DELHI (India), January 2— “Women of Jamiya are leading the fight!” (Jamiya ki landkiao ne rasta dikhaya hai!) So proclaimed thousands of women facing tear gas and water cannon two years ago, after scores of Muslims were massacred here by the fascist police. An iconic image of four women protecting a fallen male comrade showed that women can fearlessly defend working-class brothers and sisters.
I was among the Jamiya students who participated in these demonstrations. Today I have decided to take the fight to defend the working class and join ICWP for the communist revolution.
I am 22 years old, from a very poor Muslim family. We have lived in fear for seven years since BJP came to power. Their fascist supporters would come in large numbers into our all-Muslim area. They came with sticks, metal rods, and crude petrol bombs, always followed by police to protect them.
Two years ago, police and their fascist friends came in very large military formations. Not a single person could be seen in our densely populated neighborhood. The police started smashing doors, windows, and shops. People screamed and cried as leaders of the fascist BJP directed police where to shoot and burn houses. We don’t know how many people died, but many were brought to the hospitals with bullet and burn wounds.
Police repeated these tactics when they attacked the predominantly Muslim Jamiya Milia University. Students in the library, canteens, and dormitories were dragged out and mercilessly beaten.
I was among thousands of women of Jamiya who spontaneously responded to these police attacks. For many of us, this was the first political demonstration. It changed my life forever. I told myself that I want to end this racism, xenophobia, sexism.
Nobody slept that night. People were asking the same questions: How do you defend against police, against communalism? Somebody passed around a leaflet that said, “Communist revolution NOW” and explained that nothing other than a complete change in the system will work.
I kept thinking about this all the time. What does communism have to do with what is happening? My English is not very good, but I can read it. The leaflet had a link to ICWP. I found many articles about workers’ struggles. There were articles about ICWP members in Delhi, but Delhi is very big, and I could not find them. However, what I read increased my curiosity. I kept reading Red Flag.
Things were changing very rapidly around me. Inspired by the Jamiya women, thousands of working-class women of all religions staged an indefinite demonstration on the freeway against racist, xenophobic laws. When the pandemic ended these demonstrations, we saw millions hungry and homeless desperately trying to go home to their villages. I read in Red Flag that some ICWP comrades were involved in food distribution. They explained how the pandemic attacks the working class and we need a society without money.
This was a big turning point in my journey to communism. I saw millions of people, who had been cooking, cleaning, building roads, cleaning streets, thrown out like garbage because they had no money. These are the people who do everything. So many people died because they had no money. I was convinced that society without money will solve everything. I didn’t know how to do it, but I became a communist in my mind.
As I continued to read Red Flag, every article inspired me. I finally read (in Hindi) the one-page “Mobilize the Masses for Communism (MMC).” This opened my vision to the MMC pamphlet and “The Communist Fight Against Sexism” (in English). Both documents made a huge impact on me. I discussed them with some friends.
As we were discussing the sexism pamphlet, we read about the horrific murder of a young woman in Hathras. Our comrades in Bengaluru responded to it by asking everybody to join the fight for communism. This further cemented my commitment to communism. Hathras is very dangerous for Dalit women. When the young woman was raped and killed, it was a young female journalist who went to Hathras at 2 am to report to the world.
I realized that not only do we need a communist revolution, but we need women now to take the leadership. My journey to communism became real when I met comrades of ICWP in Delhi a few months ago.
Our struggle for communism is only going to intensify. I am making a firm commitment to write in the future about how we are recruiting more members. Wishing all our comrades around the world a new year full of struggle for communism!
Read Our Pamphlet:
“The Communist Fight Against Sexism” here
More on the Fight for Communism in India:
India: 200 Million Strike Against Anti-Labor Attacks and Fascist Anti-Muslim Laws
Delhi Comrades Bring Food and Communism to the Masses
ICWP’s Manifesto:
Mobilize the Masses for Communism