People's Democracy

On the Centenary of the Ghadar Party

The 20th Congress of the CPI(M) salutes the centenary of the Ghadar Party that was founded on April 5, 1913 in San Francisco. The Ghadar Party played a glorious role in organising struggles like the Komagata Maru voyage for the equal rights of immigrants of all countries and mobilising powerful militant resistance to imperialism with a brave symbolic action of a voyage to liberate their motherland, India. This Party Congress recalls with pride and salutes the memory of the 200 martyrs who were killed and 35 who were sent to the Andaman Cellular jail for life. Their fearless example raised hopes of overcoming imperialism at its most savage. The movement extended from Vancouver in Canada to San Francisco, Tokyo and the villages of Punjab. As its name indicates, it was inspired by our First War of independence of 1857; and true to this tradition during World War-I the young Kartar Singh Sarabha was executed for rousing rebellion among troops. Later on, inspired by the Russian revolution, cadres of Ghadar Party went on to organise workers and peasants to win freedom and build socialism. Many joined the Communist Party and formed the first Communist group in north-west India.

They dared to storm the bastions of imperialism in their day and their memory should inspire us to carry forward that struggle to victory over imperialism in our time.

The 20th Congress calls upon its units to observe the centenary in a befitting manner.