The Editor,
I am writing to thank you for carrying the statement of the CC of the CGPI issued on 12-8-2018 entitled `Workers and peasant must organise to become the rulers of India!’, which has been carried in the August 16-31, 2018 issue of MEL. The matter has ceased to be one of academic interest and is indeed the imperative of the day, caused by the unbearable living conditions for the largest fraction of the people of the country by the bourgeoisie, its parties and its policies.
In particular, the country is now resonating with the mounting struggles as has been mentioned in the opening salvo of the statement. On the one hand it is the struggle against the anti-people policies of the State that go under the headings of liberalization and privatization, while on the other hand it is the just and legitimate demand for prosperity and protection for all. It is at the collision of these two alternate visions that the working people of India today find themselves and are militating for a dispensation that will take them out of the present impasse. In particular, it has been pointed out that it is about 150 monopoly houses that call all the shots in the economic and political spheres, and carry these out through the policies of governments whether they are headed by the Congress or by the BJP.
Whereas the rhetoric may be different, the net outcome remains the same, which is vast riches for the bourgeoisie and immeasurable poverty and suffering for the rest. In order to meet these objectives all laws that were protecting workers have been and are being dismantled and the working people are being exhorted to become competitive. They must become competitive so that the monopolies can become richer! Nowhere are the contradictions more severe than in agriculture. Never before in history has the peasantry been decimated as it has been in the last couple of decades in the country.
Never before have farmers, the ones who produce the food that all have to eat, been in such dire straits of debt and desperation. It is easy to see that government policies and those of financial institutions are geared to squeeze the last drop out of them. Sectors of the economy that have in the past escaped the jaws of privatization and liberalization are now been set up, as the finance capitalists lick their lips to get the next big chunk out of these sectors. Land is a precious commodity for capitalist expansion and indebtedness is a condition that forces peasants to sell their land for a song. Tribal people are also evicted from their land with practically no compensation and their way of life has been destroyed. All the slogans of governments from ‘India shining’ to `reforms with a human face’ to `acche din’ and `sabke saath sab ka vikaas’ have all proved to be bogus. In this horrible situation, the alternative vision makes itself ever more apparent and ever sharper. It is an alternative where the human factor will be placed on the centrestage and not profits for capitalists. It will be one where the people of the country will enjoy basic human needs, education, shelter, nutrion and a secure feature.
Let us not think that this is unattainable and that we should be set on each other’s throats. Let us respond to the call of the Statement of the CC of the CGPI and build and strengthen unity around the aim of establishing the rule of workers and peasants. I would like to join the chorus in reinforcing this timely message.
Sincerely,
A. Narayan, Bangalore