ON the call of the CPI(M) Central Committee, Party units across the country observed the centenary celebrations of the formation of the Communist Party in India on October 17. Thousands of people joined rallies and marches in several places to mark the historic occasion. Below we publish reports on the observance that we have received from various states as we go to press.
WEST BENGAL
The Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, the venue of the centenary celebration meeting, reverberated with the slogan of Inquilab Zindabad. The stadium was full-packed, with hundreds sitting on the floor and hundreds standing and aptly hearing the history of the formation of CPI and the struggle thereafter. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury addressed the gathering. Incessant rains could not prevent the flow of people, surpassing any estimation. The participation of a large number of youth energised the meeting.
told the rally that the early founders of the Party called for class unity to defeat divisive attempts. The same call of the hour is with us. We have to build up struggle on questions of livelihood, resistance to ever-increasing burden on the people to mobilise masses to fight against rightwing forces. The attack on minorities, dalits and other sections of people are increasing. Communists have to play a very crucial role to fight against this. “Inquilab Zindabad” is the call of resistance against authoritarian attack. CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Surya Misra said the Communist movement in India has a very long and rich heritage of struggle. Our Party has the legacy of anti-imperialist, anti-feudal, anti-capitalist struggles. But it is not history alone that we are celebrating. We are in the midst of a grave crisis and intense struggle. Both Misra and the president of the meeting, Biman Basu, reminded that West Bengal was one of the frontiers of the Communist movement in early days too. Basu said it was the Communists who raised for the first time the demand of full Swaraj. Today, the ideology of a fascistic force is poisoning the society. Basic tenets of the constitution are being attacked. The Communists have to play the role of unifier. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Md. Salim said the Communists faced war, communal carnage and famine courageously. There is no room for frustration on the way to revolutionary transformation of the society. He strongly asserted that there would be resistance to NRC in West Bengal.
A special discussion on the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was also organised as part of the centenary celebrations. Professor Chaman Lal addressed the large gathering and analysed different streams in the freedom struggle. He said the contribution of the Communists in the independence struggle was immense while the RSS served the imperialists. Revolutionary mass songs echoed the spirit of the celebrations. The day was observed across West Bengal. Party branch and area level offices were decorated with red flags.
TAMIL NADU
In Chennai, one of the stalwarts of the Communist movement in Tamil Nadu, N Sankaraiah (97), hoisted the red flag amid slogans highlighting the victories of working class across the world. State secretary Balakrishnan, who presided over the meeting, informed the gathering that this red-letter day in the history of the Indian Communist movement was being observed across the state to take the message of the necessity of emancipation of toiling masses among the people. Polit Bureau member G Ramakrishnan and Central Committee member T K Rangarajan spoke about the glorious struggles undertaken by the Communist movement in this part of the country for the welfare of the toiling masses.
Thereafter, N Sankaraiah spoke at length about the ills of capitalism and its inability to solve the problems of the vast sections of the people. He reminded the audience that after the 2008 crisis, the western world is returning to read Marx’s Capital to find some solution to the crisis they faced. He thundered that capitalism and imperialism cannot find a solution to their crisis because the real solution lies in socialism and now the learned western society itself has begun to read Marxism.
Recalling the glorious path traversed by the Communist movement in Tamil Nadu after it was initially paved by Singaravelu and Amir Haider Khan, Sankaraiah said that the first party unit was formed in Madras state in 1938 and thereafter the then British colonial government, followed by Congress governments, foisted many cases on them such as Madras Conspiracy Case, Madurai Conspiracy Case, Tirunelveli Conspiracy Case to thwart the growth of the Communist movement. Despite such onslaughts, the movement grew in strength empowering the working class and the peasantry, a part of which is the glorious chapter of peasant movement in erstwhile Thanjavur district, he said.
In conclusion, Sankaraiah exhorted the Party members to be always with the people and read their aspirations to build powerful struggles on their issues and thereby build a Left and democratic alternative in the state. He also appealed to those who are away from the Party for various reasons to return to the Party-fold reminding them that Marxism which they believe in, is the real binding cord and requested them to move forward to fight for the victory of the toiling masses.
On October 20, the district committees of North and South Chennai organised a programme as part of the centenary celebrations. A small exhibition on the growth of Communist ideals in the then Madras Presidency was on display at the venue. In the public meeting, Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat released the special issue of Marxist (Tamil) monthly brought out on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Karat described in detail about the growth of the Communist movement in India since its formation in 1920 with seven members and the trials and tribulations in fighting for the liberation of the country from foreign yoke. Though the RSS was formed in 1925 and the CPI was active at the same time in the country, the British colonial rulers were shrewd enough only to ban the Communist party, which continued till 1942. Whereas the RSS which was playing second fiddle to the colonial rulers was allowed to spread their venom. It was only banned by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1948 after the brutal killing of Gandhiji. The same right-wing group is hero-worshipping Patel and demanding Bharat Ratna for V D Savarkar who introduced the two-nation theory in the country. It is an irony that such a demand is being made when the country is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji. After speaking at length about the Kashmir issue, Karat said the ruling BJP, while dividing the country on religious lines, is eagerly selling the resources of the country to foreign investors which is the biggest attack on the people. To safeguard the country, we have to launch biggest struggles uniting all sections of the people. It has become our bounden duty to build the unity of Left and democratic forces to fight against this authoritarian government. He also pointed out that the rulers are well aware that we are the only force in the country to fight them ideologically and politically. Hence, we all shall rise to the occasion to save the country from being battered to smithereens, he exhorted the audience.
TRIPURA
Prakash Karat addressed a crowded hall meeting in Agartala on October 17 as part of the celebrations. The meeting was presided by CPI(M) Tripura state secretary Gautam Das. Polit Bureau member and former chief minister Manik Sarkar also addressed the gathering.
Referring to the perspective of formation of Indian Communist Party in Tashkent, Karat said, being disgusted with the fate of non-cooperation and Khilafat movements led by Gandhiji, at the same time inspired and energised by the Russian Socialist Revolution in 1917, seven spirited youths led by M N Roy, a scholar in Marxism, met in Tashkent to take guideline from the Soviet Communist party to lead freedom movement in India on socialist line. There they formed the first unit of the Communist Party of India electing Mohd Shafiq as its secretary. They urged the Third International for recognition of their unit which was accepted.
Detailing out the formative days of all India Communist party, Karat said that after returning to India from Tashkent, they started working among the peasants and workers. At that time, in absence of any all-India Communist party, there were some Communist groups working in Kolkata, Mumbai, Lahore, Madras etc. The colonial rulers rightly anticipated that the biggest threat against their regime was from neither the Congress nor the RSS but from the so-called Indian ‘Bolsheviks’, the Communists who were inspired by Soviet Revolution. With a view to nip the Communist movement in the bud, the British rulers lodged five framed up conspiracy cases, historically known as Peshawar and Meerut conspiracy cases and booked most of the leaders of these Communists groups during 1921 to 1925. In four such cases, all the accused were convicted and suffered inhuman physical and mental torture in jail till they were released in 1934. Only after their coming out of jail, in 1934, an all India organisational structure of Communist party was formed in a conference in Mumbai electing S V Ghate as its secretary. Since then the centralised functioning of the Party started from Mumbai. At the beginning, the Party did not adopt any written programme.
Highlighting the historic role of the Communists in the freedom movement of the country, Karat said it was Hasrat Mohani, leader of the Communist group camouflaged inside the Congress, who first voiced the demand for complete freedom in the AICC session in Ahmadabad in 1921. It was not accepted due to stiff opposition of Gandhiji who was in favour of raising demand for ‘Dominion Status’. The Communist party alone realised that only political freedom would not save the millions of masses from the yoke of capitalist and inhuman feudal exploitation all over the country. Thus, they felt, apart from carrying on the freedom movement, it is imperative to launch simultaneous struggles against feudalism and capitalism for economic freedom of the people. Karat referred to the historic, anti-feudal battles – Telangana Armed Uprising of peasants, Tebhaga Movement in Bengal, Punnapra Vayalar movement in Kerala, Surma Valley movement and Warli uprising in Maharastra in the post-World War period. Amid these waves of movement, the naval staff in Mumbai revolted raising tri-color, red-flag and Muslim League flag, symbolising unity of all streams of freedom struggle. This revolt had shaken the colonial rulers who realised that they had no option but to pack their bags; though finally the shrewd British rulers could succeed to divide the Indian sub-continent into two states on religious lines aiming to create a permanent hostility between the two.
On the question of fight against feudalism, the Congress always was not only indifferent but they were in favour of survival of the feudal lords, Karat said. That was the time the Leftists who were camouflaged inside the Congress came out and joined the Communist party. It was the Communist Party of India, and subsequently the CPI(M), which struggled for land reforms in the country, with their limited strength. Land reforms were excellently implemented only in Communist-ruled states in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura, Karat said.
Coming to the recent situation, Karat said that during the RSS-guided Modi rule, there were several onslaughts on the constitution to convert the country into a Hindu state. Today, we are being ruled by such a government which has least concern about preserving economic freedom of the country, ensuring the country’s unity and integrity and securing the fundamental and democratic values and rights of the people. The sedition charge against the intellectuals for expressing their concern about mass lynching signals that the country is approaching towards authoritarian fascistic rule, he said. Severely criticising the economic policy of the Modi government, Karat said, instead of taking measures for enhancing the purchasing power of the people, it is providing benefits to the handful of corporates. The government is selling out one after another PSUs at a throwaway price to meet the budgetary deficit. Now they are on the move of handing over the key public sectors like rail, defence production, power, oil exploration and coal etc.
Paying homage to the memory of great founding members of the Communist party, Manik Sarkar said that hundred years’ travel of the Communist party was not a smooth one, but there were thorns everywhere. The Communists don’t think for themselves, they are concerned about the interest of the toiling masses of workers, peasants, agricultural workers, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, etc. The ruling BJP has been using Tripura as a laboratory of barbarism and injustice. The entire country is witnessing the savage acts of the BJP here. But Tripura shall not bow down to the evil forces. The onslaughts of the “double-engine government” (mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring state and central governments being ruled by the same party) have pushed people’s back to the wall. The people themselves are realising that it is not the hour to stay idle at home. They feel it is time to take to the streets in protest. They are preparing for giving a befitting rebuff with the fraternal support of the democratic countrymen. Don’t misunderstand the people who were disillusioned. Don’t take them as enemies. It is immaterial what party do they belong to. They are also victims of this misrule. They must be won over by persuasion, through reason and reality, Sarkar suggested. State secretary Gautam Das highlighted the glorious history of anti-monarchy, anti-feudal struggles in Tripura through which the Communist party was formed in the fifties of last century with the slogan ‘King must have people’s mandate’. We should make the people aware of the bright history of 100 years travel of the Communist party and the heroic legacy of the Communist movement in Tripura, he said.
BIHAR
On October 17, the centenary celebration meeting was organised in Patna at the CPI(M) state office, which was chaired by Awadesh Kumar, state secretary of the Party. Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, former state secretary of CPI(M), who is aged about 95 years was honoured in the function.
Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi gave the welcome address. He spoke about the glorious role played by the Communists in the freedom struggle and sacrifices made during that period. He said the present times are very challenging as the BJP has taken power. BJP is the party that had no role in the freedom movement and hence does not cherish the democratic polity of the country.
Sarvodaya Sharma, state secretariat member of the Party was the keynote speaker in the meeting. He gave a glimpse of the historic evolution of the Communist Party in India and shared how revolutionary activities were initiated by them. He spoke about the small groups formed by the Communists after its formation in Tashkent in 1920 which led to a spurt in activities on ground in the country. Several conspiracy cases were slapped against the communists that included Peshawar, Lahore, Kanpur, Meerut and so on. Speaking about the impact that the October Revolution had on the young minds in the country, he said various youth organisations were also formed during the process of struggle for independence. Bhagat Singh and some other groups in Bengal got influenced by these radical ideas and eventually got motivated to join the Communist Party.
Sarvodaya also spoke about the role of the Communists in the peasant’s struggles and mentioned the valiant Telangana struggle, which was not just historic but extremely heroic. He called upon the young cadres to assimilate these long drawn struggles and be prepared to meet the present challenge posed by the communal and fascistic forces.
Arun Kumar Mishra, Central Committee member of the Party also spoke about the present challenges and the importance of the Communists in the present conjuncture. He spoke about the three streams or thoughts which were prevalent during the freedom movement – Congress led secular stream; the Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League led extreme right stream that stood for a theocratic state and the Communists led stream for a democratic, secular and socialist India. He said because of the failure of the ruinous path of economic development in the country the RSS now has a strong foothold and they are now shaping the future of the country which is extremely disastrous for the people and the country. The only counter narrative to the present form of stream can come from the Communists and for that we have to link it with our historic past.
Awadesh Kumar gave the presidential address and called upon the cadres to build a strong Communist Party.
