Introduction
Comrades,
We are on the threshold
of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Ghadar Party of
India (CGPI). We have come this far from the days of the Congress of the
Hindustani Ghadar Party (Organisation of Indian Marxist-Leninists Abroad)
in September 1977, to the founding of the Communist Ghadar Party of India
on December 25, 1980, and now to this important Third Consultative Conference.
A whole period of preparation to establish a single vanguard party of the
working class and to develop the leading role of the working class over
the entire society, has now come to an end, giving way to a new period.
We recognised in 1977 that
the entire communist movement was being fragmented under the pressure of
the bipolar division of the world. Different varieties of modern revisionism
were playing their counter-revolutionary disruptive role by adhering to
parliamentary democracy, and uniting with the state to eliminate any challenge
to the existing status quo. Capitalism was flourishing and utilizing the
remnants of feudalism, colonial domination and increasing imperialist penetration
against the people. This flourishing capitalism, in turn, was protecting
these feudal remnants, colonial domination and imperialist penetration.
It was this that was responsible for the worsening conditions of the masses.
A variety of revisionism called such capitalist growth and expansion as
the path of "non-capitalist development". This variety of revisionism openly
conciliated with the Congress Party in India and with Soviet social-imperialism
internationally. We made the decision, under those conditions, to establish
a vanguard party of the Indian working class in which all the Indiana communists
would militate; a party that would build the political unity of the working
class and broad masses of the people and open a path for the progress of
society; a party based on the theoretical thinking of Marxism-Leninism
in opposition to revisionism and opportunism of all hues.
All of us knew at that time
that it would be extremely difficult to carry out the work decided upon,
but we also knew that it was not an impossible task. We still maintain
this to be the case today. In spite of all the twists and turns of the
revolution, including its retreat at the present, we did not deviate from
this from this plan of establishing a single vanguard party of the working
class in whose ranks all the Indian communist would militate.
Comrades, we have met with
initial success in this work. We have our party, but the entire communist
movement is still fragmented. The world has gone through a historical turn.
We must continue with our plan and lay down the general line for this period.
We must carry forward the program of the restoration of the unity of Indian
communists. We must restore this unity in the course of building the revolutionary
political unity of the working class and the broad masses of the people
around single program of democratic renewal, to lift society out of the
crisis. Furthermore, comrades, we must continue the work of providing a
clear modern definition of the role of a political party which organises
the working class to lead the maces to govern themselves. Our strategic
aim remains the overthrow of capitalism and building of socialism through
revolution.
These are crucial times for
the Communist Ghadar Party of India and for all India communists; they
re times when everything is up for debate and discussion. The last six
years and more have seen abrupt changes on the world-scale. The Communist
Ghadar Party of India, working within these conditions, is engaged in elaborating
a general line and program consistent with these changes according to dialectical
philosophy and consistent with the program and conclusions of Marxism,
Leninism and contemporary Marxist-Leninist thought.
In elaborating the program
and the thinking of CGPI. we must start from the present conditions, to
sum up the entire developments-both objective and subjective-and draw the
pertinent conclusions. A lot of developments have taken plaice especially
in the broad field of socialist revolution and socialist construction.
There is also the negative experience of the destruction of socialism and
of counter-revolution. In spite of revolution being in ebb in this period,
the nature of our era remains that of imperialism and proletarian revolution.
There are also indications that things will soon turn around, from ebb
to flow, even though retrogression is still the order of they day. The
summation of all these developments enriches not only our thinking but
also makes our dialectical philosophy consistent with the needs of the
present. Such work is essential for the needs of the present. Such work
is essential for the creation of the present. Such work is essential for
the creation of revolutionary Indian theory without it is not possible
to have a revolutionary movement.
The use of the classics of
Marxism-Leninism as a guide to all summations is as essential today as
it was in the past. We are aware that Frederick Engels stressed that truth--the
cognition of which, he said, was the main task of philosophy--should not
be considered s "an aggregate of finished dogmatic statements, which, once
discovered, had merely to be learnt by heart"(1)
On the contrary, according
to Engels, dialectical philosophy "reveals the transitory character of
everything and in everything; nothing can endure before it except the uninterrupted
process of becoming and of passing away, of endless ascendancy from the
lower to the higher. And dialectical philosophy itself is nothing more
than the mere reflection of this process in the thinking brain. It has,
of course, also a conservative side; it recognises that definite stages
of knowledge and society are justified for their times and circumstances;
but only so far. The conservatism of this mode of outlook is relative;
its revolutionary character is absolute-the only absolute dialectical philosophy
admits"(2)
Recognising these conclusions
of Engels, it becomes all too clear that CGPI must continue to sum up the
entire experience within this epoch of imperialism and proletarian revolution
by starting from the present, as it continues to do at this time. CGPI
must not succumb to the lure of the liquidationist who seeks perfect and
final knowledge before anything revolutionary can be achieved. We must
continue the summation in the course of organising the working class for
the victory of revolution and socialism.
Lenin has also drawn the
same conclusions as Engels when he wrote: "It is precisely because Marxism
is not a lifeless dogma, not a final, finished and ready-made immutable
doctrine, but a living guide to action, that it was bound to reflect the
astonishingly abrupt change in the conditions of social life"(3)
No communist can deny that
great and sudden changes have taken place in the world which have been
reflected in the phenomenon of the rise of social forces which claim allegiance
to Marxism but which have either degenerated into social democracy or are
conciliating with it. The collapse of the regimes of eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union has intensified the crisis of social-democracy. Along
with the "free market economy", pseudo-socialism and social democracy remain
discredited, creating favourable conditions for the communist to make a
complete break with socio-democracy and occupy and expand the space of
deep-going revolutionary transformations available to them. The demand
of the day is that communists deal with the problems posed by the unfolding
phenomena, one of which is the struggle against all conciliators with social-democracy.
Communists must continue to defend and develop contemporary Marxist-Leninist
through on the basis of the summation of historical experience of the entire
each of imperialism and proletarian revolution by starting from the present.
Contemporary Marxist-Leninist thought is the summation taken in general
form, of the experience of the application of Marxism-Leninism to the conditions
of socialist revolution and socialist construction and to the struggle
against modern revisionism and capitalist restoration.
It is also the summation
of the application of Marxism-Leninism to the struggle of the people against
fascism, militarism and imperialism, as well as the struggle to end medievalism.
Contemporary Marxist-Leninist thought is Marxism-Leninism as enriched and
developed by the practice of revolution. It is an affirmation of the fundamental
principles of Marxism-Leninism and their higher development. Contemporary
Marxist-Leninist thought is not the final form of Marxism-Leninism under
the present conditions but its continuation and enrichment.
Social developments have
reached such a state that there is no alternative to creating history on
a conscious and planned basis. CGPI must ensure that this is done by applying
dialectical philosophy to the concrete conditions. The historical destiny
of the working class is to end this period of pre-history, this history
of fate, dogmas and things and phenomena without causes. It is the destiny
of ushering in history--a conscious, material, human history--which is
the very act of the revolutionary class in creating the new society.
CGPI is honoured to be the
main subjective force, the organised consciousness, the vanguard and the
general staff of the working class in this glorious historic work. There
is no doubt that the time has come for the working class to successfully
usher in human history. CGPI needs to play its role as the organiser and
the clarifier, the vanguard fighter of the working class, by basing its
theoretical thinking on contemporary principles of Marxism-Leninism, the
communist movement will be able to unite the working class and the broad
masses of the people around the definite practical tasks of the present
epoch, which are: an immediate end to the bourgeoisie's anti-worker, anti-people
and anti-national program of privatisation and the lifting of society out
of the crisis; the overthrow of capitalism as the condition for the completion
of the democratic, anti-colonial, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist struggle;
and the building of socialism by revolution.
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