INDIA, July 9— “I wake up early each morning with Red Flag firmly in my hands. No capitalist bosses will make profits off our backs. I march with determination to organize workers and neighbours who read Red Flag regularly—so that we may join millions of others,” said Geeta, a garment worker employed by the labour contractor ZARA.
On July 9, workers flooded the streets of Bengaluru, Kolkata, New Delhi, Chennai, and other cities and towns across India. Ten trade unions and multiple farmers’ organizations participated. Workers from transportation, mining, agriculture, factories, banks, postal services, and healthcare all joined the strike. Two hundred fifty million workers defied fascism. They opposed Modi’s plans for privatization and other anti-worker reforms.
Geeta is a committed member of the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP). Her collective mobilized to spread the message of communism during the massive July 9 general strike. It has been working closely with ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists), who provide essential healthcare in rural areas. For three years, Geeta has distributed Red Flag to many ASHA workers. One million ASHA workers joined the strike. Many marched as part of the ICWP contingent.
“I am also organizing for communism, carrying the Red Flag as a weapon against rising fascism in India,” said Ramesh, another ICWP member marching with autoworkers in Chennai. “India fought a four-day war against Pakistan to distract workers from the real war—against us. Modi and his fascist party use hyper-nationalism to boast that India is the third-largest economy in the world. But in truth, workers here suffer like the impoverished masses of Sudan.”
His comrade added: “When I march with Ramesh, I see that communism is the future. Unions are just bandages. They prolong our misery by offering crumbs. We have the power to break the endless cycle of exploitation.
“A small group of communists in 1925 mobilized millions in a violent uprising against British imperialism,” he continued. “But their fight was mostly for nationalism with just a hint of socialism, and what did we get? Modi’s fascism. That’s why I believe in ICWP. We fight for real communism: no capitalism, no banks, no money, no exploitation.”
“I see the power of the youth,” said Nitish. “I joined ICWP six years ago in the struggle against fascism in New Delhi. We fought pitched battles against fascist cops. But when I met ICWP, I saw the real contradiction: capitalism must fall.
“Our collective includes farmworkers and former Jawaharlal Nehru University students,” Nitish went on. “We follow how fascist forces attack immigrants in the US—how they are deported in shackles, denied food and toilets during long flights. Our siblings in the California fields face the same enemy. This is a global fight. Today’s general strike in India is a message: the youth are ready to change the system.”
Learning to Organize Massively for Communism Under Fascism
The July 9 General Strike was a significant opportunity for ICWP. We made a clear plan to reach every supporter and Red Flag reader with one goal—recruitment. Each collective prepared a list of contacts and marched with them. Although the unions mobilized many workers, we had to struggle to ensure our supporters marched with us, not behind union misleaders.
We are aware of the risks of exposure under fascism. However, we also recognize that we must spread communism to the masses.
As a collective, we are learning to navigate the contradiction of advancing our work under fascist conditions. We have seen that the bosses’ agents inside the movement can be even more dangerous than the open fascist police. Our focus must be on practice. The challenge is to be visible for recruitment and organization, but invisible to avoid repression. Our experience shows: the more we engage in communist practice, the more we grow.
The key lesson from today is: Be open with the masses. Talk about communism. Take chances. Trust in the collective to continue the struggle. If we’re not constantly speaking about the necessity of communism, we’re not fulfilling our revolutionary responsibility.
Today, we proved that we can build our party—and that we can end wage slavery.