“CALL of the hour is to further cement the worker-peasant unity. The farmers of the country are lending support to the workers' movement and vice versa the workers stand in solidarity with the movement of the peasants. Both these major sections must complement to the causes of one another. That would inspire the other oppressed sections to mobilise in the mainstream of struggles. That may bring about a qualitative change in the national situation.”  This was asserted by Manik Sarkar, Polit Bureau Member of CPI(M) while addressing a hall meeting on the occasion of the observance of 200th birth anniversary of Fredrick Engels in Agartala Town Hall on November 28, 2020. Party state secretary, Gautam Das presided over the hall meeting which was also addressed by Bijan Dhar, Central Committee Member.

Bi-centenary birth anniversary of Fredrick Engels, great socialist ideologue, and co-architect of socialist revolutionary ideology with Karl Marx was observed throughout the state in a befitting manner. The portrait of Fredrick Engels was ceremoniously paid floral tribute in most of the party offices many of which were illuminated and decorated with red flags. Hall meetings were held in several sub-divisional headquarters and the ‘daily’, Desher Katha published a special issue containing articles of the party leaders narrating invaluable contributions of Fredrick Engels in helping Karl Marx in giving concrete shape to the socialist revolutionary ideology.

The evaluation of the society right from primitive society to present-day capitalist society was analysed by Marx and Engels with historical materialism applying the theory of dialectical materialism. The determining factor for the advancement of society from serfdom to feudalism and lastly to capitalism was labour. Explaining how capital emerged, accumulated  and how that was used by a few to exploit the millions, Manik Sarkar said, in the capitalist system of production, the labour though a key productive force, have no right over their produce which is appropriated in the form of surplus-value by an individual who owns capital. This is just unsustainable, Manik Sarkar said. Referring to the experiences of failure of Paris Commune in 1871 and futile upsurge of Russian working class in 1905, Manik Sarkar asserted, and said there was a lack of solidarity between the working class and the peasantry in both the events.

Referring to the ongoing peasant march in Delhi, Manik Sarkar asked, what do the farmers ask for? They demand MSP, stop hoarding and black marketing, and loot of corporate with agricultural produce. For this propose it is imperative to repeal three farm acts. Instead of giving a hearing to their issues, the RSS-led Modi government has declared war against the farmers who produce food for the country at the cost of their toil, Manik Sarkar exclaimed.

Paying homage to Marks and Engels, Bijan Dhar said, now capitalists are changing production system. Factories for organised production are being reduced, the same product item has different units in different places. Workers are appointed on a contractual basis with less wage, having no retirement benefits. The factory owners are free to sack any worker according to their whims. This resulted in difficulty in organising the workers’ movement. On the other hand, the government enhanced the working hour from eight to 12 hours without any wage benefit. Public sector units are being handed over to the corporate. The unemployment is growing leaps and bound, so also the number of land-owners are declining, Bijan Dhar said.  For true emancipation of the working masses, Marxism and Leninism is the guiding torch.  There is no alternative but to uproot the exploitative capitalist system to establish a socialist system. It may not happen on its own. Only a revolutionary party with revolutionary ideology backed by millions of masses is able to accomplish this task.  Thus the present-day task is to unite all toiling masses and impart them with class consciousness according to the Marxist ideology, Bijan Dhar emphasised.  

Gautam Das referred several epoch-making ideological works authored by Engels and co-authored with Karl Marx particularly The Communist Manifesto, Anti-Duhring, The Origin of Family, Private Property and State, Condition of Working Class in England, Principles of Communism, Dialectics of Nature etc. If we truly want to pay homage to this great philosopher, we must apply the ideology of Marx and Engels in our real lives, strengthen the unity of the workers and peasants, strengthen the unity of the working class, Gautam Das concluded.