“Beginning Our March for Communism” here ♦ Masses Need Communism here ♦
“Beginning Our March for Communism”
INDIA, December 5— “When over half a million people camp out for a year in the outskirts of Delhi, 1.3 billion people in India and many around the world notice that something fundamental is changing.”
A comrade was reflecting on the three farm laws that were withdrawn by India’s fascist leader Modi. The fascist government was obviously desperate to consolidate its power in the coming state elections by offering a token compromise. “Our comrades are showing renewed commitment to recruit new farmworkers. This is the beginning of our march for communism,” said a comrade who had brought three more to our nightly meeting.
“I never imagined in my life that thousands of men, young and old, would cook in the kitchen and clean toilets day after day in our makeshift camps in Delhi,” commented a comrade.
Another comrade who participated in these camps added, “In our villages, cooking was women’s work. Now we have a new way of life: large collectives are formed, people help each other. It has brought down the barriers of gender.
“The traditional Langars bring Sikh, Hindu and Muslim to participate in chores that affect us all. Back in our villages, we were segregated by religion. If you look here, the religious hostilities and hatred have not only disappeared, people are gladly helping each other regardless of their religion. Above all, this new way of life is giving us opportunity to talk about communism.”
In one camp in Delhi, a comrade is struggling with a group of farmworkers about why we need communism. “During the farmers’ agitation, 600 farmers died due to various ‘natural’ causes. But 540 of these were poor or landless farmers with less than two acres of land. They could not afford to buy tractors. They worked very hard, lived in a hostile environment. They constantly struggled to pay their debts, so they had less food and no healthcare. That is why they died. What is ‘natural’ is really capitalism sucking every drop of your blood.”
These poor and landless farmers are among 300 million rural workers in India. They and many millions more in cities form the foundation of the capitalist system of exploitation and profit. Modi and his fascist party want to intensify religious hatred and subjugate women to the constant fear of male domination. These differences based on religion and gender keep some workers super-exploited and all workers in an endless cycle of wage slavery.
Women Workers Becoming Communist Leaders
“When I speak now, everybody in my village listens to every word,” said a new comrade. “People used to think that I work in the kitchen, and that I belong there. But our new comrades gave me a lot of confidence. They said, you worked in the kitchen, now you can organize for communist revolution.
“I did not even know what communism was,” she continued, “but I knew how horrible conditions were. Sexist violence, bigotry, police raids. We had to walk a mile to get water and beg the money lender who would show up at the door with armed goons. But when I came to Delhi, I met comrades from ICWP. They explained to me that we are living in a capitalist society which is based on money. And communism is its opposite, society based on helping each other, not money and profit.”
This new comrade has emerged as our key leader. She talks about communism in words that masses without schooling can understand. “I have read about the communist conference of ICWP in El Salvador,” she said. “Many people like me, don’t know where it is. But the comrades told me it is a country very far from India. For me, there is no country. I see people coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan. They are just like us, they come hungry, and they work very hard. The main thing is the comrades want to organize for our party and communism in El Salvador. I want to learn from them.”
She and comrades like her are leading ICWP and the masses now, and more will in the future. Modi’s fascism is creating conditions for us to expand the base for communism in India and around the world. Our new comrade and her collective are preparing a message of solidarity to our comrades in El Salvador. Their message will reverberate around the world, signaling communist potential and a bright future.
Muslims arrange langar for Sikh farmers
Masses Need Communism, Not Capitalist Bribes
In Uttar Pradesh (India), a 340 km multilane freeway was inaugurated by Modi last month. It was to showcase the achievement of the fascist state government where murderous attacks on Dalits and Muslims are escalating. There are state elections early next year. Because of the farmers’ agitation, the forces of the ruling party BJP are facing challenges from the opposition. The main purpose of the freeway was also to demonstrate that India can counterattack China in case of war. The freeway has a dual purpose: the entire 340 km can be converted into an emergency landing and launching facility for supersonic fighter airplanes
BJP mobilized over 2000 buses from the nearby towns and villages on the day of the inauguration of the project. I spoke to some farmworkers who were part of the event. They told me that they were bribed to attend Modi’s inauguration. Each participant got a cash award to sustain a family for a week.
Rural India is in a serious crisis. The government has weakened or in many cases eliminated the ‘food security’ entitlement subsidy. It used to give hundreds of millions of people minimum wages when no work was available. Now, these workers are unemployed and the big cities have been unable to absorb them. The people I spoke to said that they had no cooking gas, no toilet facilities, and almost no food. These are the masses of people that Modi was going to show to the world.
In contrast, when Modi officially opened the freeway, several supersonic airplanes landed and took off as if to send a signal to China. Each air force pilot is highly trained in Europe and the US. They are given the best housing, hospitals, and recreational facilities. While the masses who are cheering for them on the freeway will go home worrying about what to eat next week.
I have spoken to my friends and comrades about the plight of the workers. I am new to ICWP. But when I read Red Flag, it gives me the direction that it is capitalism that is a disaster to the working class. People who came to Modi’s reception needed communism. A capitalist bribe is not going to solve our problems. Communist organizing now is our urgent need.
-New comrade in India
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