May Day: Mass Clandestine Distribution of Our Communist Literature here ♦ Count on Me here ♦ Pakistan Crisis Increases Need for ICWP here ♦
Auto Workers in Tamil Nadu block road in labor protest 2021
May Day in Fascist India: Mass Clandestine Distribution of Our Communist Literature
May 7—We are an autoworkers’ collective in Chennai, India. Our May Day took place as the capitalists are intensifying their wage slavery here in the state of Tamil Nadu. The local rulers oppose fascist Modi, but they have no sympathy for the workers either. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has proposed a 12-hour, 6-day work week. Even before this bill was introduced, major industrial factories were offering only two 12-hour work shifts. This was the case in most auto factories. This is hazardous to the workers. We have seen a rise in industrial accidents as a direct result of long working hours.
A week before May Day, we printed a leaflet saying that in communism, workers will organize factories not only in the production process but in the distribution according to the need of the workers. More than anything else, factories will create more communists with the outlook of serving the international working class. And since no capitalists will exist, there will be no surplus value to be converted into money.
In the May Day march, we recognized that we live under fascist conditions regardless of the political party that is ruling us. Our literature was clandestinely distributed to minimize fascist retribution. We were in smaller groups trying to meet new members. As we got spend more than eight hours during the march, we had very fruitful discussions with members of the trade unions. Some gave us their contact numbers. They all wanted to know more about communism.
During the march we also got a live conversation with a garment worker comrade in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She said that she participated in one the largest May Day demonstrations in the world, but she thought our line was the only line that will get rid of the capitalists.
An ICWP member who was in the Indian army many years ago met with some other comrades at the march. He said some of their adult children are in the army. They emphasized that the only reason they join is due to high unemployment. The army recruiters know this, and they try to use it to instill nationalism from day one. One comrade noted that India has a long history of armed struggle by massive peasant rebellions. During British rule, there were numerous rebellions and mutinies. It shows that when the soldiers are faced with wars, they defend the workers.
We can turn these unemployed youth into a fighting force for the communist revolution. These comrades are going to organize a group and write about carrying on this work.
Overall, our May Day has opened many opportunities to recruit more workers and soldiers for our party.
India: “Count on Me, Recruit Many”
Today was my first May Day with comrades from ICWP. I have always participated in May Day since I was 18. This May Day opened my eyes and demolished so many illusions I had.
I used to participate in mass organizations with my trade unions. They were massive: just seeing hundreds of thousands of people in the street would send goose bumps. I always wanted to take the next step of fighting the capitalists. I was not alone. Everyone felt the same way. We wanted to eliminate the capitalists.
I found after years of hard struggle that it was the trade unions who were the problems. They would give rousing speeches and mobilize the masses, but in the end they always chose a path of compromise and betrayal.
Being with ICWP was a breath of fresh air. It cleared my lungs, and I can see what I have always dreamed of: COMMUNISM. Nothing but communism can solve our problems. So many parties around me have given up on communism even though they call themselves communists.
When I met ICWP some months ago, I had very serious doubts about the party because my enthusiasm had always met with betrayal. I started reading Red Flag and it instantly made a huge impression on me. The tipping point in my journey to being a member of ICWP was the persistence of a comrade who kept in touch with me. That is why I am here today, and I have joined ICWP.
Today we don’t have millions with us. But if we persist and follow what we say what we are going to do, we will have those millions with us. I clearly see that the capitalists have nothing to offer to us, the working class. They peddle communalism, casteism, super-exploitation of women, and wars for profit. Count on me, recruit many.
—New comrade in India
Pakistan: Crisis Increases Need for ICWP
It was very exciting to be with Red Flag readers on the May Day March in Lahore, Karachi. International greetings and comradely warm welcome to you all! I have been receiving Red Flag for several years. I share it electronically among several left-leaning friends.
May Day is traditionally a big event in Pakistan. This year it was much larger. That is understandable because Pakistan is going through a crisis unheard of for the last 30 years. Inflation is so severe that it eats away the most basic necessities of the masses. Added to the long lines of unemployed people, it makes an explosive mix. There is no prospect of things getting better.
We have a new colonial ruler, China. The much talked-about multibillion dollar China-financed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has created massive infrastructure projects. However, the masses get nothing in return, only mountains of debts we are required to pay.
Our political parties are corrupt to the core, and they are incapable of solving any problems. The trade unions and different socialist parties have nothing to offer either. We need radical change. That is why I am here with some friends. It is good to read Red Flag, but I feel isolated.
A comrade from the US asked me to form ICWP in Pakistan. I am thinking more about it. We must analyze the specific problems of Pakistan. I know comrades in India are advanced and perhaps they can help us. This May Day has shown that not being a part of a communist party is a major hindrance. With your help, I look forward to more rewarding struggle.
—Reader in Pakistan
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