THE CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee organised a three-day study camp at the BTR Bhavan in New Mumbai last month for its leading activists on the youth front. 90 comrades from 13 districts participated in the camp. There were four sessions in the camp - three lecture sessions and one for reviewing our work among youth.

In the first session, Mahendra Singh, CPI(M) Central Committee member, delivered a lecture on ‘Party Programme and Constitution’, in which he explained the class structure of our society, class character of the State and the concepts of people’s democratic revolution, people’s democratic front, revolutionary party etc. Also, he elaborated on the principles of a revolutionary party organisation that forms the basis of the CPI(M) Constitution.

In the second session, Dr S K Rege, CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee member, explained the report and resolution adopted by the Kolkata Organisational Plenum. He also explained the political tactical line review and the political resolution adopted by the 21st Party Congress.

In the third session, Dr Ashok Dhawale, CPI(M) central secretariat member, gave two lectures. The first was on ‘What is Marxism’ in which he covered the basics of Marxist theory in four sections - Marxist Philosophy (dialectical materialism), Marxist View of History (historical materialism), Marxist Economics (theory of surplus value, capitalist crises and wars, the theory of imperialism and imperialist globalisation) and Marxist Politics (class struggle, revolution and socialism). He paid special attention to the Marxist analysis of religion and the distinction between religiosity, communalism and secularism. In his second lecture on ‘How to Be a Good Communist’, he explained the qualities that should be imbibed to make one a good communist.

All the lectures were followed by vibrant group discussions and interesting spells of questions and answers that cleared the doubts of the participants.

The fourth session was set apart for reviewing the efforts to expand the mass movement and mass organisation of the youth in Maharashtra and planning for the future. It was conducted by DYFI state secretary Preethy Sekhar and state vice president Ajay Burande.

It was an enthusiastic session which concluded with a firm commitment by all comrades to pursue the movement on employment issues, especially on the question of ban on recruitment, take up concerted campaigns against communalism, social backwardness, caste atrocities and gender discrimination and also to be more active in sports and cultural activities of the youth.