People's Democracy

DISTINGUISHED guests, fraternal delegates who have come from different countries, delegates, ladies and gentlemen!

On behalf of the reception committee of the 17th congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), I extend a warm welcome and revolutionary greetings to all those assembled here.

The congress of Communist party of India (Marxist) is being held for the first time in the historic city of Hyderabad which is often described as the place where the North meets the South. The 400 years old city of Hyderabad in particular and Andhra Pradesh in general feel proud and deeply honoured to have got an opportunity to host the first all-India conference of the communist movement in this twenty first century. Besides this historic significance, we are really honoured to have the privilege to provide hospitality to the leaders of the Indian communist movement whose lives are full of stories, well spent in the service of the masses.

Comrades and friends, this congress is held in the Land of Telangana where the heroic people's armed struggle was fought against feudal oppression, the Nizam's autocracy and the central forces which came to defend the feudal lords. About 4,000 comrades laid down their lives and countless others suffered untold miseries in the course of the Telangana armed struggle. These glorious sacrifices have written the history of the country in the letters of blood. This heroic struggle not only showed the way to the entire Indian communist movement but brought the land question to the centre-stage. The Telangana armed struggle transformed even the landless labourers and other impoverished masses into mighty warriors of people's struggles. This land has produced legendary leaders of the communist movement like Puchalapally Sundarayya, Makineni Basavapunnaiah, Chandra Rajeswara Rao, Ravi Narayana Reddy, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, etc.

The Telugu people had a significant role in the independence struggle. The heroic Manyam revolt led by Alluri Seetarama Raju, the tribal revolt led by Komaram Bheemu, the non-cooperation movement of farmers of Pedinandipadu, Chirala-Perala, etc, are only a few examples of the valiant role played by the Telugu people in the national movement. This region produced great freedom fighters like T Prakasham, Potti Sriramulu, Swami Ramananda Teertha, Boorgula Ramakrishna Rao, etc.

The movement for Vishalaandhra by Telugu people was the foremost amongst the struggle for reorganisation of states on the linguistic basis. It was because of the Vishalaandhra movement and its success that movements for linguistic states gathered momentum and succeeded in other parts of the country. Comrade P Sundarayya had written the first pamphlet for Vishalaandhra in 1945. The idea of Vishalaandhra was thus first popularised by the communists.

The Vishalaandhra movement finally became a mass movement after the death of Potti Sreeramulu after a 56-day hunger strike and after scores of people died in police firings. This forced the central government to effect the linguistic reorganisation of states. Besides this political history, the people of Andhra Pradesh have a rich cultural legacy. Telugu is the second largest spoken language in the country, next only to Hindi. Telugu people have a literary history of over a thousand years. The cultural landscape of Andhra Pradesh, especially the Buddhist centres like Nagarjuna Konda, pilgrimage centres like Tirupati, the handicrafts of Nirmal, Kondapally, etc, the Kuchipudi have all contributed immensely to the cultural heritage of India. The land of Telugu People has seen glorious movements for social, cultural and literary renaissance. Communists played an active role in all these movements for social reform and enrichment of literary and cultural heritage of the Telugu people. Hyderabad has also upheld the great literary traditions in Urdu. The city of Charminar is a mini India, signifying unity in diversity with its composite culture.

The Charminar, the Golconda Fort and many a monument not only symbolise the feudal pomp and show of a bygone era but reflect the architectural richness. Hyderabad is a Heritage City. The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad imbibe vibrant cultural and linguistic traditions, making it a truly cosmopolitan city. The city assumes added significance due to many leading academic and nationally renowned research institutions.

Urdu ghazals characterise the finest secular and literary traditions cherished by the people of Andhra Pradesh.

However, the economic life of Andhra Pradesh presents a mixed picture. Great rivers like the Godavari, Krishna, etc, irrigate large tracts of land in the state. Still, the state predominantly consists of rain-fed areas. Frequent droughts and floods cripple the economy.

The state has the highest number of landless agricultural labourers. The policies of the government are compounding the plight of the peasantry. The state has the dubious record of the highest number of farmers and handloom weavers committing suicides. The human development levels in the state are very low in terms of literacy and school enrolment, school dropouts, infant mortality, etc. The worst forms of caste-based discrimination continue to be perpetrated on Dalits and weaker sections in many parts of Andhra Pradesh.

The TDP, led by Chandrababu Naidu, has joined the NDA coalition and is in the forefront, implementing the World Bank/IMF inspired policies.

Andhra Pradesh has become a laboratory for World Bank experiments. The World Bank's writ runs large over the economy and governance. The people of Andhra Pradesh are reeling under the disastrous path of the World Bank.

Taking advantage of the growing discontent among the people, reactionary forces are raising their ugly heads, posing a challenge to the unity of the people in the state. The Left movement has to constantly guard against these trends.

Despite political differences, nine Left parties have come together to resist the World Bank policies. This gave a new enthusiasm to the people.

The CPI(M) in Andhra Pradesh is leading militant struggles and is in the forefront, exposing the sinister deals arrived at between the World Bank and the state government. The CPI(M) has been resolutely resisting these retrograde policies.

The struggle against power sector reforms has in fact attracted nation-wide attention. We are confident that the CPI(M)'s 17th congress, being held here, would be a great source of inspiration for the fighting people.

The CPI(M) congress is being held in a remarkably new world environment. Subsequent to the September 11 incidents, the US efforts at establishing its hegemony worldwide have intensified. The WTO has drawn the road map to recolonisation. The recent past has seen increased US presence in this region too, posing a serious threat to India's interests. The BJP-led government, by abandoning the path of non-alignment, is already acting as a junior partner of the US. The BJP rule has intensified the two most serious challenges to our nation. In the name of swadeshi, floodgates have been opened to the entry of foreign capital into almost every sector of the economy. This is eroding our economic sovereignty. The BJP government is blatantly serving the interest of big business and metropolitan capital and is making the lives of the working people miserable. The hard-earned rights of the working class are being snatched away in the name of labour reforms. The BJP government is nakedly serving the communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar. The centre's response to the fresh build-up on the Ayodhya issue and the Gujarat government’s abject failure to protect the lives of the people, stand as a further testimony to this. On the other hand, the separatist and terrorist forces are posing a serious threat to the unity and integrity of our country.

The CPI(M)’s 17th congress, being held at this critical juncture in the political and economic life of the country, will galvanise the people's struggles against the twin dangers of market fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism. The illusions about globalisation and liberalisation are fading away. The crushing defeat inflicted on the BJP by the people in the recent assembly elections indicates the emerging political possibilities. We are sure that the CPI(M) congress, being held in Hyderabad from March 19 to 24, 2002, would go down in the history as a congress that showed the path for revitalising the democratic and secular forces. The reception committee has made a sincere effort to make your stay comfortable. We would like to apologise for any lapses or inadequacies in the arrangements. On behalf of the reception committee, I wish the congress all success. Once again, I earnestly welcome you all.