The Marxist - Leninist - July 2009 - Theoretical Journal

Issue No.
2 July 2009
Theoretical Journal of the CPI (ML)

The Marxist-Leninist
Content
1. Editorial 3
2. Concrete Analysis of Indian Society
(February 1984 Editorial of Liberation) 5
3. International Developments and Tasks of
Marxist-Leninist Forces
(Document Adopted by Fourth All India
Conference of CPI(ML) Red Flag in 1997) 10
4. Party Programme
(Adopted by Fifth All India Conference of
CPI(ML) Red Flag in 2000) 33
5. International Situation and Our Tasks (Draft) 51
6. Political Resolution (Draft) 65
7. Political Organisational Report to the
All India Special Conference of CPI(ML) (Draft) 72
Editorial Board Printed and Published by

KN Ramachandran Umakant
Sanjay Singhvi R-8, Pratap Market
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Contribution : Rs. 20
2 The Marxist-Leninist
Editorial
THE Central Committee of the CPI(ML) had published The Communist
as its theoretical journal in February in which the draft documents On
the Character of Indian State, On the Principal Contradiction, and On
the Path of Revolution by com. K.N. Ramachandran along with two sets
of draft documents by the CCMs of the CPI(ML) of 2003 were published
for inner party discussion.
But after the publication The Communist a friendly organisation
informed us that as they are already publishing a journal in the same
name, it will be better if a new name is taken for our journal. The CC
meeting in March discussed this request and decided to use The Marxist-
Leninist as the title for the theoretical journal in English and Marxvadi-
Leninvadi as the title for the theoretical journal in Hindi. The CC has
decided to publish these central theoretical journals as quarterly regularly
in order to develop the Marxist-Leninist understanding of the cadres
and to promote discussions on the cardinal theoretical questions before
the communist movement.
In this issue of The Marxist-Leninist we are publishing three
important documents of the earlier period on our understanding of the
neo-colonial phase of imperialism. It includes the editorial of the February
1984 issue of the Liberation, then our central organ, on the neo-colonial
approach, On International Developments and Tasks of Marxist-Leninist
Forces adopted by the Fourth All India Conference of the CPI(ML) Red
Flag held in 1997 and the Party Programme adopted by the Fifth All
India Conference of the CPI(ML) Red Flag in 2000. These documents
provide an insight in to the development of the neo-colonial
understanding in the organisation.
The CC in its extended meeting from 14 to 18 June held at Bhopal
has worked out all the plans to convene the All India Special Conference
from 8 to 12 November 2009 at Bhopal preceded by a rally and public
meeting on 7th November, the 92nd anniversary of the great October
Revolution. The main task before the Conference shall be the discussion
and finalisation of the three documents: On the Character of Indian
State, On Principal Contradiction and On the Path of Revolution, already
published in The Communist.
The Marxist-Leninist 3
Besides, the CC has finalised three more draft documents, viz. the
International Situation and the Marxist-Leninist Tasks, the Political
Organisational Report and the Political Resolution. The CC decided to
publish these three drafts in The Marxist-Leninist as we have published
the other drafts in The Communist. It will provide an opportunity for the
fraternal organisations in India as well as the fraternal parties from abroad
besides the party sympathisers and friends to study these documents
before the Conference and give suggestions to develop them, the CC
thinks. Active efforts shall be made to collect such suggestions.
Presently the international communist movement is confronting great
challenges. The gravity of these challenges is intensifying day by day. A
way out of it can be found by concentrating the uncompromising struggle
against the right opportunist trend on the one hand and the sectarian
anarchist trend on the other, and developing a healthy ideological struggle
among the other forces to develop the theory and practice of revolution
according to concrete conditions of today.
It is with this spirit The Marxist-Leninist is published, and all the six
draft documents to be finalised in the All India Special Conference are
kept open for discussion even among the forces outside, but close to
the Party. Let all the Marxist-Leninist forces join hands to develop a
healthy ideological political struggle at all levels in order to build a powerful
communist party with countrywide influence capable of leading the Indian
people to People’s Democracy and socialism. ■
With revolutionary greetings
New Delhi Editorial Board

25-06-2009 The Marxist-Leninist
Concrete Analysis of
Indian Society
IN ONE of our earlier editorials (“Let us Remould our Style of Thinking”, December
1982 issue) we had stressed the necessity of concrete study of the concrete conditions
of India. The all India Conference held in January 1982 itself had really laid the
groundwork for starting such a study. But we were, and still are, hesitating to carry the
task forward boldly with an open mind. Yes, as the above mentioned editorial had
correctly evaluated, our style of thinking has not become really scientific. In other
words, we still have a long way to go to make our approach genuinely Marxist.
To adopt a serious Marxist approach means making a painstaking, thorough analysis
of the concrete conditions in our society in order to formulate a concrete programme
for the revolutionary re-structuring of our society. But it is an undeniable fact that
Indian communists have, so far, utterly failed in this attempts. Why? It is a big question.
Yes, but we have to search for an answer.
The analysis of Indian society undertaken by communists in general have always
proved defective. The common approach was to start from some generalisations, and
not from the concrete analysis of concrete conditions. More often than not, the
discussions were centred around the question whether to adopt a Russian model or a
Chinese one, or a combination of both, as the basis for analysing the Indian situation.
And never had they bothered to apply, with an open mind, the powerful tools of Marxist
analysis to dissect the Indian society.
Here we do not want to go into the whole history of the Indian communist
movement, at least for the time being. What we are trying to find out here, is why even
the communist revolutionaries, who waged a relentless struggle against revisionism
and exposed them by leading the historic Naxalbari struggle, could not start a serious
study of the concrete conditions of India. We do not mean that no study was undertaken
by the communist revolutionaries who played historic role of forming the CPI(ML).
On the one hand, those studies were partial and limited to some small pockets here and
there. On the other hand, the over all evaluation was made on some assumptions, in the
old style of determining the model — Russian or Chinese. This time the assumption
was that India is very much similar to pre-revolutionary China. So the whole evaluation
of Indian society was made based on the evaluation of Chinese society made by Mao.
The discussions and debates for arriving at such a conclusion were mainly conducted
on a logical level, not on the basis of concrete analysis of Indian society. Even the
Naxalbari struggle was conducted along the lines of the Hunan Report of Mao. For all
this, we cannot blame the Indian communist revolutionaries alone. The heritage of the
mechanical approach that weighed down on the long history of the Indian communist
movement was so strong that the communist revolutionaries could not make a clear
break from the past, though they had tried their level best. In this matter, they did not
get much help from the International Communist Movement even. The CPC
enthusiastically upheld and encouraged the stand taken by the communist revolutionaries
who led the Naxalbari struggle. The former endorsed the approach of equating the
structure of India society with that of pre-revolutionary China, even though, later on,
they started criticising the approach of CPI(ML) on several vital issues.
As the concrete study of Indian situation, which we have already taken up, is
advancing a realisation is gradually coming up that the similarity between the present
day Indian situation and the pre-revolutionary Chinese situation is only superficial. By
taking the position of equating the two, we were really neglecting the peculiarities of
the neo-colonial stage of imperialism which emerged after World War II. The difference
between semi-colonial society of the pre-World War II period and a neo-colonial country
of the post-World War II period was not at all taken into consideration. So the concepts,
‘semi-colonial’ and ‘neo-colonial’ were used synonymously to describe Indian society.
The understanding that was upheld by the Marxist-Leninists before World War II,
that in colonial and semi-colonial countries, feudalism played a role of providing social
basis for the imperialist domination and exploitation was correct in general. This feudal-
imperialist alliance was correctly understood as preventing the natural development of
capitalist productive forces. Without examining whether the same conditions existed in
the post-WW II period also, we adopted the same analytical tools to evaluate Indian
society of the post-WW II period. It is precisely here that we erred.
The neo-colonial stage of imperialism is still not subjected to a thorough evaluation
and study from a Marxist stand point. The general understanding that still prevails in
the ICM with regard to imperialism is that the basic nature of imperialism has not
changed and so there is nothing particular to understand about neo-colonialism. It is
true that the basic laws of motion of imperialism are the same; but we have to recognise
that these basic laws have assumed new forms in their manifestations in this period.
Only a concrete analysis of these manifested forms of imperialist penetration will give
us a clear picture of the social formations in the neo-colonial countries.
The emergence of multinational corporations as a major force on the global level
and the consequent internationalisation of capital, the emergence of international
financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank, etc. are specific features of the neo-
colonial period. Instead of direct domination by imperialist powers, indirect economic
domination could be established through these financial institutions and via other
economic means. Instead of one imperialist power directly colonising and dominating
a particular country, now, many imperialist powers could simultaneously plunder a
particular dominated country. Because of this new political and economic situation,
imperialist rivalry itself is being manifested in many newer forms, different from the
pre-WW II period. The immediate question before us is how these new factors at the
international level are being manifested in the dynamics of the Indian social formation.
During the last fifteen years we were confronting the reality in many parts of
India; but this reality was not confronting to our overall evaluation. For example, the
green revolution which began to be experimented in India in the early 1960s was really
changing the old feudal relations in areas where it was implemented. But we were
arguing that such developments took place only in isolated areas. But now, nobody can
deny that changes of this sort are spreading to more and more areas. Following Naxalbari,
when fierce agrarian struggles broke out in different pockets, the ruling classes started
various reform-measures to contain it, apart from the brutal suppression. In spite of the
resistance from local ruling classes, the central government made an attempt to implement
such measures in all States. Now we see that in various States, important changes in the
feudal class relations have taken place in varying degrees, due to the half-hearted
implementation of land reforms. The emergence of a new class in rural India, the so-
called capitalist farmers or kulaks as a major force, is the result of these changes. Here
also we were arguing that all these changes are partial, or limited to some areas, and
tried to present a quantitative analysis of the situation at all India level. Another powerful
argument that we used to put forward was that in spite of these partial and limited
changes in the feudal relations, neither the development of capitalist productive forces
in agriculture nor the capitalist accumulation of agricultural surplus is taking place in
any significant way. It is true, such a development is taking place only at a very low
level; so it was easy to assert that, as the capitalist development is not taking place in
normal course, the basic class relations in the countryside are to be considered as semi-
feudal. And the immediate inference that was drawn was that these semi-feudal relations
are the real obstacles in the way of the development of productive forces.
But is this inference correct? Can there be no other reasons for the retarded
development of productive forces? Actually, facts show that the feudal relations are, in
many places breaking down or getting weaker and weaker. Can such weak and shattering
feudal relations prevent the development of capitalist productive forces? For example,
even in areas where feudal relations have been broken up to a great extent, and feudalism
is not at all a force, the development of capitalist productive forces is either slow or
retarded. Why? It points to the existence of some other powerful force than feudalism
which is playing a determining role in retarding the development of productive forces.
A preliminary study of Kerala economy shows that, in spite of the almost total
breaking down of feudal relations, and the existence of almost all the pre-conditions for
capitalist development, the rate of development of productive forces is very low, even
in comparison with many other States. The explanation for this phenomenon given by
the above study is that the overall neo-colonial control of Kerala economy by the
imperialists and Indian monopoly through total control of market of both raw materials
and finished products, is the reason for this stagnation. It is true that there are many
conditions particular to Kerala which have contributed to this state of affairs (like the
predominance of cash crops, the development of peasant movement forcing changes in
feudal relations, etc.). But, we cannot say that neo-colonial dominance over Kerala
economy is due to these particular conditions. Neo-colonialism cannot be confined to
Kerala alone. It has only assumed particular forms due to the peculiarities of Kerala
situation. In other areas of India, it may be taking other, different forms. Only a concrete
analysis of the economies of different areas or States can show how this neo-colonial
domination is manifested in these parts.
Similar studies that are being conducted in States like Maharashtra and Gujarat
show a different picture. These areas are considered to be the most industrially developed
ones in India. Unlike in Kerala, raw materials are coming to these areas, especially to
the industrial belt centred around Bombay, to be processed and sent back to different
parts of the country. But this is not the full story. The industrialisation in these areas in
only comparatively better than other areas like Kerala. In general the development in
these areas also is very slow or retarded when compared with the normal capitalist
development. And a concrete analysis of the overall economy in these areas also is
leading to the recognition of the problem of neo-colonial domination. But the neo-
colonial domination is not completely obstructing the development of productive forces.
According to the needs of their market expansion MNCs and other international financial
agencies are promoting the development of industrial infrastructure and productive
forces to a limited extent, especially in selected sectors. But even this limited expansion
is creating circumstances favourable for the development of small scale auxiliary
industries. Again, as the market is controlled by the monopolies, these emerging small
industrialists face a stiff opposition leading to a real contradiction between the emerging
small bourgeoisie and the monopolies.
All these developments clearly show that the reality of Indian situation is not like
what we had earlier evaluated. Moreover the nature of state in a neo-colonial situation
is a complex subject that needs to be analysed more deeply. In channelising the finance
capital flowing from outside and the domestic finance capital collected internally, the
state plays a very important role. The neo-colonial domination is effected mainly through
influencing and controlling the state machinery by the various imperialist powers. But
at the same time, as the superpowers and other imperialist powers are vying with each
other to get the control of the state in the dominated countries, the manoeuvrability of
the state in such countries increases. All these things are to be studied more seriously.
When we take up the study of the concrete situation in each area, we are facing a
peculiar situation. Each region has got its own history and cultural background leading
to the peculiarities of the present-day economy of the region. So if we have to grasp
these particularities in depth, we have to study the different regions taking each nationality
as a unit. But then we can see that there is no single dominant nationality here which
can be called Indian. So we cannot find any particular nationality behind the Indian
state. This is a situation that is basically different from what was prevailing in Russia
and China before the revolutions. So even with regard to nationality question, India
present an extremely complex and difficult picture. In this regard also we cannot merely
copy the experiences of the Russian or Chinese revolutions. Here we are facing a
challenge.
The concrete studies we are conducting now reveal also another weakness of the
method that we were adopting. In the name of making concrete analysis, we were
conducting only the village-wise class analysis. The aim of the whole analysis was to
pinpoint the class enemies to be annihilated. So by showing that in a number of selected
villages, the feudal relations still remained in tact, we could easily conclude that feudalism
is the principal enemy everywhere. Definitely, this kind of micro-economic analysis is
useful and necessary, but only to limited extent. And if feudalism is really the main
enemy, this approach would be more useful as the economy would mainly be localised
in character. But in a neo-colonial country, the situation is basically different. The
economy is getting more and more integrated in the global neo-colonial framework.
The economic forces are really controlled by very complex market mechanisms
connected with the global economy. In this situation, the localised analysis will not
give any clue to the essence of the problem, if it is not studied in connection with the
overall dynamics of the national and international economies. To understand this
dynamics at a broader level the study of macro-economic data is more useful. The
localised analysis can complement this overall analysis, and help chalk out concrete
political programme at the local level.
What we have attempted in the foregoing is mainly to point out the weaknesses in
our approach which we were upholding during the last so many years. We should not be
in a hurry to come to any hasty conclusions. The problem we mentioned above are to be
discussed thoroughly, along with the concrete studies which we are conducting at different
levels.
All these questions have been raised mainly as a result of the concrete studies that
the comrades are making at different regions. Let us boldly carry forward these studies
which can definitely lead us to a genuinely scientific analysis of the Indian society,
which in turn, will certainly be a breakthrough in taking the tasks of Indian revolution
forward. ■
[Republished from February 1984 issue of the Liberation,

the organ of the Central Reorganisation Committee CRC,
CPI(ML), the forerunner of the CPI(ML) Red Flag]
On International
Developments and Tasks
of Marxist-Leninist Forces
INTERNATIONAL SITUATION
CONTEMPORARY International scene is marked by two important factors. Firstly,
the grave crisis confronting the world imperialist system. The much talked about New
World order has turned into a new world disorder. The myth of crisis free capitalism,
the so-called omnipotence of the imperialist system and he claims of a unified imperialist
camp are exposed by numerous developments at global level. In spite of utilising its
latest arsenals including significant developments in the fields of science and technology
for the plunder of labour and natural resources at global level, all the imperialist countries
are beset with the longest and intensifying general crisis.
Secondly the Marxist-Leninist forces are facing grave challenges in overcoming
the present setbacks and in carrying forward the proletarian revolution. The history of
the international Communist Movement (ICM) teaches that the movement has suffered
setbacks whenever the question of ideological-political line is not given paramount
importance. Alien trends start dominating the movement at such junctures. The
reorganisation of ICM and advancing proletarian revolution calls for evaluating the
past experience, struggling against all alien trends, and developing and upholding
ideological-political line based on fundamental Marxist-Leninist principles.
SHARPENING GENERAL CRISIS OF IMPERIALISM
THOUGH the imperialist countries witnessed a post-World War II boom it was only a
temporary phenomenon. Despite development of science and technology, large scale
reconstruction work following the war, giant arms industry etc. This boom could not be
maintained. In order to combat the growing challenge from the socialist forces many
welfare measures were adopted in the imperialist countries. It involved state intervention
in the fields of production, services and distribution adopting Keynesian devices. But,
including these measures, the great investment boom of 1950s which had greatly
expanded the manufacturing capacity soon over-fulfilled the demands for machinery,
consumer goods etc. and by the end of 1960s the boom began to peter out despite all
claims about crisis-free imperialism.
Marxists evaluate that after the World War-I imperialism entered into a period of
irreversible crisis. Lenin, in his works developed the idea that capitalism has entered
the period of irresolvable general crisis which is leading to socialist revolution. In a
note prepared for the Third International Lenin also tried to make an analysis of the
economics and politics behind this crisis. He pointed out many reasons for this crisis
like exhaustion of raw materials, weakening of the industry, fall of currencies, debts,
deflation, ‘dislocation’ breaks up of the whole system of world economy etc. (CW,
Vol.. 35, p-451). Along with these, and as a result of them, the emergence of Communist
movement and Soviet power was also pointed out by him. After Lenin, Stalin has
explained this outlook on capitalist general crisis more clearly. Stalin wrote “the chronic
under-capacity operation of industry, chronic mass unemployment, the interweaving of
the industrial crisis with an agricultural crisis, the absence of tendencies towards a
more or less serious renewal of fixed capital which usually heralds the approach of a
boom etc., etc.” (Problems of Leninism, p-, 459)
Except for a period of less than two decades following World War II all these
observations of Stalin are proved correct. Even this temporary stability was due to the
reconstruction activities following the war and due to the intervention of state in the
field of economy, a policy copied from the Soviet experience as already mentioned.
But this itself did not provide any solution to the general crisis. On the contrary a study
of the later movements of the bourgeois economic order showed that this temporary
stability only prolonged the dangerous crisis for the time being.
In 1971 for the first time in this century the trade accounts of US fell into deficit.
Soon US unilaterally suspended convertibility of dollar into gold, going back from its
Brettenwood promise, soon to be followed by two devaluations of dollar. With the
major currencies starting to flat in relation to one another, a period of great instability
followed it foreign exchange speculators reaping giant profits and economies of
Imperialist countries going to tailspins, facing chaos.
It was as a part of the efforts to save themselves from this growing crisis Britain
and US introduced Thatcherism and Reaganomics, which were followed soon by other
Imperialist countries also. State intervention in economy is now increasingly abandoned.
All public sector and government controlled enterprises are being privatised. Welfare
measures are cut. Soon IMF and World Bank started dictating Structural Adjustment
Policies (SAPs) in all debtor countries also on these lines.
At the same time, these aggressive designs of imperialist forces for intensifying
the plunder of labour and natural resources at global level have put the imperialist
camp against the socialist aspirations of the world people. Against these imperialist
policies massive people’s struggles are coming up in the Latin American countries and
all over the world including the capitalist imperialist countries.
FROM COLONIALISM TO NEOCOLONIALISM
THE post-World War-II period witnessed many changes. If Soviet Union had existed
as the only socialist country till then, following the War, including China and east
European countries, altogether 13 countries with one-third of world population became
socialist and in many other countries, especially in colonial/semi-colonial countries the
socialist movement had become very strong making them look irresistible. At the same
time US imperialism which took over the leadership of the imperialist camp rose to
world hegemony. Along with the setbacks suffered by the older imperialist countries
the old colonial policy also faced debacle and the direct colonial rule was almost brought
to an end by transferring power to the bourgeois leadership in the colonies. In reality
many of these changes were getting matured behind the scene for a long time. These
economical-political transformations were getting speeded up during the war situation,
and as a result of it, became dominant after the war. These changes can be put in general
in the following way.
International monopolies which had started taking shape much earlier, and later
called TNCs or MNCs reorganised production and marketing based on a global plan,
and became main pillars of the world economic dominance in the post-War period.
This intensified internationalisation of capital to new dimensions. Starting with the
nuclear hegemony gained with the dropping of nuclear bombs over Japan and maintaining
it by advancing nuclear technology, capabilities for inter-continental warfare and
rocketry, modern war equipments, and allied information technology, space technology,
and corresponding military tactics, the hegemony maintained by US imperialism in the
military field became more pronounced. Along with these, numerous economic, political
and military agreements and alliances and strategic military bases also were spread all
over the world. Brettenwood Agreement and based on it the World Bank, IMF like
international finance agencies were initiated. United Nations, GATT like economic
political institutions and their various appendages were also initiated.
It is this economic, political and military background given shape to by these
changes gained by the imperialist system which made the imperialist powers capable of
establishing neo-colonial domination in the post-World War-II period all over the world
by decolonising even distant colonies and semi colonies. US imperialism gained the
leadership and initiative in this new economic, military and political order. One of the
factors which provided a basis for this is that it could transform to a certain extent the
scientific gains obtained from the beginning of this century in theoretical physics,
quantum mechanics, genetical sciences, etc. to technological gains. Mainly with the
strength of its domination over petroleum energy sector, from the beginning of this
century itself US imperialism had already started overtaking British imperialism. Besides,
it had gained experience from the beginning of this century in implementing indirect
domination in the Latin American countries. Starting with the monopolies in the
petroleum field, from the beginning of this century itself ‘Multi National Corporations’
(MNCs) had started becoming powerful in the economic life of US. Moreover, as the
colonies were under total domination of the other imperialist powers, from early days
of this century US had started raising its voice against policies like protectionism mainly
pursued by Britain. All these factors which were coming up one after another
complementary to each other led to the transformation of colonial plunder in the
conditions following World War-II. It provided a new dimension for the division of the
world by imperialist powers beyond geographical annexations.
During this period, the absence of a comprehensive analysis about the
transformation of imperialist plunder to a new phase, and the development of the
proletarian world outlook in accordance with it, gave rise to numerous partial and
unilateral theories on imperialism. The influence of such theories, the weakening of the
colonial powers including Britain, and the decolonisation process led to the interpretation
of neo-colonialism as a weaker and merely economic form of imperialism. The
withdrawal of Britain and other colonial powers from the colonies were interpreted as
gaining of national independence. These interpretations opposed by Stalin and
Cominform, later became one of the main theoretical base for revisionism in the mid-
fifties. Actually, in his studies on imperialism, Lenin himself has mentioned about this
‘colonial form’ without giving scope for any misunderstanding:
“Since we are speaking of colonial policy in the epoch of capitalist imperialism, it
must be observed that finance capital and its foreign policy, which is the struggle of the
great powers for the economic and political division of the world, give rise to a number
of transitional forms of state dependence. Not only are the two main groups of countries,
those owning colonies and themselves, but also the diverse forms of dependent countries
which, politically, are formally independent, but in fact, are enmeshed in the net of
financial and diplomatic dependence, typical of this epoch. We have already referred to
one form of dependence, the semi-colony. An example of another is provided by
Argentina” (Selected works, Vol. 1, p-734). Following this evaluation Lenin makes it
also clear that this is applicable to whole of South America.
Two factors speeded up the decolonisation process. On the one hand, the growth
in the structure of the globalisation of capital beyond the earlier dominance over the
oceans by Pax Britannica to the nuclear, aerospace domination by Pax Americanna,
numerous inter-continental military bases of US, its treaties with Western Europe and
Japan encircling Soviet Union and many other treaties arrived at with the reactionary
governments in the already decolonised countries, all of these were favourable factors
which created a background for speeding up of decolonisation. On the other hand, over
and above the movements with autonomy slogans coming up in the colonies under the
leadership of the bourgeoisie, the hostile situation created by the threats posed by the
independent activities of the proletariat in these countries as a part of Third International
and subsequently, and the united activities developing under its leadership also speeded
up the decolonisation. As many powerful tendencies negating these aspects of history
are widely existing today, it is very important to specifically point out these factors.
Besides, the existence of a powerful socialist bloc during this period had influenced the
policies and activities of imperialist bourgeoisie at global level. During this period the
bourgeoisie was also compelled to experiment the Soviet experience under their own
control in the form of Keynisian economics.
Instead of leaving everything to the hegemony of the market, in some sectors the
planned economic activities under the control of the state to realise the development of
crisis free capital were partially adopted under the control of bourgeois economy. This
led to the growth of giant military economy on the one hand, and many welfare activities
on the other hand in the capitalist imperialist countries. It also led to the enlargement of
nationalisation and state capitalist forms. The experience after sixties have proved that
all these partial experiments have only led to increasing the depth and spread of the
imperialist crisis.
Lenin wrote on imperialism in his preface to the French and German Editions of
“Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism” that private property based on the labour
of the small proprietor, free competition, democracy, all the catchwords with which the
capitalists and their props deceive the workers and peasants are things of distant past.
Capitalism has grown into a world system of colonial oppression, and of financial
strangulation of the overwhelming majority of the population of the world by a handful
of “advanced” countries. And this “booty” is shared between two or three powerful
world plunderers armed to the teeth (America, Great Britain, Japan) who are drawing
the whole world into their war over the division of their booty” (SW, p-178).
Regarding the formulations like “ultra imperialist” conjured up by Kautsky to
whitewash the real class content of imperialism, as well as his economic and political
critique of imperialism, Lenin explained that they are permeated through and through
with a spirit, absolutely irreconciliable with Marxism, of obscuring and glossing over
the fundamental contradictions of imperialism and with a striving to preserve at all
costs the crumbling unity with opportunism in the European working class movement.
Exposing opportunists like Kautsky, Lenin explained the five basic features of
imperialism as follows : (1) The concentration of production and capital has developed
to such a high state that it has created monopolies, which play a decisive role in economic
life, (2) the merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the
basis of the ‘finance capital’ of a financial oligarchy, (3) the export of capital as
distinguished from the export of commodities acquires exceptional importance, (4) the
formation of international monopolist capitalist associations which share the world
among themselves, and (5) The territorial division of the whole world among the biggest
capitalist powers is completed. (ibid, p-232)
Lenin has explained that the transformation of capitalism to its highest stage,
imperialism, is integrally linked to the tremendous ‘boom’ in colonial conquests. Struggle
for territorial division of the world become extraordinarily sharp. That is, the coming
into being of imperialism, at this phase is connected with the intensification of the
struggle for the partitioning of world territorially and for direct colonial rule over the
area under their control, wherever possible. Because “the more capitalism is developed
the more strongly the shortage of raw materials is felt, the more intense the competition
and the hunt for source of raw materials throughout the whole world, the more desperate
the struggle for the acquisition of the colonies”, Lenin said, the” colonial possession
alone gives the monopolies complete guarantee against all contingencies in the struggle
against competitions” (ibid, p-228).
As Mao explained in the case of China, during this colonial phase “it is certainly
not the purpose of the imperialist powers invading China to transform feudal China
into capitalist China. On the contrary, their purpose is to transfer China into their own
semi-colony or colony” (Chinese Revolution and Chinese Communist Party).
In his works Lenin repeatedly pointed out semi-colony as an example of the
transitional form. Colony was the most convenient arrangement for fullest exploitation
of raw materials. “Semi-colonial countries provide a typical example of the middle
stage” with the imperialists always trying to transform them to colonies wherever
possible. Mao has explained this process in the case of China well.
In the post World War-II years, as explained earlier imperialist countries were
compelled to adopt a policy of decolonisation. Under the leadership of US imperialism
a new phase, of neo-colonialism was inaugurated. 1944 Brettenwood Agreement
inaugurated a whole lot of new institutions for imposing the domination of imperialist
capital.
Though the understanding about neo-colonialism still calls for further studies and
development, its basic features were summed up by the CPC in its Great Debate
documents. It called Krushchevite revisionists who became accomplices of the
imperialist camp as “apologists of neo-colonialism” also. But many organisations who
calls themselves Marxist-Leninist explain neo-colonialism in the words of these very
same apologists and so have committed grave mistakes. They call only those handful of
countries where neo-colonialism has taken the form of rule by US puppets as neo-
colonies. Others are called semi-colonies by them. As we have quoted extensively from
Lenin and Mao earlier, semi-colony was a country in a transitional stage or middle
stage during the colonial phase. These semi-colonies like China with some parts of it
even under direct imperialist occupation were different from the present Asian-African-
Latin American countries which are under plunder of imperialist capital and MNCs or
under imperialist plunder in new forms.
As in the colonies/semi-colonies during the colonial phase, in the neo-colonies
under present neo-colonial phase basic features of the New Democratic Revolution
remain the same. The NDR can win victory only by overthrowing the rule of imperialism,
comprador bureaucratic bourgeois classes and feudalism and building up a New
Democratic state under the leadership of the proletariat with worker-peasant alliance as
its basis.
GREAT DEBATE : TWO APPROACHES TOWARDS NEOCOLONIALISM
INSTEAD of correctly evaluating this post World War-II situation favourable to world
socialist movement and giving impetus to the anti-imperialist movement, wrong
conclusions about the developments during this period led the dominant section within
the world communist movement towards continuously weakening the subjective forces
of revolution. During this period Krushchevite revisionism underestimated imperialist
strength and over estimated the strength of the socialist forces. It was concluded that in
the new situation when socialism is having dominance and decisive strength, class
struggle can be transformed to peaceful co-existences, and with the help of socialist
countries, especially Soviet Union, peaceful transformation to socialism is possible all
over the world. It was also decreed that in the new situation of domination of socialism,
‘hereafter’ capitalist restoration in the socialist countries is impossible. It was also
evaluated that in the new situation, the bourgeoisie in the de-colonised countries is not
only the leading force of national liberation but also that it is a class prepared and
capable of leading these countries to socialism co-operating with Soviet Union. It
described the decolonisation process as achievement of national independence, and
almost neglected the threat posed by neo-colonialism coming under the leadership of
US imperialism. Soviet studies and books saw neo-colonialism only as a weaker form
of imperialism. It was through fighting against this modern revisionism trying to dominate
the ICM, the CPC and PLA led the Great Debate in the 1960s following the path of
Third International.
In the General Line document of 1963 which called Krushchevites as the ‘apologists
of neo-colonialism, after stating that “the leaders of the CPSU frequently spread the
view that colonialism has disappeared form the present day world” the CPC document
states : “The facts are clear. After the World War-II the imperialist have certainly not
given up colonialism, but have merely adopted a new form, neo-colonialism. An
important characteristic of such neo-colonialism is that the imperialists have been forced
to change their old style of direct colonial rule and exploitation by relying on the agents
they have selected and trained. The imperialists headed by the United States enslave or
control the colonial countries and countries which have already declared their
independence by organising military blocs, setting up military bases, establishing
“federation” or “communities” and fostering puppet regimes. Moreover they use the
United Nations as an important tool for interfering in the internal affairs of such countries
and for subjecting them to military, economic and cultural aggression”. Again after a
paragraph it states : “this neo-colonialism is a more pernicious and sinister form of
colonialism” (The Great Debate, p-148)
Contrary to this scientific evaluation, in continuation to the teachings of Lenin and
Third International, there exists some absurd theories which is propagated in the name
of the CPC and Mao that neo-colonialism is domination of one imperialist power, and
that others are semi-colonies. Lenin who took China and Turkey as examples for semi-
colonies wrote in his study on imperialism : “as to the semi-colonial stages they provide
an example of the transitional forms which are to be found in all spheres of nature and
society........in this respect, the semi-colonial countries provide a typical example of the
‘middle stage’. It is natural that the struggle for these semi-dependent countries should
have become particularly bitter in the epoch of finance capital, when the rest of the
world has already been divided up “ (SW, Vol.1, p-731)
In depicting some exceptions during the colonial phase of imperialism which Lenin
saw only as a transformation or “middle stage” towards full colonisation as some
theoretical absurdities in the present situation to characterise the decolonised countries,
no justifications can be sought for, or are available for it form the documents of the
CPC of Mao’s time or from the consensus during that period. For example the title of a
note given in an issue of Peking Review of January 21, 1972 itself is “Soviet revisionism
: neo-colonialism in India”. Nobody can claim that Peking Review was ignorant of the
role of other imperialist capitals including those of US and Britain, along with Soviet
capital in India during that period.
DEVIATIONS IN THE CPC
AMONG the Marxist-Leninist forces which had newly emerged all over the world
struggling against Krushchevite revisionism after the 1957 and 1960 Moscow
Conferences and following the Great Debate, Mao’s launching of Cultural Revolution
against modern revisionism within the CPC evoked great response. The absence of a
planned and organised international movement to bring them together led almost all of
these Marxist-Leninist forces to blindly follow all the developments within the CPC
and in China. Though it gave a new upswing to the ICM, they caused many deviations
within the movement. Some of them which were latent then and which affected the
movement on long term basis were noticed only later. They caused many deviations
within the movement. The CPC was then passing through a period of acute ideological
struggle. Instead of viewing and analysing these ideological struggles with responsibility
and maturity from the standpoint of fraternal parties and taking scientific approach
towards them, the above mentioned tendencies led almost all the ML Parties and groups
emerging then to blind worship of the different trends gaining dominance every time
within the CPC.
The positive contribution of the Cultural Revolution lies in the fact that it brought
forward the importance of the struggle against the capitalist restoration within the socialist
countries and in the ICM. But the 9th Congress of the CPC which was convened in
1969 during the Cultural Revolution reflected the influence of Lin Piao and the serious
errors related to him. Even anti-Communist decisions like declaring Lin Piao as the
successor to Mao in the Party Constitution took place in this Congress. It was following
this Congress the ‘Quotations from Mao Tsetung’ and Mao worship, which were
evaluated later as erroneous after the removal of Lin Piao, were propagated all were the
world. It was this tendency represented by Lin Piao which presented the outlook of
world revolution in an over-simplistic and romantic manner reducing it to a mere subject
of war tactics connected with people’s war. Along with this the Krushchevite position
about imperialism and the present era reappeared in the Ninth Congress disguised with
left adventurist revolutionary phraseology. This rejected Lenin’s definition about the
imperialist era, and presented the present era as that of ‘imperialism heading for total
collapse and socialism advancing towards worldwide victory”. These evaluations created
great impact among the newly emerging Marxist-Leninist parties which had not achieved
ideological maturity. For example the 1970 programme of CPI (ML) stated : “Mao
Tsetung Thought is Marxism-Leninism of our era in which imperialism is heading for
total collapse and socialism is advancing to worldwide victory”. Instead of helping to
develop a protracted Marxist-Leninist path for proletarian revolution, these evaluations
led to development of immediate and simplistic picture about it. It only helped to cause
severe setbacks to the ICM. Still surviving remnants of this erroneous line are continuing
to cause further setbacks.
The CPC changed this erroneous concept of the era put forward by the Ninth
Congress later and reinstated the Leninist understanding about it. The Tenth Congress
Report presented by Chou Enlai in 1973 start the section “On the present situation and
our tasks” as follows : “Chairman Mao has often taught us : we are still in the era of
imperialism and proletarian revolution”. Following this, after mentioning Lenin’s study
on imperialism this paragraph concludes as follows : “Stalin said “Leninism is Marxism
of the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution”. This is entirely correct. Since
Lenin’s death the world situation has undergone great changes. But the era has not
changed. The fundamental principles of Leninism are not outdated. They remain the
theoretical basis guiding our thinking today”. Later this point is repeatedly emphasised.
As a part of the ideological struggle continuing against Lin Piao under the title “Mighty
ideological weapon in the struggle against revisionism” many study articles on Lenin’s
work “Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism” were presented. The necessity for
repeatedly studying these in the struggle against Lin Piao was stressed. Apart from
these statements in the Tenth Congress report, outside world did not get any documents
from the CPC about evaluating these serious mistakes in the Ninth Congress. May be
because of these also, the assertions in the Tenth Congress report and later documents
went mostly unheeded. And as a result within the ICM the negative influence created
by Lin Piao’s report still exist to a great extent.
In the post-Tenth Congress years the CPC did not go much ahead either in studying
about the world situation that has under gone ‘great changes’ after Lenin’s death as
mentioned in the Tenth Congress report, or in developing the theoretical and economic
evaluation of the political positions on neo-colonialism put forward against Krushchevite
revisionism in the Great Debate of the sixties. In the articles explaining Leninist positions
of imperialism as a part of the struggle against Lin Piao, Lenin is only restated in a
comparatively more simplified manner. At the same time evaluation of the ‘great changes’
are neglected in them also.
There were also no effective attempts to resist the numerous petti-bourgeois, New
Left trends which had come up during that period at global level under the cover of
combating Soviet revisionism, but which were actually against the working class
movements and which undermined the proletarian leadership and content of socialist
revolution. In the absence of a comprehensive analysis and interpretation based on
Marxism-Leninism about imperialism in the post World War-II period, many economic
theories on imperialism which were disguised under Marxist phraseology and were
anti-Marxist-Leninist in content penetrated among the newly emerging revolutionary
forces very fast. In the absence of an international forum to scientifically analyse these
alien trends and to take effective positions against them, the possibilities for petti-
bourgeois thoughts penetrating among world Marxist-Leninist forces were much more.
As explained above, though Tenth Congress of the CPC changed the Lin Piaoist
deviations of the Ninth Congress, in the absence of a proper rectification movement the
serious errors influencing the ICM were left unrectified. And, following Mao’s death,
under the Dengist Theory of Three Worlds once again the neo colonies of Asia, Africa
an Latin American were depicted as independent countries, and in Hua Kuofeng’s
Eleventh Congress Report, similar to the presentation of peaceful co-existence during
Krushchevite period, the Theory of Three Worlds was declared as the strategy of the
world revolution. If they were not distinguished and went unquestioned for long among
the Marxist-Leninist forces, the basic reason lies in the neglect shown by the movement
towards basic Leninist teachings. These developments showed the deviation within
CPC from one extreme to another. As Mao said one tendency concealed another.
‘MAOISM’ TODAY : REPETITION OF THE OLD ERRORS
ALL THOSE who are talking today about ‘Maoism’ are trying to repeat the very same
mistake knowingly or unknowingly. Those who are abandoning Leninist concept about
present era are abandoning the very objective base for revolution itself. For them
revolution becomes something subjective and determined by arms, military might, and
by strategy and tactics of war alone, and something alienated from working class
organisations and organised mass movements. A revolution which is not correctly rooted
in history and concrete objective realities of present period will only create obstacles to
proletarian revolution, instead of helping them. Romantic concepts about quick victory
of revolution are not going to help the working class movement, but ultimately serve
the petti-bourgeois avant-guardism and the interest of capital. The advocates of
‘Maoism’, as in the case of RCP, USA, the organisations grouped around the
‘Revolutionary Internationalist Movement’ (RIM), and similar forces are in reality
upholding not the great Marxist-Leninist theoretical lessons developed by Mao in the
background of Chinese Revolution and the ideological struggle within the ICM, but
some quotations which deify Mao as was done by Lin Piao. Alongwith providing
opportunities for creating some new Lin Piaoist thinkers, in the name of ‘Maoism’,
these advocates transform Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought into some idealistic
principles of faith. A common characteristic of these advocates of ‘Maoism’ is that they
neglect or discard the concrete approach towards determining the fundamental
contradiction in the contemporary period , the contradiction between imperialism and
proletarian revolution.
UPHOLD THE PATH OF THIRD INTERNATIONAL IN THIS PERIOD OF
SETBACKS
THE world Communist movement is presently passing through a period of big setbacks.
Under the dominance of Krushchevite revisionism, which came to power in Soviet
Union in the mid-fifties, Soviet Union as well as other socialist states in Eastern Europe
deviated to capitalist path, and along with them vast majority of the Communist parties
all over the world degenerated to the path of bourgeois parliamentarism. With this the
ICM got reduced to Communist party of China (CPC), the PLA and a few Marxist-
Leninist parties and organisations who stood with them. But after the death of Mao
Tsetung, the Deng-Hua forces who seized power both within CPC and in the Chinese
state started implementing the Krushchevite policies in new forms, more speedily. Soon
the PLA followed similar path. And now Soviet Union and East European countries
who were using socialism in words atleast have moved to open market economy and
bourgeois democracy. With this the ICM is presently reduced to a few Marxist-Leninist
parties and organisations scattered in different parts of the world. Facing these challenges
thrown up continuously during the second half of this century, the ICM is now engaged
in intense efforts for overcoming the setbacks and gaining strength once again.
It was in the beginning of this century, during the Seond International, the world
socialist movement had suffered an almost similar setback. At that time, the leadership
of the Social Democratic Movement (the working class movement was called so during
those days) which had by then become a powerful force in Europe almost totally became
spokepersons of revisionism and parliamentarism and degenerated social democracy
to bourgeois politics. It was by overcoming this situation when Second International
and the very word ‘Social Democracy’ itself became synonyms for renegacy, under the
leadership of Lenin October Revolution became successful and the Third International
(Comintern) was formed. In place of social democratic parties Communist and Workers
parties were formed in numerous countries all over the world. The banner of the
dictatorship of the proletariat abandoned by the Kautskyite leadership of the Second
International was once again held higher by the Marxist-Leninists.
Lenin analysed the fall of Second International in the background of the weakness
happened in the proletarian movement in correctly evaluating and assimilating the new
world situation and laws of motion of the imperialist system in the period of
transformation of capitalism into imperialism. Simultaneously, he also related it to the
growth of labour aristocracy in the European working class movement in the background
of the new world situation. The first half of this century was turned into period of great
advances for the world proletarian movement under the leadership of the Third
International based on the theory and practice of proletarian revolution developed by
Lenin rejecting the Kautskyian outlook about imperialism. Paving the way for
transformation of countries with one-third of the world population to socialist path,
giving birth to mighty Communist movements in all continents, strengthening the national
liberation movements, these advances unleashed great revolutionary storms at global
level. But by the middle of this century, in the period when new challenges were raised
in the post World War-II situation, the leadership of the CPSU and Soviet Union were
usurped by Krushchevite revisionism, and the positions of the Second International
once rejected by Marxism-Leninism were again brought to the forefront in new forms.
After the dissolution of the Third International under the leadership of Stalin and
Cominform becoming inactive after Stalin’s death, there were no initiatives for any
form of international gathering of the Marxist-Leninist forces under the leadership of
CPC which had by then become the flag bearer of Marxism-Leninism through its struggle
against Krushchevites in the 1957, 1960 Moscow Conferences and later more concretely
through the General Line and other documents put forward during the Great Debate. It
was after the interval following the 1960s, and after the Chinese party and state
leaderships were also usurped by the revisionists, the first moves, however small it may
be were initiated within the ICM to bring the Marxist-Leninist forces together. In the
present decade a great awareness in this direction is becoming visible. In the present
extremely disturbed and confusing political atmosphere which includes Krushchevites,
Dengists, “Maoists” and many other trends, what is required in the ideological field is
the path of uncompromising ideological struggle from firm Marxist-Leninist positions.
It is the path of Third International pointed out to us by Lenin. In a situation when
bourgeois ideologies which are absolutely against Marxian positions are being
propagated extensively in the name of Marxism, the struggle for defending fundamental
principles of Marxism is extremely important. The lifeline or essence of Marxism is the
concrete analysis of the concrete situation. The existence and development of Marxism
is related to this approach. A new and revolutionary unity built up upholding basic
principles of Marxism and concretely analyzing the changes in the international situation
based on them should be the basis for the new international unity of the Marxist-Leninist
forces.
PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM
THE STUDY of proletarian internationalism leads also to the study about the
international content of revolution. This calls for special attention in the contemporary
situation when powerful influence of bourgeois chauvinist and sectarian thinking is
getting manifested within the international proletarian movement. Questions which were
once considered as basic principles of communist movement and were upheld as its
unquestionable corner-stones are today made points of debates in extremely vulgar
forms. Petti-bourgeois sectarian groups which are enthusiastically promoting all forms
of bourgeois chauvinist thoughts under the banner of Communism are existing in different
parts of the world with almost identical views.
In the Communist Manifesto the most important factor which distinguish the
Communist Party from other working class parties are explained as follows : “ In the
national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries they point out and bring
to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat independently of all
nationalities”. Later, while writing the history of the Communist League, Engels
explained that adoption of the slogan “working men of all countries unite “put forward
by Communist Manifesto changing the hitherto motto of the Communist league, “all
men are brothers”, was the open declaration of the international character of struggle
(Selected works Vol 3. P - 182) . Marx and Engels saw nationalism and internationalism
not as two forms but as having concrete class content determined in historical
circumstances. Engels wrote : “Since the end of the Middle Ages, history has been
working towards the formation of large national states in Europe. Only such states are
the normal political structure of the ruling European bourgeoisie and at the same time
an indispensable precondition for the establishment of harmonious international co-
operation between the peoples without which the rule of the proletariat is impossible”.
Marx states in his Critique of the Gotha Programme : “It is altogether self-evident that
to be able to fight at all, the working class must organize itself at home as a class and
that its own country is the immediate arena of its struggle. In so far as its class struggle
is concerned it is national not in substance, but as the Communist Manifesto says, “in
form”. But the “framework of the present day national state....” is itself in its turn
economically “within the framework” of the world market, politically “within the
framework of the system of states”.
“Capitalism which had set off from the beginning to change the world in its own
image” has shown its global character from its very beginning. Simultaneously with the
global spread of capitalist relations it has also created an international class, the
proletariat, against itself. Besides, imperialism manifests its influence and establishes
its domination over all other production relations in the world. By making the exchange
relations universal and through numerous other methods including collection of taxes
with the support of political power, imperialism also makes all backward production
relations and social systems all over the world part of capitalist capital accumulation
from the beginning.
The above quotations from Marx and Engels show that Marxism had correctly
understood this aspect of proletarian internationalism and the relation between
nationalism and internationalism. Besides the proletariat as a class which is most
advanced, and which is historically bound to liberate humanity as a whole cannot be
objectively anything other than this. The Communist Manifesto was the declaration of
Communist League, an international organisation. And Marx and Engels took initiative
in establishing First and then Second Internationals. Over and above these, the
revolutionary concept developed by the Communists is of internationalist character.
Proletarian internationalism grew up also as a reply to all bourgeois national chauvinist
positions.
As a part of his studies on imperialism it was Lenin who proved the possibility for
revolution becoming successful in one country and the possibility for building socialism
there in the conditions of extremely uneven development of capitalism. This evaluation
which became the theoretical basis for the October Revolution established proletarian
internationalism at a higher and more developed plane in the new historical situation.
The revolution in Russia, in a backward capitalist country geographically spread over
two continents of East and West, became a bridge between the socialist revolutionary
movement in the western capitalist countries and the national liberation movement in
the eastern colonial countries and it gave new dimensions to proletarian internationalism.
October Revolution was successfully completed by uncompromisingly struggling against
the national chauvinism of the Kautskyites who were heading the Second International
during the World War-I, both at the levels of theory and practice. It led to the formation
of the Third international which aimed at world revolution in place of the Second
International which had become the tail of bourgeois nationalism. Lenin wrote : “Our
contingent of workers and peasants which is upholding Soviet power is one of the
contingents of the great world army.....International Socialist revolution”. Lenin has
explained this point repeatedly with statements like “Russian detachment of socialist
proletariat”, “other detachments of the world socialist revolution” etc. He goes on
explaining to the extent that for the sake of starting the world proletarian revolution one
cannot and must not hesitate to make the heaviest sacrifices including the sacrifice of
part of our territory.
In accordance with the unfolding of the new world situation Lenin was further
enriching the struggle waged by Marx and Engels against bourgeois nationalism from
the stand point of proletarian internationalism. In the present context when neglecting
the basic principles of Marxism is becoming a fashion, it will not be unnecessary if
Lenin is quoted at length to further explain this point. He wrote : “Marxism cannot be
reconciled with nationalism, be it even of the “most just”, “purest”, most refined and
civilised brand. In place of all brands of nationalism Marxism advances internationalism,
the amalgamation of all national in the higher unity, a unity that is growing before our
eyes with the every mile of railway line that is built, with every international trust, and
every workers association that is formed (An association that is international in its
economic activities as well as in its ideas and aims)” (Collected works Vol. 20, p-34).
Even while recognising the “Historical legitimacy” for the coming up of national
movements Lenin saw the necessity of preventing the Marxists from becoming
‘apologists of nationalism’. In another place Lenin has very well explained this national,
international conflict of interests of capitalism as follows :
“Developing capitalism knows two historical tendencies in the national question.
The first is the awakening of the national life and national movements, the struggle
against all national oppression, and the creation of the national states. The second is the
development and growing frequency of international intercourse in every form, the
breakdown of national barriers, the creation of the international unity of capital, of
economic life in general, of politics, science etc.
“Both the tendencies are a universal law of capitalism. The former predominated
in beginning of its developments, the later characterises a mature capitalism that is
moving towards its transformation into socialist society. The Marxist national programme
takes both tendencies into account, and advocates, firstly, the equality of nations and
languages and the impermissibility of all privileges in this respect.....,secondly the
principle of internationalism and uncompromising struggle against contamination of
the proletariat with bourgeois nationalism even of the most refined kind”. (Collected
Works, Vol. 20, p 27)
Lenin who talks about “capital which recognises no fatherland” has repeatedly
explained how globalisation of capital continuously transcends bourgeois nationalism,
and how it encourages the victory of socialism and proletarian internationalism.
Following the standpoints of Marx, Lenin reaches the conclusion that “world capitalism’s
productive forces have outgrown the limited boundaries of national and state divisions
and the objective conditions are perfectly ripe for socialism to be achieved”. He also
explained that imperialism means “capital had outgrown the framework of national
states”. Lenin upholds internationalism not only in the fields of economics and politics,
he upholds it in the cultural fields too. He wrote : “Our banner does not carry the slogan
‘national culture’ but international culture which unites all the nations in a higher socialist
unity and the way to which is already paved by the international amalgamation of capital”.
In the neocolonial situation when globalisation of capital is reaching its highest
level and the linking of global capital is getting completed, the bourgeoisie cannot at all
become the spokepersons for progressive nationalism. When it is so any talks about
nationalism and support to national movements beyond the progressive limits of
nationalism which is subordinated to proletarian internationalism, and which is part of
the struggle led by international proletariat against world imperialist system, are evil
efforts to tie the working class within the decadent stable of the bourgeoisie. Contrary
to what is considered by many, emphasis recently given to nationalism by some among
the ‘revolutionary movements’, does not show any ‘limitations’ of Marxism, nor does it
contribute towards any ‘development’ of Marxism. On the contrary, it should be
recognised as the result of the worming in of the positions of the Second International
against proletarian internationalism into the revolutionary movement. It will only result
in creating fissures in the international ranks of the proletariat in its struggle against
world imperialism. Lenin wrote : “Capitalist domination is international. That is why
the worker’s struggle in all countries for their emancipation can become successful
only if the workers fight jointly against international capital”.
NEW DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION : PART OF WORLD SOCIALIST
REVOLUTION
THE EXISTENCE of world socialist proletarian movement is a necessary condition for
the national liberation of the neo-colonies. This basic principle was explained in the
theoretical basis for the New Democratic Revolution expounded in Lenin’s Colonial
Thesis and in the supplementary thesis. He explained the subject in this way : “The
question was posed as follows: are we to consider as correct the assertion that the
capitalist stage of economic development is inevitable for backward nations now on
the road to emancipation, and among whom a certain advance towards progress is to be
seen since the war ? We replied in negative. If the victorious revolutionary proletariat
conducts systematic propaganda among them, and the soviet governments come to
their aid with all the means at their disposal, in that event it will be mistaken to assume
that the backward peoples must inevitably go through the capitalist stage of
development.” (Selected Works, Vol. 3, p-412) Moreover he emphatically stated that
“it is proletarian internationalism which is the guarantee for the victory of the national
liberation struggles.” (4) From this fundamental premises it follows that the Communist
International’s entire policy on the national and colonial questions should rest primarily
on a closer union of the proletarians and the working masses of all nations and countries
for a joint revolutionary struggle to overthrow the landowners and the bourgreoisie.
“This union will alone guarantee the victory over capitalists, without which the abolition
of national oppression and inequality is impossible.” (Selected Works. Vol. 3, p 377)
“Their has been a certain rapprochement between the bourgeoisie of the exploiting
countries and that of the colonial, so that very often, perhaps even in most cases, the
bourgeoisie of the oppressed countries, while it support the national movement, is in
full accord with the imperialist bourgeoisie, that is, join forces with it against all
revolutionary movements and revolutionary classes.” (Collected Works, Vol. 31, p-
144,145) As a result of this observation in the colonial thesis “bourgeois democratic” is
revised to “national revolutionary”. During these discussions in Third International,
alongwith the dual character of the bourgeoisie in the colonial countries, its reactionary
alliance with the imperialist bourgeoisie against the revolutionary forces was exposed.
Lenin pointed out that even in countries where the proletariat has not emerged as a
significant force, the democratic revolution is part of the world socialist revolution,
and the proletarian internationalist organisation should give leadership to it. It is this
path opened by Lenin which was later developed by Stalin, Third International and
Mao Tsetung. The basis of this New Democratic revolutionary theory is the outlook
that with the leadership of Communist International and with the support of Soviet
Union the anti-imperialist democratic revolution in these countries can develop towards
the accomplishment of socialist tasks. In the light of the concrete experience of the
bourgeois betrayal of Chinese revolution and other national independent struggles, it
was made clear that the bourgeoisie in the colonial countries are totally incapable of
fulfilling the national or the democratic tasks of the revolution. These experiences were
also substantiation of the positions of Lenin and Third International.
In the neo-colonial phase following World War-II the internationalisation of capital
reached new dimensions both in depth and spread. This took the ‘consensus, about
which Lenin said, between the bourgeoisie of the imperialists and neo-colonies further
ahead. It increased the economic and political intercourse between them in a more
counter revolutionary way. The bourgeoisie in the neo-colonies have become integral
part of the global bourgeoisie who is engaged in strengthening to the maximum extent
the collaboration with all anti-national, anti-democratic reactionary forces against the
revolutionary forces; it is not revolutionary bourgeoisie, but it represents its imperialist
decadent stage. This bourgeoisie which has become the ruling class in the neo-colonies
is not only totally incapable of carrying out the tasks of the national democratic
revolution, but also relies on the side of the world imperialist counter-revolution.
The responsibility for carrying out the anti-imperialist democratic revolution in
the neo-colonies is thus vested on the working class more than ever today in this situation.
Compared to the periods of October Revolution and Chinese Revolution, both in number
and strength a much more powerful working class and working class movement exist in
the neo-colonies today. In proportion to population also the working class in many neo-
colonies is much bigger compared to that of pre-revolutionary Russia. But the working
class which is also a part of the capitalist production relations developed in these
countries, not through a comprehensive democratic revolution but through reforms
from above by the imperialists in neo-colonial states, are not freed from the influences
of the various pre-capitalist relations still existing in these countries, and are still
influenced by revanchist ideas. This again point towards the need for the support and
backing of the international proletarian socialist movement for the victory of the
democratic revolutions in these countries. Mao Tsetung who stressed in On New
Democracy that Chinese revolution cannot become victorious without the backing of
Soviet Union, wrote :
“It is an era in which the world capitalist front has collapsed in one part of the
globe (one-sixth of the world) and has fully revealed it decadence everywhere else, in
which the remaining capitalist states cannot survive without relying more than ever on
the colonies and semi-colonies, in which socialist state has been established and has
proclaimed its resolve to give active support to the liberation movement of colonies
and semi-colonies, and in which proletariat of the capitalist countries are steadily freeing
themselves from the social-imperialist influence of the social democratic parties and
have proclaimed their support for the liberation movement in the colonies. In this era
any revolution in a colony or semi-colony that is directed against imperialism, i.e.,
against the international bourgeoisie or international capitalism no longer comes within
the old category of bourgeoisie or international capitalism no longer comes within the
new category of bourgeois democratic world revolution, but within the new category. It
is no longer part of the old bourgeois or capitalist world revolution, but is part of the
new world revolution, the proletarian socialist world revolution” (Mao, Vol II, P343-
344).
This approach of Mao linking the national and international aspects of New
Democratic Revolution is extremely relevant and very much important in the new
situation of increasing imperialist economic political global domination, of increasing
decadence of the imperialist system, and of the setbacks to the socialist movement.
GENERAL LINE OF THE ICM
IN Colonial Thesis Lenin wrote about the determining contradiction in the present
stage : ‘The world political situation has now placed the dictatorship of the proletariat
on the order of the day. World political developments are of necessity concentrated on
a single focus, the struggle of the world bourgeoisie against the Soviet Russian Republic,
around which are inevitably grouped, on the other hand, the Soviet movements of the
advanced workers in all countries, and on the other all the national liberation movements
in the colonies and among the oppressed nationalities, who are learning from bitter
experience that their only salvation lies in the Soviet system’s victory over world
capitalism”. This contradiction between world imperialism and socialist system was
not seen by Lenin as the contradiction between Soviet Union and US alone as the
Krushchevites interpreted it in a very narrow, chauvinistic sense later.
Lenin’s approach to this subject itself was different. What is hidden in these two
basically different positions is the basic class difference between the bourgeois
chauvinism of the social imperialism and proletarian internationalism. Lenin saw the
contradiction between socialist bloc and imperialism, between labour and capital, and
between national liberation struggles and imperialism not as isolated ones. On the
contrary he saw them as a single whole. For Lenin the proletarian internationalism and
the national interest of Soviet Union were not in contradiction. For, Russian state was
not an exploiting, bourgeois state as it was till the revolution, but a proletarian state
which has taken up the goal of world revolution, its basis itself is international interests
of revolution; bourgeois chauvinism is alien to it and belong to its enemy category.
Instead of this comprehensive proletarian approach put forward by Lenin, the bourgeois
mechanical materialism and sectarianism which got strengthened within the international
working class movement in the later period led to seeing the subject isolated, separated
from each other as the bourgeoisie always do.
The CPC’s letter on General Line in connection with the Great Debate of 1963
which later became the General Line of the world revolutionary Marxism, in general
repeatedly stress upon this Leninist approach. It sums up the revolutionary principles
of 1957 Moscow Declaration and 1960 Moscow statement as follows : “Workers of all
countries unite, workers of world, unite with the oppressed people and oppressed nations;
oppose imperialism and reaction in all countries; strive for world peace, national
liberation, people’s democracy, and socialism; consolidate and expand the socialist
camp; bring the proletarian world revolution step by step to complete victory; and
establish a new world without imperialism, without capitalism and without exploitation
of may by man”.
The general line put forward the present fundamental contradictions at global level
as : “The contradiction between the socialist camp and the imperialist camp; the
contradiction between the proletariat and bourgeoisie in the capitalist countries, the
contradiction between oppressed nations and peoples and imperialism; the contradictions
among imperialists countries and among monopoly capitalist groups”.
Though there may be minor differences in the formulations, Third International
and Stalin had earlier pointed out that these are the fundamental contradictions in the
present era : that is, the position put forward by the 1963 General Line document is a
continuation of the stand of the Third International. Stalin used to mention them as the
principal contradictions in the present world. The General Line document also takes
firm stand against isolating any one of them and neglecting the others. Especially against
projecting only the contradiction between socialist camp and the imperialist camp, and
“neglecting or under-estimating” (emphasis added) other contradictions the document
takes a very firm stand. It says : “These contradictions and the struggles to which they
give rise to are interrelated and influence each other. Nobody can obliterate any of
these fundamental contradictions or subjectively substitute one for all the rest”.
The error in introducing the contradiction between oppressed nations and peoples
and imperialism in an isolated and unilateral way, as is done very often nowadays, can
be understood only when it is examined based on the political positions of the Third
International and Great Debate positions.
The political background for the victorious advance of the New Democratic
Revolutions in the neo-colonies is prepared by the universalisation of the contradiction
between capital and labour which is the basic contradiction under capitalism, and the
existence of the world proletarian socialist movement against imperialism. While
opposing the Krushchevite position of first reducing the contradiction between the
socialist camp and the imperialist camp to that between Soviet Union and United States
and then seeing it in an unilateral and isolated manner, going to the other extreme and
seeing the contradiction between oppressed nations and peoples and imperialism in an
unilateral and isolated manner will in effect only lead towards tailing behind the
bourgeoisie.
The contradiction between imperialism on the one hand, and against it the world
proletarian socialist movement, and the national liberation movements existing and
developing under its leadership and as a part of it, on the other, is the important one in
determining the course of developments in the World. The world imperialist system
which appears outside as globalised and mutually interwined is in reality full of
irresolvable internal contradictions among various imperialist countries, and among
numerous monopolies, capital groups and sections etc. The competitions among them
including possibilities for destructive war potentialities can even intensify to the level
of a world war.
Addressing the Second Congress of the Third International Lenin said : “The
revolutionary movement in the advanced countries would actually be a sheer fraud if in
their struggle against capital, the workers of Europe and America were not closely and
completely united with the hundreds upon hundreds of millions of ‘colonial’ slaves
who are oppressed by capital”.
The national democratic revolutionary movement in Asian, African, Latin American
countries and the international socialist revolutionary movements are the two great
historical currents of our time. The national democratic revolution in these areas is thus
an important component of the contemporary proletarian world revolution.
These basic formulations put forward by the CPC in 1963 in continuation to the
positions of the Third International are still valid. The general line of the ICM should
be developed based on these basic formulations and conforming to the concrete
conditions of today.
CRISIS OF THE IMPERIALIST SYSTEM AND COLLAPSE OF FORMER
SOCIALIST COUNTRIES
THE COLLAPSE of all former socialist countries has given rise to the argument that
there is no socialist camp in the world. There are many who argue even in the name of
Marxism directly or indirectly that socialism can not longer exist in old form, and that
capitalist system is proved better than the socialist system. Some of them project present
“Chinese model socialism” as a solution. It is propagated that a mixed socialism
assimilating the market economy which has ‘proved’ the strength of capitalist system is
the practical solution now. A notable feature is that most of the spokespersons of these
arguments are remnants of the old ‘Soviet Communism’, that is , those who had defended
the Krushchevite and post-Krushchevite Soviet Union. Moreover, as seen in the earlier
analysis, it is these very same people who had talked in superlative terms and prepared
documents about the collapse of imperialism and irresistible victory of socialism. Today,
all of them have gone form one extreme to another extreme, but in reality they have
only gone from one rightist position to another rightist position. If this bourgeois
defeatism appearing camouflaged as socialism should be opposed and defeated, it is
necessary to bring to light the real reasons for the developments in the former socialist
countries. Defeating all these bourgeois defeatist forces who are lamenting about the
defeat of Marxism and Socialism from both “rightist” and ‘leftist’ positions, and who
are going in search of various bourgeois concoctions in the name of developing Marxism
and socialism has become one of the principal tasks in the ideological field.
The world revolutionary forces under the leadership of Mao Tsetung had taken the
position in the sixties itself that first Yugoslavia, then Krushchevite Soviet Union, and
following them the East European countries had abandoned the part of socialism and
had gone over to the path of capitalist restoration. For decades, under socialist cover
they were following capitalist path and consolidating it. They were also supporting the
social-imperialist plunder of Soviet Union. Along the path of capitalist restoration the
economy of these countries were getting unconditionally integrated with those of the
western imperialist countries. Along with this they were also getting swayed politically
by imperialist countries. One estimate shows that before their collapse loans taken by
Comecon countries form western imperialist sources had crossed 5000 crore dollars.
According to a law accepted in 1967 in Yugoslavia, the first recruit to capitalist path,
foreign companies were empowered to own 49% of the capital shares in enterprises.
Statistics show that such 170 joint enterprises existed in Yugoslavia by 1970 itself. For
East Germany, West Germany had already become the second destination for maximum
export, and the third source for the western countries, mainly with West Germany. Thus
according to already recognised accounts all these countries were already getting
integrated to a great extent with imperialist economy. These relations helped the western
imperialist countries to shift the burden of their crisis to East European countries. As a
result they became victims of the global imperialist crisis. Further, as they themselves
had transformed to capitalist economy, they could not keep themselves away from the
global crisis affecting the capitalist imperialist system.
Another important false propaganda engaged in by those who praise the victory of
capitalism is that the present crisis started from the East European countries. On the
contrary, it is under the impact of the aggravating crisis in the end of 1960s experienced
in the West European countries that the economy of East European countries underwent
significant changes. Stagnation and inflation together emerged as a new phenomenon
in the imperialist countries during this period. In 1967 Britain’s pound sterling was
devalued. By 1968 relation between dollar and gold worsened. In 1969 while France
devalued its currency, West Germany revalued mark. In the end, in 1971 with the
devaluation of dollar the Brettenwood monetary system itself formally collapsed. The
post-Second World War economic boom came to an end with this. From that time
onwards, the imperialist crisis and stagnation in the field of production is a continuing
feature. As a result the imperialist economy is beset with stagnation of economy, fall in
production growth rates, and increase in unemployment; and repeated collapse of all
sectors of economy is continuing without any solution. It was as a part of the efforts to
prevent the inflation affecting these countries in consequence of the above developments,
Thatcherism and Reaganomics were applied in the eighties. It led on the whole to the
end of Keyneasism in the bourgeois economics and monetarism started coming to
dominance. The general characteristics of these changes were reducing to the maximum
extent the interference of state in economic activities, privitising the public sector for
making them ‘profitable’, cutting down welfare measures, etc. In a sense, the collapse
of the former socialist countries which had transformed into state capitalism was the
result of the attempts made very forcefully to implement these policies in them. What
was implemented in these countries along with full transformation to market system
was nothing but these monetarist measures of bourgeois economics. Both in the
imperialist countries as well as in the former socialist countries which collapsed to
market system in every sense, these changes inflicted severe blows against the state
control over the economy in varying measures. These developments, especially those
during the last decade, should be analysed in the general background of the overall
developments after the emergence of imperialism.
GENERAL CRISIS OF IMPERIALISM DEVELOPS OBJECTIVE
CONDITIONS FOR REVOLUTION
THOUGH the rate of inflation in the imperialist countries could be checked to a certain
extent as a result of strong measures mentioned above, the present situation is that the
basic factors leading to this crisis, the stagnancy in the field of production, could not be
resolved at all. The speed of the cyclic crisis of imperialism is getting accelerated. This
situation is pulling down the living index of the masses, especially those in the imperialist
countries. As a result of abandoning all forms of state protectionism and welfare
measures, and by mercilessly and totally subjecting the labour power to the assault of
market forces, condition of working class in the imperialist countries is worsening. As
a result of the new management approach, instead of the work place providing a minimum
protection for the whole life, it has become one where work is provided based on
temporary agreement, or on contract. As close-downs, lock outs, lay-offs and
retrenchments are increasing on massive scale, job security is becoming increasingly
absent, and contract labour system is becoming universal. If imperialism once claimed
that unemployment can be put to an end without socialism, today it has gone up even
20% in some imperialist countries. The present global picture is that the numerous
rights, privileges and legal protections earned by the working class with the support of
the organised forces of world socialism and powerful international working class
movement, and also in the background of the post World War-II economic growth of
imperialism are being lost one by one. The collapse of former socialist countries has
speeded up this process. As a result of the cumulative effects of these developments the
indications given by the new working class advances in various parts of the world
including the imperialist countries is that the labour aristocracy which strengthened
from the beginning period of imperialism has started becoming weaker.
It is by transferring the burden of its increasing crisis to the shoulders of the people
of the neo-colonies that imperialism is trying to save itself atleast temporarily. This is
compelling the organised working class movements which had earlier started getting
strengthened in these countries under the leadership of the Third International now to
shake off the influence of reformism which had gained dominance among them due to
the betrayal of the social democracy during these decades. As the reactionary state
everywhere is getting compelled to abandon even its reformist character, it is driving
the organised workers and peasantry to go over to the side of revolution more and
more. The numerous agitations and revolts daily coming up all over the world
spontaneously and otherwise are proving this.
For the resolution of the crisis it is facing in all fields including those of production
and realisation, imperialism is trying to bring under its direct control all sectors of
production all over the world, and spread this control more and more in depth and
volume. As a result, through political interventions from above it is transforming the
old pre-capitalist production relations in the neo-colonies and integrating them with the
imperialist system. This is increasing the market relations in the agrarian sector and
other backward sectors also to higher levels. As a result the agrarian revolution in these
countries are also getting increasing anti-imperialist content. New types of anti-
imperialist struggles, agitations and revolts are coming up.
The decadence of capitalism is also manifested in its degradation of even the
existing values of bourgeois democracy. While on the one hand imperialism is spreading
capitalistic economic relations in all countries including the neo-colonies through state
interventions, on the other, it is allying with all forms of pre-capitalist political, social
forces and assimilates them to its fold. Abandoning the hitherto role of the mediator
which was trying to coalesce the antagonism in the class relations, the state has now
started taking naked form of dictatorship more and more. Released form the responsibility
of controlling capitalist production relations and implementing social welfare measures
the state is becoming more and more dictatorial in its power structure to implement the
laws of the market. In the conditions of global monopolies, the state is representing
nothing but the monopoly of the economic power itself.
Because of this, the responsibility for protection of the progressive aspects of
bourgeois democracy which the capitalist imperialist system is abandoning, is also
vested with the working class more and more. These struggles for the protection of
democratic rights are also an important part of the tasks of the world anti-imperialist
movement today.
These developments are making the objective conditions more and more favourable
for proletarian socialist revolution in the capitalist-imperialist countries and for NDR
in the neo-colonies.
UPHOLD PROLETARIAN CLASS STAND
UPHOLDING Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought as the guiding ideology calls
for firmly upholding proletarian class approach in all fields.
In continuation to the Kautskyite opportunism which degenerated the Second
International, and Trotskyism and various other anti-Marxist trends which surfaced
during the pre World War- II period , in the post-War period the Krushchevite, Lin-
Piaoist, Dengist, Hoxhaite and other opportunist and sectarian trends have caused
serious set backs to the ICM. Only by fighting against all these trends uncompromisingly,
and only by exposing the new era concept, theory of three peacefuls, Theory of Three
Worlds etc. put forward by them, the ideological political line and the strategy and the
tactics of world socialist revolution can be scientifically developed.
In the context of the serious setbacks suffered by the ICM, and under inspiration
from the imperialist camp, numerous ideologies and concepts are developed under the
label of Marxism-Leninism or otherwise, totally abandoning the proletarian class
approach in order to disarm the movement and make it tail of bourgeois ideologies or
petti-bourgeois opportunism. The fundamental characteristic of all these various concepts
are abandoning the concept of seizure of political power and dictatorship of the
proletariat. They teach that proletariat has ceased to be a revolutionary class. Many of
them are in search of other classes or sections as the new leader of revolution. Some of
them argue that all the white working class in the imperialist countries have become
labour aristocracy, and are no more worthy of becoming leader of revolution. The
resolution of racialism, casteism (as in India), religious fundamentalism, women’s
oppression, environmental destruction, nationality question etc. are put forward from
nonclass positions. In short all these trends have abandoned fundamental Marxist-
Leninist teachings about class approach and the path of class struggle . Only in the
process of consistent struggle against all these reformist opportunist trends the new
international can be built up to give leadership to the world socialist revolution.
The broadest possible unity at international level in fighting against the world
imperialist system is needed today. To lead this struggle forward consciously in order
to wipe out the imperialist system as a whole, and to realise worldwide victory of
socialist revolution, a correct ideological political line and a polarisation around it are
basic pre-conditions. For arriving at this Marxist-Leninist ideological political line
healthy ideological struggle at international level should be developed.
Considering the absence of an international for more than five decades and the
gravity of the challenges faced by the ICM both at theoretical and practical levels no
hasty efforts should be made to form an international organisation immediately. At the
same time in continuation to the efforts initiated by Marxist-Leninist parties and
organisations from late 1970 all attempts should be made to develop fraternal relations
at international level leading towards the formation of a platform of Marxist-Leninist
parties and organisations to begin with. ■
[This document on the “International Developments and

Tasks of Marxist-Leninists” was adopted by the Fourth All
India Conference of CPI(ML) Red Flag held in April 1997 ]
PARTY PROGRAMME
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 The International scene at the beginning of this new century in the new
millennium is passing through a phase of unprecedented conflicts, revolts and
contradictions. The capitalist-imperialist system is making numerous efforts
towards recovery and survival by utilizing newer and newer methods of
exploitation through neo-colonisation, by spreading the tentacles of
globalisation, and through various instruments and institutions built up for
this. Throwing vast masses of people into extreme poverty, miseries, calamities
and unprecedented exploitation, it is still surviving as an obstacle for overall
human development.
1.2 Starting from the 1960s, imperialism is passing through the longest and
severest crisis it has ever faced, in spite of its persistent efforts for recovery.
As a part of its efforts to overcome this crisis, the imperialist system is utilizing
its post-World War II constructs, the IMF-World Bank-WTO trio and MNCs,
for intensifying globalisation policies, in order to remove all obstacles in the
path of international capital. Through the naked utilisation of the United
Nations and various military alliances including NATO, imperialism headed
by US imperialism is imposing its hegemony globally.
1.3 Technical innovations are more and more utilised for decadent, parasitic
methods of exploitation. Speculative and unproductive sectors are promoted.
The miseries of the world’s people, ecological destruction, gender disparities,
widening unevenness between the developed and undeveloped countries etc.
have further worsened. The inherent contradiction within the imperialist system
between socialisation of production and privatisation of ownership is becoming
ever more glaring. This has intensified all the four major contradictions at the
international level, the contradiction between socialist forces and imperialism,
the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in the imperialist
countries, the contradiction between oppressed nations and peoples and
imperialism and the contradictions among the imperialist countries and among
monopoly capitalist groups.
1.4 The former socialist countries degenerated and became totally integrated
with the global imperialist system as a result of capitalist restoration which
brought them under the domination of post-World War II imperialist economic
policies and the market system. Under the slogan of ‘market socialism’ put
forward as a present development of socialism, China has, in effect, abandoned
the socialist path. As far as countries like Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea are
concerned, they have also basically deviated from the socialist path. This
degeneration of the socialist countries is utilised by the imperialist camp led
by US imperialism for consolidating its global hegemony. It is intensifying
the all round attacks on, and efforts for annihilation of the socialist forces.
The imperialists are not tolerating even the existence of countries like the
present China or Cuba. They are trying their level best to fully integrate these
countries also with the global imperialist system like what was done with the
Soviet Union and the East European countries.
1.5 In spite of this aggressive offensive by the imperialist system, the
socialist forces and, in general, the international working class movement,
along with the national liberation movements which are coming up in various
forms are getting strengthened day by day, and are challenging the hegemony
of the imperialist system. It is this contradiction which determines the course
of the history of human kind. As a whole, the struggle against imperialism is
gaining strength as witnessed by the numerous struggles even in imperialist
strongholds and reflected in the growing socialist aspirations of the people of
the former socialist countries.
1.6 When, as a result of neo-liberal policies, the attacks on the working
class are mounting in all fields, the real wages are cut down, job-insecurity is
increasing, all social welfare measures are snatched away and even the existing
trade union and democratic rights are coming under increasing attacks, the
working class in all the imperialist countries are challenging the imperialist
system and coming out in struggles against it. The contradiction between labour
and capital is intensifying day by day on the whole at the international level.
1.7 The imperialist forces are transferring the burden of their crisis on to
the people of the Asian-African-Latin American countries through
intensification of neo-colonisation, imposing new economic policies and
resorting to extraction of super-profits, thereby devastating and impoverishing
them. Through neo-colonisation they are aggressing even on the existing
sovereignty of these countries, and even launching open military aggressions
against them. These imperialist moves are facing growing challenges from
the people of the Asian-African-Latin American countries. Compelled by these
struggles, even the governments in some of these countries are forced to raise
their voices against the consequences of globalisation, which are already
becoming manifest in different forms. Thus, the contradiction between the
oppressed nations and people on the one hand and imperialism on the other is
sharpening.
1.8 The various efforts resorted to by the imperialist powers to resolve the
general crisis faced by them by strengthening the European Union (EU) on
the one hand and building up various formations like NAFTA, APEC, ASEAN
etc on the other, have only intensified the inter-imperialist contradictions.
Even though US imperialism could exert its leadership over the imperialist
system during the post - World War II decades, its hegemony is being
challenged increasingly on various issues like the demand for the devaluation
of the Euro, subsidies connected with WTO conditionalities, US protectionist
measures, the US-led NATO attack on Yugoslavia, unilateral US moves for
the National Missile Defence (NMD) system etc, and these contradictions are
getting sharpened. On mergers of MNCs and business groups, on trade
expansion to new areas, on the possession of new patents and technologies
etc. also, competition is sharpening among monopoly capitalist groups and
MNCs.
1.9 All these developments at the international level are becoming
increasingly manifest in all fields and in all areas. They are influencing the
course of development in all countries including India increasingly, especially
in the context of speeding up of the globalisation process.
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Our country, India is one of the biggest and most ancient countries of
the world inhabited by more than 100 crores of people, who have rich
revolutionary traditions and a glorious heritage. It is multi - national, multi-
lingual and multi-religious, with specific characteristics like the caste system
and other diversities. In short, it has a very complex character.
2.2 India in its pre-colonial days had its specific agrarian relations and
other features, and it was taking its own course of development like all other
countries. Colonialism interfered with and violently distorted this course of
development.
2.3 British imperialism, which conquered India, transformed it into its
colony and imposed a centralised state system over it. Under the rule of
imperialism and in the interests of imperialist capital, hitherto existing agrarian
relations were transformed. It was done through the introduction of systems
like Zamindari. As a part of capitalist accumulation, for the plunder of the
vast resources of India, a merchant class acting as middlemen were also
promoted, who later got transformed into the bourgeois classes in India. It
was during the course of this overall process, that along with feudal relations,
capitalist relations were also slowly introduced into the Indian economy.
Through numerous colonial measures like these, India was, on the whole,
integrated to the British colonial system.
2.4 In accordance with the spread and strengthening of these economic and
political changes, bourgeois democratic influences started playing their role
in the socio-political relations. The introduction of English education played
a role in this. During the course of this process, different streams of social
renaissance movements also got a new impetus, according to the concrete
conditions and the level of social developments in different areas. But under
the then existing colonial conditions, numerous hindrances were created
against carrying forward these social renaissance movements.
2.5 Right from the time British imperialism started imposing its domination
over India, resistance against it from various sections of the people also started
emerging in numerous forms. The First War of Independence of 1857 was the
first organised heroic patriotic revolt of the Indian people against colonial
slavery, in spite of all its limitations. Later, the national movement against
colonial rule started getting strengthened at all India level, with the Indian
National Congress playing the leading role. Due to the class character of the
Indian bourgeoisie which served the colonial forces and allied with feudalism,
which had its sway over the Congress, the revolutionary zeal of the Indian
masses could not be unleashed. Whenever it broke loose and came forward,
the bourgeoisie tried to contain it.
2.6 From the beginning of the 20th century, the Indian working class started
entering the political arena. The October revolution of 1917 and the new
impetus it gave to the national liberation movements all over the world inspired
the national movement in India also and started influencing its orientation.
During this period working class and peasant struggles started breaking out
on a large scale. Democratic and socialist ideas also started getting wide
acceptance. It was in this situation that the Communist Party of India was
born in the 1920s.
2.7 The following years witnessed the outbreak of historic working class
and peasant struggles, numerous struggles by various other sections of the
people and the emergence of different revolutionary trends like the movements
led by Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Surya Sen and others. Under the
influence of these movements, and through the conscious efforts of the
Communist Party as the vanguard of the Indian proletariat, anti-feudal
struggles developed, agrarian reforms were accepted as a part of the agenda
of the national movement, and ‘purna swaraj’ was adopted as a part of the
Congress programme.
2.8 During these years, alongwith the great advances made by the socialist
camp and the mighty upsurge of the national liberation movements, an
unprecedented revolutionary situation overtook the Indian subcontinent too.
The great Tebhaga and Bakasht struggles, the anti-feudal struggles in the
princely states, powerful anti-imperialist movements by students, the
movement for release of the Azad Hind prisoners, the struggle of P&T workers,
the armed revolt of RIN ratings alongwith rebellions in the air force and the
army, the solidarity actions of the working class, the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising
and the beginning of the historic Telangana movement, in all of which the
Communist Party played a leading role, raised a great challenge to imperialist
rule. But inspite of all these momentous developments, due to the weakness
in the concrete analysis of the concrete situation, the Communist Party could
not establish the leadership of the working class over the national liberation
movement.
2.9 The crushing defeat inflicted on the fascist forces during World War II
under the leadership of the Soviet Union, the weakening of British imperialism
and other colonial forces during this period and the great upsurge of the
national liberation movements were the historic developments of the 1940s.
The imperialist camp was compelled to change its colonisation policies and
resort to new forms of exploitation. In this situation, British imperialism
resorted to communal partition of the country into India and Pakistan and
transferred power to the bourgeois-landlord classes.
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 The Congress government, which came to power representing the Indian
ruling classes, did not implement the promises given during the period of the
independence struggle and did not fulfill the aspirations of the masses of
people. On the contrary, it collaborated with imperialism and allowed the
penetration of imperialist capital on a larger scale from all imperialist
countries. The bourgeois-landlord alliance behind the government also saw
to it that land reforms are not implemented in the real sense.
3.2 Inspite of these, as a result of the existence of the powerful socialist
camp during the 1950s and numerous proletarian struggles, the Nehru
government was compelled to initiate many welfare policies, nationalisation
of the core sectors, building up of a powerful public sector and similar
economic policies alongwith a non-alignment foreign policy under which it
extended support to national liberation movements. In continuation to these,
even during the late 1960s and early 1970s, in the Cold War situation at the
international level, and compelled by growing people’s struggles including
the great Naxalbari uprising, the government had to resort to reformist
measures like bank nationalisation etc. At the same time, persisting in their
reactionary class character the Indian ruling classes were also strengthening
themselves utilising the then prevailing situation and crushing the people’s
struggles.
3.3 The class character of the Indian bourgeoisie prevented it from making
India a self-reliant, secular, federal, democratic republic to which the people
aspired. It often connived with communal, casteist, redundant forces. It was
not consistent regarding secular policies. The opportunist policies it pursued
inflicted serious wounds on the body politic. These developments have led
the country to the present serious situation.
3.4 Following the transfer of power, though the Communist Party led
numerous struggles of the working class, peasant masses and other sections
of the people, because of the persistence of its earlier weaknesses, it could
not carry forward the tasks of agrarian revolution and democratic revolution.
It could not concretely analyses the developments taking place at the
international and national level under neo-colonisation.
3.5 When Soviet revisionism emerged and became the apologist of neo-
colonisation, the CPI leadership became appendage of Soviet revisionists and
of the Indian ruling classes. Though the first split in the Communist movement
took place in 1964 and the CPI(M) was born, its leadership also vacillated on
all basic questions and slowly degenerated to more or less CPI positions. It
was in this situation, the great Naxalbari struggle and formation of the CPI(ML)
took place, fighting against modern revisionism and putting forward the
concept of New Democratic Revolution with agrarian revolution as its main
content. It gave inspiration to a new upsurge of the country-wide revolutionary
movement, in which thousands of comrades became martyrs and tens of
thousands were put behind bars.
3.6 But, due to the sectarian line which influenced the revolutionary
movement and dominated the Communist movement as a whole at the
international level and in India during this period, the revolutionary movement
could not be linked with the organised working class movement. As a result,
by 1972, the movement suffered a severe set back and got splintered in to
various factions.
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 More than half a century after the transfer of power, at the dawn of the
new century, what our country and people are experiencing are acute crises,
miseries and devastation in all walks of life. About half the people are living
under the poverty line. Vast masses of people are deprived of all basic amenities
like shelter, education, health care and even drinking water. Galloping
unemployment and spiralling prices of essential commodities make life
miserable for the vast majority. Starvation deaths, mal-nutrition and mass
suicides under economic duress are increasing.
4.2 Under globalisation policies, all public sector undertakings (PSUs) are
being privatised through ‘ disinvestment’ or outright sale. Even private sector
units and small scale industrial units (SSIs) are facing acute crisis due to
dumping and impact of policies implimented under WTO dictates. New forms
of de-industrialisation are imposed over the country. Through these policies
millions of workers are thrown out of employment. All trade union rights won
through numerous struggles by the organised working class movements are
being snatched away. Closures and lockouts of industrial units, imposition of
black laws, retrenchments and ‘VRS’ have become rampant. The contract
labour system is imposed in all fields. As a result of all these, all the gains in
the industrial sector achieved during the last decades are being destroyed and
the working class has come under severe attacks.
4.3 Under the New Economic Policy all the public and government
undertakings in the field of banking, insurance etc. and all other service sectors
including transportation, communications, energy etc. built up during the last
decades under welfare state policies are being privatised at a fast pace.
Monopoly of foreign and native companies are being established in this sector.
Millions of employees are thrown out or forced to work under the ‘hire and
fire’ system. Alongwith these, whatever benefits were enjoyed by the people
from these PSUs, are being taken away.
4.4 The agrarian sector has come under unprecedented strain due to dumping
through Exim Policies and the penetration of MNCs and imperialist capital.
Not only the vast masses of agricultural workers and peasantry are pauperised
and have come under severe economic strains, but also a section of the rich
peasants are facing crisis due to the WTO dictated import policies, the
increasing cost of inputs, the absence of remunerative prices for their produce,
the removal of subsidies and support prices, the anti-peasant credit policies
and the increasing burden of usurious loans. Because of all these and the
privatisation of the banking sector and anti-people banking policies, the
peasant masses and other oppressed sections are compelled to depend upon
these usurious loans often forcing them to mass suicides. More and more
agricultural land is being transferred to MNCs and local monopolies for agri-
business and other purposes. The agricultural workers who are overwhelmingly
dalits, adivasis and the most backward sections, are loosing even present
employment and alongwith economic exploitation they are facing increasing
social oppression. As these New Economic Policies are imposed over the still
existing pre-capitalist relations including semi-feudal relations in many areas,
the living conditions of the vast masses of peasantry and agricultural workers
have further worsened.
4.5 The socio-political scene more than five decades after the transfer of
power, especially under the globalisation policies, is marked by the growth of
communal fascism and increasing communal strife, casteist conflicts,
exploitation of women and children, attacks on policies like reservation,
discontentment among people of different areas due to uneven development
and backwardness of vast areas and snatching away of even existing federal
rights, attacks on and the land alienation of adivasi people and ecological
destruction.
4.6 The 1947 transfer of power did not mark an end to the imperialist design
of continuing their exploitation and establishing hegemony over the politico-
economic fields in India. Internationally, imperialism was undergoing many
changes during that period. Under the leadership of US imperialism, it was
developing new forms and instruments for exploitation of the Asian, African,
Latin-American countries. Imperialism was allowing formal independence to
these countries while maintaining its own vested interests in tact.
4.7 After the October Revolution, in this era of imperialism and proletarian
revolution, it has been repeatedly proved that the bourgeoisie in the colonial/
semi-colonial countries earlier and now in these countries which have come
under neo-colonisation following World War II, are incapable of completing
the national and democratic tasks of revolution. During the independence
struggle the Indian bourgeoisie represented by the Congress leadership, under
compulsion from the demands put forward as a part of the popular upsurge
had advocated land reforms, self reliance, secularism, democratisation of
society etc. But after coming to power they refused to fulfill these aspirations
and aligned with the very same feudal decadent forces and served imperialist
interests. That is, in the period following the transfer of power, the Indian
bourgeoisie leading the ruling classes exercised manoeuvering capacity and
even took some steps in conflict with imperialist policies. But at the same
time, even when the internal and external policies of the Indian state in some
fields reflected it conflicts with some of the imperialist policies in the then
existing international situation when a powerful socialist bloc led by the Soviet
Union existed, their basic compradore character did not undergo any change.
The powerful bureaucratic bourgeoisie which took roots from the colonial
period itself is still continuing as a strong ally of the Indian bourgeoisie. Thus,
the compradore bureaucratic bourgeoisie and the landlord classes constitute
the Indian ruling classes.
4.8 In the present global situation of the growing general crisis of
imperialism, in continuation to, and as an intensification of the neo-liberal
policies, which were being introduced at the global level from the 1960s itself,
in 1991 the Congress government introduced the New Economic Policies
bringing in globalisation regime under the dictates of IMF-World Bank and
other imperialist agencies. As a result, even whatever gains which could be
achieved during the post-1947 period in the industrial, service and agricultural
sectors, are being sold out or surrendered during the last decade. Even in the
fields directly connected with national security, the MNCs and other foreign
agencies are permitted to dominate.
4.9 The partial land reforms implemented during the post-1947 period did
not serve the interests of the agricultural workers and poor peasants. They
did not lead to the betterment of their lives. These reforms, along with the
policies like Green Revolution implemented from above from the 1960s, led
to the super-imposition and escalation of the capitalist relations in more and
more areas. These developments made the unevenness in the agricultural sector
more acute. In many areas, along with the emergence of capitalist farmers,
the feudal landlords in the main also were transformed to a rich peasant class
through different ways. Through the entry of agri-business and with more and
more areas under cash crops, the agricultural field is brought under the sway
of market forces. The policy of food self-reliance is given a go-by. Due to the
throwing away of all state protectionist policies and subsidies, the
consequences of WTO dictated policies, the hiking of input costs, new forms
of usury etc. a vast majority of the peasantry are being thrown to the mercy of
market forces. At the same time pre-capitalist relations including feudal and
semi-feudal relations are still continuing in many areas.
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 As a result of many decades of opportunist, reactionary rule and
especially due to the consequences following the imposition of NEPs, the
Congress got alienated from the people and considerably weakened. The UF
which came to power also could not become an alternative to Congress. It
was in this situation, by utilising the growing discontentment among the people,
by intensifying the communalisation through its Hindutua campaign, by making
opportunistic alliances etc. the BJP-led NDA could come to power. This
government has surpassed all the previous governments in serving imperialist
interests. It is mounting attacks on whatever positive gains were achieved by
the people so far. All secular democratic values, principles of self-reliance,
national unity and federalism are coming under open challenge through
Constitutional review and other steps. The crisis before the country and the
people has reached unprecedented levels.
5.2 The experience of the last 50 years and what is happening after the
coming to power of the BJP led government have irrevocably proved that the
ruling class parties can never provide, nor are having the intention to provide
democratic governance leading to a democratic India. Because of their class
interests they are not for removing the obstacles in the way of the real
unification of the Indian masses, for implementing land reforms, for pursuing
a secular democratic approach, nor for taking anti-imperialist positions.
Through a brief interlude, the UF government and the parties which constituted
it have also proved that in essence they also support the basic orientation of
the ruling class policies. In varying degrees, all of these ruling class
alternatives are serving the neocolonial interests of imperialism, or are its
apologists.
5.3 In this situation, against the anti-people policies pursued by the BJP-
led government in continuation to the earlier governments, numerous people’s
struggles are coming up all over the country, including all India hartals and
agitations. All the ruling class parties are getting more and more isolated from
the people. And the contradictions among them are also sharpening. At this
juncture, instead of utilising this situation to strengthen the people’s
movements and to develop a left alternative, in the name of utilising these
contradictions, the CPI (M), CPI like parties are trailing behind these ruling
class parties.
5.4 Only the Indian proletariat can mobilise all revolutionary classes,
sections and the masses, challenge the ruling system and provide the left
alternative at this crucial juncture in the history of our country. The Indian
proletariat and its vanguard party has to shoulder the responsibility of
completing the tasks of the long-pending democratic revolution and national
independence by mobilising all anti-imperialist, anti-feudal forces for settling
accounts with imperialism, the comprador classes and pre-capitalist relations
including feudal decadent relations. As the vanguard of the proletariat, the
Communist Party has to complete these tasks of the New Democratic
Revolution and lead the people towards socialism.
5.5 The Indian proletariat, consisting of all those employed both in
organised and unorganised sectors, service sectors and including the rural
proletariat with a long history of heroic struggles from the colonial period
and whose numerical strength is increasing day by day, has to play the leading
role in the Indian revolution. The agricultural workers, whose strength is
increasing fast, along with the poor peasants, who constitute a majority of the
Indian population, are the closest ally of the proletariat. The middle classes
including the middle peasants, urban petti-bourgeoisie and revolutionary
intellectuals are also reliable allies of the working class. In the course of
developing anti-imperialist, anti-feudal struggles leading to the development
of anti-state struggles, conscious efforts should be made to win over a section
of the rich peasants and even a section of the bourgeoisie to the side of the
New Democratic Revolution.
5.6 The caste system, which is a specific characteristic of the Indian society,
in the context of the changes taking place in the agrarian and in other sectors,
has acquired new forms and dimensions in all fields including the political
field. As the land reforms have not materialised in the real sense, as the
organised democratic movements against casteist atrocities are still not strong
enough and as the ruling class parties have succeeded in creating casteist
divisions more sharply for their vote-banks, in vast areas of the country caste
oppression, especially oppression of dalits and other most backward sections
are still continuing and are taking more vicious turns in new forms. Besides,
under globalisation-liberalisation-privatisation policies, even whatever
democratic rights like reservation were existing, are also diluted and are taken
away. In order to suppress their struggles against economic and social
oppression, the landlord class is organising criminal forces like, Ranvir Sena,
creating new problems. As a result of the changes taking place in agrarian
relations, a class of neo-rich peasants is emerging in the rural areas and is
engaged in turning the power structure there in its favour. For this purpose, it
is utilising caste and expanding its social base, utilising it for creating its
vote-bank. As a whole, the caste system is creating continuous obstacles for
democratising society and for uniting the masses against the ruling system. In
this situation, democratic movements against all forms of caste oppression
have to be developed as a part of the class struggle, with the perspective of
caste annihilation within the general stream of democratic revolution.
5.7 Women, who constitute half of society, along with social and class
oppression, are subjected to male chauvinism in all walks of life. In the existing
society they are subjected to gender inequalities and are victims of decadent
customs like sati, child marriage, the devadasi system etc., intertwined with
caste and religion. Criminal attacks like dowry killing are increasing. Under
globalisation the conditions of women and children have further worsened.
Different types of exploitation including sexual exploitation through sex-
tourism, child prostitution etc., which are taking menacing proportion in India,
are reducing them to mere commodities. Even reserving one-third of the seats
for them in existing elected bodies is opposed by vested interests. The struggle
for the liberation of women from all forms of inequalities and exploitation
should be taken up as an integral part of the struggle for democratic revolution.
5.8 Adivasis, who constitute about 10% of the Indian population, are
subjected to all forms of economic, social and cultural exploitation and
oppression and are denied democratic rights. They are deprived of their lands
and driven out in lakhs from project areas without rehabilitation measures. It
is necessary to launch struggles against adivasi land alienation, for adequate
rehabilitation wherever they are moved out for constructing projects and
against all forms of exploitation. As a part of the struggle for their over all
development and political rights, the demand for formation of autonomous
councils, wherever adivasis constitute a majority, should be raised . These
struggles should be linked to the general stream of the struggles of the working
class, the peasantry and other sections towards New Democratic Revolution.
5.9 In multi-national India, in continuation of the divisive policies pursued
by the imperialists during the colonial days, more than 50 years of Congress
rule and now BJP-led rule have only weakened the unity among the Indian
masses and have succeeded in undermining the federal principles. These forces,
especially the BJP-led forces, after coming to power advocating Akhand
Bharat, are promoting the disintegration of the country and dividing the people
at the behest of imperialist forces. In effect, these ruling class parties are
serving the interests of the imperialist forces who are always trying for
Balkanisation of the country in order to facilitate their plunder and hegemony.
Factors like uneven development and backwardness of areas, which are
basically a creation of the existing ruling system, are being utilised for this
purpose. The task of building up and consolidating the revolutionary unity of
all nationalities against imperialism and the ruling classes based on the right
of self determination and with the perspective of building federal, democratic
India, is an integral part of the New Democratic Revolution.
5.10 Like in all other parts of the world, in India also the policies
implemented in the name of development, which are actually serving the
interests of imperialists and the Indian ruling classes, have caused ecological
devastation to a great extent. They have led to phenomenon like global warming
and to other consequences. Imperialists are utilising neo-colonies like India
as dumping grounds for their industrial and nuclear wastes. The struggle for
environmental protection and for a development policy which does not cause
ecological devastation should be taken up as a part of the struggle for
democratic revolution. The various streams of struggles coming up against
the consequences of the imperialist dictated development policies and against
ecological destruction should be supported and conscious efforts should be
made to link them to the organised working class and other movements.
5.11 The imperialists led by US imperialism are utilising all forms of forces
like medieval, revivalist, fundamentalist and racial forces for dividing the
people. These are also utilised to promote and strengthen fascist trends. In a
multi-religious country like India, the growth of communal fascist forces
advocating Hindutua and intensifying attacks against the minorities have
created a feeling of insecurity among them. The struggle to oppose these attacks
and for their religious freedom, along with resisting the communal drive in
all fields, has to be strengthened. The struggle for secularism is an inalienable
part of the struggle for democracy.
5.12 All over the world imperialism is utilising religious fundamentalism
for its nefarious purposes. It was British colonialism which started utilising
religious fundamentalism during the colonial days for their divide and rule
policy. In a multi-religious country like India, various brands of religious
fundamentalism are getting strengthened at the behest of imperialist forces.
They are helping each other in the service of imperialists and the ruling classes
at the cost of secular values.
5.13 Along with the medieval and feudal culture and various forms of
superstitions the imperialist cultural values are also promoted brazenly,
commercialising and commodifying culture, especially under globalisation.
In this period of the unprecedented growth of IT and the electronic media,
imperialism has increasingly linked culture with their market interests and
has made culture into an industry. Along with this, the communal forces
colluding with the imperialists are working against the national aspirations of
the people. They are communalising all spheres of life including culture. It is
serving the ideology of national servitude and leading to the destruction of
all progressive cultural and democratic consciousness. In this situation, while
resisting the decadent and imperialist promoted culture, struggle for a new
democratic culture has to be waged.
5.14 Under neo-colonisation and globalisation, India is turned in to a country
of hundreds of millions of illiterates. Education is commercialised, making
education as a whole and especially higher education, a preserve of the elite
classes under the so-called New Education Policy. In this context, the students
are made mere pawns under this ruling system and subjected to all forms of
criminalisation. This elitisation and commercialisation of education is taking
place while vast majority of children are denied primary education even fifty
years after the transfer of power. The task of mobilising them under the slogan
of education and employment for all and making them conscious and organising
them for the liberation of the country as a whole has become more important
in the present context.
5.15 Under globalisation India is turned in to a country of hundreds of
millions of youth who are denied employment and alienated. They are
increasingly criminalised, drawn into mafia gangs, and are coming under the
sway of imperialist promoted cultural values propagated through the electronic
media etc. They are recruited in large numbers by the communal and casteist
forces also. In this way their creative energy and progressive values are
increasingly destroyed. The task of mobilising the youth who have an important
role to play in the anti-imperialist, anti-ruling class struggles is an important
task of the Communist Party.
CHAPTER SIX
6.1 During the last decades, especially after the imposition of the
globalisation during the 1990s the working class has started coming out
increasingly against these policies. The consequences of globalisation and
privatisation are compelling the working class in their tens of millions to come
out in opposition to these very policies. The vast majority of the agricultural
workers are still not organised in most areas. They are denied basic economic,
social and democratic rights. Their resentment against the ruling system is
mounting. The landless, poor and lower middle peasants and even other
sections of the peasantry are also coming out in struggles against the new
economic policies. Various sections of society including women, dalits,
adivasis etc. and other sections affected by the NEPs are also coming out to
participate in numerous struggles. Through these struggles, the unity among
these classes and sections is also becoming stronger. At the same time, on
different issues the disunity among the ruling classes is also getting reflected
in various overt and covert forms.
6.2 All over the country, already tens of millions of people from different
classes and sections are coming out on the streets against state policies. In
coming days their numbers and frequency are going to increase fast. The
working class is playing a more and more important role in these country-
wide struggles. The task of the vanguard force is to get organised and be
prepared better and better in order to give revolutionary orientation and
conscious leadership to them. At the same time, in the present situation of
mounting struggles against the ruling system, the ruling classes are intensifying
attacks on the people in more barbarous forms. They are utilising police, para-
military and military forces more and more on the one hand and even private
armies like Ranvir Sena on the other, to attack and suppress the people. They
are even trying to do away with the existing Constitutional and bourgeois
democratic institutions and rights more openly. The revolutionary forces have
to come forward to defend these rights and institutions against the ruling class
offensive. The Communist Party should get organised and be prepared for all
eventualities and possibilities to take the offensive, utilising all forms of
struggle and using adequate tactics according to the concrete conditions to
face the challenges raised by the ruling system and to overthrow it.
6.3 The Indian peasantry constituting 70% of the Indian population has a
rich history of heroic struggles from the early colonial days. Due to the policies
pursued by the Indian state after transfer of power, especially under the impact
of new forces under globalisation, the peasantry has a diverse and complex
character, including the still prevailing influence of the centuries old caste
division in new forms. The Communist Party should give conscious leadership
to mobilise the agricultural workers, the poor and middle peasants and even a
section of the rich peasants to relive their historic traditions, by creating a
rural upsurge and completing the tasks of the agrarian revolution which is the
axis of democratic revolution.
6.4 The first and foremost task of democratic revolution is to serve the
class interests of the agricultural workers and the peasantry as a whole by
paving the way for revolutionary land reforms. It includes the elimination of
all the still surviving feudal, semi-feudal and pre-capitalist class relations
and the domination of imperialist capital and the elimination of the influence
of the alliance of the rich peasant or landlord class with the big trader class in
the agrarian sector. It also includes the elimination of the rule of the big
bourgeoisie which is allying with imperialism. This is integrally linked to the
anti-imperialist task of breaking down the grip of the tentacles of the
imperialist system over the Indian economy as a whole. Completing the tasks
of the agrarian revolution means liberating the productive forces through the
revolutionary transformation of the centuries old class relations and preparing
the ground for democratic and socialist transformation in all respects.
6.5 The Communist Party as the vanguard of the Indian proletariat, based
on the worker-peasant alliance should strive hard to build up the strategic
united front by winning over all genuine anti-imperialist, national, democratic
classes and social sections, according to the concrete situation and
development of the people’s struggles, against the Indian state which is led
by bourgeois-landlord classes. The party should build up numerous tactical
united fronts at various levels for serving the strategic united front.
CHAPTER SEVEN
7.1 The New Democratic state led by the working class and comprising of
all revolutionary, national and democratic forces fighting against imperialism,
comprador bureaucratic bourgeois and landlord classes will carry out the
following major tasks of New Democracy in order to advance towards the
goals of socialism and communism.
(i) Confiscate all imperialist capital, liquidate all imperialist debts
and scrap all unequal treaties or agreements with imperialist countries and
agencies which are against national interests. Put an end to all interference
and control of agencies like IMF and World Bank and put an end to all relations
with them which are against national interests. Quit WTO and strive for
international trade based on equality and well being of all nations. Prohibit
MNC’s operations and flow of speculative foreign capital to India. Free the
country from all forms of imperialist exploitation, interference and bullying.
(ii) Confiscate all enterprises, capital and properties of the comprador
bureaucratic bourgeois classes. Unearth all foreign deposits and black money
of these and similar classes and sections and confiscate them. Eliminate all
monopolies.
(iii) Abolish all pre-capitalist relations including feudal and semi-
feudal relations. Confiscate all land belonging to the landlords and implement
redistribution of land among agricultural workers and poor peasants based on
the principle of land to the tiller. Confiscate the plantations and farms of
MNCs, comprador bureaucratic bourgeois class and others and bring them
under collective ownership of the workers. Abolish all forms of bonded labor.
Abolish all forms of usury.
(iv) Formulate and implement comprehensive policies for the
development of agriculture and raising the living standards of the peasantry.
Cancel all debts of agricultural workers, poor peasants and artisans. Control
costs of all inputs and ensure remunerative prices for agricultural products.
Ensure a progressive credit system and loans at nominal interests through a
modern banking system at all levels. Initiate co-operatisation and
collectivisation progressively ensuring all round development of agriculture
and living standards of all belonging to the agrarian sector. Ensure self-reliance
in food and all agricultural products.
(v) Develop and implement a comprehensive national industrial
policy in accordance with the concrete conditions and vastness of the country
and availability of rich natural resources in different regions and serving the
needs of the country and the people in order to ensure self-reliance in all
fields. Develop research in all fields and ensure technological advances in all
fields. Make sure that all transactions on technology with imperialist countries
and agencies are made on equal terms, preventing any form of exploitation by
them. Develop proper relation between the building up of heavy, medium and
small-scale industries. Chalk out national, regional and local policies for
ensuring all round development of all small-scale industries.
(vi) Implement a comprehensive national science and technology
policy.
(vii) Modernise production in all fields including agriculture and
industry and ensure equitable distribution in all areas. For this ensure a
progressive service sector comprising banking, insurance and credit policies
and implement them effectively.
(viii) Ensure employment, education, health-care, housing and social
insurance cover as fundamental rights for all. Implement social welfare policies
in all fields including a scientific health policy for all.
(ix) Implement a comprehensive sports policy which shall serve the
allround physical and mental development of all people.
(x) Implement need based minimum wages, employment and better
living conditions to all agricultural workers. Ensure crop insurance and all
assistance to the peasantry. Implement rural development projects according
to concrete conditions and taking into consideration the backwardness of
different areas.
(xi) Implement six hour working days and five working days per week
progressively in all sectors ensuring employment for all, coping up with the
technological developments which increase productivity continuously. Increase
wages and implement uniform pension scheme. Put an end to the contract
labour system. Remove all inequalities on the basis of equal pay for equal
work. Implement the right to organise and right to strike as fundamental rights
to all workers.
(xii) New democracy will ensure real equality and autonomy for all
nationalities, unite the Indian masses based on the right of self determination
of all nationalities and build up a federal democratic state structure. People’s
political power at all levels will be exercised through revolutionary peoples
councils, at all levels. Give equal status to all languages. Guarantee full civil
liberties. Ensure freedom of speech and assembly, right to organise, freedom
of movement and occupation and right to dissent.
(xiii) Starting with putting an end to all forms of social oppression
based on the caste system and untouchability, the New Democratic state shall
abolish the caste system and all forms of social inequalities. Ensure
implementation of reservation based on caste as a democratic right, till all
social inequalities are abolished.
(xiv) Abolish all discrimination based on religious ground and protect
religious minorities. Guarantee genuine secular character of the state structure.
Put an end to all communalisation drives. Prohibit the interference of religious
institutions in the state affairs and political life of the country.
(xv) Guarantee equality of women in all fields. Abolish all forms of
gender inequalities. Ensure equal right to women for inheritance of property
including land. Guarantee protection, healthcare and education for all children.
Abolish all forms of exploitation of children including child labour. Take
adequate steps to ensure participation of women on equal footing in all social
and political institutions.
(xvi) Abolish all forms of exploitation and oppression against adivasis.
Ensure their democratic rights. Protect their right to land, provide economic
assistance for their overall development. Establish regional autonomous
councils for the adivasis wherever they are in majority.
(xvii) Protect the environment. Protect bio-diversity and biological
resources.
(xviii)Develop new democratic culture fighting against the influence
of feudal and imperialist values in the cultural field. Promote scientific outlook
in all fields. Eradicate all forms of superstition.
(xix) In place of present education system, build up new democratic
and scientific education system. Ensure free and compulsory education up to
secondary level and all facilities for higher education. Ensure education in
mother tongue.
(xx) Eradicate corruption. Punish all involved in economic crimes and
corrupt practices.
(xxi) Ban all imperialist funded anti-national Voluntary Organisations/
Non-Governmental Organisations.
(xxii) Abolish all exorbitant taxes and adopt a consolidated progressive
tax system.
(xxiii)Improve the living conditions of soldiers and ex-servicemen.
(xxiv) Guard against all subversive acts by imperialist forces.
(xxv) Based on equality and peaceful co-existence establish closest
possible relations in all fields with the neighbouring countries. Resolve all
boundary disputes through friendly negotiations.
(xxvi) Unite with all progressive, anti-imperialist forces all over the
world against the imperialist forces led by US imperialism.
(xxvii) Struggle for World Peace. Work against nuclear war threats and
for universal nuclear disarmament and for elimination of all weapons of mass
destruction.
(xxviii) Promote the international co-operation among world people
against the imperialist system and for democracy and socialism. Uphold
proletarian internationalism and struggle for the overthrow of the world
imperialist system.
CHAPTER EIGHT
8.1 The democratic revolution in India is taking place in the era of
imperialism and proletarian revolution, when imperialism headed by US
imperialism is striving for world hegemony. The New Democratic Revolution
in India led by the Communist Party, as the vanguard of the proletariat, is an
integral part of the world proletarian socialist revolution. As a contingent of
the great army of the international proletariat, the Indian proletariat is
dedicated to fulfill its historic mission of emancipating the whole of mankind
from the rule of imperialism and reaction and establishing socialism and
communism on this earth. The historic task of the Communist Party is to give
leadership to the Indian proletariat in this momentous struggle by mobilising
all revolutionary classes, sections and masses of people for it.
8.2 The CPI (ML) Red Flag upholds Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung
Thought, fighting against all brands of revisionism, which is still the main
danger in the International Communist Movement and striving hard to expose
and defeat all erroneous and sectarian positions advocated in the name of
Mao Tsetung Thought, which have abandoned the basic tenets of Marxism-
Leninism and Communist International positions and have caused severe
damage to the movement in all respects.
8.3 The CPI (ML) Red Flag is engaged in a strenuous struggle for the
reorganisation of the CPI(ML) movement, which took birth in continuation to
the great fighting traditions of the Communist movement in India. In the real
sense, it is the historic task of reorganising the Communist movement itself,
uniting all the genuine Communists in our country and paving the way for the
re-emergence of the Communist Party which is capable of leading the New
Democratic Revolution in a country of more than 100 crores of people, the
Communist Party which upholds proletarian internationalism, which is
dedicated to forge unity of the Communist forces all over the world in order
to overthrow the imperialist system as a whole and to build socialism and
communism internationally.
8.4 The CPI (ML) Red Flag is placing this Programme before the people of
India and dedicates itself to the great revolutionary cause of reorganising the
Communist Party as the real vanguard of the Indian proletariat, as a contingent
of the International Communist Movement and completing the tasks of the
New Democratic Revolution leading the people towards socialism and
communism. ■
[This Party Programme was adopted by the Fifth All India

Conference of CPI(ML) Red Flag held in 2000 ]
INTERNATIONAL
SITUATION
AND OUR TASKS
[Draft Document Presented to
All India Special Conference of CPI (ML)]
Introduction
When the CPI (ML) Red Flag had presented its document on “International
Developments and Tasks of the Marxist Leninists” in 1997 in its Fourth All India
Conference, it had started off by saying that the world was characterised by two
important factors. First, the grave crisis of the world imperialist system and, second,
the challenges faced by the Marxist-Leninist forces. The world situation today is still
in the main characterised by the same two main factors.
The economic crisis of the world imperialist system has grown in depth and intensity
to a level where the official banks of many leading industrial countries have accepted,
between October 2008 and now, that those countries were officially in recession. The
fall in the stock market, where, by the end of 2008, the indices had slipped to below
half the peak levels of 2008, caused many to characterise this crisis as being worse
than the crisis of 1929. The number of jobs lost has reached phenomenal levels and
today stands at the worst levels since the past 40 years for most countries including
many imperialist countries. The rise in prices of essential commodities has caused
food riots in places as diverse as Egypt and Bangladesh.
While analysing the global meltdown we are concerned not only with the depth of this
crisis, but, more importantly, with its spread. Stock markets from New York to Shanghai
have all been victims of this crisis. It is a measure of the level of globalisation achieved
in today’s capital market that the effect spreads almost immediately, in a more or less
uniform manner, all over the globe. The capital market crisis has hit all over the globe.
The Current Situation
In 1997, we had analysed how internationalism was always the basis of the proletarian
strategy. How Marx, Engels and Lenin had put forward their understanding on the
interlinking between the need for national revolutions and internationalism and how
Stalin, the Third International and Mao had basically adhered to this same line. After
showing how Mao’s understanding of the New Democratic Revolution and the
understanding of the People’s Democratic Revolution put forward by Stalin and the
Third International were only continuations of the path opened up by Lenin in the
Colonial Theses, we have put forward the arguments that “In the neo-colonial situation
when the globalisation of capital is reaching its highest level and the linking of global
capital is getting completed, the bourgeoisie cannot at all become the spokespersons
for progressive nationalism.” Then again,
“In the neo-colonial phase following World War II the Internationalisation
of capital reached new dimensions both in depth and spread. This took the
‘consensus’ about which Lenin had said, between the bourgeoisie of the
imperialist countries and the neo-colonies further ahead. It increased the
economic and political intercourse between them in a more counter
revolutionary way. The bourgeoisie in the neo-colonies have become integral
part of the global bourgeoisie who is engaged in strengthening to the
maximum extent the collaboration with all anti-national, anti-democratic
reactionary forces against the revolutionary forces; it is not a revolutionary
bourgeoisie, but it represents its imperialist decadent stage. This bourgeoisie
which has become the ruling classes in the neo-colonies is not only totally
incapable of carrying out the tasks of the national democratic revolution,
but also relies on the side of the world imperialist counter-revolution.
The responsibility for carrying out the anti-imperialist democratic revolution
in the neo-colonies is thus vested on the working class more than ever today
in this situation.”
The situation that has been referred to in this paragraph has only intensified. In the
past decade, since the earlier document was published, many developments have taken
place at the world level. This can be described in terms of the intensification of all the
fundamental contradictions at the international level.
Contradiction Between Socialist forces and Imperialist forces
The Keynesian policies, initially put forward at the time of 1930 crisis, which were
already being unravelled in 1970s under the policies of monetarism, have been further
rolled back. The prescriptions put forward by what is popularly called the “Washington
Consensus” have been pushed systematically all over the globe. Neo-liberal policies
of restricting fiscal deficits, mainly by cutting public expenditure, reducing taxation
on the rich and the corporate sector, allowing interest rates, exchange rates, etc. to be
guided by the market, import liberalisation, privatisation and liberalisation of the
economy and strengthening of private property rights have been imposed all over the
world, including in the imperialist countries. These neo-liberal policies, under the
name of “globalisation” are being imposed upon the neo-colonies all over the world.
All markets in the neo-colonies, including the capital market, agriculture, land, water,
education, health-care, are being opened to imperialist investment. Today there is a
more or less total “co-option” of the bourgeoisie in the neo-colonies into the imperialist
system. All the more therefore, this bourgeoisie is on the side of world imperialist
counter-revolution.
At the same time, imperialism, led by US imperialism, still continues it policy of
backing the most reactionary and subversive, religious fanatic elements all over the
world. They back the Hindu fundamentalist forces in India and Christian fundamentalist
forces in Latin America, besides continuing to back Islamic fundamentalist forces in
Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. There is thus a definite growth in the level of
fascicisation all over the world and democratic rights are being curtailed all over the
world, not only in the neo-colonies, but also in the imperialist countries, as a result of
the policies of neo-liberalism.
The 1997 document does not mention the question of environment which is fast growing
into an irresolvable crisis for the imperialist system. The imperialist countries are
unwilling to take real measures to curb pollution, since, indeed, such measures cannot
be taken within the existing system which is approaching the contradiction between
people and nature in an antagonistic manner and can be basically resolved only after
the dismantling of the imperialist system. It is this unwillingness of the imperialist
countries that has resulted in the failure of the Kyoto Protocol and of the decisions of
the later Bali meeting on global warming. Instead, the system of buying the right to
pollute, in the form of carbon credits, has helped to open another investment avenue
for imperialism.
Though there is not a socialist “camp” of socialist countries is in existence today,
there is a massive people’s movement developing against globalisation. From Seattle
to Hong Kong, the world’s people are coming together to protest against the WTO and
its adverse effects. Massive demonstrations were held all over the world, from Japan
to Madrid and London to Melbourne against the Iraq war. Though the WSF is nothing
more than an international “supermarket” of NGOs, it reflects the internationalisation
of the struggle against imperialist globalisation and its ill effects. Massive world-wide
movements are growing against fascicisation, for democratic rights and against the
degradation of the environment. All of Latin America has risen in opposition to US
imperialism and a bevy of Governments have been formed there on the basis of
opposition to US imperialism. These range from the consistent anti-imperialist stands
of Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, Bolivia under Evo Morales and Cuba under the
Castros to the slightly milder opposition of Argentina under Kirchener and still milder
opposition of Lula in Brazil. There have been international protests by farmers,
automobile workers and other sections. All these go to show that the opposition to
imperialism is no more restricted to the local or even the national level but has taken
on international dimensions. Thus it is clear that this contradiction between imperialism
and socialist forces is intensifying day by day.
Contradiction Between Imperialism and Oppressed Peoples and Nations
Besides the general increase in the intensity of globalisation leading to the
unprecedented crisis as pointed out above, epochal events have taken place in the past
decade. Imperialism, under the leadership of US imperialism has invaded and occupied
Afghanistan and Iraq and is threatening to do the same with Iran and North Korea. The
theory of “pre-emptive strikes” has given license to imperialist powers to police the
world in their own interests. Though the US has always been supporting covert warfare
in countries like Angola and Nicaragua by backing all sorts of dictators and even
fanatics, with Afghanistan and Iraq it has taken more pernicious forms. The puppet
governments installed there are almost under their direct control. The level of plunder
and oppression in these neo-colonies has increased many times.
The US has actively intervened in the past ten years to “balkanise” many regions of
the world. The former Yugoslavia has been broken into unrecognisable tiny pieces,
the US has fomented attempts at chaos in Chechenya and now Pakistan lies in serious
danger of being broken up. This is the attempt of imperialism, led by US imperialism,
to trivialise the issue of national liberation, by using it to fragment nations.
Another change in the past ten years has been that the support given by imperialism,
led by US imperialism, to all sorts of ragtag, motley forces, including the worst type of
religious fanaticism, has come back to haunt them. The Taliban and various “Islamic”
terrorist groups have started to engage in open combat against the US. Such terrorist
groups, which were created and nurtured by the US in the past and many of which are
still being contacted and trained by the CIA have given rise to the imperialist theory of
“war on terrorism” which has so transformed the lives of people all over the world.
Another distinguishing feature of the last decade is the rise of Israel as the front paw
of US imperialism, especially in the crucial West Asian region. This illegal state has,
over the past decade heightened the “apartheid” regime it has imposed in Palestine
and created a series of “Bantustans” there. Given that the West Asia is the centre of the
military attack of imperialism, led by US imperialism, at present and that Palestine /
Israel can be considered to be at the centre of the West Asian question, the struggle of
the Palestinian people for the liberation of their fatherland takes on an added importance
beyond just that of a national liberation struggle.
Yet another new development which has taken place in this contradiction. Imperialist
countries and even some of the richer neo-colonies are buying land for cultivating
food in the poorer nations of Africa. This land runs into lakhs of acres and is sometimes
the size of a small country itself. All this shows that the contradiction between
Imperialism and the oppressed nations and peoples of the world is growing more
intense and taking newer forms.
Contradiction Between Capital and Labour
The recent economic crisis is the clearest indication of the growth of this contradiction.
The crisis of imperialism is getting intensified with each passing day and the only way
out of the crisis for imperialism is to burden the working class and the oppressed
peoples all over the world with this crisis. This has gone to the extent where trillions
of dollars worth of bail-outs are being openly given to the large MNCs and financial
institutions out of public funds.
At the same time, we are seeing that the working class struggles are increasing at
international level. Solidarity actions are taking place in many countries. The
longshoremen in US went on strike against the Iraq war. Struggles of automobile workers
are crossing national boundaries like the struggle against GM and Daimler-Chrysler.
Unions are becoming active in the struggle against the degradation of the environment
and other political issues. Though the trade union movement all over the world, by
and large, is still in the hands of reformist and revisionist forces, it cannot be denied
that there is an up-swing both in the struggle of the working class and in the
internationalisation of this struggle.
Contradictions Among the Imperialist Powers and Amongst Monopoly Groups
The last decade has also seen an intensification of the contradictions between imperialist
powers and between monopoly groups. The Shanghai Co-ordination is trying to give
some resistance to the moves of the imperialist countries led by US imperialism. There
is also an intensification of the contradictions within the Western Bloc. France and
Germany like imperialist countries are demanding a larger share of the pie.
All the above, then, show that over the last decade, globalisation has been pushed
more intensively and aggressively. by imperialism, led by US imperialism, all over the
world. If in 1999, we could reach a conclusion to the effect that the international
content of the New Democratic Revolution has grown, then that conclusion is all the
more apt in today’s world. Therefore, the conclusion that we had reached that there is
a need to build up the International Communist Movement once again, holds true with
even greater force in today’s situation.
History of the struggle
Though we had set out the history of the struggle for building up the International
Communist Movement in some detail in the 1997 document, it is necessary to go over
some of the parts of this history anew.
The First and Second Internationals were formed by Marx and Engels and laid the
basis for the principle that internationalism is one of the basic principles of the
proletarian revolutionary movement. The Third International, built under the leadership
of Lenin and continued under the leadership of Stalin, carried forward the work of the
earlier two internationals and established Marxism-Leninism as one of the leading
political forces in the world. The Third International or the “Communist International”
(or Comintern as it was also known) played a great role in guiding the newly emerging
parties all over the world in building up a world-wide communist movement which
was able to capture power in an area covering half of the earth’s surface and accounting
for a third of its population.
The Communist International was dissolved in the middle of 1943. This was the time
when the World War II was at its fiercest phase. Stalin looked upon the dissolution of
the Comintern as a necessary sacrifice for the strengthening of the Anti-Fascist United
Front with the imperialist powers, US, UK and France, to fight fascism by exposing
the fascist bogey about communist world-domination. This step was taken at a time
when Germany had steam-rolled its way over France, Britain was being repeatedly
bombed and Leningrad was under siege but at the same time the Soviet Union had
taken the offensive by handing the Germans their first big defeat of the war in Stalingrad.
We have to fully analyse the dissolution of the Comintern as to whether it was, indeed,
necessary or can be seen as a mistake. The fact remains that after June 1943, the
Comintern stood dissolved and there was no authoritative organisation which could
hold the communist movement together.
An objective historical evaluation of dissolution of the Comintern is indispensable at
this juncture. It took place at a critical time when the fascist axis of Germany-Italy-
Japan was still threatening to carry forward their plans for world domination.
Strengthening the anti-fascist front was of utmost importance. But the US led
imperialists had other ideas and were delaying the opening of he second front against
Nazi forces. Besides, imperialism led by US imperialism was planning to launch an
all out future offensive for its world hegemony. It was preparing the ground for
transforming the old colonialism into neo-colonialism. The strategic step towards this
was put forward in 1941 in the form of the Atlantic Charter jointly drafted by Britain
and USA, the vanishing and ascending supreme arbiters respectively of the imperialist
world. The essential economic, political and military foundations for the neo-colonial
phase of imperialism were being developed by them. Even much before the formal
ending of World War II through the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the
unparallel superiority it was gaining in the military, economic and political realms as
the fascist forces were being decimated, the US was firmly putting forward its new
blue-print for the neo-colonial world order.
But the dissolution of the Comintern which ought to have been concretely evaluated in
relation to this crucial historical transformation, was interpreted as a tactical move.
On the contrary, it should be seen as a strategic error in this background. Lack of an
international leadership on the part of world proletariat at this critical juncture led to
severe setbacks in scientifically evaluating the laws of motion of finance capital and
putting forward the concrete programme of action against imperialism in its neo-colonial
phase. The dissolution of the Comintern in the name of defending “fatherland” and for
the success of the anti-fascist front, in fact, did immense harm to the world proletariat
as it denied the decisive role of the communist party and the Communist International,
the only weapons before the working class and oppressed people in their fight against
capital and imperialist domination. In brief, in juxtaposing the defence of Soviet Union
against the interests of the international socialism and relegating the latter to the
background, the international proletariat lost an authoritative organisation to lead the
world people against the neo-colonisation process unleashed by US led imperialism
in the post WW II phase. The negative attitude taken by the Chinese Communist Party
and the leadership of other communist parties including the CPI at that time by
supporting this dissolution also contributed much in aggravating the situation. In course
of time, influenced by the attitude of the CPC from the second half of 1960s the
erroneous view that an international is not a necessity also got strengthened in the
international communist movement.
It is a fact that in the concrete situation existing after the victory of great October
Revolution and coming into the existence of the Soviet Union Lenin had put into
practice the concept of the Communist International as an international party working
based on the principles of democratic centralism. Drawing from its vast experience in
both theory and practice the CPSU was in effect guiding the Comintern. Later when a
large number communist parties came into existence and the parties like CPC started
leading the revolutionary movements in their countries various questions regarding
analysing the concrete conditions in these countries and developing the revolutionary
line had come forward. On some occasions the Comintern advice given under the
Soviet guidance had proved wrong resulting in internal struggles. The CPC’s criticism
of Comintern was linked to similar problems. The answer to this problem was not
dissolution of the Comintern but reorganising it conforming to the developing situation.
Or from an international party the Comintern had to transform into an international
organisation of the communist parties which are developing their theory and practice
according to concrete conditions in their own countries. Only in this way the
international communist movement could face the serious challenge posed during that
period both by the fascist forces on the one side and the US-UK forces evolving a neo-
colonial offensive on the other. But dissolving the Comintern as a tactical move, as
explained, to strengthen the Anti-Fascist United Front in effect amounted to dissolving
the party for the united front. While upholding comrade Stalin as a great Marxist-
Leninist, who gave leadership to the ICM at very difficult juncture, the question whether
the dissolution of the Comintern was a correct step should be subjected to serious
discussion.
In the period after the World War II, the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU)
continued to play a leading role in the world communist movement. It was continued
to be looked up to as the ‘father party’ by all communist parties all over the world.
However, since they and the ICM in general were not able to recognise the change in
the system of exploitation of imperialism from the colonial phase to the neo-colonial
one, they were not able to understand the changes that were taking place in the world.
It was the wrong evaluation of the concrete situation of the world situation which had
led Krushchovite leadership, which was successful in coming to power, to conclude
that the introduction of neo-colonial policies including the ‘de-colonisation’ as a
weakening of imperialism. Besides, the strength of the socialist forces and their prestige
all over the world was overestimated. This led the Khruschovite forces to come to the
conclusion that revolution was no more necessary in the “newly-liberated” countries
and they put forward the theory of the “three peacefuls”, that is, peaceful co-existence
and peaceful competition with imperialism and peaceful transition to socialism.
Thus the capitalist roaders led by Krushchov took the movement away from the path
of revolution due to erroneous evaluation of the concrete conditions in the world after
the Second World War. The transformation from the colonial to the neo-colonial phase
was neither studied nor understood. The epochal importance of the IMF, the WB and
the nascent GATT talks was not understood. The phenomenal growth of the MNCs in
this period was neither understood nor studied.
It was the CPC which took the lead in the struggle against this right reactionary line of
the CPSU leadership. They put forward a correct orientation regarding neo-colonisation
in the course of the “Great Debate” between the CPSU and the CPC. In the article
Apologists of Neo-colonialism (which was the fourth comment on the letter of the
CPSU), the CPC explained, after referring to the contention of the CPSU, that
colonialism was being destroyed:
What are the facts?
Consider, first, the situation in Asia and Africa. There a whole group of
countries have declared their independence.But many of these countries have
not completely shaken off imperialist and colonial control and enslavement
and remain objects of imperialist plunder and aggression as well as arenas
of contention between the old and new colonialists. In some, the old
colonialists have changed into neo-colonialists and retain their colonial rule
through their trained agents. In others, the wolf has left by the front door, but
the tiger has entered through the back door, the old colonialism being replaced
by the new, more powerful and more dangerous U. S. colonialism. The peoples
of Asia and Africa are seriously menaced by the tentacles of neo-colonialism,
represented by U. S. imperialism.
Next, listen to the voice of the people of Latin America. The Second Havana
Declaration says, “Latin America today is under a more ferocious
imperialism, more powerful and ruthless than the Spanish colonial empire.”
It adds:
Since the end of the Second World War, . . . North American investments
exceed 10 billion dollars. Latin America moreover supplies cheap raw
materials and pays high prices for manufactured articles.
It says further:
. . . there flows from Latin America to the United States a constant torrent of
money: some $4,000 per minute, $5 million per day, $2 billion per year, $10
billion each five years. For each thousand dollars which leaves us, one dead
body remains. $1,000 per death, that is the price of what is called imperialism.
The facts are clear. After World War II the imperialists have certainly not
given up colonialism, but have merely adopted a new form, neo-colonialism.
An important characteristic of such neo-colonialism is that the imperialists
have been forced to change their old style of direct colonial rule in some
areas and to adopt a new style of colonial rule and exploitation by relying
on the agents they have selected and trained. The imperialists headed by the
United States enslave or control the colonial countries and countries which
have already declared their independence by organizing military blocs, setting
up military bases, establishing “federations” or “communities”, and fostering
puppet regimes. By means of economic “aid” or other forms, they retain
these countries as markets for their goods, sources of raw material and outlets
for their export of capital, plunder the riches and suck the blood of the people
of these countries. Moreover, they use the United Nations as an important
tool for interfering in the internal affairs of such countries and for subjecting
them to military, economic and cultural aggression. When they are unable to
continue their rule over these countries by “peaceful” means, they engineer
military coups d’etat, carry out subversion or even resort to direct armed
intervention and aggression.
The United States is most energetic and cunning in promoting neo-
colonialism. With this weapon, the U.S. imperialists are trying hard to grab
the colonies and spheres of influence of other imperialists and to establish
world domination.
This neo-colonialism is a more pernicious and sinister form of colonialism.
Thus it is clear that the Chinese party had correctly seen the evolution of the colonial
phase into the neo-colonial one. However the Chinese party, at that time was itself
engaged in a severe struggle against the rightist line of Liu-Shao-Chi. Due to this
reason they were not able to take up the task of carrying forward the theoretical study
of neo-colonialism. Later, under the “left” line under the leadership of Lin Biao, the
Chinese party, not only did not carry forward the study of the international situation,
but also did not take any initiative to reorganise the Communist International.
The left line under Lin Biao caused great harm to the international communist
movement. In the 1997 document, we have identified that it had wrongly changed the
era from the Leninist understanding of this being the era of imperialism and proletarian
revolution to defining it as a new era that of “imperialism heading for total collapse
and socialism advancing towards world-wide victory”.
It was Lin Biao who first put forward the mistaken idea that “protracted people’s war”
is the only path for revolution in all the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
He said, in his article “Long live the victory of the People’s War” (1966):
“It must be emphasized that Comrade Mao Tse-tung’s theory of the
establishment of rural revolutionary base areas and the encirclement of the
cities from the countryside is of outstanding and universal practical
importance for the present revolutionary struggles of all the oppressed nations
and peoples, and particularly for the revolutionary struggles of the oppressed
nations and peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America against imperialism
and its lackeys.”
It was Lin Biao, again, who published the red book and wrote a foreword for the same.
It was his followers, during the cultural revolution, who put forward the concept that
there was no need to study - that, in fact, “the more you study, the more foolish you
become”.
Erroneously analysing the world situation Lin Biao like Khrushchev before him once
again put forward the idea of a weakened imperialism. He said, “The imperialist system
resembles a dying person who is sinking fast, like the sun setting beyond the western
hills. The emergence of Khrushchev revisionism is a product of imperialist policy and
reflects the death-bed struggle of imperialism.”
It was again Lin Biao who put forward the idea of a rural-based party. In the “Long
live the victory ...” quoted above, he asserts:
Many countries and peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America are now being
subjected to aggression and enslavement on a serious scale by the imperialists
headed by the United States and their lackeys. The basic political and
economic conditions in many of these countries have many similarities to
those that prevailed in old China. As in China, the peasant question is
extremely important in these regions. The peasants constitute the main force
of the national-democratic revolution against the imperialists and their
lackeys. In committing aggression against these countries, the imperialists
usually begin by seizing the big cities and the main lines of communication,
but they are unable to bring the vast countryside completely under their
control. The countryside, and the countryside alone, can provide the broad
areas in which the revolutionaries can manoeuvre freely. The countryside,
and the countryside alone, can provide the revolutionary bases from which
the revolutionaries can go forward to final victory. Precisely for this reason,
Comrade Mao Tse-tung’s theory of establishing revolutionary base areas in
the rural districts and encircling the cities from the countryside is attracting
more and more attention among the people in these regions.”
It must be made clear here that Mao had never said that the “Chinese Path” is applicable
to the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. On the contrary he had advised the
leaders of the Marxist-Leninist parties visiting China repeatedly that they should develop
the revolutionary in their own countries only according to the concrete conditions
there. Still this line of Lin Biao’s was taken as gospel truth and two generations of the
Marxist-Leninists all over the world had to face severe setbacks in their attempts to
build up “base areas” and “guerrilla zones” mechanically following the “Chinese Path”.
It was this line of Lin Biao which led to the neglect of mass line including building up
of mass organisations and working class movement.
The Maoists revisited
We have already mentioned in our 1997 document that the parties which call themselves
“Maoist” and which follow “Maoism” are precisely those who still uphold all the
wrong understandings put forward by the left sectarian line under the leadership of
Lin Biao, irrespective of whether they overtly uphold Lin Biao or not.
As part of this discussion two more points have to be discussed. Firstly, there are
many parties, especially in Latin America, who uphold “Maoism” though they do not
uphold the sectarian line of say, the Sandero Luminoso (Shining Path) of Peru or of
the Philippines Communist Party or the Turkish Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)
(TKP/ML). Many of such parties like the RCP of Argentina or the Maoist Communist
Party of Colombia are actually adopting the mass line. They have adopted the concept
of Maoism in the peculiar circumstances of Latin America, where it symbolised the
opposition to Khruschovite revisionism in the 1970s.
The second question of importance while discussing the Maoist parties is the question
of Nepal. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has played a significant role in the
struggle to overthrow the monarchy. For this, even they had to change their tactics and
lay down their arms. At the same time the CPN(Maoist) has been stressing that they
support a “new socialism” and that the socialism of the 20th century has “failed”.
They have also asserted a new concept of “democracy in the 21st century” which
entails “multi-party” electoral democracy even after the revolution. All such concepts
are grouped in what is referred to as “Prachanda path”. At the same time, this party is
engaged in a severe inner-party struggle about the way forward. Whether it will be
able to overcome its theoretical shortcomings and come forward is a matter of interest
to the ICM.
Developments after Lin Biao
Though the Tenth Congress of the CPC in 1973 claimed to have rectified the erroneous
understanding of the era put forward by the Ninth Congress, as we have mentioned in
the 1997 document, no document has come to light which shows how the CPC has
evaluated the mistakes of the line led by Lin Biao except criticising him for his
‘Confucian thinking’. In any case, there was no attempt to further deepen the
understanding of the neo-colonial system. In the absence of such a serious study and
in reaction to the sectarian line of Lin Biao that had emerged during the Cultural
Revolution, in spite of its historical significance, it was easy for the capitalist roaders
like Deng to usurp power. One of the vehicles for achieving this was the class-
collaborationist “Theory of Three Worlds”. This was another right deviation which in
effect neglected the contradiction between capital and labour, between imperialism
and socialist forces and one-sidedly emphasised the contradiction among the imperialist
forces, mechanically dividing the world on a non-class basis into First, Second and
Third worlds.
Since the General Line document of 1963, Marxist-Leninists all over the world have
generally accepted the present fundamental contradictions at the global level as:
“The contradiction between the socialist camp and the imperialist camp;
the contradiction between the proletariat and bourgeoisie in the capitalist
countries, the contradiction between oppressed nations and peoples and
imperialism; the contradictions among imperialist countries and among
monopoly capitalist groups.”
In slightly different words, this was also, more or less, the understanding of the Third
International.
While the deviation lead by Khruschov one-sidedly stressed the contradiction between
the socialist camp and the imperialist camp, neglecting the other contradictions, the
sectarian line of Lin Biao laid one-sided stress on the contradiction between oppressed
nations and imperialism neglecting the other contradictions. This resulted in many of
them taking a negative view of proletarian internationalism in practice. Many of the
sectarian parties (both of the “left” and right varieties) have ceased to accept the
contradiction between the socialist forces and the imperialism under the influence of
these erroneous lines.
There are also many other alien “world outlooks” that have emerged in the Marxist-
Leninist movement due to the failure to make a concrete analysis of the post-World
War II world situation and in the absence of fraternal exchange of views among the
Marxist-Leninist forces with a view to overcome the past mistakes and to develop the
ICM including the development of a centre to guide it forward. These include the
post-modern ideas, with their emphasis on “new social movements” and finally on
solutions within the system. All these alien trends have to be uncompromisingly exposed
and struggled against.
The efforts to develop fraternal relations among the Marxist-Leninist parties and to
rebuild the ICM will have to start in continuation to the line put forward by the Third
International and the General Line of 1963, asserting the fundamental contradictions
at the international level. It includes the study of the development, maturing and inter-
play of these contradictions in the period of neo-colonialism.
Building up the ICM
Many attempts have been made to understand the developments all over the world and
the causes for the setbacks to the ICM. They include the International Communist
Seminar held in Brussels by the PTB every year, the ICMLPO formed under the JCG
of which, the MLPD, BP (NK /T), CPN (Mashal), and our party among others are
included, the other ICMLPO comprised of parties which are pro-Albanian, the North
Star Compass, the RIM, etc.
The International Communist Seminar in Brussels was started as a yearly affair in the
year 1990. It concentrated mainly on the question of the restoration of capitalism in
the USSR. However, they allowed for an eclectic combination of those calling
themselves “Marxist” (from the CPI to the CPI (Maoist)) to attend this seminar and
present papers. It therefore has not served the purpose of advancing the theoretical
understanding at the international level, though it has put forward some new ideas on
the restoration of capitalism in the USSR. The ICMLPO formed by the pro-Albanian
parties, brings out a magazine known as “Unite et Lutte” or “Unity and Struggle”.
This group is hamstrung in their theoretical endeavours by their historical understanding
and is its theoretical endeavours are therefore confined to a very small compass of
mechanically vindicating the stand of Stalin. The “North Star Compass” is a group
which brings out a magazine in this name, whose aim is the restoration of the USSR.
However, there is no clarity among them on the socialism they are talking about,
whether it is the socialism under Lenin and Stalin or the “socialism” under Khruschov,
Brezhnev, Andropov, etc. They are limited in their understanding to opposing “Glasnost”
and “Perestroika” which, in their opinion, was responsible for the collapse of the
Soviet Union. Besides the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) led by the
RCP, USA, a union of ‘Maoist’ parties is also significant for the harm it does to the
ICM.
The most active and politically vital grouping is the ICMLPO which is largely hosted
by the MLPD of Germany. There is the JCG which co-ordinates the work of the
ICMLPO. It has so far held 9 Conferences. It brings out an “International Newsletter”
It is composed of parties who accept Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought or
Marxism-Leninism and a positive view of Mao Tsetung.
The shortcoming of this group is that it also includes parties who are openly Maoist,
like the CPP of the Philippines, the TKP(ML) of Turkey and even the CPI (Maoist).
Hence it is very difficult for this grouping to advance, as it is, in the main reduced to
another international forum for debate.
Our organisation when it was called CRC, CPI(ML) from 1979 has been one of the
first in India to seek the rebuilding of the ICM. This was prompted by the fact that we
were among the first in India to oppose the “Three World Theory” and the Dengists in
China along with the Enver Hoxhaites. Based on this approach our organisation send
our approach papers to an international conference with the RCP of Chile and RCP of
USA among others and called for reorganising the ICM based on Marxism-Leninism-
Mao Tsetung Thought. In the second international conference of 1984, we put forward
a document explaining our neo-colonial approach and calling for building a platform
of the ML parties. But RCP, USA along with its sectarian understanding based on Lin
Biaoism evaluated that war has become the main danger and called for immediate
formation of an international. We walked out when they went ahead with the formation
of RIM which has become a centre of anarchist organisations upholding ‘Maoism’. In
spite of this setback, we continued our efforts for the unity of the like-minded Marxist-
Leninist forces. It is as a result of it the CPI(ML) Red Flag played an active role in the
ICMLPO including sending a delegation to its 8th Conference in 2004.
The recent past after Vijayawada Unity Conference has seen us reneging on our
international duties. We were not able to attend any international meetings or
conferences due to the sectarian line of the CPI(ML) 2003 with whom the CPI(ML)
Red Flag had united. We had to restrain ourselves from attending the Brussels seminar
or the ICMLPO meetings, though we could attend the MLPD Congress in 2008. As a
result of these we were not able to take any stand on the international situation and our
tasks in this period. We have now overcome this sectarian tendency in the party by
separating from it.
During the course of the 9th Congress of the ICMLPO, under the initiative of the
MLPD a “Declaration on the Building of an International Form of Organization for
the Coordination of the Work of Autonomous Revolutionary Parties and Organizations”
was adopted. This declaration focuses on the need for revolutionary parties and
organisations to join forces in today’s situation. It focuses on the need to build regional
and international forms of organisation for Marxist-Leninists, the working class and
also the entire anti-imperialist movement. This gave rise to the ICOR or the
“International Co-ordination”.
Besides actively working in the ICOR, it is also necessary to develop fraternal relations
with other ML parties, especially in South Asia and also in the West Asian region. The
developments in West Asia are already affecting the politics of South Asia, especially
Pakistan. We must therefore make great efforts to develop close relations with parties
in South Asia and in West Asia who have an understanding akin to ours.
There are many parties, in other continents, especially in Latin America, Europe and
Africa with whom we have developed contacts and who are close to our understanding.
We must nurture these contacts and develop them where ever possible.
The present situation calls for initiative to form a forum of ML parties from different
countries who are fighting both, right revisionism and left sectarianism, including the
line of “protracted people’s war” as the only path for countries of Asia, Africa and
Latin America. Such parties who uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought or
Marxism-Leninism and a positive attitude towards Mao Tsetung Thought should
constitute themselves into a Marxist-Leninist Forum to organise solidarity actions,
organize international conferences, to develop the General Line of the ICM and to
move towards a new Communist International.
It is time for our party to take up this international task in right earnest. As detailed
above, in the present world situation, the international content of the Peoples or New
Democratic Revolution has greatly increased and we cannot make revolution in a vast
country like India without launching uncompromising struggles against imperialism
and its lackeys and agents, uniting with the Marxist-Leninist forces at global level .■
Workers of all countries, unite; workers of the world, unite with the
oppressed peoples and oppressed nations; oppose imperialism and
reaction in all countries; strive for world peace, national liberation,
people’s democracy and socialism; strengthen the socialist forces; bring
the proletarian world revolution step by step to complete victory; and
establish a new world without imperialism, without capitalism and
without the exploitation of man by man!
Uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought!
Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!
Central Committee
18-06-2009 CPI(ML)
Political Resolution
[Draft Document Presented to
All India Special Conference of CPI (ML)]
1. The results of the 15th Lok Sabha elections signify the strengthening of definite
trends in contemporary Indian polity. These results have gone against the numerous
analyses put forward by psephologists and exit polls. It has increased the strength of
the Congress to 206 and of the UPA led by it to 262, just ten short of a clear majority
in a house of 543. Meanwhile the strength of the BJP, its nearest rival and the number
two political party of the ruling classes, which was aspiring for returning to power, got
reduced to 116, with that of the NDA led by it going down to 157. The Third Front was
launched in a hurry, contrary to the struggle oriented front professed by its 19th
Conngress, by the CPI(M)-led Left Front claiming to oppose both Congress and BJP,
after it had stopped propping up of the UPA government in last July. In spite of tall
claims by LF leaders, it had no policy orientation. It was an opportunist alliance of LF
even with parties who had long relations with the BJP till recent past. Its strength got
reduced to just 72, with the strength of CPI(M)-led LF going down from 62 to 24.
Besides, soon after the election results the Third Front has just vanished in to thin air.
(The Fourth Group formed as a pressure group for post-poll bargains with the Congress
also got decimated from 62 to 27 seats. How did these elections lead to the return of
the Manmohanomics?
2. As the CPI(ML) had pointed out in its Election Manifesto and emphatically
campaigned during the election, the main contestants, the UPA and the NDA led by
the number one and two political parties of the ruling comprador bureaucratic bourgeois-
landlord classes, the Congress and the BJP, along with the corporate media had colluded
to de-politicise the election by keeping all central issues before the country and the
people out of the realm of the election-time debate. After almost 18 years of unhindered
neo-liberal policies imposed through imperialist globalization, when the rich have
become fabulously rich, with the cutting down of all welfare policies, commercialization
of all service sectors, taking away of all hard earned rights of the toiling classes, with
the systematic undermining of the public sector, with the prices of all essential
commodities and unemployment reaching unprecedented levels, when the poor have
become much poorer with the average daily income of 70% of them reduced to just
Rs. 20, the election should have been turned into a referendum on imperialist
globalization and its grievous consequences to the vast majority of the people. But it
was never allowed to become so by the major contestants and the corporate media. As
a result only peripheral issues were discussed. The basic fiscal policies were not
allowed to become the central issues in the campaign. It became a high tech campaign
with the ruling class parties using more than Rs. 50,000 crores.
3. The rightist shift in India’s foreign policy, the growing danger of an US-
Israel-India axis, and the Jaswant Singh-Talbot talks for an Indo-US Defence
Framework during six years of NDA government were seriously discussed and opposed
by both the Congress and the LF during the 2004 elections. But though the UPA
government during last five years had turned India’s foreign policy in to an appendage
of US interests, though it had signed the Indo-US Defence Framework agreement
based in Jaswant Singh-Talbot draft in 2005 June and adopted the Indo-US Nuke
Deal, though the highly beneficial Iran-Pak-India natural gas pipe deal was abandoned,
though relations with Zionist Israel has strengthened at the expense of relations with
Palestine and other Arab countries, though India’s big brotherly attitude with the
neighbouring countries in collaboration with the US policies has worsened relations
with them, none of these basic policy shifts along with the neo-liberal policies were
allowed to become central campaign points.
4. The policies pursued by the CPI(M), the LF led by it, and by the Third Front
which was opportunistically formed, instead of standing against the de-politicisation
of the elections through which the rightist wind was gaining dominance, only harmed
the left cause, confusing the vast masses who aspire for a social change. The propping
up of the reactionary UPA government for more than four years even when, in spite of
the ‘barking’ of the LF, it went ahead with its neo-liberal agenda, disillusioned vast
sections of the people including the left masses supporting them. Though it claimed
to oppose the Indo-US Nuke Deal inspite of the signing of its MoU in June 2005 and
inspite of the follow up steps which were pursued later, the LF did not withdraw its
support. When it withdrew its support in July 2008, it was more for saving its face
against its main rival, Congress, in West Bengal and Kerala in the fast approaching
elections. Its formation of the so-called non-Congress, non-BJP Third Front with
parties like ADMK, TDP and BJD who are firm adherents of the neo-liberal policies
was an outright opportunist move which further disgraced the left forces before the
people who cannot distinguish the parliamentary left which is presented as the
communists day in and day out by the corporate media from the genuine left forces.
Besides, the practice of the CPI(M)-led governments in West Bengal and Kerala which
were worse than that of the other state governments led by the rightist parties as in the
case of Singur and Nandigram in Bengal, and Lavalin case and relations with PDP like
forces in Kerala, confused the common masses further. In short, the parliamentary left
or the pseudo left forces through their practice helped in a big way the intensification
of the frustration among the masses and the strengthening of the rightist forces.
5. Further devaluation of the left line took place as CPI(ML) Liberation went
for a united front with the CPI and the CPI(M) in Bihar and Jharkhand and similar
forces undergoing right deviation took the liquidationalist line of compromising with
the social democrats. In Bengal, the SUCI as well as degenerates from the Marxist-
Leninist forces went to the extent of joining the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance
in the name of opposing the CPI(M). As far as the CPI(Maoist) is concerned, through
its anarchist activities in the name of boycott of elections it has only helped the ruling
system to further ridicule the left forces. Combating all these reactionary, reformist
and anarchist trends, though the CPI(ML) and those forces uncompromisingly opposing
imperialist globalisation, communal fascism and the rightist forces of all hues could
wage a vigorous campaign fielding candidates in a number of seats, because of their
comparative organisational weakness, the inability to forge an Anti-imperialist People’s
Democratic Front based on the revolutionary left positions, and because of the intensive,
multibillion campaign of the ruling class parties well assisted by the corporate media
drowning all revolutionary propaganda, they could not effectively challenge the forces
of reaction and salvage the image of the left forces in a significant manner. In short,
the ‘left’ as a whole failed to put forward a powerful left alternative against imperialist
globalization which is intensifying neo-colonisation. It frustrated even the left masses
and the options before them were reduced to electing from among the rightist options
as it happens in the countries where the bourgeois parliamentary system exists.
6. As far as the Congress, BJP and other ruling class parties are concerned,
there are no basic contradictions among them on imperialist globalisation or other
rightist policies in different fields. Even the contradiction among them on religious
fundamentalism and communalism is reduced to hard Hindutua, or Soft Hindutua, to
pursuing the communal Hindutua agenda as the BJP like forces do or pursuing
communal appeasement policies, as done by Congress like forces. So why the case of
the demolition of the Babri Masjid is prolonged endlessly even when most of the post-
Babri cases involving the Muslims were probed and hundreds of accused punished,
why the Supreme Court’s call to probe involvement of Narendra Modi in the Gujarat
massacres did not receive much media publicity, why the UPA government do not
speed up the enquiry about the terrorist outfits of the Sangh Parivar involved in
Malegaon like blasts involving even army officers etc were not seriously discussed.
In the course of the campaign as LK Advani announced that if voted to power his
government will implement the Nuke Deal, all policy differences between them had
disappeared. When the minorities felt that the BSP, SP like parties have failed to save
their interests, they, after almost two decades voted for Congress in UP in a big way.
Thus the Congress and its UPA has won benefitting from the negative vote. That it is
a ‘vote for stability, continuity and secularism’ as may opportunists and Congress
spokespersons claim is absurd, it is another vile ruling class propaganda. It is nothing
but a victory of the rightist wind.
7. The taking over of governance by the Manmohan Singh government for a
second term, the return of Manmohanomics in more intense forms, with a Lok Sabha
whose majority of the members are crorepathis, with even its ‘body language’ reflecting
a rightist turn, shall naturally accelerate the eliticisation and Americanisation of the
economy and polity. Following the global meltdown when even the recent G.20 summit
had made a show of calling for a rethinking of the Washington Consensus and the
imperialist countries are cutting down outsourcing and resort to ‘protectionist’ measures,
the new finance minister has instead called for more ‘reforms’, more liberalization to
attract foreign capital. The petroleum minister is moving towards abolition of all price
control mechanisms, and linking of pricing with world market rates. The defence
minister has called for further intensification of policies under Indo-US-Israel defence
agreements. The foreign minister has rejected possibilities for a dialogue with Pakistan.
Indian interference has already led to the fall of Prachanda government and
destabilization of Nepal. In spite of all self-contradictory statements, the role played
by Manmohan Singh government in assisting the annihilation of LTTE which was
trained and armed by Indian government and its RAW in early 1980s is well exposed.
It is going to the intensification of neo-liberal policies on the one hand, and surrendering
the country to strategic subservience of US imperialism with a dominant role in South
Asia, on the other. The country is going to be taken along an unprecedented rightist
path. The Manmohanomics will only gladden the MNCs, the corporate houses and
the elite and middle classes. It is going to be a severe challenge to the vast majority of
the toiling and oppressed masses.
8. This more profound rightist turn in Indian political scene conforms to the
contemporary international situation. In spite of the unprecedented global meltdown,
in spite of the reverses suffered by the US imperialist-led military adventures in Iraq,
Afghanistan and other areas, imperialism, especially US imperialism, is still dictating
terms to the world people. Though the dreams of the Bush administration to turn 21st
century in to an American century is already shattered to a great extent along with its
uni-polar concept, the old and new imperialists are still colluding to dominate people
in their own country and the world people. At the same time contention among them
has still not come to the foreground in spite of the fact that fiscal contradictions and
competition for markets are sharpening. Though the neo-liberal policies are challenged,
the imperialist forces are seeking ways to intensity the neo colonization through newer
methods maintaining the domination of capital and market fundamentalism.
9. This has led to intensification of the contradiction between capital and labour,
and between imperialism, especially US imperialism and the people and countries
subjected to neo-colonisation. Though the working class has not succeeded to throw
out still their class collaborationist leadership, they have started coming out in struggles
against the attacks on them following the global imperialist crisis. In a number of
Latin American countries people have voted to power governments taking anti-US,
anti-capital measures, governments which oppose neo-liberal policies. In spite of the
rightist wind gaining strength in Indian elections followed by European Union elections,
in the last one decade US imperialism and other imperialist countries are definitely
facing increasing challenges from the working class, oppressed peoples and nations.
The global meltdown has further challenged them. The working class struggles and
the national liberation movements of the oppressed peoples and countries are bound
to strengthen. As a result once again it is not imperialism, but socialism, as the only
alternative for the international working class and oppressed peoples, that is coming
to the foreground.
10. In this situation waging uncompromising struggle against all chauvinist and
sectarian influences, the Party should develop fraternal relations with like-minded
Marxist-Leninist forces at international level. The anti-imperialist forces at international
level can be united and anti-imperialist movement can be developed only if there is a
Marxist-Leninist core to provide orientation and leadership to it. So a platform of the
Marxist-Leninist forces should be developed at international level as early as possible.
The present international situation demand conscious and immediate steps in this
direction. The International document discussed and adopted by the All India Special
Conference should be the guideline for this.
11. At the national level as explained in the beginning the 15th Lok Sabha election
clearly indicate the intensification of the rightist influence in Indian polity. A detailed
analysis of the factors behind this is made in the Political Organizational Report. The
ideological political reasons for emergence of such a situation and the basic tasks to
be taken up to develop both the theory and practice of Indian revolution in order to
overcome them and advance the revolutionary movement are presented to the
Conference in the form of the three theoretical drafts on Character of the Indian state,
on the Principal Contradiction and on the Path of Revolution. The adoption of these
draft documents on the ideological-political line of the Party is bound to advance the
revolutionary movement to a higher level. It is in this background, based on these
theoretical positions of these documents and taking into consideration the present
concrete situation in the country the following immediate tasks should be taken up on
an emergency basis.
12. The first and foremost task is to build up the party at all India level as the
vanguard of the Indian proletariat capable of completing the tasks of the People’s
Democratic Revolution and advancing towards the socialist revolution, assimilating
the experience of the Party building in the country during the last nine decades. The
experience of the revolutionary movement following the Naxalbari uprising including
the formation of the AICCCR, formation of the CPI(ML), the severe disintegration of
it and the experience of the numerous unity efforts including the experience of the
unity talks that led to the Vijayawada Unity Conference and the experience following
it should be concretely analysed to help the Party building. The ideological political
line determines everything is a Marxist-Leninist lesson which should be firmly upheld.
The severe set back suffered by the CPI(M)and CPI, and the right opportunist and
anarchist lines getting further exposed, combined with the intensification of all major
contradictions at national level have provided favourable opportunities to take up the
task of uniting all like minded forces based on the ideological-political line developed
by this Conference. A vigorous effort should be made to win over these forces, to
expand the organization to all areas and to consolidate it.
13. Certain steps are already taken up to strengthen the TU Centre at All India
level and to build the RYFI and AIRSO. Steps should be taken to build the peasant/
agricultural workers’ and women’s movement also at all India level. A cultural
movement also should be launched at all India level. All of them should be developed
politically and organizationally to develop class struggle and mass movements. Priority
should be given to mobilize the working class in ever larger numbers, to politicize
them, to forge unity of the working class so that it can be developed to a class for itself
capable of leading the PDR forward.
14. Similarly priority should be given to develop agrarian revolutionary
programme for each state, to develop land struggle committees and housing right
committees and to launch land struggles for revolutionary land reforms based on land
to the tiller, and to launch housing right struggles to ensure housing for all. The entry
of MNCs and corporate houses to agrarian sector should be resisted and the vast masses
of agricultural workers and landless-poor peasantry should be mobilized for
revolutionary agrarian program.
15. As already explained one-third of Indian population, about 40 crores are
students and youth in the age group of 15-35 years. An upsurge of students and youth
is a pre-condition for the countrywide revolutionary upsurge. With this understanding
the AIRSO and the RYFI should be developed as mass democratic movements.
16. In spite of repeated calls, the Party’s activities among women is still very
weak. Starting with organizing the working women, and rural women as a mass
democratic movement, the women’s movement should be developed on a priority
basis. Immediate attention should be given for this task.
17. From the Panchayat level to the national level, the party and all class/mass
organizations should organize political campaigns, and develop issue based movements
mobilizing vast masses against the rightist, anti-people onslaughts of the Central and
the State governments.
18. A uniform political orientation and organizational approach should be
developed to utilize elections from Panchayats to parliament as part of developing the
class struggle without becoming a victim of parliamentarism.
19. As already pointed out the revolutionary left and progressive forces with
anti-imperialist, democratic outlook have weakened under the onslaught of the ruling
system, under the influence of right opportunist and anarchist tendencies and with
various post-modernist and NGO influences gaining dominance weakening their
ideological-political approaches. Still there are some groups with limited areas of
influence with anti-imperialist, democratic outlook who are part of the communist
revolutionary and democratic camp working in some of the states. Though they are
not recognizing the necessity for developing the theory and practice according to the
present neo-colonial phase of imperialism, so long as they are ready to fight right
opportunist, sectarian and anarchist tendencies and are ready to struggle against the
ruling system, initiative should be taken to unite them in an Anti-imperialist, People’s
Democratic Forum. Similarly there are sections who have rebelled against the social
democratic CPI(M) leadership in Punjab, Kerala like states, who can also be brought
to this forum if they accept its broad programme. The party should give importance to
build up a broad based, programmatic People’s Democratic Forum at all India level
uniting all these sections who can be united to develop struggles against the central
and state governments and to strengthen the left alternative to the ruling system.
20. Our country is in an important conjuncture when in line with the neo-colonial
offensive of the imperialist camp, especially of the US imperialism, in more and more
heinous and pernicious forms, the ruling system is becoming more and more anti-
people. The second term of Manmohan Singh government is going to intensify the
onslaughts on all toiling and oppressed masses. This grave challenge can be met only
by speeding up our efforts to build the party by continuously developing the ideological
political line and revolutionary practice. The theoretical clarity provided, the
international approach developed and the guideline for immediate and long term
political tasks defined by this All India Special Conference should become the basis
for these. ■
Let the whole Party be united to take up these revolutionary tasks.

Advance Along the Path of People’s Democracy.
Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought
Long Live CPI (ML)
Central Committee
18-06-2009 CPI(ML)
Political Organisational Report
to the All India Special
Conference of CPI(ML)
(Draft)
1. Introduction
2. International Situation
3. Indian Situation
4. Evaluation of the Process of Party Re-organisation
5. Problems of Party Building – State of Party Organisation
6. Mobilisation of Working Class as Leader of the Revolution
7. Agrarian Revolutionary Movement
8. Youth and Student Movement
9. On Building Women’s Movement
10. On Cultural Movement
11. On Building United Fronts
12. Conclusion
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Vijayawada Unity Conference of the CPI(ML) Red Flag and the CPI(ML)
formed in 2003 with the unification of the COI(ML) and the CPI(ML) Unity Initiative
(hereafter called CPI(ML) of 2003) was held in January 2005 giving birth to the united
CPI(ML) at the culmination of the unity talks initiated between the CPI(ML) Red Flag
and the CPI(ML) Unity Initiative from September 2002 and the formation of the
coordination committee of the three organisations in May 2003. In the course of the
protracted discussion in the coordination committee and some joined actions including
the holding of the International Conference of the Marxist-Leninist Organisations in
January 2004 with the slogan Not Imperialism, Socialism is the Only Alternative against
the WSF meet, the Coordination Committee could draft four documents: the Outline
of Party Programme, the Constitution, the Political Resolution and the Unity Resolution.
But it was found that on four questions, namely, on evaluation of the Party History
between 1967 to 1972, on characterisation of the Indian state, on the Principal
Contradiction and on the Path of Revolution, serious differences existed.
1.2 The two organisations, CPI(ML) Red Flag and CPI(ML) of 2003, felt that in
the prevailing international and national situation only a united and strong Marxist-
Leninist Party can unite the masses and lead the people’s movements against the ruling
system serving imperialism, especially US imperialism. But the unity was eluding the
Marxist-Leninist movement. So both the organisations decided to merge in to a single
organisation based on the four documents drafted and to resolve the differences through
unity and struggle within the single organisation. To resolve the differences it was
decided to pursue the following democratic process: Firstly, soon after the Unity
Conference an inner-party organ will be started to help in-depth discussion on these
questions. Secondly, within one year after the Unity Conference an All India Plenum
shall be held to arrive at united evaluation of the Party History from 1967 to 1972.
Thirdly, an All India Special Conference shall be convened within two years from the
Unity Conference to resolve the differences on the other questions mentioned above.
1.3 After the Vijayawada Unity Conference, though the publication of an inner-
party organ, The Guide, was started and articles of leading comrades were published
in it on evaluation of the Party history of this period, due to the style of functioning
and dogmatic approach of the leading comrades of former CPI(ML) of 2003, the All
India Plenum could be held only after two and haft years in June 2007. The Plenum
itself was held violating all democratic principles. The leading comrades of former
CPI(ML) of 2003 tried to impose their way of evaluation creating unhealthy conditions.
Still due to the compromises made by former CPI(ML) Red Flag comrades and due to
the discipline of the delegates, the Plenum could be saved, a joint approach paper
could be arrived at, and remaining disputed questions were left to a History Commission.
1.4 In the context of the unhealthy atmosphere created during and after the All
India Plenum it was decided to hold the All India Special Conference to resolve the
remaining differences as early as possible and to achieve political centralisation in the
organisation. For this, a sub-committee was constituted by the CC meeting of August
2007 to prepare the draft documents. This CC meeting also decided that as soon as the
CC discuss the drafts, they should be published in The Guide, inner-party discussion
should be started on them and the Conference should be held by November 2009 to
resolve the differences. But due to the unhealthy attitude of the leading comrades of
former CPI(ML) of 2003 the preparation of the drafts were delayed. When ultimately
three sets of drafts came before the CC meeting of December 2008, the CCMs of
former CPI(ML) of 2003 resolved in writing that the drafts prepared reflecting the
views of former CPI(ML) Red Flag goes beyond the understanding of the Unity
Conference documents and cannot be published. As this CC meeting failed to resolve
the question, a letter was send by 8 state committees representing more than two third
of the total party membership to the General Secretary with copy to all CCMs that as
per provisions in the Constitution all drafts should be published in The Guide and the
Conference should be held based on them. In the CC meeting held on 21st January
2009 the CCMs of former CPI(ML) of 2003 insisted that the drafts of former CPI(ML)
Red Flag cannot be published. Their attempt was to impose their draft as the united
draft of the CC. It was in this situation, all the CCMs of former CPI(ML) Red Flag
decided to save the organisation constituting themselves as the CC of the CPI(ML), to
publish all the three sets of documents in The Communist, the theoretical journal, and
to hold the All India Special Conference before November 2009. It is in this background
this All India Special Conference is convened by the Central Committee.
2. INTERNATIONAL SITUATION
2.1 The present international situation is marked by severe global imperialist crisis,
unprecedented in its intensity. It is not a temporary phenomenon, or cannot be resolved
soon by bailing out the banks, insurance firms, MNCs, etc. who had indulged in reckless
speculation and plunder as even the imperialist and comprador economists and
spokespersons admit. The genesis of these crises was explained in the document “On
International Developments and Tasks of the Marxist-Leninist Forces” adopted by the
1997 Fourth Conference of CPI(ML) Red Flag as follows: “Though the imperialist
countries witnessed a post-World War II boom, it was only a temporary phenomenon.
Despite development of science and technology, large scale reconstruction work
following the war, giant arms industry etc., this boom could not be maintained. In
order to combat the growing challenge from the socialist forces many welfare measures
were adopted in the imperialist countries. It involved state intervention in the field of
production, services and distribution adopting Keynesian devices. But, including these
measures, the great investment boom of 1950s, which had greatly expanded the
manufacturing capacity, soon over-fulfilled the demands for machinery, consumer goods
etc. and by the end of 1960s the boom began to peter out despite all claims about
crisis-free imperialism.”
2.2 “Marxists evaluate that after the World War I imperialism entered in to a
period of irreversible crisis. Lenin in his works developed the idea that capitalism has
entered the period of irresolvable general crisis, which is leading to socialist revolution.
In a note prepared for the Third International Lenin also tried to make an analysis of
the economics and politics behind this crisis. He pointed out many reasons for this
crisis, like exhaustion of raw materials, weakening of the industry, fall of currencies,
debts, deflation, ‘dislocation’ breaks up of the whole system of world economy etc.
(Collected Works, Vol. 35, p-451). Along with these, and as a result of them, the
emergence of Communist movement and Soviet power was also pointed out by him.
After Lenin, Stalin has explained this outlook on capitalist general crisis more clearly.
Stalin wrote that “the chronic under-capacity operation of industry, chronic mass
unemployment, the interweaving of the industrial crisis with an agricultural crisis, the
absence of tendencies towards a more or less serious renewal of fixed capital which
usually heralds the approach of a boom etc., etc.” (Problems of Leninism, p-459)”
2.3 “Except for a period of less than two decades following World War II, all
these observations of Stalin are proved correct. Even this temporary stability was due
to the reconstruction activities following the war and due to the intervention of state in
the field of economy, a policy copied from the Soviet experience, as already mentioned.
But this in itself did not provide any solution to the general crisis. On the contrary, a
study of the later developments of the bourgeois economic order showed that this
temporary stability only prolonged the dangerous crisis for the time being.
“In 1971 for the first time in this century the trade accounts of US fell in to
deficit. Soon US unilaterally suspended convertibility of dollar into gold, going back
from its Brettonwoods promise, soon to be followed by two devaluations of dollar.
With the major currencies starting to float in relation to one another, a period of great
instability followed with foreign exchange speculators reaping giant profits and
economies of imperialist countries going to tailspin, facing chaos.
“It was as a part of the efforts to save themselves from this growing crisis
Britain and US introduced Thatcherism and Reaganomics, which were followed soon
by other imperialist countries also. State intervention in economy is now increasingly
abandoned. All public sector and government controlled enterprises are being
privatised. Welfare measures are cut down. Soon IMF and World Bank started dictating
Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) in all debtor countries also on these lines.”
2.4 Further intensifying this structural adjustment regime through which Laissez
Faire was re-introduced replacing the post-war Keynesian approach, the US imperialism
clamouring for New World Order under its absolute hegemony went ahead to impose
Washington Consensus in 1990 through IMF without bothering to evolve a consensus
among the imperialist countries, or to hold discussion with the ‘developing countries’.
The globalisation-liberalisation-privatisation regime of the Washington Consensus,
which is also called neo-liberalism or market fundamentalism, dictated the following
‘ten commandments’: “fiscal discipline; redirection of public expenditure priorities in
order to get high returns; tax reform to lower the marginal rates and broaden the tax
base; liberalisation of interest rates; competitive exchange rate; liberalisation of trade;
encouragement to free inflow of foreign direct investment; privatisation of public assets,
under-takings, facilities, etc.; deregulation in order to abolish barriers to entry and
exit of firms whether indigenous or foreign; and guaranteeing secure property rights”.
Subsidies, poverty alleviation schemes and welfare programmes were regarded as
wasteful expenditures and they were to be done away with as early as possible. The
role of the state in the economy was to be kept as small as possible and the economy
was left to be driven by the “magic of the marketplace”. In America, the Glass-Steagall
Act of 1933, separating investment and commercial banking, was abrogated. Similarly
other regulatory mechanisms were discarded. Consequently, the ground was gradually
prepared for the present crisis.”
2.5 All over the world the process of dismantling the public sector was taken up
at a maddening speed. All regulatory measures were removed. The IMF-World Bank-
WTO trio and the MNCs with the speculative race at the market place started creating
havoc. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 introduced to stem the 1930 crisis was abrogated
and hedge funds were formed and operated. As a result of all these the fundamental
contradiction within the capitalist-imperialist system, i.e., the contradiction between
socialisation of production and privatisation of means of production further intensified
giving rise to the present crisis which is proved more severe than the one of 1930. It is
in this context the G-20 Summit at London in the beginning of April 2009 made a
pretence of putting a brake on Laissez Faire, to bid farewell to the Washington
Consensus. It talks of replacing market fundamentalism with ‘marketplace innovations’.
Its proclamation stated: “to build a stronger, more globally consistent, supervisory
and regulatory framework for the future financial sector, which will support sustainable
global growth and serve the needs of business and citizens’. Further, ‘We each agree
to ensure our domestic regulatory systems are strong. But we also agree to establish
the much greater consistency and systematic cooperation between countries, and the
framework of internationally agreed high standards that a global financial system
requires. Strengthened regulation and supervision must promote propriety, integrity
and transparency; guard against risk across the financial system; dampen rather than
amplify the financial and economic cycle; reduce reliance on inappropriately risky
sources of financing; and discourage excessive risk-taking. Regulators and supervisors
must protect consumers and investors, support market discipline, avoid adverse impacts
on other countries, reduce the scope for regulatory arbitrage, support competition and
dynamism, and keep pace with innovation in the marketplace”. It was even claimed
that efforts shall be made to diminish the role of the dollar as the only international
currency. As already shown, these were only gimmicks to hoodwink the masses.
2.6 But these reforms are not going to solve the terrific consequences of the general
crisis of imperialism, which has broken out with unprecedented fury this time. As
Lenin pointed out the finance capital took birth with speculative and parasitic character.
These characteristics of finance capital have taken most vulgar and predatory forms
now, with monopolization reaching unprecedented levels and still intensifying. As a
result the crisis of imperialist system goes on intensifying imposing more and more
miseries on the working class and the oppressed peoples and nations the world over.
The contradictions between imperialism and the oppressed peoples and nations and
between capital and labour are intensifying very fast. It is also paving the way for cut
throat competition among the imperialist countries and monopoly groups continuously
sharpening the contradiction among them.
2.7 However hard the G-8 and G-20 Summits may try to ‘reform’ imperialism,
however hard the imperialists, especially US imperialists, may try to utilise the services
of the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie controlling the state power in the large
number of the neo-colonial countries to transfer the burden to the working class and
the masses of these countries along with to the working class of their own countries,
however hard the IMF-World Bank-WTO trio and MNCs are utilised for this purpose,
the global imperialist meltdown has reached such a serious stage that a speedy recovery
is not envisaged even by the most ardent imperialist spokespersons including US
president Obama. That the only alternative before the working class and the oppressed
peoples and nations is to throw out imperialism, the barbarous world order of plunder
and war, is becoming clearer day by day. Not imperialism, socialism is the only
alternative before the people. Slogans like “There Is No Alternative” to imperialist
globalisation are proved counter revolutionary. In spite of the fact that the International
Communist Movement (ICM) has suffered a severe setback with almost all the erstwhile
socialist countries degenerating to capitalist path, the contradiction between imperialism
and socialist forces continues to exist as one of the fundamental contradictions and the
driving force for the world proletariat and the oppressed peoples and nations in the
present era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. It is those who went under the
influence of the capitalist roaders in China and the class-collaborationist Theory of
Three Worlds they had peddled once, it is those who have fallen victims to the counter
revolutionary offensive of imperialism and world reaction, who have obliterated the
contradiction between imperialism and socialism from their party programmes.
Explaining this point A Proposal Concerning the General Line of the ICM, the 1963
document of CPC pointed out:
“What are the fundamental contradictions in the contemporary world? Marxist-
Leninists consistently hold that they are:
the contradiction between the socialist camp and the imperialist camp;
the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in the capitalist
countries;
the contradiction between the oppressed nations and imperialism; and
the contradictions among imperialist countries and among monopoly capitalist
groups.
The contradiction between the socialist camp and the imperialist camp is a
contradiction between two fundamentally different social systems, socialism and
capitalism. It is undoubtedly very sharp...
The international balance of forces has changed and has become increasingly
favourable to socialism and to all the oppressed peoples and nations of the world,
and most unfavourable to imperialism and the reactionaries of all countries.
Nevertheless, the contradictions enumerated above still objectively exist.
These contradictions and the struggles to which they give rise are interrelated
and influence each other. Nobody can obliterate any of these fundamental
contradictions or subjectively substitute one for all the rest.
It is inevitable that these contradictions will give rise to popular revolutions,
which alone can resolve them.”
2.8 In the present international situation, as no socialist camp exists this should
be replaced by the socialist forces, the revolutionary forces struggling for socialism.
So the statement of the Outline of the Party Programme adopted by the 2005 Unity
Conference is basically correct. It states: “In this era of imperialism and proletarian
revolution, the imperialist system is beset with ever deepening crisis. It has led to
sharpening of all the contradictions in the international level, viz.
1. The contradiction between the imperialism and the oppressed nations and
people of the world;
2. The contradiction between capital and labour’
3. The contradiction among the imperialist countries and among monopoly
groups;
4. The contradiction between imperialism and socialism.”
The following declaration of the 1963 General Line document summarizing the
evaluation of the 1957 Moscow Declaration and 1960 Moscow Statement is still a
valuable contribution which should be upheld and pursued according to the concrete
conditions of today: “Workers of all countries, unite; workers of the world, unite with
the oppressed peoples and oppressed nations; oppose imperialism and reaction in all
countries; strive for world peace, national liberation, people’s democracy and socialism;
consolidate and expand the socialist camp; bring the proletarian world revolution step
by step to complete victory; and establish a new world without imperialism, without
capitalism and without the exploitation of man by man. This, in our view, is the general
line of the international communist movement at the present stage.”
2.9 In the post-World War II situation when US imperialism came to the leadership
of the imperialist camp, it was mainly the growing challenge from the socialist camp
and the intensification of national liberation movements which had compelled the
replacement of colonial forms of plunder by the neo-colonial forms of plunder, more
pernicious and heinous forms of plunder. From the 1970s with the intensification of
the general crisis of imperialism, in order to shift the burden of this crisis to world
proletariat and the oppressed peoples the structural adjustment programmes replacing
Keynesian policies with Laissez Faire were introduced through more ruthless
intervention of IMF-World Bank and later WTO along with the MNCs. As the crisis
did not disappear, in the favourable situation created with the disintegration of Soviet
Union, the Washington Consensus of neo-liberalism and market fundamentalism on
the one hand and direct aggressions in West Asia, deployment of NGOs more
extensively, etc. on the other hand were utilised to transfer the burden to the world
people, further intensifying the fundamental contradictions at international level. In
the present situation of unprecedented imperialist meltdown, in spite of all false
promises at the G-20 Summit of transforming the imperialist system, all the imperialist
countries, especially US imperialism, is going to intensify its barbarous predatory
methods of plunder and aggressions. It is going to intensify the contradiction between
capital and labour, between imperialism and oppressed peoples and nations on the one
hand and among the imperialist forces and monopoly groups on the other. All these
developments are going to bring the contradiction between imperialism and socialist
forces to the foreground.
2.10 Pledging to continue the ‘war on terror’, using new words, the Obama
administration is going to intensify the interference in Afghanistan, continue the military
presence in Iraq, escalate the anti-Taliban operations ruthlessly in to Pakistan and
putting into practice the time-tested methods of committing military aggressions,
destabilisation and control of more and more countries. For this purpose communalism,
religious fundamentalism, racism, etc. are wantonly utilised. Imperialism, especially
US imperialism, is throwing ever intensifying challenges before the oppressed peoples
and nations. In order to get over the present global crisis, it is multiplying the
exploitation and oppression of all toiling sections. In this situation, it is the primary
responsibility of our Party to join hands with like-minded Marxist-Leninist forces at
international level and develop an active international platform of such forces to start
with for developing united struggles against imperialism and world reaction. Out Party
is duty bound to carry forward this task as fast as possible, overcoming the weaknesses
in the past few years.
3. Indian Situation
3.1 The elections to the 15th Lok Sabha had taken place at a critical time in the
history of our country. In the context of the worst ever crisis faced by the imperialist
system as a whole, especially US imperialism, and as a result of the last five years of
Congress-led UPA rule, our country is in the grip of unprecedented crisis. As a
consequence of the neo-liberal policies and of integrating its economy to the global
financial capital, which is getting increasingly dominated by speculative and parasitic
character leading to present global financial crisis, the attacks on the masses of people
have intensified unprecedentedly. Six decades after the 1947 transfer of power the
national unity and democratic values developed through many decades of strenuous
countrywide anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggles are abandoned, vast majority of
the people have become increasingly pauperised while a tiny minority is becoming
rich or super-rich, the country is increasingly devastated under the imperialist
globalization policies pursued by the ruling classes and the political parties representing
them, and whatever sovereignty it had achieved is systematically decimated reducing
the country to the strategic subservience of US imperialism.
3.2 The election to the 14th Lok Sabha was held in 2004 when six years of BJP-
led NDA rule had led the country to a dangerous situation by speeding up imperialist
globalisation policies in a frenzied manner and intensifying communal fascist moves
including the Gujarat massacre. Though BJP leadership tried to cover up its, anti-
people policies through its ‘India Shining’ campaign, along with its allies it lost the
election. Congress-led UPA supported by the Left Front took over based on a Common
Minimum Programme (CMP) claiming to reverse the NDA government’s policies.
But from the beginning it acted against these promises. It further speeded up imperialist
globalization-liberalisation–privatisation policies including enactment of numerous
laws for SEZs, CMZ, opening the economy further to global finance agencies and
MNCs.
3.3 It allowed corporate houses and MNCs to enter agricultural sector at an
increased level, and in to procurement of agricultural products, while the government
agencies were withdrawn from it. The Public Distribution System (PDS) was further
weakened. In the name of establishing parity with international market rates, prices of
petroleum products and other essential commodities were repeatedly hiked leading to
inflation and price rise reaching unprecedented levels. Fields of education, healthcare
etc. are surrendered to privatisation and market-oriented forces. All welfare measures
are further cut down or eliminated.
3.4 The rights of the working class, adivasis, dalits and all oppressed sections
were snatched away pauperizing them further in all respects. Even existing land ceilings
were reversed to assist land concentration with corporates, land lords, mafias etc.
The de-industrialisation, that is, closing down of tens of thousands of labour-intensive
industries, continued. In the name of export-oriented development, self-reliance was
further eroded, giving one-sided emphasis to IT and service sectors. MNCs were
more freely allowed to enter in all fields. Speculative and parasitic capital was allowed
a field day.
3.5 In the name of establishing strategic relationship with US imperialism, throwing
overboard whatever sovereignty was left, numerous military pacts were signed crowned
by the Indo-US Nuclear Act. It led to voting in the IAEA and in other fields at the
dictates of US, even abandoning the extremely fruitful Iran-Pak-India Natural Gas
Pipeline. It has led to estrangement of relationship with the neighbouring countries
further. Whatever positive character the country’s foreign policy had is destroyed.
What has happened as a result of all these policies is that effects of the ‘bubble economy’
has taken over this country also. That is why the oft-repeated claims about the high
GDP growth and industrial growth rate are proved hollow and the Indian economy is
also rocking with the grave consequences of the present imperialist crisis starting
from the US.
3.6 The neo-liberal policies have led to economic ruin for vast majority, with
only a minority getting enriched. Contrary to the claims of the UPA government about
combating communal offensive of the Sangh Parivar, its communal appeasement
policies have led to the communalization of all walks of life in the country reaching
dangerous levels. Everything including terrorism is communalized. The minorities are
criminally targeted by the state machinery while the Sangh Parivar forces are allowed
to escape even after repetition of the Gujarat massacre like acts in Orissa and elsewhere
and even after the launching of their own terrorist outfits. The caste divide and
suppression of dalits and adivasis have also intensified. Utilizing growing uneven
developments, parochial forces also have gained strength. In the name of combating
these, military is deployed in many areas and state terror is unleashed wantonly. All
these have led to erosion of the national unity and strengthening of the destabilizing
forces in the country as desired by the US imperialists.
3.7 Five years of UPA government has witnessed further cutting down of all social
welfare policies, sky-rocketing of prices of essential commodities and unemployment.
There was further snatching away of democratic rights, and utilization of black acts.
Corruption has become rampant in all fields. Exploitation of and atrocities on women
and children have intensified. The devastating ‘development policy’ has led to further
ecological destruction. The number of people below poverty line have also gone up
considerably. In short, five years of Congress-led UPA rule which was propped up by
the LF for more than four years have further intensified the neo-colonial slavery,
pauperization of the masses and communal fascist threats to unprecedented levels. It
has further weakened national unity and led to the growth of the forces of disintegration.
As a result the country is on the verge of great social, economic and political crisis.
3.8 The experience of the last six decades, especially of the last two decades
dominated by the neo-liberal policies and communal onslaughts, and more markedly
by the six years of NDA rule followed by the last five years of UPA rule reveal that the
great heritage of our independence struggle and of the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal
national traditions are getting completely wiped out. They are replaced by pseudo
nationalism, communal fascism and neo-colonial hegemony of imperialist powers,
especially US imperialism. The class character and ideological –political orientation
of the various political parties in the ruling political spectrum shows that all of them
are party to these acts of national betrayal and communal, casteist onslaughts.
3.9 During the post -1947 decades, especially after imposition of imperialist
globalization the big bourgeoisie growing in to a powerful corporate class has increased
its subservience and collaboration with imperialists, especially US imperialists. The
bureaucracy, fattening more and more through corruption is increasingly collaborating
with global capital interests. Though feudal relations have considerably changed, the
feudal remnants along with the kulaks, the big landlord class are combining with the
big bourgeoisie and the bureaucracy to amass wealth and to run the ruling system
collaborating increasingly with the imperialists, especially US imperialists. The various
ruling class parties, big or small, are serving the interests of these classes. As a result
none of these parties are ready to wage any struggle against imperialist globalization
which is ruining the country and pauperising vast majority of the masses, against its
savage consequences like cutting down of all welfare measures, price rise,
unemployment, deprivation of democratic rights etc. All of them are getting increasingly
alienated from the masses. So they want to get people’s attention diverted from the
burning issues they are facing. They promote forces of degeneration and disintegration
for this purpose. They are taking lessons from the imperialist forces who are past-
masters in this, and who have much interest in destabilising the country.
3.10 As the election campaign for the six state assemblies has proved, all these
parties are consciously avoiding any serious discussion on the consequences of global
economic meltdown that has started from the US, on imperialist globalization which
has integrated Indian economy with the global capital-market system leading to these
grievous consequences for the country and the people, on Indo-US Nuclear Treaty
and on other policies which have led the country to strategic subservience to US
imperialism, the devastating consequences of the present neo-liberal ‘development’
policies, etc. All basic socio-economic-political issues are in the main side-lined from
election time debates. The same practice was repeated on a mega scale more
systematically with a multi-billion budget in the Lok Sabha elections.
3.11 Along with this, divisive policies like communal, caste, parochial, chauvinist
issues are highlighted. Such tendencies are provided encouragement to act criminally
dividing the people. For example take the case of BJP and the Sangh Parivar forces.
They are spreading Hindutva communal fascism wantonly. The Gujarat pattern is being
repeated in Orissa, Karnataka like states. Each and every issue is communalized. They
spread terrorism as proved in the investigation of Malegaon bomb blasts in which the
involvement of many leading figures of Sangh Parivar and its links among army officers
is exposed. When others try to retaliate in the same way it is communalized targeting
the Muslims. As the state machinery is already communalized to a large extent, it is
becoming handy for them to attack the minorities.
3.12 While the BJP-led state governments are promoting these communal fascist,
chauvinist tendencies, the Congress-led central and state governments refuse to act
against these. Congress and its allies indulge in communal appeasement. While Musilms
are targeted as a whole for terrorist acts, the Hindu fundamentalist forces are allowed
to escape. Similarly the Congress-NCP Maharashtra government allowed Raj Thackeray
and his MNS, an offshoot of Shiv Sena, to grow in to a criminal gang assaulting the
North Indian migrant people. The state machinery is reduced to silent spectators or
even abettors of this wanton, criminal communalization of all walks of social life and
politics.
3.13 Since consecutive central governments had refused to take steps for the political
solution of J&K and North East peoples’ struggles for self-determination, the
antagonism in these areas is intensifying, with their increasing communalization. As
military occupation of these areas is continuing, it is only intensifying the contradictions
there. And the very same political forces responsible for prolonging the agony in these
areas are utilizing it for their narrow political ends.
3.14 Uneven development and its intensification are inherent characters of the
present comprador ruling system. Consecutive governments at centre and in the states
are only promoting them further. Utilizing people’s grievances created by this uneven
development, parochial forces come up and thrive on them. All political parties purse
opportunist policies allowing them to grow. And they are utilized as allies to promote
vote banks. Worse is the case with the caste question. Instead of putting down caste-
based suppression of dalits and other oppressed sections and promoting a casteless
society, caste is increasingly utilized as a vote bank, not only by BSP like caste-based
parties, but by all other ruling class parties also.
3.15 As a result of all these, the forces of degeneration and disintegration are getting
strengthened day by day, and they are dominating the political spectrum. The political
approach spread by the NGOs contribute to their growth further. Imperialists, especially
US imperialists, have vested interests to promote these forces to intensify their neo-
colonization drive. The ruling class parties are acting as convenient tools of imperialist
powers and corporate houses in this nefarious game. The corporate media also play a
major role in de-politicizing the election campaign. Along with it, money, muscle and
liquor power is profusely utilized. The corrupt and communalized state machinery
also play its dirty role. Thus the basic issues involved in the election are covered up,
communal-caste-parochial-fringe issues are highlighted, individuals are projected above
political positions and the election is reduced to a farce in practice, so that the different
ruling class parties or their fronts sharing basically similar lines can continue to share
power. All of them are interested to make the elections a game of musical chair among
the major ruling class parties. The drama which was enacted in US elections for electing
the president and the elections in other imperialist countries are repeated in a more
shabby form here.
3.16 The situation before and during the Lok Sabha elections had become more
dangerous as there is a significant shift to rightist positions by the ‘mainstream’ parties
and the state apparatus. With more corporate control, the media was also showing this
rightist shift. An alarming tolerance is shown to communalism, religious
fundamentalism, caste forces and reaction, even superstitions, to going back to old
rituals and beliefs by growing sections. In the socio-cultural fields also this shift is
evident. Along with intensification of the penetration of imperialist culture and capitalist
values, something like blind allegiance to the imperialist way of life, ‘US patriotism’
is spreading among the middle class. This degenerates whatever progressive values
society and polity had achieved from the time of the renaissance movement. This is
getting reflected even among the pseudo-left parties like CPI(M) with it openly
canvassing for prime ministership and participation in the next ministry quite contrary
to its stand till 2000. Some of the erstwhile Marxist-Leninist sections have started
openly aligning with CPI(M), which could not be thought of few years back. This
trend has created a favourable atmosphere for more blatant neo-colonisation, growth
of further US influence and the state becoming more fascistic. The Congress-led UPA
gaining major gains in the LS elections and the Manmohan Singh Government returning
to power is a result of this rightist trend getting strengthened in the country day by day.
The Party should take stock of this situation and intensify its efforts to become capable
of uncompromising struggle against the ruling system.
3.17 It is in this international and Indian context, the evaluation of the experience
of our Party building including the experience of the unity with the CPI(ML) of 2003
should be taken up. As this All India Special Conference is going to take up the
discussion and finalisation of the draft documents, namely, the International Situation
and the Tasks of the Marxist-Leninist Forces, the Character of Indian State, the
Principal Contradiction and the Path of Indian Revolution, these shall provide the
orientation to take up the challenges of building the Party at all India level on Bolshevik
style, to build class and mass organisations at all India level, to develop the working
class movement and agrarian revolutionary movement, to mobilise state level and
national level mass movements against the increasingly anti-people, autocratic, neo-
colonial ruling system. Let the evaluation of the past experience, especially after the
Sixth All India Conference of the CPI(ML) Red Flag and from the time of the
Vijayawada Unity Conference and charting of the immediate tasks at political and
organisational level in all fields be taken up based on the perspective of the documents
before the Conference.
4 The Question of Uniting All Genuine Communist Forces, Building and
Strengthening of CPI(ML) into a Bolshevik Style Communist Party With
Country-wide Influence
4.1 Struggle Against Neo-Revisionism
4.1.1 The inner-party struggle against the Dangeist leadership in the undivided CPI
against degeneration of the Party into an appendix of the Congress Party, the main
political representative of big bourgeois-big landlord classes serving imperialism in
line with the class collaborationist Krushchovite clique which had usurped the
leadership of the Party and the state in the Soviet Union, went on intensifying leading
to the split in 1964 and the formation of the CPI(M). Though the Seventh Congress of
the CPI(M) in November 1964 adopted a Party Programme based on the programmatic
approach and the policy statement put forward in 1951, it refused to recognise the
collaboration of the big bourgeoisie with imperialism as its main character, to uphold
the basic positions of the Proposal Concerning the General Line of ICM put forward
by the CPC in 1963 against the revisionist line of “peaceful co-existence and peaceful
competition with imperialism and peaceful transition to socialism” of the Soviet party
leadership, and to put forward a proletarian revolutionary line for advancing the People’s
Democratic Revolution. The CPI(M) leadership did not try to settle accounts with the
rightist tendencies including trade unionism, parliamentarism and reformist positions
which were gaining strength in spite of the split with the Dangesit line. As a result, by
degenerating to neo-revisionist positions, in 1967 general elections the CPI(M)
leadership formed united fronts with the renegade CPI and reactionary and communal
forces in the name of defeating the Congress. Following the elections, it formed
ministries in West Bengal and Kerala joining with these forces, deviating to the line of
parliamentarism and class collaboration. These CPI(M)-led governments in West
Bengal and Kerala refused to implement even the land reforms called for by the All
India Kisan Sabha under its leadership.
4.1.2 The Communist Revolutionaries (CRs) within the CPI(M) had started an inner-
party struggle against the rightist line of the leadership immediately after the Seventh
Congress focussing on the theory and practice of the People’s Democratic Revolution
in the concrete conditions of India and upholding the Proposal Concerning the General
Line of the ICM put forward by the CPC. The formation of the opportunist united
front in 1967 elections followed by the formation of the coalition ministries confirmed
their criticism that the leadership is deviating to right opportunist line. The inner-party
struggle developed focussing on the approach to be taken towards agrarian revolution
based on the land to the tiller slogan and other vital issues. Demanding confiscation
and distribution of the surplus lands based on ceiling laws, and revolutionalisation of
the land reforms with the land to tiller approach, the CRs within the CPI(M) led the
historic Naxalbari uprising in North Bengal in May 1967, which was brutally suppressed
by the CPI(M)-led government.
4.1.3 As the Approach Paper of the CC adopted by the 2007 Plenum of the CPI(ML)
evaluated: “After Telengana, the Naxalbari uprising and Srikakulam movement
provided an excellent opportunity to break free from the chains of revisionism and
neo-revisionism which dominated the communist movement at that time and to take
steps to build a genuine party of the proletariat guided by Marxism-Leninism-Mao
Tsetung Thought.” The CRs within the CPI(M) organised with this purpose, first the
Naxalbari Krishak Sangram Sahayak Committee, soon to be followed by the All India
Coordination Committee of CRs within the CPI(M). But as the 1968 Burdwan Plenum
of the CPI(M) exposed the Krushchovite line of the CPI(M) leadership, the CRs decided
to revolt against the leadership, to come out of the CPI(M), and to form the All India
Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR).
4.2 Towards Formation of CPI(ML)
4.2.1 Following the call of the AICCCR to create Naxalbaris all over the country,
revolutionary agrarian movements started developing in Srikakulam in AP, Debra-
Gobiballabhpur in West Bengal, Mushahari in Bihar, Terai region of UP and elsewhere.
Millions of youth and students were inspired and joined the revolutionary upheaval.
But the leadership of the AICCCR failed to concretely analyse the conditions and
class relations in India two decades after the transfer of power and to apply Marxist-
Leninist theory in the conditions when the imperialist camp led by US imperialism
had resorted to neo-colonial forms of plunder in the decades following World War II.
Though it uncompromisingly opposed the Soviet revisionism, denounced the
transformation of socialist Soviet Union into a social imperialist power, upheld the
Proposal Concerning the General Line of the ICM put forward by the CPC, propagated
the theory and practice of the great Cultural Revolution in China and resorted to
intensification of ideological struggle against revisionist CPI and neo-revisionist
CPI(M), due to the above mentioned weakness in analysing the concrete objective
conditions in India and due to the influence of the sectarian line dominating the 1969
Ninth Congress of the CPC, which it was upholding as the international authority,
soon it deviated to sectarian positions. It scuttled the possibilities for developing the
AICCCR as the platform of the Communist Revolutionaries coming from different
parts of the country.
4.2.2 The formation of the CPI(ML) as the vanguard of the Indian proletariat on
22nd April 1969 was a timely and bold step in the objective situation existing then for
the formation of a genuine communist party based on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung
Thought. It was declared as a historic step in continuation to the revolutionary heritage
of the Indian communist movement from 1920s, by uniting all the CR forces active in
the country for leading the people’s struggles surging forward in different parts of the
country. But as the ‘left’ sectarian line manifested in the adoption of the line of individual
annihilation against mass line and people’s revolutionary struggles and in adopting
the guerrilla warfare as the only form of struggle rejecting all class/mass organisations
and other forms of struggles, and squad as the only form of organisation, the enthusiasm
created by the formation of the party started waning fast. As a result of this and due to
the intensifying attack by the state machinery and comprador forces by 1971-72 the
revolutionary movement suffered severe setbacks and CPI(ML) splintered in to a
number of different groups. Though the CR forces who were not part of the CPI(ML)
got organised in to different groups and were opposing the ‘left’ sectarian line of the
CPI(ML), they also failed in the concrete analysis of Indian situation and in developing
the strategic approach and tactical line for Indian revolution. As a result, they also
soon got weakened and splintered continuously.
4.3 Marxist-Leninist Movement after Setback
4.3.1 By 1973 the CPI(ML) had splitted mainly into three trends: Firstly, those
sections who had rejected the line of annihilation and Charu Majumdar’s leadership
totally and opted for mass line. But in spite of rejecting the sectarian line they could
not analyse the reasons for its emergence and domination, they could not overcome
the weakness in analysing the objective conditions in the country and in developing
the revolutionary mass line to carry forward the democratic revolution. Incapable of
any creative initiative, in the name of fighting ‘left’ sectarian line, these sections were
deviating to just opposite positions, to right sectarian positions. Secondly, those sections,
mainly in West Bengal, who rejected the 10th Congress positions of the CPC and were
upholding the Lin Biaoist positions which had already done immense damage to the
communist movement both in China and internationally. Thirdly, those sections who
were still upholding ‘com. Charu Majumdar’s revolutionary line’, who had taken up
in their own way the question of rectification as pointed out in the last article of CM,
“People’s Interest is Party’s Interest”. In spite of these divisions, when the bourgeois
democratic movement erupted under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan against
Indira Gandhi rule and later when internal emergency was declared by her government,
the CPI(ML) as well as non-CPI(ML) groups played active role in the struggle against
autocratic Indira regime.
4.4 Problems of Re-organisation of CPI(ML)
4.4.1 In 1977 elections the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi was defeated.
Emergency was withdrawn. Large number of the CR forces incarcerated for long was
released. Meanwhile, in 1976 Mao Tsetung passed away. Immediately after it the
capitalist roaders in CPC usurped power of both the Party and of the state and put
forward the ‘Theory of Three Worlds’ (TWT) as the General Line of the International
Proletariat. Evaluation of the new political developments in India, and the developments
in the ICM was a new challenge before the CR forces. According to the way they
responded to these developments, the old polarisation gave way to the new polarisations
among CR forces. But whatever may be the polarisation of these sections almost all of
them were still adhering to the ‘Chinese path’ mechanically, analysing India as a semi-
colonial, semi-feudal country and protracted people’s war as the path of revolution.
Though most of them had accepted the Proposal Concerning the General Line of the
ICM of 1963, and the Cultural Revolution, they mechanically upheld the Dengists
who had usurped power and their TWT. They failed to grasp the changes taking place
in the agrarian sector following the ceiling laws imposed from above and the green
revolution, to understand the class character of the agrarian struggles coming up from
the post-emergency years and the neo-colonial form of plunder intensifying in the
country. Though by 1982 many of these groups, except CPI(ML) Liberation and some
other fringe groups, denounced the Dengist revisionists, they still clung to the class
collaborationist Three World Theory. At the same time, some of these groups like
CPI(ML) People’s War, CPI(ML) Party Unity and MCC were mechanically pursuing
the line of annihilation and guerrilla struggle as the only form of struggle with some
technical improvements. The Lin Biaoists, after another short outburst in mid-1980s,
almost vanished and got reduced as a fascination of certain petti-bourgeois elements
in West Bengal.
4.4.2 The 1980s was a crucial period both internationally and nationally. At
international level the imperialist camp led by US imperialism was facing yet another
upswing of its general crisis. Abandoning the Keynesian policies adopted during post-
World War II years, under the new intensifying crisis manifested as stagflation, it had
adopted the neo-liberal policies. The international communist movement had suffered
further reverses and setbacks, with the degeneration of China and Albania also to
capitalist path and almost all communist parties formed during Comintern (Communist
International) period to social democratic line. Within the country the comprador ruling
system was in a severe economic crisis creating upheavals in the socio-political spheres.
While the CPI, CPI(M) like forces had degenerated to social democratic positions, the
CR forces were also facing serious challenges with some groups deviating to rightist
path and some others to sectarian, anarchist line.
4.5 CRC, CPI(ML) Adopts Neo-colonial Approach
4.5.1 It was at this time, in continuation of its denunciation of the capitalist roaders
who usurped power in China, the metaphysical line of the Albanian revisionists and
class collaborationist Three World Theory, upholding the Proposal Concerning the
General Line of the ICM put forward by the CPC in 1963 and the nine comments
published by it as part the Great Debate, and initiating an analysis of the concrete
conditions in the country during the post-World War II decades, especially following
the 1947 transfer of power as part of the ‘de-colonisation’ resorted to by the imperialist
camp led by US imperialism for its neo-colonial offensive, the CRC, CPI(ML) in its
First All India Conference in 1982 tried to apply the Marxist-Leninist understanding
about the replacement of colonial form of occupation and plunder by the neo-colonial
form of exploitation during the post- World War II decades by the imperialist camp
led by US imperialism. In continuation to this, through concrete studies of Indian
situation it pointed out that while feudal remnants were continuing to exist in some
regions, under imperialist promoted ceiling laws and green revolution the feudal
landlords were being replaced by the agricultural bourgeoisie and rich peasants, a
kulak class as they were called. It was these classes who were mainly leading the
agrarian struggles for remunerative prices of agricultural outputs and subsidies for
inputs. It manifested the contradiction among the ruling classes contrary to the views
of some of the CR groups who were mechanically supporting them.
4.5.2 This neo-colonial understanding put forward by the CRC, CPI(ML) was a
major breakthrough in the direction of concrete analysis of contemporary Indian
conditions in continuation to the positions taken by the CR forces internationally and
in India during 1960s and early 1970s. It was an attempt to study and apply Marxism-
Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought in present conditions to develop the theory and practice
of People’s Democratic or New Democratic Revolution in India. Based on this
understanding it tried to analyse the reasons for the setbacks suffered by the ICM from
1950s and initiative was taken to bring the Marxist-Leninist forces at international
level on a common platform for mobilising the struggle against imperialism and world
reaction. Though these were significant steps, as a result of the emergence of a petti-
bourgeois, chauvinist line within the leading committee, the efforts to carry forward
this line was seriously affected. The CRC, CPI(ML) faced a serious inner party struggle
in 1987 in the course of which this alien trend led by K. Venu was defeated and isolated.
4.6 Towards Formation of CPI(ML) Red Flag
4.6.1 Very soon in a special conference of the vast majority of the comrades of the
CRC, CPI(ML) was reorganised as CPI(ML) Red Flag and the efforts to re-organise
the Marxist-Leninist movement in the country were carried forward with a new vigour.
In continuation to the neo-colonial understanding, in 1983 the line of individual
annihilation, the line of guerrilla struggle as the only form of struggle and the Concept
of Charu Majumdar’s Revolutionary Line were rejected, and a political organisational
resolution was adopted to reorganise the party on Bolshevik lines surrounded by class/
mass organisations. The Second All India Conference of the CPI(ML) Red Flag in
1991 and the All India Plenum of 1993 further developed this ideological, political
and organisational understanding. The Third All India Conference in 1994 put forward
the stand that while intensifying the efforts to develop the ideological-political line
based on the neo-colonial understanding and to organisationally develop the Party,
efforts should be made to build a platform of Marxist-Leninist organisations at all
India level to wage country-wide struggles on common issues against the ruling system.
Based on this understanding while the Party organised a country-wide movement against
imperialist globalisation imposed by the Congress government in 1991, against signing
of the GATT Treaty in 1994 and against joining the WTO in 1995, the joint forum of
six organisations formed in 1995 took up many country-wide campaigns.
4.6.2 The Fourth All India Conference in 1997 developing the neo-colonial
understanding further adopted the international document: “On International
Developments and Tasks of the Marxist-Leninist Forces”. Based on this, the party
joined hands with like minded forces at international level to carry forward the task of
building a platform of the Marxist-Leninist forces. In the Fifth All India Conference,
the Party adopted a new party programme analysing India as a neo-colonial country.
These were significant steps forward. Now the urgent task before the organisation was
to develop a Path of Revolution document based on the programmatic approach
adopted. As a part of this effort an approach paper on developing the working class
movement and agrarian revolution based on the neo-colonial conditions in India was
being contemplated. Unity talks with two of the organisations — CPI(ML) Unity
Initiative and COI(ML) — in the Six Party Forum was also started.
4.7 Inner-party Struggle Within CPI(ML) Red Flag
4.7.1 In the course of these developments a serious struggle had to be waged against
the sectarian line pursued by com. S.A. Rawoof. As he was not prepared to rectify his
line, insisted on pursuing annihilation line and indulged in anti-party activities he had
to be expelled in 1998. In 1999 the Enlarged Meeting of the Central Committee decided
to utilise the parliamentary form of struggle as part of utilising all forms of struggles to
develop class struggle. Following the Fifth All India Conference, a serious right
deviation came out in the open involving the leadership and majority of the state
committee members in Kerala. It was a right opportunist and liquidationist line which
advocated for supporting the CPI(M) leadership in essence, though it tried to cover its
real intensions in the name of opposing the taking up of the agrarian revolutionary
movement, in the name of opposing the unity efforts etc. This liquidationist line was
defeated in the course of an uncompromising struggle mobilising vast majority of the
party members in the state behind the Central Committee. The Sixth All India
Conference in December 2003 marked the successful culmination of the this struggle.
4.7.2 The victory over the liquidationist line led to all round development of activities
in different fields following the Sixth All India Conference. Attacking the World Social
Forum meet at Mumbai in January 2004 as an international carnival of the NGOs, the
party organised an international conference of Marxist-Leninist parties with the slogan:
Against Imperialism, Socialism is the Only Alternative condemning the WSF slogan:
There are Many Alternatives. It was a major ideological struggle against the NGOs
and their counter-revolutionary positions.
4.7.3 The position paper put forward by the Central Committee calling on the state
committees to make analysis of the concrete situation and launch land struggles with
land to the tiller slogan created enthusiasm in the organisation. The SCs took up the
call vigorously and land struggles and campaigns with land to the tiller slogan were
organised in a number of states.
4.8 Unity Talks and Emergence of the Untied CPI(ML)
4.8.1 Meanwhile taking the unity talks with the CPI(ML) Unity Initiative and
COI(ML) a step forward a Co-ordination Committee of three organisations was formed.
A joint campaign for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections was organised. Even an attempt
was made to form a joint forum of like minded organisations to contest the elections
on common agreed slogans.
4.8.2 The Co-ordination Committee successfully completed the drafting of four
documents: Outline Party Programme, Party Constitution, Political Resolution and
Unity Resolution. While drafting these documents, even after compromises made by
the both sides in the interest of unity, it was found that the differences noted on the
following points from the beginning of the unity talks still persisted: On the character
of the Indian state, on the Principal Contradiction, on the Path of Revolution and on
evaluating the Party history between 1967 and 1972.
4.8.3 Two options were before us: either to continue as the co-ordination committee
till the differences are resolved, or to make a bold experiment of uniting with these
differences by chalking out methods to resolve them. It was unanimously decided that
in the present situation when the unity of the CR organisations was becoming an almost
difficult task and when most of the unity efforts so far have failed, it is better to make
the bold experiment of uniting with differences and trying to resolve them through the
process of unity and struggle in a single organisation while adhering to the
organisational steps agreed upon to resolve them. The experience of the untied
organisation for four years from January 2005 Vijayawada Unity Conference has proved
that this unity did create lot of enthusiasm among the CR forces and the united
organisation could make significant development during this period.
4.8.4 What was the condition of the various pseudo left and left forces in the country
at the time of Vijayawada Unity Conference? On the one hand the CPI(M)-led Left
Front was propping up the Congress-led UPA government which was intensifying the
neo-liberal economic policies and signing agreements strengthening strategic
subservience to US imperialism, exposing its total degeneration to ruling class policies
under socialist façade. The CPI(ML) Liberation was deviating fast to right opportunist
positions. Almost all the fringe groups who had interpreted the ‘de-colonisation’ policies
of imperialism led by US imperialism after World War II as completion of democratic
revolution in these countries and analysed India as a capitalist country in the stage of
socialist revolution had degenerated to reformism and NGO ideology. Organisations
like CPI(ML) New Democracy advocating protracted people’s war based on ‘resistance
line’ were finding it difficult to develop neither the ‘resistance struggle’ nor the mass
line, reducing themselves to vacillating between sectarian positions and rightist
deviation. On the other hand, the formation of CPI(Maoist) uniting CPI(ML) People’s
War with CPI(ML) Party Unity and then with the MCC had further reduced it to mere
squad actions, strengthening its anarchist line. As a result, none of these organisations
were in a position to launch any countrywide mass movements and upsurges against
the central and state governments representing the comprador bureaucratic bourgeois-
landlord classes and serving imperialism, especially US imperialism. In this context
the Vijayawada Unity Conference leading to the formation of the united CPI(ML) was
a significant step forward.
4.8.5 The Political Resolution and the Unity Resolution adopted by the Vijayawada
Unity Conference had put forward concrete proposals to carry forward the unity process
to bring together all genuine Marxist-Leninist forces within the CPI(ML), to develop
fraternal relations with Marxist-Leninist parties at international level, to develop party
organisation and take up political campaigns and mass movements at state level and
all India level, to unite all the trade unions centres/trade unions under the leadership of
the merged organisations into a single centre to lead countrywide working class
struggles, to unite the agricultural workers-poor and landless peasant organisations to
intensify the agrarian revolutionary movement based on land to the tiller slogan, to
unite the women’s, youth and student organisations at all India level etc. The Political
Resolution had also called for intensifying ideological-political campaign
uncompromisingly against right opportunist and sectarian/ anarchist tendencies.
4.8.6 Following the Vijayawada Unity Conference the Delhi Party Centre was further
activated, the central organs of the party were regularly published giving Marxist-
Leninist orientation to the comrades. Through uncompromising ideological-political
struggles many cadres of CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, the Maoist trend etc.
were won over strengthening and expanding the party to new areas. The working class
struggles and land struggles with land to the tiller slogan were intensified in many
states. The youth, student, women organisations were developed in more areas. A
massive parliament march was organised in November 2007 against the anti-people
and anti-national policies of the UPA government. At a time when the CPI(M)-led LF
was shamelessly propping up the reactionary central government and the state
governments led by it were pursuing the very same neo-liberal policies resulting in
Singur and Nandigram like people’s struggles against them, when the anarchist actions
of CPI(Maoist) was isolating the movement from the general masses and vulgarising
the image of Marxist ideology, and when most of the other CR organisations were
getting weakened, the Vijayawada Unity Conference and the activities under the
leadership of CPI(ML) had created positive atmosphere.
4.9 Differences Sharpening Within CPI(ML)
4.9.1 But the CPI(ML) could do a great lot more than this. Immediately after the
Unity Conference the ideological-political-organisational differences between former
CPI(ML) Red Flag and the former CPI(ML) 2003 with the unity of CPI(ML) Unity
Initiative and COI(ML) started coming to the forefront as the latter refused to carry
forward the activities based on the letter and spirit of the Political Resolution and
Unity Resolution. For example when the question of pursuing unity talks with other
CR organisations was taken up, the CCMs of CPI(ML) of 2003 started looking upon
all initiatives taken in this respect with suspicion and blocked it. When the question of
developing fraternal relations with the Marxist-Leninist parties at international level,
attending international conferences and the party congress of fraternal parties came
up, it was prevented by the leading comrades of former CPI(ML) of 2003.
4.9.2 At the time of unity, CPI(ML) Red Flag had TUCI as its TU centre whose
activities had spread to a number of states. Trade union centres or trade unions under
the leadership of former state committees of CPI(ML) of 2003 were existing in West
Bengal, Bihar-Jharkhand, AP, etc. When the question of uniting them in to a single
centre or federation was taken up, it was opposed by them and numerous obstacles
were created for developing the working class movement at all India level as well as
for politicising them with the orientation of leading the democratic revolution. Though
the leadership of former CPI(ML) of 2003 was paying lip sympathy to the land to the
tiller slogan, they had not tried to put it into practice. After the unity they blocked the
formation of a revolutionary peasant organisation at all India level as well as created
obstacles to developing the land struggle going on in a number of states. Similarly,
they blocked all efforts to form all India organisations of youth, students and women
also.
4.9.3 When the question of launching all India political campaigns and a parliament
march was taken up, once again they stubbornly resisted, and when finally a parliament
march was decided for November 2007, their participation was namesake. On running
the Party Centre at Delhi, on publishing the English and Hindi central organs, on
reacting to important national and international developments through press statements,
demonstrations, etc. also their participation was negligible. Even when the question of
actively utilising elections to five state assemblies in October-November 2008 for
political campaign by the party was taken up in the CC meeting, their response was
almost similar to boycott of elections.
4.9.4 It was being repeatedly proved that the leadership of former CPI(ML) of
2003 were victims of the dilemma of their own creation. In spite of all their animosity
to Charu Majumdar, they were fervently sticking mechanically to the ‘Chinese path’
of ‘protracted people’s war’ and ‘area-wise seizure of political power’, products of
their ‘semi-colonial, semi-feudal’ approach. In spite of all their talks about vast
differences between pre-revolutionary China and present India, they could not put
forward in a Marxist-Leninist way a path of revolution based on a concrete analysis of
the changes that have taken place. In spite of all their talks about utilising all forms of
struggles and linking open and secret and legal and illegal forms, they had no vision of
either mass line of a party surrounded by class/mass organisations, or of developing
armed struggle. It was eclecticism and a rightist sectarian approach which was
dominating them. This had led most of the leadership to inactivity, pessimism and
petti-bourgeois approaches. Even com. Kanu Sanyal elected as general secretary was
sticking to his decades long practice of leading a small tea-garden workers union from
his village, neglecting the task of providing ideological-political-organisational
leadership to the Party at all India level.
4.9.5 In spite of all these problems creating acute differences for taking up the
responsibilities of leading the organisation forward utilising the favourable objective
conditions, the former CPI(ML) Red Flag comrades put up with them in a healthy
manner shouldering the additional burdens to lead the party organisationally and to
lead numerous struggles. It was an approach of principled compromise in order to win
over the other section to the path of revolutionary struggle. But to pursue this path to
save the unity faced a serious challenge when the Plenum was organised in June 2007
to resolve the differences on analysing the Party History during 1967 to 1972.
4.9.6 It should not have been a very difficult task as both sections had basic unity
on the point that the CR movement suffered severe setback by 1972 due the sectarian
line pursued under the leadership of com. Charu Majumdar including the ‘line of
individual annihilation’. But grave difficulties were faced to arrive at a common
approach paper on this question as the leadership of former CPI(ML) of 2003 refused
to accept the role of the sectarian influence dominating the CPC then, which was
upheld by all sections of the CRs in India as the international authority for the sectarian
deviation in the CPI(ML) and put the whole blame on CM for it, even calling him a
terrorist. Besides, the organisational principles were violated to run the whole Plenum
process in order to impose their dogmatic views. Only because of the exemplary sense
of discipline of the delegates and because of the compromises made by the former
CPI(ML) Red Flag CCMs to save the unity, a split was avoided and a common approach
paper was adopted leaving remaining contentious issues to a History Commission.
4.10 Initiative for All India Special Conference
4.10.1 The Unity Resolution had called for an All India Special Conference to be
held within two years to resolve the differences on (1) character of Indian state and (2)
principal contradiction and to chart the path of revolution document. As the Plenum
itself could be held only in June 2007, it was decided to start the conference process
soon to complete it by November 2009. The CC formed a sub-committee to draft
documents in August 2007. But due to the negative approach of the sub-committee
members of former CPI(ML) of 2003, the process went on delayed. In spite of the
repeated decision of the CC in April 2008, only one set of drafts representing former
CPI(ML) Red Flag’s views was presented by stipulated time. Ultimately only in
December 2008 CC meeting drafts of comrades Subodh Mitra and Viswam were
presented.
4.10.2 It was absolutely clear from these drafts that there is no possibility for
presenting a joint document. So the CCMs of former CPI(ML) Red Flag took the
stand that let all these drafts be published in The Guide, start inner-party discussion
and start the conference process in the course of which possibility for joint drafts can
be sought. But these proposals based on former CC decision were violently opposed
by the CCMs of former CPI(ML) of 2003. They took the stand that as these drafts
went against the line of the Unity Conference according to their view, they cannot be
published and demanded redrafting of them. In spite of five days of discussion, no
agreement could be arrived at and another CC meeting was called in January 2009. In
the course of the discussion they had also tried to divert it from the cardinal question
of coming to an understanding on the programmatic approach and path of revolution
by raising organisational allegations vituperating the atmosphere.
4.10.3 It was in this situation eight state committees with more than two-thirds of the
party membership sent letters to the General Secretary with copy to all the CCMs that
all the three sets of drafts should be published, the inner-party discussion should be
started in The Guide, and the Conference process to be started after the Lok Sabha
elections. The GS responded to these letters through a Fax message only when the
CEC meeting took place on 20th January. He had stated that as any compromise is not
possible on the drafts, it is better to part ways peacefully. When the CC met on 21st
January there were only two possibilities before it. Either to publish all the drafts and
start inner-party discussion in the pages of The Guide to be followed by the Conference
process after the Lok Sabha elections, or part peacefully. But the CCMs of former
CPI(ML) of 2003 not only opposed the first part violently, but also tried to raise
unfounded organisational allegations which were already raised and settled in order to
prevent a healthy parting of ways to the former co-ordination committee level as
suggested by the CCMs of former CPI(ML) Red Flag.
4.11 Separation Becomes Inevitable
4.11.1 It was in this situation, in order to save the Party, all the CCMs of former
CPI(ML) Red Flag met and decided to save the unity and to function as the CC of the
CPI(ML). It issued a Party Letter to all the state committees appealing to them to
unite under this CC of the CPI(ML) and to carry forward the Lok Sabha election
campaign vigorously and to carry forward the conference process soon after. It also
decided to publish a theoretical journal and publish all the three sets of drafts in it. It
was published in February 2009 itself.
4.11.2 All the party committees of former CPI(ML) Red Flag are aware of the
initiative taken by us during the last three decades continuously for unity of the Marxist-
Leninist forces and to the strenuous efforts made by the organisation to realise the
materialisation of the Vijayawada Unity Conference, to develop the ideological-political
line of the party and to unite all genuine Marxist-Leninists into a single party. In spite
of many negative factors, it was because of the initiative and necessary compromises
from our part the unity was realised. It was again because of the very same approach
the unity could be maintained in spite of numerous severe problems that arose
continuously. Our effort was to over come the differences through a process of unity
and struggle remaining within the same organisation. When it was found by the other
side that they are getting more and more alienated from their own cadres and that they
are failing to put their own line in to practice, they sabotaged the Conference process
which led to the separation of ways. It is the dogmatic and anti-unity approach of the
leadership of the former CPI(ML) of 2003 which is entirely responsible for it.
4.12. Evaluation of the Experience after the Unity Conference
4.12.1 In the context of this separation, questions are naturally raised whether it was
correct to go for such a unity with basic differences, and what did the movement gain
from this unity process. When the former CPI(ML) Red Flag took the initiative to start
unity talks first with the CPI(ML) Unity Initiative by the end of 2002 and then with
both this organisation and COI(ML) from March 2003, it was having organisational
presence in nine states only. Out of them only in Kerala and Karnataka there was any
significant presence. In Kerala, almost the entire state committee leadership was
pursuing a right opportunist line of supporting the CPI(M) ideologically and politically.
In a bitter struggle against this liquidationist line, they had to be exposed, fought
against and thrown out by the time of 2003 December Sixth All India Conference. It
had weakened the Kerala state committee organisationally. As a result of these the
organisational presence and impact of the organisation at all India level was weak.
4.12.2 Though from 1982 the neo-colonial ideological offensive was launched, in
the dogmatic and stratified atmosphere prevailing within the splintered Marxist-Leninist
movement, it had not succeeded to make much headway. The right deviation within
the CRC, CPI(ML) in the second half of 1980s and again in the Kerala state committee
in the beginning of 2000s had weakened the efforts to carry forward this ideological
offensive. In this situation, to convince a section of the CR forces that unity talks are
possible and even unity can be achieved leaving the differences to be resolved through
a process of unity and struggle in the course of developing the revolutionary practice
was a major breakthrough. As a result of this inner-party struggle the neo-colonial
understanding could be further sharpened and developed. A good section of the
comrades of former CPI(ML) of 2003 could be won over.
4.12.3 From the days following the Vijayawada Unity Conference itself the leaders
of the former CPI(ML) of 2003 had indulged in imposing their numerical domination
in the CC contrary to the agreement to work based on consensus. They failed to make
any headway in practice as they are caught in a dilemma: even while preaching mass
line, the dogmatic adherence to the mechanical understanding of ‘protracted people’s
war’. Their style of functioning remained sectarian all through preventing the building
of party and class/mass organisations at all India level and launching all India campaigns
and struggles. As a result, not only they could not win over any new forces, their own
strength went on depleting. So they were afraid of a healthy inner-party ideological
struggle, ultimately preventing the holding of the All India Special Conference by
publishing the differing documents, leading to the separation. On their part, there was
absolutely no approach of putting the interest of the people in the forefront; on the
contrary they are putting their sectarian interests at the forefront. If the Conference
was held by publishing the differing documents, conducting the inner-party struggle
based on it, it would have led to a higher unity based on arriving at an advanced
ideological-political line and a path of revolution based on it. If the unity effort and
the experience of the four years of the united organisation is politically evaluated in
the context of the concrete demands before Marxist-Leninists in the present Indian
situation, and in the concrete conditions of the Marxist-Leninist movement, it can be
seen that it was definitely a positive step.
4.13 Party Gets Strengthened Through the Separation from the Dogmatists
4.13.1 Though the separation has taken place, quite contrary to the approach of the
leaders of former CPI(ML) of 2003, which was often arrogant and antagonistic, counter-
posing alleged organisational problems against the cardinal ideological-political issues
and problems concerning the development of revolutionary practice, the leading
comrades of former CPI(ML) Red Flag at central as well as state level had always put
politics in command and had strived hard to preserve the unity and to develop the
organisation and practice under the untied organisation. Even when they came out
stubbornly against holding of the Conference based on the differing documents and
created unhealthy atmosphere in the CC flinging unfounded allegations, the CCMs of
former CPI(ML) Red Flag had called for maintaining a healthy atmosphere and if a
separation is inevitable, for going back to the co-ordination committee stage. Even
after ‘Class Struggle’ was brought out by them with lot of mud-slinging, the CC desisted
from any step that will spoil the relation. The CC continues to call on them to rectify
their mistakes and join hands in the struggle against the reactionary Indian state.
4.13.2 As a result of this positive approach their Bihar-Jharkhand committee, which
had its predominant strength in Jharkhand, has splitted with overwhelming majority of
the comrades reorganising as Jharkhand state organising committee under the CC,
reducing their committee to a namesake. Their West Bengal state committee has also
splitted with the comrades in Kolkata and nearby areas reconstituting into the state
organising committee. Their state committees in UP, Delhi, Rajasthan and Orissa are
reduced to virtually non-functional condition. In AP though the state committee has
not splitted yet, a number of comrades uphold the neo-colonial approach and are against
the lack of democratic functioning. The former CPI(ML) of 2003, formed by uniting
the CPI(ML) Unity Initiative and COI(ML) in 2003 is virtually reduced to its shadow.
4.13.3 On the contrary, the positive approach taken by the comrades of former
CPI(ML) Red Flag has led to the deepening of the ideological-political offensive based
on the neo-colonial approach concretely analysing the present Indian situation, to
winning over of a number of cadres from CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation and the
Maoist trend, besides a large number of new forces, to transforming the former CPI(ML)
Red Flag into present CPI(ML) with effective organisational presence in Kerala,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bengal, MP,
UP, Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan with possibilities for forming committees in AP,
Gujarat, Bihar and in other states soon. It has become the Party with an advanced
ideological-political understanding, with good international relations, with increasing
organisational spread, making it the most powerful organisation at all India level
pursuing the mass line with a Bolshevik approach. It has opened the way for immediate
all India campaigns and struggles under its leadership, to strengthen the Party and to
organise the class/mass organisations at all India level. When evaluating the negative
and positive aspects of this five year long unity process, it can be seen that while the
negative aspects are negligible, the positive gains are overwhelming.
5. Problems of Party Building:
Approach to Unity of the Marxist-Leninist Movement and Party Building in
Present Situation
5.1 The experience of the unity process during the last five years and a concrete
analysis of the objective and subjective conditions in the country calls for a rectification
of the approach towards building a powerful Marxist-Leninist Party with all India
influence; a party which is capable of mobilising and politicising the working class
and all other exploited sections in order to launch countrywide revolutionary
movements; a party capable of advancing towards capture of the political power from
the comprador ruling classes serving imperialism. Following the Naxalbari uprising,
the formation of the CPI(ML) and later its splintering, the re-organisation or building
of the Party had almost become synonymous with the unity of the splintered ML groups
or CR organisations. During the last three decades a number of efforts were made in
this direction. Though almost all these groups were analysing India as semi-colonial
semi-feudal, state of revolution as new democratic and a path of revolution based on
a mechanical understanding of the protracted people’s war practiced by the CPC in
the then Chinese conditions, either many of their unity efforts could not take off, or
whenever it succeeded it could not be sustained. Almost all of them failed to make a
concrete analysis of present Indian situation in the context of a concrete analysis of
the post-World War II international situation.
5.2 As a result, the CPI(ML) Liberation and some of the fringe groups have
degenerated to the ‘path of peaceful transition’ and to parliamentarism, ultimately
forming electoral alliances with the CPI(M)-led social democratic forces. On the other
hand the CPI(Maoist) is following the path of anarchism based on an erroneous
evaluation of Indian situation, applying the line of annihilation utilising advanced
techniques and weapons. There are a number of groups in between these two lines
who claims to adhere to mass line. Their only difference from the CPI(Maoist) is that
while the latter indulge in practicing their understanding about ‘protracted people’s
war’, others are only engaged in endless discussions on it devoid of any practice.
There are a number of fringe groups who have analysed India as a capitalist country
with stage of revolution as socialist, overtly or covertly pursuing the NGO ideology,
abandoning the anti-imperialist, anti-comprador ruling class struggles.
5.3 After four decades of the formation of the CPI(ML), the replacement of colonial
plunder by neo-colonial forms of plunder by the US led imperialist forces during the
post-WW II decades is becoming clearer day by day, with the intensification of the
crisis in the imperialist countries to unprecedented levels. It has led to sharpening of
all the major contradictions at international and national levels. In this situation, the
hitherto experience teaches that without launching a fierce ideological-political struggle
against all alien lines and without developing an ideological-political orientation based
on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought according to present conditions, without
the determination to launch uncompromising struggles against right opportunist and
anarchist deviations, no unity of the ML groups or CR organisations is possible and
can be sustained.
5.4 At the same time, in the post 2009 Lok Sabha election scenario, the CPI(M)-
led ‘Left Front’ is further weakened and it is further exposed as a social democratic
force. With the electoral alliance with the CPI and CPI(M) in Bihar and Jharkhand,
the CPI(ML) Liberation’s degeneration to right opportunist positions has become
clearer. Its anarchist actions in the name of ‘boycott’ has exposed the CPI(Maoist) as
a petti-bourgeois adventurist group ultimately helping the ruling system to indulge in
more and more fascistic suppression of the masses. The fringe groups pursuing ‘socialist
revolution’ theory are further exposed with the tail-spinning of Indian economy
following the unprecedented global economic crisis and recession. Those ML groups
refusing to utilise the elections as political struggles to help the development of class
struggle are further weakened. In this situation, possibility for intensifying ideological
struggle against all these alien trends, to win over sections or cadres from them, and to
strengthen the party building process have increased. Attention should be paid to this
aspect.
Win Over New Generation
5.5 The present world situation and Indian situation are marked by momentous
developments. The neo-colonial offensive of imperialism during the post-WW II
situation to overcome the setbacks suffered in the course of strengthening of the socialist
forces led by Soviet Union, and with the growth of the national liberation movements,
and in order to intensify the plunder of the world people in more pernicious and heinous
forms is reaching vicious levels. Mainly because of the inability to correctly evaluate
neo-colonialism, the leaderships of Soviet Union and China and almost all the
communist parties built up under the leadership of Comintern had degenerated to
capitalist path. It has inflicted severe setback to the ICM.
5.6 The ‘de-colonisation’ promoted by US imperialism has led to the transfer of
power in the context of intensifying independence struggles in countries like India,
sharpening the neo-colonial domination under comprador rulers. Imperialism,
especially US imperialism, while intensifying export of finance capital, which has
become unprecedentedly speculative and parasitic, has intensified export of arms and
has indulged in military interventions. It is utilising religious fundamentalism,
communalism, decadent socio-cultural values as well as imperialist culture to
degenerate, to politically disarm, to divide, to maim the world people to impose its
hegemony. Education and culture are turned to effective tools, for domination of
imperialism and world reaction. As a part of this international offensive, the Indian
ruling classes are utilising all these tools commercialising every thing to influence the
new generation and to wean them away from the path of social revolution. Combating
these counter-revolutionary moves winning over the students and youth in their millions
to the revolutionary movement is a major task to be taken up to strengthen the party
building process.
5.7 So one of the major tasks of party building consists of extensive ideological-
political campaigns, organising revolutionary cultural movements and taking up
organisational work among the students and youth to politicise and recruit them as
cadres in the course of mass movements for the demands of these sections. Along
with the building of the working class movements and struggles of agricultural workers
and landless-poor peasants, priority should be given to work among these sections.
New generation of cadres can be prepared who are capable of taking up the ruling
class challenges raised in the present situation and daring to go to new areas to mobilise
the revolutionary masses in this manner.
5.8 While taking up these urgent tasks, the long term task of mobilising the working
class, leading them in countrywide movements for their economic demands as well as
raising political slogans, organising international solidarity actions uniting with the
working class of other countries, politicising them and preparing them to lead the
people’s democratic revolution advancing towards socialist revolution should be
vigorously taken up. Largest number of party members should be recruited from among
the working class, starting with formation of party fractions at every level of the trade
union committees, and then recruiting as many of them as possible as whole time
cadres through long term and systematic political education.
5.9 Vigorous attention should be paid at all levels as mentioned above to win
over and merge the Marxist-Leninist organisation on the basis of in depth discussions
and bringing them to basic agreement with the Party line, to win over sections and
individuals coming out of different parties from CPI, CPI(M) to Marxist-Leninist groups
and CPI(Maoist) through discussion of the Party line with them and winning them
over to it, to recruit large number of party cadres from the working class, to train,
educate and recruit members from the agrarian revolutionary movement and different
mass organisations through party fraction work and to recruit large number of cadres
from youth and students through systematic education and training. It is a question of
building a cadre based party of lakhs of members in Bolshevik style as explained by
Lenin, Stalin and Mao in order to lead the mass movements and mass upsurges at
various levels struggling against the ruling system uncompromisingly. Based on a
thorough rectification of the hitherto weaknesses in Party building during the last four
decades, this task including systematic party education should be taken up with utmost
seriousness.
State of the Organisation
5.1 Party Centre: The separation of the CPI(ML) of 2003 section from the Party
in January 2009 did not in any significant way affect the functioning of the Party
Centre at Delhi. After the expulsion of comrades P.K. Murthy, Pradeep Banerjee and
Somnath Chatterjee from the Party, neither the CEC, nor the secretariat, nor the editorial
board of the central publications functioned in a proper manner. The CPI(ML) of
2003 section was more interested to manipulate the control of all functioning. Its
organizational, political and financial contributions were almost negligible to help the
effective functioning of the Party Centre.
So the separation of this section affected mainly in the control of the registration of the
Varga Sangarsh, the Hindi organ going to it. In order to overcome it the “Red Star
Communist Krantikariyon Ka March” which was registered at the time of the erstwhile
CPI(ML) Red Flag, was published as the Hindi central organ from the month of February
itself, along with the Red Star, the English Central organ, regularly.
‘The Communist’ was published as the theoretical journal in February. All the three
sets of documents presented to the former CC were published in it. The Election
manifesto finalized by the CC meeting of 21st January was published centrally in English
and Hindi and send to the state committees by the first week of March. Other activities
of the Party Centre including maintenance of its website and starting an international
department are also carried forward. After the All India Special Conference the new
CC should take up necessary steps to strengthen the Party Centre in all respects.
5.11 Kerala: Even after almost the whole state committee leadership had to be
expelled by the 2003 December state conference followed by the Sixth All India
Conference of former CPI(ML) Red Flag for pursuing a liquidationst line of tailing
behind the social democratic CPI(M), the Kerala State committee had continued as
the most active state committee under the new leadership. In the Seventh State
Conference held in March 2007 though certain steps were taken to streamline the
organization politically and organizationally, the influence of the rightist trend was
manifested in the state committee. When the decision to launch the agrarian
revolutionary struggle with land to the tiller slogan, mobilizing the agricultural workers
and landless – poor peasantry was taken up this rightist trend had come out in the open
in some districts by abandoning the programme under various pretexts. Even the July
2008 State level study camp followed by district level study camps could not achieve
political centralization throughout the organization. So when the question of separation
with the CPI(ML) of 2003 section became a reality in spite of our best efforts to
prevent it, it was utilized by this rightist trend to sow confusion among many comrades.
With the help of the central leadership, the state committee leadership could contain
this situation and win over most of the comrades to the Party line. A good election
campaign was also organized fielding candidates for nine seats. Following this activities
of all class /mass organizations are being taken up. The land struggle is initiated in
Ernakulam district. The Party organ ‘Sakhav’ is brought out regularly. The Naxalbari
Day was observed all over the state and an anti-price rise agitation is planned.
Still a serious rectification campaign is called for combined with the organizational
conferences along with the All India Special Conference in order to establish political
centralization and to consolidate the organization at all levels.
5.12 Tamilnadu: For quite a long time the party organization was limited to Valpara
and few pockets in Coimbatore district and few areas in Chennai. But the merger of a
good section of comrades from Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri district who were
influenced by CPI(ML) People’s War line for long helped to take up party organizational
work in these districts. Later the Kanyakumari district committee of the CPI(ML)
Liberation, soon followed by a section of Liberation Comrades from Dindigal and
Virudunagar districts joined the party. As a result the strength of the party and class/
mass organizations has increased considerably. It was at least partly reflected in the
LS election campaign fielding 3 candidates and in the TUCI and activities among the
agricultural workers. The main task in the state is to establish political and organizational
centralization and to streamline the party organization at all levels.
5,13 Karnataka: In the course of the inner party struggle following the Vijayawada
Unity Conference, the Karnataka state committee stood firm against all machinations
of the CPI(ML) of 2003 section. During the last four years the party and class/mass
organizations have strengthened in Raichur, Koppal, Chikmangallur and Kudagu
districts they are functioning. During both Vidha Sabha and Lok Sabha elections the

Party fielded candidates and organized a vigorous political campaign. As a result of
the agrarian struggles with land to the tiller slogan, the trade union struggles, the
movements against SEZs and their neo-liberal policies, and the youth and student
activities the party is established as the most significant left force in the state.
Still in expanding the party organization to other districts, to organize party centre
functioning, bringing out party organ regularly, to develop a regular cadre recruitment
policy, to develop the class/mass organizations etc the state committee has to overcome
many of its present weaknesses. The organizational conferences from Branch level
should be utilized for this purpose. At the same time a conscious move is needed to
strengthen the party centre functioning from Bangalore.
5.14 Maharashtra: The major development in the state has taken place in the
trade union activities. It has spread to Dadra and Naga rhaveli area also. Apart from
Mumbai and Thane, the party members of Nanded district who were kept by the AP
state committee of CPI(ML) of 2003 section till now have joined the Party. So district
committees exist in these three districts. A party nucleus is being formed in Nagpur
also. In this big state a major effort is called for to expand the party activities winning
over dissidents from various ‘left’ trends and new cadres.
An intensive politicization of the TUCI activities and strengthening of RYFI and RSFI
activities should be taken up as priority areas.
5.15 Chathisgarh: This is one region where the party is active for decades.
Presently under the State Committee there are district committees in Durg, Raipur,
Bilaspur and Jagdalpur. TUCI is active mostly in Durg and Raipur districts. The peasant
movement and other mass organizations are still weak.
The recent political campaign during the Vidhan Sabha followed by the Lok
Sabha elections has revealed the possibility for the party is emerge as the left alternative
in the state. In order to utilize this situation a major effort is required from the state
committee to win over new forces and expand the party at state level, exposing the
CPI-CPI(M) forces which are getting weakened, the CPI(Maoist) which is getting
isolated and defeating the various reformist and NGO forces which are well funded
and engaged in hijacking all people’s movements. A major ideological, political and
organizational offensive is required.
5.16 Orissa: Before the Vijayawada Unity Conference the young team of comrades
leading the former CPI(ML) Red Flag State Committee had established leadership
over the Bhubaneswar slum dwellers’ organization and the poor peasant movement in
Bhadrak district. After the Unity conference Gananath Patro who was elected as the
SC secretary and Madhu given charge of the state by the CEE, instead of integrating
the two sections and developing the organization and activities, focused their attention
to demoralize and weaken the activities by the former RF comrades. It was a serious
and difficult situation. The Orissa Comrades should be congratulated for the tenacity
they had shown in exposing and defeating this conspiracy, and for continuing and

expanding their activities in spite of all difficulties. The separation of the CPI(ML) of
2003 section has become a boon for the Orissa state committee which was re-organised
after January 2009. The party and class/mass organizations have made significant
advances in this short period. Many campaigns and struggles are also taken up. The
political impact of these activities was felt in the recent political campaign for the Lok
Sabha / Vidhan elections which were simultaneously held.
There are very good possibilities for the party to emerge as the leading revolutionary
left force in the state. The state committee should work out political-organisational
initiative taking this into consideration.
5.17 Madhya Pradesh: In this state where the CPI and CPI(M) are disintegrating
fast and CPI(ML) has no past history, the activities were started about 15 years ago
with few CPI members joining the Party in Bhopal. Following this new CPI contacts
were won over and the Party has expanded besides Bhopal to Guna, Ashoknagar,
Vidisha, Sidhi and Singroli districts. A sizable number of contract workers could be
organized under TUCI in Sidhi. There are possibilities for fast expansion of the party
and class/mass organizations in the state.
It calls for immediate steps to politicize the whole organization, imbuing it with the
Marxist-Leninist line. As most of the leading cadres have worked under CPI line for
long, they have to be helped to come out of it. Similarly as economism is rampant in
the trade union movement, politicization of the TUCI leadership has to be taken up.
The political campaign during 2008 Vidhan Sabha elections and present Lok Sabha
elections show the possibilities for the party to emerge as the left alternative in the
state now polarized between the two main ruling class parties, Congress and BJP. The
state committee should politically and organizationally get equipped for it.
5.18 West Bengal: The separation of the CPI(ML) of 2003 section from the Party
in January 2009 has brought out the contradiction within in West Bengal state committee,
which was suppressed so far, to the foreground. A section of the comrades led by com.
Babu Dutta decided to revolt and come out as a democratic resolution of the differences
through the All India Special Conference was prevented. Following this a meeting of
these party members was held and a state organizing committee with Com. Babu Dutta
as secretary mainly was formed. Its activities are presently limited to Kolkota region
and that also to the activities of the Leather Workers Union.
A major effort is needed to win over the like minded forces in the state as well as new
youth and students to build the party and class/mass organizations.
5.19 Jharkhand: The contradiction within the Bihar-Jharkhand committee of the
CPI(ML) of 2003 section had come to the foreground during the 2007 June plenum
itself. The overwhelming majority of the party members led by Com. Anjani Kumar
Pandey in Jharkhand who had splitted away from CPI(ML) Liberation and joined
CPI(ML) of 2003 section preventing the publication of all documents and holding the
All India Special Conference based on them. After January 2009 they revolted against

the CPI(ML) of 2003 section and in the meeting of the party cadres in the first week of
March decided to form Jharkhand state organizing committee with Com. Anjani Pandey
as its secretary. Not only the over whelming majority of party cadres, almost all the
trade unions in the state also came under the SOC.
The comparative influence of the SOC and the CPI(ML) of 2003 section was well
exposed in the state through the campaign for the recent LS elections. Against com.
Anjani Pandey, for the Ranchi seat it had fielded a candidate with all the Bihar-
Jharkhand leadership indulging in slanderous propaganda against com. Anjani Pandey.
Still its candidate could get only one third of the votes polled by com. Anjani Pandey.
Once the party and TUCI are soon organizationally consolidated, this negative trend
routed out.
There are immense possibilities for developing the party activities in the state where
the politics is in a stage of flux. For this the party has to launch an ideological-
political offensive and take up organizational expansion and consolidation.
5.20 UP: The COI(ML) state committee which had become the state committee of
the CPI(ML) after Vijayawada Unity Conference had an overdose of very old inactive
comrades with practically no young cadres. Politically and organically it had become
almost defunct for long. It was in this situation a political and trade union force active
among the mill workers of Kanpur who are mostly thrown out of jobs due to closurers
and the female house hold workers expressed the desire to join the party in 2008. But
the then SC did not show any interests in it.
By this time this section led by com. Mona Sur and Mohammed Shami held discussions
with the TUCI leadership and affiliated the unions to TUCI. Following the separation
of the CPI(ML) of 2003 section in January 2009, political – ideological discussion
was held with it and a state organizing committee with com. Mona Sur as its secretary
is formed.
In the Lok Sabha elections a candidate was fielded from Unnao seat and a good
campaign could be organized. There are immense possibilities for building up the
party in the state.
5.21 Delhi: After the separation of the CPI(ML) of 2003 section in January 2009,
a meeting of the Party members in Delhi was held and a state organizing committee
was formed. A major initiative is called for to build party and class/mass organizations
in this state which will immensely help the party’s presence in the national capital.
5.21 Punjab: The adoption of the ‘line of peaceful transition’ in the drafts of the
CPI(ML) Liberation for its Seventh Congress in 2007 December had led to serious
differences among its ranks. A section of its members from Barnala district held a
series of discussion with the party comrades and joined it. Later a number of comrades
from Liberation of Mansa, Sangrur and Ludhiana districts also joined. A state organizing
committee was formed with com.M.S.Randhawa as its secretary.
During the last one year the SOC has taken up a number of activities. A state party

organ is also started. In present situation of Punjab where a sizable section of the
agricultural workers and landless-poor peasantry are totally alienated from land
ownership and this contradiction is reflected in the sharp caste contradictions between
the jats and the dalits, when the CPI and CPI(M) are fast degenerating politically and
organiastionally and when most of the ML groups have become incapable of developing
practice due to ideological – political bankruptcy, the party has good scope to develop
its activities in all fields.
5.22 Rajasthan: Though following Naxalbari uprising the communist revolutionary
forces were active for some time soon most of its cadres became either inactive or
degenerated to NGO activities. CPI-CPI(M) have only influence in some pockets.
Though CPI(ML) Liberation is present its reformist line and NGO connections are
obstructions to its development. In this situation uniting some of the old CR forces
who were inactive for a long time and a CPI(ML) Cadre from Ganganagar a state
organizing committee was formed in early 2008. But due to the inactivity of its
secretary, soon this SOC had become practically defunct. After the separation of the
CPI(ML) of 2003 section in January, this SOC was recognized including the cadres
who were active in the campaign for the three candidates fielded in the October ’08
election to the Vidhan Sabha and in TUCI, with com. Mahesh Maharshi as its secretary.
The Lok Sabha election campaign fielding a candidate for Ganganagar seat has helped
to spread the influence of the party line. A major initiative is called for political and
organizational expansion in the state.
5.23 Gujarat: Some of the former activists of Liberation and other left organizations
have taken party membership. Immediate steps are needed to mobilize them in to a
state organizing committee.
Discussions are going on with CPI(ML) New Liberation, a split away group
of liberation in AP, some CR forces in Bihar and Jharkhand who uphold neo-colonial
line with a CR group in West Bengal upholding the neo-colonial approach. By carrying
forward these discussions there in a possibility for building party units in AP, Bihar
like states also soon.
6 Tasks Among Working Class
6.1 The Marxist-Leninist world outlook teaches that the Communist Party is the
highest form of class organisation of the proletariat. It is the advanced detachment of
the proletariat. Though this basic class outlook was superficially upheld, under the
influence of sectarianism for a long time conscious work among the working class was
not taken up after the formation of the CPI(ML). This concept is still dominating in
the CPI(Maoist) reducing its talks about the work among working class to ridiculous
levels. Those organisations who are still upholding the ‘line of protracted people’s
war’ and ‘area-wise seizure of power’ while upholding mass line are concerned, as the
case of CPI(ML) of 2003 and other organisations, those who have a few trade unions
under their leadership or trade union centre as in the case of CPI(ML) New Democracy,
they see the working class as the leader of democratic revolution mere as a theoretical

concept. They have not developed to practice it. On the other hand, the CPI(ML)
Liberation, though it is having a fairly strong TU centre, its perspective about work in
the TU front is not basically different from that of the social democratic parties. During
the last four years we have directly experienced how dogmatic is the concept of the
CPI(ML) of 2003 about work among the working class. Fighting all these tendencies
and the labour aristocracy dominating the reactionary and reformist TU centres from
BMS to CITU, a revolutionary concept of TU work should be put forward and
developed. This is a question of fundamental importance as without mobilising,
politicising and leading the working class, which is numerically very strong and has
the experience of almost more than a century of historic struggles, it cannot successfully
lead the PDR to victory.
6.2 In spite of many problems faced by the TUCI for carrying forward its activities
during the last four years, it has expanded its activities to 13 states now. But there is lot
of unevenness in its growth. In some states its presence is just nominal. Its total
membership is still below 2 lakhs. Though the recent 6 th All India Conference of TUCI
has adopted many resolutions and developed its programmatic approach to overcome
its political, organisational weaknesses, lot of hard work is needed to overcome them.
Many of the weaknesses seen in the reformist TU centres are seen in the functioning of
the TUCI including lack of effective committee system, democratic functioning, proper
accounting system, etc. Party committee at various levels should discuss these problems,
evolve methods to resolve them and through party fractions try to get them implemented.
6.3 The strength of TUCI is so small compared to the almost 20 crores of workers
in the combined organised and unorganised sector that it is neither able to launch any
major struggle by itself nor is capable of influencing the TU movement in this country.
For this purpose, firstly, the Party should discuss this problem, chalk out an yearly
target and evolve political and organisational steps to achieve it. Secondly, possibilities
to merge state level or regional level TU centres and individual TUs with fairly good
strength to TUCI without diluting its political tasks should be explored. Effective state
level and all India level campaigns and struggles should be continuously launched.
Meanwhile continuous struggles should be waged against the ill effects of economism,
trade unionism and labour aristocracy.
6.4 Politicisation of the working class movement is a difficult and protracted task,
especially after the degeneration of the main TU centres nationally and internationally
to reactionary, reformist positions and even religious fundamentalists, communal,
casteist, racist like forces gaining control of many of them. Party fractions should be
formed at all level in trade unions and TUCI committees. As very little progress is
noted so far in this, active steps should be taken on an emergency basis to overcome
this weakness. Study classes for party members in the TU field should be regularly
organised and priority should be attributed to recruiting party members. More and
more working class comrades should be encouraged to become whole-timers or
professional revolutionaries.
6.5 In the present situation it is normally not possible to organise trade unions in

the organised sectors where the reactionary, reformist TU centres have total domination
now. But immediate efforts should be started to organise party fractions in the organised
sectors. In this way the revolutionary politics should be taken to the workers and
employees through various publications, handbills issued on important developments,
etc. It is going to be a difficult task. But however hard the importance of this task
should be recognised and party cadres should be deputed to take up this task.
6.6 Recognising the critical importance of politicising and organisationally
developing the working class as the leader of the PDR, the Party should give top
priority to the work among the working class. Simultaneously Party should take initiative
and render help to develop international contacts of the working class and to start
efforts to help the formation of a platform of revolutionary TU centres at the
international level to organise movements against imperialism and world reaction.
7. On Organising the Agrarian Revolutionary Movement
7.1 The historic significance of Naxalbari Uprising is that is brought the agrarian
revolutionary programme, which was abandoned by the undivided CPI in 1952 when
Telengana struggle was withdrawn, back to the agenda of the communist movement.
But under the sectarian influence soon the path of mass agrarian movement was
abandoned. In mid-1970s though in the planes of Bihar the movement was launched
once again, in the early 1980s with the right deviation beginning in the CPI(ML)
Liberation it was not continued. Agrarian revolution was reduced to the pages of Party
programme and other documents as far as most of the organisations are concerned.
7.2 Following the land ceiling policy prompted by the US imperialists and
introduction of green revolution the old feudal landlords were replaced by and large
by the agricultural bourgeoisie and rich peasants. It was the struggles launched by
these classes under Sharad Joshi like leaders from the beginning of 1980s which later
got publicity as peasant struggles. Though the demand of higher procurement price
and subsidies for agricultural inputs raised by this struggle was important and to an
extent benefits the middle and poor peasant to an extent, the problems faced by the
agricultural workers and landless-poor peasants constituting 50-55% of the population
were by and large neglected. The land to the tiller question was almost obliterated by
most of the Marxist-Leninist groups also in practice. Their peasant organisations also
focussed on problems of middle and rich peasants mostly as can be seen in areas
where they are active.
7.3 It is in this context the significance of the agrarian revolutionary programme
put forward by former CPI(ML) Red Flag in 2004 should be seen. Putting forward a
study of the land relations and land holdings, it pointed out that the main contradiction
in the agrarian sector is between the agricultural bourgeoisie, rich peasants, plantation
owners, land mafias of various shades and feudal remnants who constitutes about 5-
10% of the population and own 60-65% of the total agricultural land on the one hand,
and agricultural workers and landless-poor peasants who constitute about 50-55% of
the population on the other hand. Resolution of this contradiction by revolutionary

changes in the land relations based on the land to the tiller slogan is the crux of the
agrarian question in present phase.
7.4 Based on this programme, in Kerala, Karnataka and MP the land struggle
committees were formed and land struggles were taken up. In some areas through
mass participation of landless people land was occupied and distributed. In a small
way the agrarian revolutionary movement was getting launched again in present
conditions. But after the Unity Conference, as already explained, there was an attempt
to cold shoulder these struggles. Still they continued. In the new situation, the 2004
Agrarian Revolutionary Programme should be developed and applied all over the
country according to concrete conditions in each region. Only by launching the agrarian
struggles the hundreds of millions of the agricultural workers and landless-poor
peasantry can be mobilised, led forward to land struggles and struggles for other
demands, and organisationally and politically developed as the closest ally of the
working class, to form the workers-peasant alliance as the mainstay of democratic
revolution.
7.5 In a number of states agricultural workers organisations, landless-poor peasant
organisations, land struggle committees, housing site right committees, slum (Basit)
protection committees are already formed. Many of them have taken up a number of
cardinal issues and struggles are waged. The immediate task is to put forward an
approach paper on agrarian question explaining the problems faced to carry forward
the agrarian movement, formation of an all India organisation and its programme.
After taking necessary steps to discuss this preliminary draft in all the states
incorporating inputs from them, a draft should be prepared based on which a meeting
of the delegates of all existing organisations and party cadres involved in agrarian
movement can be convened. It shall discuss and finalise the draft, decide the name of
the organisation and its flag and reorganise activities based on this new banner. Along
with these urgent steps, immediate steps should be taken to develop countrywide
agrarian revolutionary movement, mobilising millions of agricultural workers and
landless-poor peasants in to its ranks. The time lost in this field due the negative
approach of the sub-committee formed under the CCMs of the CPI(ML) of 2003 in
this field should be made up and vigorous efforts should be taken in this field.
8. On Building the youth and student movement
8.1 The history of the independence movement against the colonial rulers teaches
how important was the role played by the youth and students starting from Kudhiram
Bose and Bhagat Singh. They challenged the colonial system, reactionary values and
the traitors collaborating with imperialists. They fought to over throw the colonial
rule and to usher in a new India free form exploitation and oppression. The role
played by the communist movement in organizing, inducting and leading them provided
a new impetus to the independence movement. But with the transfer of power to the
hands of the trusted agents of imperialists, as neo colonial methods employed by
imperialists, especially US imperialists, to intensity their plunder in new forms while

diverting the people’s resistance from revolutionary to reformist paths, as the religions
fundamentalist, communal, casteist forces started gaining influence with the help of
the ruling system, and as the communist movement started departing from its
revolutionary traditions fast, the youth and student movement started loosing their
zeal and revolutionary potentials.
8.2 In this situation the religions fundamentalist, communal, casteist, parochial
forces and their ideas started gaining more and more influence among youth and
students. The reactionary, reformist parties and revisionist CPI and CPI(M) started
restricting the youth and student organization under their leadership to institutionalized
ways.
8.3 A revolutionary upheaval of the students was witnessed after this after the
Naxalbari uprising. At least in Bengal, AP and some other states tens of thousands of
youth and students came forward in militant struggles challenging the reactionary ruling
system and the socio-culture values it was spreading. But it became short lived as the
Marxist-Leninist movement coming under the influence of severe sectarianism failed
to mobilize them and provide leadership to their mass upsurge. Though 1973-75
witnessed a spurt of students upsurge it could not survive the state terror during the
‘emergency period’.
8.4 During the last three decades, especially after the exposition of the neo-liberal
policies student and youth movements were getting increasingly assimilated by the
forces of reaction and reformism. They have fallen victims of rampant communalisation
and criminalization. Imperialist values, still surviving feudal values, religions, and
fundamentalism are influencing them unprecedentedly. As a result, most of the youth
organization and student organizations today represent degenerated values and serve
the ruling system in various ways.
8.5 In this all shades of the ‘left’ forces have played their role. The CPI(M) CPI
led youth and student organizations have become conveyors of the social democratic
values of their mentors. The Maoists have very little influence among them, and that is
also utilized or spreading anarchic tendencies. Other Marxist-Leninist organization,
though they talk about mass line and boast about having a student of youth movement,
because they are still prisoners of concepts like ‘area wise seizure of political power’,
they have no vision of building powerful student and youth movements in a massive
form capable of challenging the ruling system.
8.6 It is in this situation our party should take up the challenge of building youth
and student movements with million of members and country wide influence. After
fighting against and defecting the sectarian tendencies though the task of building
them was taken up in right earnest, during last four years all efforts to build their all
India organizations were blocked due to the ‘dominations’ of negative tendencies.
Once this negative trend was defeated, the task of building an all India youth
organization was taken up by the meeting of delegations from the youth organizations
working at state level. This meeting has accepted the program, the constitution, and

the flag of the RYFI to be built up at all India level. Following this membership campaign
was launched on 23rd March, Bhagat Singh Day. The Programme and Constitution
calls for building a mass youth organization which takes up the problems of youth on
its own and recruit lakhs of members in to its units. The RYFI organizing committee
has called for building of units in all states, to recruit at least one lakh membership this
year and to hold its all India conference at Bangalore in December with a mass rally of
thousands of youth. The Party committees at all levels should help for making this
compaign a big success.
All India Student Organisation
8.7 It is a positive factor that student organisations are functioning in a number of
state though their influence is limited. In order to build a revolutionary student
organization at all India level initial drafts of programme and constitution are already
distributed to all the states. A meeting of the delegations of existing student organisations
and student activists from other states was convened on 2-3 June at Mumbai, to finalise
the programme and constitution, the flag and the name of the organisation. The meeting
discussed and finalised the draft programme and constitution and decided to launch
the All India Revolutionary Student Organisation (AIRSO).
8.8 As the schools and colleges are goring to open a vigorous effort should be
made to organise the AIRSO as a mass student organisation, with mass membership in
as many schools and colleges.
8.9 As already explained building mass student organization is an important part
of building up militant and massive anti-imperialist and anti-state movements at state
level and all India level. It is an important task which shall pave the way to recruit
large number cadres from the student ranks to build party and the class organisations.
Up holding the revolutionary traditions of Shahid Bhagat Singh and tens of thousands
of revolutionary youth and students who fought for national liberation and democratic
revolution this task should be taken up.
9. On Building Women’s Movement.
9.1 In spite of recognising the paramount importance of organising the women’s
movement and the role women’s liberation plays in the liberation of society from the
clutches of imperialism and world reaction, in spite of the attacks on women in all
forms intensifying day by day under the neo-liberal regime, the progress of organising
women and leading them towards the goal of women’s liberation by the Marxist-Leninist
movement in general is negligible. The case of our Party is also not different. So
immediate steps should be taken to overcome this serious weakness.
9.2 The women’s organization exists in some of the states under the leadership of
our state committees, however weak they may be. What is required is to draft first an
all India programme and constitution of the women’s organisation in the states, and if
available, women activists from other states, finalise the drafts through discussion
first at state level and starts it functioning.

9.3 As past experience reveal, the organizational work and campaigns should
start at both from the top level and bottom level. A functioning team at all India level
should be organized and trained to take up women’s problems at macro level, react to
various forms of attacks on women and to call for all India movements focusing on
their issues. At micro level women’s organization should be built up to take up local
level issues and the issues focused by the all India organization.
9.4 As class and mass organisations are built up special care should be taken to
recruit women in large numbers and to train cadres from among them. These cadres
can work in women’s organization also. That is, while uniting as a section the women
have to fight against the specific issues faced by them including male chauvinism, as
part of class organisation they should fight against the class oppression also..
9.5 The experience of hitherto successful revolutions and the experience of the
socialist construction and transformation in the erstwhile socialist countries show that
women have played a significant role in both. Again as Mao pointed during Cultural
Revolution it is the failure to bring forward the women in sufficient numbers in the
struggle to overthrow the reactionary, revanchist or obscurantist socio-cultural values
and male chauvinism and to raise these struggles to a considerably advanced stage
which played one of the main roles in the retardation leading to revolution or capitalist
restoration. A qualitatively developed party, a party which has drawn experience from
past mistakes can be built up, the party building and revolutionary struggles can be
developed to a higher level only if the building up of the revolutionary women’s
movement is taken up with the urgency and the importance if calls for.
10 Work in the cultural front.
10.1 In the present neo-colonial phase of this era of imperialism and proletarian
revolution, culture is utilized as an effective tool by imperialism for intensifying its
exploitation and hegemony. Culture in general includes the all spheres of superstructure,
that is, religion, religious fundamentalism, communalism, casteism racism,
parochialism, the entire realm of bourgeois political economy which has become almost
entirely speculative and parasitic, the bourgeois philosophy, art and literature and culture
based on all these decadent values. The cultural aggression utilizing imperialist cultural
values, forms and contents and remnants of feudal culture is so powerful that the
reformist forces including NGO theoreticians have even coined ‘cultural imperialism’
to explain present imperialist onslaught. Such formulations are retrogressive. In a
post-modernist way it deviates attention from a comprehensive struggle against the
imperialist system in all spheres. What is happening is that culture in its whole super
structural forms is utilised to impose class domination of the imperialist system.
10.2 For Example all religions fundamentalists and the communalization they
unleash becomes handy for imperialism. Even sections of Islamic fundamentalism
which is fighting US forces in many countries ultimately serves the imperialist
domination by spreading decadent values and opposing the democratisation of the
society. The inability to understand the utmost importance of fighting this cultural

offensive taking place utilizing all these super-structural forces and concepts which
are continuously regenerating imperialist values, the ‘sacredness’ of the private property
etc, and the necessity to extend class struggle to uncompromisingly struggling against
these cultural tools of imperialist system is yet another cardinal reason for the severe
set back suffered by the ICM. So the set backs can be overcome and the class struggles
in all fields can be intensified to overthrow imperialism, the world reaction and their
local props only if the basic understanding is developed for fighting the cultural tools
of imperialism in the present neo-colonial phase. It includes fighting the whole gamut
of post–modernism, NGO ideology and reformism which negate class struggle and
class based world outlook.
10.3 A powerful cultural movement with such a perspective should be developed.
At present very little progress is achieved in this front. Though there are efforts on this
line in some states they are very weak and disoriented in the real sense. The Party
should take initiative to develop a revolutionary outlook in the struggle in the realm of
culture, with the perspective of developing a democratic culture. Concrete steps should
be taken to build powerful cultural movement at the state level and for co-ordinating
them at all India level.
11 On Building United Fronts.
11.1 For mobilizing the various classes and sections of the people in larger and
larger numbers under the leadership and initiative of the Party, along with the Marxist-
Leninist understanding of building the Party and class/ mass organizations at all India
level, the party should develop a correct understanding about building united fronts
from local level and issue based to all India level class based strategic united fronts in
the course of development of the organizational work and revolutionary practice. As
in all other fields, here again the Party should try to learn from the hitherto experience
of united front building at international, national and state level.
11.2 The Party should have the firm understanding that the tactical line should un
invariably serve the strategic goals of revolution and should never go against it. The
united front building should be taken up always putting the interests of the people in
the forefront, and so that it confirms to the tactical line and strategic goals of revolution.
11.3 During the period of former CPI(ML) Red Flag, positive experience could be
gained first during the 1991-94 period when the call was given to build a platform of
the CR organisations, and later during 1994-2002 period when the initiative was taken
for building an issue based All India Forum and through its activities. After the 2005
Unity Conference though these initiatives were blunted due to the negative, sectarian
attitude of the CPI(ML) of 2003, practically the experience of the united organization
was in effect that of a united front as they resisted all efforts for integration of the
Party and class/mass organisations at all level. Lessons should be taken from all these
positive and negative experiences.
11.4 “It is the people’s interest which is the Party’s interest” So all initiatives

taken at various levels for united front activities should serve the people’s interests
and conform to the goals of the People’s Democratic Revolution and Socialist
Revolution put forward by the Party.
11.5 As our Party is pursuing mass line and devote its energy to a great extent to
build all class and mass organizations, to develop the practice under them united front
activities are inevitable. All party committees at local levels to state committee level
under their own initiative should develop issue based short term and long term united
fronts putting the people’s interests and Party’s aims and objectives in the fore front.
Periodic review of these activities should be made and the conclusions should be
reported to higher committees.
11.6 As far as the political fronts are concerned, including the united fronts planned
in elections at all levels, before arriving at them, they should be reported to higher
committees and approval sought invariably. The central committee should prepare an
approach paper and subject it to discussion at all levels so that a comprehensive and
uniform understanding can be developed through out the Party and correct orientation
can be provided to all the class and mass organizations.
12 Conclusion
12.1 After the CPI(ML) started splintering from 1971, during the course of almost
last four decades of our unity process and building party organisation process we has
gone through rich experiences. One of the basic features of our reorganization efforts
right from the time the CRC, CPI(ML) was formed in 1979 is the primary importance
we have given to ideological-political line in rebuilding the Party. This aspect is
explained in details while dealing with the experience of our organisation in part IV.
While taking up the challenging experiment of uniting with differences with the
CPI(ML) of 2003 in 2005, in the Unity Resolution all the four major points of difference
were well defined and inserted. And it was only when the democratic process of
distributing the different documents, holding inner party discussion based on them
and proceeding to hold the All India Special Conference was blocked by the CPI(ML)
of 2003 contrary to the decisions of the Unity Conference, the unity was disrupted.
Based on these experiences, our Party should firmly adhere to the Marxist-Leninist
principle that ideological- political line determines everything, overcoming weaknesses
we had in this respect in the past.
12.2 The communist movement both at international and national level is at a critical
juncture at present. In spite of the severe setbacks suffered by the movement a large
number of organizations refuse to find out the ideological- political reasons for the
setback. Most of them are satisfied with certain superficial changes made, afraid of
analysing and taking lessons from the changes in the concrete conditions that have
taken place and applying the Marxist-Leninist principles accordingly. As a result alien
tendencies have gained dominance over them. A major section of them led by CPI(M)
have degenerated to outright social democratic positions. In spite of waving the red
flag and using the name ‘communist’ they have for all practical purposes become part

of the ruling class politics. On the other extreme, the CPI (Maoist) is sticking to
dogmatic, anarchist line, pursuing the line of annihilation still, and helping the ruling
system and all forces of reaction to defame, isolate and attack the Marxist-Leninist
theory and practice. Besides a number of organisations, in spite of their claims about
pursuing the mass line are the prisoners of concepts like ‘protracted people’s war’ and
‘area wise seizure of political power’ practiced by the CPC in the then concrete
conditions of semi-colonial, semi-feudal China. And the socialist revolutionaries of
various hues, even while continuously splintering and pushed to the fringe, refuse to
see imperialism, especially US imperialism, increasingly penetrating its tentacles on
our country.
12.3 In this situation, the most significant feature of our Party is that for the last
three decades we have dared to initiate a discussion on the neo-colonial forms of
plunder launched by the imperialist camp led by US imperialism from 1941 when US
and British imperialist leaders under the initiative of US imperialism put forward the
Atlantic Charter and later 1944 Brettenwood Agreement to re-chart the post World
War II global scenario in order to combat the advance of the socialist camp and the
national liberation movements and in order to find a way out of inherent crisis the
imperialist system was confronting. This challenge was subjected to discussion by
comrades Stalin and Mao from 1940s in the course of their various talks, in the organ
of the Cominform, in 1957 Moscow Declaration, 1960 Moscow statement and more
clearly in the Great Debate documents of the CPC during 1963-64. Faced with the
more pernicious and heinous form of neo-colonial plunder, even the democratic voices
from Afro-Asian-Latin American countries had started coming out against this US led
plunder and imperialist interference. But the post -Stalin leadership in Soviet Union
failing to the combat neo-colonisation ideologically and politically degenerated to its
apologists. Within the CPC the theoretical understanding on neo-colonialism and
revolutionary approaches based on it could not be further developed due to
intensification of the inner party struggle and the post-Mao leadership also degenerating
as apologists of neo–colonialism. As a result, in the absence of ‘directives from the
international authority’ as the social democrats degenerated to apologists of neo
colonialism, most of the Marxist-Leninist parties mechanically clung to the ‘semi-
colonial’ analysis.
12.4 In this situation it was a major challenge taken up by the CRC, CPI(ML)
along with the struggle against the capitalist readers who had usurped power in China
soon after Mao’s death and their class collaborationist Theory of Three world’s.
Developing this understanding and practice based on it was obstructed first due to
emergence of petti-bourgeois chauvinist line with in it leading to the split in 1987.
After reorganization as CPI(ML) Red Flag though steps for developing theoretical
positions and practice based on neo-colonialism could be taken up, it was again
obstructed due to inner party struggle against dogmatic positions on the one hand, and
against the liquidationist line of the leadership of the Kerala State committee on the
other. Still the neo-colonial understanding initially put forward during the 1982-84s
period was further developed through the international document of 1997 and the

Party Programme adopted in 2000 Fifth All India Conference. The settling of accounts
with the CPI(ML) of 2003 who tried to scuttle the democratic process of subjecting
the two approaches based on neo-colonial and semi-colonial understanding for open
discussion in the All India Special Conference has now provided the opportunity for
uniting all the forces who uphold this understanding to launch an all out offensive for
building the Party and class /mass organizations at all India level and to carry forward
the revolutionary struggles in all fields at all India levels along with further development
of the understanding about the neo-colonisation both in theory and practice.
12.5 The discussion and adoption of the three draft documents: On the
Characterization of the Indian State, On the Principal Contradiction and On the Path
of Revolution, and the international document in continuation to the 1997 document
shall provide the theoretical basis to carry forward this revolutionary task fighting all
alien trends. It shall provide the momentum to unite all like minded forces, to win
over the cadres from various other ‘Marxist’ forces who wants to join the revolutionary
stream and to recruit cadre from the new generation in order to speed up the Party
building at all India level.
12.6 In the course of the last four years we have made significant gains in Party
building which is reflected in this Conference while carrying forward the tasks of
fighting all alien trends. It shall provide the momentum to unite all like minded forces,
to win over the cadres from various other ‘Marxist’ forces who wants to join the
revolutionary stream and to recruit cadres from the new generation in order to speed
up the party building at all India level.
12.7 While carrying this task forward continuously and tirelessly, conscious efforts
are necessary to advance to wards a Party Congress as early as possible to adopt the
Party Programme based on the positions of the documents adopted in this conference.
Our efforts should be to carry forward the Party building and building of class /mass
organizations at all India level, to develop the working class struggles, agrarian
revolutionary movement and revolutionary struggles in all other fields, to launch all
India movements focusing on various people’s issues so that this historic task of holding
the Ninth Congress of the Party in continuation to the Eighth Congress of the CPI(ML)
in 1970 can be accomplished as early as possible in an atmosphere of all round
revolutionary advances. Let us Dare to Think, Dare to Struggle, and Dare to Win in
the struggle for People’s Democracy and socialism. ■
Long Live Marxism- Leninism – Mao Tsetung Thought !
Long Live Proletarian Internationalism !
Long Live CPI (ML) !
Advance along the path of People’s Democratic Revolution as part
of World Proletarian Socialist Revolution !
18-06-2009 Central committee CPI(ML)

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Issue No.

Theoretical Journal of the CPI (ML)

Editorial Board Printed and Published by

With revolutionary greetings

New Delhi Editorial Board

[Republished from February 1984 issue of the Liberation,

[This document on the “International Developments and

[This Party Programme was adopted by the Fifth All India

Let the whole Party be united to take up these revolutionary tasks.

100 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 101

102 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 103

104 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 105

106 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 107

108 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 109

110 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 111

112 The Marxist-Leninist

The Marxist-Leninist 113

114 The Marxist-Leninist

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