People's Democracy

I AM honoured to be here amongst the best of fighters for human dignity and liberty. I bring to you greetings from nearly eight hundred thousand members of our Party and over forty million members of mass organisations led by our Party members. CPI(M)-led governments exist in two states with a population of nearly ninety million people and we constitute the third largest force in the Indian parliament. In May this year we won the elections in West Bengal once again for a record sixth term. These figures may appear large but remember that India has a population of over one billion! We have a long way to go.

We are glad that the organisers of the Sao Paulo Forum have invited significant sections of their brethren from other continents. This only reinforces our resolve to initiate such efforts, in other regions, for an eventual, albeit, urgent, global initiative.

Humanity's enemy – imperialism, led by the USA - is intensifying the imposition of greater misery on the overwhelming majority of people. The offensive is global. The response has to be global. This is nothing new. Marx had said this over a hundred and fifty years ago. However, it is under the new concrete conditions that new concrete tactics must be evolved. With the strategy being clear, the tactics have to be supremely anti-dogmatic, anti-sectarian and therefore powerful.

That the neo-liberal offensive under globalisation is unsustainable - a position held by the Left - is now being vindicated. The current global capitalist crisis is not only one of the severest in recent decades, but is also all-embracing. All major centres of capitalism are in the grip of a major recession. World trade has dramatically shrunk. Imperialism through its trident – IMF-WB-WTO - seeks to emerge from this crisis by further intensifying the exploitation of the developing world. Its objective is the economic recolonisation of the developing world.

In the post-September 11 world, US imperialism is seeking to further strengthen its hegemonic grip, in all dimensions. Likewise in most countries, right-wing reactionary, jingoistic forces are undertaking anti- democratic repressive laws in the name of fighting terrorism. Therefore, globally as well as domestically , the Left will be targetted.

Comrades, the world will have to be reminded of another September 11. That of 1973, when the democratically elected Allende government in Chile was overthrown, hundreds of thousands killed and dictatorship imposed. State terrorism practiced by the USA over these years has distorted civilisational advance. State terrorism and attacks like those of September 11 feed on each other. The casuality is the loss of innocent human life. However, both are united in assaulting progressive values and repressing the Left.

We, in India, have been victims of terrorism of various shades for over two decades now. Over 50,000 innocent lives have been lost. Over a thousand Communist militants have been martyred combatting terrorism. Some of these terrorist groups are patronised and supported by the military regime in Pakistan. Yet, Pakistan is today USA's principal ally in its so-called global war against terrorism. This, apart from other factors, is sufficient to show that the real aim of US imperialism is not the combatting of terrorism in its entirety but utilising this situation to strengthen its hegemonic designs.

Comrades, global recession in the post September 11 world impacts on the peoples of the developing world in at least three ways.

First, this will lead to further contraction of world trade leading to severe job cuts and closures of production units in the third world. Secondly, imperialism will intensify further its exploitation of the developing world.

Thirdly, attacks on civil liberties and democracy will intensify.

War against terrorism is the new war cry of imperialism replacing the cold war period’s War Against Communism'.

It is under these conditions that the struggle is to be intensified. The recent past has seen a significant growth of such struggles. As Comrade Fidel mentioned, the G-7 leaders, seeking to run away from the people, may well decide to meet on a satellite in space! But meet they will and take anti-people decisions until they are decisively stopped. This will require a qualitative leap, both in terms of extent and intensity of the peoples’ struggles. While working for this, we wish to share two specific shortcomings that need to be overcome.

India has seen big struggles of the organised working class against privatisation and liberalisation policies. The farmers have been subjected to immense hardships, leading to starvation deaths and distress suicides. We have been able to delay the implementation of some anti-people measures.

Our experience suggests that we need to overcome the fragmentation of the struggles. Different sections - workers, farmers, students, youth, women - are in the midst of big struggles. These need to be forged together - both at the international and domestic level.

Secondly, there is an urgent need to politicise these struggles. A political choice needs to be made to defeat the pro liberalisation forces. Separating the struggles on economic issues from political party preferences is self-negating, as millions of Indians have now realised.

While overcoming these shortcomings, the Left must be receptive to embrace new forces that are now willing to combat liberalisation, and adapt to new expressions of protest like the Free Software movement challenging the Microsoft monopoly.

Finally, I must suggest that we, from other regions, must endeavour to launch such collective efforts in order to make this struggle truly global.

I have, due to the reminders of time limit, not spent time on expressing solidarity with our comrades struggling worldwide. This is unquestionably there. Not only morally but materially. Comrade Fidel will remember receiving a shipload of grain and later a shipload of detergents from India organised and sent by us.

Comrades, we of the CPI(M) are convinced that socialist transformation is inevitable. History may delay it, but it can never deny it.