People's Democracy

THE Burdwan district committee of the CPI (M) has established the first ever district level Party school at the village of Haatsimulpur. CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat formally inaugurated the Party school on July 14.

In his address, Karat stressed the importance of ideology and its role in equipping the working people in the theory of Marxism-Leninism. Comrades engaged in the important task of bringing about fundamental social changes, said Karat, needed to be educated and re-educated in the principles of Marxism-Leninism as part of a continuing process.

Karat noted that there already existed a permanent Party school in Kerala called the E M S Academy. The Haatsimul Party school was, however, the first Party School to be set up at the district level. CPI(M) Central Committee member Benoy Konar, too, addressed the inaugural session.

Run by a trust named after Comrades Sayyed Shahidullah and Benoy Chaudhuri, the Party school occupies a 2.18 HA plot of land and houses a three-storey building. The Party school can provide accommodation to 84 students. The main lecture hall has been named after Comrade Abdullah Rasul.

Delivering the inaugural lecture for the first Party class, Prakash Karat drew the attention of those present on the need to combat ideologically the four-fold dangers-- the globalisation of neo-liberalisation policies, imperialism, communalism and religious fundamentalism, and such social evils as casteism, untouchability, and dowry.

Underlining the importance of ideology, he noted that despite organising a massive struggle against the anti-people economic policies of the BJP-led central government, the CPI (M) was not able to make any impressive headway in the task of building up its organisation further because of weaknesses evident in carrying out ideological struggles. The CPI(M) state committee member, Sudhangsu Dasgupta, too, addressed the inaugural session of the Party School.

Among those present on the occasion were CPI (M) Central Committee member Nirupam Sen, Ganashakti editor Narayan Dutta, CITU leaders Sunil Basu Roy and Bamapada Mukherjee, AIKS leaders Ramnarayan Goswami and Samar Baora, and Arindam Konar who is the chairman of the trust (called the "Matar-Benoy Trust") that runs the Party school.