This crisis-ridden republic of the bourgeoisie must be replaced by a workers and peasants republic!

62 years ago, on 26 January 1950, the present-day Republic of India was proclaimed. This marked the consolidation of the state power of the Indian bourgeoisie, which had taken over power from the British colonialists when they were forced to leave because of the mounting struggles of the people of India.

62 years ago, on 26 January 1950, the present-day Republic of India was proclaimed. This marked the consolidation of the state power of the Indian bourgeoisie, which had taken over power from the British colonialists when they were forced to leave because of the mounting struggles of the people of India. The fundamental law or Constitution and institutions of this new bourgeois republic were established. The colonial 1935 government of India Act formed the basis of this constitution. The Constituent Assembly, elected under colonial rule by men of property who upheld British rule of law, was dominated by the Indian National Congress, the party of the Indian big capitalists and big landlords. It formulated the constitution largely based on the 1935 Government of India Act. Like the British Raj before it, the new state power was first and foremost an instrument to extract wealth by exploiting the labour and resources of the working people in all parts of the country.

Unlike the British Raj, which ruled in the name of the British monarch, the Indian bourgeoisie took power in the name of “we, the people of India”. The masses of people who had sacrificed and shed their blood for liberation were made to believe that they had now become masters of their own destiny. This was a cruel farce. The working class, peasantry and toiling masses – the great majority of the people – are no more the masters of their own destiny today than they were before the establishment of the Republic. The legal system and political process that were set up were designed to safeguard the rule of the small minority of exploiters, while keeping the people away from the actual exercise of power. In the last six decades, countless elections have been organised. These have resulted in different political parties coming to power, both in the Centre and the states, but these governments have without exception served the interests of the bourgeoisie, and have trampled on the rights and interests of the toiling people. This Republic was supposed to embody the unity of the peoples of India, but instead it has presided over such national oppression that numerous nations and nationalities within the Union want to break away from it. The slogan of "defending national unity and territorial integrity" has become the justification for suppression and denial of national rights of numerous nations and peoples.

Today, the ruling class and its spokespersons are gloating about how India has finally emerged as a “global power”. Day in and day out they are trying to rouse enthusiasm among the people about a so-called “rising India”. They are ecstatic about the fact that the capitalists of other countries are looking to the Indian market and trying to step up their exploitation of the labour and resources of our people here, as a way of making maximum profits in the conditions of the global capitalist economic crisis. While this is a matter of rejoicing for the bourgeoisie, for the vast majority of our people there is nothing to rejoice about. The “economic growth” that is taking place is not putting food in the mouths of the crores upon crores of hungry people. It is not freeing them from the burden of disease and chronic ill-health, nor is it making their children educated. It is not providing them with a secure livelihood or even a better future. India’s “global power” has not brought peace and security for our people, but has instead increased tensions and the dangers of war in the region.

There is discontent and anger amongst all sections of the toiling people. People are showing in many different ways that they have no faith in the institutions of this bourgeois republic. The working class is on the streets in defence of its livelihood and rights. In Koodamkulam, Jaitapur, Gorakhpur and other places where the bourgeoisie is attempting to set up or expand nuclear power plants, masses of people are showing that they do not believe the lies and promises of the government . They are refusing to back down despite the immense pressure they are facing from the might of the “democratic” Indian state. Lakhs of people in cities and towns across the country have come out on the streets demanding right to food, education and social security. Lakhs of people in all corners of the country, who are being displaced for the countless “development projects” meant to benefit the Indian and foreign capitalists, are also refusing to give up their land or accept the terms imposed on them by the state and the capitalists. Throughout the country, people are increasingly asserting their right to be the decision makers.

The consciousness of the people that the institutions of this Republic – including the parliament, the judiciary, the armed forces, and so on – do not serve their interests, but that they serve only a small minority, is on the increase. This is the direct consequence of six decades of bourgeois rule, of the oppression and exploitation, the lies and false promises that are part and parcel of this system. The challenge facing the communists and people of advanced consciousness is to channel this growing awareness of the people in the direction that will lead to a lasting solution to their problems. That is to say, the masses of people must be united around the program for the establishment of a new republic, a voluntary union of workers and peasant's republics of the different nations and peoples constituting India, in place of the existing bourgeois republic.

Our Party has put forth the program of the Navnirman of Indian state as a necessary step to address the problems of our society. It is a program to make the working class the ruling class, which will rule in alliance with the peasantry and other toilers to build a new society free from all forms of exploitation and oppression. This work is increasingly attracting the advanced sections of the working class, peasantry and revolutionary intelligentsia. However, it is a harsh reality that that there are those who claim to be communists but who, far from rising to the challenge and preparing the working class and people to take power, are obstructing this process. Deploring the people’s lack of faith in the institutions of this republic, they are pleading that the people should not take matters into their own hands. They want that the people should leave their fate in the hands of the wheeler-dealers in parliament, who are experts in spreading their thick web of lies and false promises to deprive people’s struggles of their initiative and stifle them. For these so-called communists, the Constitution, the laws, the parliament, the army, etc, are sacred and must not be touched, no matter how much experience shows that it is precisely through such institutions that the exploitation and oppression of our people has been carried on all these years.

On the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of the bourgeois republic on Indian soil, the Communist Ghadar Party of India openly says that this republic must be replaced by a voluntary union of workers and peasants republics. This is the need of the times. This is the only way forward. The working class must be prepared and organised to lead this process. It must unite around itself all the classes and strata of society, and all the nations, nationalities and tribal peoples, who are oppressed under this republic, and carry out this historic task.

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3 comments

  1. Dear Editor,
    I fully agree

    Dear Editor,
    I fully agree with the overall article.
    I also agree that “The consciousness of the people that the institutions of this Republic – including the parliament, the judiciary, the armed forces, and so on – do not serve their interests, but that they serve only a small minority, is on the increase.” But i do not fully agree that “This is the direct consequence of six decades of bourgeois rule, of the oppression and exploitation, the lies and false promises that are part and parcel of this system.” I think that Marxists – Leninists who exposed the real nature of bourgeoise rule also have played a very important role.
    Warm regards,
    Girish

    1. Dear Editor,

      I am agree with
      Dear Editor,

      I am agree with the article also regular reader of MEL,I have found that in present MEL & CGPI is the only organization who exposed the real nature of the System, one suggestion regarding the page content,Artistic or Cartoonic Image contents will be more attractive for the readers.

      Regards
      Dinesh

      1. Dear Dinesh,

        Thank you for

        Dear Dinesh,

        Thank you for your support and your very thoughtful and useful suggestion. 

        Revolutionary greetings!

         

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