been there in the political mainstream on conducting simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies. And in spite of all round decay and degeneration of ruling class politics, the period since 1960s also saw the emergence of many regional and state-level parties, often aspiring for states’ specific-issues both at the regional and state-level.

However, the rapid growth of RSS and its numerous affiliates in the post-Emergency neoliberal situation beginning with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement culminating in the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 altered the political discourse in the country. RSS’ pan-Indian majoritarian homogenizing drive with BJP as its political tool got a boost with the ascendancy of Vajpayee regime. Its initiation of the most regressive neoliberal indirect tax regime, first VAT and then GST, that took away the federal rights of states over taxation, laid down the economic basis for this unitary move. Integrally linked up with this and backed by the hard-work of leaders like Advani, who was the most ardent proponent of simultaneous elections, the Law Commission under Vajpayee regime, firmly imbibing the unitary agenda, had come forward with its proposal of simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies in 1999 itself.

With the coming of Modi government in 2014, the idea of simultaneous elections got a big push when the NITI Aayog, that replaced more than six decade-old Planning Commission in August 2014. For, the NITI Aayog presided over by Modi in 2017 published a Working Paper one-sidedly highlighting a number of benefits of simultaneous elections such as reduction in election expenditure, increased voter turnout, improved governance, reduced disruption to public life, reduced frequency of elections and associated costs, etc. Its Paper cunningly kept silence on the harmful consequences such as advantages of the ruling party at centre, undermining of federalism and diversity of sub-continental India, etc.

The anti-federal clamour for simultaneous elections got a further push since Modi.2 onwards, and revealingly, though BJP lacks a majority-mark in parliament under Modi.3, the pan-Indian unitary drive is intensifying without any let up. Appointment of Kovind Committee in September 2023, it’s submitting of the Report in March 2024, Cabinet approval of it in December 2024 and its introduction to the winter session of Parliament, all in break-neck speed, are inseparable from the maddening Hindurashtra offensive by RSS-led Sangh Parivar. If not resisted and defeated, it will be disastrous for the country and its many diversities of sub-continental proportions. And, the ‘one nation one election’ agenda will subvert state issues in the guise of national issues.

Simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies at this juncture, by sidelining and overshadowing specific issues confronting different linguistic and ethnic communities, disproportionately benefit All India parties, especially the ruling party at the centre, and will dilute the relevance and influence of state-level political forces. If implemented, it will be detrimental to the federal structure of Indian state. The logistical issues connected with the availability of EVMs in elections in India, world’s most populous country, are yet to be discussed. According to preliminary reports, for simultaneous elections, the Election Commission has to more than double the number of EVMs, which itself, if successful, will take a time-span of minimum three years. Since Indian manufacturers may not have the capacity to double output of machines even after scaling up, foreign companies may enter to fill the gap, especially regarding procurement of chips and other crucial materials, with unforeseen consequences in conducting elections.

To be precise, coming to the core issue, the idea ‘one nation one election’ is an outright superimposition of a unitary and anti-federal agenda in tune with similar moves like one language, one culture, one police, and so on. It is a draconian, fascist drive over multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and federal India. We appeal to all democratic, secular and anti-fascist forces and all well-meaning people to unitedly come forward challenging and defeating this fascist move

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi

14.12.2024

Comrades,

On behalf of Comrade Tuhin and myself personally, and on behalf of our party CPI(M-L) Red Star, I wish the success of the Unity Congress of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Nepal (RCPN). We are grateful to you for inviting us to this historic Congress.

Comrade, today your Congress is being held at a time when the danger of fascism and war is looming over the heads of the world. Donald Trump, the fascist face of American politics, has regained his lost power and returned to power for the second time. This event proves that there is a fertile ground for fascism all over the world. As long as the acute crisis of the imperialist and capitalist economy persists and its solution is not found, the danger of fascism will remain. Donald Trump’s victory has shown that fascism cannot be stopped by simply removing it from power. If an alternative narrative of fascist politics, economics, social policy and philosophy cannot be created, if a real solution to the crisis of capitalism that is the birthplace of fascism cannot be presented, then anti-fascist victory cannot be achieved by defeating the fascist force in the elections alone. Defeated fascism is capable of restoring the lost power from the liberals without an alternative socio-economic path and alternative political program with double vigor and power. You will notice that in the forties of the last century, on the one hand, the liberal bourgeoisie was able to present the Keynesian alternative against fascism, with the strength of which it was able to build the “Golden Age of Capitalism” over the next three decades. On the other hand, the communists had the Soviet alternative. Such an alternative that even the crisis that destroyed world capitalism in the Great Depression of the thirties could not scratch it. Today, the bourgeoisie has no alternative. The communists do not have one. Although the first world campaign of socialism achieved initial success, it is currently facing a crisis all over the world. This lack of alternatives is what is helping fascism survive and grow. We must pay attention to this.

Friends, the source of the power of the fascist RSS/BJP in India too is this lack of these alternatives. The Modi government has returned to power for the third time. Just as this government is continuously exploiting and oppressing the workers, farmers, poor, and working people of India, dividing people on the basis of religion, imposing the life of second-class citizens on Dalits, tribals, religious minorities, and women, it is also carrying out aggressive expansionist hegemony on its neighbors including Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the international arena. The nexus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Adani has reached such a point that these days it is being called ‘Modani’. This Modani is not only capturing rivers, forests, and land everywhere in India, but is also capturing the ports, airports, and land of all the countries of South Asia by bringing the governments into its fold. It is trying to control public life. The communist forces, democratic forces, and the people of all the countries of South Asia need a united resistance against this. Comrades, since the ruling class of India is a vassal and conscious partner of imperialist capital,the strategic junior partner of US imperialism into the conflict against China, an important part of the conflict between the people of South Asia and the international imperialist powers is the united struggle against Indian expansionism. In addition, the struggle must be continued against the US-led bloc and all imperialist powers, including China and Russia, in this region. In this perspective, in the backdrop of the failure of international lefts, the united resistance struggle launched by the Marxist-Leninist forces in Palestine against Zionist Israel with all other forces of resistance including Hamas is a noteworthy model before us.

Comrades, you are waging a long-standing struggle to build a new Nepal, an independent, sovereign, democratic and prosperous Nepal. We, the revolutionary communists of India and the democratic people of India, are by your side. Your victory in this struggle is certain.

Comrades, Nepal is a great country. This country is the birthplace of the great Gautama Buddha. Today, the Brahminists have distorted Gautam Buddha and reduced the socio-political movement initiated by Buddha to a religious movement, thereby killing the revolutionary spirit of Buddha. But Gautam Buddha was not only an ambassador of peace, compassion and friendship, he was an ambassador of revolution in every sense. He was the first to give the message of creating an egalitarian society by opposing the caste system and preaching equality. We firmly believe that the people of Nepal are great, and that the Communist Party of Nepal will succeed.

We pray for the success of your Unity Congress.

Let imperialism, Zionism, fascism, Hindutva fascism be gone.

Proletarians and oppressed of the world unite!

With revolutionary greetings,

Sankar & Tuhin

On behalf of Central Committee

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Star.

Kathmandu

28.11.2024

It is in this context that the threatening statement of Shri Ram Sena, as published in Kannada newspapers, has come up against  Manasaya asking his apology, together with the warning of ‘funeral procession’ and his effigy burning in front of his residence in Raichur.

We appeal to the working class and all oppressed including the minorities in Karnataka to come forward for a united offensive against the far-right, reactionary  Hindutva fascists, and request all progressive-democratic forces to to stand in solidarity with Comrade R Manasaya.

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

Victory of Trump whose election campaign was led by Musk like biggest US corporate billionaires, has also resulted in a record surge in both dollar and bitcoin and skyrocketing of equity markets. Like Reaganomics of the late 1970s, Trumpism is going to be a landmark in US economy’s ultra-right turn in the days to come with its global repercussions, even as Trump is often projected as isolationist  and protectionist in economic policies. In the absence of an effective political alternative, under Trumpism, living conditions of the working class and all oppressed including the immigrants, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and so on, are going to worsen further in the days ahead, while corporate super-profits are set to reach horrific levels.

No doubt, Trump’s victory will enthuse neofascists of all hues including that of India, where the Hindutva fascists high adulation of neofascist Trump is already known. Organisations like Republican-Hindu Coalition were active in Trump’s election campaign and its outcome will have its after-effects in India too. Though a dramatic shift in US foreign policy in relation to US imperialist interests is not in the offing in the immediate context, much will depend on Trump’s policy declarations that follow his ascendance to power in the next year.

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi

06.11.2024

Soviet Union’s advancement through revolutionary socio-political and economic policies coupled with its progressive foreign policy-relations inspired the working class and oppressed peoples the world over. The establishment of Comintern (Communist International) in 1919 and the adoption of “Workers and Oppressed Peoples of the World, Unite” as its clarion call under Lenin’s initiative in the Second Congress of the Comintern in 1920, inspired the working and oppressed peoples not only in imperialist countries, but also in colonies and semi-colonies. It led to the formation of Communist Parties across the world, including that in  India and China in the 1920s.

This also brought the liberation of the working class and all oppressed to the agenda of world politics as a central question for the first time. It was this context that prompted the reactionary capitalist forces in the so called Western democracies, who feared the spread of progressive and socialist ideals among world people, to resort to fascism declaring Communism as their number one enemy. Meanwhile, the contradictions among colonial powers for grabbing colonies and control over them during this period led to Second World War. However, led by Comintern and Soviet Union together with National Liberation Movements, the fascist forces could be defeated together with the ending of the World War.

However, the weakening of the old colonial powers including Britain and the consequent “decolonisation” enabled US to lead post-war imperialism by replacing old colonialism with more “pernicious and sinister” neocolonialism. Along with intensifying all-around anti-Communist offensive, US imperialism also succeeded in installing military regimes in several countries from the Americas to Asia-Pacific during the immediate postwar period. Together with unleashing Cold War against Soviet Union and its allies, US imperialism also established military arrangements such as NATO, and created almost 800 overseas military bases across around 80 countries. As an ideological weapon against Communism and to divert world people’s attention to reformist channels, US-led imperialist think-tanks also conceptualized the ‘welfare state’ that continued for almost a quarter century following Second World War.

However, instead of rising to the occasion and appropriately chalk out the international tasks from a proletarian ideological-political perspective, the ICM started tailing behind the global developments. In continuation of the strategic mistake of the Dissolution of the Comintern in 1943, the International Communist Movement (ICM) faced ideological setbacks including the failure to concretely evaluate neocolonialism as a qualitatively different phase of imperialism and accordingly comprehend the postwar laws of motion of imperialist finance capital. To be precise, this led to the ascendance of revisionism in Soviet Union followed by left sectarianism in China, resulting in their transition to capitalist path, doing immense harm to ICM.

Meanwhile, the so called “golden age of capitalism” based on state-led development ended by the beginning of the 1970s, and the  inherent crisis of imperialist world system reached a higher level in the form of ‘global stagflation’. In fact, to overcome the crisis of the 1930s, capitalist regimes had to initiate state intervention (later eulogised as welfare state) by imposing a series of controls over speculative capital and its free market operations. This was in the context of the advancement of ICM led by Soviet Union. However, during the onset of the crisis of the 1970s, the ICM had already started facing many ideological-political setbacks. Taking advantage of this, US led imperialism abandoned welfare capitalism and embraced neoliberalism that removed all controls on financial speculation such that today, productive sphere now comprises a minor portion of global GDP or, as analysts say, production is like a “bubble in a whirlpool” of speculation.

Intensification of neoliberalism over Afro -Asian Latin American countries got added dimension with the establishment of WTO in 1995. And, together with IMF-World Bank diktats and facilitated by internationalisation of capital and production, new technologies and new global division of labour, neocolonial plunder and loot reached horrific proportions by the turn of the 21st century. However, even after unprecedented super-exploitation of workers and plunder of nature, the crisis associated with accumulation mounted further as manifested in the so called “sub-prime crisis” of 2007-08. This again led to a far-right turn in neoliberal policies as manifested in hitherto unknown levels of wealth concentration with a handful of corporate billionaires, frightening inequality, poverty, unemployment  and enviromental catastrophe. This resulted in resistance of workers, peasants and other oppressed sections against neoliberal-corporatisation at a global level.

As workers and all oppressed are coming up against super exploitation and multidimensional oppression, the most corrupt corporate finance capital and its political leadership are now unleashing neofascism (fascism in the neoliberal period) everywhere, based on the historical and cultural specificities of countries. That is, while the material basis of neofascism everywhere is the most reactionary corporate capital, it is capable to use racism, ehnonationalism, Evangelism, Zionism, political Hinduism (Hindutva) political Islam, Buddhism and so on as ideological bases for neofascism, according to the concrete situation of countries. Along with Communism, it’s old enemy, in the  post Cold War neoliberal period imperialism has also projected Muslim identity as it’s new enemy.  As such, both anti-Communism and anti-Muslimness or Islamophobia have become common ideological denominators of various hues of neofascists.

Obviously, India the most populous country today is a typical example of neofascism. The BJP that continuosly rules India for more than a decade is a political tool of RSS, the biggest and longest-running fascist organisation in history. As part of RSS’ majoritarian Hindurashatra agenda, the religious minorities, especially Muslims, are targeted and wantonly attacked, even as efforts are in full swing to deny citizenship right to Muslims. Since  Manusmriti, the ideological basis of RSS, treats Dalits and women as subhuman, they are also stigmatised and even being denied the minimum demcratic rights enshrined in the Constitution for them.  And the RSS/BJP is against conducting a Caste Census that will give concrete data on the caste-based hold over India’s economy and political/administrative power.

Today when we commemorate October Revolution, the entire world including India is at a critical juncture of far-right neofascism propped up by globalised finance capital.  And the most important lesson that have to learn from October Revolution is to grasp the ideological-political context that made it possible. It was Lenin’s analysis of imperialism and finance capital that exposed the Tsarist regime of Russia as a weak link of imperialism which enabled Bolsheviks to overthrow it. Viewed in this perspective, the most crucial task on the part of Communists today is to have ideological clarity on twenty-first century imperialism and fascism and to develop political practice based on that.

Since October Revolution which which was in the second decade of twentieth century, today imperialism and finance capital have undergone many qualitative transformations. Similar is the case with classical fascism of the  colonial period versus twenty-first century neofacism. That is, today’s imperialism and fascism are not text copies or stereotyped versions of the past, and the situation today is extremely complex that requires concrete analysis according to the concrete situation, as Lenin said. To be precise, Communists can move forward only by developing  ideological clarity on today’s imperialism and neofascism and political practice based on that understanding. Commemoration of October Revolution becomes relevant only from this perspective.

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi

01.11.2024

Today’s Prajavani (Kannada daily News paper) has a one page report on migrant workers, The report is titled ‘Illegal Migration’: Base extent, Perpetually Increased Crime by Migrants in Malenadu Districts. 90% of this report is full of lies and conspiracies. The report says that acts like murder, theft, drug smuggling, fighting and sexual abuse of children have increased by targeting migrant workers.

However, till now, Karnataka government does not have the registration of migrant workers in the state. According to the Labor Act, there is a rule that the government should keep the registration of workers both in the state of immigration and the state of origin of the workers. Government of Karnataka does not comply with this 0.01%.

Also, Prajavani report consciously hides the absolute fact that migration has spread all over the world due to the destruction of local jobs and the robbery of cheap wages by the owner class. Knowing that there is no connection between the interstate migration of our country and the illegal entry of people from Bangladesh, such a connection has been created by political conspiracy. Also, it is the coffee planters who are overtaking the local laborers especially the upland plantation workers and bringing in cheap laborers from outside the state.

According to a survey conducted by Trade Union Center of India Affiliated Malnadu Coffee Plantation Workers Union, there are more than 5 lakh plantation workers in Malenadu. Out of this, the amount of labor transported by planters and their brokers from outside the state exceeded 50%. Those who transported them illegally are planters. These workers are not getting fixed daily wages. There are no social amenities as per Labor Act. Salary, leave, bonus, PF-ESI, housing, health, education, compensation as per Plantation Labor Act is not available here. What is happening here is the widespread exploitation of migrant workers. The exploitation of women workers is unaccountable. There are many cases of rape and murder by plantation owners but these are not recorded. Searching for the shroud of a worker who died in a dangerous job, he could not find it. Wage payment is very tricky. If the wages of the working days are calculated and asked, the workers are charged with theft and sent to jail. Plantation owners, brokers and police department are constantly committing crimes against plantation workers. State Home Minister Parameshwar should not forget this.

But today’s Prajavani report licks the boots of plantation oowners by calling the victimized workers thieves, robbers, murderers, rapists. It has also added laborers to the list of ‘Bangla Illegal Infiltrators’. We strongly condemn this. Because this report is sponsored by BJP and RSS who sow racial hatred, we request widespread condemnation of this report and such anti-labour arguments. If the Prajavani has real concern, let them have a debate on this. It is hereby requested that a live discussion be held with the plantation owners association, police department, labor department including us.

R. Manasayya

General Secretary

Trade Union Center of India (TUCI)

20-10-2024

The Party extends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members of Comrade Uccha Reddy and to his beloved Comrades of Karnataka.

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi

19.10.2024

.

CPI (ML) Red Star extends its revolutionary tributes to former Delhi University Prof. GN Saibaba, who was incarcerated more than a decade under fascist draconian laws and acquitted a few months back due to lack of evidence and prosecution’s failure to prove charges against him. We also extend our heartfelt condolences to all his compatriots.

Though the immediate cause for Prof. Saibaba’s death may be attributed to post-operative complications, the fascist regime is responsible for his premature death by keeping wheelchair-bound Saibaba for several years in prison. Anybody can understand the impact of long-years of incarceration on a  differently-abled and wheelchair-bound person in inhuman prison-conditions.

According to international human-rights law,  upholding an ideological position is not a crime,  and that is upheld by judiciary too on many occasions. And fully knowing this, putting a person in jail for alleged Maoist links, especially when he is differently-abled and when his health was fast deteriorating, is an outright violation of human rights. It is against the basic democratic right to express one’s dissent as well as right to free expression.

While resolutely condemning the fascist legality behind the premature death of Comrade Saibaba, once again we put on record our revolutionary tributes to him.

Down with Fascism!

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi

13.10.2024

At the same time, more revealing is the role of “post-ideological” AAP which was a part of the India Alliance till the announcement of Haryana election. Surprisingly,  Kejriwal who was released on bail on the eve of election declared his abrupt withdrawal from India Alliance and contested all the 90 seats securing 1.79% votes. While the failure of the Congress to keep Kejriwal as part of the Alliance is glaring, it is high time on the part of latter and other anti-BJP parties to clearly grasp the role of AAP as a flexible fascist tool as was evident in the past elections. As such though Congress could increase its vote-share by 11%, with the help of divisive forces like AAP,  BSP etc., the fascist forces succeeded in consolidating their position by effectively dividing the anti-fascist votes.

To be precise, as the election trends amply indicate, the people are ready to rise up against the corporate-fascist forces. But as the Haryana results show, it is the political bankruptcy and organisational weakness of the self-professed anti-BJP parties that act as hindrance to the defeat of the fascists in election. This critical situation can be overcome only by building up the broadest possible front of the genuine anti-fascist forces having   a firm ideological-political orientation from the perspective of the long-term interests of the workers and all oppressed including the Dalits, minorities and women.

P J James

General Secretary

CPI (ML) Red Star

New Delhi

09-10-2024