People's Democracy

ONWARD TO THE 18TH PARTY CONGRESS

Sitaram Yechury

THIS issue of People’s Democracy will reach our readers on the eve of the 18th congress of the CPI(M) beginning on April 6. Naturally, this issue is dedicated to this important event.

This congress of the CPI(M) is being held when new opportunities have opened up for the Party’s advance. The focus of the deliberations will, obviously, be concentrated on how best to utilise these opportunities to consolidate and strengthen the Party, advance the people’s struggles with the eventual aim of changing the correlation of class forces amongst the Indian people in favour of the people’s democratic revolution.

Amongst the important tasks decided by the CPI(M)’s 17th congress was the need to weaken the communal forces and remove them from controlling State power. The priority accorded to this decision was based upon four important considerations. First, given India’s diversity and social plurality, the republican character of independent India, as enshrined in the Constitution, can be maintained and consolidated only by strengthening secular democracy. Communalism practiced by the BJP, the political arm of the RSS, seeks to convert the secular democratic republic into a rabidly intolerant fascistic "Hindu Rashtra". Such a vision, apart from denying to the religious minorities their legitimate rights and security of life, undermines and grievously challenges the very unity and integrity of India. Hence, weakening communalism is the paramount task for consolidating the Indian Republic. The CPI(M) and the Left have taken the important lead in this struggle. The strengthening of this struggle, in turn, strengthens the struggle to favourably change the correlation of class forces we spoke of earlier.

Secondly, communalism in India represents the strongest pro-imperialist political force. This has been reconfirmed by the BJP-led NDA’s six years of rule at the Centre.

CPI(M)’s 17th congress and the Draft Political Resolution of the 18th congress has concluded that in the present world situation, the strengthening of anti-imperialist consciousness amongst the Indian people and the consequent struggles constitute an important task. Given US imperialism’s aggressive drive to impose its hegemony militarily and culturally politically and its efforts through neo-liberal globalisation economic policies to economically re-colonise the developing countries, the strengthening of anti-imperialist struggles is of utmost importance. The CPI(M) is committed to strengthen global anti-imperialist struggles. This, however, requires as a pre-condition the strengthening of anti-imperialist consciousness and struggles amongst the Indian people. This, in turn, requires the weakening of the pro-imperialist RSS/BJP led communal combine.

Thirdly, the CPI(M) seeks to complete the people’s democratic revolution as a necessary requirement to advance on the course of establishing socialism in India. The CPI(M), thus, seeks to replace the present Indian ruling classes by a coalition of exploited classes led by the working class. This, the CPI(M) Programme clearly states, can be done only by the unity of the toiling people in militant struggles. It is precisely such unity that communalism disrupts by dividing the toiling people through the inflammation of communal passions. Thus, in order to advance towards people’s democracy, it is absolutely necessary to weaken the communal forces.

Fourthly, the BJP-led communal combination, being pro-imperialist, promoted with greater vigour the neo-liberal economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG). The net result has been the worsening of the living conditions of the vast majority of our people. Agrarian distress has become most acute with starvation deaths and distress suicides being reported from all corners of the country.

An important aspect of CPI(M)’s activity during the recent years has been the launching of various struggles and people’s movements against the disastrous impact of these economic policies. The big working class struggles against privatisation, the struggles against WTO conditionalities, the struggle to safeguard existing rights of working people and public utilities etc contributed in a big measures to isolate the communal forces. The further weakening of the communal forces was thus necessary to advance the struggles against economic policies.

The priority accorded by the 17th congress to defeat the communal combination was reflected in the slogan the CPI(M) advanced during the 2004 general elections. These were: a) defeat the communal forces; b) work for the establishment of an alternative secular government at the centre; and c) strengthen the CPI(M) and the Left in Parliament.

It is, indeed, a matter of satisfaction that these objectives have been met. Through these columns, we had constantly kept our readers updated on subsequent developments. Suffice to note here that the formation of the UPA government supported by the Left from the outside, based on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) has created a new situation in the country.

An important feature of this new situation is that this UPA government is crucially dependent upon the Left support with its 61 MPs. Further, this UPA government is committed to a CMP, which is broadly endorsed by the Left and which contains many measures, which if implemented, will provide some much needed relief to the people.

While fully cognizant of the fact that the Congress party, representing the Indian ruling classes and being the initiator of the neo-liberal economic policies, the CPI(M) sees in the present situation an opportunity to pressurize the UPA government to implement many of the pro-people measures contained in the CMP. These relate to employment, education, health and most importantly to alleviate rural distress.

Though there are many provisions in the CMP that seek to temper the neo-liberal offensive, it would be naïve to assume that these would be implemented automatically. The ruling classes will relentlessly pursue their policies which can only heap greater miseries on the people, what is required, therefore, is to mount pressure on the UPA government, through people’s struggles, to implement the promises made in the CMP. At the same time, the struggles must also be strengthened against all other policies and measures that will be undertaken by this government which will undermine India’s economic sovereignty, on the one hand, and, impose further burdens on the people, on the other.

There is much talk, now-a-days, about "liberalisation with a human face". The CPI(M) has always maintained that "liberalisation" and "human face" can never go together. Liberalisation, by definition, aims at generating superprofits which can only happen by intensifying exploitation, i.e., by being anti-human. Nevertheless, as long as the ruling classes, compelled by the need to remain in control of State power, are forced to adopt such terminology, the situation must be seized to extract such measures that protect our economic sovereignty (Eg: protection of the public sector) and provide some relief to the people.

The opportunities the present situation offers to strengthen popular struggles must be fully utilized. How to do so will form a crucial aspect of the 18th congress deliberations.

The utilisation of these opportunities will crucially be dependent on strengthening the CPI(M) organisationally. During the last two Party congresses, the CPI(M) had accorded priority to take up issues of social and caste oppression. The task of integrating struggles against economic exploitation and against social oppression to a mighty class struggle remains a continuous one before the Party. In order to advance in this direction, the draft Political Resolution before the 18th congress has identified four priority tasks before the Party. These are:

• Conduct an all-sided struggle against communalism!

• Build a strong movement against the harmful economic policies of the central government and for alternative policies!

• Oppose US imperialist aggression globally and imperialist penetration in our country!

• Strengthen the Left and democratic forces all over the country!

A large section of Indian people — both well-wishers and political opponents — are watching this congress and its outcome. The deliberations and conclusions of this 18th congress must, therefore, strengthen the struggles of the Indian people to improve their living conditions and protect India’s economic sovereignty from imperialist onslaughts.