The first May Day celebration in India was organised in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923. This was also the first time the red flag was used in India. The party leader Singaravelu Chettiar made arrangements to celebrate May Day in two places in 1923. One meeting was held at the beach opposite to the Madras High Court; the other meeting was held at the Triplicane beach.
The Hindu newspaper, published from Madras reported,
"The Labour Kisan party has introduced May Day celebrations in Chennai. Comrade Singaravelar presided over the meeting. A resolution was passed stating that the government should declare May Day as a holiday. The president of the party explained the non-violent principles of the party. There was a request for financial aid. It was emphasized that workers of the world must unite to achieve independence."
May Day is a nationwide bank holiday in India. The holiday is tied to labour movements for communist and socialist political parties. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, respectively, it is officially called Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day, since it was on this day in 1960 that each attained statehood, after the division of the old Bombay State on linguistic lines.
SOURCE
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Jailed Maoists to launch agitation
HAZARIBAG:
More than 100 Maoists lodged at Hazaribag Central Jail launched agitation for fulfilment of their demands, jail sources said here on Sunday.
The jailed Maoists, led by sub-zonal commander Sunil Ganjhu and senior Maoist leader Mithilesh, have submitted a 20-point charter of demands to the jail administration. The demands include better provision of power and drinking water in all the jail wards, provision of mosquito nets and halt on transfer of prisoners from Hazaribag jail to other jails.
A senior jail official said the Maoists had launched agitation in support of their demands on earlier occasions also. But, this time, they are angry because Rs 25,000 and a letter sent by Sunil Ganjhu's beloved Sarita Ganjhu was recovered from his possession. The letter was seized by the police when Sunil was taken to the sessions court here in connection with a case.
Police had then lodged one more case against Sunil, Sarita and the courier. Jail sources said in the first phase of agitation, which will continue for a week, Maoists will take meal only once a day. In the second phase of agitation, which will also continue for a week, they will skip both the meals served everyday. If the administration still fails to fulfill their demands, they will then go for indefinite hunger strike.
The Maoists have also warned the jail administration not to suppress their agitation. Hazaribag jail superintendent Uday Prasad Kushwaha said he has received the charter of demands submitted by the Maoists and he has informed the authorities concerned about the agitation.
Kushwaha said talks are on with the Maoist leaders to end their agitation on the jail campus. He said facilities are provided to the prisoners according to the jail manual.
Maoists kill 5 policemen in Muzaffarpur, Bihar
Five policemen were killed and a civilian driver of their vehicle was critically injured on Thursday when Maoist guerillas set off a landmine in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district as the polling for 13 LS seats ended.
The Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the elections, detonated a landmine in the evening at a culvert near Karpoori Chowk at Mohabbatpur village near here, killing five policemen, including a sub-inspector. The naxalites triggered the blast when the policemen were escorting a vehicle laden with electronic voting machines after the polls.
The Maoists, who had called for a boycott of the elections, detonated a landmine in the evening at a culvert near Karpoori Chowk at Mohabbatpur village near here, killing five policemen, including a sub-inspector. The naxalites triggered the blast when the policemen were escorting a vehicle laden with electronic voting machines after the polls.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
May Day joint declaration statement by: Maoist Communist Party of Italy, Maoist Communist Party of France, Maoist Communist Party of Turkey
1st of MAY 2009 :
WE WAN'T PAY YOUR CRISIS !
AGAINST THE CAPITALISM AND THE CONCILIATORS!
UNITY AT THE BASE !
LET'S RETURN BLOW FOR BLOW !
LET'S BUILD THE PARTY FOR THE SEIZURE OF THE POWER FOR THE PROLETARIANS !FOR A NEW SOCIETY, WITHOUT CRISIS, EXPLOITATION OPPRESSION AND POVERTY!The current capitalist crisis does not come from the heaven, it the logic of the system itself, it comes from the economic and political choices of the bourgeois (right or "left") governments. In a class society like that in which we live the governments serve the bourgeois class and the interest of the bourgeoisie is to preserve the capitalism and its position of ruling class on the whole society.
Yet on the 1848 Marx and Engels wrote: "how does the bourgeoisie overcome the crisis? On one hand, by violently destroying a mass of productive forces, on the other one by winning new markets and more deeply exploiting the old ones" (manifesto of the Communist Party).
That is what we see today: responsible for the crisis, the capitalists unload the effects on the proletarians and the masses in the imperialist countries and the people in oppressed countries, intensifying the exploitation: sackings, protracting the work time, massively applying the precarious job etc. Indeed, the bourgeoisie uses the crisis of the capitalist system to restructure and "improve" it, for whose advantage? Of course, not for the people!In the framework of this restructuration on global scale and in order to maintain their domination, the bourgeois have to put in practice a form of modern fascism to impose their economic and political reforms and to safeguard their interests at national, European and international level. Therefore they need to wipe out any opposition to their politics, to crush the struggles and the unavoidable uprising of the masses and their organizations, particularly the revolutionary, socialist and communist ones. The modern fascism takes different form according the different countries but the bourgeoisie uses them to rally to its interests a part of the working class - the "aristocracy" and the nationalist part of it - and the petit bourgeoisie.
In front of this, the reformist parties and the leaderships of the unions try to gain credit as reasonable opponents. The reality shows they are indeed docile "social partners", ready to negotiate the sackings, to participate the reforms, to make the proletarian accept the sacrifices to set the capital in its feet again. When they have the power, they use a little of wax to smoothly apply their "left" reforms but, like their rightist partners, they always grant compensations to the owners. This conciliation with the bourgeoisie strengthens the owners and the modern fascism, on the contrary, we need so support the struggle against the sackings that the workers are developing in new forms, we need to protract the strikes more than one day.It is about revolution that we speak when we speak about a solution of the crisis! If we do not overthrow and substitute the capitalist system with the socialism toward the communism our conditions of life will never change!"The weapons the bourgeois used to overthrow the feudalism today turn against themselves.
Not only had they forged the weapons that will kill them: they also made the men who will use those weapons - the modern workers, the proletarians"The workers' and people's struggles develop throughout the Europe: in France, Germany, Italy as well as in the eastern countries - Poland, Romania, and Russia; and in the world: in Latin America, China, Asia and Africa. The people in Guadalupe, Martinique, Reunion, Palestine, resist.
The people's wars are developed or prepared, led by the communist parties of new type (Maoist). In India the people's war reaches states in which a number of hundreds millions people live, it advances in South Asia where new communist parties are constituted in Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, it goes on in Peru, it grows in Turkey, it develops in Philippines.
In Nepal ten years of people's war and the mass political struggle led the Maoists to develop the complex stage of the new-democratic revolution.We must support all those struggles attacking the capitalist-imperial ist system with the perspective to substitute it with a system that will abolish the poverty, the oppression and the exploitation!
The revolution will not come by itself; we need to build the necessary tools to develop it!We need communist parties of new type (Maoist) to seize the power for the proletarians, to put an end to the exploitation and oppression that restrain the harmonious development of the humanity as a whole. In the country where the people's war is the embryonic stage, we have to strengthen it. It is the matter for the proletarians, for all those fight in the different front of struggle and seek the way to overturn the system. The development of a real united front of the people must be boosted by the vanguard proletarians opposing the reformist and opportunist parties, the conciliating politics and the leaderships of the unions.
Therefore our main tasks are:To build the Party in the fire of the class struggle and closely linked with the massesTo intervene on the base of the concrete analysis of the concrete situation in order to get united with the vanguard proletarians and the and the mass movementsTo build and coordinate the base organization for a class unionTo establish ourselves amongst the youth in the banlieues to build the revolutionary organization of the youthTo bring support and leadership to struggles of the student, the migrants the squatters, etc.To struggle against the repression, developing campaigns and a mass proletarian Red Relief.At international level to support all the anti-imperialist struggles and the people's wars.To give our contribution to the new unity of the communist parties on the basis of the proletarian internationalism and establishing the Marxism-Leninism- Maoism as the only path of the revolutionMaoist Communist Party of Italy
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Months of planning went into Naxal attacks
SOURCE
NEW DELHI: In a well coordinated action spanning five states, over 700 armed Red ultras did exactly what they planned for the first day of polling.
The violence unleashed by them in defiance of the presence of over 50,000 security personnel claimed 19 lives, while the fate of several villagers abducted by the Maoists was not known till late on Thursday evening. Though the number of polling booths affected by their attacks remained quite low (71 out of 76,000 across all Naxal-affected states), the well-choreographed violence succeeded in keeping voters away from polling stations in almost all naxal-affected parliamentary constituencies in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Maharashtra. The Maoists — as reported by TOI on Monday — had planned such attacks in February when they asked their cadres to prepare for simultaneous attacks in the run-up to polls to scare voters. Accordingly, they had launched attacks in Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh early this month, taking 48 lives — including 42 security personnel — in the past nine days. Officials claimed the attack only proved right their decision to hold polls in all the naxal-affected states together and in the first phase itself. The decision gave security forces from outside three weeks to work out a partnership with their counterparts already deployed there and to achieve area domination, besides better coordination among agencies in different states. They said that spreading the polls in the naxal-affected areas over two phases would not have given security forces the time to familiarise themselves with the topography and establish area domination. It would have also helped naxalites, adept at swiftly moving resources, to attack more targets. Security agencies stressed that it was not a one-sided affair. Ultras too had to face reverses in the wake of counter-attack by local cops in coordination with BSF and CRPF. But, the casualties among the security forces — 11 out of 19 — exposed their vulnerability in Red zones. Officials in the home ministry said majority of casualties occurred due to BSF's failure to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs). Ten troopers lost their lives in a landmine blast in Latehar in Jharkhand as they preferred to travel in a bus even on the landmine-prone tracks — against the usual practice of walking through such areas, they added. Officials mentioned how such a precautionary step taken by CRPF men saved their lives a day before when they got down from their vehicle while passing through the vulnerable area in Jharkhand. As a result, their bus was blown up, but it didn't result in major casualties. Incidentally, the home ministry reminded the paramilitary forces to follow the same SOPs in the naxal areas in the wake of the Jharkhand incident on Wednesday. BSF chief M L Kumawat, however, blamed such incidents on poor intelligence.
NEW DELHI: In a well coordinated action spanning five states, over 700 armed Red ultras did exactly what they planned for the first day of polling.
The violence unleashed by them in defiance of the presence of over 50,000 security personnel claimed 19 lives, while the fate of several villagers abducted by the Maoists was not known till late on Thursday evening. Though the number of polling booths affected by their attacks remained quite low (71 out of 76,000 across all Naxal-affected states), the well-choreographed violence succeeded in keeping voters away from polling stations in almost all naxal-affected parliamentary constituencies in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Maharashtra. The Maoists — as reported by TOI on Monday — had planned such attacks in February when they asked their cadres to prepare for simultaneous attacks in the run-up to polls to scare voters. Accordingly, they had launched attacks in Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh early this month, taking 48 lives — including 42 security personnel — in the past nine days. Officials claimed the attack only proved right their decision to hold polls in all the naxal-affected states together and in the first phase itself. The decision gave security forces from outside three weeks to work out a partnership with their counterparts already deployed there and to achieve area domination, besides better coordination among agencies in different states. They said that spreading the polls in the naxal-affected areas over two phases would not have given security forces the time to familiarise themselves with the topography and establish area domination. It would have also helped naxalites, adept at swiftly moving resources, to attack more targets. Security agencies stressed that it was not a one-sided affair. Ultras too had to face reverses in the wake of counter-attack by local cops in coordination with BSF and CRPF. But, the casualties among the security forces — 11 out of 19 — exposed their vulnerability in Red zones. Officials in the home ministry said majority of casualties occurred due to BSF's failure to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs). Ten troopers lost their lives in a landmine blast in Latehar in Jharkhand as they preferred to travel in a bus even on the landmine-prone tracks — against the usual practice of walking through such areas, they added. Officials mentioned how such a precautionary step taken by CRPF men saved their lives a day before when they got down from their vehicle while passing through the vulnerable area in Jharkhand. As a result, their bus was blown up, but it didn't result in major casualties. Incidentally, the home ministry reminded the paramilitary forces to follow the same SOPs in the naxal areas in the wake of the Jharkhand incident on Wednesday. BSF chief M L Kumawat, however, blamed such incidents on poor intelligence.
India: sophisticated arms and ammunition as well as explosives seized
BHUBANESWAR: Seven CISF jawans were killed in a gunfight following a daring attack by Maoists on a well-guarded armoury and bauxite mine of NALCO in Orissa's Koraput district, police said on Monday. ( Watch ) On line video: http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/videoshow/ 4393830.cmsBefore fleeing from the spot, the heavily-armed Maoists numbering about 200, including some women, looted the CISF armoury in the mining area which contained huge quantities of sophisticated arms and ammunition as well as explosives.
Seven jawans of CISF posted at the hilltop bauxite mines in Damanjodi area were killed in the gunbattle that continued till early morning after the Maoists attacked it last night. The well planned attack, apparently aimed at disrupting the upcoming polls and loot explosives, took place shortly after 9.30 pm last night in Asia's biggest bauxite mines.
Seven jawans of CISF posted at the hilltop bauxite mines in Damanjodi area were killed in the gunbattle that continued till early morning after the Maoists attacked it last night. The well planned attack, apparently aimed at disrupting the upcoming polls and loot explosives, took place shortly after 9.30 pm last night in Asia's biggest bauxite mines.
Maoist ambushes in Perú
Sun Apr 12th 2009
LIMA Communist Party of Perú (PCP) rebels in Peru have staged one of their deadliest attacks in years, killing 13 soldiers in an ambush of a military patrol in the country's remote southeast.
On Saturday the attac from the PCP used dynamite and grenades, and their victims included a captain, a junior officer and 11 soldiers.
The assault, one of the deadliest by the Maoist guerrilla group in the past decade, also left one soldier missing and two more wounded.
"Most of the soldiers plunged over a cliff," but the circumstances of the deaths and the fall off the mountainside were not immediately clear.
The ambush came only hours after one soldier was killed and four were wounded in another PCP attack on a military patrol in the same area of Ayacucho department, 550 kilometers (341 miles) southeast of the capital Lima.
The 'defense minister' said an army unit and a helicopter have been dispatched from Huanta city to help the survivors of the ambush and hunt down the Maoists.
The latest ambush came barely 48 hours after Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in crimes committed by an army death squad during his 1990-2000 rule. He is accused of conducting a "dirty war" to fight both the Maoist PCP and Tupac Amaru rebels.
The PCP have grown bolder in their attacks and have made the coca growing region along the Apurimac Ene river their stronghold, allying themselves with local peasant masses.
Sociologist Jaime Antezana said there have been 11 Maoist attacks on military patrols in the past 11 months, adding that the military "fare the worst."
"These are not isolated but systematic attacks. We're dealing with highly mobile rebel forces who since 2005 have been expanding their presence in the coca growing valley in southeastern Peru," the expert in rebel and drug violence told RPP radio.
Prime Minister Yehude Simon decried Thursday's ambushes as "desperate responses by the Shining Path in the face of advances by the armed forces" in Apurimac Ene.
Thursday's attack was the deadliest since an October 10 rebel ambush that killed 14 people -- 12 soldiers and two civilians -- in nearby Huancavelica Department.
There have been 21 rebel ambushes since July 2003 that have left 35 soldiers, 23 police and more than a dozen civilians dead.
The region is just northwest of Ayacucho, where the PCP was founded in the 1960s and from where it has operated for more than two decades.
LIMA Communist Party of Perú (PCP) rebels in Peru have staged one of their deadliest attacks in years, killing 13 soldiers in an ambush of a military patrol in the country's remote southeast.
On Saturday the attac from the PCP used dynamite and grenades, and their victims included a captain, a junior officer and 11 soldiers.
The assault, one of the deadliest by the Maoist guerrilla group in the past decade, also left one soldier missing and two more wounded.
"Most of the soldiers plunged over a cliff," but the circumstances of the deaths and the fall off the mountainside were not immediately clear.
The ambush came only hours after one soldier was killed and four were wounded in another PCP attack on a military patrol in the same area of Ayacucho department, 550 kilometers (341 miles) southeast of the capital Lima.
The 'defense minister' said an army unit and a helicopter have been dispatched from Huanta city to help the survivors of the ambush and hunt down the Maoists.
The latest ambush came barely 48 hours after Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in crimes committed by an army death squad during his 1990-2000 rule. He is accused of conducting a "dirty war" to fight both the Maoist PCP and Tupac Amaru rebels.
The PCP have grown bolder in their attacks and have made the coca growing region along the Apurimac Ene river their stronghold, allying themselves with local peasant masses.
Sociologist Jaime Antezana said there have been 11 Maoist attacks on military patrols in the past 11 months, adding that the military "fare the worst."
"These are not isolated but systematic attacks. We're dealing with highly mobile rebel forces who since 2005 have been expanding their presence in the coca growing valley in southeastern Peru," the expert in rebel and drug violence told RPP radio.
Prime Minister Yehude Simon decried Thursday's ambushes as "desperate responses by the Shining Path in the face of advances by the armed forces" in Apurimac Ene.
Thursday's attack was the deadliest since an October 10 rebel ambush that killed 14 people -- 12 soldiers and two civilians -- in nearby Huancavelica Department.
There have been 21 rebel ambushes since July 2003 that have left 35 soldiers, 23 police and more than a dozen civilians dead.
The region is just northwest of Ayacucho, where the PCP was founded in the 1960s and from where it has operated for more than two decades.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Open Protest Letter from the Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan
ಟು
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
(With Copies to the Participating Parties and Organizations of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement)
The Nepalese Armed Lackeys, a Contingent of Occupying Forces in AfghanistanThe presence of Nepalese armed lackeys was seen in Afghanistan almost simultaneously when the American private security companies appeared in Afghanistan. Since then the issue has been reported in Shola Jawaid, central organ of our party, several times. The new government of Nepal that is lead by the Communist Party of Nepal (M) was expected to pay serious attention; take decisive measures in deploying Nepalese armed lackeys out from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, despite abolishing the Monarchy no measure is taken so far - in fact, the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys is more vividly spreading. The number of these forces stationed only at an important airport of country (Shindand Airport in Herat Province) was estimated to be 700. Groups of armed Nepalese now are seen at Kandahar Airport in Kandahar Province, at PRT(1) headquarter in Ghazni Province and some areas that are critical from security point of view in Kabul and other places. The number of Nepalese armed lackeys is estimated 1500 - 2000.We recently learned - from other sources in RIM, not from the CPN(M) - that the new government of Nepal has agreed to contribute armed contingents to the “peacekeeping missions” of the UN. It is not known yet if the increase of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan is the outcome of this agreement. However, two issues are obvious:1- The new government of Nepal and all its constituents – including its leading body the CPN (M) –not only have not opposed the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan, but they have tolerated further expansion of these forces and practically have allowed it to happen.2- Under the previous government of Nepal, Nepalese armed forces in Afghanistan worked only with the American private security companies. Now, in Shindand Airport they are under the direct command of the US “Special Forces”. In Kandahar, they “work” with Canadian forces, at PRT headquarter in Ghazni they are associated with Polish forces, in Kabul and other regions they are linked with the American private security companies. They are not stationed in a specific location for a specific “mission”; rather they are moved from place to place, hired to render various “tasks”.Our Party as a participant of the 6th Conference of CCOMPOSA(2) – see the report in Shola Jawid No. 18, January 2007 – in addition to raising other issues in the Conference, emanated the presence of Nepalese armed forces in Afghanistan as a serious issue. We demanded the CPN (M) to pay close attention to deployment of Nepalese forces out from Afghanistan. The CPN (M) promised to launch serious efforts for taking action. Almost one year after the “6th Conference of CCOMPOSA”, the CPN (M) declared the "COMMITMENT PAPER… FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION". During that one year no measure - neither in word nor in deed - was taken by the CPN (M) to deliver what was promised in the Conference. So declaration of the " COMMITMENT PAPERS … " did not help stop “breaking promises”. Before reviewing the “COMMITMENT PAPER … FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION", it was incomprehensible for us why a communist Maoist party, seriously committed to proletarian internationalism, would agree the citizens of its country participate in imperialist occupation and practically execute the plans led by the US imperialism.Several weeks after the Election, when we read the content of the "COMMITMENT PAPER … FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION", we were surprised to see what was promised in the 6th Conference has been completely ignored. In part four of the “COMMITMENT PAPER…" the GorKha recruitment has been mentioned only in passing - without clearly discussing or opposing the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Iraq and Afghanistan.The passage reads: "3. Gorkha Recruitment Centre: The shameful tradition like Gorkha recruitment centre, in which Nepali citizens are recruited in foreign army, should be ended and, reverent and productive employment should be arranged for them within the country. On this, creating public opinion and helpful environment, necessary steps will be taken up. "This topic is discussed under a major title “Vision of CPN (Maoist): Establishment of Prosperous New Republican Nepal", subtitled under “Question of Nationalism and International Relation". In other words, “COMMITMENT PAPER…" approaches the issue of GorKha recruitment from a narrow nationalist perspective. By reading the sentence carefully one can clearly see that the tradition of Nepalese recruitment by foreign armies is discussed in the context of Nepalese “national pride" and this type of "employment" is called dishonorable. Certainly that is right!But paying attention only to the dishonorable aspect of the "employment" is only one obvious aspect of the tradition – the remark fails to offer an in-depth explanation how shameful this tradition really is. The true disgrace of this tradition can be described only if it is explained in the context of proletarian internationalism, not merely from the perspective of narrow nationalism.Furthermore, the CPN (M) position in the “COMMITMENT PAPER …” - calling the Gorkha recruitment center overall as “shameful” - does not clearly and specifically put finger on the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan and Iraq; neither it deciphers how it serves the imperialist campaign led by the US occupying forces. The “shameful tradition of Gorkha recruitment center ” is an ancient one that dates back to the British colonialism in the Indian Continent. After independence of India, the Nepalese paid-soldiers not only continued to provide service to Britain, but India also started to hire the Gorkha soldiers. In fact, one of the first infamous Indian army units was the “Gorkha Regiment”. Refugees migrating from northern India to Pakistan, during formation of Pakistan, have bitter memories of brutality of the “Regiment”. These units still exist in India.Although the “shameful tradition” is a tradition of the past, in the context of present situation, it is quite brand new. What makes it “new” is the seal specifically put on it by the UN, approving it to be used in Afghanistan. We had no illusion or expectation in the past, nor we would have in the future, that feudal-comprador constituents of the new government of Nepal – forces like Nepalese Congress, the revisionist United Marxist-Leninist who served the Royal Nepal Army and the US imperialists – deploy forces out of Afghanistan. However, the CPN (M) a participant of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, a signatory of two important documents of 1993 (On the International Situation) and 2000 the “Millennium Resolution”, and as an important host and organizer of the 6th Conference of CCOMPOSA who promised to launch a vigorous campaign for deployment of Nepalese armed lackeys from Afghanistan - has no right to agree with and/or practically serve the imperialist occupiers.Currently, the Chairman of the CPN (M) is the Prime Minister of Nepal. The Ministry of Defense belongs to a leader of the CPN (M). The Ministry of Finance and other critical positions in the cabinet belong to the CPN (M). In short, the coalition government is under the leadership of the CPN (M). However, the citizens of this government is a part and parcel of occupying forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq – a party that led Peoples War for ten years in Nepal - now shamefully agrees with the occupation forces and implements their plans!Our party in its internal debates, when launching campaign in defense of revolution in Nepal, indicated that this issue will not be debated internally after the election of the Constituent Assembly in Nepal. Some debates are already surfacing openly in the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement. Still we may need to discuss some ideological and political issues internally. However, agreement of the CPN (M) on Nepalese citizens to serve along with imperialist contingency forces in Afghanistan and Iraq must be vigorously and openly contested and exposed.The CPN (M) is in a position – if she desires so – to end the shameful situation of presence of Nepalese citizens along with the occupying forces in Afghanistan and Iraq immediately once and for all. We believe no preparation is needed for creating public opinion around this issue, nor more time is needed for creating respectable employment inside Nepal for deployment of its citizen from Afghanistan and Iraq. This issue has an immediate solution, should the CPN (M) take immediate measures to this end.We are of the opinion all participants of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, including the CPN (M), pay immediate attention to this urgent issue. The current embarrassing situation has raised questions around the international alignment of CPN (M) in its entirety, especially on its connection with the aggressive campaign of occupation forces under the leadership of US imperialists. If this disgrace continues on, and a serious struggle for ending the situation is not decisively launched, the present silence makes all participants of RIM - first and foremost our Party and the CPN (M) - responsible for atrocities that imperialists are committing against people. We must launch a fierce struggle on this issue as an integral part of line struggle against the current CPN (M) line, whose hideous ugliness is now openly reflected in the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan along the imperialist occupying forces.We especially ask members of the CPN (M), the Communist Youth League, the warriors of PLA, all guerilla forces and mass organizations under the leadership of the CPN(M), to bear pressure on the leadership of this Party and the government under its leadership to end this shameful situation. Otherwise, Nepalese lackey armed forces, just as they are spilling the blood of masses in Afghanistan in the interest of imperialist invaders, soon they will spill the blood of the members of the Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan, along with the blood of all masses related to our Party.The Central Committee of the Communist (Maoist) Party of AfghanistanMARCH ೨೦೦೯
(1) PRT stands for Provincial Reconstruction Team – a coalition of US-NATO vigilantes stationed in the villages and countryside of Afghanistan for spying rather than reconstruction.
(2) CCOMPSA – Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organization of South Asia.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
(With Copies to the Participating Parties and Organizations of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement)
The Nepalese Armed Lackeys, a Contingent of Occupying Forces in AfghanistanThe presence of Nepalese armed lackeys was seen in Afghanistan almost simultaneously when the American private security companies appeared in Afghanistan. Since then the issue has been reported in Shola Jawaid, central organ of our party, several times. The new government of Nepal that is lead by the Communist Party of Nepal (M) was expected to pay serious attention; take decisive measures in deploying Nepalese armed lackeys out from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, despite abolishing the Monarchy no measure is taken so far - in fact, the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys is more vividly spreading. The number of these forces stationed only at an important airport of country (Shindand Airport in Herat Province) was estimated to be 700. Groups of armed Nepalese now are seen at Kandahar Airport in Kandahar Province, at PRT(1) headquarter in Ghazni Province and some areas that are critical from security point of view in Kabul and other places. The number of Nepalese armed lackeys is estimated 1500 - 2000.We recently learned - from other sources in RIM, not from the CPN(M) - that the new government of Nepal has agreed to contribute armed contingents to the “peacekeeping missions” of the UN. It is not known yet if the increase of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan is the outcome of this agreement. However, two issues are obvious:1- The new government of Nepal and all its constituents – including its leading body the CPN (M) –not only have not opposed the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan, but they have tolerated further expansion of these forces and practically have allowed it to happen.2- Under the previous government of Nepal, Nepalese armed forces in Afghanistan worked only with the American private security companies. Now, in Shindand Airport they are under the direct command of the US “Special Forces”. In Kandahar, they “work” with Canadian forces, at PRT headquarter in Ghazni they are associated with Polish forces, in Kabul and other regions they are linked with the American private security companies. They are not stationed in a specific location for a specific “mission”; rather they are moved from place to place, hired to render various “tasks”.Our Party as a participant of the 6th Conference of CCOMPOSA(2) – see the report in Shola Jawid No. 18, January 2007 – in addition to raising other issues in the Conference, emanated the presence of Nepalese armed forces in Afghanistan as a serious issue. We demanded the CPN (M) to pay close attention to deployment of Nepalese forces out from Afghanistan. The CPN (M) promised to launch serious efforts for taking action. Almost one year after the “6th Conference of CCOMPOSA”, the CPN (M) declared the "COMMITMENT PAPER… FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION". During that one year no measure - neither in word nor in deed - was taken by the CPN (M) to deliver what was promised in the Conference. So declaration of the " COMMITMENT PAPERS … " did not help stop “breaking promises”. Before reviewing the “COMMITMENT PAPER … FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION", it was incomprehensible for us why a communist Maoist party, seriously committed to proletarian internationalism, would agree the citizens of its country participate in imperialist occupation and practically execute the plans led by the US imperialism.Several weeks after the Election, when we read the content of the "COMMITMENT PAPER … FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTION", we were surprised to see what was promised in the 6th Conference has been completely ignored. In part four of the “COMMITMENT PAPER…" the GorKha recruitment has been mentioned only in passing - without clearly discussing or opposing the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Iraq and Afghanistan.The passage reads: "3. Gorkha Recruitment Centre: The shameful tradition like Gorkha recruitment centre, in which Nepali citizens are recruited in foreign army, should be ended and, reverent and productive employment should be arranged for them within the country. On this, creating public opinion and helpful environment, necessary steps will be taken up. "This topic is discussed under a major title “Vision of CPN (Maoist): Establishment of Prosperous New Republican Nepal", subtitled under “Question of Nationalism and International Relation". In other words, “COMMITMENT PAPER…" approaches the issue of GorKha recruitment from a narrow nationalist perspective. By reading the sentence carefully one can clearly see that the tradition of Nepalese recruitment by foreign armies is discussed in the context of Nepalese “national pride" and this type of "employment" is called dishonorable. Certainly that is right!But paying attention only to the dishonorable aspect of the "employment" is only one obvious aspect of the tradition – the remark fails to offer an in-depth explanation how shameful this tradition really is. The true disgrace of this tradition can be described only if it is explained in the context of proletarian internationalism, not merely from the perspective of narrow nationalism.Furthermore, the CPN (M) position in the “COMMITMENT PAPER …” - calling the Gorkha recruitment center overall as “shameful” - does not clearly and specifically put finger on the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan and Iraq; neither it deciphers how it serves the imperialist campaign led by the US occupying forces. The “shameful tradition of Gorkha recruitment center ” is an ancient one that dates back to the British colonialism in the Indian Continent. After independence of India, the Nepalese paid-soldiers not only continued to provide service to Britain, but India also started to hire the Gorkha soldiers. In fact, one of the first infamous Indian army units was the “Gorkha Regiment”. Refugees migrating from northern India to Pakistan, during formation of Pakistan, have bitter memories of brutality of the “Regiment”. These units still exist in India.Although the “shameful tradition” is a tradition of the past, in the context of present situation, it is quite brand new. What makes it “new” is the seal specifically put on it by the UN, approving it to be used in Afghanistan. We had no illusion or expectation in the past, nor we would have in the future, that feudal-comprador constituents of the new government of Nepal – forces like Nepalese Congress, the revisionist United Marxist-Leninist who served the Royal Nepal Army and the US imperialists – deploy forces out of Afghanistan. However, the CPN (M) a participant of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, a signatory of two important documents of 1993 (On the International Situation) and 2000 the “Millennium Resolution”, and as an important host and organizer of the 6th Conference of CCOMPOSA who promised to launch a vigorous campaign for deployment of Nepalese armed lackeys from Afghanistan - has no right to agree with and/or practically serve the imperialist occupiers.Currently, the Chairman of the CPN (M) is the Prime Minister of Nepal. The Ministry of Defense belongs to a leader of the CPN (M). The Ministry of Finance and other critical positions in the cabinet belong to the CPN (M). In short, the coalition government is under the leadership of the CPN (M). However, the citizens of this government is a part and parcel of occupying forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq – a party that led Peoples War for ten years in Nepal - now shamefully agrees with the occupation forces and implements their plans!Our party in its internal debates, when launching campaign in defense of revolution in Nepal, indicated that this issue will not be debated internally after the election of the Constituent Assembly in Nepal. Some debates are already surfacing openly in the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement. Still we may need to discuss some ideological and political issues internally. However, agreement of the CPN (M) on Nepalese citizens to serve along with imperialist contingency forces in Afghanistan and Iraq must be vigorously and openly contested and exposed.The CPN (M) is in a position – if she desires so – to end the shameful situation of presence of Nepalese citizens along with the occupying forces in Afghanistan and Iraq immediately once and for all. We believe no preparation is needed for creating public opinion around this issue, nor more time is needed for creating respectable employment inside Nepal for deployment of its citizen from Afghanistan and Iraq. This issue has an immediate solution, should the CPN (M) take immediate measures to this end.We are of the opinion all participants of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, including the CPN (M), pay immediate attention to this urgent issue. The current embarrassing situation has raised questions around the international alignment of CPN (M) in its entirety, especially on its connection with the aggressive campaign of occupation forces under the leadership of US imperialists. If this disgrace continues on, and a serious struggle for ending the situation is not decisively launched, the present silence makes all participants of RIM - first and foremost our Party and the CPN (M) - responsible for atrocities that imperialists are committing against people. We must launch a fierce struggle on this issue as an integral part of line struggle against the current CPN (M) line, whose hideous ugliness is now openly reflected in the presence of Nepalese armed lackeys in Afghanistan along the imperialist occupying forces.We especially ask members of the CPN (M), the Communist Youth League, the warriors of PLA, all guerilla forces and mass organizations under the leadership of the CPN(M), to bear pressure on the leadership of this Party and the government under its leadership to end this shameful situation. Otherwise, Nepalese lackey armed forces, just as they are spilling the blood of masses in Afghanistan in the interest of imperialist invaders, soon they will spill the blood of the members of the Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan, along with the blood of all masses related to our Party.The Central Committee of the Communist (Maoist) Party of AfghanistanMARCH ೨೦೦೯
(1) PRT stands for Provincial Reconstruction Team – a coalition of US-NATO vigilantes stationed in the villages and countryside of Afghanistan for spying rather than reconstruction.
(2) CCOMPSA – Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organization of South Asia.
Parliamentary Democracy is an illusion for the masses!
To be radical is to grasp the root of the matter.–MarxOnce again the great Indian fraud is on—the spectacle of the farce of parliamentary elections. Even apologists of parliamentary democracy in India are quick to call it the most fragmented election ever to be fought. In this make believe world of the so-called largest `democracy', even those who vouch by the system is not ready to say who their friends/foes are in this sham of representation. And this wisdom of the predicament ahead or the predicament of the wisdom of parliamentary `democracy' in 21st century India is best summed up by none other than Lalu Prasad—one of the PMs in waiting—when he wryly observes that "when all of us want to win why contest separately?" If in the pre-poll scenario the running theme is the wisdom of Lalu to avoid multi-corner contests and hence fragmentation of votes, then the circus of musical chair that ensue the post poll scenario is as fluid as the craving needs of an abusive drunkard short of money. Anyone who has more than thirty seats in the next Lok Sabha elections will be a strong contender for the PM's post in the dog-eat-dog world of Parliamentary politics.
Fully aware of the complete loss of face of a process that has hardly evoked confidence in the average citizen of the `republic' all the parliamentary parties right from Congress, BJP to the parliamentary `Marxists' are harping on the need for every citizen to cast their vote failing which they are set for doom. The electronic and print media are abuzz with a variety of advertisements exhorting every voter the need to utilize a non-existent weapon—their vote. Thousands of crores are being spent by central and state governments, politicians and money bags to instil a sense of urgency and belonging in every voter as if their `right' vote would lift the sinking ship—the Indian republic. Sixty years after the transfer of power by the British to their servile counterparts in the subcontinent it has become inevitable for the comprador Indian ruling classes to conjure up some legitimacy among the masses, every five years, under the smokescreen of elections for their right to loot and plunder.Elections or the politics of charcha, parcha and kharcha
Official estimate of expenditure on present elections is a whopping Rs.10000 crores. This does not include the advertisements indulged in by various ruling parties using the people's money. A cursory look at the recently concluded elections to Kashmir assembly shows how much money is illegally routed by the state to manufacture consent from a people who have been consistently raising their voice for Azadi. It is an open secret that every new aspirant candidate in J &K was given ten lakh rupees by the Indian state. The Election Commission, a toothless wonder, can do little is evident when we look into the last assembly elections in Karnataka. Media reported that on an average each candidate of the BJP, Congress and JD (S) spent in their regions at least 5-6 crores. Most notably, for nine seats in the iron ore rich Bellary district and in almost all urban centres money spent by each candidate was to the tune of 15-18 crores. A conservative estimate of major contenders in all the 224 constituencies put the expenditure at a massive Rs.4000 crores. The big mining mafia of Bellary along with the real estate dons played a key role in bankrolling thousands of crores for the BJP. The real estate dons also became candidates for the BJP. Besides, liquor also played a key role in inducing voters from the economically and socially weaker sections.
In AP, just before the day of declaration of election schedule, the loyal babus of YSR government worked through the night at the secretariat literally burning the midnight oil with lights off to sign 3000 predated GOs doling out benefits to various sections. Not to be left behind the techno savvy former CM Chandrababu raised the jackpot by dishing out 1 crore colour TVs to the poor besides several such sops. So much for the triumph of the Indian democratic process!
The dubious role of black money and money bags in the every day life of the great Indian democracy is evident from the number of scams that have graced parliament since 80s: Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scandal, Bofors Scandal, St. Kitts forgery scandal, JMM bribery scandal, hawala scandal, telecom scam, coffingate, defence procurement scandal, cash for query scam, MPLADS scam, human trafficking scam, cash for vote scam. Due to want of space one is restrained to go into further details.
The Parliamentary Marxists
The most dubious role in legitimising the farce of parliamentary process lies with the so-called `mainstream' left. The CPI participated in elections even before the transfer of power, gaining British colonial legitimacy. They have since graduated from being reformist to ruling class parties with the CPI (M) turning into social fascists. Their new partner this time is CPI (ML) (Liberation) the entrant to the electoral fray in the early 80s. Notwithstanding their radical pretensions they stand exposed as the most degenerate as they keep changing their partners in their eagerness to feel the gaddi. Liberation which made a song and dance of the CPI and CPM for their servility to imperialists and comprador big business houses like the Tatas, Jindals, Dove etc by brutally suppressing the people's protests and handing over land and wealth to these sharks in Singur, Nandigram, Salboni, Lalgarh etc. has joined hands with the same parties in Bihar to fight elections! Liberation had tried similar truck desperately with SP, LJP and even RJD in Bihar before.
But for the support of the social fascists the imperialist stooge Manmohan Singh could not have passed several anti-people policies and anti-national acts in the parliament. Thus after four years of hobnobbing with the UPA they had to pull out to save the last straw of eyewash of opposing the UPA in the nuclear deal. The third front that they managed with all crooks and gangsters like Chandrababu Naidu, Mayawati and Jayalalitha, Deve Gowda will collapse due to its own contradictions as the race to the government formation starts. The politics of convenient alliances just to get to the gaddi or to be a dominant partner has really brought out the opportunistic and anti-people nature of the parliamentary left—even their anti-communal pretensions. When it comes to the real problems of the people their subservience to imperialist interests have hardly made them different from the Congress and BJP.
The emerging scenarioWhether it is the Congress led UPA with or without the support of CPM or the erstwhile BJP led NDA, all combinations of the parliamentary circus have—a mute testimony of their comprador nature—very faithfully implemented the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) dictated by the IMF and WB euphemistically called LPG. The outcome of this `shining India' is for everyone to see.
As the world economy is reeling under the worst ever crisis since the Great Depression, India has been ever more deeply embedded in the imperialist web, particularly the US which has hit the nadir with the largest budget and trade deficits, the dollar hitting an all time low. The dominance of foreign capital is more than ever before. Even the smallest trough in the Western economies has deep repercussions in a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country like India as 40 percent of her GDP comes from exports and imports. The stock exchanges that are in the vice like grip of FIIs have been devastated. With the FIIs withdrawing $ 13 billion (Rs. 62,880 crores) from the country in 2008 investors in the Indian stock market lost Rs.36,50,000 crores in nine months. The ninety percent drop in real estate stocks and 80 percent in Mutual Funds where much of middle-class savings are put have further worsened the crisis.
In the equity of the comprador big business houses, share of foreign capital has gone up from an average of about 6 percent to about 25 percent. Even for its credit, the bulk of big business is dependent on foreign borrowings (in the form of ECBs, etc) as interest rates are much less abroad. The bourgeois media has unequivocally pointed out that total investor wealth, in terms of market capitalization, of all limited companies together dipped from Rs.73,00,000 crore in Jan 2008 to Rs.36,50,000 crore in Oct.2008. Since then it has dropped further. Today, half of the 2,699 quoted companies are below the book value. For the first time in 15 years industrial output fell by 0.5 percent in January 2009. The signature Indian economy such as the car market, export industry (leather, textiles,), IT and ITES have slumped drastically.
The learned PM and the erudite FM have sought to take us deeper into the vortex of the imperialist beast as they reduced the restrictions on Participatory Notes, raised the interest rates on NRI loans; increased the equity capital allowed in insurance from 26 to 49 percent; allowed the take-over of India's largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy, by a Japanese TNC; the list lingers. The policies being adopted—be it the Congress, BJP, CPM, TDP R/JD, BSP, SP, AGP, NC or any of their ilk—are nothing but a prescription for disaster for the people of this subcontinent, a prop for the imperialists (and their comprador agents within the country) to help them shift the burden of their crisis on the peoples of the backward countries like India.
Agrarian distress—awaiting a social explosion
The violent brutality of the policy of LPG consummates in the story of more than 180000 peasants who have committed suicide in the last ten years due to the mounting agrarian crisis when the Vajpayees and Manmohans were shamelessly pedalling the story of `Shining India'. Annual growth rate in agricultural production has further dipped from 3.8 percent in 2006-07 to 2.6 percent in 2007-08 owing to criminal neglect ala India Shining where prime agricultural land is allotted for the real estate bubble and bio-diesel production. Centre's expenditure on agriculture has fallen by 20 percent between 1990-91 and 2004-05; on irrigation and flood control by 15 percent. The neglect of various governments is despite the fact agriculture still provides 70 percent of employment while the service sector which accounts for 55 percent of the GDP gives only a paltry 0.5 percent of employment. This shift in priority is also in the interest of multinational agri-based industries that have seen a burgeoning market in the world food crisis. Today over 70 percent of our people live in the rural areas in utter backwardness and penury weighed down by varied forms of feudal, semi-feudal and now `modern' forms of exploitation and loot. As per a study sixty years of the `largest democracy' have done little to over 77 percent of the population who live on Rs. 20/day on average.
Land grab, displacement and destruction in the name of development
The 600 odd SEZs which are all set to grab a massive 1750 sq km of land will displace 1.14 lakh farming households and 82000 labouring households i.e. a minimum of one million people thus pushing the rural population to the brink. Further, hundreds of thousands of MoUs on mining, mega-dams, super highways, etc. signed with imperialist and comprador capital is nothing but total sell out of valuable resources of the people while displacing lakhs and lakhs of them from their livelihoods. The opening up of the huge retail market in India for multinational retail giants like Walmart will displace 4-6 lakh families from their livelihoods.
Fleecing the people
The masses are the worst hit under the policies of LPG. In these two decades all political parties blamed each other for the ills of the economy while faithfully implementing policies of LPG without any discontinuity which saw the rich getting richer and the lives of the poor going from bad to worse. The policy of industrialization tailor made for the coffers of the comprador bourgeoisie have largely concentrated incomes in a few hands of top promoters and majority shareholders. The share of corporate sector in the national income shot through the roof as it rose by 290 percent in the last five years.
This model of development has created billionaires like Mukesh Ambanis, one lakh millionaires and a parasitic upper class eating off the crumbs of the super rich. India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of poor in the world while at the same time also housing the second largest number of billionaires.
The rupee declined by as much as 15 percent in the few weeks ending October 2008. If we also take into account retail prices especially of basic necessities, the double digit inflation that was persistent throughout –actually around 20 percent—wreaked havoc among the poor and middle class. The near blind faith of the policy pundits on jobless growth could not be sustained with the worst decline in employment opportunities including absolute decline, slashed wages/salaries and unprecedented price rise. Do any of the parliamentary parties approaching for vote have a concrete solution for this whirlpool of crisis that they are party to? The answer is in the air.Repression on the people
The UPA government was little different from NDA in unleashing a reign of terror on various sections of the people. Fake encounter killings of Maoists, innocent Muslims, and struggling nationalities like Kashmiri Muslims, Assamese, Nagas and Manipuris were on the rise. Muslims continued to be targets of witch hunt as every party vied the other in their favourite game—to appease the Hindu majority; to create a sense of insecurity to resort to fascist methods to suppress all just and democratic struggles of the people. Hindu fascist gangs and saffron terrorists like BJP-RSS-VHP- Bajrang Dal-Shiv Sena-RJM-Abhinav Bharat, etc. are allowed a free run in inciting anti-Christian riots and massacres while Muslim organizations such as SIMI are banned.
The people of Kashmir had poured into the streets in lakhs demanding Azadi despite unprecedented measures of curfew and force resorted to by the military might of the Indian state. The panic stricken Indian state could only respond with force by killing and maiming the defiant masses.Salwa Judum is a gruesome reminder of such an assault of the state on the revolutionary masses of Chhattisgarh who have opposed tooth and nail the policies of loot and plunder. Moreover, the authoritarian fascist methods of the state came out in sharp relief through new draconian laws and even without it.
When people protest against such blood thirsty policies they are brutally suppressed through the barrel of the gun. The barrel of the gun again returns to the same battlegrounds— Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Bihar-Jharkhand— albeit now to elicit the consent of the people as vote to loot them further!
Did anyone say the battle of the ballot?The democratic alternative as emerging in Dandakaranya
What then would a real democracy entail? It would involve a genuine assertion of peoples' power from the grass roots. People themselves will determine their future. All wings of the state—parties, political institutions, bureaucracy, judiciary, et al—will be answerable to the people; they having the right to recall. It would usher a society where all are educated and are conscious of their duties as well as their rights. Moreover, a system where every single person has the minimum—food, cloth and shelter.
The initiative of the masses of Chhattisgarh under our party the CPI (Maoist) is a definite step in this direction. Organised under the Janatana Sarkar they have fought the efforts of the state to implement the pro-imperialist model of development in their immediate social formation. In Dandakaranya, this struggle started with the establishment of Gram Rajya Committees (GRC) as the primary units of power and today it has taken deep roots in the form of Revolutionary People's Committees and the Revolutionary Peasant's Committees as the embryonic forms of people's assertion at the village level, block level and division level. It is through these organs of political power that the revolutionary masses have successfully destroyed the reactionary power of the oppressive and exploitative ruling classes in an extensive area under the leadership of the CPI (Maoist) party thus ensuring the production and reproduction of everlasting methods of equitable distribution of resources and produces.
The 8 departments under the sarkar are:(i) Development (ii) Defence (iii) Justice (iv) Forest protection (v) Culture & Education (vi) Health (vii) Finance (viii) Public Relations (ix) Mass Organizations.
And remember these sarkars are run by adivasis—once illiterate—now educated by the party and have become politically conscious through class struggle. These RPCs are taking shape in our guerilla zones playing an effective role, where a strong party capable of leading people's war with a battle hard PLGA and its three consolidated forces have organized the people of the area in the form of mass organizations and people's militia. The leadership of village party organizations are established up to the village level. This embryonic people's governments with four class united front in the guerilla zones is unflinchingly fighting the white terror of the reactionaries and destroying its armed forces wiping out its power. It is through this organized resistance the genocidal attempt of Salwa Judum on the adivasi population—by the murderous rulers like Manmohan Singh to Raman Singh—was beaten back.
The RPCs have enabled the people evolve a better living by new farming techniques, water management through small check dams, bio-fertilizers, seed sharing and preservation, soil conservation, poultry farming, fish farming, health education, prevention of all curable diseases like malaria, tubercholosis, malnutrition, etc. The underlying principle is equitable distribution sans disparities/ unevenness. The lives of the people have considerably transformed. The role of superstitions in their lives has considerably reduced with education playing an important role. The struggle to decide their own destiny has become their world view; songs; stories.
Relative to all the state powers so far formed in India, these RPCs are the highest and truly democratic systems that would unleash the initiative of the broad masses of peasantry, develop their creativity and collectiveness in the people's war. These will work towards establishing the joint dictatorship of all the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, anti-Comprador Bureaucratic Bourgeois forces based on the worker-peasant alliance under the leadership of the working class through out the area with the aim of New Democratic Revolution.
With the financial crisis fast engulfing the Indian subcontinent India is moving towards a social explosion. None of the political parties have a definite answer for this imminent spectre. Rest assured, they might be overconfident, complacent and numb as even without a crisis they could kill more than one and a half lakh farmers, displace millions through their warped development policies, reduce the health conditions of masses to silent deaths, massacre thousands through state terrorism on revolutionaries, nationalities, Muslims, dalits and all struggling people. The toiling masses of India have only one path. The robust road of revolution! To paraphrase Mao, the masses of the Indian subcontinent have to be practical and do the impossible!Azad,SpokespersonCentral Committee,Communist Party of India (Maoist)12.03.09
Fully aware of the complete loss of face of a process that has hardly evoked confidence in the average citizen of the `republic' all the parliamentary parties right from Congress, BJP to the parliamentary `Marxists' are harping on the need for every citizen to cast their vote failing which they are set for doom. The electronic and print media are abuzz with a variety of advertisements exhorting every voter the need to utilize a non-existent weapon—their vote. Thousands of crores are being spent by central and state governments, politicians and money bags to instil a sense of urgency and belonging in every voter as if their `right' vote would lift the sinking ship—the Indian republic. Sixty years after the transfer of power by the British to their servile counterparts in the subcontinent it has become inevitable for the comprador Indian ruling classes to conjure up some legitimacy among the masses, every five years, under the smokescreen of elections for their right to loot and plunder.Elections or the politics of charcha, parcha and kharcha
Official estimate of expenditure on present elections is a whopping Rs.10000 crores. This does not include the advertisements indulged in by various ruling parties using the people's money. A cursory look at the recently concluded elections to Kashmir assembly shows how much money is illegally routed by the state to manufacture consent from a people who have been consistently raising their voice for Azadi. It is an open secret that every new aspirant candidate in J &K was given ten lakh rupees by the Indian state. The Election Commission, a toothless wonder, can do little is evident when we look into the last assembly elections in Karnataka. Media reported that on an average each candidate of the BJP, Congress and JD (S) spent in their regions at least 5-6 crores. Most notably, for nine seats in the iron ore rich Bellary district and in almost all urban centres money spent by each candidate was to the tune of 15-18 crores. A conservative estimate of major contenders in all the 224 constituencies put the expenditure at a massive Rs.4000 crores. The big mining mafia of Bellary along with the real estate dons played a key role in bankrolling thousands of crores for the BJP. The real estate dons also became candidates for the BJP. Besides, liquor also played a key role in inducing voters from the economically and socially weaker sections.
In AP, just before the day of declaration of election schedule, the loyal babus of YSR government worked through the night at the secretariat literally burning the midnight oil with lights off to sign 3000 predated GOs doling out benefits to various sections. Not to be left behind the techno savvy former CM Chandrababu raised the jackpot by dishing out 1 crore colour TVs to the poor besides several such sops. So much for the triumph of the Indian democratic process!
The dubious role of black money and money bags in the every day life of the great Indian democracy is evident from the number of scams that have graced parliament since 80s: Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scandal, Bofors Scandal, St. Kitts forgery scandal, JMM bribery scandal, hawala scandal, telecom scam, coffingate, defence procurement scandal, cash for query scam, MPLADS scam, human trafficking scam, cash for vote scam. Due to want of space one is restrained to go into further details.
The Parliamentary Marxists
The most dubious role in legitimising the farce of parliamentary process lies with the so-called `mainstream' left. The CPI participated in elections even before the transfer of power, gaining British colonial legitimacy. They have since graduated from being reformist to ruling class parties with the CPI (M) turning into social fascists. Their new partner this time is CPI (ML) (Liberation) the entrant to the electoral fray in the early 80s. Notwithstanding their radical pretensions they stand exposed as the most degenerate as they keep changing their partners in their eagerness to feel the gaddi. Liberation which made a song and dance of the CPI and CPM for their servility to imperialists and comprador big business houses like the Tatas, Jindals, Dove etc by brutally suppressing the people's protests and handing over land and wealth to these sharks in Singur, Nandigram, Salboni, Lalgarh etc. has joined hands with the same parties in Bihar to fight elections! Liberation had tried similar truck desperately with SP, LJP and even RJD in Bihar before.
But for the support of the social fascists the imperialist stooge Manmohan Singh could not have passed several anti-people policies and anti-national acts in the parliament. Thus after four years of hobnobbing with the UPA they had to pull out to save the last straw of eyewash of opposing the UPA in the nuclear deal. The third front that they managed with all crooks and gangsters like Chandrababu Naidu, Mayawati and Jayalalitha, Deve Gowda will collapse due to its own contradictions as the race to the government formation starts. The politics of convenient alliances just to get to the gaddi or to be a dominant partner has really brought out the opportunistic and anti-people nature of the parliamentary left—even their anti-communal pretensions. When it comes to the real problems of the people their subservience to imperialist interests have hardly made them different from the Congress and BJP.
The emerging scenarioWhether it is the Congress led UPA with or without the support of CPM or the erstwhile BJP led NDA, all combinations of the parliamentary circus have—a mute testimony of their comprador nature—very faithfully implemented the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) dictated by the IMF and WB euphemistically called LPG. The outcome of this `shining India' is for everyone to see.
As the world economy is reeling under the worst ever crisis since the Great Depression, India has been ever more deeply embedded in the imperialist web, particularly the US which has hit the nadir with the largest budget and trade deficits, the dollar hitting an all time low. The dominance of foreign capital is more than ever before. Even the smallest trough in the Western economies has deep repercussions in a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country like India as 40 percent of her GDP comes from exports and imports. The stock exchanges that are in the vice like grip of FIIs have been devastated. With the FIIs withdrawing $ 13 billion (Rs. 62,880 crores) from the country in 2008 investors in the Indian stock market lost Rs.36,50,000 crores in nine months. The ninety percent drop in real estate stocks and 80 percent in Mutual Funds where much of middle-class savings are put have further worsened the crisis.
In the equity of the comprador big business houses, share of foreign capital has gone up from an average of about 6 percent to about 25 percent. Even for its credit, the bulk of big business is dependent on foreign borrowings (in the form of ECBs, etc) as interest rates are much less abroad. The bourgeois media has unequivocally pointed out that total investor wealth, in terms of market capitalization, of all limited companies together dipped from Rs.73,00,000 crore in Jan 2008 to Rs.36,50,000 crore in Oct.2008. Since then it has dropped further. Today, half of the 2,699 quoted companies are below the book value. For the first time in 15 years industrial output fell by 0.5 percent in January 2009. The signature Indian economy such as the car market, export industry (leather, textiles,), IT and ITES have slumped drastically.
The learned PM and the erudite FM have sought to take us deeper into the vortex of the imperialist beast as they reduced the restrictions on Participatory Notes, raised the interest rates on NRI loans; increased the equity capital allowed in insurance from 26 to 49 percent; allowed the take-over of India's largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy, by a Japanese TNC; the list lingers. The policies being adopted—be it the Congress, BJP, CPM, TDP R/JD, BSP, SP, AGP, NC or any of their ilk—are nothing but a prescription for disaster for the people of this subcontinent, a prop for the imperialists (and their comprador agents within the country) to help them shift the burden of their crisis on the peoples of the backward countries like India.
Agrarian distress—awaiting a social explosion
The violent brutality of the policy of LPG consummates in the story of more than 180000 peasants who have committed suicide in the last ten years due to the mounting agrarian crisis when the Vajpayees and Manmohans were shamelessly pedalling the story of `Shining India'. Annual growth rate in agricultural production has further dipped from 3.8 percent in 2006-07 to 2.6 percent in 2007-08 owing to criminal neglect ala India Shining where prime agricultural land is allotted for the real estate bubble and bio-diesel production. Centre's expenditure on agriculture has fallen by 20 percent between 1990-91 and 2004-05; on irrigation and flood control by 15 percent. The neglect of various governments is despite the fact agriculture still provides 70 percent of employment while the service sector which accounts for 55 percent of the GDP gives only a paltry 0.5 percent of employment. This shift in priority is also in the interest of multinational agri-based industries that have seen a burgeoning market in the world food crisis. Today over 70 percent of our people live in the rural areas in utter backwardness and penury weighed down by varied forms of feudal, semi-feudal and now `modern' forms of exploitation and loot. As per a study sixty years of the `largest democracy' have done little to over 77 percent of the population who live on Rs. 20/day on average.
Land grab, displacement and destruction in the name of development
The 600 odd SEZs which are all set to grab a massive 1750 sq km of land will displace 1.14 lakh farming households and 82000 labouring households i.e. a minimum of one million people thus pushing the rural population to the brink. Further, hundreds of thousands of MoUs on mining, mega-dams, super highways, etc. signed with imperialist and comprador capital is nothing but total sell out of valuable resources of the people while displacing lakhs and lakhs of them from their livelihoods. The opening up of the huge retail market in India for multinational retail giants like Walmart will displace 4-6 lakh families from their livelihoods.
Fleecing the people
The masses are the worst hit under the policies of LPG. In these two decades all political parties blamed each other for the ills of the economy while faithfully implementing policies of LPG without any discontinuity which saw the rich getting richer and the lives of the poor going from bad to worse. The policy of industrialization tailor made for the coffers of the comprador bourgeoisie have largely concentrated incomes in a few hands of top promoters and majority shareholders. The share of corporate sector in the national income shot through the roof as it rose by 290 percent in the last five years.
This model of development has created billionaires like Mukesh Ambanis, one lakh millionaires and a parasitic upper class eating off the crumbs of the super rich. India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of poor in the world while at the same time also housing the second largest number of billionaires.
The rupee declined by as much as 15 percent in the few weeks ending October 2008. If we also take into account retail prices especially of basic necessities, the double digit inflation that was persistent throughout –actually around 20 percent—wreaked havoc among the poor and middle class. The near blind faith of the policy pundits on jobless growth could not be sustained with the worst decline in employment opportunities including absolute decline, slashed wages/salaries and unprecedented price rise. Do any of the parliamentary parties approaching for vote have a concrete solution for this whirlpool of crisis that they are party to? The answer is in the air.Repression on the people
The UPA government was little different from NDA in unleashing a reign of terror on various sections of the people. Fake encounter killings of Maoists, innocent Muslims, and struggling nationalities like Kashmiri Muslims, Assamese, Nagas and Manipuris were on the rise. Muslims continued to be targets of witch hunt as every party vied the other in their favourite game—to appease the Hindu majority; to create a sense of insecurity to resort to fascist methods to suppress all just and democratic struggles of the people. Hindu fascist gangs and saffron terrorists like BJP-RSS-VHP- Bajrang Dal-Shiv Sena-RJM-Abhinav Bharat, etc. are allowed a free run in inciting anti-Christian riots and massacres while Muslim organizations such as SIMI are banned.
The people of Kashmir had poured into the streets in lakhs demanding Azadi despite unprecedented measures of curfew and force resorted to by the military might of the Indian state. The panic stricken Indian state could only respond with force by killing and maiming the defiant masses.Salwa Judum is a gruesome reminder of such an assault of the state on the revolutionary masses of Chhattisgarh who have opposed tooth and nail the policies of loot and plunder. Moreover, the authoritarian fascist methods of the state came out in sharp relief through new draconian laws and even without it.
When people protest against such blood thirsty policies they are brutally suppressed through the barrel of the gun. The barrel of the gun again returns to the same battlegrounds— Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Bihar-Jharkhand— albeit now to elicit the consent of the people as vote to loot them further!
Did anyone say the battle of the ballot?The democratic alternative as emerging in Dandakaranya
What then would a real democracy entail? It would involve a genuine assertion of peoples' power from the grass roots. People themselves will determine their future. All wings of the state—parties, political institutions, bureaucracy, judiciary, et al—will be answerable to the people; they having the right to recall. It would usher a society where all are educated and are conscious of their duties as well as their rights. Moreover, a system where every single person has the minimum—food, cloth and shelter.
The initiative of the masses of Chhattisgarh under our party the CPI (Maoist) is a definite step in this direction. Organised under the Janatana Sarkar they have fought the efforts of the state to implement the pro-imperialist model of development in their immediate social formation. In Dandakaranya, this struggle started with the establishment of Gram Rajya Committees (GRC) as the primary units of power and today it has taken deep roots in the form of Revolutionary People's Committees and the Revolutionary Peasant's Committees as the embryonic forms of people's assertion at the village level, block level and division level. It is through these organs of political power that the revolutionary masses have successfully destroyed the reactionary power of the oppressive and exploitative ruling classes in an extensive area under the leadership of the CPI (Maoist) party thus ensuring the production and reproduction of everlasting methods of equitable distribution of resources and produces.
The 8 departments under the sarkar are:(i) Development (ii) Defence (iii) Justice (iv) Forest protection (v) Culture & Education (vi) Health (vii) Finance (viii) Public Relations (ix) Mass Organizations.
And remember these sarkars are run by adivasis—once illiterate—now educated by the party and have become politically conscious through class struggle. These RPCs are taking shape in our guerilla zones playing an effective role, where a strong party capable of leading people's war with a battle hard PLGA and its three consolidated forces have organized the people of the area in the form of mass organizations and people's militia. The leadership of village party organizations are established up to the village level. This embryonic people's governments with four class united front in the guerilla zones is unflinchingly fighting the white terror of the reactionaries and destroying its armed forces wiping out its power. It is through this organized resistance the genocidal attempt of Salwa Judum on the adivasi population—by the murderous rulers like Manmohan Singh to Raman Singh—was beaten back.
The RPCs have enabled the people evolve a better living by new farming techniques, water management through small check dams, bio-fertilizers, seed sharing and preservation, soil conservation, poultry farming, fish farming, health education, prevention of all curable diseases like malaria, tubercholosis, malnutrition, etc. The underlying principle is equitable distribution sans disparities/ unevenness. The lives of the people have considerably transformed. The role of superstitions in their lives has considerably reduced with education playing an important role. The struggle to decide their own destiny has become their world view; songs; stories.
Relative to all the state powers so far formed in India, these RPCs are the highest and truly democratic systems that would unleash the initiative of the broad masses of peasantry, develop their creativity and collectiveness in the people's war. These will work towards establishing the joint dictatorship of all the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, anti-Comprador Bureaucratic Bourgeois forces based on the worker-peasant alliance under the leadership of the working class through out the area with the aim of New Democratic Revolution.
With the financial crisis fast engulfing the Indian subcontinent India is moving towards a social explosion. None of the political parties have a definite answer for this imminent spectre. Rest assured, they might be overconfident, complacent and numb as even without a crisis they could kill more than one and a half lakh farmers, displace millions through their warped development policies, reduce the health conditions of masses to silent deaths, massacre thousands through state terrorism on revolutionaries, nationalities, Muslims, dalits and all struggling people. The toiling masses of India have only one path. The robust road of revolution! To paraphrase Mao, the masses of the Indian subcontinent have to be practical and do the impossible!Azad,SpokespersonCentral Committee,Communist Party of India (Maoist)12.03.09
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
India: Maoists blow up cellphone towers in Orissa
MALKANGIRI (Orissa): Maoist blew up two signal towers of a mobile phone service provider in Orissa's Malkangiri district on Saturday.
The towers were destroyed by using explosives at Kangrukunda and MPV-22 under Kalimela police station, about 30 km from here yesterday.
Large quantities of cables kept near the structure were also set ablaze by the Maoists, they said adding that the Maoists are against spread of telephone network in the region as it facilitates sharing information with the police.
The Maoists feel that telephones, including mobile ones, enable police informers to pass on information about the movement and activities of the Maoist Revolutionaries.
The towers were destroyed by using explosives at Kangrukunda and MPV-22 under Kalimela police station, about 30 km from here yesterday.
Large quantities of cables kept near the structure were also set ablaze by the Maoists, they said adding that the Maoists are against spread of telephone network in the region as it facilitates sharing information with the police.
The Maoists feel that telephones, including mobile ones, enable police informers to pass on information about the movement and activities of the Maoist Revolutionaries.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Police concocting stories: Naxals
source
CHIKMAGALUR: A Naxal outfit has alleged that the police
are spreading false news about the arrest of Naxal activists in Shimoga and Chikmagalur
district and said they are using the press to disseminate their false propaganda. Naxal state committee member Gangadhar said on March 24 the police stated that they arrested two Naxals, including a woman in Shimoga. He said some TV channels and newspapers have also published the police version without verification. He asserted that noone from their outfit has been arrested so far. The woman named by the police does not belong to their outfit. Gangadhar has alleged that by concocting these type of stories the police intend to tarnish the image of the movement and also to instill a negative opinion about the Naxal group among public. He said the BJP government and the police are systematically spreading false information. They have requested the media to play a very responsible role and to maintain some code of conduct while highlighting this type of news.
CHIKMAGALUR: A Naxal outfit has alleged that the police
are spreading false news about the arrest of Naxal activists in Shimoga and Chikmagalur
district and said they are using the press to disseminate their false propaganda. Naxal state committee member Gangadhar said on March 24 the police stated that they arrested two Naxals, including a woman in Shimoga. He said some TV channels and newspapers have also published the police version without verification. He asserted that noone from their outfit has been arrested so far. The woman named by the police does not belong to their outfit. Gangadhar has alleged that by concocting these type of stories the police intend to tarnish the image of the movement and also to instill a negative opinion about the Naxal group among public. He said the BJP government and the police are systematically spreading false information. They have requested the media to play a very responsible role and to maintain some code of conduct while highlighting this type of news.
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