DELHI (India), June 21— “We have spent more than two decades in education, only to discover that it has left us with little of value,” said a young worker. “It feels like a scam that convinced us we could survive the harsh reality of unemployment. We came to this rally because ICWP members were distributing the pamphlet ‘Communist Education for a Classless Society.’ A group of about twenty young people quickly took copies.”
Massive rallies are taking place across India. About 340 million young people aged 17 to 24 are unemployed. The Chief Justice of India (CJI), a mouthpiece for fascist Modi, reportedly said that “unemployed youth are like cockroaches.”
Amid an unprecedented heat wave, with temperatures near 48°C (118⁰F), hundreds of thousands of unemployed youths took to the streets. They mocked the CJI and formed the Cockroach Janata Party. ICWP members joined these massive rallies. While Delhi faced severe water shortages, protesters were met with water cannons and tear gas.
We had prepared for these attacks. Our response was to distribute thousands of copies of Red Flag and the “Communist Education” pamphlet. Young people eagerly accepted the literature. Many read it during clashes with police. One said, “I am so glad you are here. Many other political parties are telling us to get more education. We want a new system. This system is broken. It can’t be fixed.”
Over two months, we have built close connections with hundreds of young people. We understand their frustration. Most ICWP members have also experienced unemployment. We joined ICWP because only communism made sense to us.
Suresh is 21 years old. His parents sold their small piece of land so he could get a job. He has spent 48 hours in the sweltering heat for the national exam. He was furious when the exam results were leaked, and the government had to cancel the national exam for over 2.5 million students.
When he met us, he described his 48-hour train journey. Most youth who travelled with him had borrowed the last rupee to reach the exam centres in Delhi. Most will not make it. The train is so overcrowded that some young people have suffocated to death. When Suresh saw our literature, he said, “My parents are poor, and they depend on me supporting them for the remaining parts of their lives.”
As horrible as it sounds, the capitalist system does not care for Suresh or his parents. They are ‘cockroaches’. But we, as communists, care deeply for people like Suresh. ICWP members have found temporary places for people like him.
“When I came to Delhi, I did not know anyone. Now I have ICWP comrades who talk to me about a communist revolution as the only way to create a new society for the working class. It makes perfect sense to me. I did not know or believe just a week ago that communism was possible.”
We will continue our daily classes on communism in Delhi. The fascist Modi has consolidated his grip by bribing, corrupting, and creating an atmosphere of fear by attacking Muslim and Dalit youth. But beneath this calm, there are millions of people like Suresh who could become a potent force in a communist revolution.
We have learned valuable lessons from young people in South Africa, who are studying dialectical materialism. We have already started our class for a communist change. After spending two weeks with our comrades, Suresh, who did not know a single person in Delhi, says, “I have become a communist by being with other communists. We share food, shelter, and our communist ideas.”
Read Communist Education for a Classless Society here