Comrades in Zaragoza, Spain distributed 634 Red Flags in two May Day marches.
India: Distributing Red Flag Door to Door to Organize for a Communist May Day
INDIA, May 5—“I cannot feed my children after working for more than 15 years”, said Gita, a garment worker in Bengaluru, India. Her anger and frustration fuel her desire for a change. She is not alone. Over 90% of India’s population earns less than the average household income in the world’s most impoverished Sub-Saharan regions.
Gita and her entire neighborhood look for answers when ICWP members go door to door, distributing Red Flags. Our focus was to distribute more Red Flags and recruit more members as May Day approached. Comrades are universally saying, “We are fed up with the capitalists stealing everything from us. We are fed up with the political parties pretending to be our friends. We believe more ICWP members will see a real change. That change is when we decide what to produce and how to distribute without banks. Workers’ power. Communist revolution.”
More than in the past, ICWP members, energized by constant religious attacks by BJP/RSS fascists, are showing signs that we can confront fascists. In one of our neighborhoods in New Delhi, our supporters firmly stood up against an RSS mob that was trying to harass a small vegetable vendor. The RSS goons required the vendor to display his name, which would indicate his religion. Our comrades, supported by Hindus and Muslims, prevented it from happening.
These examples of Bengaluru and New Delhi show the opportunities we are seizing. But it also indicates a danger that is looming. Fascist Modi feels emboldened by Trump’s open fascism, and Israel’s brutal genocide, and is succeeding in religious attacks on Muslims and Dalits. Our answer is distributing more Red Flags and recruiting ICWP members by adopting the new realities of doing work differently.
This May Day was the most significant success for ICWP members who mobilized in three cities in India. We estimate that we have distributed more than 2000 copies of the Red Flag. However, more important than the number of papers distributed, many new comrades joined us and actively organized to bring their coworkers.
We faced immense obstacles. A week before May Day, India was blanketed by ultra-religious nationalism when tourists in Kashmir were gunned down by what the Indian nationalist parties are unanimously claiming were ‘terrorists organized by Pakistan’. This was an attempt to divert people’s attention away from their anger at rising inflation, unemployment, and lack of housing.
Our successful May Day under these circumstances shows that our Party can grow and recruit members under fascism. As we write this report, India and Pakistan are involved in a dangerous war for profit. It is not just a war between India and Pakistan, but it is both proxy wars and real wars affecting many regions, including China and the US.
(In our next report, we will analyze the war between India and Pakistan, its global significance, and most importantly, how we expand our circle of friends.)