Movement to Transform India into World's Bastion for Peace, Prosperity and Rights!
(Speech by the AIPSG representative to the rally organized by the Communist Ghadar Party of India at the Jawaharlal Nehru University City Center in New Delhi, India on the occasion of the 89th anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia)
On behalf of the Association of the Indian Progressive Study Groups (AIPSG), it is my pleasure to greet the participants in this rally and thank the organizers for giving us the opportunity to address this gathering.
The significance of the Great October Proletarian Revolution for the people of India and Indian communists has been eloquently articulated by many in the past and the discussion is still continuing. It could not be otherwise because October Revolution was the most important event of the 20th century and the world has not been the same ever since. The dignity of human person was irrevocably affirmed by the Great October Revolution not just in Russia but the entire world. Most, if not all, of the rights, especially social rights that we take for granted, are direct outcomes of the victory of the Russian people over Czardom and the building of a socialist society.
On this occasion today, I want to speak to you about one issue that preoccupies our organization at this time whose significance is easy to grasp in the context of the experience of the October Revolution. The movement of the Russian people that led to the victory of the October Revolution was the conscious movement for peace, land and bread. It was over this question that the Kerensky government lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the people and people marched under the banner of the Bolshevik party to complete the revolution.
Let us pause for a moment and think about the democratic movement in India today. Democratic movements are objective movements and they reflect the historical requirement of the society at a given time. Anyone can see how the Indian business houses and their state and government have defined their agenda for the post-Cold War world to hijack the historic movement of the Indian people for deep going democratic transformation to benefit the big business houses and their allies. This vision of the business houses is described in many ways - Emergent India, Vision 2020, India Shinning, India as Big Power etc. The political discourse in mainstream Indian media is taking place around this agenda - for, against, neutral, whatever. Whether you speak of India-US nuclear energy deal, the private-public partnership policy of the UPA government or the judicial orders for evictions and sealing in Delhi, i.e. global, national or local issues, the Indian ruling circles have been able to force their agenda to the center-stage in all these discussions while leaving the main requirements of Indian society for thoroughgoing democratic transformations in the sideline. They want people to be fixated on what makes India look respectable in the Eurocentrist imperial world, not what makes India become a factor of peace in this dangerous time while solving the problem of economic, social and political problems of the Indian people.
The agenda of the people occupying the center-stage is missing in the current political discourse of mainstream India. It is extremely necessary that everyone works to create a situation where people deliberate how India's priorities and policies at home and abroad to emerge as a big power are advancing or not advancing the cause of peace, the affirmation of the rights of individuals and collectives and the elimination of economic deprivation, social immiserisation etc. The movement for peace, rights and wellbeing will take shape if these questions take the center-stage in Indian politics. A democratic movement with this consciousness is nascent at this time even though objective movements of the people for livelihood, rights and peace are on the rise. It could not be otherwise because the work to build the conscious movement is lagging. Democratic movements are objective movements, but it is the subjective, conscious factor that provides definition to the movement as masses are gripped by that consciousness. A conscious organization built around the conscious movement safeguards the movement from the imposters and hijackers who are bent upon dissipating the democratic initiative of the masses in favor of their self serving agenda.
The experience of the October Revolution and all other revolutions of the 20th century teach us that without the leadership of the communist party it is not possible for the conscious movement of the working class to be built, be victorious and the victory be defended. So the tasks facing the communists of India are as clear as clear can be - to build the conscious movement of the Indian people for peace, rights and prosperity, lead it to victory and create a new social-political order to defend those victories. The ideological debate for articulating and debating the needs of the Indian people must be imposed on all the forces - progressives, communists, youth, women, as well as the bourgeoisie, revisionists, social democrats, liberals and nationalists. Let us impose on all the forces this agenda that they address themselves to the questions of peace, rights and prosperity and explain how the current policies are meeting or not meeting these requirements of India. Let us involve all the political forces of India in elaborating the program and building the organization around this consciousness. It is AIPSG's earnest appeal to the participants in this rally and all the people of India that they build this democratic movement. There are many ongoing democratic struggles already in India but the victory of all those will be conditional upon the victory of this movement and this movement will not be built or be victorious without communist leadership.
October Revolution teaches us that Bolshevik party was able to grasp what was the most important amongst all the tasks facing the Russian society in 1917 and organized around those tasks. The communists of our time have the same unenviable job today - identify with the objectivity of consideration the stage of development of Indian people's struggle for rights and within that context recognize what the agenda of the bourgeoisie is, how the enemies of the people are uniting around that agenda and monopolizing the political space to silence the voice of the people. That agenda of the bourgeoisie has to be contested and defeated. Let this rally resolve to launch the movement for the agenda of peace, rights and livelihood and wage the ideological struggle to place it at the center-stage of India's political space by organizing people around ir. Let the agenda of the Indian business houses to be a big power on the basis of militarization, state terrorism and unbridled capitalist exploitation be contested frontally. This what the AIPSG is working for and it is ready to unite with everyone taking up the same agenda. It is convinced that people of Indian origin living abroad will enthusiastically rally around such a movement in India in course of their own struggle for peace, rights and wellbeing in the countries where they are working and living. Thank you!
On behalf of the Association of the Indian Progressive Study Groups (AIPSG), it is my pleasure to greet the participants in this rally and thank the organizers for giving us the opportunity to address this gathering.
The significance of the Great October Proletarian Revolution for the people of India and Indian communists has been eloquently articulated by many in the past and the discussion is still continuing. It could not be otherwise because October Revolution was the most important event of the 20th century and the world has not been the same ever since. The dignity of human person was irrevocably affirmed by the Great October Revolution not just in Russia but the entire world. Most, if not all, of the rights, especially social rights that we take for granted, are direct outcomes of the victory of the Russian people over Czardom and the building of a socialist society.
On this occasion today, I want to speak to you about one issue that preoccupies our organization at this time whose significance is easy to grasp in the context of the experience of the October Revolution. The movement of the Russian people that led to the victory of the October Revolution was the conscious movement for peace, land and bread. It was over this question that the Kerensky government lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the people and people marched under the banner of the Bolshevik party to complete the revolution.
Let us pause for a moment and think about the democratic movement in India today. Democratic movements are objective movements and they reflect the historical requirement of the society at a given time. Anyone can see how the Indian business houses and their state and government have defined their agenda for the post-Cold War world to hijack the historic movement of the Indian people for deep going democratic transformation to benefit the big business houses and their allies. This vision of the business houses is described in many ways - Emergent India, Vision 2020, India Shinning, India as Big Power etc. The political discourse in mainstream Indian media is taking place around this agenda - for, against, neutral, whatever. Whether you speak of India-US nuclear energy deal, the private-public partnership policy of the UPA government or the judicial orders for evictions and sealing in Delhi, i.e. global, national or local issues, the Indian ruling circles have been able to force their agenda to the center-stage in all these discussions while leaving the main requirements of Indian society for thoroughgoing democratic transformations in the sideline. They want people to be fixated on what makes India look respectable in the Eurocentrist imperial world, not what makes India become a factor of peace in this dangerous time while solving the problem of economic, social and political problems of the Indian people.
The agenda of the people occupying the center-stage is missing in the current political discourse of mainstream India. It is extremely necessary that everyone works to create a situation where people deliberate how India's priorities and policies at home and abroad to emerge as a big power are advancing or not advancing the cause of peace, the affirmation of the rights of individuals and collectives and the elimination of economic deprivation, social immiserisation etc. The movement for peace, rights and wellbeing will take shape if these questions take the center-stage in Indian politics. A democratic movement with this consciousness is nascent at this time even though objective movements of the people for livelihood, rights and peace are on the rise. It could not be otherwise because the work to build the conscious movement is lagging. Democratic movements are objective movements, but it is the subjective, conscious factor that provides definition to the movement as masses are gripped by that consciousness. A conscious organization built around the conscious movement safeguards the movement from the imposters and hijackers who are bent upon dissipating the democratic initiative of the masses in favor of their self serving agenda.
The experience of the October Revolution and all other revolutions of the 20th century teach us that without the leadership of the communist party it is not possible for the conscious movement of the working class to be built, be victorious and the victory be defended. So the tasks facing the communists of India are as clear as clear can be - to build the conscious movement of the Indian people for peace, rights and prosperity, lead it to victory and create a new social-political order to defend those victories. The ideological debate for articulating and debating the needs of the Indian people must be imposed on all the forces - progressives, communists, youth, women, as well as the bourgeoisie, revisionists, social democrats, liberals and nationalists. Let us impose on all the forces this agenda that they address themselves to the questions of peace, rights and prosperity and explain how the current policies are meeting or not meeting these requirements of India. Let us involve all the political forces of India in elaborating the program and building the organization around this consciousness. It is AIPSG's earnest appeal to the participants in this rally and all the people of India that they build this democratic movement. There are many ongoing democratic struggles already in India but the victory of all those will be conditional upon the victory of this movement and this movement will not be built or be victorious without communist leadership.
October Revolution teaches us that Bolshevik party was able to grasp what was the most important amongst all the tasks facing the Russian society in 1917 and organized around those tasks. The communists of our time have the same unenviable job today - identify with the objectivity of consideration the stage of development of Indian people's struggle for rights and within that context recognize what the agenda of the bourgeoisie is, how the enemies of the people are uniting around that agenda and monopolizing the political space to silence the voice of the people. That agenda of the bourgeoisie has to be contested and defeated. Let this rally resolve to launch the movement for the agenda of peace, rights and livelihood and wage the ideological struggle to place it at the center-stage of India's political space by organizing people around ir. Let the agenda of the Indian business houses to be a big power on the basis of militarization, state terrorism and unbridled capitalist exploitation be contested frontally. This what the AIPSG is working for and it is ready to unite with everyone taking up the same agenda. It is convinced that people of Indian origin living abroad will enthusiastically rally around such a movement in India in course of their own struggle for peace, rights and wellbeing in the countries where they are working and living. Thank you!
posted by charcha-editor at 17:56
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