To the editor,
I read this article published on your website on 10th April, and felt tremendously stirred. This article is historical as well as relevant for today. The present bourgeois imperialist state keeps propagating that this is the last advanced system and that there is no alternative to the capitalist system. Bourgeois political thinkers have to admit that the Paris Commune and the Bolshevik Revolution were unprecedented events that shook the world, but they want to reject the entire experience by saying that those revolutions failed. What the Communards did in just two months, we are not able to see in India even after decades of so-called independence. In the fields of education, art, culture, society, politics, etc., they were able to do so because their thinking was based on what majority of the people wished for and needed. The present state of India puts the private profits of the few wealthiest houses at the centre and then the state machinery is also run for the same purpose. Common citizens face the attacks of police, army, courts, bureaucrats, etc. Irrespective of which party comes to power, this drama has been going on for the past seven decades.
The Paris Commune entrusted responsibilities and also demanded accountability. Laws were not to remain on paper and assemblies were not to be talk shops. Judges were appointed from among the people and vacant houses were given to the homeless. Today while luxurious palaces are lying vacant people have to sleep on the streets. Today, this immediate step is necessary that the homeless should be sheltered in vacant houses. Women and children were again given their due respect. All the old worn-out traditions were banned. The most important religious institutions were not given any kind of help from the state; religion was regarded as a personal matter.
Today people are also divided on all issues like Ram temple. Tax collections from the people are being wasted on erecting big statues. Communards could do all they did only because they had understood and tested the state system that had existed. That system was not in the interest of the working people, so it was completely destroyed. Even today, after 150 years, the demand of the hour is that the present state system should be completely destroyed. Character of the state cannot be changed by merely dismantling pillars one by one.
Lastly, I would like to say that today we have the glorious experience of the Paris Commune in front of us, as also the achievements of the Bolsheviks. We must learn from these experiences to lead the class struggle on Indian soil. Frustrated by the election experience and the machinations we are seeing today, people do not want to participate in politics. So we must tell our glorious history and work to change the system so that people are fully active in politics and fight for fundamental changes in the system. We salute the courage of the Paris Communards for their struggle. The commune’s experience is of contemporary relevance. This is not just history, but will always remain a source of inspiration for the liberation of the workers and peasants of India.
Vivechan,
Mumbai