People's Democracy

THE communist movement in the country has passed through various trials and tribulations. Though founded in 1920, it was only after the release of the Meerut prisoners that a proper central committee of the then illegal Party came into being and organised work began. The ban on the communist party was lifted only when during the course of the second world war the Japanese and German armies made several advances.

Facing and braving all types of repression, the Party was able to become an effective force in the late thirties and cast its influence on the political scene. It was during this period that we took initiative in organising mass organisations of the peasants, workers, students, youth etc. The working class had begun taking an organised shape much before that. Even before the country gained independence, it gained representation in the assemblies in some states where elections with limited franchise were held. In the assemblies of Bengal and Madras, comrades like Jyoti Basu had started exerting their identity. In the immediate period following independence, there was a setback due to the wrong assessment of the situation and the significance that freedom held for the masses. The communists were however, soon able to regain the confidence of the people due to their dedication and sacrifices.

West Bengal is a state where various streams of social reform movements sprang up and developed. The movements headed by persons like Raja Rammohan Roy fighting against social prejudices and obscurantist customs helped in enlightening the people. The communist movement picked up and took forward from where the social reform had left in placing before the people the need to bring about a radical change in society and its relations. We were very much aware that the ruling classes would put up obstacles and try to check the advance of the movement.

It did not take long for the Indian ruling classes to display their lack of tolerance towards the communist movement. In 1957, the first ever communist ministry to come into office through popular elections was dislodged from office. This was the first time that Article 356 of the constitution was misused to dismiss a duly elected government. The Congress headed by Indira Gandhi failed, even after trying through all other means, in dislodging the EMS Namboodiripad ministry which survived on a one-member majority and exerted pressure on the Nehru government to dismiss the government without any valid grounds. The democratic minded people in the country felt enraged. When EMS embarked on a countrywide tour, he was received by thousands upon thousands of people who were protesting against the Centre's arbitrary and unjustified action.

In 1967, in Kerala, a ministry headed by EMS Namboodiripad was sworn into office for the second time. In West Bengal, however a United Front government was formed by a coalition of the Left parties and a section of dissident Congressmen. This government could not last long. On the one hand it had its own internal contradictions and on the other hand, the central government headed by the Congress party was conspiring against it. In 1969, once again a United Front government came into existence but with a stronger presence of the Left. This government was also not allowed to continue for long. Subsequently, for some years, the ruling classes were successful in creating a division within the ranks of the Left. In the 1971 elections, despite the CPI(M) being the single largest party in the assembly, it was not invited to form the government. Then came elections in 1972. The elections were completely rigged and the police and military took over the streets. The CPI(M) refused to recognise the concocted and fabricated verdict and chose to boycott the assembly for full five years.

However, in the period that followed, semi-fascist terror was unleashed on the people of West Bengal. More than a thousand of our cadres and supporters were killed and around twenty thousand others displaced from their homes and work. The repressive regime resorted to every method in a vain attempt to suppress the movement. Our workers in the trade unions were victimised, the offices of our mass organisations taken over and it was the goons of the Congress who ruled the universities.

An undercurrent of anger against the Congress and its repressive policies and in favour of the CPI(M) and the Left gained ground. The movement launched by Jai Prakash Narayan in 1975 started receiving countrywide support. The hated emergency was imposed in June 1975. It was a response of the ruling classes to a threat from within its own ranks and not aimed at meeting any challenge from the Left. When elections were held in 1977 after the withdrawal of the emergency, the Congress was virtually wiped out and a new combination, the Janata Party came to power at the centre. The Janata Party was formed out of the merger of some bourgeois parties and included the Jan Sangh, the precursor of the BJP. The CPI(M) supported the Janata Party government at the centre when it was formed.

In West Bengal, the 1977 elections saw the CPI(M) and the Left parties being returned with an absolute majority in the assembly. Thus began a new chapter in the history of the communist movement in the country. In election after election, for five successive times after 1977, the Left Front has been returned with an overwhelming majority by the people of the state. The sixth Left Front government has just completed a year in office.

The various conspiracies and attacks notwithstanding, the Left Front continues to be in office and will continue to be in power as long as it enjoys the confidence of the people. The Left Front has created history by remaining in power continuously for 25 years, a record unmatched by any other party or coalition. Such an achievement has become possible thanks to the deep roots that the Party has built; its strong links with the people and a strong base that the Party and its mass organisations have built in the state over the years.

The statistics with regard to the Party and mass organisations is revealing.

The membership of the Party in 2001 was 2,45,026 (all India 7,96,073); the trade unions had a membership of 12,06,176 (all India 36,68,528) in 1999; the kisan sabha had a membership of 1,11,29,955 in 2000-2001 (all India 1,46,86,579); the youth front in 2000 had a membership of 52,84,272 (all India 1,12,71,248); the student front had in 2000-2001 a membership of 9,03,571 (all India 24,64,005); and the women's front in 2001 had a membership of 34,07,298 (all India 63,27,361).

The growth of the Party and the mass organisations headed by it have helped in rallying different sections of the people behind the Party and the Left Front. It is for this reason that the Party and the Left Front have been able to withstand and defeat all conspiracies against it.

Despite all this, the role of certain individuals like Jyoti Basu has to be underlined. The role he played in rallying the Party and the masses, the efforts at building and consolidating the Left Front and maintaining its unity in the face of attempts by its enemies to disrupt it and his capacity and abilities as an administrator have to be appreciated. His individual contribution and that of the continuance of the Left Front in power in West Bengal in enhancing the prestige of the Party and the Left in the country as a whole is recognised by all sections of the people.

While we are celebrating the silver jubilee anniversary of the assumption of office by the Left Front in West Bengal, we should brace ourselves to play a much bigger role on the all India plane utilising the influence and credibility gained by being in power uninterruptedly for these long years. With the ascendancy of a rabid communal party to power at the centre and the recent gory happenings in Gujarat, the responsibility of the CPI(M) and the Left has increased. Drawing in on the experience of West Bengal, the Party and the Left will have to discharge its responsibility in defence of the democratic movement, for safeguarding the unity and integrity of the country and towards taking forward the movement for bringing about a radical change.