Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (K.N. Ramachandran) - No To Reformism, No To Anarchism, March To Revolution Documents of Bhopal Conf

Documents Adopted by the
All India Special Conference of the
CPI(ML)
Held at Bhopal from 7 th to 12th

November, 2009
Contents
1
Editorial
International Situation And Our Tasks 9
On Character of Indian State
26
The Principal Contradiction
52
Path of Indian Revolution
55
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2
No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution
No to Reformism,
No To Anarchism,
March to Revolution
[Documents Adopted by the

All India Special Conference
of the CPI(ML) Held at Bhopal
from 7 to 12 November, 2009]
A Historic Step Forward
HE four basic documents on : International Situation and Our Tasks,

Character of Indian State, Principal Contradiction and Path of Indian
Revolution adopted by the All India Special Conference of the Party held
at Bhopal from 7th to 12th November 2009 at the culmination of a year
long process of discussions at various levels, putting forward the
ideological-political orientation and the strategic and tactical line of the
Peoples Democratic or New Democratic Revolution breaking away from
the hitherto reformist, revisionist or sectarian positions, mark an important
step forward in the history of the Indian communist movement.
The Communist International (Comintern) under the guidance of
Lenin had put forward the ideological-political orientation and the strategic
line of the two streams of the World Proletarian Socialist Revolution, of
the socialist revolutions in the capitalist imperialist countries and the
Peoples Democratic Revolution in the colonial, semi-colonial, dependent
countries under colonial domination, to be applied according to the
concrete conditions in each country. Applying the Comintern directions
according to concrete conditions in semi-colonial China the Communist
Party of China under the leadership of Mao Tsetung could successfully
complete the Peoples Democratic Revolution, a new type of bourgeois
democratic revolution under proletarian leadership, or New Democratic
Revolution.
But the experience of the Indian communist movement was quite
different. On the one hand, the CPI leadership from the beginning tried
to mechanically implement the decisions of the Comintern, often as
interpreted by the leadership of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
While doing so its practice very often went against the very revolutionary
spirit of the Comintern decisions. On the other hand, it miserably failed
to make a concrete analysis of the concrete conditions in colonial India,
including a correct class analysis. It could not recognize the comprador
character of the big bourgeoisie and the bureaucratic class serving British
imperialism and that of the Congress and Muslim League leaderships
serving the big bourgeois, feudal classes, in the main. As a result, even
though the Party committees at various levels had succeeded in
organizing class and mass organizations and in leading numerous
working class and anti-feudal struggles, it failed to establish the leadership
of the working class in the independence movement, in the national
liberation struggle to overthrow British colonialism and its lackeys. Though
the Second Congress of the CPI in 1948 threw out this reformist line,
the left adventurist line that replaced it only aggravated the problems
4
confronting the Party and thereby the Indian revolution.

It was in 1951, after consultation with the CPSU leadership, for the
first time a Party Programme and a Policy Statement declaring that the
Peoples Democratic Revolution in India should follow not the Soviet
path or Chinese path, but the Indian path utilizing all forms of struggle
were adopted. But this line could not survive long. Soon the great
Telengana movement was withdrawn and the Party leadership started
deviating to parliamentary cretinist path. As soon as the Krushchovite
revisionist path came to dominance in Soviet Union with its line of three
peacefulls, the CPI leadership enthusiastically embraced it. The big
bourgeoisie in India and the Congress party representing it were
characterized as predominantly national bourgeois. So it envisaged a
peaceful completion of the National Democratic Revolution, as it
redefined the PDR, in alliance with this national bourgeoisie and their
party, the Congress.
Emergence of this revisionist line soon led to intensification of innerparty struggle against it. As the Dangeist leadership degenerated as
lackeys of the Congress government, this struggle intensified leading to
the 1964 split, and formation of the CPI(Marxist). The Seventh Congress
of the Party adopted a Party Programme based on 1951 position
denouncing the line of National Democratic Revolution of renegade CPI
and calling for completion of the Peoples Democratic Revolution. But
towards the Great Debate led by the CPC against the Soviet revisionist
line it took a centrist line, which was in essence toeing the Soviet line as
proved later in the 1968 Burdwan Plenum. It analyzed the big bourgeoisie
as having dual-character, collaborating as well as contending with
imperialism. But it did not explain which is the main aspect among these
two in the present situation. In leaving it as an open question also it took
a centrist position, which was in essence a neo-revisionist one which
got exposed soon during the 1967 elections. Surrendering to
parliamentary cretinism, in the name of defeating Congress, it aligned
with the renegade CPI, split away Congress factions and even communal
parties like Muslim League in Kerala and formed ministries in Kerala
and West Bengal. It started leading these governments like the ruling
class parties. Even implementation of land reforms and distribution of
surplus land to the landless, as demanded by the All India Kisan Sabha
in 1966, was sidelined.
It was in this situation, the inner-party struggle which had broken
out soon after the Seventh Congress and was intensifying led to the
Naxalbari peasant uprising in May 1967 with Land to the Tiller slogan,
by the communist revolutionaries within the CPI(M), challenging the neorevisionist line of the leadership. As the CPI(M)-led West Bengal
government suppressed the struggle, with the assistance of Indira Gandhi

government at centre, the Communist Revolutionary forces formed the
All India Co-ordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries within
the CPI(M) and started intensifying efforts to launch struggles like the
Naxalbari uprising all over India. As the CPI(M) leaderships neorevisionist line was fully exposed in the Burdwan Plenum, the Communist
Revolutionary forces started openly revolting and formed the AICCCR,
which led to the formation of the CPI(ML) in 1969.
But, if the CPI and then CPI(M) leaderships embraced the Soviet
revisionist path and started degenerating to social democratic line, the
CPI(ML), instead of trying to develop its line on the basis of concrete
analysis of the Indian conditions, mechanically raised the slogan Chinese
path is our path and for some time even Chinas Chairman is our
Chairman. It came under the influence of the left adventurist, sectarian
line of Lin Biao which was dominating the CPC during its Ninth Congress
in 1969. If the Soviet revisionist line analyzed that colonialism had come
to an end and called for peaceful co-existence with the weakened
imperialism as a strategic slogan, the Lin Biaoist line analyzed that
imperialism is facing total collapse and advocated a left adventurist line
for immediate worldwide victory of socialism. Under this influence the
character of Indian state was analyzed as semi-colonial as the prerevolutionary China and in the Party Programme adopted by the 1970
Congress of the CPI(ML) the semi-colonial and neo-colonial concepts
were used synonymously. Mechanically copying the Chinese path,
protracted peoples war and concepts like area-wise seizure of political
power and guerilla struggle as the only form of struggle, etc. were
adopted along with the line of annihilation. As a result, though Naxalbari
uprising could guide the CRs to break with the revisionist CPI and neorevisionist CPI(M) leaderships, and though it brought back agrarian
revolution and the PDR or NDR back to the agenda, as CPI(ML)
embraced sectarian line, it could not face the severe suppression that
followed, leading to its disintegration to many groups.
Thus, if the failure to apply the Marxist-Leninist teachings in India
based on concrete analysis of the concrete conditions here led CPI and
CPI(M) to social democratic path, it led the CPI(ML) and other CR groups
to sectarian line, both causing immense damage to the movement. The
social democratic sections led by CPI(M) continued to degenerate to
the ruling class positions, first as apologists of neo-colonialism and later
as executioners of neo-colonial policies wherever they are in power.
Though this degeneration has led to a number of groups starting with
the MCPI in 1978 to split away from the CPI(M) during last three decades,
none of them have so far succeeded to make a concrete analysis of the
Indian situation and to develop a revolutionary line based on it to complete
6
the tasks of the PDR. As a result, most of them have become part of
ruling class parties/alliances or continue to vacillate incapable of taking
a concrete path for revolutionary advance. Meanwhile, some of the fringe
groups analyzing India as a independent capitalist country in the stage
of socialist revolution are in effect serving the ruling system as the
apologists of the neo-colonial plunder of imperialism. A section of the
CR forces, the erstwhile CPI(ML) Peoples War, CPI(ML) Party Unity
and MCC who have united to form the CPI(Maoist), in the name of
upholding Maoism, which is nothing but the Lin Biaoist line, are following
the old sectarian line in more rabid, anarchist way based on their path
of revolution analysing India as semi-colonial mechanically copying
the Chinese path in vastly different Indian conditions.
There are a number of CPI(ML) and other CR groups who claim to
have rejected the sectarian line and adopted the mass line. Whether
they have a Path of Revolution document or not, all of them explain in
detail the differences between the pre-revolutionary Chinese and present
Indian conditions, but at the same time pursue the strategy of protracted
peoples war, mechanically repeating the path Mao had analyzed in his
military writings according to Chinese conditions. They refuse to
recognize the momentous changes that have taken place after the
Second World War, when threatened with the onward march of the
international communist movement, the inherent crisis of the capitalist
imperialist system and as a consequence of the changes in the balance
of forces among the imperialist powers, the colonial system of plunder
was replaced by neo-colonial plunder by the imperialist camp led by US
imperialism. Most of them are still rejecting the contradiction between
the imperialist and socialist forces as one of the major contradiction at
global level under the influence of the class collaborationist Three World
Theory, which they still worship. Similarly they have an allergy towards
seeking truth from facts to recognize the neo-colonial changes that
have taken place in the imperialist plunder utilizing the domination of
finance capital and market system through instruments like IMF-World
Band-WTO and MNCs. At the most their concept about neo-colonisation
do not go beyond the Soviet revisionist concept of neo-colony of US
imperialism, which was dished out by numerous Soviet studies of 1960s
and 1970s.
As Lenin wrote about the place of imperialism in history, in the
concluding part of his epochal work Imperialism, the Highest Stage of
Capitalism: the fight against imperialism is a sham and humbug unless
it is inseparably bound up with the fight against opportunism. A few
paragraphs before it, he has almost prophesied a picture of the future
beyond the colonial phase as: When the colonies of European powers,
for instance, comprised only one tenth of the territory of Africa (as was
the case in 1876), colonial policy was able to develop by methods other
than that of monopoly by the free grabbing of territories, so to speak.
But when nine-tenth of Africa had been seized (by 1900), when the whole
world had been divided up, there was inevitably ushered in the era of
monopoly possession of colonies, and consequently, of particularly
intense struggle for the division and re-division of the world. But this
process, after the two world wars for the division and re-division of the
world, led to the intensification of anti-imperialist struggles, to the growth
of national liberation movements, to countries with one-third of world
population becoming part of socialist camp led by Soviet Union and to
the sharpening of its own inherent cyclic crises. In this situation, under
the new balance of forces among the imperialist powers following the
Second World War, when US imperialism replaced Britain as the leader
of the imperialist camp, the old colonialism was replaced by neocolonialism, with finance capital and market dominating all fields.
As Lenin foresaw almost a century back, finance capital had added
the struggle for the source of raw materials, for the export of capital, for
sphere of influence, i.e., for spheres for profitable deals, concessions,
monopoly profits and so on, economic territory in general. As finance
capital is becoming more and more speculative and parasitic, as market
forces have become unprecedentedly dominant aided by speculative
capital, it was inevitable that the colonial phase had to be replaced by
the neo-colonial phase when the struggle for control of raw materials,
for the export of capital, competition for spheres of influence or profitable
deals, concessions, monopoly profits, for market control have become
the dominant feature.
It is the failure to recognize these momentous changes in imperialist
policy during the post-World War II decades and to make necessary
changes in its own approach to confront them that led to the fall of the
socialist forces from the position of great strength they had reached half
a century ago. When capitalism had reached its monopoly stage,
imperialism, Kautsky and Bernstein had analyzed that compared to
capitalism, imperialism is a less harmful force with which collaboration
was possible, leading to the collapse of the Second International. Almost
similarly, when imperialism took the neo-colonial forms of plunder, forces
like the Krushchovites, without recognizing that it is more barbarous
and pernicious, called for peaceful competition and co-existence with it,
or collaboration with it, leading to the grave setbacks suffered by the
ICM including the disintegration of Soviet Union and degeneration of
socialist China into an imperialist power.
The failure to recognize this vicious and pernicious neo-colonisation
even after all the damages it has already created, and the failure to
8
develop the strategic and tactical line capable of combating it had led to
the present stagnation and splintering of the revolutionary movement,
with most of the forces fumbling in darkness, like blind men describing
an elephant.
It is in this critical juncture, in continuation to the studies started
from early 1960s within the ICM and the efforts made based on them by
us from 1980s, India state is analyzed as a country under neocolonisation, as part of the ever-intensifying ongoing imperialist plunder
in new forms around the world. With this analysis the mechanical
repetition of India as a semi-colony, semi-feudal country like China
started in 1960s along with the Chinese path, and concepts like
protracted peoples war are bid farewell to. The fast changes taking
place in the mode of production trasforming the earlier dominant feudal
forces to remnants of feudal relations existing only in some areas is
recognized. The agrarian revolution is explained in the neo-colonial
context. Above all, the initiative for establishing the proletarian leadership
in the PDR or NDR, both in theory and in practice is highlighted. This
has led to the categorical declaration that it is not any peasant revolution
or the march of few roving guerilla squads in search of backward areas
in the ever-dwindling jungles where feudal mode of production are
supposed to exist still, which is going to complete the PDR. Only the
proletariat can lead the PDR to its victory and advance towards the
socialist revolution by establishing the workers-peasant alliance and
leading all the revolutionary classes and sections in countrywide
upsurges.
Based on these positions the Path of Indian Revolution is drafted
according to the concrete conditions here, fully recognizing the vastness
and complex nature of the country. Strongly rebuffing and throwing out
concepts like heroes make revolution, the Marxist-Leninist teaching
that it is the masses who create history, revolution is the festival of the
masses is re-established. Whether it is the call for initiating the
reorganization of the Communist International or for launching massive
peoples movements capable of overthrowing the Indian state led by the
comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisies and landlord classes serving
imperialism put forward by the four basic document adopted by the All
India Special Conference of CPI(ML), they have historic importance.
They open the way for the unity of all genuine communists advancing
the party building, uncompromisingly fighting against the right opportunist
as well as anarchist, alien trends. These documents are put forward for
an ever deeper discussion at all levels, cutting across the boundaries of
different organizations, and for putting them to active revolutionary
practice.
International Situation
And Our Tasks
INTRODUCTION
When the CPI (ML) Red Flag had presented its document on
International Developments and Tasks of the Marxist Leninists in 1997
in its Fourth All India Conference, it had started off by saying that the
world was characterised by two important factors. First, the grave crisis
of the world imperialist system and, second, the challenges faced by
the Marxist-Leninist forces. The world situation today is still in the main
characterised by the same two main factors.
The economic crisis of the world imperialist system has grown in
depth and intensity to a level where the official banks of many leading
industrial countries have accepted, between October 2008 and now, that
those countries were officially in recession. The fall in the stock market,
where, by the end of 2008, the indices had slipped to below half the
peak levels of 2008, caused many to characterise this crisis as being worse
than the crisis of 1929. The number of jobs lost has reached phenomenal
levels and today stands at the worst levels since the past 40 years for
most countries including many imperialist countries. The rise in prices
of essential commodities has caused food riots in places as diverse as
Egypt and Bangladesh.
While analysing the global meltdown we are concerned not only
with the depth of this crisis, but, more importantly, with its spread.
Stock markets from New York to Shanghai have all been victims of this
crisis. It is a measure of the level of globalisation achieved in todays
capital market that the effect spreads almost immediately, in a more or
less uniform manner, all over the globe. The capital market crisis has
hit all over the globe.
THE CURRENT SITUATION

In 1997, we had analysed how internationalism was always the basis
of the proletarian strategy. How Marx, Engels and Lenin had put
forward their understanding on the interlinking between the need for
national revolutions and internationalism and how Stalin, the Third
International and Mao had basically adhered to this same line. After
showing how Maos understanding of the New Democratic Revolution
10
and the understanding of the Peoples Democratic Revolution put

forward by Stalin and the Third International were only continuations
of the path opened up by Lenin in the Colonial Theses, we have put
forward the arguments that In the neo-colonial situation when the
globalisation of capital is reaching its highest level and the linking of global
capital is getting completed, the bourgeoisie cannot at all become the
spokespersons for progressive nationalism. Then again,
In the neo-colonial phase following World War II the Internationalisation
of capital reached new dimensions both in depth and spread. This took the
consensus about which Lenin had said, between the bourgeoisie of the
imperialist countries and the neo-colonies further ahead. It increased the
economic and political intercourse between them in a more counter
revolutionary way. The bourgeoisie in the neo-colonies have become
integral part of the global bourgeoisie who is engaged in strengthening to
the maximum extent the collaboration with all anti-national, antidemocratic reactionary forces against the revolutionary forces; it is not a
revolutionary bourgeoisie, but it represents its imperialist decadent stage.
This bourgeoisie which has become the ruling classes in the neo-colonies
is not only totally incapable of carrying out the tasks of the national
democratic revolution, but also relies on the side of the world imperialist
counter-revolution.
The responsibility for carrying out the anti-imperialist democratic
revolution in the neo-colonies is thus vested on the working class more
than ever today in this situation.
The situation that has been referred to in this paragraph has only
intensified. In the past decade, since the earlier document was published,
many developments have taken place at the world level. This can be
described in terms of the intensification of all the fundamental
contradictions at the international level.
CONTRADICTION BETWEEN SOCIALIST FORCES

AND IMPERIALIST FORCES
The Keynesian policies, initially put forward at the time of 1930
crisis, which were already being unravelled in 1970s under the policies
of monetarism, have been further rolled back. The prescriptions put
forward by what is popularly called the Washington Consensus have
been pushed systematically all over the globe. Neo-liberal policies of
restricting fiscal deficits, mainly by cutting public expenditure, reducing
taxation on the rich and the corporate sector, allowing interest rates,
exchange rates, etc. to be guided by the market, import liberalisation,
privatisation and liberalisation of the economy and strengthening of
11
private property rights have been imposed all over the world, including
in the imperialist countries. These neo-liberal policies, under the name
of globalisation are being imposed upon the neo-colonies all over the
world. All markets in the neo-colonies, including the capital market,
agriculture, land, water, education, health-care, are being opened to
imperialist investment. Today there is a more or less total co-option
of the bourgeoisie in the neo-colonies into the imperialist system. All
the more therefore, this bourgeoisie is on the side of world imperialist
counter-revolution.
At the same time, imperialism, led by US imperialism, still continues
it policy of backing the most reactionary and subversive, religious fanatic
elements all over the world. They back the Hindu fundamentalist forces
in India and Christian fundamentalist forces in Latin America, besides
continuing to back Islamic fundamentalist forces in Saudi Arabia and
the Emirates. Racism is growing all over the world. There is thus a
definite growth in the level of fascicisation all over the world and
democratic rights are being curtailed all over the world, not only in the
neo-colonies, but also in the imperialist countries, as a result of the
policies of neo-liberalism.
The 1997 document does not mention the question of environment
which is fast growing into an irresolvable crisis for the imperialist system.
The imperialist countries are unwilling to take real measures to curb
pollution, since, indeed, such measures cannot be taken within the
existing system which is approaching the contradiction between people
and nature in an antagonistic manner and can be basically resolved only
after the dismantling of the imperialist system. This is not to say that
the democratic demands for changes in environment policies of various
countries all over the world are useless. Rather, we must note that
imperialism is unwilling to give any importance to serious
environmental issues in its quest for greater profits and more avenues
for investment. It is this unwillingness of the imperialist countries that
has resulted in the failure of the Kyoto Protocol and of the decisions of
the later Bali meeting on global warming. Instead, the system of buying
the right to pollute, in the form of carbon credits, has helped to open
another investment avenue for imperialism.
Though there is not a socialist camp of socialist countries is in
existence today, there is a massive peoples movement developing
against globalisation. From Seattle to Hong Kong, the worlds people
are coming together to protest against the WTO and its adverse effects.
Massive demonstrations were held all over the world, from Japan to
Madrid and London to Melbourne against the Iraq war. Though the
WSF is nothing more than an international supermarket of NGOs, it
12
reflects the internationalisation of the struggle against imperialist

globalisation and its ill effects. Massive world-wide movements are
growing against fascicisation, for democratic rights and against the
degradation of the environment. All of Latin America has risen in
opposition to US imperialism and a bevy of Governments have been
formed there on the basis of opposition to US imperialism. These range
from the consistent anti-imperialist stands of Venezuela under Hugo
Chavez, Bolivia under Evo Morales and Cuba under the Castros to the
slightly milder opposition of Argentina under Kirchener and still milder
opposition of Lula in Brazil. There have been international protests by
farmers, automobile workers and other sections. All these go to show
that the opposition to imperialism is no more restricted to the local or
even the national level but has taken on international dimensions. Thus
it is clear that this contradiction between imperialism and socialist forces
is intensifying day by day.
CONTRADICTION BETWEEN IMPERIALISM AND

OPPRESSED PEOPLES AND NATIONS
Besides the general increase in the intensity of globalisation leading
to the unprecedented crisis as pointed out above, epochal events have
taken place in the past decade. Imperialism, under the leadership of US
imperialism has invaded and occupied Afghanistan and Iraq and is
threatening to do the same with Iran and North Korea. The theory of
pre-emptive strikes has given license to imperialist powers to police
the world in their own interests. Though the US has always been
supporting covert warfare in countries like Angola and Nicaragua by
backing all sorts of dictators and even fanatics, with Afghanistan and
Iraq it has taken more pernicious forms. The puppet governments
installed there are almost under their direct control. The level of plunder
and oppression in these neo-colonies has increased many times.
The US has actively intervened in the past ten years to balkanise
many regions of the world. The former Yugoslavia has been broken
into unrecognisable tiny pieces, the US has fomented attempts at chaos
in Chechenya and now Pakistan lies in serious danger of being broken
up. This is the attempt of imperialism, led by US imperialism, to trivialise
the issue of national liberation, by using it to fragment nations.
Another change in the past ten years has been that the support
given by imperialism, led by US imperialism, to all sorts of ragtag, motley
forces, including the worst type of religious fanaticism, has come back
to haunt them. The Taliban and various Islamic terrorist groups have
started to engage in open combat against the US. Such terrorist groups,
13
which were created and nurtured by the US in the past and many of
which are still being contacted and trained by the CIA have given rise
to the imperialist theory of war on terrorism which has so transformed
the lives of people all over the world.
Another distinguishing feature of the last decade is the rise of Israel
as the front paw of US imperialism, especially in the crucial West Asian
region. This illegal state has, over the past decade heightened the
apartheid regime it has imposed in Palestine and created a series of
Bantustans there. Given that the West Asia is the centre of the military
attack of imperialism, led by US imperialism, at present and that
Palestine / Israel can be considered to be at the centre of the West Asian
question, the struggle of the Palestinian people for the liberation of their
fatherland takes on an added importance beyond just that of a national
liberation struggle.
Yet another new development which has taken place in this
contradiction. Imperialist countries and even some of the richer neocolonies are buying land for cultivating food in the poorer nations of
Africa. This land runs into lakhs of acres and is sometimes the size of a
small country itself. All this shows that the contradiction between
Imperialism and the oppressed nations and peoples of the world is
growing more intense and taking newer forms.
CONTRADICTION BETWEEN CAPITAL AND LABOUR

The recent economic crisis is the clearest indication of the growth
of this contradiction. The crisis of imperialism is getting intensified with
each passing day and the only way out of the crisis for imperialism is to
burden the working class and the oppressed peoples all over the world
with this crisis. This has gone to the extent where trillions of dollars
worth of bail-outs are being openly given to the large MNCs and
financial institutions out of public funds.
At the same time, we are seeing that the working class struggles
are increasing at international level. Solidarity actions are taking place
in many countries. The longshoremen in US went on strike against the
Iraq war. Struggles of automobile workers are crossing national
boundaries like the struggle against GM and Daimler-Chrysler. Unions
are becoming active in the struggle against the degradation of the
environment and other political issues. Though the trade union
movement all over the world, by and large, is still in the hands of
reformist and revisionist forces, it cannot be denied that there is an upswing both in the struggle of the working class and in the
internationalisation of this struggle.
14
CONTRADICTIONS AMONG THE IMPERIALIST

POWERS AND AMONGST MONOPOLY GROUPS
The last decade has also seen an intensification of the contradictions
between imperialist powers and between monopoly groups. The
Shanghai Co-ordination is trying to give some resistance to the moves
of the imperialist countries led by US imperialism. There is also an
intensification of the contradictions within the Western Bloc. France and
Germany like imperialist countries are demanding a larger share of the
pie.
All the above, then, show that over the last decade, globalisation
has been pushed more intensively and aggressively. by imperialism,
led by US imperialism, all over the world. If in 1997, we could reach a
conclusion to the effect that the international content of the New
Democratic Revolution has grown, then that conclusion is all the more
apt in todays world. As a result, while upholding the inter-relation
and inter-penetration of all these major contradictions, the contradiction
between imperialism and oppressed peoples and nations is the principal
contradiction at the international level in the concrete conditions of the
present times. Therefore, the conclusion that we had reached that there
is a need to build up the International Communist Movement once again,
holds true with even greater force in todays situation.
HISTORY OF THE STRUGGLE

Though we had set out the history of the struggle for building up
the International Communist Movement in some detail in the 1997
document, it is necessary to go over some of the parts of this history
anew.
The First and Second Internationals were formed by Marx and
Engels and laid the basis for the principle that internationalism is one of
the basic principles of the proletarian revolutionary movement. The
Third International, built under the leadership of Lenin and continued
under the leadership of Stalin, carried forward the work of the earlier
two internationals and established Marxism-Leninism as one of the
leading political forces in the world. The Third International or the
Communist International (or Comintern as it was also known) played
a great role in guiding the newly emerging parties all over the world in
building up a world-wide communist movement which was able to
capture power in an area covering half of the earths surface and
accounting for a third of its population.
The Communist International was dissolved in the middle of 1943.
15
This was the time when the World War II was at its fiercest phase. Stalin
looked upon the dissolution of the Comintern as a necessary sacrifice
for the strengthening of the Anti-Fascist United Front with the imperialist
powers, US, UK and France, to fight fascism by exposing the fascist
bogey about communist world-domination. This step was taken at a
time when Germany had steam-rolled its way over France, Britain was
being repeatedly bombed and Leningrad was under siege but at the
same time the Soviet Union had taken the offensive by handing the
Germans their first big defeat of the war in Stalingrad. We have to fully
analyse the dissolution of the Comintern as to whether it was, indeed,
necessary or can be seen as a mistake. The fact remains that after June
1943, the Comintern stood dissolved and there was no authoritative
organisation which could hold the communist movement together.
An objective historical evaluation of dissolution of the Comintern
is indispensable at this juncture. It took place at a critical time when the
fascist axis of Germany-Italy-Japan was still threatening to carry forward
their plans for world domination. Strengthening the anti-fascist front
was of utmost importance. But the US led imperialists had other ideas
and were delaying the opening of he second front against Nazi forces.
Besides, imperialism led by US imperialism was planning to launch an
all out future offensive for its world hegemony. It was preparing the
ground for transforming the old colonialism into neo-colonialism. The
strategic step towards this was put forward in 1941 in the form of the
Atlantic Charter jointly drafted by Britain and USA, the vanishing and
ascending supreme arbiters respectively of the imperialist world. The
essential economic, political and military foundations for the neocolonial phase of imperialism were being developed by them. Even much
before the formal ending of World War II through the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the unparallel superiority it was gaining
in the military, economic and political realms as the fascist forces were
being decimated, the US was firmly putting forward its new blue-print
for the neo-colonial world order.
But the dissolution of the Comintern which ought to have been
concretely evaluated in relation to this crucial historical transformation,
was interpreted as a tactical move. On the contrary, it should be seen as
a strategic error in this background. Lack of an international leadership
on the part of world proletariat at this critical juncture led to severe
setbacks in scientifically evaluating the laws of motion of finance capital
and putting forward the concrete programme of action against
imperialism in its neo-colonial phase. The dissolution of the Comintern
in the name of defending fatherland and for the success of the antifascist front, in fact, did immense harm to the world proletariat as it
16
denied the decisive role of the communist party and the Communist
International, the only weapons before the working class and oppressed
people in their fight against capital and imperialist domination. In brief,
in juxtaposing the defence of Soviet Union against the interests of the
international socialism and relegating the latter to the background, the
international proletariat lost an authoritative organisation to lead the
world people against the neo-colonisation process unleashed by US led
imperialism in the post WW II phase. The negative attitude taken by
the Chinese Communist Party and the leadership of other communist
parties including the CPI at that time by supporting this dissolution
also contributed much in aggravating the situation. In course of time,
influenced by the attitude of the CPC from the second half of 1960s the
erroneous view that an international is not a necessity also got
strengthened in the international communist movement.
It is a fact that in the concrete situation existing after the victory of
great October Revolution and coming into the existence of the Soviet
Union Lenin had put into practice the concept of the Communist
International as an international party working based on the principles
of democratic centralism. Drawing from its vast experience in both
theory and practice the CPSU was in effect guiding the Comintern. Later
when a large number communist parties came into existence and the
parties like CPC started leading the revolutionary movements in their
countries various questions regarding analysing the concrete conditions
in these countries and developing the revolutionary line had come
forward. On some occasions the Comintern advice given under the
Soviet guidance had proved wrong resulting in internal struggles. The
CPCs criticism of Comintern was linked to similar problems. The answer
to this problem was not dissolution of the Comintern but reorganising
it conforming to the developing situation. Or from an international party
the Comintern had to transform into an international organisation of
the communist parties which are developing their theory and practice
according to concrete conditions in their own countries. Only in this
way the international communist movement could face the serious
challenge posed during that period both by the fascist forces on the one
side and the US-UK forces evolving a neo-colonial offensive on the other.
But dissolving the Comintern as a tactical move, as explained, to
strengthen the Anti-Fascist United Front in effect amounted to dissolving
the party for the united front. While upholding comrade Stalin as a great
Marxist-Leninist, who gave leadership to the ICM at very difficult
juncture, the question whether the dissolution of the Comintern was a
correct step should be subjected to serious discussion.
In the period after the World War II, the Communist Party of Soviet
17
Union (CPSU) continued to play a leading role in the world communist

movement. It was continued to be looked up to as the father party by
all communist parties all over the world. However, since they and the
ICM in general were not able to recognise the change in the system of
exploitation of imperialism from the colonial phase to the neo-colonial
one, they were not able to understand the changes that were taking
place in the world. It was the wrong evaluation of the concrete situation
of the world situation which had led Krushchovite leadership, which
was successful in coming to power, to conclude that the introduction of
neo-colonial policies including the de-colonisation as a weakening of
imperialism. Besides, the strength of the socialist forces and their prestige
all over the world was overestimated. This led the Khruschovite forces
to come to the conclusion that revolution was no more necessary in the
newly-liberated countries and they put forward the theory of the
three peacefuls, that is, peaceful co-existence and peaceful competition
with imperialism and peaceful transition to socialism.
Thus the capitalist roaders led by Krushchov took the movement
away from the path of revolution due to erroneous evaluation of the
concrete conditions in the world after the Second World War. The
transformation from the colonial to the neo-colonial phase was neither
studied nor understood. The epochal importance of the IMF, the WB
and the nascent GATT talks was not understood. The phenomenal
growth of the MNCs in this period was neither understood nor studied.
It was the CPC which took the lead in the struggle against this right
reactionary line of the CPSU leadership. They put forward a correct
orientation regarding neo-colonisation in the course of the Great
Debate between the CPSU and the CPC. In the article Apologists of
Neo-colonialism (which was the fourth comment on the letter of the
CPSU), the CPC explained, after referring to the contention of the CPSU,
that colonialism was being destroyed:
What are the facts?
Consider, first, the situation in Asia and Africa. There a whole group of
countries have declared their independence.But many of these countries
have not completely shaken off imperialist and colonial control and
enslavement and remain objects of imperialist plunder and aggression as
well as arenas of contention between the old and new colonialists. In some,
the old colonialists have changed into neo-colonialists and retain their
colonial rule through their trained agents. In others, the wolf has left by
the front door, but the tiger has entered through the back door, the old
colonialism being replaced by the new, more powerful and more dangerous
U. S. colonialism. The peoples of Asia and Africa are seriously menaced
18
by the tentacles of neo-colonialism, represented by U. S. imperialism.

Next, listen to the voice of the people of Latin America. The Second Havana
Declaration says, Latin America today is under a more ferocious
imperialism, more powerful and ruthless than the Spanish colonial
empire.
It adds:
Since the end of the Second World War, . . . North American investments
exceed 10 billion dollars. Latin America moreover supplies cheap raw
materials and pays high prices for manufactured articles.
It says further:
. . . there flows from Latin America to the United States a constant torrent
of money: some $4,000 per minute, $5 million per day, $2 billion per
year, $10 billion each five years. For each thousand dollars which leaves
us, one dead body remains. $1,000 per death, that is the price of what is
called imperialism.
The facts are clear. After World War II the imperialists have certainly not
given up colonialism, but have merely adopted a new form, neo-colonialism.
An important characteristic of such neo-colonialism is that the imperialists
have been forced to change their old style of direct colonial rule in some
areas and to adopt a new style of colonial rule and exploitation by relying
on the agents they have selected and trained. The imperialists headed by
the United States enslave or control the colonial countries and countries
which have already declared their independence by organizing military
blocs, setting up military bases, establishing federations or
communities, and fostering puppet regimes. By means of economic aid
or other forms, they retain these countries as markets for their goods,
sources of raw material and outlets for their export of capital, plunder the
riches and suck the blood of the people of these countries. Moreover, they
use the United Nations as an important tool for interfering in the internal
affairs of such countries and for subjecting them to military, economic
and cultural aggression. When they are unable to continue their rule over
these countries by peaceful means, they engineer military coups detat,
carry out subversion or even resort to direct armed intervention and
aggression.
The United States is most energetic and cunning in promoting neocolonialism. With this weapon, the U.S. imperialists are trying hard to
grab the colonies and spheres of influence of other imperialists and to
establish world domination.
This neo-colonialism is a more pernicious and sinister form of colonialism.
19
Thus it is clear that the Chinese party had correctly seen the
evolution of the colonial phase into the neo-colonial one. However the
Chinese party, at that time was itself engaged in a severe struggle against
the rightist line of Liu-Shao-Chi. Due to this reason they were not able
to take up the task of carrying forward the theoretical study of neocolonialism. Later, under the left line under the leadership of Lin Biao,
the Chinese party, not only did not carry forward the study of the
international situation, but also did not take any initiative to reorganise
the Communist International.
The left line under Lin Biao caused great harm to the international
communist movement. In the 1997 document, we have identified that it
had wrongly changed the era from the Leninist understanding of this
being the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution to defining it as
a new era that of imperialism heading for total collapse and socialism
advancing towards world-wide victory.
It was Lin Biao who first put forward the mistaken idea that
protracted peoples war is the only path for revolution in all the
countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. He said, in his article Long
live the victory of the Peoples War (1966):
It must be emphasized that Comrade Mao Tse-tungs theory of the
establishment of rural revolutionary base areas and the encirclement of
the cities from the countryside is of outstanding and universal practical
importance for the present revolutionary struggles of all the oppressed
nations and peoples, and particularly for the revolutionary struggles of
the oppressed nations and peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America
against imperialism and its lackeys.
It was Lin Biao, again, who published the red book and wrote a
foreword for the same. It was his followers, during the cultural
revolution, who put forward the concept that there was no need to study
- that, in fact, the more you study, the more foolish you become.
Erroneously analysing the world situation Lin Biao like Khrushchev
before him once again put forward the idea of a weakened imperialism.
He said, The imperialist system resembles a dying person who is sinking
fast, like the sun setting beyond the western hills. The emergence of Khrushchev
revisionism is a product of imperialist policy and reflects the death-bed struggle
of imperialism.
It was again Lin Biao who put forward the idea of a rural-based
party. In the Long live the victory ... quoted above, he asserts:
Many countries and peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America are now
being subjected to aggression and enslavement on a serious scale by the
20
imperialists headed by the United States and their lackeys. The basic
political and economic conditions in many of these countries have many
similarities to those that prevailed in old China. As in China, the peasant
question is extremely important in these regions. The peasants constitute
the main force of the national-democratic revolution against the
imperialists and their lackeys. In committing aggression against these
countries, the imperialists usually begin by seizing the big cities and the
main lines of communication, but they are unable to bring the vast
countryside completely under their control. The countryside, and the
countryside alone, can provide the broad areas in which the revolutionaries
can manoeuvre freely. The countryside, and the countryside alone, can
provide the revolutionary bases from which the revolutionaries can go
forward to final victory. Precisely for this reason, Comrade Mao Tse-tungs
theory of establishing revolutionary base areas in the rural districts and
encircling the cities from the countryside is attracting more and more
attention among the people in these regions.
It must be made clear here that Mao had never said that the Chinese
Path is applicable to the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
On the contrary he had advised the leaders of the Marxist-Leninist
parties visiting China repeatedly that they should develop the
revolutionary in their own countries only according to the concrete
conditions there. Still this line of Lin Biaos was taken as gospel truth
and two generations of the Marxist-Leninists all over the world had to
face severe setbacks in their attempts to build up base areas and
guerrilla zones mechanically following the Chinese Path. It was
this line of Lin Biao which led to the neglect of mass line including
building up of mass organisations and working class movement.
THE MAOISTS REVISITED

We have already mentioned in our 1997 document that the parties
which call themselves Maoist and which follow Maoism are
precisely those who still uphold all the wrong understandings put
forward by the left sectarian line under the leadership of Lin Biao,
irrespective of whether they overtly uphold Lin Biao or not.
As part of this discussion two more points have to be discussed.
Firstly, there are many parties, especially in Latin America, who uphold
Maoism though they do not uphold the sectarian line of say, the
Sandero Luminoso (Shining Path) of Peru or of the Philippines
Communist Party or the Turkish Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist)
(TKP/ML). Many of such parties like the RCP of Argentina or the Maoist
Communist Party of Colombia are actually adopting the mass line. They
21
have adopted the concept of Maoism in the peculiar circumstances of

Latin America, where it symbolised the opposition to Khruschovite
revisionism in the 1970s.
The second question of importance while discussing the Maoist
parties is the question of Nepal. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
has played a significant role in the struggle to overthrow the monarchy.
For this, even they had to change their tactics and lay down their arms.
At the same time the CPN(Maoist) has been stressing that they support
a new socialism and that the socialism of the 20th century has failed.
They have also asserted a new concept of democracy in the 21st
century which entails multi-party electoral democracy even after
the revolution. All such concepts are grouped in what is referred to as
Prachanda path. At the same time, this party is engaged in a severe
inner-party struggle about the way forward. Whether it will be able to
overcome its theoretical shortcomings and come forward is a matter of
interest to the ICM.
DEVELOPMENTS AFTER LIN BIAO

Though the Tenth Congress of the CPC in 1973 claimed to have
rectified the erroneous understanding of the era put forward by the
Ninth Congress, as we have mentioned in the 1997 document, no
document has come to light which shows how the CPC has evaluated
the mistakes of the line led by Lin Biao except criticising him for his
Confucian thinking. In any case, there was no attempt to further deepen
the understanding of the neo-colonial system. In the absence of such a
serious study and in reaction to the sectarian line of Lin Biao that had
emerged during the Cultural Revolution, in spite of its historical
significance, it was easy for the capitalist roaders like Deng to usurp
power. One of the vehicles for achieving this was the classcollaborationist Theory of Three Worlds. This was another right
deviation which in effect neglected the contradiction between capital
and labour, between imperialism and socialist forces and one-sidedly
emphasised the contradiction among the imperialist forces, mechanically
dividing the world on a non-class basis into First, Second and Third
worlds.
Since the General Line document of 1963, Marxist-Leninists all over
the world have generally accepted the present fundamental
contradictions at the global level as:
The contradiction between the socialist camp and the imperialist camp;
the contradiction between the proletariat and bourgeoisie in the capitalist
countries, the contradiction between oppressed nations and peoples and
22
imperialism; the contradictions among imperialist countries and among

monopoly capitalist groups.
In slightly different words, this was also, more or less, the
understanding of the Third International.
While the deviation lead by Khruschov one-sidedly stressed the
contradiction between the socialist camp and the imperialist camp,
neglecting the other contradictions, the sectarian line of Lin Biao laid
one-sided stress on the contradiction between oppressed nations and
imperialism neglecting the other contradictions. This resulted in many
of them taking a negative view of proletarian internationalism in
practice. Many of the sectarian parties (both of the left and right
varieties) have ceased to accept the contradiction between the socialist
forces and the imperialism under the influence of these erroneous lines.
There are also many other alien world outlooks that have emerged
in the Marxist-Leninist movement due to the failure to make a concrete
analysis of the post-World War II world situation and in the absence of
fraternal exchange of views among the Marxist-Leninist forces with a
view to overcome the past mistakes and to develop the ICM including
the development of a centre to guide it forward. These include the postmodern ideas, with their emphasis on new social movements and
finally on solutions within the system. All these alien trends have to be
uncompromisingly exposed and struggled against.
The efforts to develop fraternal relations among the MarxistLeninist parties and to rebuild the ICM will have to start in continuation
to the line put forward by the Third International and the General Line
of 1963, asserting the fundamental contradictions at the international
level. It includes the study of the development, maturing and interplay of these contradictions in the period of neo-colonialism.
BUILDING UP THE ICM

Many attempts have been made to understand the developments
all over the world and the causes for the setbacks to the ICM. They
include the International Communist Seminar held in Brussels by the
PTB every year, the ICMLPO formed under the JCG of which, the MLPD,
BP (NK /T), CPN (Mashal), and our party among others are included,
the other ICMLPO comprised of parties which are pro-Albanian, the
North Star Compass, the RIM, etc.
The International Communist Seminar in Brussels was started as a
yearly affair in the year 1990. It concentrated mainly on the question of
the restoration of capitalism in the USSR. However, they allowed for an
23
eclectic combination of those calling themselves Marxist (from the

CPI to the CPI (Maoist)) to attend this seminar and present papers. It
therefore has not served the purpose of advancing the theoretical
understanding at the international level, though it has put forward some
new ideas on the restoration of capitalism in the USSR. The ICMLPO
formed by the pro-Albanian parties, brings out a magazine known as
Unite et Lutte or Unity and Struggle. This group is hamstrung in
their theoretical endeavours by their historical understanding and is its
theoretical endeavours are therefore confined to a very small compass
of mechanically vindicating the stand of Stalin. The North Star
Compass is a group which brings out a magazine in this name, whose
aim is the restoration of the USSR. However, there is no clarity among
them on the socialism they are talking about, whether it is the socialism
under Lenin and Stalin or the socialism under Khruschov, Brezhnev,
Andropov, etc. They are limited in their understanding to opposing
Glasnost and Perestroika which, in their opinion, was responsible
for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Besides the Revolutionary
Internationalist Movement (RIM) led by the RCP, USA, a union of
Maoist parties is also significant for the harm it does to the ICM.
The most active and politically vital grouping is the ICMLPO which
is largely hosted by the MLPD of Germany. There is the JCG which coordinates the work of the ICMLPO. It has so far held 9 Conferences. It
brings out an International Newsletter It is composed of parties who
accept Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought or Marxism-Leninism
and a positive view of Mao Tsetung.
The shortcoming of this group is that it also includes parties who
are openly Maoist, like the CPP of the Philippines, the TKP(ML) of
Turkey and even the CPI (Maoist). Hence it is very difficult for this
grouping to advance, as it is, in the main reduced to another international
forum for debate.
Our organisation when it was called CRC, CPI(ML) from 1979 has
been one of the first in India to seek the rebuilding of the ICM. This was
prompted by the fact that we were among the first in India to oppose
the Three World Theory and the Dengists in China along with the
Enver Hoxhaites. Based on this approach our organisation send our
approach papers to an international conference with the RCP of Chile
and RCP of USA among others and called for reorganising the ICM
based on Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought. In the second
international conference of 1984, we put forward a document explaining
our neo-colonial approach and calling for building a platform of the
ML parties. But RCP, USA along with its sectarian understanding based
on Lin Biaoism evaluated that war has become the main danger and
24
called for immediate formation of an international. We walked out when

they went ahead with the formation of RIM which has become a centre
of anarchist organisations upholding Maoism. In spite of this setback,
we continued our efforts for the unity of the like-minded MarxistLeninist forces. It is as a result of it the CPI(ML) Red Flag played an
th
active role in the ICMLPO including sending a delegation to its 8
Conference in 2004.
The recent past after Vijayawada Unity Conference has seen us
reneging on our international duties. We were not able to attend any
international meetings or conferences due to the sectarian line of the
CPI(ML) 2003 with whom the CPI(ML) Red Flag had united. We had to
restrain ourselves from attending the Brussels seminar or the ICMLPO
meetings, though we could attend the MLPD Congress in 2008. As a
result of these we were not able to take any stand on the international
situation and our tasks in this period. We have now overcome this
sectarian tendency in the party by separating from it.
During the course of the 9th Congress of the ICMLPO, under the
initiative of the MLPD a Declaration on the Building of an International
Form of Organization for the Coordination of the Work of Autonomous
Revolutionary Parties and Organizations was adopted. This declaration
focuses on the need for revolutionary parties and organisations to join
forces in todays situation. It focuses on the need to build regional and
international forms of organisation for Marxist-Leninists, the working
class and also the entire anti-imperialist movement. This gave rise to
the ICOR or the International Co-ordination.
Besides actively working in the ICOR, it is also necessary to develop
fraternal relations with other ML parties, especially in South Asia and
also in the West Asian region. The developments in West Asia are
already affecting the politics of South Asia, especially Pakistan. We must
therefore make great efforts to develop close relations with parties in
South Asia and in West Asia who have an understanding akin to ours.
There are many parties, in other continents, especially in Latin
America, Europe and Africa with whom we have developed contacts
and who are close to our understanding. We must nurture these contacts
and develop them where ever possible.
The present situation calls for initiative to form a forum of ML
parties from different countries who are fighting both, right revisionism
and left sectarianism, including the line of protracted peoples war as
the only path for countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Such
parties who uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought or
Marxism-Leninism and a positive attitude towards Mao Tsetung
25
Thought should constitute themselves into a Marxist-Leninist Forum to

organise solidarity actions, organize international conferences, to
develop the General Line of the ICM and to move towards a new
Communist International.
It is time for our party to take up this international task in right
earnest. As detailed above, in the present world situation, the
international content of the Peoples or New Democratic Revolution has
greatly increased and we cannot make revolution in a vast country like
India without launching uncompromising struggles against imperialism
and its lackeys and agents, uniting with the Marxist-Leninist forces at
global level.
Workers of All Countries, Unite;

Workers of the World, Unite With the
Oppressed Peoples and Oppressed Nations;
Oppose Imperialism and Reaction in All
Countries;
Strive for World Peace, National Liberation,
Peoples Democracy and Socialism;
Strengthen the Socialist Forces;
Bring the Proletarian World Revolution Step by
Step to Complete Victory;
And Establish a New World Without
Imperialism, Without Capitalism and Without
the Exploitation of Man by Man !
Uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung

Thought !
Long Live Proletarian Internationalism !

13th November, 2009
26
CC, CPI(ML)
On The Character Of
Indian State
1. INTRODUCTION.
HE character of the Indian state along with that of the big

bourgeoisie is one of the foremost questions very seriously
discussed in the communist movement from early days. Till 1947 there
was unanimity that it is a colonial state under British imperialism. But
unanimity on the characterization of the big bourgeoisie, whether it is
national or comprador bureaucratic eluded right from those days. What
is meant by so-called decolonisation policy, the changes that took place
in the form of imperialist plunder in the countries under its domination,
what character the Indian state took after the transfer of power, etc. are
questions of serious polemics since the post-World War II years. Though
during 1950s and 1960s these questions were seriously debated, and for
a time colonial, semi colonial, dependent and neo-colonial were
synonymously used from the second half of 1970s, in spite of accepting
the emergence of neo-colonial plunder by all, the debate on the
fundamental changes which were taking place at international and
national level started getting subdued. The consequences of the
momentous developments that took place during post-World War II
years started disappearing from the debates. There were very little efforts
to develop Lenins teachings on imperialism according to concrete
conditions. The basic changes taking place in the course of changing
from colonial to neocolonial phase were side lined. Though almost all
organizations accept the important differences that existed between prerevolutionary China and India, and more so between pre-revolutionary
China and present India many of them are satisfied by calling both semicolonial. The basic changes that have taken place in the form of
exploitation and hegemony of imperialism under the leadership of US
imperialism during the postWW II decades are suppressed while
putting forward various approaches regarding the character of Post1947 Indian state. As a result, whether the Indian state is semi-colonial,
dependent, neocolonial or capitalist has become a question of serious
debate among all the parties/organizations/groups claiming to pursue
Marxist ideology. What is attempted here is to arrive at a basic
understanding on this question through concrete analysis of the
historical evolution of colonialism and its later changes in this era of
imperialism and proletarian revolution, guided by Marxism-LeninismMao Tsetung Thought.
27
2. BEGINNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF

COLONIZATION PHASE.
Marx and Engels have analysed and pointed out succinctly how
capitalism and the bourgeoisie developed and the role played by them
in the Communist Manifesto as follows: The bourgeoisie cannot exist
without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and
thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations
of society. Conservation of the old modes of production in unaltered
form, was, on the contrary, the first condition of existence for all earlier
industrial classes. Constant revolutionising of production uninterrupted
disturbance of all social conditions, ever lasting, uncertainty and
agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed,
fast frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices
and opinions, are swept away, all new formed ones become antiquated
before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is
profaned, and man is at last, compelled to face with sober senses his
real conditions of life and his relations with his kind.
They have also pointed out how the bourgeoisie sets out to plunder
the world in the name of civilizing the barbarians bringing down all
resistances and initiating colonization in the most barbarous forms. They
explained: The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all
instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of
communication, draws all, even the most barbarian nations, into
civilization. The cheap prices of its commodities are the heavy artillery
with which it batters down all Chinese walls, with which it forces the
barbarians intensely obstinate hatred of foreigners to capitulate. It
compels all nations, on pain of extinction, to adopt the bourgeois mode
of production; it compels them to introduce what it calls civilization
into their midst, i.e., to become bourgeois themselves. In one word, it
creates a world after its own image.
Explaining the rapacious colonization policy which led to formation
and development of capitalism, Marx wrote: The discovery of gold
and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in
mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and
looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the
commercial hunting of black-skins, signalized the rosy dawn of the era
of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings are the chief moments
of primitive accumulation. (Karl Marx, Capital Vol. 1 p. 751)
Marx analyses how the large scale industrial production under
capitalism compels the bourgeoisie to seek more and more outlets to
sell their manufactured goods in abundant supply as follows: As soon
28
as manufacture gains sufficient strength, and particularly large-scale

industry, it creates in its turn a market for itself, by capturing it through
its commodities. At this point commerce becomes the servant of
industrial production, for which continued expansion of the market
becomes a vital necessity. Ever more extended mass production floods
the existing market, and thereby works continually for a still greater
expansion of this market, for breaking out of its limits. (Karl Marx,
Capital, Vol. 3 p.336)
Lenin has elaborated this colonization process as follows.: Colonial
policy and imperialism existed before the latest stage of capitalism and
even before capitalism. Rome, founded on slavery pursued a colonial
policy and practiced imperialism. But general disquisitions on
imperialism, which ignore, or put into the background, the fundamental
difference between socio-economic formations, inevitably turn into the
most vapid banality or bragging, like the comparison: Greater Rome
and Greater Britain. Even the capitalist colonial policy of previous
stages of capitalism is essentially different from the colonial policy of
finance capital.
The principal feature of the latest stage of capitalism is the
domination of monopolist associations of big employers. These
monopolies are most firmly established when all the sources of raw
materials are captured by one group, and we have seen with what zeal
the international capitalist associations exert every effort to deprive their
rivals of all opportunity of competing to buy up, for example, iron
fields, oil fields etc. Colonial possession alone gives the monopolies
complete guarantee against all contingencies in the struggles against
competition including the case of the adversary wanting to be protected
by a law establishing a state monopoly. The more capitalism is
developed, the more strongly the shortage of raw materials is felt, the
more intense the competition and the hunt for sources of raw materials
throughout the whole world, the more desperate is the struggle for the
acquisition of colonies.
Aided by the expansion of colonies and intensification of colonial
plunder as the concentration of capital went on growing, it necessarily
led to monopolisation. This led to the transformation from the era of
laissez faire capitalism to the era of imperialism, which is historically
and scientifically explained by Lenin in his momentous work,
Imperialism, the Highest stage of Capitalism. He pointed out: Imperialism
is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of
monopolies and finance capital is established; in which the export of
capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of
the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division
29
of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has
been completed. (Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 22, pp 266-267)
This led to intense struggles, to colonial wars and later to the World
Wars I and II for division and redivision of the world among the colonial
powers. Lenin wrote: When the colonies of the European powers, for
instance, comprised only one-tenth of the territory of Africa (as was the
case in 1876), colonial policy was able to develop by methods other than
those of monopoly by the free grabbing of territories, so to speak.
But when nine-tenths of Africa had been seized (by 1900), when the
whole world had been divided up, there was inevitably ushered in the
era of monopoly possession of colonies and, consequently, of particularly
intense struggle for the division and the redivision of the world.
(Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin, Collected Works,
Volume 22, pp. 299-300)
Proceeding from the analysis of the transformation of capitalism
from its free competition to monopoly stage, to imperialism, Lenin
defined imperialism as the monopoly stage of capitalism. In this period
finance capital, the bank capital of a few very big monopolist banks
went on merging with the capital of the monopolist associations of
industrialists. It proceeded to colonial policy of monopolist possession
of the territory of the world, which was completely divided up. Then
without forgetting the conditional and relative value of all definitions in
general, which can never embrace all the concatenations of a phenomenon in
its full development, he gave the following definition for imperialism
(italics ours) : 1) the concentration of production and capital has
developed to such a high stage that it has created monopolies which
play a decisive role in economic life; 2) the merging of bank capital with
industrial capital and the creation, on the basis of his finance capital,
of a financial oligarchy; 3) the export of capital as distinguished from
the export of commodities acquires exceptional importance; 4) the
formation of international monopolist capitalist associations which share
the world among themselves, and 5) the territorial division of the whole
world among the biggest capitalist powers is completed. Imperialism
is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of
monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export
of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division
of the world among the international trusts has begun; in which the
division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers
has been completed. (ibid)
Quoting from the studies of various contemporary scholars, Lenin
explained that this colonization drive was quite multi-linear, complex
and uneven. Many of these studies had given figures only for colonies,
30
where the hegemony of imperialism is complete. Proceeding from there,

Lenin tried to present a complete picture of the division of the world
adding data not only on the countries that had become colonies, but
also on non-colonial and semi-colonial countries in which category
he included Persia, China and Turkey: the first of these countries is
already almost completely a colony, the second and third are becoming
such. To give more clarity on what Lenin meant by semi-colonial, the
transitional form, his analysis on this question is reproduced: Alongside
the colonial possessions of the Great Powers, we have placed the small
colonies of the small states, which are, so to speak, the next objects of a
possible and probable redivision of colonies. These small states mostly
retain their colonies only because the big powers are torn by conflicting
interests, friction, etc., which prevent them from coming to an agreement
on the division of the spoils. As to the semi-colonial states, they
provide an example of the transitional forms which are to be found in
all spheres of nature and society. Finance capital is such a great, such a
decisive, you might say force in all economic and in all international
relations, that it is capable of subjecting, and actually does subject, to
itself even states enjoying the fullest political independence; we shall
shortly see examples of this. Of course, finance capital finds most
convenient, and derives the greatest profit from, a form of subjection
which involves the loss of the political independence of the subjected
countries and peoples. In this respect, the semi-colonial countries
provide a typical example of the middle stage. It is natural that the
struggle for these semi-dependent countries should have become
particularly bitter in the epoch of finance capital, when the rest of the
world has already been divided up. (ibid, p 227)
Explaining how under colonization, the Asian, African and Latin
American countries, or all countries other than the imperialist countries,
were brought under domination both economic and political control of
imperialism, Lenin divided these countries to colonies which were under
total economic, political and territorial control of any one of the
imperialist countries, to semi-colonies, ie., countries in the transitional
stage, where many imperialist countries continued to dominate
including territorial domination, and to dependent countries which were
formally independent but in fact enmeshed in the net of financial and
diplomatic dependence. To make this question more clear the following
paras from Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism are reproduced
below:
Since we are speaking of colonial policy in the epoch of capitalist
imperialism, it must be observed that finance capital and its foreign
policy, which is the struggle of the great powers for the economic
31
and political division of the world, give rise to a number of

transitional forms of state dependence. Not only are the two main
groups of countries, those owning colonies, and the colonies
themselves, but also the diverse forms of dependent countries
which, politically, are formally independent, but in fact, are
enmeshed in the net of financial and diplomatic dependence, are
typical of this epoch, we have already referred to one form of
dependence the semi-colony. An example of another is provided
by Argentina.
South America, and especially Argentina, writes SchulzeGaevernitz in his work on British imperialism, is so dependent
financially on London that it ought to be described as almost a
British commercial colony. Basing himself on the reports of the
Austro - Hungarian Consul at Buenos Aires for 1909, Schilder
estimated the amount of British capital invested in Argentina at
8750 million francs. It is not difficult to imagine what strong
connections British finance capital (and its faithful friend,
diplomacy) thereby acquires with the Argentine bourgeoisie, with
the circles that control the whole of that countrys economic and
political life. (ibid)
Explaining the economic and political condition of China during
the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Mao Tsetung has explained vividly how
China was a semi-colonial country which was in a transitional stage. By
the 1920s China had become a semi-colonial country with a number of
imperialist countries exporting finance capital to it with vast areas of
its coastal region occupied by these imperialist powers territorially and
the country under the rule of comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and
feudalists serving imperialism. In 1930s when Japanese imperialism
attacked and occupied large areas of North China, Mao added that China
had become a colonial, semi-colonial country, further explaining the
transitional form of semi-colonial formations.
Thus, as far as the definitions of imperialism during the colonial
phase are concerned, the categorization of colonial, semi-colonial and
dependent countries during this phase, and the transitional condition
of semi-colonial countries are abundantly clear from the Marxist-Leninist
analyses of those decades.
3. CHALLENGES FACED BY THE COLONIAL SYSTEM

The challenges posed by the general crisis inherent in the capitalist
system could not be resolved through the intensification of the plunder
of human and natural resources of the countries under colonization
32
through ever larger measures of export of finance capital by the

imperialist countries following the transformation of capitalism to its
monopoly stage, imperialism. On the one hand, the second half of 19th
century witnessed numerous wars among the colonial powers for
division and redivision of the world. It led not to the resolution of this
problem, but to the World War I for redivision of the world. But it
created more problems than it resolved. The 1930s witnessed the Great
Depression. To get out of it a section of the imperialist countries led by
Nazi Germany embraced fascism and launched yet another global war
for territorial conquest, for redivision of the world.
As Marx and Engels pointed out in Communist Manifesto and further
explained through their numerous works, the emergence of capitalism
and its efforts to recreate the world on its own image did not go
unchallenged. Capitalism had created its own grave-diggers, the
working class who went on waging numerous struggles to liberate
themselves and the world from the plunder and oppression of capitalist
onslaughts. As imperialism emerged, these struggles against its
barbarism further intensified, with the working class struggles to resolve
the ever-mounting contradiction between capital and labour joining with
the struggle of the oppressed peoples and nations in the colonized
countries, in the colonies, semi-colonies and dependent countries, for
national liberation and democratic revolution. Once the victorious
October Revolution gave birth to the first socialist country, Soviet Union,
because of its goal to abolish all exploitation of humans by humans, it
expressed solidarity with the national liberation movements, and the
Communist International represented both the streams of proletarian
revolution and national liberation. This question was well explained
by Stalin as follows:The October Revolution,
1. Has widened the scope of the national question and converted
it from the particular question of combating national oppression in
Europe into the general question of emancipating the oppressed
peoples, colonies and semi-colonies from imperialism;
2. It has opened up wide possibilities for their emancipation and
the right paths towards it, has thereby greatly facilitated the cause
of the emancipation of the oppressed peoples of the West and the
East, and has drawn them into the common current of the victorious
struggles against imperialism;
3. It has thereby erected a bridge between the socialist West and
the enslaved East, having created a new front of revolutions against
world imperialism, extending from the proletarians of the West,
33
through the Russian revolution, to the oppressed peoples of the

East. (The October Revolution, and the National Questions, Stalin,
Works, Vol. 4, p.170)
This question was further explained by Mao Tsetung as follows:
There are two kinds of World revolution, the first belonging to the
bourgeois or capitalist category. The era of this kind of world revolution
is long past, having come to an end as far back as 1914 when the first
imperialist world war broke out, and more particularly in 1917 when
the October Revolution took place. The second kind, namely, the
proletarian socialist world revolution, thereupon began. This revolution
has the proletariat of the capitalist countries as its main force and the
oppressed peoples of the colonies and semi-colonies as its allies. (On
New Democracy, Selected Works of Mao Tsetung, Vol. II, p. 346)
The World War II which broke out as an inter-imperialist war for
redivision of the world transformed to a great war between the camp of
the fascist countries, the axis forces, and the alliance of bourgeois
democracies and Soviet Union, ultimately leading to the routing of the
fascist powers, gave birth to a new world situation. Momentous changes
took place both in the balance of forces among the imperialist countries
and in the contradiction between imperialism and socialist forces,
between imperialism on the one hand and proletarian revolution and
national liberation struggles on the other hand, compelling US
imperialism, the newly emerged leader of the imperialist camp to launch
new forms of aggression and plunder around the world to perpetuate
its world hegemony overcoming the challenges from the powerful
alliance of socialist countries led by Soviet Union and the national
Liberation movements and democratic revolutions.
4. EMERGENCE OF NEOCOLONIALISM
The newly emerged leader of the imperialist camp, US imperialism
differed vastly from the old imperialist powers of Western Europe as
far as the colonization of countries subjected to imperialist plunder and
aggression were concerned. From the period of mercantile capitalism
itself the old imperialist countries like Portugal, Spain, Britain, France,
etc., were for occupation, territorial control and direct rule by imperialist
governors. However, contrary to this direct domination over colonies
and semi-colonies , most of the Latin American countries, which were
considered the backyard of US imperialism for long, a different policy
of indirect control was pursued by it. Lenin categorized these countries
as dependent countries. Through export of finance capital and cartels
while economic slavery was imposed, these countries were allowed to
have nominal political independence. Some of them had bourgeois
34
democratic ruling systems also. But whenever these rulers went even
slightly out of control, through military coups or direct aggressions US
hegemony was re-imposed. Even though US imperialism did not like
it, in these dependent countries, finance capital from any other
imperialist country could also enter.
From the early years of 1940s, even before the WW II came to an
end, as British imperialism was getting weakened, US imperialism was
emerging as the leader of the imperialist camp. It faced two challenging
tasks in order to establish its own hegemony in the world.: firstly, it had
to settle the inter-imperialist contradictions by dismantling the old
colonial structures through a process of de-colonisation for its own
interest in such a way that formal independence is given to the colonial
countries, opening resources and market for the entry of US imperialism.
Secondly, it had to face the growing challenge from the ever-intensifying
national liberation movements threatening the overthrow of imperialist
powers from their territories which was supported by the growing
strength of socialist forces led by Soviet Union.
It is in this complex and challenging world situation that US
imperialist chieftains along with their think tanks proceeded to provide
new form and content to colonization. The first step towards this was
the Breton Woods agreement in 1944 which gave birth to the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund (IMF) under US hegemony. Of the two, the
former acted as an effective neocolonial institution for accelerating,
regulating and controlling the export of finance capital through aids
and loans to the other imperialist countries defeated and weakened
through WW II as well as to the so-called newly independent countries,
where political power was transferred to the native comprador classes.
On the other hand, the IMF assumed the role of a supra-national agency
enforcing imperialist monetary dictates especially in relation to the
balance of payments adjustment of neocolonial countries. A crucial
component of the Breton Woods pact was the ascendancy of US as
worlds banker and supreme arbiter in international monetary affairs.
This was through the establishment of the dollar as the international
medium of exchange and trade at the Breton Woods agreement that
extended international sanction to US imperialisms unhindered
neocolonial plunder by printing out any amount of dollar for the
uncontrolled appropriation of world resources. At the same time, the
rest of the world, especially the neocolonial countries outside the eurozone were forced to keep dollar as their international reserve thereby
indirectly financing the ever burgeoning American deficits. Along with
these, in1948 the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was put
35
forward coupled with various trade blocks for enforcing imperialist

control over world trade. The old cartels were transformed to
Multinational Corporations (MNCs), also called Transnational
Corporations (TNCs) as the chief form of capital export with an everexpanding global control over labour and natural resources, science and
technology and market system. Along with this system of providing
aid was a further lever for control of neocolonial economies. At the
political level, the United Nations Organisation (UN) together with its
Security Council was looked upon right from its formation by US
imperialism as a political tool for its heinous neocolonial control at
international level. Along with these, at the ideological level, as a
diversionary tactic, a whole set of religion oriented philanthropic,
charitable and funding agencies and NGOs were created along with
the imposition of imperialist culture for disorienting the masses. These
were the new instruments mooted by US imperialism for establishing
its hegemony over the former colonial, semi-colonial and dependent
countries, under the new scheme of neocolonialism. .
Together with these economic, political, ideological and cultural
offensives, in the military field nuclear bombs were dropped in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 over Japan which was already
prepared to surrender. Military alliances such as NATO, SEATO,
CENTO and tens of hundreds of military bases all over the world were
formed in order to terrorise, intimidate and bring all other countries
under the control of imperialism, especially US imperialism. These
military moves were a direct challenge against the socialist countries
as well as against the national liberation movements.
These steps were followed by the adoption of state intervention
policies in the management and regimentation of the economy along
with the introduction of welfare programs based on Keynesian approach
to facilitate the transformation from old colonialism to neocolonialism.
These were essential to hoodwink world people and to meet the
challenges faced by imperialist system in the post- WW II years. Except
the revolution in Russia that took place by the end of the WW I, though
the interwar period did not witness successes in national liberation
movements and socialist revolutions, after WW II the situation changed
and imperialists were no longer able to extinguish the prairie fire of
national liberation. The old colonialism was fast disintegrating. Even
in the Latin American countries, the backyard of US imperialism,
national liberation movements were gaining strength. Imperialist rulers
were thrown out in some of the colonial, semi colonial and dependent
countries.
Explaining these developments the CPC pointed out during its
36
polemics against Krushchovite revisionism that had usurped power in

Soviet Union : Consider, first, the situation in Asia and Africa. There a
whole group of countries have declared their independence. But many
of these countries have not completely shaken off imperialist and colonial
control and enslavement and remain objects of imperialist plunder and
aggression as well as arenas of contention between the old and new
colonialists. In some, the old colonialists have changed into
neocolonialists and retain their colonial rule through their trained agents.
In others, the wolf has left by the front door, but the tiger has entered
through the back door, the old colonialism being replaced by the new,
more powerful and more dangerous US colonialism. The peoples of
Asia and Africa are seriously menaced by the tentacles of neocolonialism,
represented by U.S. imperialism. (Great Debate p,147)
Analysing the new world situation, the CPC further stated: The
facts are clear. After World War II the imperialists have certainly not
given up colonialism, but have merely adopted a new form,
neocolonialism. An important characteristic of such neocolonialism is
that the imperialists have been forced to change the old style of direct
colonial rule in some areas and to adopt a new style of colonial rule
and exploitation by relying on the agents they have selected and trained.
The imperialists headed by the United States enslave or control the
colonial countries and countries which have already declared their
independence by organizing military blocs, setting up military bases,
establishing federations or communities, and fostering puppet
regimes. By means of economic aid or other forms, they retain these
countries as markets for their goods. Sources of raw material and outlets
for their export of capital, plunder the riches and suck the blood of the
people of these countries. Moreover, they use the United Nations as an
important tool for interfering in the internal affairs of such countries
and for subjecting them to military, economic and cultural aggression.
When they are unable to continue their rule over these countries by
peaceful means, they engineer military coups detat, carry out
subversion or even resort to direct armed intervention and aggression.
The United states is most energetic and cunning in promoting
neocolonialism. With this weapon, the U.S imperialists are trying hard
to grab the colonies and spheres of influence of other imperialists and
to establish world domination.
This neocolonialism is a more pernicious and sinister form of
colonialism.
We would like to ask the leaders of the CPSU, under such
circumstances how can it be said that the abolition of colonial rule has
37
already entered the final phase. (Apologists of Neocolonialism, Great

Debate)
Criticising the stand of Krushchovite revisionists who had
degenerated to the condition of apologists of neocolonialism the CPC
further explained: The national liberation movements have entered a
new stage. But this is by no means of the kind of new stage described
by the leadership of the CPSU. In the new stage, the level of political
consciousness of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples has
risen higher than ever and the revolutionary movement is surging
forward with unprecedented intensity. They urgently demand the
thorough elimination of the forces of imperialism and its lackeys in their
own countries and strive for complete political and economic
independence. The primary and most urgent task facing these countries
is still the further development of the struggle against imperialism, old
and new colonialism, and their lackeys. This struggle is still being waged
fiercely in the political, economic, military, cultural, ideological and other
spheres. And the struggles in all these spheres still find their most
concentrated expression in political struggle, which often unavoidably
develops in to armed struggle when the imperialists resort to direct or
indirect armed suppression. It is important for the newly independent
countries to develop their independent economy. But this task must
never be separated from the struggle against imperialism, old and new
colonialism, and their lackeys. (ibid)
5. REVISIONIST DISTORTION OF
NEOCOLONIALISM.
The Kautskyian revisionists who had come to the leadership of the
Second International were apologists of the colonization by imperialist
powers. They had openly declared that colonial rule was progressive,
and it brought higher civilization to the colonies, and developed the
productive forces there. According to them the abolition of colonies
would mean barbarism.
After WW II under the twin blows of the socialist revolutions and
the national liberation movements, the imperialists were forced to
recognize that if the West had attempted to perpetuate the Status Quo
of colonialism, it would have made violent revolution inevitable, and
defeat inevitable. The old colonialist forms of rule on the contrary are
likely to prove running sores which destroy both the economic and
the moral vigor of a nations life (John Stratchey, The End of Empire,
1959). Thus it became a necessity to change the form and practice to
neocolonialism. (Apologists of Neocolonialism)
38
During these critical years, immediately after the 20th Congress of

the CPSU in 1956 and following it, Krushchov started singing to the
tune of neocolonialists instead of attacking them. He flaunted the
theory of disappearance of colonialism in order to cover up the more
dangerous emergence of neocolonialism. He tried to induce the
oppressed nations to embrace neocolonialism. He actively propagated
the view that peaceful coexistence between the oppressed nations
and civilized imperialism will make the national economy grow
rapidly and bring about an uplift of their productive forces, enable
the home market in the oppressed countries to become incomparably
greater and furnish more raw materialists, and various products and
goods required by the economy of the industrially developed countries
and at the same time will considerably raise the living standard of the
inhabitants in the highly developed capitalist countries as explained
in Apologists of Neocolonialism by the CPC, during his UN General
Assembly speech in 1960 and in numerous contemporary Soviet
writings.
In his attempts to white wash and wish away neocolonialism,
Krushchov was following the footsteps of the Second International which
had turned in to Yellow International after the WW I, fully engaged in
repeating slanders against the Soviet Union and Third International
serving forces of counter revolution, in its various conferences and in
the speeches of its spokes persons. They opposed wars of national
liberation and held that the national question can be settled only
through international agreements. Upholding this line of the
revisionists of Second International Krushchov advocated that a quiet
burial of the colonial system is possible in his 1960 UN speech. In his
services to imperialists neocolonisation in distorting its real nature, in
his attempts to obliterate it by mispropaganda and in advocating its
virtues, Krushchove was not inferior to the Kautskyists and other
revisionists of the Second International. He went a step ahead by
becoming its apologist. The CPC declared in Apologists of Neocolonialism.
: However hard the imperialists disguise their intentions and bestir
themselves, however hard their apologists whitewash and help
neocolonialism, imperialism and colonialism cannot escape their doom
Sooner or later the apologists of neocolonialism will go bankrupt.
But what happened subsequently was contrary to these
expectations. If Krushchovites served as apologists of neocolonialism
and engaged in subverting all Marxist-Leninist attempts at developing
understanding and resistance against it by the Marxist-Leninist forces,
after his fall in 1964 when the Brezhnev clique usurped power in Soviet
Union and speeded up capitalist restoration turning Soviet Union into
39
a social imperialist super power, it further distorted the understanding

about neocolonialism and started pursuing the very same policy like
other imperialist powers, wearing socialist masks. If Krushchovites
propagated the quiet burial of colonialism and tried to obliterate the
emergence of neocolonialism, during the Brezhnev regime the revisionist
theoreticians came up with the argument that neocolonialism means a
puppet country under total domination of a single imperialist country,
like then South Vietnam under US domination. A number of books were
published and Soviet journals continuously wrote to establish this
erroneous concept. It was an evaluation which consciously tried to
obliterate the momentous developments taking place after WW II, which
refused to apply Marxist-Leninist outlook to arrive at a revolutionary
understanding about the emergence of neocolonialism replacing
colonialism.
As far as the CPC is concerned even while it was engaged in a
historic polemics, Great Debate, against Soviet revisionist positions, it
was also waging a relentless struggle against the capitalist roaders led
by Liu Shaochi and Deng Tsiaoping within the CPC. In the middle of
this struggle the CPC statements and journals tried to develop the
understanding about neocolonialism re-publishing, Maos talks with
the US journalist Anna Louis Strong in 1946 and articles from For a Lasting
Peace, For Peoples Democracy, the Cominform organ, historically and
theoretically establishing the replacement of colonial plunder by
neocolonial plunder by the imperialist camp. In a critique of Indian
ruling classes in the second half of 1960s the neocolonial plunder of
India and how countries like India were subordinated to neocolonisation
were repeatedly analysed. Anti-imperialist, socialist spokespersons like
Nkruma of Ghana and many others contributed to this discussion on
neocolonialism. As a result almost all Marxist-Leninist forces at
international level during the 1960s had upheld the analysis put forward
by the CPC that after WW II colonialism was replaced by neocolonialism,
a more pernicious and sinister form of colonialism. Colonialism and
neocolonialism were synonymously used in 1950s. In documents like
1957 Joint statement and 1960 Joint Communique of Communist Parties,
the words colonial and neocolonial were synonymously used by the
newly emerging Marxist-Leninist Parties in the 1960s, there was no
ambiguity in understanding the neocolonial phase of plunder by
imperialist forces using their newly developed economic, political and
military tools. That is why like many others, CPI(ML) formed in 1969
called India a neocolony of US imperialism and Soviet social imperialism,
even while continuing to use the words semicolonial and neocolonial
synonymously in the Party Programme adopted in its 1970 Congress.
40
6. NEO-COLONIALISM, QUALITATIVELY A NEW

PHASE OF IMPERIALIST ERA.
Though the laws of motion of imperialism continue to remain
basically the same throughout the imperialist epoch, and Lenins analysis
of this epoch continues to remain basically correct, it is important to
distinguish the qualitatively distinct changes that have taken place in
the neocolonial phase. For example while defining imperialism, Lenin
had put forward its five distinctive characteristics. But the fifth
characteristics, the territorial division of the whole world among the
biggest capitalist powers is completed calls for further studies based
on post- World War II world situation. Except for some military bases
and enclaves, imperialist countries are no longer keeping any country,
even the smallest ones, under their territorial control for long. Even
after aggression and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq by US led
imperialist forces, puppet governments were soon constituted and even
fake elections were organized to give them pseudo democratic cover.
This is one important aspect that should be taken in to consideration.
Instead of territorial domination, these countries under former colonial
domination are now controlled through their ever-intensifying
integration to imperialist capital market system and
internationalization of production through international financial
agencies and MNCs. At the same time, so long as imperialism continue
to exist one cannot rule out the possibility for territorial division in new
forms.
With the disappearance of the territorial division of the world as
one of the basic features of imperialism, though six decades have elapsed
after WW II, even though numerous local imperialist aggressive wars
continue to take place, no World Wars have taken place for division
and re-division of the world so far. As a result of the mechanical
repetition of what led to World War I and II and as result of refusal to
recognize the qualitative changes that are taking place in the neocolonial
phase there were repeated assertions during 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
that a World War is imminent by various sections, various forces. All
those assertions were proved wrong. Though such assertions are rarely
heard from 1980s after the imposition of imperialist globalization, no
serious analysis about the reasons for the disappearance of territorial
division of the world by the major imperialist powers and the nonrecurrence of another World War even after six decades are attempted
by most of the Marxist-Leninist forces. As a result there are no attempts
to once again study the Marxist-Leninist teachings on the specific
characteristics of finance capital which led to the emergence of
imperialist epoch. In Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin
41
had pointed out: Finance capital is such a great , such a decisive, you
might say, force in all economic and all international relations, that it is
capable of subjecting, and actually does subject, to itself even states
enjoying the fullest political independence. From the fundamental
teaching of Lenin it can be evaluated that in the colonial phase if the
territorial control of the subjugated countries was one of the main feature
of imperialist domination, in the neocolonial phase the first four
characteristics he had put forward while defining imperialism, especially
finance capital as a financial oligarchy has achieved predominance.
Along with these the speculative character of finance capital which Lenin
had pointed out went on assuming predominance especially after 1970s
reaching today to its peak, intensifying the barbarous character of
imperialism to unprecedented levels. On the question of war, so long as
imperialism remains, the question by wars, even another World War
breaking out with the intensification of inter-imperialist contradictions
cannot be ruled out. But what is taking place now is low intensity warfare
as an imperialist strategy of class struggle, a strategy of class war against
the masses of the people.
It is finance capital with its speculative character going on
intensifying, and acting through numerous agencies like IMF, WB and
MNCs which is dominating the neocolonial phase, especially under
neoliberal policies, to impose indirect, subtle and intricate forms of
exploitation utilising aid, trade, technology, etc., However, almost for
a quarter century following WW II and the decolonisation process, in
order to overcome the challenge from the growing socialist forces and
national liberation movements, a state led development policy was
pursued under the cover of Keynesianism. But after imperialist crises
from 1970s called stagflation, there was a sharp transition from
Keynesianism to neoliberalism under which the oppressed nations and
peoples are experiencing neocolonial plunder of hither to unknown
levels. The transformation of imperialist domination from colonial to
neocolonial phase after US imperialism became the leading force of the
imperialist camp was, in the main, an economic and political reaction
to the rising tide of national liberation struggles supported by the
growing strength of socialist camp. Under it the former colonial and
semi-colonial countries were given formal political independence while
continuing economic domination in new forms. The whole imperialist
economic and political framework underwent significant changes.
Emergence of international finance agencies and MNCs to control the
policies of the countries under neocolonisation and the consequent
internationalization of capital in close link with imperialist state
machineries were intended to alleviate the realization crisis constantly
jeopardizing the imperialist capital which is beset with the inherent
42
anarchy of capitalism and ever-intensifying speculative character of

finance capital.
Due to the availability of cheap labour and raw materials the
neocolonial countries became the most ideal dumping grounds for
finance capital. Super accumulation of capital by imperialist countries
necessitated this. As possibilities for territorial extension of the market,
bringing in new areas under its control no longer exists, it can be achieved
only through expansion of market and financial sectors, and
intensification of exploitation of labour and natural resources of the
neocolonial countries. For this export of finance capital through FDIs,
FIIs and other means was increased continuously. Transfer of
technology, however obsolete it is compared to its present stage of
development in the imperialist centres, steadily increased. It gave rise
to sharp imbalances and uneven development as a result of the lack of
organic link between the advanced technology and centres of production
and development with the backward social fabric at the bottom. With
the establishment of WTO in 1995 as the neoliberal institution for
spearheading neocolonisation, imperialist exploitation made a big leap
forward, bringing all trade related sectors of the world including
agriculture, services and even intellectual properties under its
jurisdiction.
Though modern centres of capital intensive industries, consumer
products, service centres, IT centres, etc., exhibit growth trends, they
exist without any organic links with the vast masses who are pushed
down to increasing miseries and devastation. In the agricultural sector
along with the reforms like ceiling acts from above creating a new
landlord class, green revolution, white revolution, introduction of
modern inputs, increasing cash crop cultivation, corporate farming, etc.,
were initiated increasing agricultural production and transforming the
old semi-feudal, pre-capitalist production relations to a significant
extent. Compared to the colonial phase, in the neocolonial phase
imperialism is no longer trying to protect the old agrarian structure. As
a result, feudalism is no longer the social base of imperialism.
Imperialism is acting through the comprador ruling system or the state
apparatus led by the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and landlord
classes, among whom the former plays an increasingly dominant role.
Agriculture is transformed, modernized and used to strengthen the
capital and market system, though the agrarian relations have not
undergone any revolutionary change. As such, in the place of the so
called colonial mode of production which was the case in the pre-1947
period, the emerging production relations in the agrarian sector may be
characterized as neocolonial mode of production where land is
43
increasingly concentrated in the hands of the new landlord class and

the real tillers of soil are still without land. All these developments are
to be seen in the over all context of the significant transformation that
have taken place in the world situation after the WW II with colonialism
replaced by neocolonialism by the imperialist powers, especially US
imperialism, to facilitate imperialist plunder according to present
concrete conditions.
While putting forward this transformation of imperialist plunder
from colonial phase to neocolonial phase, more studies are required to
explain the concrete conditions of the vast number of countries under
neocolonisation and the character of the ruling classes, especially the
bureaucratic and big bourgeois class which is the leading force in
controlling the state system in these countries. Besides an in-depth
empirical study to unravel this transformation is also called for in the
line of Lenins studies to explain the transformation of capitalism into
its highest stage, imperialism in the classic, Imperialism, the Highest Stage
of Capitalism.
In this context, according to the concrete conditions today, the vast
number of countries under neocolonisation can be divided, in the main,
into four categories:1. The countries like Iraq and Afghanistan where imperialism led
by US imperialism has launched war of aggression leading to their
occupation and establishment of puppet governments. In these
countries, the local ruling classes are reduced to puppets of the
imperialist forces.
2. In a large number of countries in Africa, Latin America and to a
certain extent in Asia, the ruling big capitalist, bureaucratic classes are
predominantly subservient to the imperialist system or they can be called
as the best examples of comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and these
countries are best instances of neocolonies.
3. But in countries like India, Brazil, South Africa, etc. though we
call the big bourgeois, bureaucratic classes in general as comprador,
they are acting more as junior partners of imperialism, especially that
of US imperialism. So these countries can also be called junior partners
of imperialism.
4. Contrary to the above, though the democratic revolutions are
not completed and the peoples democratic power is not established,
the state in countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, North Korea, Iran,
etc., are taking anti-imperialist, especially anti-US imperialist positions,
even nationalizing some sectors. At the same time, these countries can
44
also be seen compromising with other imperialist powers, maintaining

the membership of IMF-World Bank-WTO, allowing MNCs to operate
and also pursuing neoliberal policies to an extent. In these countries,
where in their present concrete conditions, the neocolonial dependence
is the least.
7. NEO-COLONIALISM IN INDIA.
During colonial period British imperialists brutally restructured the
pre-colonial Indian economy to suit their plunder. Sprouting
manufacturing centres in different cities and the traditional industries
were brutally annihilated. The backbone of the Indian mercantile
bourgeoisie which was capable of competing with British and other
imperialist merchants, was broken by different types of trade regulations
to favour British merchants. Introduction of railways and development
of trading centres were for enhancing export-import activities to serve
British monopoly capital. Development of Indian industry was allowed
only under British control. It was only before WW I and during the
interwar period that they allowed growth of local industry to an extent,
that also only to serve their colonial interests. It was mainly localized in
nature, producing jute, cotton, sugar, tea, etc.,. Though there were
national bourgeois sections struggling to develop production, in the
main the big bourgeoisie and bureaucratic sections engaged in the
industrial sector were comprador in nature, collaborating with British
colonialists.
The restructuring in the agricultural sector during the colonial phase
was mainly aimed at winning over the feudal forces , the landlords,
money lenders and traders dealing with agricultural products as their
political allies. Zamindari settlement was to win over the feudal forces,
while ryotwari settlements were to commercialise agriculture. Even
though they made superficial changes in old land relations, the semifeudal, pre-capitalist relations continued to dominate. Whatever
transformation was made was for increasing production of cash crops
for exports. 80% of exports during colonial period were agricultural
raw materials and natural resources.
The transfer of power in 1947, to comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisbig land lord classes bestowed formal independence. India became an
open field for exploitation of all imperialist powers. But in the 1950s,
various factors like the background of the promises made during the
independence struggle, the influence of the powerful socialist camp,
the possibilities it created for the big bourgeoisie to utilize the
contradiction between imperialist and socialist camps, the demand of
the big bourgeoisie in the Bombay Plan for a public sector to develop the
45
industrial infrastructure which they were incapable of developing then,

the assistance offered by Soviet Union in various sectors,etc., contributed
towards the development of the industrial sector during that period
especially under public sector. But the weakening of the socialist forces
and national liberation movements by 1960s with the degeneration of
Soviet Union to capitalist path and the corresponding strengthening of
the imperialist camp led by US imperialism along with its machinery of
neocolonisation led to the tightening of imperialist domination in all
spheres. At the same time, the building of a powerful infrastructure
and core industries with Soviet help had led to further development of
the bureaucratic bourgeoisie in the public sector. Along with this the
penetration of imperialist capital lead by MNCs also intensified. The
merger of local capital as a junior partner with imperialist capital went
on increasing.
Since the 60s, a steady increase of capital-intensive and high
technology based industry is visible. These big industries both in the
public sector controlled by the bureaucratic bourgeoisie and in the
private sector controlled by the big bourgeoisie have become the centres
of localized modern enclaves which are not organically linked with the
social fabric. There is a steady increase in infrastructural development
aimed at industrial and agricultural modernization, mainly at the
instance of international financial agencies and MNCs. Still, because of
the imposed nature of this advanced technology, it is not helping the
widespread industrialization of the economy as a whole. Rather, it
retards such development.
Since the beginning of the 60s, significant changes are evident in
the agricultural sector. The introduction of the neocolonial programme
of green revolution in continuation to the land reforms imposed from
above at the behest of imperialist think tanks, creating a big landlord
class, was a major breakthrough in this area. In the beginning it was
experimented in selected areas like Punjab, Haryana and selected
districts in other states. In these areas, feudal relations were transformed
and agricultural production took a capitalist form. The use of fertilizers,
high yielding varieties of seeds, mechanization, irrigation, etc, spread
to wider and wider areas in all parts of the country. Agricultural
production was increasing in absolute terms, though productivity was
not making any significant advance as vast areas are still depending on
the vagaries of monsoon.
Class relations in the rural areas were undergoing significant
changes. During three decades following 1947, many land reform
measures were imposed from above. Along with these measures, the
modernization process has really created some new class relations and
46
contradictions in the Indian country side. The new type of peasant

movements which had come up during 1980s in many states were
expression of these new changes in the rural areas. These struggles
were mainly led by the new capitalist farmers who had emerged during
the previous years. They fought for a pricing policy favourable to them
for equality with industrial producers. This phenomenon was yet
another manifestation of the viciousness of the imperialist policy of
develop and control. Together with the emergence of a new class of
capitalist farmers, big sections of poor and landless peasants have been
transformed in to agricultural labourers who have waged a series of
struggles for higher wages and land. In areas where feudal exploitation
still dominated, militant struggles of peasants for land continued.
Corresponding to the Keynesian phase that lingered on till the 1980s,
an important aspect of the Indian neocolonial economy was the leading
role of the government as the crucial agent in implementing imperialist policies.
During this period, the export of finance capital from imperialist centres
mainly in the form of aids and loans was channeled through it. The
traditional comprador bourgeoisie itself was increasingly dependent
on imperialist finance capital and the major share of capital in the
monopoly companies in India was supplied by public financial
institutions and other government agencies. The agricultural
bourgeoisies struggle against the government was also to be understood
in this context. Even though they opposed both the government and
the compradors their immediate target was the government, and the
bureaucrat bourgeoisie who control it.
With the advent of neoliberal phase and imposition of the imperialist
globalization policies since the 1990s, in consonance with the downsizing
and roll back of the state in the economic sphere, instead of official
aids export of capital assumed the form of private financial flows such
as FIIs and FDIs. As a result of the replacement of erstwhile Keynesian
import substitution with neoliberal export orientation, domination
of liberalization-privatisation regime in every sphere of the economy,
speedy execution of market friendly policies etc., the neocolonization
of the country has speeded by leaps and bounds. What is actually
taking place is a kind of de-industrialisation on the one hand, and
flourishing financial speculation in every sphere including the entry of
speculative finance even to agriculture, on the other. With this the whole
economy is increasingly integrated to imperialist finance capital market
system, with a stronger concentration of monopolies which are enriching
themselves very fast. This distorted industrialisation is leading to
intensifying contradiction between a tiny group of monopolist exploiters
and hundreds of millions of exploited people. As the monopolies shift
production centres to, where there is cheap labour, where there are
47
sources of cheap raw materials and where infrastructure facilities are

the best, it is leading to outsourcing, migration and sharpening of uneven
development among different regions.
Along with this ever-intensifying neoclonisation, as a testimony to
the comprador character of the Indian state, the much trumpeted
republican constitution and its legal frame work are increasingly being
exposed as effective conduits for serving imperialist capital. In fact,
during the shift over from colonialism to neocolonialism at the time of
power transfer itself, imperialists had ensured maximum administrative
and constitutional continuity by incorporating approximately 250
articles either verbatim or with minor changes in phraseology from the
1935 Government of India Act into the new India Constitution that came
into being in 1950. It is by using provisions of this Constitution which is
incapable of protecting national interests of the people that today under
neoliberalism Indian state without even consulting the so called
sovereign parliament is entering into various international treaties
including the signing of WTO and ASEAN agreements which are most
pernicious neocolonial offensives today.
In spite of the transformation of the mode of exploitation from
colonial to neocolonial phase intensifying exploitation of labour and
natural resources at a global level in unprecedented forms, once again
the imperialist countries, mainly US imperialism is caught in the middle
of yet another crisis. Stagflation which has resurfaced is intensifying the
contradictions. The bubble economy has burst leading to depression
and deflation. As a result once again, as attempts are made on the one
hand to bail out the banks, MNCs and corporate houses which were
indulging in unprecedented speculation in all spheres, and on the other
to transfer the burden of this crisis to the shoulders of the people of
neocolonial countries, India is caught in the vortex of a serious crisis.
The neoliberal economy of a neocolonial country like India is in a very
serious tailspin, with prices of all essential commodities including food
grains on the top of the list literally sky-rocketing and inflation which
had reached unprecedented levels being accompanied by stagnation
following the crisis of global financial system. It is giving rise to
intensification of all internal contradictions to peak level.
8. INDIA, A NEO-COLONIAL COUNTRY

The above analysis can be summed up as follows:1. The last years of World War II and the immediate post War
years were an important conjuncture in world history. The balance of
forces within the imperialist camp drastically changed. While some of
them, the axis powers, suffered defeat and were devastated, Britain
48
weakened loosing its leading position. US imperialism emerged as the

leading force in the imperialist camp, initiating a series of measures for
its ruthless, aggressive policies for global hegemony. The immense
prestige gained by Soviet Union in the victorious anti-fascist war led to
the victory of the peoples democracies in East European countries and
along with the victory of Chinese Revolution in 1949 gave rise to a
powerful socialist camp capable of challenging the imperialist camp.
With the support of the socialist camp, the national liberation movements
in the countries under centuries of colonization, in the colonial, semi
colonial and dependent countries, advanced further. It was in order to
face this challenging situation that US imperialism promoted decolonisation, that is providing formal independence to the colonial,
semi-colonial countries, and developed various measures to initiate the
transformation of colonialism to neocolonialism, a qualitatively different
phase of imperialist plunder, with the basic laws of motion of the
imperialist epoch, in the main, continuing in new forms.
2. In spite of the thwarting of the national liberation movements by
transferring power to local comprador classes and initiating the
imposition of more stringent hegemony of finance capital over these
newly independent countries through aid, loans, etc., by US
imperialism and its allies, the existence of the socialist camp, the initiative
taken by Soviet Union for the reconstruction of these countries, and
even US imperialism being compelled to advocate public sector and
welfare state policies under Keynesian theories of state intervention in
the economy, combined with the influence of the programmes put
forward during national liberation struggles led to the emergence of a
powerful public sector, introduction of agrarian reforms and agrarian
development, initiation of welfare policies etc in many of these countries.
But with the degeneration of Soviet Union to capitalist path in the 1960s
with the initiation of its own social imperialist policies of neocolonial
plunder, US imperialism started intensifying the neocolonial policies
bringing all former colonial, semi-colonial and dependent countries
under various stages of neocolonization. In spite of it, as the imperialist
system started confronting another general crisis beginning with 1970s,
projects were devised for rescheduling the debts of neocolonial countries,
and for bringing their economies under direct control of international
monopoly capital and the market system through imperialist
globalization. As a result of these developments of last six decades the
world is divided in to imperialist countries on the one hand and large
number of neocolonial countries under various stages of neocolonisation
on the other.
3. Corresponding to these international developments, India, which
had started becoming an arena of competition by the mercantile
49
imperialist powers since the 17th century, with the British imperialism
emerging as the leading power defeating other European rivals and
increasingly conquering the Kings and Nawabs turned it in to a colony
under British imperialist domination for almost two centuries after the
defeat in the First War of Independence in 1857. As part of the global
transformation from colonialism to neocolonialism, India also
underwent the process of transfer of power to comprador bureaucratic
bourgeoisland lord classes and to formal political independence. Under
the influence of various factors pointed out above, during 1950s the
foundation was laid for the emergence of a powerful public sector, for
initiation of welfare policies and for agrarian reforms and development
under imperialist domination. In 1960s the neocolonization started
intensifying under increasing penetration of finance capital. By 1980s
the impact of the general crisis faced by imperialist system and internal
contradictions intensified. It led to imposition of imperialist globalization
in the beginning of 1990s. With this the neocolonization intensified
unprecedentedly. The Indian economy is increasingly integrated to
international monopoly capital and market system, with speculative
capital dominating all spheres. India like other former colonial, semicolonial, dependent countries of the colonial phase has become a
neocolonial country, a country under ever intensifying neocolonisation.
4. In the 1940s and 1950s the ICM had tried to understand the
changes taking place in the concrete conditions at the international level.
Stalin and Mao had pointed out how US led imperialist policies are
replacing old colonialism with neo colonialism, while all basic laws of
motion of the imperialist era explained by Lenin continue, in the main.
The Cominform through many articles in its organ had tried to explain
the transformation taking place in the forms of exploitation of US led
imperialist powers. But the refusal to recognise these, and the reformist
positions emerged under Krushchovian revisionism going against the
Marxist-Leninist teachings on imperialism has led to emergence of basic
deviations from the concrete analysis of post-WW II situation by many
so called Marxist forces. Some of them analysed the US-sponsored
decolonisation as a progressive step leading to completion of the tasks
of the PDR, transforming former colonial, semi-colonial, dependent
countries to the capitalist stage. Some others analysed the neocolonial
policies like green revolution and the changes it brought in the agrarian
sector as steps transforming India to the capitalist stage. All these forces
evaluating India as a capitalist country in the stage of socialist revolution,
degenerating to reformist paths, are in effect serving the ruling system.
5. Deviating from Marxist-Leninist path and erroneously evaluating
the US sponsored decolonisation policies and Keynesian approach
as progressive steps that led to disappearance of colonialism, refusing
50
to recognize the havoc brought by neocolonialism, Krushchovites

degenerated to its apologists. And the Soviet revisionists under
Brezhnev degenerated to competing with US imperialism in pursing
policies of neocolonialism. It was this refusal to recognize the
momentous changes which took place in post WW II years and
incapability to develop Lenins teachings on imperialism to meet the
challenges faced by the ICM in the neocolonial phase that have led to
the degeneration of the socialist countries to social democratic path and
to the capitalist restoration. Almost all the communist parties formed
under the guidance of Comintern including CPI and its offshoot CPI(M)
also degenerated to capitalist path under the sway of Soviet revisionism.
6. As already pointed out, the CPC under the leadership of Mao
Tsetung succeeded in correctly analyzing neocolonialism and pointing
out the degeneration of post Stalin CPSU leadership to the capitalist
path as a result of its failure to grasp the significance of understanding
neocolonialism from Leninist positions. As a consequence of the intense
inner party struggle going on within the CPC against the rightist forces
which gained dominance in the 8th Congress of 1956, and against the
left sectarian line which gained dominance in the 9th Congress of 1969
respectively, the ideological struggle could not be carried forward based
on it vigorously, developing the Leninist understanding on imperialism
during this process. As a result, except for occasional articles in CPC
journals, issues raised during the Great Debate including neocolonialism
were not subjected to in depth studies. The ideological struggle against
the capitalist roaders in China did not take up the challenges posed by
imperialism through neocolonial forms of plunder seriously. Soon after
Maos depth as the capitalist roaders degenerated to apologists of
neocolonialism and soon started competing with other imperialist
powers for intensifying neocolonial plunder, whatever contributions
were made by the CPC under Maos leadership in the theoretical
exposure and struggle against neocolonialism were consciously
obliterated.
7. In India, as elsewhere, the Marxist-Leninists upholding the
critique of neocolonialism by CPC under Maos leadership in the course
of Great Debate, had raised the issue from the time of the inner party
struggle within CPI(M) from the beginning of 1965 itself. Many of the
articles of the communist revolutionaries during these years prove this.
Later, after the Naxalbari uprising and formation of the AICCCR, when
Liberation started publication as its organ, many articles explaining
neocolonialism were reproduced from other journals, or written by
leading comrades. But as the theoretical contribution on the question
by the CPC did not go beyond the Apologists of Neocolonialism published
51
in 1963, the writings on the issue did not go further ahead. As already
mentioned while characterizing Indian state and society, neocolonial
and semi-colonial were used synonymously, without going into any in
depth analysis of these concepts. From the end of the 1970s though
many of the ML groups continued to talk about neocolonisation and
neocolonial plunder, most of them started characterizing Indian state
only as semi-colonial. Some of the organizations even started distancing
themselves from any mention about neocolonization, and emphasized
the semi-colonial formulation. Some others started using semi-colonial
and dependent concepts eclectically.
8. As already pointed out, semi-colonial is a formulation used by
Lenin to pinpoint those countries which were in the transitional stage,
countries where different imperialist forces had occupied small or big
regions and ruling over them, while comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisland lord classes serving imperialist policies were ruling over other
regions. Mao has explained this question with regard to China vividly
in his work Chinese Communist Party and Chinese Revolution. Including
the territorial occupation of the coastal area of China by different
imperialist powers, there are absolutely no similarities between the pre
revolutionary, semi-colonial China, or countries like Persia and Thailand
on the one hand and the post1947 India where the transfer of power
took place to comprador bureaucratic bourgeois-land lord classes.
Similarly by repeating India as semi colonial, the fact that it is one of
the categories used by Lenin to explain the countries under colonization,
the qualitative differences between colonial and neocolonial phases of
imperialist exploitation are obliterated. Projecting the transformation
of imperialist plunder from colonial phase to neocolonial phase during
the momentous developments taking place during the post World War
II years and still characterizing India, contrary to present concrete
conditions, as semi-colonial has already led the Communist movement
vacillating between right opportunism and left sectarianism and vice
versa , and to the failure to concretely analyse the international and
Indian situation and to the failure to develop the theory and practice of
Indian revolution. So recognizing neocolonialism as the present phase
of domination by imperialism and finance capital and characterizing
Indian state as neocolonial are Marxist-Leninist positions. The principal
contradiction in present day India and the Path of Revolution leading
to the victory of the NDR can be defined and developed only based on
the Marxist-Leninst analysis of Indian state as a state under
neocolonisation, or a neocolonial one.
13th November, 2009

52
CC, CPI(ML)
The Principal
Contradiction
1 SEEKING truth from facts is a Marxist-Leninist principle. For a
Communist Party in practice it calls for developing the revolutionary
line based on concrete analysis of concrete situation at a given time or
phase in the ever-changing world. It is this fundamental question which
Mao Tsetung pointed out while dealing with the major contradictions
in Chinese society and the relationship between the principal
contradiction and the non-principal contradictions which presents a
complicated picture. For example he pointed out that when imperialism
launches a war of aggression against a country, all its various classes,
except for some traitors, can be united in a national war against
imperialism. Then the contradiction between imperialism and the people
and the country concerned becomes the principal contradiction, while
all other contradictions are temporarily relegated to a secondary and
subordinate position.
2 In another situation when imperialism, in this era of imperialism
and proletarian revolution, carries on its oppression not by war, but by
other means political, economic and cultural the ruling classes
capitulate to imperialism and the two form an alliance for the joint
oppression of the masses of the people. So if in any process there are
a number of contradictions one of them must be the principal
contradiction playing the leading and decisive role while the rest occupy
a secondary and subordinate position.
3 In the Indian context, it was a colony of British imperialism till 1947.
The national liberation from the clutches of imperialism was the principal
aspect of the class struggle during this period. Imperialism during the
colonial period brought changes in the feudal relations in India to suit
its exploitation and protected it. The feudal relations were transformed
to semi-feudal relations and it became the social prop of imperialism.
But as Lenin and under his guidance Communist International pointed
out, in the colonial phase the tasks of bourgeois democratic revolution,
that of overthrowing imperialism and its social basis semi-feudalism
could not be completed under the leadership of the bourgeoisie since it
was in the main compromising with imperialism. It was not prepared
for a thorough break with colonialism. That is why even Purna Swaraj
was adopted by Congress only after the proletarian movement started
gaining strength and the Communist Party started campaigning for it.
53
The Comintern pointed out that only by establishing the leadership of

the working class in the national liberation struggle to overthrow
imperialism, and democratic revolution to overthrow feudal relations
the tasks of peoples democratic revolution can be completed, and the
revolution can advance to the socialist stage. In this period the principal
contradiction was between imperialism and Indian people. As the
Communist Party failed to establish the leadership of the working class
in the national revolution to overthrow British imperialism, it became
easier for the imperialists to pursue the policy of de-colonisation under
neo-colonial policies by transferring the power to big bourgeois-big
landlord classes serving imperialism.
4 After reformism started dominating the communist movement by
the middle of 1950s, first CPI and then CPI (M) leaderships abandoned
the tasks of national liberation and democratic revolution which were
still incomplete and started compromising with the ruling class positions.
In practice the struggle against imperialism, big bourgeoisie and landlord
classes was abandoned. They did not put forward the understanding
about the main targets of revolution before the Indian people. Though
Naxalbari uprising once again brought back the agenda of democratic
revolution before the people, under sectarian influence feudalism
versus masses of the people was put forward as the principal
contradiction and the mechanical concept that its resolution shall lead
to resolution of all contradictions. It caused serious harm to the
movement. Once again the question of establishing the leadership of
the working class in the Peoples Democratic Revolution and advancing
the agrarian revolution were abandoned.
5 In the course of these, especially after the imposition of imperialist
globalization, changes in the agrarian sector were further speeded up
to serve the needs of imperialist capital and its market system. In the
present world situation the neo-colonial form of exploitation is
intensifying with every passing year and various imperialist powers
are contending for a dominant position in India (Outline Party
Programme). The alliance of imperialism, comprador bureaucratic
bourgeoisie and big landlord class has become more evident than ever.
Who are the enemies and who are the friends in the stage of the NDR
are also becoming clearer. The inter-relation and inter-penetration of
the major contradictions at international and national level put forward
in the Outline Party Programme are also becoming clearer.
6 The law of contradiction in things and processes is the fundamental
law of materialist dialectics, of nature and of society. According to
dialectical materialism contradiction is present in all process of
54
objectively existing things and permeates all these processes from

beginning to end. All dogmatist ideas, mechanical approaches to
understanding the contradictions should be fought and the distinction
and the links between principal and non principal contradictions, as
well as the principal and non-principal aspect of the contradictions
should be scientifically studied. The various approaches towards the
principal contradiction in the present phase of the PDR differ and
erroneous approaches are put forward in the absence of above
understanding. It should be overcome.
7 It is based on this basic understanding, the inter-relation between
all contradictions should be analysed and the principal contradiction
should be put forward to advance the revolutionary process. In the
present neocolonial conditions in India the principal

contradiction is between the alliance of imperialism, comprador
bureaucratic capital and landlordism on the one hand and the
broad masses of people on the other led by the working class on
the other. While coming to this conclusion the inter-relation between
the two principal aspects of the NDR, that of national liberation against
imperialism uniting all patriotic forces and of democratic revolution
against landlord classes which include feudal remnants and all precapitalist relations of production through agrarian revolution should
be organically analysed, and the revolutionary movement should be
advanced accordingly. Unless anti-imperialist movements are
continuously advanced weakening the imperialist stranglehold
ultimately leading to the overthrow of imperialism, the rule of the
comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and landlord classes cannot be
terminated. Conversely, unless the revolutionary sections of the
peasantry are mobilized based on the agrarian revolutionary
programme, the worker-peasant alliance cannot be strengthened and
imperialist stranglehold cannot be put an end to leading the country
towards completion of the PDR or NDR and forward to socialist
revolution. Thus, these two fundamental tasks of national revolution
and democratic revolution are at once distinct and united.
13th November, 2009
CC, CPI(ML)
55
Path Of Indian
Revolution
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
There are significant differences between drafting a Path of
Revolution in a country in the first half of 20th Century when the Third
International (Comintern) led by the CPSU had put forward the strategic
line of the International Communist Movement (ICM) and the tasks of
the Communist Parties in the capitalist countries as well as in the
countries under imperialist domination, and to do in the present
situation when the ICM as well as the Communist Parties in each country
have faced severe setbacks and have gone through momentous
experiences, both positive and negative. A mere repetition of certain
so-called time-honoured concepts or mechanical repetition of certain
experience of revolutionary struggles in Russia, China or elsewhere
along with repetitive assertions about the need for applying them
according to concrete conditions in ones own country are not sufficient
today. Similarly after the departure of Marxist teachers like Marx, Engels,
Lenin, Stalin and Mao, and after the degeneration of CPSU, CPC and
other erstwhile Communist Parties with rich experience to capitalist
path, there are no authorities also to look forward to for guidance. The
tasks before each Communist Party is to evaluate hitherto international
and national experience and develop its own path of revolution based
on the concrete analysis of the concrete conditions today. It should dare
to throw out out-dated concepts or concepts proved obsolete in practice,
and go forward developing and applying the theoretical guide line
provided by Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought and proletarian
internationalism, not in a dogmatic way, but with a historical and
dialectical materialist perspective.
2.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
2.1
Marxist theory emerged and practice based on its this orientation
started developing when capitalism was emerging as a world system of
plunder of human and natural resources for accumulation of wealth by
the capitalist class and its agents, when the contradiction between
increasing socialisation of the mode of production and private
appropriation of wealth was intensifying, when capitalism was trying
to rebuild the world on its own image, and when colonisation of the
world by a handful of capitalist countries was initiated. As the
56
contradiction between capital and labour went on intensifying in the

capitalist countries, inspired by the Communist Manifestos call: Workers
of the world, unite, and the formation of the First International under the
leadership of Marx and Engels, Western Europe and North America
witnessed numerous working class upsurges threatening the very
foundations of the capitalist system. In the Paris Commune the working
class experienced the first seizure of political power, though for a brief
period. Confronted by the growing proletarian challenge, and due to
its own internal contradictions, with the merger of industrial capital
and bank capital in to the birth of finance capital, capitalism transformed
itself to monopoly capitalism, imperialism, advancing from primitive
accumulation of capital to export of finance capital as the principal form
of exploitation. The geographical division of all regions outside the
imperialist countries among the imperialist powers was completed,
subjugating these countries to colonial, semi- colonial and dependent
conditions. The focus of revolution shifted from the imperialist countries,
where the contradiction between capital and labour was relatively
diluted by the transformation of major sections of the working class
leadership to labour aristocracy, to the weak links of imperialism
including the countries under colonisation.
2.2
According to these changes in the concrete conditions, the ICM
also went through important transformations. Assimilating the
experience of the Paris Commune the First International was dissolved,
and soon it was reconstituted as Second International which played an
important role in the beginning to inspire the working class movements.
But its leadership failed to correctly analyse the imperialist system that
emerged as an economic-political one, without overthrowing which the
ICM cannot advance. The leadership of the social democratic parties
leading the Second International proceeded to compromise and
collaborates with the imperialists of their own countries. It was in this
context Lenin developed the Marxist theory through his epochal work:
Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism and declared that world is in the
Era of Imperialism and Proletarian Revolutions.
2.3
Lenin developed the theory and practice of proletarian
revolution in the new era, developed the Path of Revolution in Tsarist
Russia according to the concrete conditions there, led October Revolution
to victory which led to the birth of Soviet Union and gave leadership
for the formation of the Third International, an international of communist
and workers parties when social democracy had become a hated name.
Under the leadership of Lenin and later Stalin the strategic revolutionary
concept of world proletariat, the general orientation of the revolutionary
theory and practice for the imperialist countries as well as countries
under colonisation, the Bolshevik concept of party building etc were
57
put forward. Based on the experience of the CPSU, concepts like

democratic centralism, dictatorship of the proletariat, the problems
confronting the building of socialism in a country surrounded by
imperialist system etc were explained. The building of socialism in Soviet
Union, the advances made by national liberation movements under the
inspiration of Comintern and the historic victory achieved by the world
people with the Soviet people at their head in the war against fascist
forces during the World War II the intensification of internal
contradictions in the countries under colonisation and the leadership of
the Communist Parties led to the emergence of peoples democracies in
Eastern Europe, victory of Chinese Revolution in 1949, all-round
advances made by socialist forces and creation of an international
situation, by the beginning of 1950s, when the East Wind of socialism
looked like prevailing over the West Wind of imperialism.
2.4
But during this period the world situation was also going
through epochal changes. After the World War II, US imperialism
replaced Britain as the leader of the imperialist camp. Developing its
own experiences of imposing hegemony over Latin American countries
and Philippines for many decades, the Brettenwood twins, IMF and
World Bank, were built up from 1944 and later GATT. Export of finance
capital was taken to unprecedented levels. Britain and other imperialist
countries were compelled to de-colonise their colonies, that is replacing
direct colonial administration with the rule of local ruling classes, which
were subservient to imperialist forces. Various military alliances were
built up in continuation to the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki to impose US hegemony wherever possible. And based
on Keynesian concepts welfare state illusions were promoted against
the alternate development models pursued in the socialist countries.
The old form of colonialism was being replaced by a new form, neocolonialism, with finance capital and the market system including ever
expanding speculative capital along with MNCs and various imperialist
agencies dominating all walks of life, with the economy of all countries
being integrated to global economy increasingly. In bringing out these
changes the development of science and technology at a very fast pace
during W W II and during the post-war years were also put in to service.
As a result of these developments and new manoeuvres by the
imperialist camp, the class struggle during the post-war years became
unprecedentedly complex.
NEW CHALLENGES BEFORE THE ICM

2.5
During the post-W W II decade the ICM confronted two
contradictory situations. On the one hand, as already noted, the advances
58
made by it during these years was momentous. On the other hand, the
problems faced by CPSU in the course of the socialist transformation in
the Soviet Union, problems of developing proletarian democracy,
problems concerning development of the Leninist understanding about
imperialism according to concrete conditions, approach towards US
prompted de-colonisation etc were raising serious challenges. Already,
the erroneous evaluation of the tactical line put forward by CPSU under
Stalins leadership of forging an alliance with US, Britain and France to
defeat the fascist axis powers had led the CP of USA taking a
liquidationist line under Browders leadership and CP of India
abandoning the struggle against British imperialism in the name of
strengthening Peoples war. After the War, the Titoist Leadership in
Yugoslavia had embraced the reformist path of development by opening
the country for imperialist capital. In this situation, though Comintform
was formed after the dissolution of Comintern, serious problems
regarding development of struggle against imperialist camp led by US
imperialism which had unleashed a neo-colonial offensive were faced
by the ICM. After the death of Stalin in 1953 these problems aggravated,
and the CPSU leadership soon started embracing the path of peaceful
competition and peaceful co-existence with imperialism and peaceful
transition to socialism, abandoning the path of continuing class struggle
under the dictatorship of the proletariat to accelerate the socialist
transformation.
2.6
Abandoning the socialist path the CPSU started embracing
capitalist path and the Soviet Union started transforming to bureaucratic
state capitalism. Leaderships of the Communist Parties in Eastern
Europe and a large number of communist parties swayed by the prestige
of the Soviet Union soon started embracing this neo-revisionist path.
2.7
It was the greatest challenge faced by the ICM till then. All basic
Marxist-Leninist principles like seizure of political power in the
imperialist countries as well as in countries under imperialist
domination, the socialist transformation in countries were proletariat
had seized political power, the theory and practice of continuing class
struggle under the dictatorship of the proletariat and proletarian
internationalism were challenged by Krushchovite revisionism. It was
in this situation that the Marxist-Leninist forces led by the CPC and
Mao Tsetung launched the Great Debate against the neo-revisionist path
and put forward the Proposal Concerning the General Line of the ICM. Mao
Tsetung launched an intensive movement, the Cultural Revolution, in
the course of developing the theory and practice of class struggle under
the dictatorship of the proletariat. Those were historic steps to combat
the neo-revisionist onslaught.
59
2.8
In spite of the overthrow of the capitalist roaders in the course
of the Cultural Revolution and in spite of the intensive ideological struggle
following it, Mao and his followers could not succeed to stop the
surfacing of various alien tendencies again within the CPC. Utilising
the turmoil following Maos death they succeeded to degenerate China
also to the capitalist path. Though the national liberation movements in
Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea scored great victories in mid-1970s, in
the overall atmosphere of degeneration of Soviet Union, China and other
socialist countries to the capitalist path, and the neo-liberal offensive
launched by imperialism, especially US imperialism in the context of
the Stagflation which was posing serious challenges to them, these
victories could not help to overcome the severe set backs suffered by
the ICM. In this situation with the disintegration of Soviet Union in
1991, the imperialists and world reaction celebrated it as the end of
history, end of class struggle and declared socialism is obsolete. Attacks
on socialism reached a new peak.
2.9
But with the beginning of the 21st century positive changes are
visible all over the world. Anti-imperialist movements, especially against
US imperialism, have gained strength in spite of the aggression and
occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of War on terror. The
Iraqi, Afghan, Palestine peoples wars of resistance have intensified,
with the US imperialists threatened with another ignominious retreat.
In Latin America many countries have joined Cuba in opposing US
hegemony. Opposing neo-liberalism they are seeking an anti-imperialist
path of development. Working class struggles are intensifying even in
the imperialist countries. The contradiction between the oppressed
peoples and nations on the one hand and imperialism on the other,
between labour and capital and between socialist forces and imperialism
have intensified with the inter-imperialist contradictions also getting
sharpened. Once again conditions for the advance of the proletarian
revolutionary forces all over the world are slowly emerging overcoming
the severe setbacks of the past decades. The path of Indian revolution
should be drafted taking these experiences of the ICM from the time of
publication of the Communist Manifesto in 1848 in to consideration.
2.10
On the positive side, imperialist barbarism or socialism has
become the central slogan once again before the world people. Enormous
experiences are gained from the revolutionary struggles for capturing
political power, on building the communist parties and class/mass
organisations, on utilising various forms of struggle to develop class
struggle, on building socialism and about continuing struggles against
various alien trends including right opportunism and sectarianism. But
the severe setbacks mentioned above have given birth to immense
problems also.
60
2.11
They have posed many complex problems to be resolved. They
include how to concretely analyse the present situation and develop
strategy and tactics to capture political power according to it fighting
against dogmatism, sectarianism and anarchism, how to develop all
forms of struggle without becoming victims of reformism and
parliamentary cretinism, how to build a Bolshevik style party as the
vanguard of the proletariat, how to develop class and mass organisations
mobilising millions of members with peoples democratic perspective,
how to develop the concept of democratic centralism always giving
paramount importance to developing democratic values with centralism
based on democracy, how to transcend bourgeois democracy and
develop proletarian democracy with organic practice of let hundred
flowers bloom, hundred thoughts contend, how to combat hitherto
experience of degeneration of socialist countries under proletarian
dictatorship to bureaucratic state capitalism ,how to develop the
protracted Cultural Revolution throwing out decadent systems and
values and creating conditions for emergence of socialist values; how
to develop continuous socialist education to imbibe revolutionary
concepts; how to develop proletarian internationalism as an integral
part of national revolutionary struggles etc. It is not possible to resolve
all these complex problems as a pre-condition for launching
revolutionary struggles. But these and many more such issues
continuously coming up during pre and post revolutionary periods
should be given cognisance when a Marxist-Leninist party is putting
forward its approach towards the Path of Revolution.
3.
NATIONAL SITUATION
3.1
Our country, India, is one of the biggest countries in the world
with one of the most ancient civilisations. It is inhabited by about 120
crores of people who have rich revolutionary traditions, a glorious
heritage and culture. It is multi-national, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and
multi-religious, with specific characteristics like caste system, a
historically determined ugly and inhuman feature.
3.2
India in its pre-colonial days had its own specific agrarian
relations and other features. It was taking its own course of development
in various spheres. But colonial forces interfered and violently distorted
this. British imperialism conquered India defeating other contesting
colonial forces, transformed it in to its colony and imposed a centralised
state system. It conquered the hitherto dominant feudal forces,
transformed the hitherto existing agrarian relations through the
introduction of Zamindari/Ryotwari like systems and utilised them as its
social base. The caste system was retained and religious divisions were
promoted for its divide and rule policy.
61
3.3
As part of capital accumulation, for the plunder of vast resources
of India, a merchant class acting as middle men were promoted, violently
destroying the nascent national productive forces in the country. Along
with promoting semi-feudal, pre-capitalist relations, capitalist relations
were introduced transforming the new merchant class to capitalist class
paving the way for the emergence of a new class, comprador bourgeoisie.
Through the introduction of English education, a bureaucratic class was
created to serve the colonial system. Through these colonial measures
the process of integrating the country to the British colonial system was
speeded up.
3.4
The intensification of the colonial plunder and subjugation to it
gave birth to various forms of peoples resistance to them. The different
streams of social renaissance movements emerged according to concrete
conditions and level of social development in different regions giving
rise to democratic values, modernity and patriotic feelings. But the
colonial system could blunt their organic growth through the upper
caste, land owning classes, the comprador bureaucratic bourgeois
sections and the casteist and communal forces. Still the resistance of
different sections of anti-colonial forces grew paving the way for the
outbreak of the First War of Independence in 1857 which shook the very
foundation of colonial rule. Following this the British government
brought the country under its direct domination with a more centralised
ruling system.
3.5
Within a short time, the national movement against colonial rule
started getting strengthened again, in the main led by the Indian National
Congress. Though the Congress leadership was basically reformist in
character, and was representing the big landlord and emerging
comprador bureaucratic bourgeois classes, the movement assumed mass
character many times, crossing the borders set by the leadership. The
emergence of the revolutionary forces led by Bhagat Singh in 1920s and
the beginning of the Communist Party with the formation of the working
class movement and other mass organisations created conditions for
the call of Purna Swaraj and intensification of independence struggle.
3.6
The crushing defeat inflicted on the fascist forces during World
War II under the leadership of the Soviet Union, weakening of British
and other colonial powers, and the upsurge of national liberation
movements all over the world including mass revolutionary upsurge
in the post-War years in India, compelled the colonial powers to replace
the direct colonial rule with neo-colonial forms of plunder, and to
transfer political power to subservient local classes. The British colonial
rulers, in continuation to its divide and rule policy, communally
divided the country provoking violent fratricidal killings and bloodshed
62
and transfered power to the comprador classes represented by Congress

and Muslim League. Thus this country was transformed from a colony
of British imperialism to a country under neo-colonial domination by
various imperialist powers, especially US imperialism.
3.7
In the post-1947 years, while pursuing a policy of ruthless
suppression of Telengana and other struggles led by the Communist
movement in particular, and all peoples movements for various
demands in general, the Congress government pursued reformist
policies like abolition of Zamindari Act and introduction of land ceiling
acts on the one hand, and implementing various welfare policies in the
context of the Keynesian policies introduced by US-led imperialist camp
to confront the challenge posed by the socialist camp on the other. The
Indian state introduced the Green Revolution under US dictates and
utilised the land ceiling acts to replace the feudal landlords with a new
class of landlords ready to utilise the modern inputs, to promote
capitalist mode of production in the agrarian sector and to speed up the
integration of Indian economy with the global imperialist system.
Implementing the directives of the Bombay Plan and in the context of
the existence of a powerful socialist camp, industries, infrastructure
building and service sector were developed on a major scale in public
sector. Later when socialist Soviet Union degenerated to a social
imperialist superpower and the inter-imperialist contradictions between
US and Soviet Union started intensifying, this contradiction was reflected
in the Indian ruling classes also. In the main this inter-imperialist
contradiction was utilised by the Indian State for maneuvering for its
benefits, and to pursue an expansionist policy in South Asia.
3.8
These policies of the comprador bureaucratic bourgeois-landlord
classes led Indian State collaborating with imperialism went on
intensifying its contradictions with the Indian people, which got
manifested in various ways. The land reforms from above did not give
land to the tiller, but only created a new landlord class. The economic
policies followed by central and state governments went on increasing
the burden over the people like price-rise, unemployment and
pauperisation of growing sections. It increased the uneven development
also sharply. As the great Naxalbari movement once again brought
agrarian revolution back to peoples agenda, peoples of Kashmir and
Northeast intensified struggles for right of self-determination, and
workers, peasantry and other sections went on waging numerous
struggles for their rights, the Congress government pursued a policy of
ruthless suppression, often resorting to black laws and deployment of
army. As peoples upsurge went on intensifying, the internal emergency
was clamped down during 1975-77. These developments led to the
63
contradictions among ruling classes and among the political parties

representing them also coming to the fore, and to the end of Congress
monopoly of power at centre and in the states. The 1980s witnessed
economic crisis as reflected in the acute balance of payments problems
on the one hand, and intensification of communal, casteist like divisions
on the other. India, which was mortgaged to imperialist powers under
neo-colonisation, came under acute turmoil. Imposition of imperialist
globalisation on the one hand, and demolition of Babri Masjid like acts
and later Indian State becoming active partner in the War on Terror of
US imperialism on the other hand followed. Indian State came under
ever-increasing sway of the neo-liberal policies promoted by US
Imperialism in its bid for world hegemony.
3.9
During the last two decades, the Indian State has almost
abandoned all welfare state policies. The ruling classes have succeeded
to snatch away all rights won by the working class and imposed contract
labour system and hire and fire policy in all sectors. Government
procurement of food grains and public distribution system (PDS) is
almost demolished. MNCs and corporate houses are allowed total
domination in industries, services, infrastructure building and in
wholesale and retail trade. They are allowed uninhibited entry to
agrarian sector, intensifying the land accumulation in fewer and fewer
hands. More and more sections are thrown out of land through SEZs,
new industrial centres, real estate lobby and land mafias.
Commercialisation of education, health-care, services, etc. is taking place
at ruthless pace. As a result of these policies, the integration of Indian
economy with global imperialist system is going ahead at a maddening
pace. The grave consequences of this integration at the behest of
imperialist powers, especially US imperialism is now felt in all fields
following the global financial crisis with its epi-centre in US. The
recession and depression have spread fast to India like countries
exposing the hitherto tall claims of the ruling classes and their political
representatives. While those responsible for it are bailed out by the state
at peoples expense, millions of workers are thrown out of jobs and all
sections of people are further paupersied.
3.10
And throwing away whatever progressive aspects the Indian
foreign policy had, and whatever sovereignty the country had, Indian
State under the comprador rulers is intensifying its strategic ties with
US imperialism. At the same time, the gap between the rich and poor
has widened phenomenally. Almost half the people are under poverty
line, with almost 25% reduced to destitution, when 60-70% of the wealth
is accumulated in the hands of less than 10%. The present price rise has
unprecedentedly intensified the misery of the vast masses. Contrary to
64
ruling class claims, in spite of the inflation rate going down from the
peak of 12% it had reached, the prices of essential commodities are
continuing to rise. Adivasis, dalits, women and all other oppressed
classes and sections are facing acute devastation. Along with these, the
imperialist dictated development policies have devastated ecology,
leading to global warming like impacts. The overall objective situation
is one of ever-intensifying neo-colonial plunder and oppression,
unprecedented sharpening of all internal contradictions, a situation
which demands an all out intervention by the Communist Party to
overthrow the existing anti-people, reactionary system and ushering in
peoples democracy and socialism.
4.
STRATEGY OF PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC OR

NEW DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION
4.1
Overcoming the revisionist degeneration of the leadership of
the Second International and developing Marxism according to the
challenges raised by capitalism in its highest, as well as moribund stage,
imperialism, was the revolutionary task before the Bolsheviks led by
Lenin. Taking up this challenge, Lenin put forward the Marxist analysis
of imperialism, and the general conclusion that imperialism is the eve
of the socialist revolution. Lenin taught that without a revolutionary
theory there can be no revolutionary movement and that the role of
the vanguard can be fulfilled only by a party that is guided by the most
advanced theory.
4.2
Pointing out that the proletarian revolution is impossible
without the forcible destruction of the bourgeois state machine and the
substitution for it of a new one, Lenin put forward the revolutionary
concept that in the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution the
proletariat must carry the democratic revolution to its completion by
allying to itself the mass of the peasantry in order to crush by force the
resistance of the autocracy and to paralyse the instability of the
bourgeoisie. The proletariat must accomplish the socialist revolution
by allying to itself the mass of the semi-proletarian elements of the
population in order to crush by force the resistance of bourgeoisie and
to paralyse the instability of the peasantry and petty-bourgeoisie. Again
he reiterated: From the democratic revolution we shall at once, and in
accordance with the measures of our strength, the strength of the classconscious and organised proletariat, begin to pass to the Socialist
revolution. We stand for uninterrupted revolution. We shall not stop half
way.
4.3
Elaborating these Leninist teachings Stalin stated in 1918
65
commemorating the first anniversary of October Revolution: The great

world-wide significance of the October Revolution chiefly consists in
the fact that:
1) It has widened the scope of the national question and converted
it from the particular question of combating national oppression in
Europe into the general question of emancipating the oppressed
peoples, colonies and semi-colonies from imperialism;
2) It has opened up wide possibilities for their emancipation and
the right paths towards it, has thereby greatly facilitated the cause
of the emancipation of the oppressed peoples of the West and the
East, and has drawn them into the common current of the victorious
struggles against imperialism;
3) It has thereby erected a bridge between the socialist West and enslaved
East, having created a new front of revolutions against world
imperialism, extending from the proletarians of the West, through
the Russian Revolution, to the oppressed peoples of the East.
4.4
Based on the Marxist-Leninist teachings, the Third or Communist
International concluded that the bourgeoisie in the era of imperialism
has lost its earlier revolutionary character, that the emerging bourgeoisie
in the countries under colonisation under the guidance of imperialism
are colluding with imperialism, and that this bourgeoisie is incapable
of leading the bourgeois democratic revolution to its completion. In the
new era ushered in by the October Revolution, the whole course of
bourgeois democratic revolutions have undergone a fundamental
change, as explained by Mao Tsetung in On New Democracy:
It is an era in which the world capitalist front has collapsed in one
part of the globe (one-sixth of the world) and has fully revealed its
decadence everywhere else, in which the remaining capitalist parts
cannot survive without relying more than ever on the colonies and
semi-colonies, in which a socialist state has been established and
has proclaimed its readiness to give active support to the liberation
movement of all colonies and semi-colonies, and in which the
proletariat of the capitalist countries is steadily freeing itself from
the social-imperialist influence of the social democratic parties and
has proclaimed its support for the liberation movement in the
colonies and semi-colonies. In this era, any revolution in a colony
or semi-colony that is directed against imperialism, i.e., against the
international bourgeoisie or international capitalism, no longer
comes within the old category of the bourgeois-democratic world
revolution, but within the new category. It is no longer part of the
66
old bourgeois, or capitalist, world revolution, but is part of the new

world revolution, the proletarian-socialist world revolution. Such
revolutionary colonies and semi-colonies can no longer be regarded
as allies of the counter-revolutionary front of world capitalism; they
have become allies of the revolutionary front of world socialism.
Although such a revolution in a colonial or semi-colonial country
is still fundamentally bourgeois-democratic in its social character
during its first stage or first step, and although its objective mission
is to clear the path for the development of capitalism, it is no longer
a revolution of the old type led by the bourgeoisie with the aim of
establishing a capitalist society and a state under bourgeois
dictatorship. It belongs to the new type of revolution led by the
proletariat with the aim, in the first stage, of establishing a newdemocratic society and a state under the joint dictatorship of all
the revolutionary classes. Thus this revolution actually serves the
purpose of clearing a still wider path for the development of
socialism. In the course of its progress, there may be a number of
further sub-stages, because of changes on the enemys side and
within the ranks of our allies, but the fundamental character of the
revolution remains unchanged.
Such a revolution attacks imperialism at its very roots, and is
therefore not tolerated but opposed by imperialism.
4.5
The Communist International asserted that in the countries under
colonisation, in the colonial, semi-colonial, dependent countries, the
tasks of national liberation overthrowing the rule of imperialism and
the tasks of democratic revolution overthrowing all feudal, semi-feudal,
pre-capitalist relations of production are intertwined. The Peoples
Democratic Revolution combines these two tasks, only after the completion
of which a country can advance towards socialist revolution. Explaining
this point in the Chinese context Mao said:
Imperialism and the feudal landlord class being the chief enemies
of the Chinese revolution at this stage, what are the present tasks
of the revolution?
Unquestionably, the main tasks are to strike at these two enemies
to carry out a national revolution to overthrow foreign imperialist
oppression and a democratic revolution to overthrow feudal
landlord oppression, the primary and foremost task being the
national revolution to overthrow imperialism.
These two great tasks are interrelated. Unless imperialist rule is
67
overthrown, the rule of the feudal landlord class cannot be

terminated, because imperialism is its main support. Conversely,
unless help is given to peasants in their struggle to overthrow the
feudal landlord class, it will be impossible to build powerful
revolutionary contingent to overthrow imperialist rule, because the
feudal landlord class is the main social base of imperialist rule in
China and the peasantry is the main force of the Chinese revolution.
Therefore the two fundamental tasks, the national revolution and
the democratic revolution, are at once distinct and united.
INDIAN EXPERIENCE
4.6
The salvos of October Revolution had brought Marxist-Leninist
teachings to India. And from early 1920s the Communist movement
started taking roots here. The formation of the Communist Party, its
activities to mobilise the working class and to lead it in the struggles
along with the mobilisation of the peasantry in the anti-feudal
movements it gave leadership to, and the revolutionary work among
other revolutionary classes and sections spread the influence of the Party
fast in the objective conditions of ever sharpening contradiction of the
Indian people with imperialism and feudalism. But in spite of these
advances, the leadership failed continuously in correctly analysing the
concrete conditions in the country and applying the clear-cut MarxistLeninist concepts put forward by the International Communist
Movement which were being successfully implemented in China in the
conditions there. As a result, it came under the influence of both right
and left deviations continuously. It failed to analyse and understand
the revolutionary line pursued by the Soviet leadership during the
Second World War to defeat the fascist forces, and as a result of which
it took a line of abandoning the anti-British struggle, getting isolated
from the masses. Though numerous revolutionary upsurges took place
all over the country from the great Telengana struggle to the Naval
uprising in the post-war situation, once again the leadership failed to
declare a clear-cut approach to the national liberation struggle and about
establishing the leadership of the proletariat in it. On the other hand,
the leadership became a tail of the Congress and Muslim League, the
parties of the big bourgeoisie. It did not oppose the British imperialists
moves to divide the country communally and to hand over power to
the comprador classes represented by these parties.
4.7
In the post-1947 period, in spite of extremely favourable situation
created by the national and international developments, once again the
leadership went on deviating or vacillating from one extreme to another,
always refusing to assimilate and pursue the revolutionary line of the
68
Communist International, of completing the tasks of national liberation

and democratic revolution by establishing the leadership of the
proletariat and allying with and leading the class of landless and poor
peasants in the agrarian revolution which is the axis of the democratic
revolution. Even after a Party Programme and Policy Statement were
adopted after discussion with the CPSU leadership in 1951, they were
soon abandoned, the Telengana struggle was withdrawn, and right
opportunist parliamentary cretinist line started influencing the
leadership. Once again it was the erroneous evaluation of the class
character of the big bourgeoisie which is a comprador class basically
collaborating with imperialism, and vis-a-vis of the Congress leadership,
which led to the line of class collaboration and revisionism of the
leadership. The degeneration of post-Stalin CPSU leadership to capitalist
path speeded up this process. And soon the leadership of the Party
abandoned even the 1951 analysis of dual character of big bourgeoisie. It
was analysed as predominantly nationalist, and the line of National
Democratic Revolution to be peacefully completed allying with big
bourgeoisie and its party, Congress, was adopted, completing its
degeneration to revisionist path.
4.8
This led to serious inner-party struggle. But the split in 1964,
leading to the formation of CPI(M), its Seventh Congress and adoption of
a Party Programme did not focus on the revisionist line of CPI leadership.
Refusing to take any stand in the struggle against the capitalist line of
CPSU leadership waged by the CPC, the CPI(M) leadership took a
centrist stand. By 1967 when it formed opportunist alliances in the
general election and formed ministries led by it in West Bengal and
Kerala, it had abandoned even the 1964 Programme including the
agrarian revolution based on land to the tiller slogan. The inner-party
struggle against the neo-revisionist line of CPI(M) leadership intensified
by then leading to the great Naxalbari struggle, once again bringing
forward agrarian revolution to the forefront in the agenda. By 1968
Burdwan Plenum the degeneration of CPI(M) leadership to neorevisionist line was in the main completed, and the communist
revolutionaries coming out of CPI(M) formed the AICCCR and called
for intensifying agrarian revolution to complete the tasks of New
Democratic Revolution. Thus it took more than four decades of bitter
ideological-political struggles for categorically establishing the MarxistLeninist line in the leadership of the Communist movement.
4.9
The history of the ideological-political struggle among the
Marxist-Leninist forces who were divided in to CPI(ML) formed in 1969
and non-CPI(ML) forces in the beginning, and the CPI(ML) and nonCPI(ML) groups later was focused on analyzing the character Indian
69
State and on evolving and putting in to practice a Path of Revolution

based on the experience of the Internation4al Communist Movement
and the movement in India. If the domination of sectarian line in the
CPI(ML) in the beginning created obstacles for developing a Path based
on revolutionary mass line, later the disunity among the ML forces with
some of the groups deviating to rightist positions while another section
persisting in the sectarian line in more rabid forms, and the failure of
the mass line forces to unite in to a single party and develop a Path
according to the concrete conditions in India created problems. In the
meantime, though many of the groups had put forward their own Path
documents, none of them have so far succeeded to build up the party
organisation with countrywide influence, to build up powerful class/
mass organisations at all India level capable of developing countrywide
struggles, to mobilise and politicise the working class in any significant
manner to make it the leader of revolution, and to mobilise and lead the
landless, poor peasants and agricultural workers, the main force of the
NDR, to carry forward the agrarian revolution with land to the tiller
slogan in any significant manner because all of them are clinging to the
analysis of India as semi-colonial, semi-feudal, rejecting the
transformation of it into a country under neo-colonization and to the
path of protracted peoples war. The significance of the Path document
put forward now should be seen in this context. The sharpening of all
internal contradictions in the country unprecedentedly after the
imposition of imperialist globalisation and growing participation of the
working class, peasantry and all other oppressed classes and sections
in numerous struggles have created an excellent objective situation to
put this Path in to practice.
4.10
The Party should give conscious leadership to mobilise the
agricultural workers, landless and poor peasants to relive their historic
traditions by creating rural upsurges to carry forward the tasks of
agrarian revolution. Agrarian revolution for elimination of the still
surviving feudal remnants and pre-capitalist relations is integrally linked
to the anti-imperialist task of breaking down the grip of the tentacles of
imperialist system over the Indian society as a whole. The Communist
Party as the vanguard of the Indian proletariat based on worker-peasant
alliance should strive hard to build the strategic united front winning
over all genuine anti-imperialist, patriotic, democratic classes and
sections according to the concrete situation and state of development of
the peoples struggles for overthrowing imperialism, comprador
bureaucratic bourgeoisie and landlord classes for replacing the present
Indian state with a Peoples Democratic State. The Path of Revolution
should squarely address this cardinal issue.
70
5.
ON CLASS ANALYSIS IN INDIAN SOCIETY
5.1
On the class approach to the PDR in India, the Outline Party
Programme state : The working class, peasantry, petty-bourgeoisie,
and national bourgeoisie constitute the revolutionary classes in the
present stage of revolution. The working class and peasantry are the
most exploited and oppressed among these classes. All these classes
are in dire need of overthrowing enemy classes along with the state
controlled by them. A united front of these oppressed classes based on
worker-peasant alliance must be forged in the course of class struggles,
revolutionary movements against imperialism, feudalism, comprador
bureaucratic capital, and it will be led by the working class. The working
class, being the most advanced and revolutionary class alone can and
must lead this revolution..
5.2
As Mao Tsetung pointed out, determining the enemies and
friends of revolution is a most important question in chalking out the
Path of Revolution. The basic reason why the revolutionary struggles
could not win victory so far is the failure to make a correct class analysis
according to concrete conditions in the country, to establish the
leadership of the working class, to mobilise the peasantry through
agrarian revolution, to forge worker-peasant alliance, and thus to unite
with the real friends to attack the real enemies. To overcome this
weakness the Path of Revolution should be evolved based on the class
analysis of Indian society in present concrete conditions. As significant
changes have taken place in Indian society during the last six decades
after transfer of power, they should be taken in to consideration while
making this analysis.
5.3
Regarding the Comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie, the leading
class among the ruling classes, CPI(M) like forces are continuing to create
confusion to conceal their class collaborationist position by defining
comprador as a puppet class. They argue that this term does not reflect
the contradiction the Indian ruling classes have with imperialism. In
the debate continuing from 1960s since the 7th Congress of 1964, the
Communist Revolutionary forces have repeatedly pointed out that their
basic difference with the 1964 Programme is not in defining the Indian
big bourgeoisie as having dual character, collaboration and contradiction
with imperialism, but not defining which is primary within these two
in the present situation. That, even while the Indian big bourgeoisie
and the bureaucratic class have contradictions with imperialism which
is often reflected in their maneuvers to utilise the inter-imperialist
contradictions for their benefit, their collaboration with imperialism is
basic which is reflected in their counter revolutionary character is
71
repeatedly proved during these decades. Their transformation in to a

capitalist class or a class making huge investments in other countries,
or some of the corporate houses finding place among the first ten
monopolies in the world does not change the basic fact that it is
continuing to collaborate with imperialism, to compromise with the precapitalist relations of production and to obstruct the independent
development of productive forces in the country. So whether one call it
a Junior partner of imperialism or dependent bourgeoisie, its basic
character remains the same, it is a comprador class serving imperialist
interests in the main. The Congress and BJP are the major political
representatives of these classes presently.
5.4
The stand taken by all the socialist revolutionaries, neoTrotskyists and neo-left like forces, who have defined it as an
independent capitalist class and India as an independent capitalist
country (which inevitably means another imperialist country in this era
of imperialism) stand fully exposed especially after the imposition of
the neo-liberal policies, intensifying the neo-colonisation.
5.5
The big landlord class include the remnant feudal forces, the rich
peasants who have grown in to a powerful class from the time of green
revolution and various sections of land owning mafias. It serves to
integrate the agricultural sector with imperialist economy facilitating
entry of imperialist capital and MNCs to every sphere of agriculture
from production of seeds to procurements of produces, and allies with
the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie to perpetuate the neo-colonial
plunder of the country.
5.6
The national bourgeoisie in the present situation in our country is
inconsistent in its attitude towards Indian revolution. It is inter-twined
with the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie increasingly and is
collaborating with imperialism more than ever for its existence,
especially after the imposition of neo-liberal policies. It is increasingly
feeling that the revolution more than ever shall threaten its ambition to
attain the status of big bourgeoisie. In this situation even whatever
revolutionary character this class had in the past is getting weakened.
So the possibility of it or, a section of it becoming an ally of the PDR has
become a very distant possibility now, though it may partially
materialise when the PDR advances decisively under the worker-peasant
alliance.
5.7
The petty bourgeoisie, including the middle peasants, both because
of its size and class character is a significant one. Under conditions of
intensifying onslaughts of imperialist globalisation in every field
including the cultural field, the vacillating character and illusions of
72
this class has increased manifold. Though the lower middle class which
constitute more than half of this class and may be called its left wing,
are facing ever intensifying miseries under the liberalisationprivatisation regime and as a result of which large sections of it have
fallen to the level of workers loosing all property, under the neo-colonial
conditions even most of them have not abandoned petty bourgeois
illusions. Adapting itself to the conditions created by the imperialist
globalisation, investing whatever they have on providing higher
professional education to their children, influenced by speculative capital
enormously, embracing religious fundamentalist and communal
positions in a big way, influenced by casteist/savarna/neo-Brahministic
positions increasingly and contributing activists and leaders to the
political spectrum in a major way, the petty bourgeoisie, especially the
upper and middle strata of it, have lost whatever revolutionary character
it had as a class earlier to a great extent. More and more of its younger
generation are coming under the sway of imperialist and reactionary
culture like consumerism, alcoholism, criminal character and hatred
towards the toiling masses. All these point towards the fact that
possibilities of it joining the revolutionary struggles as a class in a major
way now is comparatively less compared to the past. This situation
should be concretely analysed and method of winning over more and
more of them, especially of the lower middle class should be worked
out. As the intensification of all internal contradictions create
unprecedented conditions for mass upsurges in near future, objective
conditions for volatile sections of this class joining the peoples
movements shall improve.
LANDLESS, POOR PEASANTS AND

AGRICULTURAL WORKERS
5.8
This class, the real tillers of the land, constitute majority of the
population comprising 50% to 65% in different areas according to
concrete conditions, and include the adivasis, dalits, and most backward
and oppressed sections of society. They include the poor peasants, share
croppers in areas where semi feudal relations still persist, those who
have taken land for tilling under lease, agricultural workers who include
large numbers of migrant workers and those who are engaged in a
variety of unorganised sectors, handicraftsmen, peddlers, etc.
5.9
As Mao Tsetung stated the peasant problem is essentially their
problem. So when peasantry is mentioned in general it constitutes these
sections, not the middle peasants and rich peasants as repeated not only
by CPI(M), but also increasingly by many of the so-called revolutionary
sections, even Maoists. Agrarian revolution with land to the tiller slogan
73
means creating conditions to revolutionise the agrarian relations by

making this class the owner of the agricultural land, as a first step
towards co-operative and collective farming.
PROLETARIAT
5.10
India is a country with such a powerful, large working class
that without mobilising and politicising them the completion of the NDR
and advancement to socialist revolution is impossible. Leave alone the
pre-revolutionary China, the working class in India is much more
numerous than it was in pre-revolutionary Russia or any other country
where the revolution has taken place. So the working class movement
assumes far greater importance here.
5.11
Under liberalisation-privatisation raj the proportion of the
working class in the unorganised sector has enormously increased under
the contract labour and hire and fire systems. Even the modern industrial
proletariat is coming under this category increasingly. Through closures,
modernisation, outsourcing, VRS etc. the number of workers and
employees in organised sector is dwindling rapidly. By denying regular
hours of work, regular wages, security of service, social security etc. the
organised sector is being constantly converted to unorganised sector.
Therefore though it is the comparatively better organised workers of
the organized sector forms the main force of most of the trade unions
today, future organisation requires concentration on the unorganised
sectors who alone can give new leadership and a new direction to the
working class struggles. The task is to mobilise and lead them to local,
state-wide and country-wide struggles, creating an atmosphere of
working class struggles and upsurges anew. Urgent, conscious plans
should be worked out with this orientation.
6.
ON BUILDING THE PARTY AT ALL INDIA

LEVEL AS THE VANGUARD OF THE INDIAN
PROLETARIAT
6.1
The Communist Party is the highest form of class organisation
of the proletariat, it is the advanced detachment of the proletariat. The
Communist Party [CPI] was formed in India under the guidance of the
Communist International as a Bolshevik style party surrounded by class
and mass organisations and based on the organisational principle of
democratic centralism. During the 1930s and 1940s it succeeded in
expanding its influence to all India level, in building the working class
and peasant movements along with other mass organisations. It
succeeded in carrying forward the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal
74
movement and gave leadership to Telengana, Tebhaga, PunnapraVayalar like historic struggles. In spite of it, due to the failure to
concretely analyse the national situation and to draw correct lessons
from the Comintern positions, and to concretely analyse the international
developments, the CPI leadership could not develop its independent
initiative and establish the leadership of the working class in the ongoing
national liberation movement in the country and lead the NDR to victory.
After the transfer of power in 1947, it failed to carry forward class
struggle based on the 1951 Party Programme and Policy Statement. Its
leadership soon started toeing the revisionist line put forward by the
post-Stalin CPSU leadership. As a result of these, the first split in the
communist movement took place in 1964 and the CPI (M) was formed.
But the CPI (M) leadership did not make a complete break with the
revisionist line of CPI and soon came under neo-revisionist positions. It
was following this, in continuation to the inner-party struggle taking
place within CPI(M), the Naxalbari uprising took place upholding the
agrarian revolution with land to the tiller slogan. Following the Burdwan
Plenum the CPI(M) leadership took a Centrist line in the on going Great
Debate between CPSU and CPC, in essence toeing the Soviet revisionist
line. The CRs came out of the CPI(M) and formed the AICCCR fighting
against revisionism of CPI and neo-revisionism of CPI(M).
6.2
It was a historic turning point in the Indian Communist
movement which paved the way for reorganising the party based on
the revolutionary line of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung thought, as
the vanguard party of the Indian proletariat. But sectarianism soon
dominated the leadership of AICCCR and the CPI(ML) formed in 1969.
It failed to unite all the CRs in it. A serious effort to bring together the
CPI(ML) groups, those who had left CPI(ML) and formed other
organisations, those who were never part of CPI(ML) earlier, the new
generation comrades, and the genuine communist forces coming out of
CPI and CPI(M) into a single party is very much needed. As the
completion of the tasks of the PDR and advancement towards socialist
revolution is possible only under the leadership of a powerful
Communist Party with country-wide influence, the unity task should
be carried forward trying to unite all like minded CR forces in the party.
As this is an essential pre-condition for victory of the PDR, this task
should be given paramount importance.
6.3
Firstly, the present concrete conditions compared to the situation
in Russia, China and other countries when revolution took place there
are vastly different. Today party building is taking place when almost
all parties built up under Comintern guidance have degenerated to
capitalist path with bureaucratic organisational structures and when
75
the erstwhile socialist countries have degenerated to bureaucratic state

capitalism or to open capitalist/imperialist countries. It is also taking
place when issues like ecology, womens liberation etc have assumed
unprecedented importance. Massive storage of nuclear weapons on the
one hand and its proliferation on the other, growth of religious
fundamentalism, casteism, racism etc. in newer forms are creating
unprecedented problems. It is also taking place when the imperialist
camp is intensifying its ideological onslaughts through alien theories
and NGOs, when the advantages gained under the development of
science and technology are utilised by the imperialist camp for its counter
revolutionary offensive.
6.4
Secondly, when CPI (M), CPI like parties have totally
degenerated to ruling class positions, replacing class struggle with class
collaboration, and embracing the path of peaceful transition and
parliamentary opportunism, their continuing to use the banner of
Communist Party is confusing many and used by enemy camp to tarnish
Marxist theory and to destroy the image of the communist movement.
Under the social democratic influence a section of the ML forces have
also already degenerated to parliamentary opportunism. Struggle
should be intensified without any let up against these right opportunist
trends of all hues.
6.5
Thirdly, a section of the erstwhile ML forces like CPI (Maoist)
has degenerated to anarchist positions. In practice they still continue
the annihilation line. In effect advocating and practising armed
struggle as the only form of struggle, they have abandoned mass line,
got isolated from the masses and have in practice abandoned all
organised mass movements. They have joined with NGOs on the one
hand, and with chauvinist, parochial forces on the other hand. Maoist
bogey is utilised by the ruling classes and state machinery to confuse
the people and as a cover to suppress all democratic movements and
struggles. Some of the ML forces are refusing to settle accounts with
these anarchist forces and collaborate with them, harming the unity
process. Uncompromising struggle should be waged against these
anarchist forces in order to strengthen Marxist-Leninist positions and
to carry forward the unity process. It is not opportunist collaboration,
but uncompromising struggle which is the only way even to help them
to rectify their erroneous line and transform to mass line.
6.6
Fourthly, it should be a Bolshevik-style party surrounded by
class and mass organisations. Whether sectarianism is opposed merely
in words or in practice is proved by the approach towards building
class/mass organisations. In a country of nearly 120 crores of people,
tens of millions of workers, landless-poor peasants and agricultural
76
workers and other revolutionary sections can be successfully mobilised

for countrywide campaigns and struggles if the Leninist approach
towards Bolshevik party building surrounded by class/mass
organisations is studiously pursued. Concepts like Front organisations
without a democratic programme and mobilisation of people are nothing
but manifestations of sectarianism
6.7
Fifthly, it should be a party with countrywide organisation and
political influence. The concept of area-wise seizure of political power
and base areas, influence of localism etc. under the line of protracted
people war are presently used as cover for self-satisfied opportunism,
of continuing activities reduced to certain pockets of influence.
Significant changes that have taken place in the concrete situation in
recent decades, especially after the launching of neo-liberal offensive
by imperialism and the native ruling classes call for a countrywide
offensive by the revolutionary forces mobilising tens of millions. So,
political and organisational initiative should be taken for party building
at all India level uniting all forces that can be united.
6.8
Sixthly, the possibilities available today for open activities to
launch vigorous ideological and political campaigns, to win over
politically advanced sections and for party building should be fully
utilised. Already there are numerous instances of spontaneous struggles
in different regions against SEZs, so-called development projects etc.
The sky-rocketing price rise is creating conditions for food riots in many
areas. Possibilities for mass upsurges cannot be overlooked in this
situation. The Party should be able to provide leadership to the coming
upsurges and organisational and political work should be taken up with
this perspective. At the same time, building of party fractions among
the working class, organising fractions in sensitive areas including state
apparatus and within the police, para-military and military included,
should be given importance. In short, while giving emphasis to utilise
present opportunities for open activities fully, capability to switch over
to other organisational forms according to any changes in concrete
conditions should be continuously developed so that there are no
contradictions between open and secret, legal and illegal organisational
forms, and in utilizing all forms of struggles.
6.9
Seventhly, the ideological-political education and training which
keeps the party politically vigorous and organisationally active should
be given prime importance. Marxism is not a dogma, but a guide to
action which should be continuously developed to cope up with the
changes taking place in the concrete conditions internationally and
nationally. The party should be capable of taking up this challenge and
prepare the whole organisation accordingly.
77
6.10
Eighthly, democratic centralism should be organically practised
so that the democratic atmosphere for inner party struggle always exists.
It is easy to talk about the undesirability of individual authority and
bureaucratic practices. But even after the serious setback suffered by
the ICM no proper lessons are drawn from them, so that the above,
negative factors can be combated and a lively democratic atmosphere
can be maintained within the party and class/mass organisations.
Replacement of committee system and collective functioning by
individual authority and democratic functioning by bureaucratic
methods is one important reason for the existence of so many groups
claiming to uphold Marxist-Leninist line even when there are no basic
differences between their lines. It gives rise to theory of many centres
obstructing the unity efforts. So these negative tendencies should be
vigorously fought.
7.
ON MOBILISING THE WORKING CLASS AS

THE LEADER OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC
REVOLUTION
7.1
Marxism is the revolutionary ideology of the proletariat, the most
advanced class engaged in the most developed and advanced fields of
production. The task of the Communist Party, the vanguard of the
proletariat, is to transform it from a class in itself to a class for itself,
capable of leading the revolutionary transformation of the society, by
providing leadership to the peoples democratic revolution advancing
towards socialist revolution. The Indian proletariat and its vanguard
party have to shoulder the responsibility of completing the long-pending
tasks of democratic revolution and national liberation by mobilising all
anti-imperialist, anti-feudal forces, for settling accounts with
imperialism, the comprador classes and all pre-capitalist relations
including the remnants of feudal relations, and lead the people towards
socialist revolution.
7.2
One of the most important specific features of Indian society is
that unlike all other erstwhile colonial, semi-colonial and dependent
countries, from the second half of 19th century itself there was a
comparatively large working class here. They started getting organised
from the last decades of 19th century and soon the working class had
started fighting for their democratic and trade union right. By 1908 when
the working class in Mumbai launched a political strike against the arrest
of Tilak, Lenin had congratulated them stating that the working class in
India have matured even to launch political struggles: they have come
of age. As the industrialisation received a boost following the colonial
policy of British imperialism during and after First World War, the
78
strength of the working class also increased considerably. Trade union

movement soon spread to all major industrial centres and numerous
struggles also took place. With the beginning of the activities of the
Communist movement from 1920s the work among the working class
in general and the trade union activities in particular advanced fast. By
1926, the first TU centre, the AITUC was launched as the platform of
Indian working class in which the Communists and socialists had
considerable influence. So, unlike most of the other colonial, semicolonial, dependent countries, in India the call of the Communist
International (CI) that it is the era of imperialism and proletarian
revolution, and only the working class can give leadership to the
bourgeois democratic revolution and national liberation to lead them
to victory and to advance from there to socialist revolution had special
significance. It was not just a theoretical question alone like in many
other countries but a practical question of establishing the proletarian
class leadership in the movement as this class had already become
quantitatively and qualitatively a powerful one. So, while chalking out
the Path of Revolution how this task can be taken up by the Communist
movement in the country and how concrete political and practical steps
to establish the class leadership of the proletariat in the Peoples
Democratic Revolution, overcoming all negative experiences, can be
developed should be given cardinal importance.
7.3
An evaluation of the political history of the mobilisation of the
working class by the Communist movement in India reveal that the
first major setback in this field occured following the decision of the
CPI leadership in 1941 to call off all working class struggles in the name
of strengthening the anti-fascist war. With the launching of the Nazi
blitzkrieg against Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet and Comintern
leadership evaluated that the hitherto inter-imperialist war had
transformed to a Peoples War and called on the world people to launch
an all out counter-offensive to destroy the fascist forces which had
become the principal threat. Against the German-Italian-Japanese Axis
Powers, Soviet Union allied with US, Britain and France to carry forward
the anti-fascist offensive. Following this, based on an erroneous
evaluation of this Comintern call and the concrete conditions within
the country, the CPI leadership called for suspending the anti-colonial
movement in the name of supporting the Peoples War as Soviet Union
had allied with Britain. All strike struggles were called off and working
class movement suffered a severe setback. It caused severe harm to the
hitherto efforts to establish the working class leadership in the national
liberation movement.
7.4
The Congress leadership which had so far refused to utilise the
79
favourable opportunities provided by the outbreak of the interimperialist war to intensity the independence struggle, utilised this
opportunity and called for Quit India movement in 1942. The Congress
supporters in AITUC as well as the socialists, who are die-hard antiCommunists, joined hands to weaken the Communist leadership in the
working class movement which later led to the splits in the AITUC,
paving the way for formation of INTUC and HMS. Though immediately
after the War, once again the working class launched significant all India
struggles and the Mumbai workers once again launched a political
struggle in support of the 1946 Naval Mutiny, the split in the working
class movement went on widening. This was another factor which helped
the British colonialists to communally divide India and to hand over
power to the comprador classes in India and Pakistan.
7.5
Establishing the leadership of the working class in the PDR,
concretely means mobilizing and organizing them so as to make them
capable of launching countrywide movements for the rights of the
working class and against the neo-liberal policies which are intensifying
the neo-colonial slavery. The intensity of struggles should be
continuously raised to resistance struggles including the raising of
barricades and beyond. The working class movement should give
leadership to the agrarian revolution with land to the tiller slogan,
mobilising the landless and poor peasants and agricultural workers who
constitute majority of the population. It should be made capable of
providing leadership to the anti-imperialist movement, to the struggles
waged by all other oppressed classes and sections, to the struggles
against decadent casteist, communal forces, and to the struggles for
building the party and different class and mass organisations and in
leading them in numerous struggles. The serious weakness of the CPI
leadership was its failure to establish this leadership of the working
class in the anti-feudal and anti-imperialist movement. Soon after the
War, from 1946 millions of landless and poor peasants including
adivasis, dalits and other oppressed sections were drawn in to historic
Telengana, Tebhaga like movements. The agrarian revolutionary
struggles were developing in many regions. But though the Second
Congress of CPI denounced the reformist positions of past years, it
refused to take lessons from the advancing Chinese Revolution and the
agrarian struggles in the country. It called for an urban-centred
insurrection, refusing to establish the leadership of the working class
over agrarian revolution. Though this mistake was temporarily rectified
in the 1951 Party Programme and Policy Statement, soon they were side
lined. As the party leadership went on sliding to reformist positions the
AITUC leadership went on becoming a victim of sectarianism which
speeded up the split in the working class movement on the one hand,
80
and of reformism and econimism and putting labour aristocracy in the

leadership on the other. After the split in CPI and formation of CPI (M)
in 1964, as the CPI (M) leadership also degenerated to CPI position by
1967 in the main, the AITUC was splitted to form CITU without any
basic qualitative changes. In spite of the tall claims by the CITU
leadership, as the attacks of the ruling classes and their state apparatus
went on intensifying against the working class, neither it nor any other
TU centres came forward providing leadership to the working class
against the capitalist class and the reactionary ruling system The working
class leadership, split to numerous centres, went on degenerating to
economism, reformism and opportunism.
7.6
Following the great Naxalbari struggle when the AICCCR was
formed it had adopted a resolution briefly mentioning this degeneration
of the working class movement and calling for its reorganisation and
unity on revolutionary lines. But as sectarian positions soon dominated
the CR forces, the mechanical evaluation of the legalist character of
existing TU centres and domination of trade unionism and of the
influence of reactionary, communal, casteist, reformist and revisionist
forces over the working class movement led to the erroneous conclusion
that class/mass organisations are highways to revisionism. Soon the
work among the working class was abandoned and in practice the
Communist Revolutionaries failed to establish the leadership of working
class in the PDR including the agrarian revolution. Going to the other
extreme the cadres working in the trade union movement were called
upon to abandon it and go to the villages to lead the agrarian revolution.
What happened was a negation of the Leninist teachings on building a
revolutionary working class movement. It was after the severe setback
suffered by the CPI(ML) forces by 1972, they tried to pursue mass line
and started work among the working class including building trade
unions and TU centres. Still their strength in the working class movement
is negligible.
7.7
After the imposition of imperialist globalisation in 1991, under
the neo-liberal regime the working class is confronting ever intensifying
challenges. Almost all democratic, wage and TU rights achieved through
a century of bitter struggles are mostly snatched away. Contract labour
system and hire and fire are the rule of the day. What is witnessed is
extreme forms of wage slavery. The number of workers in the organised
sectors are dwindling fast, with labour aristocracy gaining domination
among their leadership. The tens of millions of workers in the
unorganised sectors, whose number is increasing day by day and who
have become the main force among the working class are denied all
democratic and trade union rights. Many black laws are imposed for it.
81
Even struggles for economic demands, right to form unions, etc have
become extremely difficult
7.8
Along with de-unionisation, de-politicisation and dominance
of casteist, communal, parochial feelings, alchoholism and anarchic
tendencies have become the order of the day among the workers. The
present situation can be reversed, the mobilisation of workers can
become possible and their politicisation can be initiated again only by
launching major political offensives involving the working class against
the neo-liberal policies, the ruling classes and the ruling system.
7.9
While leadership of the major TU centres like BMS and INTUC
are not opposing foreign investment and are actively involved in
mortgaging the interests of the working class and the country to
imperialist interests in the name of the development policy under
imperialist globalisation, leaderships of TU centres like AITUC and CITU
are satisfied with making a show of ritualistic opposition to imperialist
globalisation. They are reflecting the ideological-political line of their
political leaderships, have abandoned even traditional struggles and
degenerated as apologists and propagandists of the ruling comprador
system and its policies. They also advocate that there is no alternative
to imperialist globalisation. Except in words, in practice they have
abandoned organising the workers in the unorganised sectors. While
BMS like centres openly practice Hindutva communal policies, there
are many unions under other communal, casteist, parochial banners.
Abandoning agrarian revolution, some of the TU centres have affiliated
the agricultural workers to them. There are apolitical NGOs-led trade
unions and their centres also. Many erstwhile CR cadres have reduced
trade union work to fighting individual workers cases in the labour
courts and collecting commission for it. The so-called Maoists have
reduced their trade union work to mere floating of TU banners as front
organisations. Thus labour aristocratic, reactionary, reformist, apolitical
and anarchic tendencies are dominating the trade union scene. This is a
reflection of the degeneration of the working class movement at
international level on a major scale for the last 5-6 decades. In this
situation, calls for unity among the working class based on one union in
a factory or enterprise or trade etc without trying to address the above
problems only add to the de-politicisation of the working class, which
is making them subservient to the rule of capital. In this situation when
reactionary, reformist and revisionist ideas are dominant, under active
involvement of imperialist think-tanks many theories like postmodernism, identity politics, empowerment theories, NGOism etc are
propagated which violently oppose class politics. The concept of working
class as the leader of social revolution, the necessity of overthrowing
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the reactionary class rule and the imperialist system and the very basics
of Marxist theory are abandoned.
7.10
The task before the Communist Party is to uncompromisingly
fight against all these alien tendencies. Its main direction of work should
be to establish the leadership of the working class as the leading class of
the PDR. It involves two major fronts of activities, which are inter-related,
that of mobilising and organising the working class at all India level
into a powerful movement and of conscious activities to politicise them
as the leader of revolution.
7.11
The first part involves taking initiative for uniting all the TU
centres and trade unions functioning in various states and regions
urgently in to a single TU centre with a radical programme and
democratic constitution. Immediate steps should be taken to bring
together other like-minded trade unions and TU centres based on this
programme to build a federation or confederation. Conscious efforts
should be made to utilise present possibilities to organise hundreds of
thousands of construction workers and other workers in unorganised
sector by developing suitable cadres and deploying them to these fields.
As early as possible all India and state level leaderships should be
developed, an immediate campaign programme should be drafted, and
all India campaigns and struggles should be developed focusing on vital
demands of the working class. Along with economic, democratic, trade
union demands, political slogans also should be put forward calling on
the working class to spearhead anti-imperialist, anti-ruling class and
anti-state struggles with slogans like Throw out imperialist, globalisation,
IMF-World Bank-WTO, MNCs and imperialist promoted development
policies, and struggle for a peoples alternative development policy ensuring
food, clothing, housing, education, healthcare and employment for all. Major
propaganda offensives should be launched with this orientation along
with developing militant struggles. In this way a militant atmosphere
can be created challenging the stagnant, reactionary and revisionist TU
centres. This will create conditions for advancing the unity efforts among
the working class. In this process necessary united front tactics should
be developed and utilised according to concrete conditions.
7.12
The working class includes politically advanced, backward and
middle level sections. This is reflected in the trade unions also. The
Trade union can be developed as political schools of the working class
and the politicisation of the working class based on the revolutionary
orientation of the party can be carried forward by organising party
fractions within them at appropriate levels and maintaining organic
relation between these party fractions with the party organisation.
Whatever may be the ideological-political weakness of the party
83
organisation and consequently the trade union centre, from early

decades the Bolshevik practice of building party fractions was studiously
followed by the CPI and later CPI (M). Even now, in spite of degeneration
to capitalist path the CPI(M) is following this practice to a great extent
making it capable of maintaining its strength in TU field. Our Party
should learn about the practice of building party fractions within the
TU movement at different levels from the experience of the communist
movement at international and national level. Without taking up the
organisational task of building up party fractions the advanced section
of the working class cannot be imbued with the basic understanding
about the Partys revolutionary ideology and the Path of Revolution
put forward, the TUs cannot be turned in to political schools and the
working class cannot be developed as the leader of Indian revolution.
7.13
In all organised sectors major TUs led by the leading TU centres
from BMS, INTUC to CITU are already existing. They include strategic
sectors like railways, docks, telecommunications, defence industries,
coal, steel, electricity etc. Already the TUs in these sectors are splitted
to various centres. It is immediately not possible to build our own TUs
in these sectors. On the contrary what is immediately possible is to build
party fractions secretly in all these sectors, in whichever union it is
feasible. Hitherto experience shows that it is possible more in the left
unions if necessary secrecy is maintained. Political propaganda should
be carried forward in a planned way through these cells to win over
sizeable sections of workers or employees in due course of time. Through
these party fractions in all trade unions, politicisation of the working
class, preparing them ideologically and politically, fight against legalism,
reformism and economism, strengthening of worker-peasant unity,
struggle against all alien tendencies, sending advanced worker comrades
to build party among various sections including workers in the new
working class areas and sending worker comrades to agrarian sector to
mobilise the landless-poor peasants and agricultural workers for
agrarian revolution etc should be taken up. More important is the
preparation of the trade unions to launch political struggles in line with
the needs of the PDR.
7.14
Another important task of the revolutionary trade union
movement and the party fraction work within it is to prepare it for taking
up international tasks. From the time of degeneration of CPSU to
revisionist path the WFTU had lost its revolutionary orientation. From
that time the international working class movement became very weak
and presently it is virtually reduced only to a mere concept. Necessary
steps should be taken to study the present conditions of working class
movement in different countries, to establish relations with like-minded
84
TU centres and to initiate efforts to rebuild the international working

class movement upholding the slogan Workers of the World, unite to
develop international level struggles against imperialism and its agents.
8.
ON BUILDING THE REVOLUTIONARY

PEASANT ORGANISATION
8.1
On the significance of peasant question in Russian revolution,
on how Lenin analysed this question Stalin said: Are the revolutionary
potentialities latent in the peasantry by virtue of certain conditions of
its existence already exhausted or not; and if not, is there any hope, any
basis, for utilising these potentialities for the proletarian revolution, for
transforming the peasantry, the exploited majority of it, from the reserve
of the bourgeoisie which it was during the bourgeois revolutions in the
West, and still is even now, in to reservoir of the proletariat, in to its
ally, Leninism replies to this question in the affirmative, i.e., it recognises
the existence of revolutionary capacities in the ranks of the majority of
the peasantry, and the possibility of using these in the interest of the
proletarian dictatorship. The history of the three revolutions in Russia
fully corroborates the conclusions of Leninism on this score (Foundations
of Leninism). This Leninist stand is fully reflected in the Cominterns
analysis of the peasantry as the main ally of working class in the
democratic revolution.
8.2
Analysing the role of the peasantry in Chinese revolution, Mao
Tsetung wrote: The peasant movement is a colossal event, In a very
short time in Chinas central, southern and northern provinces, several
hundred millions peasants will rise like a mighty storm, like a hurricane,
a force so swift and violent that, no power however great, will be able
to hold it back. They will smash all trammels that bind them and rush
forward along the road to liberation. They will sweep all the imperialists,
warlords, corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry in to their graves.
Every revolutionary party and every revolutionary comrade will be put
to the test, to be accepted or rejected as they decide. There are three
alternatives. To march at their head and lead them? To trail behind them,
gesticulating and criticising? Or to stand in their way and oppose them?
(Investigation of Peasant Movement in Honan). The decision of the CPC
led by Mao to march at their head and lead them forward led to the
historic victory of the Chines revolution.
8.3
In India also in spite of the hesitations of the leadership of the
CPI, wherever the comrades decided to march at their head and lead
them, mighty agrarian movements emerged, masses rallied behind the
party. Wherever the CPI and CPI (M) have still influence among the
85
masses even after their degeneration are those areas where these
movements took place. By 1952 CPI leadership had abandoned the path
of agrarian revolution in practice. After initial utterances CPI (M)
leadership also trailed this path. The great Naxalbari struggle took place
challenging their reformist path and once again brought the agrarian
revolution back to the agenda of Indian people. Revolutionary agrarian
struggles started emerging in many areas. For a long time the hang over
of the sectarian line had stunted the growth of these struggles.
Undaunted by these, fighting against reformism and sectarianism,
peasant question is once again coming to the forefront of the political
scene.
8.4
But various types of deviations are hindering the development
of the agrarian revolutionary movement. First, not only CPI and CPI
(M), some of the CPI (ML) groups also have degenerated to the path of
peaceful transition and parliamentary opportunism. Though they still
retain agrarian revolution as the axis of the PDR in their programme,
they have abandoned the path of both. Secondly, though the CPI (Maoist)
repeatedly emphasises the role of agrarian revolution as the axis of the
PDR, it is far away from mobilising the hundreds of millions of landless,
poor peasants and agricultural workers for agrarian struggles and the
PDR. Instead it is still satisfied in persisting in the annihilation line in
new forms, abandoning the revolutionary mass line. Thirdly, many of
those groups who claim to pursue mass line, while organising peasant
organisations abandon the class line of agricultural workers and landless
and poor peasants, who constitute the class of revolutionary peasantry.
In practice they are confined to giving priority to the demands of middle
peasants and rich peasants. In theory, even before building a
revolutionary peasant movement with a correct class line and mobilising
the peasantry for land struggles, they put forward proposals about
advancing to protracted peoples war as a pre-condition against the
concrete situation in our country.
8.5
The tasks before the Party are: Firstly, firmly uphold the class
line of the agricultural workers, landless and poor peasants, the
revolutionary peasantry, consisting of adivasis, dalits and other most
oppressed sections. Secondly, build up agricultural workers and
landless, poor peasant organisation with specific programme upholding
the path of agrarian revolution as the path forward. Build up these
organisations at state level and co-ordinate them at all India level. In
line with the agrarian revolutionary programme, form land struggle
committees starting from village level with the initiative of agricultural
workers and landless, poor peasant organisation to launch struggles
with land to the tiller slogan.
86
8.6
Immediate slogans against forced labour, usury, communal and
caste oppression, womens oppression, for higher wages, for distribution
of banjar land, against forest contractors etc. should be raised and
struggles organised. While taking up campaigns and struggles for
immediate demands, they should be linked to the agrarian revolutionary
line. Thus the link between the immediate and basic demands should
be established.
9.
ON MOBILISING THE WOMEN FOR

REVOLUTION
9.1
In Origin of Family, Private property and State Engels has
explained how the process of enslavement of human beings by human
beings started with the enslavement of women under male chauvinism
in the family system which led to the origin of the private property, and
to the origin of the state to protect the private property. Women became
the first private property. Though class struggle continued under slave
system, feudal system and the capitalist system and a socialist camp
emerged with the seizure of political power by the proletariat and allied
classes in a number of countries, the question of liberating half the
heaven is not yet given the importance it deserves. As Mao Tsetung
pointed out after the first wave of Cultural Revolution in China, the
seizure of political power in pre-revolutionary countries and socialist
transformation in post-revolutionary societies shall face eversurmounting problems so long as effective ways for the liberation of
these first slaves remain elusive. All the religions preach perpetuation
of this slavery. Their enslaved conditions make the women carriers of
the superstitions and reactionary traditions, customs and ideologies
which are transferred to the children. Though most of them still remain
a private property of men in practice, and the private property system
has become most barbarous under imperialism, women under the
present family system have become the most important propagandists
of its perpetuation. The failure of the post-revolutionary societies in
dealing with the question of womens liberation effectively along with
the continuing stranglehold of feudal values, religious beliefs and
imperialist culture played an important role along with various other
factors in the restoration of capitalism there. In spite of it even today
the weakness of the party in mobilising the women who constitute 50%
of the population in the party, class and mass organisations, and in
various fields of activities is sharply manifested.
9.2
The condition of women in India is much more backward
compared to that of the imperialist countries. The resistance to bring
forward even superficial changes to it like providing 33% reservation
87
to them in the elected bodies reveal the state of affairs. Manu smrithis
declaration that women do not deserve independence is still dominant.
The caste system and all religions perpetuate womens backwardness.
The rule of capital and market system under neo-liberalism has
intensified womens miseries further. Woman and their body have
become commodities for sale increasingly. The present family system,
even where it is transformed to nuclear ones, still remain basically male
dominant and conservative. While dowry system and denial of equal
right to family property is rampant, even decadent systems like Sati,
Child marriage, devadasi system, naked dance by women to please gods etc.
still continue in some areas. Growth of communal forces and religions
fundamentalism, often sponsored by the ruling system have worsened
womens condition. Though the bourgeois feminist movements have
pockets of influence in urban areas, they have failed to address the real
issues of the masses of women as they do not address the relation
between the stranglehold of private property in all fields and womens
liberation.
9.3
Under the influence of the neo-colonial culture in Punjab,
Haryana like states as more and more female foetus are destroyed before
birth, compared to thousand men there are only 700 hundred or below
women in these areas. As a result, a new type of women trafficking is
taking place to these areas. Women are married from other states to
do household work and to produce children. It is yet another form of
womens slavery.
9.4
In this situation conscious efforts are needed for organizing
women at different levels to vigorously take up the task of womens
liberation as a part of the on going struggle for the Peoples Democratic
Revolution, involving ever larger number of women.
10.
ON MOBILISING THE YOUTH
10.1
Youth in our country has a glorious history of actively
participating in the social renaissance movement, in the independence
struggle and later in the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal struggles led by
the Communist Party. The role of Bhagat Singh and other revolutionary
youth rallied in the Hindustan Republication. Army challenging the
colonial forces still inspire the masses. But with the transfer of power
by the colonialists in 1947 and the beginning of the emergence of
revisionist tendencies in the Communist Party in the 1950s, the youth
started getting frustrated and influenced by retrogressive ideologies.
Many joined reformist and even reactionary forces. When the Naxalbari
uprising created a revolutionary upheaval through out the country, once
88
again lakhs of youth joined the revolutionary movement. But the

influence of sectarian tendencies together with the ruthless suppression
by the state forces once again caused setback to this upsurge. The CR
movement failed to mobilise these youth in to a countrywide
organisation with a revolutionary programme. It was inactive when the
CPI(M)-CPI forces had become social democratic in nature and the
communal forces were making belligerent moves to influence the youth.
Though there were a spurt of progressive activism during and after the
internal emergency period, it was short-lived. At all India level the
participation of the youth in the left movement went on decreasing.
10.2
In the mean time under increasing neo-colonisation, especially
after the imposition of neo-liberal policies, the challenges faced by the
youth have intensified unprecedentedly. Unemployment and underemployment have become rampant. Even the already employed people
started loosing employment. At the same time vested interests started
promoting imperialist culture, and criminalisation among them to
prevent the frustrated youth from joining the revolutionary movement.
As a result large sections of youth are presently influenced by
retrogressive thinking and practice, and are recruited in large numbers
by communal, casteist and chauvinist forces on the one hand, and by
the ruling classes as their storm troopers and mafia gangs on the other.
10.3
A similar situation is rampant at international level also, even
though youth in large numbers are joining the resistance struggles in
Iraq, Afghanistan and other West Asian countries against US-led
aggression and occupation, though youth are playing an important role
in the anti-imperialist advances in the Latin American countries, and
though their presence is felt in the anti-war movement in US and other
imperialist countries. Compared to the present intensity of the
contradiction between imperialism and world people, the role played
by the youth is not as powerful as in the revolutionary decades of last
century. Factors like the weakening of the socialist forces with the
degeneration of the erstwhile socialist countries to capitalist path, the
severe setback suffered by the ICM, and the weaknesses shown by the
Marxist-Leninist forces in confronting and challenging the counterrevolutionary offensive of imperialists and their lackeys are responsible
for it.
10.4
The Communist Party should seriously take these international
and national realities in to consideration, launch a vigorous offensive to
politicise the youth with a militant programme at all India level so that
the youth can be brought forward to play the significant role they have
to take up in this period for advancing the PDR. Immediate steps should
b e initiated to unite the youth organisations at various levels in to a
89
powerful all India democratic youth organisation with anti-imperialist

positions and socialist vision.
11.
ON ORGANISING STUDENT MOVEMENT
11.1
Students as a social strata is a major force in our country. The
neo-liberal policies of globalisation-liberalisation-privatisation have
reduced education in to a mere commodity, increasingly depriving it of
whatever social character and orientation it once had. The
commercialisation of the education system and the neo-liberal syllabi
are taking a large section of students undergoing higher education away
from social realities. The commercialisation has made higher education
in to an elite sector reserved for mostly the upper caste, upper class
students. The syllabus, methods of education and the atmosphere
prevalent in these centres of higher learning especially in the
professional colleges are basically a continuation of the colonial
education system, though its present content and forms have changed
to serve the neo-colonial plunder. If Mcaulays education system was
intended to create a class of babus to serve the colonial system, the present
system is moulded to serve imperialist globalisation, the capital-market
raj. It is well established that the content and form of the education
system in a society in a particular period is determined by and
implemented for protecting the interests of the then ruling classes. The
education system is utilised by them to mould the students in accordance
with their ideology and political-administrative needs. As a result, a
large section of students, especially of the professional colleges, mostly
the private, capitation fee, self-financed colleges grow up cut away
from social realities, with hatred towards the lower castes, lower class
people and with the spirit of subservience to imperialist forces, especially
US imperialism. Instead of patriotism, what is dominating in them is
the attraction towards everything imperialist, mostly US patriotism.
11.2
This present state of affairs is basically different from the one
that was dominant among students during the independence movement
to a large extent. They were imbued with patriotism and influenced by
liberatory ideology and empathy towards the downtrodden. During
the independence movement, a good section of the students rebelling
against the casteist, religious, feudal and backward conditions they were
coming from, militantly joined the struggle against British colonialists.
Similarly many of them rallied in the student movement led by the
Communist Party. But due to the deviations in the Communist
movement which made it incapable of putting forward a revolutionary
alternative and leading struggles for it, frustrated many and weakened
the left student movement, Naxalbari uprising and the crisis of the ruling
90
system in the 1970s once again paved way for mighty student upsurges.
But as a result of degeneration of CPI(M) to ruling class positions and
influence of sectarianism in the Communist Revolutionary movement,
during last three decades, though there are spurt of activities at local
level, the left influence among the students has remained weak by and
large at all India level.
11.3
On the contrary a large section of the students, especially the
elitist and middle class sections among them are attracted to the
communal, casteist, chauvinist organisations and organisations led by
Congress, BJP like leading ruling class parties. They are imitating the
corruption and cultural degeneration of their political elders. Most of
them uphold neo-liberal raj and its education policy. They compete to
divide the students communally, caste-wise, and in the name of
reservation policy. They refuse to fight commercialisation of education,
criminalisation of campus life, increasing dominance of reactionary
culture etc. This is one of the most important challenges faced by the
democratic student movement.
11.4
But the apathy shown towards these developments or the lack
of initiative on the part of the CR forces to overcome this situation is
shocking. A few of them are happy with some localised gains, forgetting
about the pitiable condition of their all India organisation, if they have
any. There are many who do not give any importance to this issue. There
are CR groups claiming decades of history, but without a dozen students
with them. This situation is suicidal. Today the communal,
fundamentalist, casteist like forces start winning over children from the
primary or even pre-primary level itself. Even leaving apart these
sections there are nearly 15-20 crores of students in our country. In
chalking out the Path of Revolution, how to organise this important strata
of the society in a broad-based democratic student movement is an aspect
that should be seriously considered.
11.5
Our party which had student organisations in some of the states
have brought them together under AIRSO with a broad-based
democratic programme. The programme consist of: stop
commercialisation and eliticisation of education system, ensure
universal, compulsory and free education for all up to secondary level
based on a common syllabus and in their mother tongue, put an end to
privatisation of education, stop religious and caste based organisations
from interfering in the education system, stop self-financed like
education markets, develop a democratic, secular, scientific, education
system under social control etc. and fight the decadent, reactionary
culture trying to dominate the students. Party should not be satisfied
91
with statements which claim that development of revolutionary

struggles will inspire the students to join them. It is a very partial truth.
The hitherto history of the ICM and experience in India shows that efforts
for organising a powerful student movement at all India level is one of
the pre-conditions which will help to develop the revolutionary
movement at a broader and deeper level. It will influence the society at
broader level, give rise to militant movements and provide a continuous
flow of cadres to the revolutionary movement.
12.
TASKS IN THE CULTURAL FRONT
12.1
We are living in a period when imperialism and reaction are
developing and implementing class strategies in newer and newer forms
for exploitation and oppression of the world people. The universal and
all-pervading hegemony of capitalism and capitalist relations of
production are establishing their domination over all sectors of human
thought and scientific knowledge. To serve their reactionary goals
imperialism and world reaction are utilising religion, caste, race,
linguistic divisions etc and art, literature and cultural forms linked with
them to a large extent. Commercialisation and commodification of
culture is utilised to dominate all progressive ideas. The quantum
revolution that took place in the field of physical sciences in the beginning
of 20th century and the technological advances that followed along with
the development in other fields of science and technology including
that of organic sciences, telecommunication, cybernetics, information
technology (IT) etc are utilised to serve imperialist interests. Human
development in the intellectual field are utilised in this way. Spread of
knowledge is taken to an irrational and religious level. Peoples
achievements in the fields of art and literature, in the cultural and
scientific-fields in general are suffocated, vulgarised and commodified
to serve imperialist interests. The hegemony of the ideology of private
property and imperialist culture along with continuing influence of
feudal culture, religion, casteism are utilised to subvert revolutionary
advances in various fields and to serve the imperialist system.
12.2
We are putting forward the Path of Revolution to complete the
tasks of PDR, to realise Peoples Democracy and to advance towards
socialist revolution at a time when drastic changes in the socio-politicalcultural fields have taken place unlike the Russian situation during
October Revolution, and the conditions in China and other countries
when revolutions took place there. Drastic changes in these fields have
taken place during last five decades in India compared to the condition
during the struggle against British imperialism and during the
Telengana-Tebhaga struggles etc. Though the socialist forces had
92
reached a challenging position by early 1950s, the condition has

drastically changed. Erstwhile socialist countries have degenerated to
capitalist path and almost all communist parties built up under the
guidance of Comintern have degenerated to revisionism and social
democracy due to various weaknesses and failure in continuing the class
struggle in the fields of philosophy, politics, culture etc, or in the field
of superstructure in general, corresponding to the changes taking place
or attempted in the field of relations of production, and according to
concrete conditions in each country and in the international field. Even
after the contribution of Mao Tsetung in developing the theory and
practice of continuing revolution in the Socialist countries through the
Cultural Revolution, the capitalist roaders could not be prevented from
seizure of power after the death of Mao. All these momentous
developments point towards the need of linking the revolutionary
struggles for seizure of political power with mighty efforts to fight and
defeat the pre-capitalist, petti-bourgeois and bourgeois mode of thinking
and culture prevalent in the society, and which were and are trying to
gain domination in newer and newer forms. It is in this context Lenin
had called on all Communist Parties to wage continuous struggle against
religion, superstitions and private property etc as part of the party
education. Evaluating the Chinese experience including Cultural
Revolution, Mao had called for continuous struggle against decadent
culture and for revolutionary culture right from the beginning of party
work, and had stressed the need for a Long Revolution of continuous
Cultural Revolutions to defeat attempts for capitalist restoration. All
these show that right from the beginning of the party work revolutionary
tasks in the cultural field should be vigorously taken up. The serious
weaknesses in this field led to the severe setbacks to the ICM providing
opportunities for the capital-market raj and worship of private property
reaching hegemonic positions.
12.3
Presently with the degeneration of a major part of the erstwhile
Communist movement in India to capitalist path, emergence of New
Left and other pseudo-left ideologies aiding alien tendencies and
increasing influence of imperialist promoted ideologies like postmodernism, identity politics, empowerment theories, NGOism etc the
progressive and revolutionary values influencing the society and helping
it to advance forward are seriously eroded. The growth of RSS Parivar
has led to all religious fundamentalists and communal forces gaining
dominance in fields of education, culture etc. Progressive ideas like
annihilation of caste is replaced by caste-based vote-bank politics.
Imperialist culture including consumerism, alcoholism criminalisation
etc is dominating. The social consciousness is violently replaced with
individualism, selfishness, sexual anarchy, male chauvinism in more
93
vulgar forms. Commodification and commercialisation of everything

that was once held in esteemed positions have become the order of the
day. Without challenging these retrogressive, fundamentalist, imperialist
and reformist trends, without unleashing uncompromising struggles
against them, conditions for growth of progressive values and
revolutionary movement cannot be created. Mechanical concepts like
reducing class struggle to merely economic factor are proved basically
faulty. For creating conditions of social revolution, vigorous campaign
to liberate people from counter-revolutionary cultural influences is
required. Cultural Revolution should be taken as a continuing process,
both in the pre and post revolutionary periods.
12.4
Though Naxalbari gave birth to a new earth quake in the cultural
field also, it was short lived. Soon, similar to what is happening in the
economic and political fields, in the art, literature and cultural fields
also along with feudal remnants, the neo-colonial, imperialist onslaughts
have intensified in new forms, strengthening the anti-people
atmosphere. The table of these reactionary trends is very long including
new imports in art, literature and cultural fields, commercialisation of
education and all welfare sectors, neo-colonial projects in the field of
research, cultural project of World Bank and other many new
incarnations of religions fundamentalism, advocacy of casteism and
racism in new forms, attacks on womens liberation, black acts to curb
art and literature etc. It is obstructing the peoples upsurges in all fields.
What is required is an all out offensive to reverse this situation.
12.5
Though many efforts are made to take up revolutionary cultural
activities opposing the counter-revolutionary trends, they are localised,
not widespread or protracted. They remain superficial or confined to
immediate slogans, do not go to basic ideological issues involved. There
are many among the revolutionary ranks who do not recognise the
significance of a revolutionary cultural offensive. The lessons of Cultural
Revolution are not seriously assimilated. Even when it is tried, its
political aspects and failure are only stressed. Transforming the human
thoughts and culture as a continuous process, as a basic task to be taken
up right from the beginning as Lenin stressed and Mao repeated is not
given the emphasis it needs. So while developing revolutionary activities
the emphasis to be given to the work in the cultural field should be
underlined. The content of cultural movement should be seriously
debated and developed. Forms of organisations also should be
developed. While this task should be taken up at state level and regional
level providing all the emphasis it needs, vigorous efforts are called for
to build all India cultural movement taking up its theoretical and
practical aspects seriously.
94
13.
ON THE CASTE QUESTION
13.1
The Outline Party Programme states that starting with putting
an end to all forms of social oppression based on the caste system and
untouchability, the New Democratic State shall abolish the caste system
and all forms of social inequalities. Though it is so easily stated in a
straight forward manner, in spite of the efforts from the period of social
renaissance movements for the annihilation of this social plague, in
newer and newer forms it still persists making the life miserable for the
oppressed castes. The caste system still divides the society. Though our
party has tried to take up the resolution of caste question starting with
campaigns and struggles against naked forms of casteist oppression
rampant in society in some areas, at national level very little is so far
done to evolve a comprehensive understanding and methods of struggle
against it. The mechanical understanding that once revolution takes
place caste question will get weakened and disappear still dominate
many of the so-called left forces. It may weaken, but whether it will
disappear or come back in new forms with more vigour even after
revolution cannot be stated conclusively when one goes though the
experience of erstwhile socialist countries, where racism and religious
fundamentalism have re-emerged in vulgar forms. Still, many left forces
do not give the due importance to this question it deserves. Fighting
casteist oppression and campaigning for caste annihilation is not in the
agenda of many organisations, or even when it is included no concrete
plans of actions are put forward. It is the consequence of the reality that
even after 150 years of experience of the communist movement the
mechanical impositions of the China Wall between revolution in the
economic base and revolution in the superstructure is not removed. That
is why the close relation between class struggle and struggle against
the caste system is not correctly understood and the mechanical
approach that class struggle will solve the caste problem is still put
forward repeatedly. This mechanical approach should be replaced by
the dialectical relation between struggles at these two levels.
13.2
The caste question, or the oppression based on caste system,
instead of weakening has only strengthened in new forms during the
last six decades. It is incorporated in to the ruling system through the
emergence of caste based parties serving ruling class interest, and
through the creation of caste based vote banks. Along with these identity
politics, tribalism like reactionary ideologies are created and promoted
by imperialist centres to channelise the struggles against oppression
based on caste, tribal system etc. to harmless paths, to keep these down
trodden sections away from revolutionary path. The weakness of the
communist movement so far in developing uncompromising struggle
95
against caste system also has helped the efforts to institutionalise caste
system and tribal oppression through various means by the imperialists
and the comprador rulers. In a society like India, caste question is
basically an agrarian question. Casteist oppression was intensified by
keeping the dalits away from land ownership, reducing them to mere
tillers. They were compelled to do all menial jobs to serve upper caste
sections. So the backbone of the caste system can be broken only through
agrarian revolution based on land to the tiller slogan. Along with
intensifying the struggle to carry forward this agrarian revolutionary
programme, vigorous campaigns and movements should be taken up
against various forms of caste based oppression on dalits and adivasis
and other back word sections including untouchability in various forms
still prevalent all over the country. The caste based discrimination against
the dalits in various forms should be fought. Inter caste marriages should
be promoted. The reservation based on the caste system should be
defended and struggle against diluting it should be waged, as a
democratic right of the socially and economically backword sections.
Along with these the reactionary ideologies like identity politics,
tribalism etc should be exposed and fought against. In this way a
vigorous struggle to annihilate caste system should be continuously
waged combined with the intensification of agrarian revolutionary
struggles as part of the PDR.
14.
THE NATIONALITY QUESTION
14.1
On the resolution of nationality question, the Outline Party
Programme states: The New Democratic State shall ensure real equality
and autonomy for all nationalities, unite all the nationalities based on
the right of self-determination including the right to secede, and build
up a federal democratic state structure. While dealing with the
nationality question, the imperialists policy of Balkanisation of our
country should not be overlooked. India is a multi-national country
where even the reorganisation of the provinces under British rule and
the princely states, in the main, on linguistic basis took place in 1956
only after bloody struggles by the people. During the last five decades,
the central governments propagating the chauvinistic slogan of national
integration or Akhandvad have taken away many of the Constitutional
rights of the states.
14.2
Besides, the struggle of Kashmiri people and the peoples of
Northeast are being suppressed deploying military forces, rejecting the
demands for resolving them politically. When struggles of sub
nationalities or ethnic groups for state-hood or autonomous regions take
place, they are also suppressed refusing to resolve them politically.
96
Meanwhile with the development of capitalist mode of production

especially after imposition of imperialist globalisation which has
speeded up the entry of FDIs, FIIs, MNCs etc and strengthened the
capital- market raj, uneven development, pushing up or pushing down
various regions in the ladder of development is becoming a stark reality.
Instead of opposing the imperialist dictated development policies
implemented by the central and state governments responsible for it,
different ruling class parties as well as comprador and petti-bourgeois
classes are utilising it to demand statehood to these backward regions.
In spite of the negative experience of such small states already formed
where the conditions of neither the region nor the vast masses have
undergone any positive changes, demands for new states are
continuously raised. In order to unite the people on class basis and to
advance the PDR, the Party should have a clear perspective toward
these questions, which are often manifested as divisive policies.
14.3
British colonialists who had forcefully united the princely states
into a colony for facilitating their plunder had purshed a divide and
rule policy utilising religious, caste, racist ideologies and the feudal
forces to crush the unity emerged through the anti-imperialist struggles.
This unity is again subverted by the comprador ruling classes after
transfer of power. Communist Party should struggle for unity of all
nationalities based on their right of self-determination. The inherent
weakness of the various movements of nationalities and sub-nationalities
led by national bourgeois and petti-bourgeois classes reflect the very
weakness and vacillations of these classes in present situation. These
movements refuse to take anti-imperialist, anti-feudal positions or to
raise land to the tiller slogan and democratisation of the society. The
task of the Communist Party should be to unite with these struggles. If
should be a policy of unity and struggle, unity with the cause of right
of self determination or autonomous region, while struggling against
all chauvinist tendencies and pro-imperialist, pro-state positions.
14.4
The Marxist understanding is that a nation is a historically
constituted stable community of people formed on the basis of a common
language, territory, economic life and psychological make-up manifested
in a common culture. But the demand for the new states coming up
based on the backwardness created by the uneven development
intensifying under imperialist globalisation is basically a diversionary
tactics employed by the ruling classes and petti-bourgeois sections to
divert attention of the people from the real causes of backwardness.
They are coming up in a concrete situation when the class struggle
against the principal targets of revolution, imperialism, comprador
bureaucratic bourgeoisie and landlordism has not advanced. The
97
Communist Party should educate the masses about the real reason for
their backwardness, about what is happening in the new states already
formed based on the backwardness, about utilisation of the
proliferation of the states to cut at the root of a real federal structure
with increasing rights and powers to the states by the Indian state and
the central government. It should vigorously develop the struggles of
the working class and the landless-poor peasants and agricultural
workers, of all exploited and oppressed sections, while taking a nonantagonistic approach towards these struggles.
14.5
As Marxism teaches the nationality question and the various
movements emerging directly or indirectly linked with it are bourgeois
questions. These movements are vacillating more towards imperialism
and the comprador ruling classes. When imperialism, especially US
imperialism, has a hidden agenda of Balkanising the country, and when
many of the new state demands are raised to divert people from the
cardinal issues confronting them, the Communist Party should seriously
guard against becoming a tail of these movements. On the contrary, an
approach of Unity and struggle should be pursued, in order to win over
the masses of peoples influenced by these struggles, to advance the
struggles for PDR with the perspective that along with other basic issues
all the nationality related questions should be linked to national
liberation, to overthrowing the rule of imperialism, comprador
bureaucratic bourgeoisie and landlordism. The revolutionary struggles
should reflect this Marxist approach.
15.
ON UTILISING PARLIAMENTARY FORMS OF

STRUGGLE
15.1
India is a country where election to provincial and central level
legislative assemblies were introduced from the colonial days. After
the transfer of power, under the Constitution adopted in 1950 the
parliamentary system was made systematic at all levels. Today, from
elections to Lok Sabha to Panchayat level and even to co-operative
societies are made regularly drawing large sections of people. Even in
pre-revolutionary Russia, experience in participating the elections was
partial and limited. In China and other countries where revolution took
place, there were no such experience regarding utilising parliamentary
system as a form of struggle to develop class struggle. Still drawing
from the experience of Second International and of the Communist parties
in European countries, Comintern under the leadership of Lenin had
pointed out the need to struggle against parliamentary cretinism on the
hand and boycottism on the other hand. Taking lessons from these and
evaluating the experience of the Communist movement in India from
98
the time of undivided CPI, the methods of utilisation of parliamentary

forms of struggle to develop class struggle should be developed.
15.2
On the utilisation of elections the first serious challenge faced
by the undivided CPI was in the first general elections in 1952. CPI was
leading historic Telengana struggle and many other militant movements
in different parts of the country. It was also leading secret fractions within
the units of armed forces. Whether to leave all these and participate in
1952 elections in a legal away with a uniform symbol, or to continue
these struggles and utilise the elections as a form of struggle to help
them was the challenge before it. The party leadership opted for the
reformist path. What happened during the elections and the election
results revealed that legalism did not help the party. It received
considerable support and its candidates won where it had led militant
struggles and won mass support. Refusing to take lesson from this, CPI
went on surrendering to parliamentary cretinism, especially after
adopting the Soviet revisionist line of peaceful transition.
15.3
In 1957 CPI won majority in Kerala assembly along with few
independents and formed government. Though the education and land
reforms bills it put forward were basically reformist, the Congress
government at centre could not tolerate it, and in the name of a violent
agitation led by Congress joining hands with communal, casteist and
other reactionary forces, it was dismissed after 28 months. But this
dismissal increased CPIs vote share in 1960 elections, though it failed
to get majority, and increased its prestige all over the country. Instead
of drawing correct lessons from these developments, CPI leadership
further abandoned whatever revolutionary character was left and totally
surrendered to parliamentary opportunism in line with its class
collaborationist line.
15.4
In 1967 elections, and in the ministry formation and its
functioning the CPI (M) also follwed this parliamentary cretinist path.
In tune with their revisionist and neo-revisionist lines both abandoned
the revolutionary path of utilising elections to develop class struggle,
for mobilisation of masses for the PDR. Both embraced the path of
continuing within the frame imposed by the bourgeois Constitution.
This degeneration was very fast. In 1969 when Congress split and Indira
Gandhi government lost majority, instead of voting it out, both propped
it up, proving their further degeneration to bourgeois parliamentary
path.
15.5
Violent reaction to this degeneration and the influence of
sectarianism dominating the movement then, led the CPI (ML) formed
in 1969 to adopt boycott of election as a strategic line. Even after many
99
CPI(ML) groups abandoned this line, those who continued to follow

the sectarian line went on pursuing it. The Maoist trend still pursues it,
though all other sections started utilising the parliamentary form of
struggle very soon. But some of these sections soon adopted opportunist
united front tactics and started degenerating to parliamentary cretinism.
But unlike the CPI(M)-led LF, which has gained power in three states
and a sizeable strength in parliament degenerating to ruling class
positions, the rightist trend emerging from the CR forces could not
advance much. It is in a declining path. Only way out before it is to
align with CPI(M)-led LF or perish to the level of a local force.
15.6
The boycottist experience, on the other extreme, has proved
totally negative. Even after giving boycott call, the CPI(Maoist) has
adopted opportunist tactics like supporting some of the ruling class party
candidates clandestinely. Nowhere it has succeeded to enforce its call
of boycott. The methods it resorts to enforce boycott only alienates it
further from the masses. The CPI(Maoist) is so dogmatic and its thinking
so mechanical that it has so far failed is make a concrete analysis of its
line like the CPN(Maoist) has done, changing its approach to
parliamentary forms of struggle. A section of the CR forces, even after
adopting mass line and participating in elections, is pursuing a passive
boycott approach by refusing to effectively utilise it as tactics to mobilise
the masses.
15.7
Struggling against both right opportunist parliamentary
cretinism and dogmatic boycott line, the Communist Party should try
to effectively utilise the elections as a form of struggle to propagate
party line among the masses and to put forward a peoples alternative
to the imperialist dictated development policy of the ruling class parties.
As Lenin has pointed out, bourgeois parliamentary system has become
historically obsolete. The ruling class and their main political parties are
perpetuating the capitalist-imperialist system in the imperialist countries
and the comprador rule in countries like India through the manipulation
of elections utilising money and muscle power on the one hand, and
creating communal, casteist, racist, parochial vote banks on the other
hand, effectively utilising the state machinery and monopoly media. It
is becoming exposed more and more before the people. Still on an
average 50% to 80% votes are polled in the elections. Only when
upsurges linked to nationality question as in Kashmir or North-east were
taking place the voting had gone below 10%. In 1952 elections even
without much campaign by the Party candidates, in area of peasants
and worker struggles Communists were successful with people voting
massively for them. In 1977 as a reaction to the fascist oppression during
the emergency rule and earlier under the Congress rule during which
100
people were suppressed in heinous forms and the CR forces were

brutally massacred in West Bengal and elsewhere, people voted
massively for the CPI(M)-led LF. Similar was peoples response to Indira
Gandhis emergency rule in 1977 elections. These instances show that
though revolutionary changes cannot be brought out through bourgeois
parliamentary elections, they can be utilised combined with continuous
development of workers and peasant struggles to mobilise the people
for advancing class struggle by putting forward a peoples alternative
against the ruling class alternatives and effectively campaigning for it.
Apart from the above instances in India, recent elections in Nepal and
the elections in Venezuela and other Latin American countries, where
anti-US forces have come to power with a peoples agenda, prove this.
In India the degeneration of CPI and CPI(M), who are known to vast
masses in most of the states still as the communist parties, to ruling
class positions and the boycott line pursued by most of the CR forces in
the beginning and by a few still has so far blocked the effective utilisation
of elections as a form of struggle to advance class struggle. Even now,
in spite of these experiences, some of the mass line forces are
participating in elections only to dispel the illusions of the people on
the parliamentary institutions and prepare them for armed struggle!
It is a negative approach as explained by Lenin in his work the LeftWing Communism an Infantile Disorder.
15.8
People will be disillusioned with bourgeois parliamentary
institutions only when the Communist Party succeeds to develop
country-wide movements focussing on peoples issues, to mobilise the
masses in their millions against the ruling system and to put forward a
peoples alternative against the ruling class alternatives. After the
degeneration of erstwhile socialist countries and the ruling system built
up there by the Communist Parties to capitalist path, mechanical
repetition of seizure of political power by armed struggle alone cannot
win masses to revolutionary path. It calls for the effective development
of massive peoples upsurges in the pre-revolutionary situation utilising
all forms of struggle including parliamentary system. The Communist
Party should be able to evaluate past weaknesses and to promote serious
discussions to develop perspectives of peoples democratic state and
proletarian democracy taking into account what happened in Soviet Union,
China and other countries. How to replace the bourgeois parliamentary
system with more developed system of democracy which shall help to
advance towards socialism and communism is a major challenge before
the ICM. Debate on the parliamentary system should be developed with
this perspective.
15.9
India is a country of 120 crores of people with the bourgeois
101
parliamentary system well entrenched in every nook and corner for

many decades at all levels. Neither the social democratic path of
parliamentary cretinism, nor the anarchist path of boycott is going to
help in developing creative ways to transcend bourgeois parliamentary
system and to advance along the path of peoples democracy. On the
contrary, the Communist Party should utilise this bourgeois
parliamentary system along with all other forms of struggle to develop
class struggle in all fields, to unleash mighty peoples upsurges so that
it can advance towards the revolutionary seizure of political power and
put into practice peoples democracy.
16.
ON DEVELOPING ISSUE-BASED TO STRATEGIC

UNITED FRONTS
16.1
In a vast country like India where our Party and class/mass
organisations are still comparatively weak, and the level of struggles
launched on various issues is still low, in order to take up the numerous
issues confronting the people, issue based united fronts have to be built
up joining with like-minded forces. These types of united fronts are
possible in the working class field uniting with other trade unions or
TU centres to struggle for workers problems, in the agrarian front
uniting the poor and landless peasants and agricultural workers and
even sections of middle peasants to struggle for problems faced by them,
in the womens front joining hands with other like-minded womens
organisations to fight for issues faced by women, in the youth front, in
students front, cultural front, in ecological front, etc. A broad-based,
issue-based, democratic approach should be developed to take up issues
through these united fronts. Though these are based on issues and shall
continue for a brief period only, they help to high light various peoples
issues. Such united fronts will help the Party and class/mass
organisations to spread out its activities to more areas.
16.2
Experience shows that under slightest provocation the state
machinery unleashes black laws and terror tactics against the people.
Democratic rights are taken away. Even peaceful mass movements are
brutally suppressed. Functioning of party and class and mass
organisations are obstructed. Even activities of civil and democratic right
organisations are put down. Against such day to day developments
united democratic and civil right movements should be developed
according to concrete conditions.
16.3
Advancing a step forward from these issue based united front
activities, as united struggles and strength of class/mass organisations
increase, possibilities for formation of platforms or united fronts at state102
wide or country-wide levels, lasting longer period, to take up more basic

issues shall emerge. Possibilities shall emerge to build intermediate level
fronts, which shall help the development of class struggle. Every such
possibility should be fully utilised.
16.4
For overthrowing the Indian state led by the bourgeois-landlord
classes serving imperialism and to create conditions for establishing
peoples democratic power, protracted efforts should be made according
to concrete situation and level of development of peoples struggles by
the Party to build up the strategic united front based on worker-peasant
alliance and uniting with all genuine anti-imperialist, patriotic,
democratic classes and sections. The Party should continuously develop
its united front tactics to serve revolution.
17.
THE AGRARIAN QUESTION AND AGRARIAN

REVOLUTIONARY PROGRAMME
17.1
When the transfer of power took place India was a vast agrarian
county with 80% of the people dependent on agriculture. Historic
Telangana Struggle, Tebhaga movement and other revolutionary
agrarian movements against the dominating feudal, semi-feudal
agrarian relations were sweeping across the country under the
leadership of the Communist Party during those years compelling the
government to put an end to Zamindari system. But the withdrawal of
the Telangana struggle and abandoning of most of the other agrarian
struggles by the CPI leadership just before the 1952 general elections
gave a serious blow to them. The Congress government was utilising a
two pronged attack: by promoting the Bhoodan movement of Vinobha
Bhave to divert attention from revolutionary land struggles, and by
launching brutal attacks by para- military, police forces on them. Soon
under the advice of US imperialist experts, a land reform from above
was introduced including land ceiling in most of the states replacing
the feudal landlords by and large with new generation landlords who
were ready to embrace the green revolution launched under imperialist
guidance. Conditions were created for the entry of capital, fertilisers,
chemicals, new seeds and other inputs into the agrarian sector. This
was the beginning of another step, more intensive than the one pursued
during the colonial phase, for the integration of the agrarian sector to
the imperialist system.
17.2
The land reforms introduced were not revolutionary land
reforms from below based on land to the tiller slogan, but were
imposed from above creating a new class of landlords. The land ceiling
proposed was flouted in practice through various methods allowing
103
the landlords to own huge land holdings far above the ceiling.The real
tillers including the adivasis, dalits and other oppressed sections
continued to remain landless or owning small house plots.
17.3
The green revolution set in the following tendencies: firstly, it
created conditions for the entry of modern inputs and capital to agrarian
sector; secondly, it increased the area under cash crops; thirdly, it
introduced capitalist mode of production; and fourthly, it paved the
way for overall land concentrations with about 60% land held by the
landlords who constitute 5-10% of population linked to agriculture.
Overall impact was further integration of agrarian sector to imperialist
capital-market system.
17.4
The historic significance of the Naxalbari struggle is that it
brought back the agrarian revolutionary struggle abandoned by the CPI
leadership in early 1950s to the agenda, challenging the ruling class
policies including the green revolution. Following Naxalbari agrarian
struggles were launched in Srikakulam, Debra Gopiballabhpur,
Mushahari and other areas putting forward land to the tiller slogan,
mobilising adivasis, dalits and other oppressed sections in large
numbers. But sectarian tendency started dominating the movement and
the annihilation line obstructed the development of the mass struggles
for land. Though a rectification was initiated by major sections of
CPI(ML) and other CR groups from the beginning of 1970s, and
significant mobilisation of the poor and landless peasants and
agricultural workers took place in Bihar and AP, there were no consistent
efforts to implement the Telengana-Naxalbari line according to the
concrete conditions. As a result, the agrarian revolutionary movement
did not make significant advances anywhere in the following years.
17.5
The anarchist trend represented by CPI(ML) People War and
MCC, which later merged to form CPI(Maoist), is upholding armed
struggle as the only form of struggle and pursuing the old annihilation
line in new forms. It has no concept of developing mass agrarian
revolutionary movement mobilising the poor and landless peasants and
agricultural workers. On the other hand, some of the CPI(ML) groups,
which have adopted the line of peaceful transition, have reduced
agrarian struggle to legalistic forms. Some others are mainly organising
middle peasants and a section of rich peasants in their peasant
organisation and have, in effect, abandoned the struggles based on land
to the tiller slogan, similar to what was done by CPI and then by CPI(M)
in the past. While pursuing these different policies all of them have an
important similarity that whether they had put forward a Path of
Revolution document or not, they cling mechanically to the concept of
protracted peoples war based on their semi-colonial analysis. The task
104
before the Party is to develop mass agrarian revolutionary movement

with land to the tiller slogan mobilising the poor and landless peasants
and agricultural workers who constitute 50-60% of Indias population
under the leadership of the working class.
17.6
Agrarian revolution means wiping away all still surviving
remnants of feudal and pre-capitalist land relations and revolutionising
the land relations based on land to the tiller slogan. Launching of
agrarian revolutionary struggle should be done in two phases. First
phase comprises of organising the poor and landless peasant and
agricultural workers organisation with agrarian revolutionary
programme of revolutionising land relations along with immediate
slogans. Mobilise them initially based on immediate slogans and
struggles to realise them. Then proceed to campaign for the urgent
distribution of land declared surplus under ceiling laws, government
land lying vacant, forest land lying fallow, land used for bio-fuel
cultivation and farm lands whose lease period is over, land illegally
occupied by plantations and farm owners and land mafia, etc. to the
poor and landless farmers and agricultural workers. In urban centres
and suburbs there are tens of millions of families without minimum
housing. Organise them and campaign for house-sites or housing. In
continuation to these campaigns, organise land struggle committees from
village level in rural areas and housing right committees in urban and
suburban areas. Lead these campaigns to pinpointing the lands to be
distributed and then to occupation of those lands, distributing them to
the landless under the leadership of these committees. Though volunteer
squads may be formed under these committees to help the land
occupation, vigorous campaigning and mobilisation of the masses in
ever-larger numbers should be the main weapons to be utilised in this
period.
17.7
The main tasks during this first phase is to bring back
revolutionary land struggles abandoned by the reformist and sectarian
trends to the agenda and prepare the poor and landless peasants and
agricultural workers for it. How much time will be taken to advance
from campaigning to land occupation in different areas will depend
upon the concrete conditions in each area and on the extent of subjective
preparations including the strength of the committees. By taking the
Telengana-Naxalbari line to the most oppressed adivasis, dalits and
other oppressed sections, campaigning for distribution of above
mentioned government and forest lands to the landless, and proceeding
to the capture of land, a revolutionary atmosphere can be created among
the masses to proceed towards the second phase.
17.8
The second phase starts with putting forward the agrarian
105
programme to revolutionise the land relations. According to concrete

conditions in different areas a ceiling for land required by a family
entirely depending on agriculture, land sufficient for such a family to
cultivate and subsist on should be declared. For example like 5 acres of
irrigated land or 10 acres of unirrigated land for a family of five. For
those families mainly depending on income other than from agriculture,
ceiling of land for housing and place of profession or business should
be declared. Land required for community purposes also should be
decided. Land records for each Panchayat/Municipality should be
prepared by the land struggle committee of the area concerned. Surplus
land should be declared and poor and landless peasants and agricultural
labourers should be mobilised for campaigning and then taking over
the land, starting with the land in the possession of big landlords, land
mafias, corporate houses, MNCs, etc. In urban and suburban areas where
housing right committees are functioning, based on a general principle
and according to conditions in each area, an urban land ceiling should
be declared, surplus lands, buildings, flat, etc. should be found out and
the land records should be announced to facilitate campaigns and then
struggles to occupy them.
17.9
The state committees under the guidance of the CC should select
areas where our party organisation is fairly strong, where poor and
landless peasants and agricultural workers organisations have started
functioning and deploy cadres from outside also to initiate the land
struggle. Social and political condition of the area, class divisions, state
of class contradictions should be studied and the first and second phases
should be planned and fighting slogans should be formulated after
discussion in the party committees and in the peasant and agricultural
workers organisation. Land struggle committees should be formed
combining this organisation and representatives of trade unions and
other class/mass organisation working in that area. The first and second
phase of agrarian programme should be formulated and campaigned.
Conditions for land capture should be created and land occupation and
distribution should by started under the Panchayat level land struggle
committees, which are the united fronts at the Panchayat level led by the
Party committees.
17.10 While launching the campaigns, forming the land struggle
committees and starting the phase one and phase two struggles the
following points should be given importance by the party committees.
Always ensure the class line of the agricultural workers and landless
and poor peasants in the committees. Always persist in investigation
and study of concrete conditions in the area and class analysis. Whenever
questions come up consult with the people. Win over the support of the
106
middle peasants and other progressive sections in the area for the
struggle. Ensure the active involvement of trade unions and cadres of
mass organisation led by the party in the campaigns and land struggle
committees. Ensure the involvement of women in ever-larger numbers
and while land is distributed women should by given equal rights. Build
up volunteers squads under the land struggle committees and guided
by party committees. Destroy the authority of the big landlords and
other enemy classes in the village by effectively utilising the elections,
winning over the three- tier Panchayat committees, co-operative
societies, etc. in the area under the control of the land struggle
committees. Do not confuse contradictions among the people with
contradiction with enemy, and always handle contradiction among the
people non-antagonistically, in a healthy manner. Vigorously try to
expand the area of land struggles continuously. While the struggle for
the land is the fundamental one and it should be carried forward
vigorously, the land struggle committees at different levels should
handle and resolve struggles for higher wages, against usury,
cancellation of the landlords and merchants, struggle for the reduction
of rents, struggle against forced labour, struggle of the adivasi people
against forest contractors, against womens oppression, against casteist
oppression, etc. also wining over more and more sections of the
oppressed classes to the agrarian movement. In short, like Soviets in
Russia these committees should be developed as the local centres of
political power.
17.11 The experience of the great Telangana struggle, Tebhaga
movement and other big and small agrarian struggles led by the
undivided communist movement till early 1950s, the experience of
Naxalbari and Srikakulam struggle, the Debra- Gopiballabhpur and
Mushahari struggle, the agrarian struggle in the plains of Bihar and
AP, etc. show that whether starting from partial demands or land issue,
all of them ultimately lead to the fundamental question of land, to the
question of throwing out all pre-capitalist relations and revolutionising
land relations based on land to the tiller slogan. Starting with the
contradiction against the feudal remnants and landlord classes, it
develops to contradictions with big bourgeois-big landlord state and
with the imperialists behind it. So the Party should lead the agrarian
struggle, in whichever form it may have started, to the fundamental
question of land and vigorously try to expand it to more and more areas,
to more and more states according to concrete conditions there, firmly
upholding revolutionary mass line, uncompromisingly struggling
against reformist and sectarian tendencies which shall be trying to
dominate the movement always. Utilising all forms of struggles and
organisations, always prepared and be flexible enough to change from
107
one form of struggle to another according to concrete conditions, and

never loosing initiative in the struggle.
17.12 While developing the revolutionary agrarian movement in such
a vast country like India with so much diversities and unevenness is an
unprecedentedly difficult task. This great size and its vast population
themselves can be turned into great advantages for revolution once they
are correctly understood and scientifically utilised always relying on
revolutionary mass line. In the past and present when any Path of
Revolution is drafted by different forces, it is always seen that all of them
agree on the basic differences between concrete conditions of China and
India not only during 1920-1940 period, but also, in a more profound
way, between present India and pre-revolutionary China. But after
starting discussion on developing the agrarian movement all of them
hastily goes on to assert that despite all dissimilarities, the path the Indian
revolution should be the path of protracted peoples war with the
essential features of Chinese revolution. As a result, none of them give
any importance to utilise the concrete conditions in this vast country by
expanding the party all over the country, by launching the countrywide
struggles of the working class including their massive struggles
including raising of barricades, as in the past and launching agrarian
struggles in all regions according to concrete conditions and by
depending upon the vast masses as the greatest shield against the enemy.
Once the agrarian revolutionary movement among the 60-70 crores of
adivasis, dalits and oppressed sections, the agricultural workers and
landless and poor, peasants is consistently expanded and once the
leadership of the 15-20 crores of the working class on the agrarian
revolution is increasingly established consistently following the
revolutionary mass line, no force on this earth can stop the onward march
of Indian revolution. Discussion on developing volunteer squads, self
defence squads or any other forms of squads, unarmed or armed, should
be taken up in the context of development of the agrarian revolutionary
movement to more and more areas, in the context of utilising all forms
of struggle, and after studying how the contradiction between the
agricultural workers and landless and poor peasants, the main force of
revolution, and the powerful Indian working class, the leading class of
Indian revolution, on the one hand, and the ruling classes on the other
is going to sharpen in coming days.
18.
ON THE PATH OF INDIAN REVOLUTION
18.1
India is a very vast country of 1.2 billion people. It has extreme
diversities and unevenness. The objective conditions of the country are
favourable for social change, for a social revolution to overthrow the
108
reactionary Indian State led by the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoislandlord classes serving global imperialist interests.
18.2
Putting forward the revolutionary path for India today is a much
more complex and difficult task to be taken up compared to taking up
such a job in 1920s or 1930s when the Communist movement was in its
infant stage in the country and when there was the Communist
International with extensive Soviet experience to guide it, or in the post1947 years when the country was going through a revolutionary ferment,
or in 1967 after Naxalbari uprising. Today, in spite of almost five decades
of intensive struggles against revisionism and neo-revisionism, the
CPI(M) and CPI are still existing, the CPI(M)-led Left Front is still strong
and is ruling three states, besides playing an important role in the
parliament as a social democratic party serving ruling class interests.
They still pose themselves as Marxist-Leninist parties in spite of their
degeneration to social democratic positions. With the help of corporate
media they get extensive coverage. For most of the people they are the
Communist parties still. So long as these degenerates are thoroughly
exposed ideologically and politically, they shall continue to remain a
threat to the strengthening of the revolutionary party. On the other hand,
though the influence of the sectarian, anarchist trend represented by
CPI(Maoist) is presently confined to some pockets in four or five states,
the Indian State and the corporate media give extensive coverage to
them. Thus the CPI(Marxist) and CPI(Maoist) apparently taking
extremely opposite stands, acts as two sides of the same coin against
revolutionary Marxism. Besides, there are a good number of right
opportunist or sectarian or anarchist trends posing as Marxist-Leninists
in different states. Even some of the groups advocating post-modernism,
identity politics, empowerment theories, NGOism, etc. promoted by
imperialist centres are claiming themselves as Marxist-Leninist, adding
to the confusion. It is an extremely difficult and unprecedented task to
wage ideological struggles against all these numerous trends and
establish the revolutionary Marxist-Leninist positions in present day
conditions.
18.3
Another major problem is the disunity of the Marxist-Leninist
forces who advocate mass line and who have apparent identity of views
on most of the basic issues. Even if all of them are united, the MarxistLeninist Party will be weak compared to the gigantic tasks to be taken
up in a vast country like India. In such a situation, this disunity among
the Marxist-Leninist forces who are opposed to both right opportunism
and sectarian, anarchist trends is another crucial challenge faced by the
revolutionary movement. These challenges have to be boldly faced and
the subjective forces of revolution have to be strengthened, in which
109
building up a powerful Bolshevik style party with all India influence is

the most cardinal task. The Party has intensifies its efforts to build up a
revolutionary peoples alternative challenging the ruling class
alternatives, which are basically united in serving the existing ruling
system, utilising all forms of struggles effectively, with the perspective
of seizure of political power and completing the tasks of the Peoples
Democratic Revolution by developing revolution struggles based on
concrete conditions in India.
18.4
Evaluating the general orientation of the Path of Revolution, the
Outline Party Programme of CPI(ML) states:
The historic developments and concrete conditions of the country
determine the present stage of revolution which is New Democratic.
The CPI(ML) which upholds Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung
Thought as its guiding ideology and seeks to apply it to the concrete
conditions of India and to integrate it with the concrete practice of
Indian revolution, uncompromisingly struggling against both
revisionist and sectarian tendencies of all hues, is committed to
complete the New Democratic Revolution. The task before the party
in the stage of the New Democratic Revolution is to overthrow the
rule of comprador bureaucratic bourgeois-landlord classes serving
imperialism and to replace the present reactionary Indian state with
the New Democratic or Peoples Democratic state led by the
proletariat and based on the worker-peasant alliance. The basic
programme of the party is to complete the tasks of the NDR with
agrarian revolution as its axis and to advance towards Socialist
Revolution, to the realisation of socialism and communism.
The Path of New Democratic Revolution in India is based on the
concrete conditions in our country, taking the experience of all
hitherto revolutions in the world and the peoples revolutionary
movements in our country. Rejecting parliamentary cretinism and
the line of individual terrorism, and upholding the revolutionary
mass line, we resolve to utilise all forms of struggles and
organisations to seize political power by overthrowing the Indian
State through armed means. Strategic united front of all
revolutionary classes and forces with the working class as the
leading force and the peasantry as the main force based on workerpeasant alliance as well as necessary tactical united fronts should
be developed for furthering the peoples revolutionary movement.
18.5
The great Telangana Struggle of 1946-51, in continuation to other
anti-feudal struggles in different parts of the country, the naval revolt
110
and Punppra-Vayalar uprising and numerous working class struggles

of these years became the largest and most advanced revolutionary
upsurges in the country. Telengana struggle taught how revolutionary
agrarian struggles focusing on land to the tiller slogan led by the
Communist Party and with the class line of landless, poor peasants and
agricultural workers, who constitute the revolutionary section of the
peasantry and majority of the countrys population, can lead toward
the formation of village committees, organisation of volunteer squads,
development of resistance to landlords-police-goonda violence, and to
the beginning of armed struggle against the reactionary state. As the
CPI leadership decided to withdraw Telengana struggle and later got
immersed in the mire of parliamentarism, the experience of these historic
movements could not be carried forward. The great Naxalbari struggle
in continuation to Telengana led to subsequent revolutionary uprising
of landless, poor peasants and agricultural workers, including adivasis,
dalits and other oppressed sections, in Midnapore, Mushahari,
Lakhimpur-Kheri and Srikakulam, the latter reaching a higher level in
terms of massive participation of the revolutionary sections of the
peasantry and the resistance struggle they waged. Though these
struggles spread to the plains of AP and Bihar later, due to the
domination of the sectarian line the movement could not be carried
forward. During the last three decades the Communist Revolutionary
forces were divided in to many groups with some of them starting to
deviate to rightist positions and some others sticking to annihilation
line in new forms. The cardinal problem before the revolutionary
movement was, and is, that while assimilating the revolutionary
experience of the Telengana-Naxalbari struggles, how to develop a Path
of Revolution confirming to the concrete conditions of India in the
context of present world situation. Though the line of protracted peoples
war was repeated hundreds of times, why it could not be carried forward
anywhere successfully after the Chinese Revolution and whether it can
be developed in Indian conditions was never debated seriously.
18.6
The ICM has the glorious history of the victory of October
Revolution in Russia, the victories of revolutions in East European
countries during 1944-45 with the defeat of fascist forces, the victory of
the great Chinese Revolution in 1949 and later victories of national
liberation and democratic revolutions in Korea, Vietnam, Laos,
Kampuchea and Cuba. The revolutionary movements in these countries
have suffered severe setbacks later in the course of socialist revolution
and socialist transition. The Marxist-Leninist forces should take
appropriate lessons from these revolutions as well as from their setbacks.
Carrying forward the struggle for the seizure of political power in the
111
country calls for taking lessons from these victorious revolutionary

advances of the ICM. But taking their experiences do not mean
mechanically copying any of their experience or pursuing an ecclectical
mixture of their experiences. Taking experience from them means
studying their experience and applying them according to the concrete
conditions in our country. The history of the ICM shows that in all these
countries where revolution took place, there was no mechanical
application of the path of other revolutions, each revolution took its
own course according to concrete conditions of each country. Even after
the victory of Chinese Revolution, its experiences were not mechanically
followed in Korea, Vietnam, Kampuchea or Cuba. A concrete study of
the conditions of India and China during 1930s and 1940s shows that in
spite of many similarities, even at that time itself there were more
differences than similarities. And compared to then Chinese conditions,
the present Indian conditions are far more different. So, the protracted
peoples war, the theory and practice of which was developed by Mao
Tsetung in Chinese conditions cannot be applied in present Indian
conditions. The theory and practice of Indian revolution should be
developed entirely based on the concrete conditions of present day India
assimilating the experiences of all hitherto revolutions including the
Chinese Revolution.
18.7
Though Indian revolution is presently in the Peoples Democratic
or New Democratic stage, though what happened in the postrevolutionary situation in the socialist countries, especially in Soviet
Union and China may not directly affect it, after such a severe setback
suffered by the socialist revolution and transition to capitalist path in
these countries, a Communist Party cannot pursue its revolutionary
struggle without taking these factors into consideration. For example,
in areas like party building, in developing the concept of democratic
centralism, in developing appropriate methods for inner-party struggle,
in guarding against emergence of bureaucratic tendencies, in organically
developing concepts of mass line and class/mass organisations, in
avoiding the mistakes of mechanically de-linking class struggle in
economic base and superstructure, in avoiding, for example in Indias
context, the de-linking of anti-caste struggle from class struggle, in
correctly dealing with the contradictions among the people, and in
drawing appropriate lessons from the Cultural Revolution.
18.8
The path of Indian revolution calls for rejecting all shades of
parliamentarism and reformism and pursuing the path of revolutionary
seizure of political power. It means combining the countrywide struggles
of working class with the revolutionary agrarian struggles combining
all other forms of struggles with it. It also demands class analysis in
112
general and class analysis in each concrete situation, in different regions,

and developing the tactics of united front in all phases of struggle
according to the demands of concrete situation.
18.9
India is a very vast country of 1.2 billion people with extreme
diversities and unevenness, a country under neo-colonisation where
neo-colonial plunder is taking ever-intensifying forms under the neoliberal policies, where the principal contradiction is between imperialism,
comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and landlordism on the one hand
and vast masses of the people on the other. The tasks of revolution is to
overthrow the rule of comprador bureaucratic bourgeois-landlord
classes serving imperialism, completing the Peoples Democratic or New
Democratic Revolution, and advancing towards socialist revolution. It
involves the tasks of mobilising the people, and launching and
developing the countrywide class struggle in all spheres leading to mass
upsurges, mass insurrections including armed uprisings interspersed
with guerrilla forms of struggles wherever necessary leading to the
capture of political power.
18.10 Mobilising the people for revolution includes building up of the
Party, mobilising and politicising working class as the leader of
revolution; organising the landless, poor peasants and agricultural
workers; organising the women; organising the youth and students; and
developing a vigorous cultural movement as already explained above.
While mobilising all these sections of people for their immediate
demands, they should be mobilised on political, national and
international issues also. While launching struggles for immediate and
economic demands, political campaigns should be organised to educate
the masses for social change. Utilising the present possibilities all out
massive campaigns propagating revolutionary programme should be
launched. Agrarian revolution according to present conditions should
be brought to the forefront once again. The Party and class/mass
organisations should develop skill to float all forms of organisations
and to utilise all forms of struggle to propagate and practice the
revolutionary alternative against the various ruling class alternatives
floated by the ruling classes and parties representing them to hoodwink
the masses.
DEVELOPING REVOLUTIONARY AGRARIAN

STRUGGLES AS PRIMARY TASK
18.11 Land question has become the central issue more than ever with
the entry of MNCs and corporates to agrarian sector. Millions of acres
of agricultural land is diverted for jatropha like plants for bio-fuel
113
production, millions of acres being snatched from the peasantry for SEZs
and industrial centres, for real estates and infrastructure building, etc.
with land concentration becoming a more serious issue than ever. While
the MNCs, corporates, real estate lobby, landlords and land mafias have
cornered millions of acres of the agricultural land, throwing out millions
of peasants and agricultural workers, flouting existing land ceiling laws
or amending them, 50-60% of the landless, poor peasants and
agricultural workers own just 10-15% of the land. Besides, tens of
millions of families in the urban and suburban areas are deprived of
even nominal housing when less than 10% of the rich and super-rich
own most of the multi-crore flats and bungalows. The disparity on the
question of ownership of land has reached unprecedented and extreme
levels. As a result, the struggle of the landless, poor peasants and
agricultural workers, the real tillers, for land for cultivation, the struggle
of those whose lands are snatched away for SEZs, real estates and
industrial centres, and of those who have no housing have become one
of the central issue.
18.12 In this situation, revolutionary working class struggles and
agrarian struggles with land to the tiller slogan have become the main
form of struggle involving hundreds of millions along with developing
struggles of all other revolutionary sections complementary to it. In every
state millions of acres of land already declared surplus by government
under ceiling acts, banjar lands, de-forested forest lands, lands illegally
occupied by plantation owners and landlords, plantation lands whose
lease period is over, Math lands, lands cornered by real estate lobby
and land mafias flouting existing laws, agricultural land left uncultivated
are not distributed to the landless in spite of repeated promises. Even
the 1975 Adivasi Land Protection Act to return adivasi land occupied
by non-adivasi landlords is still not implemented. The landless, poor
peasant and agricultural workers organisation forming village level land
struggle committees should occupy these lands after extensive
campaigns arousing the masses and distribute them among the landless
under the leadership of the village committees. This struggle should be
combined with the struggle against bonded labour like exploitation of
tenants and agricultural workers by landlords, usury, caste and
communal oppression and other atrocities of the landlords and state
machinery. These struggles launched based on the organised strength
of the landless sections for land and against feudal remnants and
landlords shall arouse their class consciousness and prepare them for
higher forms of struggles. During this period the question of arming
the peasantry under village committees to defend the rights of the
oppressed sections can also be taken up. This occupation of land and
their distribution under village committees, arming of the peasantry to
114
resist landlords and feudal remnants leads to the beginning of embryonic

forms of political power of the landless, poor peasants and agricultural
workers and other toiling masses under the village committees. By
pursuing revolutionary mass line and mobilising the masses in peasant
associations, agricultural workers union and village committees, once this
phase of land struggles are successfully launched in more and more
areas, and the political consciousness of these oppressed sections is
continuously aroused, the preparation for the next phase of land struggle
declaring a new ceiling law for agricultural land for a family whose
main occupation is farming and only housing and business sites for
those not engaged in cultivation can be campaigned for, popularised
and the masses mobilised to put it in to practice as explained above.
18.13 Once this struggle for the capture and distribution of lands
owned by landlords and other such private owners is started, the real
confrontation with the landlords and the state machinery will start.
Occupation of these lands is a challenge to the very existence and
continuation of feudal remnants and landlords. Only this occupation
and cultivation of these lands by the real tillers shall put an end to socialpolitical exploitation of the rural gentry. By this time, on the one hand,
the working class should be mobilised to declare strikes struggles and
other forms of struggles for their own demands and in support of the
land struggle. Women should be mobilised in resistance struggle in large
numbers. Youth and student squads and cultural squads should be
organised to launch solidarity campaigns and cultural programmes to
arouse the masses to widen the areas of land struggle, to organise village
committees in more and more areas and to involve larger number of
landless sections in the struggle. Volunteer squads and self-defence
squads should be formed in larger numbers under the village committees
to help the expansion of the struggle and to defend against landlordpolice-gonnda attacks.
SUCCESS OF THE LAND STRUGGLE DEPENDS ON

WIDENING OF THE STRUGGLE AREAS AND
STRENGTHENING OF PEASANT AND
AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANISATION
18.14 Imperialist globalisation and its barbarous consequences is
compelling the working class, the landless, poor peasants and
agricultural workers, the youth and students and women to get
mobilised and struggle for their existence. Along with all these sections,
all areas in the country can be turned in to struggle areas. Revolutionary
war demands an organic linking of the development of the tens of
115
millions of the working class, the women, the youth and students with
the struggle of the revolutionary section of the peasantry to advance
the agrarian movement. The difference of present concrete conditions
with those of the Telangana and Naxalbari phase should be correctly
understood. Today in every area the class contradictions are becoming
more and more intensified in varisous forms. This important aspect along
with the vastness of the country and prospect of developing struggles
in ever-larger areas are positive factors unfavourable to enemy, the
Indian state, and favourable to the revolutionary forces. The Party
Central Committee should guide all the state committees to launch
struggles in as many areas and sectors as possible. This is the phase of
casting the net wide. To help this, party and class/mass organisation
building at all India level, deployment of cadres and pursuing a correct
cadre policy should be taken up on an emergency basis. Once this is
effectively implemented, possibilities for uniting like minded forces and
organising issue based united fronts at various levels under the initiative
of the party and class/mass organisations shall also increase in support
of this movement.
18.15 The question of expanding the land struggles coupled with the
resistance against usurpation of agricultural land for SEZs, new
industrial centres and real estates, and the struggle for housing rights
by tens of millions of families in urban and suburban areas are becoming
burning issues in every state, every region. The attention of the whole
party and class/mass organisations should be focussed on these
questions. Extensive campaigns should be organised. And the land
struggle should be launched in ever-wider areas with the involvement
of tens of thousands of people organised in village committees. Rather
than involving in unending discussions about armed struggle and how
to develop it, what is required now is launching of country-wide
struggles for land, development of appropriate forms of organisations
at various levels, evolving slogans and programmes to involve ever
larger number of people in them, and weakening the ruling system by
hitting it at tens of thousands of places. International and Indian
experiences show that once the people in ever larger number are aroused,
and they get involved in militant struggles against the landlords and
the ruling system under the conscious leadership of the Party, after the
development of struggles to a stage, invariably armed resistance to state
repression get started. And it develops to higher forms as in Telengana.
So the real problem confronting the revolutionary movement is how to
link these peoples resistance with all other forms of struggles including
parliamentary struggle, and mass upsurges at various levels, and to
sustain it in a protracted form so that this war of the people develops in
to seizure of political power.
116
18.16 Recent experiences teach that there were a large number of big
or small4 mass upsurges against imposition of imperialist globalisation
connected projects in a number of places, in a number of states. Some of
them have taken protracted nature and are continuing even after one
or two years. Even after ruthless suppression deploying huge contingent
of state forces the centre and state governments are forced to abandon
many of these projects or postpone them. The resistance struggles of
the peoples of Northeast and Kashmir linked to nationality question
are also continuing even after decades. Once the Party become capable
of establishing the leadership of the working class by mobilising and
politicising them at an ever-larger areas in as many states as possible,
armed resistance of the people against state forces and mass upsurges
are bound to break out in a large number of places. What happened
during 1945-1950 period is a very good example for it.
18.17 In the concrete conditions of India, especially in the present
conditions, concepts like area-wise seizure of political power and
establishment of base areas based on the concept of the path of
protracted peoples war should be subjected to serious introspection.
Application of such concepts has to cutting the size of the feet according
to the size of shoes as is proved internationally and within our country.
The challenge is to develop the revolutionary struggles combining all
forms of struggle according to concrete conditions of India leading to
mass upsurges, insurrections and armed uprisings interspersed with
development of guerrilla struggles wherever possible and necessary. It
is a Path suited to Indias vastness and the objective conditions here.
This path should concentrate on mobilising the masses in ever larger
number and seizure of political power through a combination of all
forms of struggle.
19.
ADVANCING THE TASKS OF PDR AND

APPROACH TO PROLETARIAN
INTERNATIONALISM
19.1
The struggles to complete the tasks of the PDR and advance
towards socialist revolution is carried forward in the era of imperialism
and proletarian revolution, when imperialism, especially US imperialism,
is striving frantically to impose its world hegemony. As part of it,
barbarous aggressions are launched and Yugoslavia was disintegrated
to a number of small states, a number of erstwhile socialist countries in
Eastern Europe and former republics of Soviet Union are assimilated to
NATO, Iraq and Afghanistan are occupied and put under puppet rule
and extreme forms of neo-colonial domination, Palestine people are
117
devastated, threats of aggressions are repeated against Iran and a

number of other countries. Under imperialist globalisation, neocolonisation is intensified integrating the economies of the AfricanAsian-Latin American countries to global imperialist system, opening
these countries further to the domination of IMF-WB-WTO trio and
MNCs, and speculative capital in general, imposing an absolutely
reactionary development perspective devastating the lives of vast masses
of people and creating conditions of impending ecological disaster. In
spite of all these, the imperialist system could not ward off the serious
general crisis now unfolding. Once again intensifying recession has
gripped US and other imperialist countries. It is termed a worse crisis
than the great depression of 1930s. In order to overcome it, the imperialist
headquarters are hatching conspiracies for the only way left to resolve
it: transferring the burden of this grave crisis to the world people,
especially to the people in the countries under neo-colonisation in a
much more magnified scale than presently taking place. It means wars
of aggressions, more occupations, more plunder of human and natural
resources at global level, more monopolisation and mergers intensifying
the speculation regime, more pauperisation of the vast majority of the
masses, and more ecological destruction. This is leading to
unprecedented intensification of the contradiction between imperialism
and oppressed peoples and nations, and contradiction between capital
and labour, throwing up the gravest ever challenge before proletarian
revolutionary forces at global level: intensify efforts more than ever to
throw out the imperialist system and its lackeys so that a socialist future
can be created.
19.2
Marx and Engels analysed the capitalist system as an
international system of plunder and called for Workers of the World,
Unite to overthrow it. As capitalist system reached its highest stage,
the moribund stage, imperialism, colonising the whole world, the
Comintern called on the Workers and Oppressed Peoples and Nations,
Unite to overthrow the imperialist system. Thus the international
character of this proletarian revolution was emphasised by the Marxist
teachers right from the beginning. Presently under the neo-colonial
phase in which imperialist globalisation has brought the whole world
under the capital-market system, the economies of all countries
integrated more and more to imperialist system, the MNCs and various
imperialist agencies have transcended plunder beyond the boundaries
of countries, and as manufacture and trade has become more
internationalised, the international character of proletarian revolution
has further increased. The Communist Party, as the vanguard of the
proletariat is leading the PDR in India as an integral part of world
118
proletarian socialist revolution. And as a contingent of the great army

of the international proletariat, it is the responsibility of the Indian
proletariat to dedicate itself to contribute as much as it can to fulfil the
historic mission of emancipating the whole of mankind from the yoke
of imperialism and its lackeys by carrying forward the primary task of
national liberation and democratic revolution as fast as possible and
fulfilling the tasks of proletarian internationalism, complementary to it.
19.3
The international unity of the communist movement suffered a
severe setback under the capitalist roaders in China who obliterated
the contradiction between socialist forces and imperialism from among
the four major contradictions in the world and degenerated China also
to capitalist path. Thereafter many Marxist-Leninist parties and
organisations also obliterated this contradiction, and proletarian
internationalism was side lined. The influence of this erroneous tendency
is still prevalent among many revolutionary forces. It should be
struggled against and defeated.
19.4
After the severe setback suffered by the ICM, once again the
anti-imperialist movement is gaining strength all over the world. The
Iraqi and Afghan peoples have intensified their resistance war against
the US occupiers, which is facing the threat of another ignominious
withdrawal. In Palestine the resistance against. US-Israel axis is growing.
In Latin America more countries are joining the anti-imperialist front
against US. In Nepal putting an end to the two and half centuries old
monarchy and establishment of bourgeois democratic rule are significant
developments. Against US-led aggressions, against the attacks on
working class rights, etc. many struggles are reported from the
imperialist countries. Even in Africa the imperialist manoeuvres are
rebuffed in many countries. All these movements call for International
support and solidarity actions.
19.5
These solidarity movements can be developed only if a platform
of like-minded Marxist-Leninist parties and organisations at
international level can be organised as their political ideological core.
This will be an initial step towards rebuilding the Communist
International. Possibilities for such an initiative is bright today. While
intensifying the revolutionary struggle within the country, the Party
should take initiative for such International activities developing active
co-operation among the ML parties drawing lessons from past
experiences of the ICM. It will enthuse the revolutionary movement in
the country and develop proletarian internationalist spirit among the
revolutionary forces.
119
20.
CONCLUSION
20.1
The Path for Indian Revolution is put forward by our Party, as
the above analysis shows, after the ICM has suffered severe setbacks.
Though anti-imperialist resistance struggles, especially against US
imperialism, is taking place around the world and though in some
countries they have made significant advances, the strength of the
Marxist-Leninist forces as a whole is still not considerable. In India, a
very vast country with extreme diversities and unevenness, in spite of
eight decades of Communist activities with a history of many historic
struggles involving tens of millions of people, presently the strength of
our Party, the only organisation with a fairly large all India presence, is
still not considerable. The challenge posed by right opportunist and
left sectarian trends are very serious. Though along the foot steps of
the all India revolutionary struggles of 1946-51 period spearheaded by
historic Telengana struggle, Naxalbari uprising once again brought back
PDR to the forefront of the agenda, the Marxist-Leninist movement
during the last four decades has not made any significant advances yet,
capable of changing the course of history. First sectarian influences
caused severe setbacks. Then the movement was divided in to many
streams. Out of them some have moved nearer to right opportunist
positions of CPI(M). On the other extreme CPI(Maosit) is still contented
with continuing to experiment with the annihilation line in new forms
using sophisticated weapons. As far as the mass line forces are
concerned, none of them including our party have so far succeeded in
advancing the revolutionary struggles in the direction of seizure of
political power mobilising the masses and spreading the influence of
the organisation to a significant level. It is in this context, the Path put
forward here should be approached.
20.2
On certain basic questions there is superficial unanimity among
Marxist-Leninist forces pursuing mass line. Firstly, all forms of struggles
including parliamentary struggles should be utilised to develop class
struggle. Secondly, a party with countrywide influence surrounded by
class/mass organisations should be built up in Bolshevik style. Thirdly,
in India path of revolution cannot be charted mechanically copying the
path developed and pursued by different parties including CPC in their
countries according to concrete conditions there. Fourthly, the path of
revolutionary war should be pursued based on the concrete conditions
here, while taking the hitherto international and national experiences
in to cognizance. Two serious problems are faced by the Marxist-Leninist
forces: in spite of these agreements still they have not united in to a
single party; in spite of long years of existence still they have not
120
succeeded to develop the theory and practice of revolutionary struggles

in Indian context and to develop countrywide movements. Besides due
to decades of separate existence, major differences in their style of
functioning also persists.
20.3
The reasons for these should be sought in the basic differences
among them, in spite of superficial unanimity on many questions, in
understanding Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought, in analysing
the hitherto experience of the communist movement, in the analysis of
the concrete conditions of present India including the neo-colonial
character of Indian State and in their approach towards the concept of
protracted peoples war as practised in China.
20.4
Firstly, however violently most of them may protest, they
approach the Marxist-Leninist world outlook more as a dogma, not as a
living ideology, a guide to action. They repeat quotations but do not go
into the essence of Marxist teachings recognising the need to develop
them according to concrete conditions of today when imperialism has
unleashed a neo-colonial offensive. Many of them have become
fundamentalists instead of assimilating the essence of Marxist teachings,
daring to develop and apply them according to present conditions as
all the Marxist classics teaches us.
20.5
Secondly, instead of learning from the hitherto experience of
the Communist movement, most of them are trying to mechanically
apply them without a concrete study of the situation where it is applied.
Along with the internal developments it was the mechanical application
of Krushchovite revisionism which led the CPI leadership in the 1950s
to the line of class collaboration and to the concept of National Democratic
Revolution aligninng with the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie which
was analysed as predominantly national in character by it. Though
critical of Krushchovite revisionism, the refusal to take a positive stand
to CPCs struggle against the CPSUs revisionist line led the CPI(M)
leadership to a centrist position which ultimately slided back to CPI
leaderships outlook. It is once again the mechanical readings of Marxist
teachings that have led a number of fringe groups to analyse that the
PDR is completed in India and it has become a capitalist country in the
stage of socialist revolution. Similarly, a mechanical understanding of
Mao Tsetung Thought, his application of Marxism-Leninism in Chinese
conditions, have led the splintered sections of forces claiming to uphold
Naxalbari to the condition of blind men trying to understand the
elephant, competing with each other in the claims about the superiority
of their lines, but refusing to assimilate the experience of the CPC under
Maos leadership including its uncompromising struggles against both
121
right opportunist and sectarian deviations and the lessons of the Cultural
Revolution.
20.6
Thirdly, in spite of the valuable contributions of the ICM in the
great polemics of the 1940s to 1970s about imperialism resorting to the
neo-colonial phase of offensive, while most of these streams reject it,
others uphold it only in words. They refuse to go beyond the mechanical
understanding of what is already summed up by the Marxist-Leninist
classics, refuse to a concrete study of the character of imperialist offensive
in the post-World War II decades, and fall victims to the plethora of
deviations coming up and working hard to blunt the Marxist-Leninist
offensive during these post-War decades.
20.7
Fourthly, as far as the CPI-CPI(M) stream is concerned its path
is reduced to a social democratic, parliamentary cretinist one, becoming
part of ruling class politics. The path of the socialist revolutionaries, an
alien trend, is out rightly reformist, serving as apologists of neocolonialism. Contrary to these, whatever may be their claims and
practice, a number of organisations ranging from CPI(ML) Liberation,
which is a new entrant to the social democratic camp, to the anarchist
leadership of CPI(Maoist), all of them in the name of upholding Mao
Tsetung Thought and Naxalbari are advocating the path of protracted
peoples war, under various interpretations. Starting from their semicolonial understanding they proceed to a mechanical application of
Chinese Path in Indian conditions. Or, firstly they present their own
distorted interpretation of Chinese revolution, and then apply it in the
name of the Chinese path not bothering to take the Indian conditions
into consideration.
20.8
Fighting against all these trends who have separately and
together become obstacles to the advance of Indian revolution, the
theoretical approach to neo-colonialism and the path of revolutionary
practice according to present concrete conditions are put forward for
widest possible discussion and as guide to revolutionary practice. The
building of a Bolshevik style communist party surrounded by class/
mass organisations at all India level, an aggressive utilisation of all forms
of struggle to develop class struggle, and an advance towards the capture
of political power starting from mass upsurges to mass uprisings and
armed insurrections is possible by rejecting the concept of protracted
peoples war and developing the path of Indian revolution according
to concrete conditions of neo-colonial phase of imperialist onslaught,
assimilating the experience of all hitherto revolutionary struggles at
international level and in our country.
20.9
122
This Path of Revolution is charted not as an A to Z of Indian

revolution. It emphasises on building the Party uniting all like-minded

forces, on building class and mass organisations with countrywide
influence, on developing countrywide campaigns, struggles, movements
putting forward a revolutionary peoples alternative against the ruling
class alternatives, on mobilising and politicising the working class as
the leader of revolution, on developing agrarian revolutionary
movement with land to the tiller slogan according to concrete conditions
in different regions arousing the revolutionary section of the peasantry,
landless, poor peasants and agricultural workers and on preliminary
steps to build peoples resistance including armed resistance wherever
possible against state oppression. It also emphasises on developing a
revolutionary understanding on utilising the parliamentary form of
struggle without falling to either parliamentary cretinism, or boycottism,
or to a passive or negative approach to it. It has desisted from providing
the ultimate answer to the path of revolution or providing the last word
on the course to be followed. In its present form it is a guide for
consolidating the existing forces and for developing the movement in
the present phase. As and when the situation, both objective and
subjective, undergoes changes, based on these guidelines the path can
be further developed and of course the struggle to be followed can be
explained more sharply.
20.10 This Path of Revolution is charted as a guide to action in the
present phase of democratic revolution. Analysing the past practices
and the ideological struggle developed based on them it is emphasising
on the course of practice to be developed in all spheres in the present
phase with the perspective of peoples democracy and advancing
towards socialist revolution. It tries to initiate a great debate among the
Communist Revolutionaries and the left masses for a correct evaluation
of hitherto experiences of revolutionary struggles the world over and
in our country so that it can help to lead the proletarian revolution
forward utilising flexible tactics and all forms of struggle effectively.
13th November, 2009
CC, CPI(ML)
123

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (K.N. Ramachandran) - No To Reformism, No To Anarchism, March To Revolution Documents of Bhopal Conf

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Documents Adopted by the

All India Special Conference of the

Held at Bhopal from 7 th to 12th

International Situation And Our Tasks 9

On Character of Indian State

The Principal Contradiction

Path of Indian Revolution

For Copies Write to:

Printed and Published by comrade Umakant, on behalf of the

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

[Documents Adopted by the

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

A Historic Step Forward

HE four basic documents on : International Situation and Our Tasks,

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

confronting the Party and thereby the Indian revolution.

government suppressed the struggle, with the assistance of Indira Gandhi

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

THE CURRENT SITUATION

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

and the understanding of the Peoples Democratic Revolution put

CONTRADICTION BETWEEN SOCIALIST FORCES

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

reflects the internationalisation of the struggle against imperialist

CONTRADICTION BETWEEN IMPERIALISM AND

CONTRADICTION BETWEEN CAPITAL AND LABOUR

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

CONTRADICTIONS AMONG THE IMPERIALIST

HISTORY OF THE STRUGGLE

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

Union (CPSU) continued to play a leading role in the world communist

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

by the tentacles of neo-colonialism, represented by U. S. imperialism.

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

THE MAOISTS REVISITED

have adopted the concept of Maoism in the peculiar circumstances of

DEVELOPMENTS AFTER LIN BIAO

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

imperialism; the contradictions among imperialist countries and among

BUILDING UP THE ICM

eclectic combination of those calling themselves Marxist (from the

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

called for immediate formation of an international. We walked out when

Thought should constitute themselves into a Marxist-Leninist Forum to

Workers of All Countries, Unite;

Uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung

Long Live Proletarian Internationalism !

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

HE character of the Indian state along with that of the big

2. BEGINNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

as manufacture gains sufficient strength, and particularly large-scale

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

where the hegemony of imperialism is complete. Proceeding from there,

and political division of the world, give rise to a number of

3. CHALLENGES FACED BY THE COLONIAL SYSTEM

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

through ever larger measures of export of finance capital by the

through the Russian revolution, to the oppressed peoples of the

No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution

forward coupled with various trade blocks for enforcing imperialist