Dear Editor,
I am writing to thank you for publishing the article entitled “Independence without social revolution has only benefited the capitalist minority'' in the August 1-15, 2010 issue of Mazdoor Ekta Lehar.
Dear Editor,
I am writing to thank you for publishing the article entitled “Independence without social revolution has only benefited the capitalist minority'' in the August 1-15, 2010 issue of Mazdoor Ekta Lehar.
The question of independence and what it means is an extremely important one, and a question on which many communists in the past have been led astray. Hence a deliberation on this question is of paramount importance to those in the revolutionary camp. The undoubtedly great achievement of revolutionary forces in unseating British colonialism in the wake of the end of the Second World War was a limited victory for our people. Limited because of the subversion of the movement by the bourgeoisie which seized the opportunity to establish its rule.
The bourgeoisie gained political independence but did not carry out any social transformation. These past sixty three years have been a period of deep retrogression for our people, with the crushing of the aspirations of our people of simple needs that make human life possible. The bourgeoisie has shied away from providing any guarantees of food, clothing, security and a bright future for the people. Rather, it has resorted time and again to the use of brute force to crush any resistance to its rule. Whether it is the aspirations of the peasantry or that of the labouring masses, the bourgeoisie has deployed all the state organs and institutions and the use of massive force to consolidate its position.
Our people, on the other hand, have not taken this lying down. The arbitrary authority of the state, it is clear from all the phenomena that one sees, is challenged on a continual basis. Whether it is protests against land acquisition in Singur or Nandigram, or it is the struggle against Posco or Vedanta, or it is the struggle for self-determination in Manipur and Kashmir, the inevitable collision between authority and the condition of those at the receiving end is a daily event. The people of India have not forgotten the legendary sacrifices of the freedom fighters of the pre-1947 period. Those fighters dreamed of a day when our people would be free from want, from disease, from hunger, from insecurity. Such conditions can arise only when society itself advances towards socialism.
The CGPI has been fighting to turn the tide of the struggles to this end. It has been at the forefront of demonstrating that this can happen only through organized struggle, organized under the banner of the most advanced revolutionary theory. This theory is that of Marxism-Leninism which places the role of the working class at centrestage. Only the working class can lead the people of India out of this morass. Let us all unite and struggle for true independence and true freedom. Let us eliminate the hated and parasitic bourgeoisie so that our people can have their rightful place in running the affairs of the country.
A. Narayan, Bangalore