India: Workers Turn to Red Flag here ♦ Capitalism: A Giant Boulder that Workers Will Crash here ♦
India: Workers Turn to Red Flag as Government Bans Internet, Covers Up Farmers’ Protest
DELHI (India), March 24— “They have completely banned the internet and forced social media to remove all content. It’s as if we don’t exist,” said Kamal as he gladly took Red Flag. The Red Flag became the only news source. Kamal and many people are reading its open call for communist revolution in the face of the fascist government ban.
The ban was to restrict surging farmers and their supporters. Over 200,000 farmers and 40,000 tractors had massed on freeways around Delhi. Layers of security forces were supported by fixed cement barricades, barbed wires, nails, heavy containers, lubricating oil, water cannons, and tear gas. They were no match for the angry farmers.
It became a battlefield. Farmers used water cannons to repel plumes of teargas shells, dropped from drones. They used kites to snarl drones. The farmers found tertiary lanes and small rivers to bypass barricades. Some even managed to build their own improvised tanks to breach the police lines.
No major newspaper in India printed even a single headline. All the alternate and progressive journalists found that their internet content was disappearing. Red Flag was the only newspaper our comrades found that many people grabbed. It had news of the Gaza genocide and communist revolution.
“Several hundred people in our village signed up as labour contractors in Israel. Another contractor was trying to recruit workers to go to Russia to work in the fields. Yet another contractor was offering jobs in Ukraine.” Balbir decided to join the farmers’ rally. He has been unemployed for six years and gets work only in the times of harvest.
Balbir wanted to read about communist revolution. He is tired and frustrated with all the political parties. In his village, he has heard the stories of the old revolutionaries and their commitment to change oppression. Then he read RF and saw articles from Gaza, the fallen comrades in South Africa, Chennai workers, El Salvador, Los Angeles, soldiers, and industrial workers. Balbir had all the time to read. Our comrades sat with him. Balbir said, “I have never seen a newspaper like this before. WOW!”
“In my village, there is nothing but unemployment. Young people have no jobs. The farmers are losing their tractors. Their children go to college, take out loans, and come back empty-handed. NO JOBS,” said Balbir. “This situation is going to worsen as the corporations are going to take over farms. They want the Ambani, Adani, and Tata regimes.
“Unemployed youths take out loans for labour contractors who can find them jobs in Russia, Ukraine, Lebanon, and the Middle East. Some get killed there and others get more in debt.” This is not unique to Punjab, where Balbir is from. In thousands of villages and cities you will find desperation and anger.
“It is a very explosive situation,” Balbir continued. “That’s why these fascists are building an army and police. But in my village, they recruit unemployed youths with good physical ability to the army. Their parents are struggling, and they join the army. I really liked what I read in RF about the soldier’s experience. We need soldiers and people like me to join ICWP.” Balbir was becoming involved in our discussion.
A comrade pointed out that on the Global Health Index, India (111) ranks below South Africa (58), Palestine (86), Syria (100), and Sudan (103).
This is the beauty of spending time with the masses. ICWP comrades have been in this agitation for several weeks. Each time, we meet people like Balbir. We are conducting small evening study groups. Two weeks ago, Balbir joined us, and he has stayed with us ever since. We enormously enjoy the community tradition of Langar. We prepare, cook, and distribute food and then wash the dishes. It is a huge involvement of the masses.
Many ICWP comrades are going back to Delhi, but we have learned invaluable lessons to build relationships with people like Balbir.
The latest news is that the farmer’s organizations have decided to withdraw from the freeways and will go to Delhi by public transport. We will be there and try to bring people like Balbir to May Day.
There is a way out of this unending hunger and starvation from Gaza to Delhi. Capitalism has created it, let us bury it with communism. Long live Red Flag and Communism!
Capitalism: A Giant Boulder that Workers Will Crash
I joined a group of ICWP comrades about a month ago in a farmer’s protest some 100 km from Delhi. That day was full of events that have changed me and my outlook.
We were under intense tear gas shelling from all around. Drones were falling from the sky. Rubber bullets were flying everywhere. The farmers were prepared. They distributed wet towels and soon their tractors equipped with water tanks started spraying water on the people affected by tear gas.
I came to the protest because I am one of the thousands of unemployed youths. I live in the northern state of Haryana. I hear stories of farmers losing their farms every day.
Our northern states depend mostly on migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to work on farms because they are paid very low wages. Most in Punjab and Haryana remain unemployed. Some end up going to Canada and the US illegally after making exorbitant payments to unscrupulous agents.
Amidst the mayhem and flying tear gas projectiles, I heard a voice: “We need to organize for a communist revolution.” I looked at the person who said, “Come and join us.”
His voice was so convincing, I decided to join him. I was introduced to other comrades. I was with them for several weeks, day in and day out.
I learned more things from these comrades than I had read in school. They explained in a simple way what communism was and why capitalism and its exploitation could only end with the communist revolution.
We learned dialectical materialism. What impressed me the most was that comrades explained it from our daily experience. A giant boulder rests on amountain as if it would stay there forever. It appears imposing and static as it had been for perhaps millions of years. We learned that there are contradictions in it. Movements of small rocks underneath can dislodge it and it never will be the same.
We learned that is how capitalism is. It is like a giant rock. The capitalist bosses think that its nature will never change. But it has internal contradictions. When the workers are united for communism, women and men, people of all religions, castes, ethnicities, and nationalities, they become a material force for change. The capitalist boulder will crash into small pieces and the working class will carry on the process of organizing a completely new society based on collectivity and egalitarian principles.
I learned that soldiers and industrial workers are key to this change. Capitalists are giving us this opportunity. Thousands of soldiers are recruited from our villages. They are bombarded with patriotism, nationalism, and a BJP brand of Hindu fascism. But they have nothing to gain from fighting and dying for the capitalist profits.
In Haryana, the Adani industry is building giant godowns (warehouses) for produce distribution. There is also a Maruti-Suzuki auto factory that employs 20,000 workers. When I go back, I am going to organize wherever I find an opportunity. But I will be organizing for communism, not Unions.
I want to emphasize to young people that I knew nothing about communism. However, the weeks I spent with the ICWP comrades changed my outlook. It was “quantity into quality.” They were always with me, they struggled with me. It changed into quality. I became a communist. Now I will go with these ideas and quality will result in more quantity. I am a communist organizer.
—New Comrade in India
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