The Common Enemies

The Maoists of Asia look upon the year 2006 as an important landmark in theirjoint struggle against what they project as American imperialism, Chineserevisionism and Indian comprador capitalism. This is because the 50thanniversary of what they describe as the joint struggle of the peasants, workersand other exploited sections of the world against modern revisionism falls thisyear.

According to them, Mao Zedong launched this struggle after the 20th Congressof the Soviet Communist Party in 1956 in which Nikita Khrushchev, the thenGeneral Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, criticised the policies pursuedby Stalin. They say that this struggle against revisionism reached a new andhigher level when the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was launched by Maoin May 1966, but since the death of Mao in September 1976, the struggling massesof the world "have been confronted with the betrayal of socialism and therestoration of capitalism in China."

In a joint statement disseminated through the Internet to mark the 50thanniversary, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the Communist Party of thePhilippines, the Communist Party of Turkey (Marxist-Leninist) and the CommunistLeague of Indonesia have strongly criticised the post-Mao Chinese leadership forbetraying the ideology of Mao and for taking China on the road to capitalism.

The statement says:

"For as long as Comrade Mao was alive, he was able to lead the Chineseproletariat and people from victory to victory in the Great Proletarian CulturalRevolution against tremendous odds and against powerful adversaries. But soonafter his death, the enemies of the Chinese proletariat and people made a coupand reversed his proletarian revolutionary line in carrying out socialistrevolution and construction. Since then, China has increasingly taken the roadof capitalist restoration. The full restoration of capitalism in Chinavindicates the teaching of Comrade Mao that socialism is lost when therevisionist line prevails within the ruling communist or workers’ party andthat eventually the bourgeoisie within the party and state succeeds inunleashing a coup and overthrowing the proletariat. Comrade Mao has bequeathedto us a legacy by which we can combat and defeat modern revisionism and by whichwe can revive and further develop the forces of socialism."

The statement adds:

"For the entire year of 2006, we must undertake general campaigns andspecific activities of theoretical and political education. We must confront theproblem of modern revisionism as the most venomous enemy of the revolutionarycause of socialism. We must condemn the betrayal of socialism and of Comrade Mao’sproletarian revolutionary line by the Chinese capitalist roaders. We must renewour determination and efforts to carry out the historic mission of theproletariat, which is to carry out socialist revolution and construction. Uponthe temporary success of modern revisionism against Marxism-Leninism and thedictatorship of the proletariat, monopoly capitalism headed by US imperialismhas been able to launch the worst attacks against the proletariat and theoppressed peoples, such as "freemarket" globalization, racism, repressionand wars of aggression. In response to the escalation of oppression andexploitation, the proletariat and people are intensifying their resistancethrough armed struggle and other forms of resistance. It is the internationalistduty of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties to unite and to arouse, organize andmobilize the proletariat and people in their respective countries and in theworld at large in the struggle for national liberation, democracy and socialismagainst imperialism, revisionism and reaction. By celebrating the 50 years ofstruggle against modern revisionism, we renew our commitment to persevere in therevolutionary struggle and strive to win ever greater victories under theguidance of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism."

To mark the 50th anniversary of the joint struggle against modern revisionismand in connection with the observance of the forthcoming May Day, the CPI(Maoist) has also disseminated through the Internet statements and articlescriticising the present government in New Delhi headed by Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh, explaining why it has stepped up its insurgency since thepresent government came to power in 2004 and highlighting the successes of theMaoists during the last two years.

It accuses both the previous government led by Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee andthe present government led by Dr.Manmohan Singh of following a policy ofrepression of the adivasis (tribals), the backward classes and other exploitedsections of the Indian society. According to it, the only difference between thetwo governments was that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was never inpower before 1998 in New Delhi, was crude in its methods of repression, whereas,the Congress (I), which had been in power for many years since 1947, issophisticated in its repression.

It accuses the Manmohan Singh government of following a policy of makingtribals fight tribals by setting up so-called self-defence groups in stateswhere the Maoists are active and by using tribal police officers recruited inthe North-East for the repression of the Maoist tribals of Central India. Itsays that it was for this reason that the Maoists attacked the self-defencegroups and a group of Naga police officers deployed in Bastar in the state ofChattisgarh, killing 10 of them.

It also accuses the Manmohan Singh government of inviting Americancounter-insurgency experts to train officers of our security forces in order tomake their operations against the Maoists more effective. It says in one of itsstatements:

"To counter the guerrilla war, the rulling class is training its armedforces under the direct supervision of US Army experts in counter-insurgency andjungle warfare in the hills of Manipur, Hyderabad and in the Army trainingschool at Kanker in Chhattisgarh. Apart from this, new para-armed forces arebeing raised recruiting local adivasi youth such as the Sengel battalion (insanthali and mundari language this means fire). Besides this, in Jharkhand too,the govt. is dividing the people to suppress the revolutionary movement, makingthe poor people fight each other in the name of Adivasi/non-adivasi or in thename of Jharkhandi adivasis versus other adivasis. The rulling class is alsoorganizing reactionary elements to build a lumpen gang – the Nagrik SurakshaSamiti. They are forcing ordinary people to join the Samiti against therevolutionaries and indulging in killing of revolutionaries, activists and theirsympathizers. They are adopting brutal methods, after killing the people theypoke arrows into their bodies and term this ‘sendara’ which means insanthali language – hunted. This is just like the Salwa Judum in Chhatisgarh.Here, in Jharkhand this is going on under the leadership of the former CM (ChiefMinister) and national Vice President of the BJP, Babu Lal Marandi."

Among its notable successes since the Manmohan Singh government came topower, the CPI (M) cites the raid on the armoury of the Home Guards at Girdhi inJharkand on November 11, 2005, during which it claims to have captured 193rifles and two pistols, the Jehanabad jail break in Bihar in which about 1,000Maoists raided the jail and freed their detained cadres, the blowing up of asupposedly mine-proof vehicle of the Central Reserve Police Force inChhathisgarh killing 27 CRPF personnel, the seizure of explosives from a dumpguarded by armed guards of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inBastar and the wiping out of 10 Naga police officers in Bastar.

Commenting on the rule of the Manmohan Singh government, it says: "Twofacts stand out in the two years of its rule: first, the blinding speed ofimplementation of the policies of opening up to imperialism, particularly theUS; second, increasing fascist terror on all dissent, while particularlytargeting the Maoists. Hardly a day passes when there is not a report of atakeover of some company or the other by foreign capital. Besides all this, themost pernicious onslaught in the past year or two is in the sphere of mining.Just the three states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhathisgarh have signed MoUs ofabout Rs.4 lakh crores (about $ 90 billion) for iron ore mining and steelproduction. Huge contracts have also been signed for bauxite. The companiesinvolved are primarily the big compradors — Tatas, Jindals, Ruias, etc — andMNCs. This is set to create mass displacement of forest dwellers, primarilytribals. In fact, today, the entire economy is being geared to dependence onimperialism by making it import-export oriented. And now, over and above this,major plans are there to evict lakhs from their habitat, with littlecompensation."

On the visit of President George Bush to India on March 1 and 2,2006, itsays:

"From the nature of the visit it is clear who stand with theimperialists and this US gangster and who are the genuine patriotic forces ofthe country. This imperialist scum would not be able to last in this countryeven for a single day if it did not get the collaboration from their agents andstooges within the country. Their robbery, their loot, their plunder of ourcountry could be stopped easily if these collaborators were not there. It isthese comprador elements that are the worst traitors of the country and it isthey who need to be exposed and targeted for what they really are — lackeys ofthe imperialists and particularly the US. These top politicians, bureaucrats,big business, etc are in fact the chief tools through which the imperialistspush their policies in the country. So an attack against the imperialists,particularly the US, is inconceivable without hitting at their stooges withinthe country. The time has come to build a broad and powerful movement by unitingall the possible forces against imperialism and particularly the US. Let thesparks ignited during the Bush visit turn into a prairie fire that will burn toashes the imperialists and their stooges within the country. "

Supporting the protest demonstrations of the Muslims against thecaricaturisation of the Holy Prophet by a Danish cartoonist, the CPI (Maoist)says: "The CC (Central Committee), CPI (Maoist), calls upon the people ofIndia to fight shoulder to shoulder with their Muslim brethren against thesinister designs of the imperialists led by George Bush to whip up racist,anti-Muslim sentiments, their attempts to portray Islam with terrorism andthereby achieve their aim of plundering the resources of the Islamic countriesthrough wars of aggression."

B. Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India,New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.