Letters to Editor – On the 71st anniversary of Indian independence

I am writing in reponse to the Statement of the CC of the CGPI dated 1-8-2018 which is entitled ‘On the 71st anniversary of Indian independence: India will be truly independent only when people are empowered’ which was carried in the August 1-15, 2018 issue of MEL. This is an important theoretical and practical article and must be studied by the working class and those in the revolutionary camp. It is an example of the living science of Marxism-Leninism which is based on dialectical materialism and class struggle. In particular, it is the application of this in the sphere of political economy that brings out the nature of the State. It is especially important because of the vast confusion surrounding the nature of the State and of Democracy in India.

The Editor,

Sir,

I am writing in reponse to the Statement of the CC of the CGPI dated 1-8-2018 which is entitled ‘On the 71st anniversary of Indian independence: India will be truly independent only when people are empowered’ which was carried in the August 1-15, 2018 issue of MEL. This is an important theoretical and practical article and must be studied by the working class and those in the revolutionary camp. It is an example of the living science of Marxism-Leninism which is based on dialectical materialism and class struggle. In particular, it is the application of this in the sphere of political economy that brings out the nature of the State. It is especially important because of the vast confusion surrounding the nature of the State and of Democracy in India.

At the heart of this issue is what is meant by Independence that was proclaimed on 15th August 1947 which is reality was a transfer of power from the colonial power to the ascendant political force of that time, the big industrialist and agricultal lobby that arose during the colonial era, whose components also had the forces that compromised with the British during the 1857 First War of Independence.

Thus, when viewed in this light, the present day Indian State is a continuation of the State whose foundations were laid in 1858 in the aftermath of that war. Furthermore, those who usurped the Supreme Power in 1947 from the British in the name of the people of India, continued the policies of that State and perfected the Instruments of Rule. Central to this process was the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950, which was based on the principles of Rule by the Cabinet in the name of the people, with a Parliament that would be elected from time to time, which is the Westminster Model of Representative Democracy. The Constituent Assembly had been elected in elections before the departure of the British, and a good part of the Constitution of India was based on the Government of India Act of 1935.

Viewed in this light, it would be possible to conclude that the Constitution that was adopted in 1950 has little to do with the hopes and aspirations of the people of India, who fought tooth and nail for true Independence. Independence in its essence would be freedom from want and poverty, freedom to lead a life of dignity befitting human beings. It would also imply a life that was secure and prosperous, with right to education and employment, and cradle to grave security. What has come to be in India since that period which life experience shows is one where it is only the rich who have rights. They enjoy the right to grow richer and fatten their bank balance, and the rights of billionaires to become ever richer, and the rights of the biggest capitalists to enter Forbes lists for richest people. Concomitant to this is the suppression of all the nations that constitute India, with Delhi essentially turning the entire country into its Sultanate. All decisions are taken in Delhi and/or in Bombay. All decisions benefit only capitalists.

In its wake, there is the destruction of small manufacturing and artisans, of small land holdings, and vast emiseration on a scale not seen in history. Tribal people are thrown out of their historical lands and the minerals in the land exploited at an alarming scale. The concomitant environmental degradation which has turned every town and pasture and city into a living nightmare is there for everyone to see. Viewed in this light, it may be concluded that the Independence of 1947 is a False Independence. From time to time the big industrialist class that dominates Indian political life itself throws up bogus slogans. It creates one slogan and when it is discredited, throws up another. All the slogans of the past, namely, `socialistic pattern’, `roti, kapda aur makaan’, `garibi hatao’, `development with a human face’, `India shining’, `acche din’, `sab ke saath, sab ka vikaas’ are all bogus. Such slogans have to coined because of the objective and undeniable contradiction between the big industrialists and their agenda, and the objective needs of the billion plus people of India.

The inability to sort out this contradiction has created the gruesome spectacle that is today’s India. Blinded by their success, the big industrialists and capitalists have not only considered the entire land of present day India as their frontyard, but considered the countries in the region as their backyard. Today, they are arming themselves to the teeth to crush the struggles inside against their diktat, and also to bully countries in the region to throw open their markets to their products and to shop for raw materials at discounted prices. In this mad race, they have entered a dance of death with the sole global super-power namely the US, which has its own contradictions with the regional super-power namely China, and hope to come out victorious. Life experience shows that anyone who has embraced the US has courted only destruction, civil war, and even the danger of disintegration. In its arsenal the US uses subterfuge and espionage, shadowy groups to set off terror attacks and counter-attacks, and uses human rights and its violation as well as national subjugation as a tool to advance its own aims. This is the grim scenario that the Indian ruling circles have now brought onto the people of India.

That said, the Statement shows the roadmap ahead for liberation, which is to vest the power in the hands of the people. A modern theory and practice, in all spheres, including political and social theory is the order of the day. All prejudices about the Indian State need to be overthrown and to analyze the phenomena clinically. The ills can only be solved when the disease is understood. I believe that the CGPI through its work has been a force in this project of liberating India.

Not only that, through the realization of such True Independence, India can become a beacon of hope for all the suppressed peoples of the world, and help the peoples to usher in a new tomorrow for themselves. It can blaze a new trail in international politics and relations. Let us all work together on this 71st anniversary towards such a goal.

Sincerely,
A. Narayan, Bangalore

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