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Monday, November 30, 2020

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF CONCLUSION TODAY OF A TRULY LANDMARK EVENT IN SHAPING INDIAN COMMUNIST MOVEMENT-GROSS ERRORS IN MASS LINE BUT STILL STEPPING STONE

By Harsh Thakor

I do not neccessarily endorse this post below as precursor or practice of mass line and firmly feel subjective factors were not conducive for launching armed struggle. May errors of Charu Mazumdar period and line were repeated with weakness of building agrarian revolution or United Front. However still a landmark even in crystallizing or defining Indian revolutionary movement. Later setback in Telengana testified errors of mass line. One of the most significant turning points in the shaping of Indian revolutionary movement even if not vitiated completely from past left sectarian errors and major precursor to current movement in Dandakarnya. Even after 25 years major flaws in mass line whatever immortal sacrifices or developments. Inadequate development of United front and agrarian revolutionary movement and still far away from forming base area.

REPORT FROM 'THE VANGUARD' (JAN-FEB1996)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) (People's War), which has been successfully leading people's war in Andhra Pradesh and Dandakaranya in India since 1980, is reported to have held its All India Special Conference, as successor to the 8th Congress of the united CPI (M-L) held in 1970, in a grand manner and with great success on November 15-30, 1995. Delegates drawn from the state units of AP, North Telengana, Dandakaranya, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana and a few other regions and fraternal delegates from the CPI (M-L) (Party Unity) had attended the Special Conference. A colourful procession of people's guerrilla fighters - both men and women - in olive-green uniforms and caps, with guns and rifles slinging from their shoulders and red banners and placards in hands, shouting full-throated slogans, had marked the commencement of the Conference. Slogans raised, on the occasion included: "Build Guerrilla Zones", "Advance People's War", "All Powers to Village Committees", "Smash Feudalism", "Down with Imperialism", "Down with all Hues of Revisionism", "Long Live World Socialist Revolution", etc. After the formal inauguration of the Conference, the house adopted two separate resolutions one paying homage to martyrs and the other sending revolutionary greetings to the comrades incarcerated in India and other countries such as Peru, Philippines, Turkey, Bangladesh, Nepal etc. In different sessions, the Conference discussed thoroughly and adopted with some amendments four documents - "The Party Programme and Constitution", "Strategy and Tactics", The Political Resolution", and, "The Political and Organisational Review". The delegates discussed and expressed their opinions on another document "The Indian Revolutionary War Guerrilla Zones" and authorized the next CC to finalize it. The Conference is reported to have unanimously elected a new Central Committee. On the last day the Conference adopted seven special resolutions, viz.:

(i)                 On expulsions;

(ii)               (ii) Hailing national liberation struggles and workers struggles throughout the world;

(iii)             (iii) Condemning imperialist propaganda against Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought;

(iv)             (iv) Hailing revolutionary struggles of other countries;

(v)               (v) Supporting nationality struggles in India;

(vi)             (vi) Demanding Com. Gonzalo's release; and

(vii)           (vii) Calling for united struggle against Indian expansionism. With a vote of thanks by the presidium, the deliberations of the Conference were successfully concluded. The political line followed by the Party since 1980 is explained in the important document "Strategy and Tactics", the essential features of which are: * The political strategy to be pursued in the present stage of New Democratic Revolution in India is one of forming a broad united front of all the anti-feudal, anti-imperialist forces - the working class the peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie - under the leadership of the working class to overthrow the common enemies - feudalism, imperialism and comprador bureaucratic capital.

(viii)         * The military strategy or the path of the Indian Revolution is the path of protracted people's war, i.e. liberating the countryside first through area wise seizure of power, establishing guerrilla zones and base areas, and then encircling the cities and finally capturing power throughout the country. * The unevenness in the economic, social and political development of Indian society calls for different tactics, I. e. forms of struggle and organization to be pursued in different regions of the country, while the political line throughout the country remains the same. In urban areas the political and mass work should be carried out observing utmost precaution and the organizational work should proceed keeping in view the long range perspective.

(ix)             * Caste is a peculiar problem in India and appropriate forms of organization and struggle should be evolved vigorously to fight out untouchability, caste-discrimination and to finally root out the caste system.

(x)               * The tactics of boycott of elections have to be pursued for a long time in the prevailing conditions in India; and participating in parliamentary and assembly elections under any pretext only weakens the class struggle. Continuing the Legacy of Naxalbari, the development of the party structures grew with the development of the movement. In North Telangana the movement was first built by Central Organisers in the 1+2 system i.e., one CO with two squad members. By 1985 all centres had adopted this system.

(xi)              But with the first round of suppression between 1987 and 89 these developed into squads having 5 to 7 members. At present the squads have 9 to 11 members. In DK, the forest squads started with 5 members, now they have 11 members. Now steps are being taken to form platoon size squads – where in one squad area (50 to 60 villages) there will be a CGS (Central Guerilla Squad) under which will function two to three LGS (Local Guerilla Squads) of roughly seven members each. Each of these LGS will be given responsibility for 20 villages. In the beginning the squads comprised of chiefly party members. But as the squads grew, non-party members also entered. Since 1992 in each squad there is a Squad Area Committee (SAC) of three members which is now the chief party unit within the squad-responsible for the political and organisational tasks in their areas of operation. Each SAC member would have a responsibility of roughly 20 villages. Village party cells began to develop since 1983, but the bulk of them were smashed during the first suppression campaign in 1985-87. Since then, they have been steadily growing and today, a wide network of village party cells exist under each SAC. With these party cells have also grown the village defence squads-both function under directions from the SAC. 

First the entire movement was under the AP PC (which functioned under the CC). Under the APPC was the North Telangana regional committee and in 1982 a Forest Liaison Committee (FLC) was setup to guide the DK movement. In March 1987 the first Forest Party Conference was held and a forest committee with 5 members elected. By 1990, with the growth of the movement, this was expanded to seven members with a three member secretariat. Now with the growth of the movement there are three independent committees (of status of state committees) functioning directly under the Central Committee. These are :

 

(i) The AP State Committee under which function three regional committees – Coastal-Rayalaseema Joint Regional Committee, South Telangana Regional Committee and East Zone Regional Committee.

(ii) Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee- under which function the four divisional committees of Gadchiroli, Bhandara/Balaghat, South Bastar and North Bastar. (iii) North Telangana Special Zonal Committee – under this are the district committees of Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Warangal, NTFD (North Telangana Forest Division comprising the adjoining forest areas of Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam) and the Singareni Belt Committee. The party centre has concentrated in raising the political and military level of the organisation. For each level of party leadership, political courses and classes are held. Military training camps are also held at various levels – for village militants, for squad members and also, a central training camp. Each state committee brings out its own political organ which propagates the line set by the Central Committee and also takes up the problems of its area. With this the overall military and political level of the party has grown. Militarily, it can be seen in the growing number of successful actions….the number of raids on the police in 1996 was eleven and the number of rifles snatched between March 1996 and November 1996 was 130. Politically, this growth can be seen by the preparations and successful conclusion of the party’s All India Special Conference held in November 1995. Continuing the Legacy of Naxalbari A full quarter century after the holding of the 8th Congress – the founding Congress – of the CPI (ML), the All India Special Conference of the Party was held in November 1995. Though it was a conference, it had the stature of a Congress as it adopted the four basic documents of the party :

(iii) the Party Programme and Constitution, (ii) Strategy and Tactics, (iii) Political Resolution and (iv) the Political and Organisational Review. Earlier, these four draft documents had been thoroughly discussed throughout the party and passed (with amendments, if necessary) at the various regional and state conferences before being presented before the All India Conference for adoption. These state conferences had also reviewed the work in their own respective states and had taken decisions on rectification and development of the movements in the states of Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Also the units of West Bengal and Haryana set out tasks for building the revolutionary movements in their states. Besides the four major documents, a special resolution adopting the self-critical review of 1980 was passed. Also in a detailed discussion, delegates expressed their opinion on another document : “The Indian Revolutionary War – Guerilla Zones” and authorised the CC to finalise it. The Conference was attended by 41 delegates (including three women delegates) from AP, North Telangana, Dandakaranya, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana and a few other regions and a fraternal delegate from the COC CPI (ML) Party Unity.

The Conference was held deep in the forests, guarded by armed guerillas and went on for about 20 days. After detailed discussions the draft documents were adopted with some amendments. The Conference also approved the financial report. In the process of election of a new Central Committee, the out-going COC members first put forward their individual self-criticisms, on which delegates made their comments….then a new CC was elected. The Conference finally adopted seven special resolutions :

(i)                 On expulsions,

(ii)               Hailing the National liberation struggles and workers’ struggles throughout the world,

(iii)             Condemning imperialist propaganda against Marxism-Leninism-Mao Ze Dong Thought

(iv)             (iv) Hailing the revolutionary struggles of other countries

(v)               (v) Supporting the Nationality struggles in India

(vi)             (vi) Demanding Com. Gonzalo’s release and

(vii)           (vii) Calling for united struggle against Indian expansionism. This Conference was the true successor to the 1970 founding Congress of the CPI (ML) as it upheld the spirit of Naxalbari and reaffirmed the basic political positions taken at the Eighth Congress. The Programme and Constitution passed in 1970 was updated and refined at this Conference, the Tactical Line (now called Strategy and Tactics) adopted in 1980 was further refined with the experience of the past fifteen years which was summed up in the Political and Organisational Review. The Political Resolution analysed the present national and international conditions taking cognizance of the important political and economic changes that have occurred in the last decade. This Conference gave a new hope to the revolutionaries of the country; a hope that the three magic weapons needed for the success of the Indian revolution – an all India Party, a Peoples’ Army and a Revolutionary United Front – would soon become a reality.

  



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