Ten Years on from Ayodhya: CPI(ML)'s Renewed Resolve

Ten years ago, the vandals of VHP and Bajrang Dal had brought down the Babri Masjid in broad daylight with the triumvirate of LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti playing cheerleaders. The then Congress Prime Minister watched in silent approval while the state machinery in UP became a willing partner in the criminal operation.

However, in the wake of December 6, 1992, the BJP government of UP was dismissed by the Centre and the BJP had to wait and ally with the BSP and other parties to regain power in the state. But today the horrific genocide in Gujarat orchestrated by the killer regime of Narendra Modi has been backed to the hilt by the BJP-led Centre and now, close on the heels of the tenth anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid, it is trying to translate the Gujarat genocide into an electoral victory for Modi and his gang of murderers.

Between December 1992 and December 2002, the fascist offensive has completed a whole trajectory from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad. The BJP has made it clear that while it is prepared to strike any kind of alliance to secure and sustain power, it will always use that power to advance its agenda of transforming India into a fascist Hindu Rashtra. Even if Advani sheds crocodile tears over Ayodhya and assures Parliament that India can never become a Hindu Rashtra, the agenda of the RSS does not change one bit and for all their public display of differences and debates, all outfits of the Sangh Parivar remain wedded to that strategic agenda.

The last ten years have also made it clear that the Congress and most of India's centrist and regional parties are happy to lend legitimacy to the BJP's fascist agenda. In fact, it is their aquiescence which emboldens the BJP. Look at the Gujarat elections. In order to defeat the BJP, the Congress has recruited any number of disgruntled elements from the Sangh stable. The man taking on Modi at Maninagar is a former two-term MLA of the BJP. All these ex-servicemen of the Sangh army can do no better than accusing the BJP of reneging on its declared cause of Ram Mandir and Hindu Rashtra! Political commentators are increasingly coming to the conclusion that the battle between the BJP and the Congress in Gujarat has been reduced to a contest between two shades of saffron.

If there is one ideology which has consistently challenged the saffron, it has been the ideology of the Left. And within the Left, the party that has been the most steadfast, principled and determined in its opposition is the CPI(ML). It is the CPI(ML) alone which has all along laid the greatest of emphases on tearing asunder every saffron pretension to swadeshi, suraj and suchita (economic nationalism, good governance and political incorruptibility), exposing the real saffron agenda of fascist dictatorship and most importantly, on mobilising the masses in a powerful resistance to the fascist challenge. The CPI(ML) has not been a constituent of opportunist alliances like the United Front and People's Front, but it has been on the forefront of every popular resistance to the saffron offensive. In fact, it was the urge of organising and intensifying a countrywide counter-offensive of all revolutionary,

Left and democratic forces that had propelled the CPI(ML) to come overground in its Fifth Congress held in Kolkata in December 1992. The just concluded Seventh Congress of the Party (Patna, 25-30 November 2002) has reaffirmed that supreme commitment and called upon the entire Party to strengthen the Party organisation and step up the Party's political role to ensure a revolutionary rebuff to the fascist conspiracy and the economic offensive of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.

Unleash powerful worker-peasant struggles as the bulwark of anti-fascist resistance and unite the broadest possible range of Left and democratic forces in the field of struggle - this is the message and mandate of the Patna Congress.

The 7th Congress of the CPI(ML) Concludes in Patna

The 7th Congress of the CPI(ML), held between 25-29 November '02, concluded successfully. The concluding ceremony took place in the historic Gandhi Maidan where thousands of members and sympathisers assembled in a massive rally to cheer the Party Congress on 30 November. The central agenda of the Congress was "Resistance to Saffron Fascism and US Aggression and War".

Delegates and guests at the Congress received a warm enthusiastic welcome, and found that the whole of Patna city (christened as 'Vinod Mishra Nagar' for the occassion), was overwhelmed by the colour red. The streets of Patna had been decorated with fastoons, banners, posters, flags and massive hoardings. A massive 'hammer and sickle' adorned the venue, and at the gate was placed an impressive sculpture depicting the struggles of toiling masses, prepared by the artists of Party's cultural wing.

The inaugural session of the 7th Congress started with the hoisting of the red flag of the Party by veteran comrade Ramakand Dwivedi 'Ramta' on 25 November 2002 at Chandrashekhar Manch (Muktaakash Manch of Bharatiya Nrityakala Kendra) at 1 pm. Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya delivered the inaugural speech (full text on page 3) which was followed by the falicitation ceremony in which freedom fighters and veteran communist leaders were honoured. This was followed by the cultural programmes.

The delegate sessions started at 7.30 p.m. on 25 Nov. in Taqi Rahim Sabhagar the last of which ended in the early hours of 30 November with the Internationale and sky-rending slogans. Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya presented the draft of Political-Organisational report on behalf of the outgoing Central Committee.

The proceedings of the Congress were conducted by an elected Presidium chaired by Comrade Ram Naresh Ram.

Guests and observers from communist/Left and democratic parties and organisations of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Burma, Australia and Norway participated in the Congress. Other distinguished guests were Com. Chandrashekhar and Tarsem Singh Jodha from CPI(M) (Pasla group), Com. P. K. Murthy, veteran communist and TU leader and Amrit Wilson from south Asia Solidarity Group. Fraternal parties from Phillipines, Indonesia, Italy and Romania and many of our esteemed friends in the democratic movement in India sent their messages of greetings and solidarity.

The Congress ended in a very impressive rally, with the slogan of "Combat Communal Fascists, Stop Imperialist War" at the Closing Ceremony in the Gandhi Maidan.

Seventh Party Congress calls for defeat of communal Fascism !

Patna: For six days and six nights between 25-30 November the slogan of 'Red Resistance to Saffron Subversion' reverberated throughout Bihar as hundreds of delegates from all over the country converged on capital city Patna to attend the CPI(ML) Liberation's seventh Party Congress.

Taking place at a historical juncture when the Indian subcontinent is engulfed by communal fascism fostered by Hindu fundamentalist forces and socio-economic havoc wreaked by neo-liberal economic policies the CPI (ML) Congress pledged to convert its successful mass struggles in the flaming fields of Bihar into a countrywide movement for revolutionary change.

The CPI-ML (Liberation) general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya set the tone for the entire Congress on the the inaugural day when he called upon the Left parties to form a federation to fight the fascist forces in the country. Addressing CPI(ML) delegates and representatives of fraternal revolutionary organizations from abroad he said it would be a blunder if the Left parties failed to unite and provide a third alternative to the people suffering at the hands of the BJP and the Congress (I).

Com. Dipankar offered to work with the Left parties on the basis of a common minimum programme and said that a true unity of Left forces in the country would emerge only through joint participation in mass movements taking up the basic problems facing the country. Accusing the Sonia Gandhi led Congress(I) of legitimizing the Hindu fundamentalist agenda by playing the 'Hindu' card in the Gujarat elections he said that attempts by sections of the parliamentary Left to join hands with Mrs Gandhi would only result in their losing credibility in the eyes of the Indian people.

For the next four days following the inauguration of the Party Congress over 700 delegates from all parts of the country discussed the draft political-organisational report placed before them that dealt with a range of pressing national and international issues.

Putting the entire Seventh Party Congress in context the report called upon the delegates to take a fresh vow to hold high the great red banner of the Party inherited from its martyrs. Pointing out that the Party lost the General Secretary Comrade Vinod Mishra andtwo of its senior leaders Comrade Nagbhusan Patnaik and Comrade Anil Baruah within just one year of the last party Congress in Varanasi the report said that it has been a measure of the tremendous resilience and revolutionary spirit of the entire Party that it has been able to withstand these successive blows.

Discussing issues on the international front delegates were unanimous in the draft report's characterization of the United States led so called 'War on Terror' as the greatest threat to world peace. Using the horrific events of September 11 in New York as an excuse to pursue its long-planned imperialist agenda the United States has been waging nothing short of a terrorist war on a global scale, first in Afghanistan and now on Iraq.

'Under the banner of the global war on terror, US imperialism wants to crush every pocket of resistance and every quest for an alternative international order by installing pro-US regimes in every non-compliant state which the US designates as a rogue state' said the draft report.

The issue of the recently concluded 16th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party formally accepting 'capitalists' as party members came up for much debate among delegates. While expressing serious reservations and concerns about the orientation and fallouts of the Chinese 'experiment' with building a 'socialist market economy' the CPI (ML) delegates finally agreed not to jump to any hasty conclusions and the need to keep a close watch on the Chinese experience and study it with an open mind.

On the national front the draft report clearly pointed to the rising menace of communal fascism promoted by the BJP, the RSS and other members of the 'Sangh Parivar' as the single biggest challenge facing the Indian revolutionary movement today. Even though the BJP's grip on power and the state system in India is still far from total, we have already been witnessing a growing consolidation of the essential features of what can only be characterized as the Indian variety of fascism" said the report.

Among the various tasks ahead of the Party in its anti-fascist, anti-imperialist battle the report advocated resistance to state-led onslaught on civil liberties and human rights, mobilizing of agricultural labourers, the poor and middle peasantry in powerful struggles against the agrarian crisis and feudal-kulak violence and the strengthening of united movement of the working class and other affected people against privatization and closure of industries.

The draft report also dealt in detail with the experience of the Party's work on a variety of different fronts ranging from participation in elections to building class and mass organizations over the past five years. Engaging in a free and frank debate over problems and prospects facing the Party delegates to the CPI (ML)'s seventh Congress made numerous suggestions most of which were incorporated into the final report.

Following the unanimous adoption of the political and organizational report by the Congress delegates elections were held for the constitution of a new 41 member central committee. The new central committee re-elected Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya as the General Secretary of the Party.

Address delivered by Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya at the Inaugural Session of the Seventh Congress of the CPI(ML)

Comrades and friends,

On behalf of our outgoing Central Committee and the Seventh Congress of our Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), I extend a very warm welcome to all of you present at this inaugural session.

I extend warm revolutionary greetings to the veterans of the communist and left movement and the veteran fighters from the flaming fields of Bihar who have transformed this backward and oppressed region into an advanced outpost of Indian revolution. Your presence here is a source of great inspiration for all of us.

I welcome, with a warm Red Salute, all our esteemed fraternal guests who have come here from as far as Australia and Norway to our closest neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, bringing us greetings of solidarity from their own organisations and movements. We take this opportunity to renew our shared resolve to sharpen our concerted resistance to the number one global enemy of the world people - American imperialism and its ugly war on the world.

I say a very big thank you to our comrades and friends who have come from various parts of Bihar to convey their best wishes to this inaugural session. This Seventh Congress of our Party is a testimony of the great support and cooperation we have received from you. I say a special thank you to all our friends from the media whose constant critical gaze over our Party has always prompted us to strengthen and intensify the revolutionary movement for freedom, democracy, human dignity and progress.

And last but not the least, I extend a hearty welcome to all our delegates, observers and guests from various parts of the country and also from the Indian diaspora in the heartlands of western imperialism who are going to be with us over the next five days for an intense brainstorming exercise to determine our course of action for the challenging days ahead.

Comrades and friends,

Bihar has a very special place in the history and geography of our movement. In the early 1970s, when the Indian ruling classes had begun to believe that they had succeeded in crushing the great Naxalbari movement, Bihar proved them wrong. The oppressed rural poor of Bihar rose with the greatest of courage, determination and heroism to give a new lease of life to the movement. The flames of Naxalbari were rekindled in the villages of Bhojpur and however deep the darkness may threaten to be, the torch of the revolutionary peasant movement has invariably prevailed over it at the end.

It was here in Bihar that our Party was reorganised with the formation of just a three-member Central Committee on 28 July 1974. On the 29th of November 1975, Comrade Jauhar, the second General Secretary of our Party embraced martyrdom in Babubandh village of Bhojpur. And four years ago many of us were present here in Patna to say adieu to Comrade Vinod Mishra. The soil of the communist movement in Bihar has been enriched by the precious blood shed by our countless martyrs.

The revolutionary movement in Bihar is no longer confined to the villages of Bhojpur and Patna. From Siwan to Champaran and Nalanda to Nawada, it has now spread to almost every corner of the state. It has kept itself alive in the face of the heaviest of state repression and organised feudal violence. It has decimated the challenge of one private army after another and withstood dozens of massacres. This is why when Gujarat burns; the people of Bhojpur have no difficulty in recognising the fire. When the Modis and Togadias declare a war on India's history of cultural plurality and threaten to turn India into a graveyard of democracy and secularism, we know that we have already seen their cohorts in action at Bathani Tola and Bathe.

This is why we invoke the Bihar model of red resistance to the Gujarat challenge of saffron subversion. The fascist threat to India is backed by an alliance of the ugliest elements of Indian history and society and the most obnoxious designs of global capital and US imperialism. To defeat this alliance we need a fighting coalition of the progressive forces of Indian society and the progressive trends of Indian history powered by the noblest vision of modern history - the vision of socialism and communism, and led by the most trusted and tested banner of human progress, the red banner of resistance and revolution. The Seventh Congress of our Party being held in Bihar is dedicated to this great task of strengthening the Bihar model of red resistance and spreading it all over India to combat and eliminate the growing threat of fascist subversion.

Comrades and friends,

We are passing through a very critical phase in our national life. This 6th of December will mark the tenth anniversary of that most disgraceful event in recent Indian history, the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which was the first alarming announcement of the arrival of the fascist threat in India. From Ayodhya to Ahmedabad, the threat has since covered considerable distance.

The saffron brigade today is displaying a new level of aggression, the AK-47 of the Vajpayee-Joshi-Advani vintage giving way to the AK-56 of the Modi-Togadia-Singhal variety. The Congress can only think of offering some competition by hiring the services of ex-servicemen from the Sangh. The Vaghela show in Gujarat is a clear example of the kind of competition that the Congress can offer. It is a continuation of the same disastrous way in which the Congress has always ended up legitimising the RSS and fuelling the saffron offensive with its attempts to steal the saffron agenda.

Can politics in India be allowed to be reduced to a competition between Modi's BJP and Vaghela's Congress? For all of us who shudder to think of being subjected to such a 'choice', where is the alternative way? The last decade has shown us clearly that enterprises of the RJD-SP-BSP variety, which once used to claim to be walking the third way, have gone absolutely bankrupt. The time has come when the new generations of fighters for democracy and social justice must reject the blind alleys of bankruptcy and betrayal, corruption and criminalisation where the self-styled disciples of JP, Lohia and Ambedkar have led them. Beyond these blind alleys, we will be only too happy to welcome you with open arms and march shoulder to shoulder with you in fighting the peddlers of aggressive communalism, Brahminical social oppression and economic backwardness and bondage.

I also take this opportunity to make a very special appeal to every section of the Left. Why can't we unite and uphold our common legacy to resist and defeat our common enemy? Why can't we, the heirs of Bhagat Singh, wage a powerful and unified resistance to defeat the disciples of Golwalkar and admirers of Hitler? Why can't we hold out a vibrant democratic vision of united India that can inspire confidence even in the smallest and weakest of minorities in the face of the growing clamour for a Hindu Rashtra and a hard state that is arming itself with draconian laws like POTA to silence every dissenting voice? Why can't we come closer in our day-to-day struggles on issues of livelihood and democratic rights and move towards a broad-based confederation of all Left forces and eventually to a unified party of all Indian communists?

Before coming to Patna recently I had the privilege of meeting Comrade Abani Lahiri, one of our last living links with the great Tebhaga movement of the 1940s. He asked me point-blank, why couldn't the communist parties with more than a million members and more than fifteen million people come up with a programme of unified resistance to the Gujarat genocide? Why couldn't we organise political strikes of the working class and protest marches of the rural poor all over the country? Some comrades may may believe that missing the Prime Minister's chair was a historic blunder for the Left, but comrades like Abani Lahiri continue to remind us that it is our inability to unite and combat the common enemy in the fields of struggle that will be construed as the real historic blunder in the face of today's growing fascist and imperialist offensive. I could not agree more with him. As I address you, his words are ringing in my ears. This was the clarion call that Comrade VM had made from the podium of our Party's Fifth Congress held in Kolkata in December 1992. This is the commitment that Comrade Nagbhushan made at the CPI's Chennai Congress in 1998 weeks before he passed away. This is the cause symbolised by Comrade Taqui Rahim, to whose memory we have dedicated the hall of this Seventh Congress. This is the dream that Comrade Chandrashekhar had in his eyes when he fell to the bullets of the Shahabuddin gang in Siwan.

Unite We Must. Unite We Shall. The Seventh Congress of the CPI(ML) renews this great commitment and makes a fervent appeal to all sections of the Indian Left to respond to this need of the hour and rise to the occasion.

We began by paying homage to our great martyrs. Not all of them were killed by the Ranvir Sena or other criminal mafia gangs or the killers in uniform who are known as the police. Many of our comrades have fallen to the bullets of the anarchists for whom this is what constitutes the people's war. We, revolutionary communists have a different idiom. We uphold our right to self-defence under all circumstances, but we do not believe in political killings. Revolution for us is not a one-act play; it does not consist in sensational display or cowardly use of arms. Revolution for us is an epic; it is a genuine and protracted people's war directed against the most brutal and reactionary enemies of the people. Revolution for us is the biggest festival of the masses, a celebration and triumph of life over the morbid culture of death. We will continue to live and die for revolution.

Red Salute to our great martyrs!

Inquilab Zindabad!

The Central Committee of the CPI(ML) expresses its sincere thanks to all its esteemed friends and sympathisers whose invaluable support was instrumental in making the 7th Party Congress a grand success.