----- Original Message -----
From: CPI-ML Intl Liasion Office
To: cpiml 1ILO
Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2003 12:22 AM
Subject: ML International Newsletter: March-April 2003
ML International Newsletter
March-April 2003
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An update on news and ideas from the revolutionary left in India.
Produced by: Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation
international team
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Website: www.cpiml.org
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Table of Contents
1) Mass Struggles: Build a New Bihar Movement
2) Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Extravaganza: Hindutva Inc. Goes Global
3) The Rise of the Global Pre-Emptive Anti-War Movement
4) World Social Forum: Another Forum is Possible?
5) Obituaries of Revolutionaries
6) Donations for the Completion of Nagbhushan Bhawan
7) Anti-Globalization Protests In Pakistan
Mass Struggles
Build a New Bihar Movement
From: Liberation and ML Update, March 2003.
In the backdrop of the mass unrest that took over whole of Bihar in general
and Patna in particular centering the killing of three innocent
student-youth by Patna police in a false encounter on 28 December '02,
CPI(ML) decided to come up with a campaign to channelise this mass
discontent towards a positive course of building a new Bihar. A virtual
war-like situation could be seen between the police and the people in the
militant bandhs in Patna on 31 December '02 and all over Bihar on 3 January
'03. Even after this, an atmosphere prevailed where even a small event was
enough to bring people onto the streets, directly targeting the police and
administration and the militancy of such movements continued to grow.
In this course All India Students Association (AISA) and Revolutionary Youth
Association (RYA) took particularly significant initiatives. A
fortnight-long campaign "Rabri Hatao, Naya Bihar Banaao" ("Remove Rabri,
Build a New Bihar") was launched by AISA-RYA on 6 January 2003. On that day
Jan Adalats were held all over the state and then on 8 January,
pledge-taking meetings were held. Defying this severe cold wave, AISA-RYA
took out impressive bicycle rallies in all important district centres in the
state on Jan 17, and the one in the capital Patna on Jan 18, followed by a
state-wide programme of torch-light processions on Jan 19. These programmes
and propaganda were undertaken in order to intensify the preparations for a
massive student-youth march to be held in Patna on Jan 22. All Left and
democratic students and youth organisations were also invited to take part
in this march. On the day of conclusion of this campaign, an impressive
"Student-Youth March" was held in Patna on 22 January. Addressing the march
CPI(ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya appealed to the
student-youth to oust the corrupt state govt. through a militant movement
that will also wipe out the communal fascist forces in the state. He said
that people give their mandates not only through elections but also through
mass movements against oppressive regimes, which are more stable than
electoral mandates. Presently the situation is ripe to march forward for a
more broad-based, militant movement by associating it with aspirations of
wide range of people, from rural poor and dalits to urban proletariat to
intelligentsia and middle class. Such a movement can bring to the fore
forces of change that can build a new, 'People's Bihar'. He emphasised the
need for unity of all Left and democratic forces against both Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
To harness this most significant aspect of the new phase of people's
struggles that has begun in Bihar, a "Naya Bihar Banao" cadre convention was
organized on 23 January in Patna. It was addressed by Party General
Secretary, who emphasized that with our all wings and resources we must fan
out, reach to the masses and mobilize them politically with a long-term view
against the present regime. Reiterating the need to oppose anti-people twin
targets, the Laloo-Rabri regime on the one hand and the BJP on the other, he
said that we must build a massive movement to ensure Bihar's development,
turn it into a New Bihar. He said that Bihar needs a '74 like movement in
terms of scale and intensity, but at the same time it must be a positive
negation of that movement, because that spirit can now be revoked only by
overthrowing the renegades of 1974, like Laloo Prasad in Bihar and Narendra
Modi in Gujarat. He further added that the 1974 movement failed to provide
any model even in terms of government, its only product being a meek and
submissive Morarji govt. as an alternative to the Congress. Therefore, in
retrospect, re-evaluation of the whole phenomena and basic premises of that
movement is definitely needed. He observed that the current situation had
entrusted us a greater responsibility to build a movement on wider scale by
uniting diverse social forces and this can only be achieved under the banner
of the Communist Party and the Red Flag. To this end we have to guarantee
ideological correctness along with vibrant leadership and good mobilising
capacity.
The convention announced to hold a mass convention on 23 Feb in Patna and
programmes to protest BJP's attempts to spread communal violence through
various outfits of Sangh Parivar and appealed to the people to hold high the
glorious democratic traditions and give a befitting reply to its fascist
maneuverings. In response to this call several Party teams were formed to
cover whole of the state within a fortnight during which hundreds of street
corner meetings were held. Likewise, student-youth teams, agricultural
workers' organization teams and Kisan Sabha teams also took part in the
propaganda campaign.
The Bihar Pradesh Khet Mazdoor Sabha took up an extensive programme of
marches in deep interiors where an exposure campaign against state govt.'s
policies was carried out simultaneously addressing the question of
development of Bihar and repression by state-feudal-criminal nexus during
the "Naya Bihar Banaao" campaign from 8-15 February. The AISA and RYA
launched a statewide 'Badlo Bihar' (Transform Bihar)
students-youth-struggle-march from 15-20 Feb where five or six teams are
scheduled to visit every district in the state. It was taken out from four
different centres of the state. After covering several districts and
important centers and campuses, these marches were scheduled to reach Patna
on Feb 23 to join the "Naya Bihar Banaao Jan Sammelan".
In the "Naya Bihar Banaao" Mass Convention that was held in Patna on 23
February, militant voices of mass resistance against rising crime, corrupt
and repressive regime and of mass activism against deep rooted stagnation
were echoed. The convention called for a wider unity of all positive
political and social forces active in Bihar to intensify mass movement
against corrupt-criminal and communal forces. Thousands of people ranging
from peasants and workers to students and youth as well as concerned
citizens from other walks of life attended this mass convention. Addressing
the gathering, CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said that
people are rising to make their own history through strengthening mass
movements. Describing the mass convention as a platform of mass movement',
he said, "permutations and combinations of power equations will not resolve
the crisis, only a series of vigorous movements can resolve it and give
Bihar a new political model." He called for a wider unity of all positive
political and social forces to strengthen the movement for a new Bihar. He
appealed to the people to remain vigilant against the forces who are out to
derail the movement by triggering caste war and communal frenzy.
This Mass Convention came out with its declaration of political resolutions
and agitational programme. It condemned the American war frenzy terming it
Hitler's fascism and expressed oneness with the world opinion against war on
Iraq by America. It also demanded the Govt. of India to ensure an active
anti-war role, show solidarity with anti-war nations and stop tagging along
America. The Convention also resolved to oppose 'Dharm Sansad' by Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP), being held in Delhi, and said that it is intended to
divert from the basic issues just before the budget session. This mass
convention appealed to give a fitting rebuff to Sangh Parivar and central
govt.'s joint conspiracy of 'Mandir politics' and communal agenda negating
democratic institutions, parliamentary system and secular opinion.
The Convention expressed solidarity with the mass protest by central trade
unions to be held in New Delhi on Feb 26 against disinvestment, for a
central legislation for agrarian labourers, and to scrap anti-national,
anti-worker industrial policy. It appealed to intensify movement in Bihar as
well as whole of the country against central govt's industrial, agricultural
and economic policies that are closing industries and destroying
agriculture.
It was decided to hold a parallel Assembly in front of Vidhan Sabha (State
Assembly) during budget session on March 24 and a series of district level
rallies from March 12 to April 2, besides programmes on International Women'
s Day and Bhagat Singh's martyrdom day and to organise a 'Kisan Panchayat'
by Bihar Pradesh Kisan Sabha in Patna on April 17.
South Asian Diaspora
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Extravaganza: Hindutva Inc. Goes Global
-Kalpana Wilson
On the face of it the recent Pravasi Bharatiya Divas extravaganza had all
the hallmarks of a long established pattern of interaction between the
Indian bourgeoisie and its overseas counterparts. There were the familiar
exhortations to do more for the homeland on one side and on the other a
familiar combination of sentimentality with a litany of complaints about the
inefficiency, inadequacy and ineptitude of all things Indian. Yet one needs
to only scratch the surface to find that the unprecedented official
recognition of the role of the Pravasi Bharatiya is yet another symptom of
the twin forces today consuming the country, global capital and Hindutva.
In terms of globalisation, the connection was of course quite explicit, with
Jaswant Singh using the occasion to announce further liberalisation of
foreign exchange transactions, even as Vajpayee piously intoned that 'we do
not want your riches, we want the richness of your experience'. NRIs are a
potential source of foreign direct investment which is why, as South African
Fatima Meer put it, it is the NRIs in the 'dollar and pound countries' who
are transparently of the most interest to the government. But all the
overblown rhetoric about a 'partnership between the children of Mother India
' barely masked the fact that NRI capital, like any other section of global
capital, is demanding -- and getting -- terms and conditions which will only
strip India further of its assets and resources.
In this context the government's oft-repeated hopes of emulating the Chinese
and Israeli experiences with their 'diasporas' are in different ways
particularly inappropriate. As far as Israel is concerned, there are obvious
parallels between the repressive and chauvinistic pro-US states of India and
Israel, and between the ideologies of Zionism and Hindutva. But the idea
that the Jewish diaspora has its roots in the state of Israel (and
consequently that all Jews are financially supporting Israel) is to
legitimise the Zionist myth. In the case of China, there is the much greater
financial clout of the overseas Chinese communities who are economically
dominant in several countries. But more importantly, as in other admiring
assessments of China's economic performance by the Indian ruling class,
China's ability to make the most of the overseas Chinese contribution is not
acknowledged to have anything to do with China's many decades of socialism.
But if the Indian economy stands to gain little from NRI capital if current
economic policies are maintained, the same cannot be said of the saffron
brigade. Ironically, it is the Sangh Parivar with its constant evocation of
a (fabricated) Indian 'tradition' which constitutes the most globalised
political force India has yet seen. Today the Sangh Parivar has come to rely
on the moral - and more importantly material - support of the so-called
diaspora which, as has been well-documented, runs into millions of dollars
(see reports in Liberation, October 2002 and January 2003). The fact that
the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was intended to recognise the contribution not
simply of Indians abroad but of Sangh Parivar supporters abroad was
reflected in the composition of the invitees: look beyond the public figures
(a handful of whom did challenge the Hindutva agenda of the gathering) and
successful businessmen, and we find that the 'ordinary people' present, the
'sub-postmaster from north London' or 'IT consultant from Phoenix' were
largely hand-picked Sangh Parivar supporters and fundraisers.
Hardly suprising then that Vajpayee should echo the hate-funders' hero
Narendra Modi in his inaugural address. While the latter had rallied against
the domestic media for slandering Gujarat, the Prime Minister bemoaned the
'bad press' that the whole of India gets in the rest of the world where
'isolated acts of crime and violence dominate the headlines', and urged
those present to set the situation right, presumably by intensifying the
current blanket denial of state orchestration of the Gujarat genocide by
Sangh Parivar sympathisers abroad. It is significant too, though perhaps
predictable, that while Vajpayee urged Indians abroad to overcome linguistic
divisions and strengthen the broader Indian identity, there was no mention
of bridging communal divisions in this process. The identity that NRIs are
to strengthen is implicitly a Hindu one. His words of guidance fit neatly
with what is actually happening in Britain for example where Gujarati Hindus
have a virtual monopoly on the term 'Indian' and the government is promoting
the idea of 'faith communities'.
As the announcement of dual citizenship for 'Persons of Indian Origin' in
advanced capitalist countries alone made all too plain, the Indian
communities in the Caribbean, Africa and South East Asia, many of whom are
the descendants of indentured labourers, are very much seen as second-class
NRIs today. In fact the model for 'Indianness' on show last month also
excludes the experiences of working-class Indians in Britain and North
America, and the struggles they have fought against state racism and for
basic rights in those countries.
It is these struggles and their continuation today in new forms which form
the basis on which a very different link between India and the 'diaspora'
can be strengthened and developed - a link between the revolutionary left in
India and the progressive sections of South Asian communities abroad, built
upon a shared determination to resist fascism, communalism, imperialism and
war.
Peace Movement
Struggle Against the Imperialist War Machine:
The Rise of the Global Pre-Emptive Anti-War Movement
From: Liberation, March 2003.
The second week in February of 2003 will go down in history as the biggest
global protest week against the latest imperialist offensive on the people
of Iraq. February 15th saw the biggest demonstration of the will of the
people of the world in the quest for peace. Preliminary estimates by the
mainstream media range from 8 million to 11.5 million. A show of strength
unprecedented in history not just in terms of sheer numbers but also in
terms of global coordination of show of strength. More than 600 cities from
each and every continent in the world participated in this display of
outrage against the imperialist war machine, including Antarctica! The
participants in these protest demonstrations varied from political groups,
labour unions, and civil rights organisations to religious groups,
environmental organisations and concerned citizens. The signs carried by
protesters demonstrated the peoples' profound understanding of the US war
plans. Thus, let these signs tell the story.
'The World Says No to War'
In the belly of the beast, that is New York City, the largest and most
diverse peaceful protest since the Vietnam war was organised where an
estimated 400, 000 people attended a rally. Braving severe cold and a court
order prohibiting them from marching, a huge crowd gathered in New York.
They rallied near the United Nations headquarters amidst heightened
security, which included thousands of uniformed officers in the streets,
sharp shooters on rooftops and plainclothes officers in the crowd.
More than 5 million people came out in separate demonstrations in Spain.
England, the staunchest US ally, saw 750, 000 people storm through London. 3
million marched in Rome condemning Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's
backing of Bush. In Syria, a nation on the frontline when war comes, 200,
000 people marched through Damascus. Australia also witnessed the largest
anti-war demonstration ever. In Sydney, 250, 000 people protested. Similar
demonstrations were held in several hundred cities across the world.
'How did our [US] Oil get under their Soil'
Iraqi soil covers the highest known oil reserves in the world. Oil giants
based in imperialist nations, especially US and UK, controlled most of this
oil during the times of King Faisal. After the oil industry was nationalised
access to this oil became more difficult. Needless to say that oil is a
major input for most economies of the world. Any major change in supply and
hence the price of oil can result in an 'oil shock', similar to the one in
the 1970s.
The current rulers in USA represent the interests of the oil companies. The
president and his family have made their fortune in oil. The vice president
was the CEO of Halliburton, a giant in the energy sector, days before he
took oath of office. The national security advisor was on the board of
directors of an oil giant before she took the oath of office. The list goes
on. Now whose interests do they represent? The American people!
The imperialist powers are salivating over the 'return of investment in war'
. Once a puppet regime is installed in Baghdad it will have access to 112
billion barrels of oil. It means a quarter of the world's oil reserves!
Altogether about 70 % of the world's proven oil reserves are in the Middle
East. This taken together with the fact that US has already produced more
than 60 % of the recoverable oil, the long term need for oil in the US is
immense. The gap in the US between demand and supply is gaining alarming
proportions. According to the US Department of Energy, US oil imports will
account for 70 % of total US domestic demand. It was 55% in 2001. Well
(sic), when you have Iraqi oil reserves, with the current rate of output,
the oil can last for 526 years!
'War is Imperialism'
The Franco-German axis within Europe has expressed opposition to the war
strategy of the USA. Although public opinion has played a role, that is not
the whole story. Recently, European and Russian oil companies have struck
several deals with Iraq. Leading the group are oil companies from France,
Russia, Italy, and Spain. There are actually over 30 deals signed and ready
to be implemented the moment sanctions are lifted. France's Oil company,
Total, holds rights to potentially huge reserves in Iraq. Lukoil, a Russian
oil giant, has an enormous field holding over 11 billion barrels of oil. To
make the deal sweeter for the Russians, Iraq has reached a deal in the
energy and related sectors worth $40 billion. The American oilmen insist
that the post war regime will tear up existing contracts. The head of the
American sponsored umbrella opposition group, Iraqi National Congress, has
openly declared that "American companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil".
The Russian oil barons are also playing it safe and the boss of Lukoil has
claimed that Mr Putin has promised to extract from America, in return for
Russian support for war, a promise to honour these contracts. One does not
need a lot of imagination to understand what the French oil firms might be
doing to outsmart the Russian oil firms. Is the Franco-German anti-war
posturing a manifestation of these vital interests?
It is also not just about oil. The military industrial complex has had a
major boost since September 11th. Now, as the going is good, it wants more.
The US defence budget has increased by leaps and bounds. For companies with
both commercial and defence sales, the impact of current recession has been
reduced because of the defence deals. Boeing's sales of commercial aircraft
have plummeted but the sales of defence related products have saved them
from a major crisis.
Make no mistake; the US ruling class is divided over this issue. Several
officers high up in the Navy have expressed their opposition to the Iraq
war. At Davos, several influential corporate executives had disagreed with
the plans for war. A bank executive writing in the Financial Times,
cautiously warned the US administration to pragmatically consider the cost
of war. The price tag for war ranges from $100 billion to $ 1 trillion.
After all, this taxpayers' money could be used for direct corporate welfare
and that is enough reason for concern!
'Protest Today, Revolution Tomorrow'
If an analogy is made to the anti-war movement during the era of the Vietnam
War, a startling and encouraging sign is that the current anti-war movement
has reached such a level when the war has not even started. The Vietnam era
anti-war protests gained momentum several years after thousands of
Vietnamese had been killed and millions had been driven to concentration
camps.
In the advanced capitalist countries, as war hysteria is built in the name
of terrorism the last few remnants of the pseudo welfare state are being
dismantled. The current recession has seen an increased attack on basic
services such as health and education. The governments throughout the world
have utilised the war on terror for terrorising labour. Labour has started
to resist this attack by building their struggles and resisting their
capitalists' imperialist designs. For example, in England, the goods train
drivers refused to drive the payload being transported for the Iraq war.
Historically, the US labour movement has been anchored in imperialism. The
AFL-CIO, the biggest labour union in the US, eagerly supported the war in
Vietnam and Central America. While there have always been individual workers
and unions devoted to international solidarity, they have been a minority.
However, there is cause for optimism with some labour unions forming the US
Labour Against War (USLAW). This coalition represents 2 million members.
Post September 11th, the anti-globalisation movement not only started to
lose its momentum but also did not translate its energy into defending the
political and economic rights of the working people. This pre-emptive
anti-war movement has quickly gained momentum, especially in the imperialist
countries leading the war. Although the movement is still in an embryonic
stage but it portends radical possibilities. The movement can only sustain
itself if the constituent organizations can build synergies between the
struggles against the external imperialist war and the internal class war.
The Unofficial Viewpoint
World Social Forum: Another Forum is Possible?
- Sundaram
After popularizing the slogan `Another World is Possible' it was inevitable
that one day some wit would taunt the organizers of the World Social Forum
with a parody of the original - `Another Forum is Possible ?'. But as the
third WSF concluded in Porto Alegre, Brazil late January this half-mocking,
half-humorous quip is taking on more serious tones. Is indeed another WSF
possible ?
But before we get into that, the good news first. The recent round of
historic global rallies mid-February against an impending US attack on Iraq
was certainly a major victory for organizations involved in the WSF process.
Ever since the Seattle protests against the WTO and the three WSF events in
Brazil there has been some kind of a worldwide momentum building up for
joint action on an important international issue.
Though the February 15 action was also joined by numerous groups not part of
the WSF there is no doubt that the internationalist consciousness revived by
the Forum has paid off spectacularly. It is precisely this sort of potential
for mass movement that makes the WSF event so attractive and relevant to
activist groups all around the world.
Having said all that now for the bad news. There are ample signs that the
organizational, ideological tensions building up within the WSF constituents
for some time now are reaching boiling point. Unless dealt with in a
transparent and practical manner the WSF may be headed for a period of
prolonged turmoil, if not actual splintering of some sort.
If that sounds too dire, consider the following trends emerging within the
WSF. Broadly there are two distinct conflicts within the Forum:
a) Logistical/Financial: The first WSF event in 2001 was attended by
15,000 delegates, the second one by nearly 50,000 and the most recent one in
January by a massive 100,000. All three years a bulk, almost 90 per cent of
the delegates in Porto Alegre, were from within Brazil and other Latin
American countries. The size of the gathering, once seen as its strength, is
now getting to be an obstacle and making it impossible to make proper
logistical arrangements. The chaos at the Forum site, due to the large
number of workshops, seminars, performances is preventing meaningful
participation or interaction and runs the risk of alienating many of those
attending.
The irony of all this is of course is that despite the quasi-anarchist
rhetoric of the WSF organizers (`The WSF is not a organization, it is a
process') the real, practical problems of hosting such a mega-event are
frustrating even for those who champion chaos in theory. After the WSF 2003
event two of the loudest voices complaining about the way it was held were
Naomi Klein, author of `No Logo' and Michael Albert, editor of the US based
Z Magazine, highly influential among WSF participants.
Klein, in a recent article said that the WSF had been `hijacked' by
everything `big'. `Big attendance',` big speeches', and most of all `big men
' like Luiz Inacio `Lula' da Silva, the newly elected President of Brazil,
who came to the forum and addressed 75,000 adoring fans, she complained
(despite herself being one of the `big' names at the WSF last year ! ).
Albert on the other hand railed against the WSF's lack of organization after
a series of lectures on `Life after Capitalism' (basically Albert's pet
theme of creating a blueprint for an ideal socialist society) flopped due to
poor attendance amidst the logistical confusion of the event.
On the financial front there are even greater tensions with a lot of
heartburn among many participants about what they see as the emergence of a
`privileged' layer of activists who always seem to get their tickets to
Porto Alegre and hotels to stay paid for. In a recent debate with Susan
George of ATTAC, France, an organization which was among the originators of
the WSF idea the Argentinian `neighbourhood assemblies' activist Ezequiel
Adamovsky accused the Forum of `becoming unduly focused around big names or
intellectuals who get most of the funding, whilst many grassroots activists
cannot afford to attend and don't get the space they deserve'.
The fact that this kind of petty issue can even come up in a process that is
trying to make `another world possible' shows two things: 1) given the
number of NGOs attending the WSF, fighting over funding is but natural. In a
world of limited (and shrinking too!) donor organizations there is bound to
be a `class struggle' within the NGO world between the haves and the
have-nots !! 2) On a more serious note this debate is also an indicator of
the way money and funding are becoming bigger and bigger factors in the
organization and control of the WSF. For all the rhetoric about the
`non-hierarchical, participatory and transparent' nature of the WSF process
the truth remains that - not unlike the real, capitalist world- it is mostly
those with access to deep pockets who get to attend, have their opinions
heard and make a difference to the shape and direction of the WSF.
Another finance related issue vis a vis the WSF is the phenomenal cost of
hosting the event. According to one estimate this year's WSF cost about 5
million US dollars to organize, with most of the money coming from US and
European donors and the registration fees of participants. The week-long
event itself was said to have pumped 50 million dollars into the local
economy!!! It might be an unkind thing to say about the event but surely the
dividing line between activism and tourism is fading fast!
b) Political/Ideological: The original idea of the WSF was mooted
sometime in the year 2000 by the French anti-globalization group ATTAC who
then joined hands with the Brazilian Workers Party (PT), the Brazilian
Landless Workers Movement (MST) and a few other groups to host the first
Forum in Porto Alegre in January 2001. At that time the idea was to have a
permanent counter by anti-globalization groups to the annual meeting of
multinational bankers, CEOs and heads of government called the World
Economic Forum (WEF), held every year in Davos, Switzerland.
The WSF was never meant to be an organization, according to its originators,
but only a `space' for debate, discussion and sharing of experiences between
activist groups from around the world. The definition of `activist groups'
deliberately excluded both political parties of any kind (the PT was
mysteriously made an exception) and groups that used violence as part of
their struggles. So for example at the WSF 2002 the Colombian guerilla
group FARC was denied space to hold a press conference on the grounds that
they were an `armed group'.
However the composition of groups attending the WSF itself has been quite
diverse- pulling and pushing in a variety of political directions. These
can be categorized as follows:
1) The `radical' reformists: ATTAC, one of the key founders of the WSF -
the Third World Network and Walden Bello's Focus on Global South- would fit
into this category with their demands for implementation of measures such as
the Tobin Tax, lifting protectionist trade policies in the West, setting up
an Asian Bank to counter the weight of the IMF and World Bank etc., Though
the Brazilian PT has several political trends running through it the
dominant wing led by Lula would fall into this category of reformers too. It
must be pointed out that this reformist position is not the same (at least
for the time being) as the usual garden-variety social democrats of Europe
and elsewhere. These groups seem to have set a limited agenda right now to
fight for changes in global resource flows, curbs on multinationals,
countering the influence of multilateral financial institutions and even
against imperialist war. Whether they will be satisfied with just these
demands or go beyond that at an appropriate time is open to question.
Broadly these groups are influenced heavily by the ideas of the New Left of
the 60s which rejected the Soviet Union and the traditional Communist
Parties accusing them of being too `Stalinist', centralized and
authoritarian. This group is broadly in command of the WSF process and
despite some minor differences within its fold, is likely to persevere with
the idea of holding more events and expanding it through regional and local
forums all over the globe.
2) The Anarchists: There are dozens of these small groups of
self-styled anarchists within the WSF who hold intellectuals like Noam
Chomsky as their guru and want to bring down capitalism and replace it with
a decentralized, participatory, socialist, democracy. They claim they don't
like setting up institutions, they don't like leaders of any kind and the
revolution will be magically carried out by the `people'. Problem with this
approach is obviously that when you get more than one anarchist in the same
room they already become an organization whether they want to recognize it
as such or not. And that is what is happening with the WSF also- there are
so many anarchists with similar demands and attitudes that they have de
facto become a big organization of their own in practice while denying this
reality in speech. In the field of practical, day to day politics they are
clever enough to recognize that you need tangible institutions to take on
the might of imperialism but when someone attempts to create such structures
they immediately denounce it as `Stalinist' blah, blah. A good example of
this approach is Ezequiel Adamovsky, the Argentinian activist mentioned
earlier who has strongly objected to groups like Focus trying to create a
`network of networks and movements' to co-ordinate global action on various
issues. According to him `to set up a secretariat of a network means
actually the opposite of a network'. Meanwhile in the same interview at
another place he says ' we need to link our struggles with the struggles of
others all over the world. --- not only to learn and exchange experiences at
a theoretical level but also to try to organize a common strategy to change
the world' ! Pray what is the difference between his ambition and that of
those trying to network with other networks!!! A popular jargon with the
anarchists is the term `horizontal ' implying a non-hierarchical process as
opposed to `vertical' which is considered `top-down and authoritarian'. It
needs to be pointed out that first of all `horizontal' can also mean dead
and flat on your face. And anyway what we see the anarchists do in practice
is a constant flip-flop between horizontal and vertical postures depending
on which way the bullets are flying!! Sections from this group are most
likely to denounce the WSF of having been `taken over' by Stalinists or X or
Y lobby and try to form parallel forums on their own.
3) The NGOs: For the NGO movement that started out in the sixties as an
`alternative' to the organized Communist parties the WSF has become some
sort of a Mecca. They are the real `tourist' component of the WSF- the big
money spenders- who can bask in the glory of all the radical rhetoric for a
few days every year and go back home to work out how to get funding to
attend the next year's WSF! This is not to say that the many micro-level
issues that NGOs normally take up are not important- on the contrary they
are extremely important- the problem is only with the way these
organizations approach the problem. If you analyze the average NGO anywhere
these are usually dominated by one influential personality, highly dependent
on centralized funding sources far from the area of activity, lack
accountability to the people they are supposed to be working for and so on.
All this makes them nice little `Stalinist' organizations on their own with
the key difference that while Stalin was able to set up a functioning
socialist state (whatever its other problems) and resoundingly defeat German
fascism the average NGO is yet to transform the harsh realities of a single
cluster of villages in the developing world. In terms of political vision
this group sees the WSF emerging as some kind of `second chamber' of the
United Nations and proposals to this effect are already being circulated!!!
This section will play along with the WSF process as long as the annual
event is held in places which have good hotels, infrastructure and places to
visit after the meeting. For example if you hold next year's WSF in Bihar
instead of Kerala this group will vanish from the scene.
4) The Communists: The WSF event has attracted a number of communist and
Marxist groups (basically their front organizations) also to its fold for a
variety of reasons. Some of them are here to both learn from the experiences
of others and influence them in turn towards a more radical path of
movement, demanding revolutionary changes to the world order. This is the
minority. There are also Communist parties involved in the WSF who are in
complete agreement with the idea of reforming capitalism- most preferably
through electoral, parliamentary means- and for whom Brazil's Lula is a
shining example of such an approach. (see article on Lula). And apart from
these there are also small, Trotskyite groups in the WSF who want to `hijack
' the event through `entryist' (the process of `smuggling' your way to the
top of a system) politics and proclaim it as the new International. All
these groups will have to be alert to the direction the WSF is being pulled
in so that they are not taken unawares by sudden, unwarranted developments.
Next year the WSF has decided to hold the event in India. On one hand it
should be seen a great honour to host an event that has helped revived an
international anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist consciousness and bring
various political streams together. On the other hand we should ask the
fundamental question as to why the event needs to be held annually at all-
like an activist trade fair of sorts? There seems to be a bureaucratic
mechanism in place that is calling for turning the WSF into an annual event
irrespective of its continued relevance to what else is happening around the
globe.
For example instead of holding another WSF in India next year why not hold
one in Baghdad next month- where the gathering of a 100,000 people from
around the globe has a great chance of freezing the US war machine on its
tracks? The `space' offered for discussion and debate by the WSF in the
past three years has been great but it is time to move on and try more
creative ways of changing the world we live in. Otherwise the WSF runs the
real risk of becoming an event with hundreds of physically and vocally
active but politically stagnant participants. Of course `another World' will
be possible even then but certainly not through on the Paris to Porto Alegre
route!
One interesting proposal that has come from some of the WSF constituents is
for concentrating organizational efforts on holding local, provincial and
national level forums which can then send delegates to a global forum to be
held once in a few years time. Regional level forums like the recently held
Asian Social Forum can be organized more frequently- depending on the need
felt for such a gathering by participating organizations. This makes sense
because then the entire process of building a truly representative World
Social Forum can start from below instead of the top as is the case right
now. And if the process of bringing together different political streams for
the cause of anti-globalization, anti-imperialism is to become a serious
affair the work will have to start at the grassroots and not the treetops.
Obituaries of Revolutionaries
Comrades Arijit Mitra, Satyabrata Dutta, and Ila Mitra
- Soumitra Bose
Arijit Mitra
It was the sixties. The crème de la crème of every society, every country
saw their role in reshaping the world. That was the veritable international
Cultural Revolution. Comrade Arijit Mitra was one such scintillating example
from Bengal. The peasant movement of Naxalbari, set the alarm bells ringing
in the elite quarters of Bengali intelligentsia. The brightest of the bright
came out, leaving all the promises of being rich and famous, they took to
the streets, left their abode, their coffee houses, their bistros and
plunged into the inclement and dangerous terrain of revolutionary life. Out
came ace communists, steeled through the most inhuman torture by the
gendarmes, hardened by the experiences of life, death, battle-fields,
defeats and occasional victories, history was re-written this time by not
the victors but by the voiceless, faceless, hapless people. Comrades like
Arijit catalyzed the upheavals.
Born in a middle class intellectual family, Arijit though very weak from the
birth, showed the fire inside him right from his undergraduate days.
Straight into the students' movement of the prestigious Presidency College,
very much in line with the famous predecessors like Comrade Saroj Dutta, he
declined to follow the regular lot running for high-pay-promise studies, he
took literature and that too Bangla as his subject. He came out with gold
medals and best student accolades of a decade. But all that was secondary.
Arijit proved ace organizer and exemplary orator. While in jail, after
continuous bouts of month long inhuman torture before collapsing in the
courtroom, Arijit delivered his famous speech. That is still considered the
watershed in the history of human rights movement. The speech moved and
stunned the entire intelligentsia. A masterpiece of revolutionary
repository, as it is, is still the dream of many heroes and has catapulted
many fiction writers to portray a revolutionary.
Out of Jail, he dedicated himself in organizing the movement from
underground. With the practice of mass-line Comrade Arijit was the flagship
of Bengal's revolutionary mass movement. His oratory was so revered that
political parties much opposed to CPIML and Naxalbari movement, wanted him
to address their own cadres and the people. Bengal for a long time never saw
such a superb and exquisite orator. The adage still goes in Bengal that "if
you want to gather people in a desert, bring Arijit in" [quote from the
leader of CPIM - the party opposing CPIML in West Bengal].
Arijit literally was omnipresent, wherever people moved out against
injustice. From the hapless paupers getting evicted to the plight of distant
farm labourers to the congregation of retrenched workers, it was Arijit to
address them, organize them and walk along them in protest. Beaten time and
again while on march, Arijit could not be stopped. The party warned him
against his deteriorating health, he hid information about his health,
delved deeper in movements. Emaciated, drained out Arijit marched on. He
marched to his physical demise on the 5th of January, 2003.
For a very long time, we never had an embodiment of Rabindranath and Mao in
the revolutionary communist movement. Rabindranath was in his breath,
Chairman Mao was in his hearts. Arijit never faltered to greet every single
comrade, co-worker, friends and even foes with his famous grace. We in
Bengal learned in practice "How to be a good Communist". A famed professor
of Vernacular, elite in the core in intellect and haute-couture, Arijit's
life style was more simple than a peasant and a professional revolutionary.
He put down his entire income for the party and mass organizations. Till the
last day, Arijit never bothered to save but to march on, never ever took
food without sharing, never ever made anyone feel he is different. That was
his grace, his commitment, ideology and dedication.
We in the CPIML are pained beyond description. We however do not want to
think how he died in hospital bed when the entire Kolkata intelligentsia was
dumbstruck outside. We want to remember, the way he lived, the way he led,
the way he marched, the way he organized, the way he fought and the way he
loved.
No! no Adieus to Comrade Arijit. We salute you Comrade, with our hearts full
of reverence in camaraderie, We salute our Commander! Red Salute Comrade
Arijit! Till the time Bengal and India survive, we march with you! The
STRUGGLE IS ON!
Satyabrata Dutta
The spring thunder roared and brought out the lions from the caves. The
living wisdoms of Indian cities, the Tao masters of conscientious middle
class, the intellectually committed elite of the metros came out, blessed
the movement and dived into it. Age were never a bar! Comrade Satyabrata
Dutta, was one among those who at their evening in life decided it is time
to be young and active again. Satyabrata Dutta - a journalist, a literature
plunged into the Naxalbari movement! With Charu Mazumdar, Saroj Dutta,
Suchital Roychowdhury, Comrade Satyabrata Dutta was another name, another
icon of the revolutionary communist movement. We lost him painfully on
January 16th.
Comrade Satyabrata did never have split standards. He preached in his family
the values he fought for. He was the father of Comrade Subrata (Jawahar)
Dutta- the second General Secretary of our Party. His was a family tradition
of dedication and supreme sacrifice for the party and revolution. Long live
the example and icon of Comrade Satyabrata.
Ila Mitra - The daughter of Stalin, Sister of Fucik.
What is a revolution? Internally! Well, the answer is one name! Ila Mitra.
Born in a middle class Bengali family breaking the taboo and rising up as a
state and national athlete, Comrade Ila was not a mettle to stop at that. It
was the gestation period of Indian independence. And the battle was being
fought in the riverines of Bengal. The fake ones, put up by the compradore
bourgeoisie in terms of dissecting the country and making them as jumping
pads of imperialism, were being challenged on the paddy fields of Bengal,
Andhra, Kerala and on the shores of Bombay through the guns of the navy and
air force rebellion. An epic was in the offing.
Ila knew what is what! She found out the real movement, the real meaning of
independence and joined in the peasant uprising. Married to a Landlord
family Ila, with her husband, organized first against their own estate and
then against the entire system. She came in as a queen to the area as a wife
of the King, she stayed a queen of their hearts by relinquishing all
property, the life style and shared life with the aboriginal peasants. She
led them! She led them in guerrilla warfare against British, against Indian
and Pakistani new but more oppressive regime. She led the entire Tebhaga
movement. Rani Ma, as she still is fondly remembered in Bangladesh, Ila was
arrested and went through the worst kind of torture of all possible kinds a
human mind can think of. After all these, she limped her way straight to the
courtroom, bloodied, sullied she stood up and roared "It is not important
what happened to me, It is important what is happening and what will happen
to the Bengal peasants!"
Comrade Rani Ma Ila breathed her last a month ago! Talk about Clara, Rosa
and see what ILA is and what she did. If revolution means self-sacrifice,
commitment, dedication and fight till the last for an ideology - the
ideology of the people, then revolution - thy name is ILA!
Definition and Redefinition of feminism is now a fad! ILA was no fad! She
was the reality! She was feminism, it's revolutionary kind, and it's
communist kind! She is the Guardian Saint of revolution, the icon of what a
person (not a woman) is to be! One very glaring star in our revolutionary
Hall of fame for India!
An Appeal
Donations for the Completion of Nagbhushan Bhawan
- Daya Varma
Comrade Nagbhushan Patnaik was born in Orissa on November 27, 1934 and died
on October 9, 1998 in a hospital in Chennai. While a post-graduate student
of Mathematics at Benaras Hindu University (BHU) in the 50's, Nagbhushan
emerged as a leader of the student movement in the undivided Student
Federation. He did not continue at BHU and went to Orissa to pursue a law
degree and declined to follow his father's wish that he join the Indian
civil service.
Soon he emerged as a communist peasant leader in Orissa-Andhra Pradesh
region. After the split in CPI, he joined CPI(M) in 1964. He was detained in
Tihar jail during the rise of the communist-led democratic movement in the
60's. He was exposed to the debate within CPI(M) in the pre-Naxalbari days
and came in close contact with Com. P. Sundarayya, the legendary leader of
the Telangana peasant movement.
He was released from Tihar jail on April 27, 1966. He began his
revolutionary activities in defiance of the official CPI(M) line. He led a
strike of 5,000 workers in Chitrakunda Hydel Power project. During the
course of this strike, workers raided Chitrakunda police station and
snatched 8 rifles. Following the Naxalbari peasant uprising of 1967,
Nagbhushan became a founding member of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist-Leninist). Nagbhushan was among the first to be jailed but was the
first to escape through a jailbreak on October 8, 1969.
He was arrested again on July 14, 1970 and accused in the Parvatipurum
Conspiracy Case. He was sentenced to death, which was commuted to life
imprisonment. Nagbhushan never appealed for clemency. He was eventually
released on parole in 1982 following the end of the Emergency for 1975-77.
Following his release, Nagbhushan worked hard to unite the now divided
factions of CPI-ML. During this process he joined CPI-ML (Liberation) and
became the Chairperson of the Indian Peoples Front in 1984. Since 1988 until
his death, he was a member of the CPI-ML (Liberation). On behalf of his
Party, he addressed the 17th Congress of CPI on September 14, 1998 in
Chennai.
Nagbhushan suffered from many physical ailments. A part of his stomach was
forst excised in 1966 because of duodenal ulcer. During his stay in Andhra
jail, his asthma worsened. He developed liver cancer from which he died. He
spent 14 years of his life in jail, the rest in jungle and hospital.
Although Nagbhushan belonged to CPI(ML-Liberation), for many he represented
the best of Naxalbari. To commemorate his revolutionary contributions,
CPI(ML) undertook to build Nagbhushan Bhawan in Orissa. However, the
building could not be completed due to lack of founds.
Approximately $5,000 US is needed to complete the building.
We appeal for a contribution towards Nagbhushan Bhawan, which can be sent
to:
Within North America: By check or alternate method payable to Daya Varma and
mailed to:
254 Kensington Ave
Westmount, QC H3Z 2G6
Canada
Within Europe:
South Asia Solidarity Group
C/O Londec, 293-299 Kentish Town Road
London NW5 2TJ
UK
Or party headquarters in India:
Nagbhushan Bhawan Fund
CPIML (Liberation)
U-90, Shakarpur
Delhi 110 092
India
The Unofficial Viewpoint
Anti-Globalization Protests In Pakistan
- Salman Pervaiz
Echoes of the world wide discontent with globalization are currently being
heard in Pakistan. A widespread movement, sparked by the so-called reforms
that the government of Pakistan has introduced in the health and education
sectors ostensibly to improve the quality of both sectors, is increasing in
momentum, disrupting governmental plans to quietly privatize both. Very
simply, and without any reference to the 'p' word (privatization), the
government has decreed the setting up of a board of governors (BOG) in each
hospital and educational institution (universities, colleges and schools)
that would comprise of approximately 20 members drawn predominantly from the
private sector. This BOG would have complete control over sale and
management of all assets including property, hiring, firing and salaries of
all staff, setting of fees for students and patients, in addition to any
other acts that the BOG may feel is suitable for its purvey. There is no
recourse to appeal to the decisions of the BOG. Each BOG would be headed by
a chairperson who would have CEO type authority in making these decisions
and implementing them.
In the case of education, a Model University Ordinance has been promulgated
that encapsulates reforms suggested by a Commission that was headed by Mr.
Lakha, the chairman of the private Agha Khan University. The commission
which has now been given a permanent position as the Higher Education
Commission, vigourosly denies that the reforms will lead to privatization
and points to the fact that this word is not mentioned once in its report.
It is claimed that BOGS will make the system more efficient. This is
undeniable. BOGS will certainly be an efficient instrument to enforce the
draconian reforms while perpetuating the power of those behind them. That it
will completely kill the 'effectiveness' or the raison d 'etre of the
education system is of course besides the point. Efficiency and profits are
the holy grail of the new world order and BOGS will probably do its job
admirably in order to increase both for the private sector. BOGS' efficiency
will be guaranteed since it won't be responsible to anybody in the ultimate
analysis and there have been no guidelines set to evaluate the performance
of BOGS.
In the final analysis, it would be naïve to consider only the Commission as
the perpetrator of these reforms. These are a logical extension of the
larger privatization agenda that is operative in the country, and driven by
the IMF and World Bank. There is not just operational evidence like the
meetings between the Higher Education Commission and World Bank officials
reported in various newspapers, but also the imprint of the World Bank/IMF
world view where so called "subsidies" to health and education are being
trashed.
Subsidies to health and education are not just that, they are subsidies to
the development and independence of a nation. We in Pakistan are well on our
way towards the fate of country's like Zambia where the World Bank practiced
its privatization policies in health and education with predictably
disastrous results. As it is the government currently only supports
approximately 30% of the education sector and roughly the same of the health
sector. The rest has been privatized already. This 30% of the overall health
and education facilities has to support around 60% of our population that
lives on or below the poverty line and another 20-30% that is marginally
above it. There are already privatized schools, colleges, universities, and
hospitals that provide services to the upper middle class onwards. Thus 70%
of the health and education facilities already cater to the less than 10% of
Pakistan's population that constitutes the upper middle class and beyond.
Privatizing the remaining facilities will not provide substantial gains to
these upper classes but will mean absolute destitution for those below.
The movement has made some significant gains including the reversal of a
denationalizing order that was due to be implemented in July 2002. During
the first week of December 2002, President or General Musharaf, depending on
how he wants to be known that day, stated that the Model University
Ordinance will not be repealed even though they are open to making some
changes. All of this is significant for a protest movement that is trying to
make inroads in a highly depoliticized society, in a country where none of
the major political parties has shown any commitment to their demands. More
importantly, the movement has the tide of history with it to some extent.
All over the world, people are rebelling against the New World Order that
has been plundering their resources and taking away any gains that might
have been made in the 60s.
This is an abridged version of the original article.
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