Updates from CPI (ML) Red Star Rs. 10
Red Star Monthly November 2020 issue cover page
Campaign Against Manuvadi Hindutva, Theoretical Base of RSS Neo-Fascism!
When the whole country faces virtually an economic collapse, the neo-fascist RSS representing the most reactionary section of the neo-liberal/corporate forces has launched a counter-revolutionary offensive, aggressively reviving its Manuvadi Brahmainical past through the 8th century AD Sankara model barbarous actions under Modi-Yogi rule. At this juncture the importance of the Campaign against Manuvadi Hindutva, its theoretical base by CPI(ML) Red Star and various mass organizations has increased manifold. The webinars we organized and all other programs organized by various party committees and Mass organizations are getting good response. Many revolutionary intellectuals along with progressive forces and dalit, Adivasi organizations who have recognized the importance of theoretically exposing the true neo-fascist colour of RSS, which is masquerade as a cultural organization, but indulge in most reactionary socio-political, economic activities through its Parivar, have come forward to support it. This has provided impetus to this movement.
When the capitalist imperialist global finance capital system is confronting its worst ever crisis, it is propping up the most reactionary sections of neo-liberal corporate forces to salvage it from total collapse. It is in a desperate effort for its survival. It props up a Trump in US, a Bolsanaro in Brazil, a Modi in India, dozens of neo-fascist rulers across the world as part of unleashing an ultra-right counter-revolutionary offensive, desperately using the religious fundamentalist forces and their decadent values as their theoretical base. One of its worst models is RSS, which is the biggest and most powerful fascist force in the world.
In 2013, when almost a contest for leadership in the BJP on the eve of the LS elections looked certain, Modi with his Gujarat model pogrom was selected and Advani had to step down, as the Ambani-Adani led corporate forces vehemently campaigned and as RSS agreed to elevate him. The RSS project was damn clear. Capture majority for NDA at any cost in the elections. Once in power move very fast to open the economy totally to native and multinational neo-liberal/corporate forces. At the same time, enlarge the Gujarat model pogroms at all India level to spread the politics of hatred and Islamophobia, revive the Manuvadi Brahmanical Hindutva wave to create a majoritarian support base, reviving the past glory when Manu Smriti was in practice, with the Aryan elite, the Savarnas, totally dominated the Un-Aryans, the Shudras and Ati-Shudras most savagely. The Manu Smriti dictates that they have no right to own property, or have education, but to serve the Savarnas all through their life so that they may get Punar-janma as Savarnas! The Brahmins demanded that even the first use of their women after their puberty, in order to sanitize the impure wombs of these impure patriarchal slaves. Based on Manu Smriti the Brahmin, Kshatriya elite made rules and customs in all regions of occupied Indian sub-continent accordingly. As this Hindurashtra of Aryans was challenged by Gautama Buddha, Charvakas and Lokayats, for almost millennia, they were weakened. In the 8thcentury AD, Sankara led Brahmanical goons along with the foot soldiers they had recruited from the lowest sections of society by threatening these enslaved souls with God’s curse if they do not obey, a revivalist murderous war attacking the thousands of Buddhist monasteries and centres of learning, was unleashed burning them down and massacring tens of thousands of Bhikkus.
Presently, what we are witnessing is a re-enactment of Adi-Snakara’s murderous revivalist war of aggression by RSS neo-fascist forces. As India faces economic collapse, RSS Neo-fascism revives the Manuvadi Brahmainical past through another Sankara model action through Modi-Yogi rule. They incite the Savarna goons to re-establish their old rights over the dalits and their women, or women in general, as they have no right to equality under patriarchy. What we see in Hathras and other places with RSS becoming the dominant neo-fascist power dominating all fields is a planned move to re-enact what happened in the 8th century using the same old weapons, the majoritarian Hindutva claims and Manu Smriti as the constitution of Hindurashtra. It is RSS in place of Sankara, using the same weapons, like neo-liberal/corporate economic policies in place of Chanakya’s arthasasthra.
The challenge before us is: should we surrender before this Brahmanical Manuvadi aggression, or resist with all our might uniting all toiling masses and oppressed classes and sections trampled underneath their feet by these revivalist forces. The first phase of the campaign we have launched saluting Bhagat Singh on his birthday, targeting the Manuvadi Hindutva, the theoretical base of RSS neo-fascism, is the new beginning of the struggle to end not just the neo-liberal/corporate rule of Modi, but the RSS neo-fascism in its entirety. Let us carry forward the campaign with revolutionary spirit and vision.
Learn From Experience of 100 Years of
Communist Movement in India!
KN Ramachandran
The centenary day of the first meeting of the communists from India is 17th October, 2020, which was convened at Tashkent based on the call of the First or Foundation Congress of the Communist International (Comintern), which is generally considered the beginning of the Communist movement in India. On 17th October, 2019, we had started the campaign to observe the centenary, taking the message of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought and our decisions to confront and overcome the present challenges faced by the communist movement in our country and all over the world. But, meanwhile the humanity had to confront the still continuing worldwide crisis caused by Covid19 pandemic. It has its serious impact in India. So, this campaign could not be carried forward as we planned. The Central Committee of the CPI(ML) Red Star had called on all party committees to observe the conclusion of this campaign on 17-18 October in all states with webinars in different languages, hall meetings wherever possible, postering, distribution of handbills and social media campaign from 11th to 18thOctober. Some of the state committees are organizing programs till 7th November, the 103rd anniversary of the October Revolution explaining the importance of both.
We are of the view that unlike the parliamentary left, CPI and CPI(M), we should avoid a controversy whether the beginning was in 1920 or ‘25? As everybody accept, the first meeting was held at Tashkent which helped to initiate the efforts to build party inside the country and the first Conference of the Communist movement in India at Kanpur in 1925 paving the way for formal beginning of the party with the formation of the CPI. In the same year the RSS was also formed. So, during the discussions and evaluation of the experience of the Communist movement during this period, naturally the challenge posed by the RSS neo-fascism which is ruling the country through Modi led BJP also came up repeatedly. For us this should be a time for serious introspection for the Communists.
If the RSS has developed as such a mighty parivar with many millions of members, starting its work from Bal Gokul and ABVP to dozens of organizations, including the biggest trade union centre BMS, infiltrating every sectors of state machinery, armed forces, judiciary, and every Constitutional institutions, running the country in most ruthless Manuvadi, Brahmanical, neo-fascist way, where are the Communists? What led to the severe setbacks suffered by the Communists and their splintering, ideologically, politically and organizationally, in spite of the valiant struggles waged, the sacrifice of vast number of comrades etc. It calls for serious self-critical examination. But, see what is happening in Bihar elections? The BJP alliance is mainly challenged by the opposition Grand Alliance led by RJD-Congress. It is joined by the parliamentary left including the CPI(ML) Liberation. The six party front of BSP, Owaisi’s AIMIM, etc is in effect serving as a B-team of BJP.
Even though there is no dispute on the question that the opposition alliance is qualitatively not different, in this situation, if the BJP and its allies are to be defeated there is no other option but to support it, while the revolutionary left coming together in a coordination with a Common Program and campaigning against the fascist forces calling for a revolutionary alternative, fielding candidates jointly only in seats where they have some mass base. Though all the CR organizations were approached by the RLC with this proposal, they declined. While those taking Maoist positions are still pursuing their anarchist line, without recognizing the gravity of the RSS neo-fascist onslaught and the necessity to weaken Modi government by all means including by the correct utilization of parliamentary elections, they are approaching the elections in an aimless and sectarian manner fielding few candidates for self-satisfaction.
In the present critical condition, this opportunity of observing the centenary of the Communist movement in India, should be utilized to find out the reasons for degeneration to these sectarian positions within our country and internationally. Communists should continue efforts to find answers for it. The Communists who are still want to pursue the revolutionary path should dare to make a concrete analysis of the present situation, analysis of the transformation gone through from the post-Second World War years by the capitalist imperialist system including the changes it has made in its strategy and tactics, the transformation in the mode of production and ruling class policies in our country under the impact of these international changes.
From the time the Comintern called for uniting all anti-imperialist forces including the movements led by the big bourgeois class, it had stated that Communists should always pursue the path of independent communist assertion, build the party, class/mass organizations and the class struggle led by them, and be prepared to take the leadership of the revolutionary transformation of the society. Though the CPC under Mao’s leadership became a torch-bearer in applying this line correctly all other parties including the Communists in India failed in this repeatedly.
But in India, in spite of the numerous struggles it waged building up the party at all India level, during the colonial days, though imperialism versus masses of the people, it never tried to come to the leadership of the movement for national liberation and democratic revolution, it failed to understand the importance of the caste annihilation to achieve the unity with the most down trodden forces, to analyse the national question in India and unite the people of all nationalities around the demand for a genuinely federal India, defeating British efforts to communally divide the country using RSS and Muslim League, and to correctly pursue the international tasks during the Second World War while not compromising in the anti-colonial struggle within the country. As a result, during the period of independence struggle, in spite of many opportunities it failed to assert the communist line, or, the leadership followed a class collaborationist line, away from reality
During the post 1947 period following the left deviation and years of uncertainty, though a correct line calling for utilizing all forms of struggle including the ongoing armed agrarian movement of Telengana to complete the PDR was adopted in 1951, when confronted with the challenge of how to use the first general election came up without surrendering the Telengana struggle, the leadership once again surrendered to rightist positions. As the post-Stalin leadership in Soviet Union committed serious mistakes in evaluating the transformation of colonial forms of plunder to neo-colonial forms under US imperialist leadership following SWW, and degenerated to revisionist positions, the CPI leadership also went along with it. Though the inner party struggle continued and the first split happened in 1964 leading to formation of CPI(M), contrary to its claims it took a neo-revisionist stand soon. It became clear when making opportunist understanding with various forces including split away sections from Congress and Muslim League, the CPI(M) and CPI contested elections in 1967 and came to power in West Bengal and Kerala. So, the Communist Revolutionaries (CRs) within CPI(M) raised the banner of land to the tiller, which led to the Naxalbari Uprising and formation of CPI(ML) in 1969, a sharp break from the revisionist path.
But again a serious mistake took place in analyzing the Indian situation and developing the party line. Under the influence of Lin Biaoist sectarian line it opted for the China’s path, analyzing India as a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country with people’s war as path. So it abandoned the formation of class/mass organizations, called for boycott of election as a strategic slogan, and armed struggle as the only form of struggle, to be initiated with the annihilation of class enemies. It was a left adventurist line pursued hastily without going for building a rudimentary form of party organization, mobilizing the millions who had supported the Naxalbari Uprising. Following brutal suppression by the state forces, the movement started splitting fast and by 1972 it was splintered into many groups. Though all these groups did not make any change in the semi-colonial, semi-feudal, people’s war line, soon one section continued to persist in te left adventurist line, another section had started veering to rightist positions. All came under severe stress and strain during the tumultuous 1970s, including arrests, martyrdom and suppression during the emergency rule. After revocation of the emergency and defeat of Congress, a more rightist Janata Party, came to power.
One benefit of this change was the release of almost all the CR forces and supporters from jail, including all top leaders. By this time the International Communist movement, the imperialist policies and the situation in the country also had undergone vast changes. Contrary to the expectations of the ML forces, after Mao’s death the capitalist roaders usurped power through a coup, and took China also to an imperialist path. Based on erroneous analysis of Mao’s contributions, the Albanian Party took opportunist positions. As all the former socialist countries degenerated from revolutionary path at various levels, the imperialists and their lackeys intensified anti-communist tirades. Following severe crisis in the 1970s, the US led imperialist camp went for neoliberal policies, cutting down all welfare measures and state intervention in the field of production. While on the one hand the globalization-liberalisation-privatisation created many illusions among the middle classes, it intensified the plunder of the working class and the oppressed people. Finance capital, and corporatization entered all fields, integrating the economies of the whole world, with WTO speeding up market dominance. Internationally itself, the CPI, CPI(M) like social democratic parties started advocating ‘there is no alternative’ to neo-liberal policies, and their executioners wherever they came to power.
The impact of these vast changes raised many important questions before the CRs. How to analyse the changes in China, Albania and all other former socialist countries? Whether the Communists should go for international unity, to form at least a platform at international level? What should be the approach to neoliberal policies and their impact in Indian agriculture and other spheres? What should be the approach to the newly emerging movement of middle and rich farmers for MSP and subsidies, who were by and large against the demands of poor and landless peasants, the agricultural workers for minimum wages and better living conditions? What shall be the nature of agrarian revolution in the new situation? As only feudal remnants are left, how to link the completion of the remaining anti-imperialist tasks of the democratic stage with the socialist stage of revolution? Or, have we reached the stage of socialist revolution? What should be the approach to the caste system which has become more divisive? Can we support the minority fundamentalism as in Khalistan movement against increasing threat of majority fundamentalism? Or should we take genuine secular stand opposing both? How to unite the CR forces and build a powerful Bolshevik style communist party capable of leading Indian revolution forward? How to approach the intensifying ecological destruction threatening ecological catastrophe, and even extinction of human species from earth? These and similar questions like national question, gender equality etc demanded answers from the CRs.
But almost all CR groups refused to answer any or most of these questions, and were ready to reject the semi-colonial, semi-feudal, people’s war frame, though most of them took mass line.. Three of them who rejected mass line later polarized as CPI(Maoist) pursued the armed struggle alone line. In spite of losing many of their past strong holds it pursues the same in more sectarian forms. On the other hand with CPI(ML) Liberation in the forefront a powerful section of these groups, including micro-split away groups and individuals have shifted to CPI(M) led Left Front. There are a number of groups in the middle, still sticking to the old frame and not ready to address these questions. It is by pursuing a ‘unity and struggle’ with all these sections, while striving to find answers to all above questions, the CPI(ML) Red star stream has developed with the merger of different CR organizations, groups and individuals continuously to its present position, ideologically, politically, organizationally. Internationally its intervention has helped the development of ICOR as a growing platform of the CR forces also. During the various webinars, discussions and articles by the leading comrades various aspect of this struggle by Red Star both in the spheres of theory and practice were explained during the concluding programs concerning the century of the communist movement in India. At two levels it is continuing this struggle: one an ideological struggle against the right deviation, which is the main danger in the communist movement; two, a campaign against Manuvadi Hindutva, the theoretical base of RSS neo-fascism. The Party expects these ideological offensives, along with the developing practical struggles in the various fields shall lead to a polarization of all CR forces as well as the vanguard elements from the present generation leading to the building of a powerful communist party capable of leading the revolution to victory overcoming all obstacles.
Long Live Indian Revolution!
Intensify Campaign Against Manuvadi Hindutva, the Theoretical Base of RSS Neo-Fascism!
Intensify Struggle to Throw Out RSS
Neo-Fascism! Advance to People’s Democracy and Socialism!
Revolutionary Left Co-ordination’s Statement on Bihar Elections
Defeat Fascist and Regressive Forces, Defeat BJP and Allies!
Unite, Organize and Fight for People’s Real Alternative!
Unite for People’s Democracy and Socialism!
Comrades, just a few days are only left now for the commencement of Bihar Assembly elections. As expected, the ground situation is posing very serious questions, as well as challenges in front of the working class, peasantry, the toiling masses and all other exploited/oppressed classes. What must be the concrete call to the people by the revolutionary left forces? Whom should the Revolutionary Left support, keeping in view the onward march of fascism in the country? The question before us is also this; to what extent, as a form of struggle, the bourgeois elections are effective in defeating the fascists, and which alliance in the field is committed to fight them. Such very serious and concrete questions are posed before all those who are concerned with the continuous rise of fascist onslaught in the whole country.
2. It is true that in Bihar, the fascist forces are still not so strong as to rule the roost alone. The NDA is also not well cemented. LJP has deliberately opted to remain outside Bihar NDA and target the Nitish Kumar leadership. Due to this and many other reasons, the relation between JDU and BJP is strained. Tussle for greater share of power has always been there. However, BJP is playing a very sinister game, though not unbecoming of fascists, by using tactics of deliberately pitting Chirag Paswan’s LJP from behind the curtain and trying to usurp power through other means, that smacks of a dangerous post-election plot. Hence, so far, the question of what comes out of Bihar election this time has assumed far more importance. Therefore, we need to discuss a comprehensive picture of our tasks being mirrored through Bihar election. Bihar is also poised to become the next hunting ground of the fascists as can be seen with respect to the overall political situation existing and developing in the whole of India.
Political Scenario
3. In this election, two main blocks have surfaced, namely the RJD-led grand alliance consisting of Congress, CPI, CPI-M and CPI-ML (Liberation), and few other groups on the one hand, and the Nitish Kumar-led BJP-JDU, the NDA alliance consisting of some small parties like Manjhi’s HAM and Mukesh Sahani’s VIP also, on the other hand. LJP under the new and young high command of Chirag Paswan, the son of the late Ramvilas Paswan, refuse to accept the leadership of Nitish Kumar in Bihar NDA and has opted to remain out, as said above. It is, though, well known that there is a clandestine election alliance of BJP with Chirag Paswan’s LJP which has declared to fight from wherever JDU fields its own candidates. Not only that LJP is giving tickets to those who are known Sanghis and erstwhile BJP functionaries. So, as of now, Chirag Paswan’s LJP is just an extension of BJP in Bihar. His most widely trumpeted, propagated and catchy slogan in this election is: ‘’Modi tumhse bair nahin, Nitish teri khair nahin’’. This is an indication that he has been entrusted with some special role in this election i.e. the role of wrecking Nitish’s boat from outside with the help of (BJP’s) inside support.
4. The Bihar Deputy Chief Minister’s statement that ’Come what may be the election result, it is only they who will form the government’ coming just in the wake of all these inner assaults and counter-assaults going on daily is neither just a slip of tongue nor a mere coincidence. Seeing the pattern of Modi Government using all dirty methods, including that of using the state machinery as well as money power, to help install BJP’s own Governments in the states, by hook or by crook, this statement indicates that far more sinister make sinister things to happen. It is well aimed to make gullible the administration that still takes orders from Nitish Kumar. This is also aimed to keep the morale of its own forces aroused to meet post-election ‘unseen’ challenges. In this lies an indirect threat to all those forces, whether in the administration or outside it, to support BJP’s efforts to come to power particularly when a situation of acute crunch crops up in which something untoward for BJP is likely to happen i.e. a situation where BJP is most likely to lose power. We know, as the very nature of fascists in general suggest, they will not easily digest such a situation. Clearly, a very grave situation may emerge in the event of BJP’s election fortune in Bihar is landing in trouble this time.
5. So, as far as the RJD-led grand alliance with the ‘left front parties’ is concerned, it is purportedly supposed to take on the fascists in the election, or in the post-election situation. But, the way in which the ‘left’ has completely submitted the reigns to RJD and has abandoned or deserted the leadership position and independent assertion of the ‘left’ politics shows nothing but a complete defeat of the purpose of taking on the fascists. What they have shown is sheer opportunism. Apart from this, there are other reasons that compel us to conclude that such a bourgeois party led alliance sans any solid and grand independent left block on its back will prove fruitless even if it wins a majority. For example, even if this alliance secures a comfortable win in terms of number of seats over NDA, there is no doubt that it will not be able to lead anti-fascist struggle to any meaningful conclusion.
6. So, the Revolutionary Left Coordination (RLC) clearly opines that the ongoing fascist loot and embezzlement of democracy won’t stop by merely swapping governments. Even the attacks on the mass movements and democratic voices in Bihar are not likely to stop. As a result, despair will engulf the masses after a short while. In the absence of any real people’s alternative, the ground for re-emergence of fascist powers will stay intact. The ruling classes and their lackeys (bourgeois parties of any hue and colour) can in no way lead the masses to conclusively fight against fascism. The very high command-based structure of bourgeois parties built on fraudulent promises and their close proximity to the core interests of the present day crisis-ridden neo-liberal corporate capitalist class facing the threat of logjam of their profit cycle, promises no such hopes at all. Thus, opportunism is rampant and openly visible in both the camps.
7. On the other hand, the ‘left forces’ as a whole also promises no hope, not even a dimmed hope It does not at all appear that the ‘left forces’ are struggling to fill the empty space for revolutionary struggle. The parliamentary left, the CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(ML) Liberation, has gone with the RJD led ruling class parties’ alliance. Then, communist revolutionary forces should have taken up the task of putting forward a revolutionary alternative. But we do not see any eagerness on the part of many in this regard. That they take up numerous united struggles on immediate mass issues is a fact. But this unity shatters as soon as the question of intervening politically such as in the present elections comes up, even when we are facing the danger of fascism, when it is more important than ever to raise a united revolutionary voice, to put forward an immediate as well as long term revolutionary program before the masses without which the fight against fascism will not go further ahead. Without a constant propagation of the politics of revolutionary alternative along with fight for immediate issues of the masses, people at large can’t be mobilized against fascism. Unless people are mobilized to fight for real freedom from the yoke of exploitation and oppression, there can be no serious battle against fascism. The movement will have to pay a heavy price for such a failure. Organizational weakness is an issue for sure, but the primary reason here is a sense of fatigue, a sheer lack of will which has affected many, including creeping influence of defeatist thinking, as a result of increasing influence of right deviation, which is the main danger in the communist movement.
8. When this is the time for an all-out struggle for arousing the revolutionary potential of the masses, how serious is the disunity among the so-called CR forces can be seen when without considering the critical importance of defeating the BJP led forces to weaken the fascist onslaught, some of them are fielding candidates for self-satisfaction in aimless manner and there are seats where two or three candidates of them fighting each other!. Where will this lead us to at a time when fascism is spreading its domination fiercely?
9. We have seen the ruin of common people of Bihar under the coalition government of JDU and BJP with Nitish Kumar on the top. It is called the ‘government of double engine’. In reality though, it is a ‘doubly anti-people’ government. Murder, rape, police brutalities and corruption are rampant. Unemployment, poverty and starvation related deaths are ever increasing. As per the government’s data itself, 1450 rapes were reported in 2019, with one rape happening every six hours. The Nitish government has proved itself as an utter failure in tackling the issues of education, health, women safety, corruption control and safety from corona pandemic. Even something as basic as a ration card is not available to everyone. The food grain supplied are mostly rotten and uneatable. The government data showed that unemployment in Bihar rose by 3 to 10.2 percent during the year that ended in June 2019. Also, there is no limit to the perils faced by the corona infected patients and their families. Even the middle class is terrified after witnessing the dilapidated condition of government hospitals and the sheer uncontrolled loot in private hospitals that is going on in the name of healthcare. As of August 2020, there were only four covid-19 dedicated hospitals in the entire state. The IMA (Bihar Chapter) shared data on the deaths of doctors due to Covid-19, which indicate that Bihar has the highest death percentage among all the states. Floods cause havoc in the north Bihar region almost every year and no real measures are taken by the State Government. This year, during a raging pandemic, the Bihar floods affected 7.6 lakh people (till July) and the government’s effort to safeguard their lives and livelihoods was negligible.
10. It is to be specially noted that all the BJP-ruled states are worse off. Let us take the example of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from rape, murder, police brutalities and deteriorating conditions of healthcare, the situation in Uttar Pradesh is such that the students qualifying competitive exams for government jobs will also have to work for 5 years under a kind of contract system with meagre wages or salary where they’ll be subjected to an appraisal every 6 months and only after clearing all this will they be granted the status of permanent government employee. And to add to that, in order to curb the growing restlessness and shimmering revolt among the masses, the government is putting together a special police force called UPSSF (Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force) that will have the power to search and arrest even without a court’s warrant and also without any fear of legal reprimands as courts are also debarred from taking cognizance of any complaints filed in this regard unless the government gives its nod. There are also reports of the oncoming of an ordinance against ‘Love Jihad’.
What Is At The Root Of People’s Sufferings
11. Voting is an essential weapon in a bourgeois democracy in order to give a befitting reply to the anti-people and oppressive governments. And the people of Bihar should certainly use this right, even when we have to put up a fight for this, as attempts of rigging will be made on a large scale by the fascist alliance and other adversaries using muscle, money and state machinery
12. It is in this situation, analyzing the present grave situation, based on a Common Program which calls for rejecting the neo-liberal/corporate economic policies which is a facing a collapse in the Covid19 pandemic, and an all out attack on the theoretical foundations of the RSS neo-fascism, the RLC was launched on 15th August in a webinar by the four organizations. RLC has called upon the people of Bihar that we must use this weapon, the elections, this time with a clear and a revolutionary understanding/perspective in the upcoming Bihar elections. For example, while we must utilize our right to vote against the fascist block, we must also address this question: If till now there has been no material (positive) change in the lives of the people by just choosing or removing a particular bourgeois government, how will it be any different this time? Can the fascists be defeated forever, or will it in any way do good just by voting them out? Will not the next government be a friend and servant of the capitalists? How can fascism be uprooted without overthrowing the present rule of the big and corporate capitalists, landlords and Kulaks who are all in collusion with imperialism and multinationals to keep intact the system of loot, fraud and plunder? Without putting before such questions before the people, they will neither understand the importance of the voting out the ultra-right, nor understand its historical limitations.
13. Based on the experience of the past 70 years and even before it, it is clear that the masses, especially the working class, peasantry and toiling masses cannot free themselves either from poverty or from their exploitation without completely doing away with and uprooting the capitalist system as a whole including the capitalist mode of production. With the onset of unrelenting economic capitalist crisis, there is now no other option or relief available to them. Be it Bihar Election or General Election, the masses have had the taste of every party’s rule. Today, the parties who sit in the opposition were in power yesterday and today’s rulers were in the opposition then. There wasn’t much difference in their regimes. Today, Congress is criticizing the Modi government but the economic policies of both Congress and BJP are pro-corporate. The regional bourgeois parties exhibit the same or even worse tendencies, and are no less, rather the most opportunist and corrupt. Today, the extremely anti-people deeds being done and executed by BJP are an extension of the anti-people policies of Congress itself. Even today, they share the same line and position so far as the economic policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization are concerned. All these parties who are squabbling and criticizing each other, are all faithful servants of the corporate capitalist class. If this is not the case, then how come only the capitalists are having increasing growth and prosperity? The parties which thrive on the vote bank of Dalits and backward classes and castes are also not an exception. So, no matter who wins or loses, nothing much is going to change for the masses. Even while keeping in mind the prime question of defeating the fascists and overthrowing them, we can say that the change of guards will only bring cosmetic changes and quite temporary relief from fascist attacks.
14. In present Indian society, prosperity for all is an illusion. Remember when in 2014 and again in 2019 Narendra Modi came with what appealing promises! It seemed as if this time he’ll take away all the grief and sorrows of the poor. But what actually happened or what is happening right now is before us all. Where the wealth of capitalists like Adani, Ambani and many others has multiplied a number of times, the conditions of the masses have further deteriorated. Not only jobs, but their rights are also being snatched away today. Tomorrow if their right to vote is also snatched from them, it won’t be a big shocker.
15. We know that in a class divided society, the fruits of labour are grabbed and enjoyed by the capitalists and other exploiting classes, owing to its special position in the society. They are the rulers who own the means of production and run their own production system with the help of the State Power they have built up and got entrenched throughout the society and into all its pores. The system, although, allows toiling people to choose and form governments by casting their votes and thus electing their representatives in the successive governments, in reality, it gives them neither a position of authority, nor any solution to their problems and sufferings as the capitalist and other exploiting classes take away all the wealth created. Thus people don’t have any respite, though it is they who choose a government. This system works so efficiently that no basic change can be brought by just changing or replacing a government as the system works mainly on the basis of omnipotence of capital which guarantees their rule by fetching support from all the pillars of the system even through bribes and other means. Corporate capitalists are the real masters of the society and this is the root of all the rotten things such as slavery, unemployment, hunger, poverty etc. and other related problems that the modern society today has to face everywhere in the world.
16. While the laboring masses are being exploited in more and more regressive manner as the time passes and the rule of the capitalist class consolidates itself, capital grows, concentrates and centralizes with more and more accumulation of social wealth in their hands, the number of the proletariat (those who live by selling their labor power alone) is also swelling very fast now-a-days. This is because with the rise and accentuation in fascist loot, the intermediary classes are also being ruined very fast.
17. We know that causes and factors leading to economic crisis that generally exhibit in tendency of over-production and fall in demands are inbuilt in the capitalist mode of production. When this crisis deepens, the cycle of profit tends to stop and accumulation of capital, the real motive force of capitalist production, is threatened. To deal with this, the capitalist class further intensifies the rate of exploitation and even destroys the capital and productive forces. This leads to ruin of the proletariat as well as those who are petty owners of capital. And if the crisis becomes structural and permanent, like the present crisis, then the big corporate capitalist class increases its loot in an exceptionally intensified manner. The destruction of productive forces rises too high and becomes too rampant.
18. Today, the anti-people and anti-worker policies imposed by the Modi government from the centre as well as in various states are the result of this same economic crisis. With the help of the Modi government, just a few big corporates and capitalists are looting all the resources belonging to the people and created by man’s labour and nature, and sucking even the last drop of blood of the toiling masses. They are taking over all the resources and bringing them under their monopoly rule. Mines, farms, water, forests, mountains, minerals, airports, telephone services, defense sector, railways, banks, insurance, steel industries, petrol and diesel companies, eatables, education and research, school, college, universities, hospitals and healthcare sector, i.e., all the valuable public, private or natural resources available to mankind are being taken over by them and the government is aiding by curbing all the voices of dissent against this unprecedented loot and plunder.
19. We find that in the last six years Modi quite ‘magically’ did everything which was necessary for continuing the super profits of the corporate capitalist class. Without even removing the tag of ‘democracy’, the Constitution and ‘independent’ judiciary, the Modi government successfully took over all the institutions of the capitalist democratic state established after ‘independence’ and strengthened the foundation of Hindu Rashtra, the Indian variant of neo-fascism. The attack on democratic rights of people is ever increasing. In this way, the nexus of the State, corporates and the shrewd fascist gangs were successful in slowly but steadily digging the grave of Indian democracy. However, the shroud covering it to give the due appearance of democracy was left as it is. The difference between the existence and non-existence of the parliament and other such institutions has been eradicated by Modi. Parliament or no parliament, it makes not much difference. The way in which the farmers’ bill was forcefully passed in the parliament, the labour codes were passed without any Opposition’s presence, the National Education Policy 2020 was by the Cabinet bypassing the Parliament itself, are the latest and the most concrete examples and proof of this. Judiciary was also made to submit to the fascist powers as is quite evident after the recent verdict of the CBI’s Special Court in the Babri Masjid Demolition Case where all the 32 accused belonging to RSS-BJP-VHP were acquitted.
Rise In Arms To Fight For Socialist Future
20. Today, the election is in Bihar, but the truth is that the situation of the whole country is in danger, in peril and Bihar cannot alone escape the fate befallen on the country. If the country won’t survive as a democracy, then how will Bihar? Similarly, the people of Bihar have a solemn duty to give a befitting reply to the fascist forces who are hell bent to further intensify their rule also in Bihar so as to make it a most rabid hunting ground of the corporate loot.
21. On the other hand, the people will have to think about the ways to come out of the swamp of the current exploitative system because until then there would no letup in the assault of the corporate loot. RLC firmly believes there is no way out of this mess other than the establishment of a People’s State uniting with all the oppressed and exploited sections of the masses under the leadership of the working class. This is the only real option available not only to the toiling masses, but also to other intermediary classes whose existence will get extinguished if fascists regime is not overthrown which however can’t be done away with forever until its roots along with the soil i.e. in the capitalist system are not uprooted. Here merges our politics related with exercising our voting right to defeat the fascist coalition with the historical task of overthrowing the capitalist led old system and replacing it with an entirely new i.e. proletarian led society. Old has completely rotten and become fruitless so far as the forward movement and advancement of society is concerned. The old society and system ruled by capitalists has become permanently crisis ridden which breeds within itself and carries the germs of fascism. And until it is changed and completely overhauled destroying all the muck of ages, there can be no permanent solution to the acute problems faced by the masses today.
22. The change of government and defeat of fascists in elections is however not completely useless. It will bring a dampening effect on their morale, while it will help in creating a positive environment to lift up the democratic spirit and the morale of the struggling masses whose victory will not be attained in one single stroke. After this, the masses will more victoriously travel on the path ahead that comprises the further expansion and deepening of the mass movement and maintaining its continuity till an oceanic currents of Pan-India spontaneous mass movement, with revolutionaries on its crest, crushes, drowns and wrecks the whole capitalist system beyond any possibility of recovery. It is important to take a resolution for this, as the situations are becoming more and more ripe for this with the economic crisis bound to further deepen and engulf the whole capitalist system in immediate future. Signs of this are more brightening than ever before.
23. Therefore, RLC calls upon all the progressive democratic forces to come together to defeat the fascists in Bihar election and at the same time also declare that until the creation of a socialist state under the leadership of the working class our fight must continue. Only a proletarian democracy i.e. a socialist state can establish true democracy as its aim is to free the mankind from the shackles of capital and from all its ill effects and where all the people would be prosperous by ending the exploitation and oppression once and for ever.
24. At the moment, when fascism is engulfing democracy and democratic rights, our fight against fascism, for democratic rights and for a truly democratic state are united together intrinsically and intricately. Every step of small victory will add to our moral 22. Let us overcome all our differences to unite against fascism, the biggest enemy! Defeat RSS neo-fascism!
25. Let us unite all oppressed and exploited sections and launch a mass movement by combining the immediate demands of the masses with their long-term goal after the election is over.
With Revolutionary greetings!
CPI (ML) Red Star
CPI (ML) PRC
UCCRI (ML) Kishan
All India Workers Council
20th October, 2020
On the Political Approach to
the Current State of the Indian Economy
PJ James
Today Indian economy is confronting the worst contraction on record. Officially also, it is acknowledged as historic down-turn in 70 years. It is a fact that COVID-19 came when imperialism has been still reeling under the impact and repercussions of the 2008 global crisis. Now the pandemic has driven the world economy to a state of crumbling, the dimensions of which are surpassing that of the Great Depression of 1929-33.For instance, based on October 2020 database, IMF estimates a 4.4% contraction in world output in 2020. Except China which is expected to mark a growth rate of 1.9%, all leading countries will contract or represent minus growth- US(-4.3%), Japan(-5.3%), Euro Area(-8.3%) and UK(-9.8%). On the other hand, while the average growth rate of the so called “developing countries” is predicted to contract by -3%, that of India will be a staggering -10.3%.
According to Swiss bank UBS, by the dawn of 2020 itself, half of world’s net wealth belonged to the top 1% of the superrich; and top 10% of the population held 85% of total global wealth. Conversely, 90% of the people have only 15% of world’s wealth (and top 30% holding 97% of the total wealth). During the pandemic, world’s billionaires whose number rose from 2158 in 2017 to 2189 by mid-2020 increased their wealth by 27.5% during April-July 2020, to a record high of $10.2 trillion.
Its global consequences as manifested in surging poverty and unemployment are horrific. While IMF predicts a fall of an additional 90 million people in to extreme deprivation in 2020, ILO calculates an unemployment/underemployment of up to 2 billion people (58% of the world’s total labour force of 3.46 billion in 2019) in 2020 itself. According to the World Food Program, on an average, around 9 million people are dying annually from famine and hunger-related causes. Now, on account of the pandemic, this figure may skyrocket as there will now be 1.5 to 2.0 billion famine-vulnerable people, many of whom may die.
Indian Economy Facing The Worst-Ever Contraction
However, the present collapse of the Indian economy, as noted in the beginning, is quite unparalleled and the worst on record. Both International agencies and official Indian sources have acknowledged this. In continuation of a 24% contraction or negative growth for the first quarter of 2020, the IMF, in its latest World Economic Outlook, predicts a 10.3% contraction for the entire financial year ending March 2021, revising its earlier prediction of a 4.5% decline. This additional 5.8 percentage-point downgrade of Indian GDP is the worst in the world. Strikingly, IMF’s outlook for India is worse than RBI’s prediction of a 9.5% decline in GDP in the current fiscal year. A comparison of the sector-wise official statistics pertaining to the first quarter of the previous year (2019-20) with that of the current year, gives a more concrete picture. For instance, except agriculture, forestry and fishing (that shows a growth of 3.4% in the first quarter of 2020-21 compared to 3.0% growth in 2019-20), all other sectors are steadily contracting. Thus, 2020-21 quarter one contraction for mining and quarrying was -23.3% (4.7% in 2019-20), for manufacturing, it was -39.3% (3% in 2019-20), electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services -7% (8.8% in 2019-20), -50.3% (5.2% in 2019-20), trade, hotels, transport, communication, broadcasting services -47% (3.5% in 2019-20), financial, real estate and professional services -5.3% (6.0% in 2019-20), and public administration, defence and other services -10.3% (7.7% in 2019-20).
As such, according to independent analysts, the crisis is more deep-rooted and worse outcomes are in store. For instance, India’s former Chief Economic Advisor and World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu have predicted the economy to shrink by around 12% in the current year. According to Arun Kumar, another well-known economist, India’s GDP decline in the current year will be around 50% and not 24% as officially claimed. This is because of the devastation of India’s unorganised/informal sector that provides 94% of total employment and yields 45% of total output produced in the country. Contradicting CMIE data, Arun Kumar also puts the actual unemployment figure at 20 crore. According to him, unless appropriately managed through policy interventions, the official optimistic projections for 2021 will remain as wishful thinking.
The massive decline of around 24% in India’s GDP, as officially estimated, in 2020 April-June quarter makes the size of GDP almost the same in size as that in the same quarter in 2015. Hence it can be said that the GDP level has leaped back by 5-6 years, more or less equal to the same level when Modi came to power. As a result, the past half-a-decade under Modinomics may be characterised as lost years for India. A comparison between Bangladesh, India’s neighbour would be more illuminating in this regard. According to IMF data, on an average, India’s per capita GDP has been 24 percent higher than that of Bangladesh during the last 5 years. But by mid-2020, India’s per capita GDP in nominal US dollar terms was $1876.53 (Rs. 1.25 lakh approximately) compared to $1887.97 for Bangladesh.
Consequently, in the 2020 Global Hunger Index prepared jointly by World Hunger Aid and Concern Worldwide, India’s rank slipped to 94 (among 107 countries) from 55 (among 76) in 2014. Most of the South Asian countries — Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (73), Bangladesh (75), Myanmar (78) and Pakistan (88) — are better off than India in this regard. As its manifestation, with 17.5% of world population, India is home to 22% of world’s most poor and hungry people. As a direct outcome of this destitution, with 37.4% of the underweight children, India has the distinction of having number one position in the world in this regard too. In the same vein, in the case of other indices such as Inequality Index (where India’s position is 129 among 157 countries), Happiness Index (144 among 156), Environment Performance Index (167 among 180), and so on, India’s deterioration continues unabated. With 18 million slaves (out of 46 million worldwide) almost entirely from the lowest rung of the caste system, India under Modi regime occupies number one position in Global Slavery Index too.
At the same time, amidst a 24% GDP contraction during the first quarter of 2020-21, as estimated by Forbes, within one year Ambani has his wealth increased by 73% from$3730 crore to $8870 crore, that of Adani by 61% reaching $2520 crore, and in that order for many billionaires such that the total wealth of the first 10 Indian billionaires rose to $51750 crore (approximately Rs. 38 lakh crore) during the same period. In general, as Oxfam has estimated, today around three-fourth of the additional income or wealth generated in India is gobbled up by the upper 1% of the super-rich (close to 60 percent of the country’s total wealth is in the hands of upper 10 percent of the population). If we exclude the 75% of the income appropriated by the upper 1%, then the per capita income of the 99% will be a paltry portion of the officially estimated Rs. 1.25 lakh. And if we exclude the organised sector and take the unorganised and informal sectors where 95% of the Indian workforce are depending for their sustenance (for which no detailed official data is there), then the situation will be too gruesome. It may be more horrific than what Arjun Sengupta, the then Planning Commission member had estimated a decade back—that 83% of Indians subsist on just Rs. 20 a day!
Analysis Of The Situation
The cause for this situation is now generally attributed to India’s lockdown which is acknowledged as the most coercive, the most stringent and most prolonged in the world, on account of its deadly restrictions on social and economic life. For instance, a study on the government responses to COVID-19 by the Oxford University, after comparing the pandemic-induced lockdowns that put the economy in a frozen state on account of disruptions in both movement of the people and supply chains in various countries, has attributed the highest “Stringency Index” of 100 to Modi government followed by Italy (with a Stringency Index of 95.2), Spain (90.5), Germany (81), US (66.76) and Japan (45). Revealingly, while all other countries resorted to lockdowns when the number of infections reached around 100000, the strictest lockdown in India was superimposed when the total infections were just around 5000 in the third week of March 2020. While putting the entire economy in a frozen state leading to a devastation especially of the informal sectors that provide sustenance for vast majority of the toiling masses, in the absence of any worthwhile intervention for containing the pandemic, the lockdown that lasted for almost 2 months utterly failed to get the pandemic under control, with the number of corona-virus cases crossing 7.6 million (by the beginning of the 3rd week of October, while these lines are written), second only to the US.
COVID-19, The Immediate Cause Only
The government and corporate media in India now firmly claim that the economic collapse with all its manifestations is caused by the corona virus pandemic. This is also endorsed by IMF when its chief economist Gita Gopinath referred to the “great lockdown” of India. But this forms only a partial explanation and not in accord with concrete facts. On the other hand, a closer analysis reveals that the elements of the present crisis and the consequent irreversible economic downturn got a new turn since the advent of Modi in 2014. In fact, COVID-19 is only the spark and not the root cause triggering the present crisis.
That is, while the post-meltdown crisis has been a continuing process at the global level, India’s economic collapse under Modi regime, though connected with many external factors, is to be understood as different in many respects. For, as highlighted by several international and Indian studies including that done by the Economic Research Department of SBI , the Indian economy was ‘relatively immune’ from the global meltdown of 2008 and the country’s GDP had been growing at 7-8 % on an average up to 2014-15. This also prompted neoliberal centres to characterise India as “the best-performing economy” in the world during the years immediately following 2008 meltdown.
Thus, in retrospect, it can be seen that the ongoing economic collapse of India has been inseparably linked up with the complete transformation of the Indian state as a “facilitator” of corporatisation and the consequent far-right shift in economic policies under Modi regime. For instance, without any qualm, immediately after coming to power, the first step that Modi did was the abolition of the more than six-and-a-half decade-old Planning Commission, the last remnant of state-led development, and its replacement by a corporate-bureaucratic think-tank called NITI Aayog and entrusting the task of policymaking with it without even consulting the parliament. To transform the State as corporate-investor-friendly, and to rapidly improve India’s indices pertaining to “ease of doing business” and “global competitiveness” as laid down by Bretton Woods twin (and, of course, fully in tandem with the far-right economic philosophy of RSS that guides the Modi regime), what followed was a pan-Indian extension of the ultra-rightist Gujarat model that uninterruptedly flourished under Modi’s chief ministership. Mimicking China’s export-led growth, the flagship “Make in India” initiative was announced in September 2014 with the declared aim of transforming India into world’s manufacturing hub, creation of an additional 100 million jobs in the manufacturing sector and raising the proportion of manufacturing from 16 percent to 25 percent of GDP by 2022. However, what happened is the opposite and today this proportion has further fallen down to around 13 percent. The foreign capital that rushed in taking advantage of liberal tax, labour and environmental regulations under the cover of “Make in India” mainly went into money-spinning speculative activities, as capital that flowed in was least interested in employment-oriented production. Consequently, “Make in India” transformed India into a dustbin corporate-speculative capital on the one hand, and a dumping ground for capital and consumer goods from imperialist sources ranging from US to China.
Modi’s 2016 Demonetisation superimposed on the people in the guise of a surgical strike against black money was an ingenious move to whiten the black money with the most corrupt corporate black money holders on the one hand, and suck out whatever left in the arteries of common people by denying them cash which is the life-blood of the informal sectors and essential for people’s daily transactions, leading to a further concentration of wealth with the corporate-financial elite closely connected with the ruling regime. In the process, the whole economy remained in a paralysed state. This was followed by GST that deprived the states of their Federal right of resource mobilisation and shifted the tax burden on the shoulders of common people and on the unorganised sectors.
Though Modi came to power in 2014 claiming to generate an additional 2 crore jobs every year, according to independent estimates, by the beginning of 2020, i.e., on the eve of the pandemic, the country had lost around 14 crore jobs since 2014. And India today experiences the worst unemployment in recorded history. Almost 50 percent of the people is still clinging to agriculture for their sustenance though the contribution of agriculture to GDP is only around 15 percent as of now. Modi’s input-output pricing policies pertaining to agriculture and its forcible integration with world market coupled corporatisation policies have pauperised the peasantry. Over the years, corporatisation of agriculture had displaced large sections from agriculture altogether.
Though concentration of income and wealth under Modi is of unprecedented proportions, only 1.5 crore Indians are effective direct tax payers (including corporate and personal income taxes) and in spite of extreme concentration of wealth and inequality, Indian corporate tax rate at 15 percent is the lowest in the world. The direct tax-GDP ratio in India is stagnating at around 5.5 percent which also is the lowest in the world. If the upper 10 percent of the wealthy sections are brought under the tax net, together with 30 percent corporate tax prevailing when Modi came to power (during the 1970s, the highest rate was up to 90 percent), the direct tax-GDP ratio could have easily been raised to 20 percent.
To compensate for this biggest loss in direct tax revenue arising from tax rate reduction, along with the increase in indirect tax burden on the people through GST, Modi has been resorting to the biggest-ever loot of the broad masses by sky-rocketing prices of petroleum products (mainly through raising taxes and cesses on petrol, diesel, cooking gas, etc.), and by this alone during 2014-20 the regime has amassed an additional amount worth Rs. 17.5 lakh crore compared to the UPA regime. Ironically, the average world crude oil price (India imports around 80 percent of its crude oil requirements) during the entire Modi regime has been around one-third of what it was during the previous UPA rule, and following declining global demand in the context of COVID-19, global price is now hovering around one-fourth of what it had been a decade ago. Meanwhile, declining government revenue from direct and indirect taxes(the latter mainly on account of loss in people’s purchasing power) coupled with corruption (though Modi came to power on an anti-corruption plank and with the promise of bringing back Indian black money from foreign tax havens and putting Rs. 15 lakh in to the account of each Indian citizen, under him India became a “flourishing example of crony capitalism” and the most corrupt country in Asia) and loss to exchequer in manifold ways, etc., are resulting in an unprecedented growth in India’s debt-GDP ratio to around 85 percent during the Modi period. To cap it all, an unprecedented loot of public wealth through disinvestment of PSUs and plunder of public sector banks through the creation of NPAs by corporates are flourishing without any let up.
The anti-people nature of this government is self-evident in its reluctance to distribute at least a portion of the huge stock of food grains among the starving millions including the migrant workers who were condemned to bear the brunt of the coercive lockdown. In spite of Modi regime’s anti-farmer policies including the latest pro-corporate central agricultural legislations, India is ranked second in food and agricultural production. As such, the total food grains stock (rice plus wheat) with FCI has topped 100 million tons by mid-2020. On account of grave storage challenges, millions of tons of this grain stock are prone to decay, and the government could have effectively and quickly liquidate the heavy burden of storage by immediately distributing this among the needy, vulnerable and destitute sections through a free-grain scheme. But true to its fascist character, except certain window-dressing (eg, the announcement to distribute 5 kg wheat/rice for 3 months among the poor as part of Aatmanirbhar), the government least interested to distribute the food grains among the tens of millions of poor including the migrant workers.
To be precise, prior to COVID-19, the neoliberal-corporatisation policies pursued by Modi government have been driving the country to an economic contraction of unprecedented proportions. Now the pandemic is again used as an opportunity by the corporate-saffron fascist regime for stimulating the corporates by its far-right agenda more aggressively. For instance, the recently announced so called “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” is another cover for an unprecedented “stimulus package” for those whom Modi regime characterises as “wealth creators” (a synonym for most corrupt corporate looters). Aatmanirbhar Bharat is a vulgar imitation of the earlier prognosis of “Make in India” (of late, “Make in India” is replaced by the new catchword “Assemble in India for the World” in accordance with the “Global Value Chains” hypothesis recently put forward by World Bank)and what envisaged now is the outright sell-out of remaining key and strategic sectors including mining, transport, defence, banks and insurance, space exploration, power distribution, health research, and entire frontier technologies to foreign and Indian corporates. No doubt, such “supply-side” interventions belong to the same genre of pro-corporate stimulus packages pursued elsewhere by neoliberal centres. Revealingly, out of the Rs. 21 lakh crore Aatmanirbhar package, what addressed to the vast majority of toiling and oppressed masses is only around Rs.2 lakh core or just one percent of the country’s GDP, the remaining straightway going to corporate coffers.
On Understanding the Present Economic Collapse
Obviously, for fascists, crises are new opportunities, and the corporate-saffron fascist Modi regime is no exception to this rule. Using COVID-19 as a cover, Modi.2 is now engaged in an aggressive wealth transfer to corporate looters on the one hand, and imposition of heavy burdens on the backs of common people on the other. Of course, as can be seen, there has been a constant economic downturn under Modi-1 and Modi-2, and the GDP contraction cannot be only due to the pandemic or the severest lockdown. Ironically, as we pointed out earlier, corporate wealth accumulation is flourishing without any let up even as the economy and all its components are going down—private consumption expenditure contracted-26.7%, exports-20%, construction-50%, investment and services (including trade, hotels, communication, transport and broadcast)-47% respectively and so on in the context of the pandemic. In the ultimate analysis, all these variables could be seen directly and indirectly linked up with gross value addition, production, employment and earnings ofthe people. Therefore, it is important to understand this irreversible declining trend under Modi regime with respect to the logic of corporatisation (“wealth creation” as the govt. officially puts it) vigorously pursued by it.
From its very inception, Modi government’s concentrated effort has been to create an ‘investor-friendly” atmosphere for the corporate speculators. In the guise of unleashing the “animal spirit” of the most corrupt corporate giants, unprecedented tax give-aways and exemptions along with steep reduction in corporate tax rates have become regular feature of all budgets and extra-budgetary measures since 2014. Now at 15 percent, Indian corporate tax rate is the lowest in the world. Corporate companies are exempted from paying Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT), audit exemption for adapting to cashless transactions up to Rs. 5 crore, amendment in Indian Company’s Act for abolishing penal steps against those violating it including non-adherence to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and so on. Even profit-making PSUs are disinvested at throwaway prices to be gobbled up big corporate companies. Leading corporates were allowed to build-up huge non-performing assets (NPAs) with public sector banks that pushed the banking system to crisis. Elimination of all restrictions to the free entry and exit of foreign corporate capital and similar other steps were also initiated in a systematic manner.
But this unparalleled wealth transfer to corporates in the guise of boosting production and employment has, instead of positively contributing anything to employment-oriented production, rather led to horrific proportion of wealth accumulation by both foreign and domestic corporate giants who diverted a major component of this wealth to terribly destructive speculation and money-spinning activities. Even banks, financial institutions and mutual funds have become reluctant to deploy the immense funds at their disposal for productive investment. Still under the so called ‘expert’ advice from neoliberal centres, red carpet has been continuously laid down for attracting foreign capital. And the economic situation which was bad in the pre-Covid situation has become worse, or as is conceived by many, the economy which was already in the ICU is now put on the ventilator. Thus, Modi government’s wholehearted embrace of the logic of corporate capital-i.e., if left free capital today invariably goes to the most profitable avenues- has pushed Indian economy in to a vicious corporatisation-stagnation trap. Its ultimate outcome is the explosive growth of the most corrupt and parasitic corporate class sucking out wealth from the real economy through manifold ways while remaining at the sphere of speculation.
Lenin in his theory of imperialism had already explained much on the character of fictitious or speculative capital –an aspect briefly noted by Marx too in Capital. Today under neoliberal imperialism, speculative capital that develops exclusively in the financial sphere by sucking out value from the real economy without any real link with material production has become the dominant form of capital. And this is the essence of economic contraction and crisis today. India today is in the firm grip of a vicious circle—i.e., lack of investment in employment-oriented productive investment leads to lack of jobs resulting in lack of income and purchasing power for the masses, which in turn leads to lack of demand for goods and services and market contraction that lead to lower or lack of profit from the productive sphere which again pulls back investment in spite of repeated corporate “stimulus packages” by the government. As this vicious circle of contraction/stagnation strengthens, Modi government which rolls itself back from all investments, in tune with neoliberal diktats, is coercively superimposing heavier and heavier burdens on the shoulders of the people. All avenues at the disposal of corporate-saffron fascism are deployed not only against workers and all oppressed including dalits, adivasis, minorities, women and even children, but also on political opponents and dissenters. Obviously, there is no shortcut, and the only option is a political alternative capable of resisting and defeating this horrific situation.
On Immediate Options and Political Alternative
Obviously, from the perspective of Marxist political economy, the alternative to this corporate-fascist offensive is to break the logic of neo-liberalism itself, which calls for an appropriate broad-based, nationwide people’s movement led by revolutionary forces capable of imparting death blows to corporate capital. The immediate requirements or slogans for initiating such a process are there in the Draft of the Common Minimum program for building the Anti-Fascist Front already proposed by CPI (ML) Red Star (see, “ Appeal to All Revolutionary Left Organisations”, Red Star, August 2020). The specific economic demands (items 3-8) mentioned in it, for instance, if urgently implemented, will ensure more purchasing power in people’s hands and will provide a boost to productive economic activities. Though reactionary sections of corporate capital may still keep aloof from investment, it will definitely prompt sustainable agriculture, encourage medium and small industries to actively come forward to boost production and employment, which can break the vicious circle of economic stagnation.
Together with this “demand push” (as against “supply side”) initiatives, demands for reintroducing progressive corporate taxation, wealth and inheritance tax, abolition of regressive indirect taxation including the neoliberal GST that puts disproportionate burden on the people, introduction of redistributive wage and universal social and security and gender-specific policies, ensuring quality public services including water, health and education, total elimination of burden of unpaid work especially by women, guaranteeing elder care as well as child care, ensuring minimum wage sufficient enough for adequate standard of living, regulating ratios between lowest and highest wages and earnings, price support programs for peasants, reasonable restrictions on financial dealings and ban on speculation, capital flight, illicit financial flows, etc., anti-monopoly and anti-corruption policies, strengthening public sector and reversal of disinvestment and denationalisation policies and so on can appropriately be incorporated in to the minimum program. This shall form the stepping stone towards a sustainable political-economic alternative capable of resisting and overcoming the hegemony of corporate capital.
Women’s Call : Down With Manuvadi RSS
Neo-Fascism; Strengthen Efforts to Overthrow It
Activists and feminists from Mumbai join the wider Indian human rights and minority community in condemning, outright, the travesty of a Judgement in the Babri Masjid Demolition Criminal Case. Not only have none of the 32 accused been found guilty, most of whom are prominent players in the current ruling political dispensation in both Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh, but the sheer delay in pronouncement of this verdict makes it a sham on the due process of law. Hard documentary evidence as also powerful witness testimonies from those present, including police officials, have been wilfully ignored. There are Videos and Photos of the Demolition, the “leaders” who today claim they are vindicated, have been seen and heard provoking mobs and leading sustained mass campaigns that ensured the demolition did happen. To say that this verdict is the latest in many to spell a death knell for Constitutional, Constitutional Law, Morality and the Rule of Law would not be an exaggeration.
We would like to remind all Indians that the entire campaign that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid, not only let loose a particularly genocidal character of communal violence where Muslims became repeatedly the target (be it Meerut-Hashimpur, 1997, Bhagalpur, 1989, Ahmedabad, Hubli, Bhiwandi-Bombay, Jaipur among only some instances), but Advani’s rath yatra made it abundantly clear that he was not carrying a message of peace. Pictures of him carrying a trishul, an axe, a sword and a bow and arrow were constant. A systematic demonization campaign against Indian Muslims, manipulating history and militarizing Lord Ram was employed.
Among the telling eye witness accounts – including the one by Ruchira Gupta, then with the Business India magazine – was the one by CRPF woman personnel, Anju Gupta. “On December 6, 1992 Advani made a spirited speech from the Ram Katha KunjManch, barely 150-200 metres from the disputed site, which charged the people. He repeatedly said that the temple would be constructed at the same site,” Gupta told the trial court. She also said that when the karsevaks began demolishing the Babri Masjid none of the BJP leaders who were present, including Advani, made any efforts to stop them. Once the mosque was demolished, the BJP leaders distributed sweets, according to Gupta’s testimony. Despite all this, we have a verdict that has shattered the faith of common Indians.
LK Advani and several others, including Murli Manohar Joshi, who were charged with criminal conspiracy enjoy the impunity provided by a government determined to protect the perpetrators of this Violent and Criminal act. We would also like to remind Indians that it was under the first NDA government in 2001, that the Allahabad high court dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy in this case: the charge was restored by the Supreme Court in 2017, which described the act of demolishing the mosque as a crime that shaken the ‘secular fabric of the Constitution’. But for the intervention of the Supreme Court the trial would not have reached completion.
Not Only Management, Leaders of Established Unions Also Responsible for Jute Workers’ Plight
Not only the owners and the government are responsible for the destruction of the jute workers of Bengal, along with the leaders of almost all the established union, and the role of these last ones is anti-labourers, the warm proof has been found once again. A case was filed demanding the salary of jute workers during the lockdown period. The Kolkata High Court gave a positive verdict in that case. Even though the owner’s organization IJMA went to the Supreme Court against that verdict, they have not yet been able to take any suspendment. The Labour Minister called for several meetings in terms of the High Court case. Today was a tri-party meeting.
IJMA said, let’s wait for the Supreme Court verdict. The Labour Minister and all the union representatives said, there should be a settlement outside the court. IJMA is next, which is called a feeler. Said, if the government compensates the owners, the owners can pay the salary of the lockdown period. It was necessary to hold this feeler and move on. Get something from there. But the leaders of the established union did not walk that way. Brought 150 more topics to the discussion. Every matter is fair, but the meeting from which the workers are supposed to pay the salary of the lockdown period, is not relevant in that meeting.
Owners representative got the opportunity. He turned the discussion into a completely different sector. There is a huge controversy over which union is bringing allegations about Kon Mill and what is its accuracy. The senior leader of an established union smiled and said, 2 2 Give nothing, nothing will happen. 2 2 As if, his goal is to establish that the owner will not give anything! The meeting was kind of fascinated. It’s been given to the frozen. The matter of salary of workers during the lockdown period has been released to the Supreme Court. Tomorrow these leaders will make a statement saying 2 2 The owner didn’t give it, didn’t give it The role of the established union leadership in making the owner to give it to the owner will remain hidden. The rude truth will remain hidden that the owner could be forced, if the established union leaders had performed their duties as workers representatives.
Sharmistha
CPI (ML) Red Star Central Committee is organizing two webinars in November 2020.
The first Webinar will be held on 6th November 5, 2020, as part of observing 103rd Anniversary of October revolution, on "Importance of the lessons of the October Revolution in present critical situations". CPI(ML) Red Star General Secretary Com K N Ramachandran, PB Members Com P J James & Com Sankar Das will participate in this webinar. organizes two central webinars , first in English on 6th November and the second in
The second webinar, as a part of ICOR call to observer November 14th as International day of Environmental struggles, will be held on 9th November on “Significance of struggle for ecological Protection in the context of intensifying climate change and Covid19 Pandemic Crisis”. Party General Secretary Com K N Ramachandran, renowned environmental scientists Dr Soumya Dutta & Dr T V Sajeev will attend the webinar.
Both webinars will start from 6 PM to 08.30 PM and will be live streamed at the central Facebook page of CPI (ML) Red Star: https://www.facebook.com/CPIMLRS
Document Actions
