- CC, CPI (Maoist)

Question : Many people think that your party had suffered a severe backlash with Azad’s death. What are the circumstances which led to his death? How would you assess the role played by Azad in Indian Revolution? How do you plan to overcome his loss?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : True, our party has suffered a severe backlash with the death of Comrade Azad. Azad was one of the topmost leaders in our party. He has been leading the Indian revolution since a long time. In our country, People’s War is intensifying with each passing day. With the aid and support of imperialists, particularly the American imperialists, the Indian exploiting ruling classes are trying to suppress the revolutionary movement and are carrying on ruthless atrocities in an unprecedented severe manner. In this war between the people and the ruling classes, the enemy had particularly concentrated on comrades like Azad who are leading the revolution and schemed to murder them. It is as part of that conspiracy that comrade Azad was caught and killed in the most brutal and cowardly manner. The Home minister Chidambaram, who is leading from the forefront the ‘War on People’ launched by Sonia-Manmohan-Chidambaram gang, central intelligence agencies and Andhra Pradesh SIB  are directly responsible for this gruesome murder.

Comrade Azad was leading the entire urban movement on behalf of our Central Committee and was also looking after political propaganda, party periodicals, party education and other such crucial responsibilities. He was a most reliable mass leader. He maintained close relations with many comrades at various levels and with the revolutionary masses. In the midst of severe repression, he worked selflessly and unflinchingly in spite of the many risks involved. It is under such circumstances that the enemy came to know about his whereabouts somewhere and could catch him by laying in wait.

In July, Azad was to go to Dandakaranya. He was to participate in the political education training program planned for the party leadership cadres there. He had a contact with the Dandakaranya comrades in Nagpur city on July 1. But he and a journalist named Hemchand who was traveling with him were caught even before they reached the contact place. Both of them were taken to Adilabad forests and were killed the same night. Those who have seen his dead body said that they seemed have given him some sedative injection as soon as they caught him. This means that the enemy had caught him in a planned manner with the clear aim of killing him. They killed Hemchand Pandey too so that the truth about his murder doesn’t come out. Both their bodies were thrown in the Jogapur forests in the Wankidi mandal of Adilabad district and a fake encounter story was concocted as always.

Entire people along with our Party condemned in one voice this fake encounter and comrade Azad’s murder. Many revolutionary parties, democratic and civil rights organizations had demanded judicial enquiry on this fake encounter. Intellectuals, journalists, writers and students from many states along with those in Andhra Pradesh had accused that the Central and state governments were responsible for Azad’s murder. Many wrote articles and gave statements. Thousands attended the funeral procession of comrade Azad which was held in Hyderabad on July 4th. Many Maoist parties from all over the world had condemned the murder of comrade Azad and written letters to our CC hailing his services to the Indian revolution. On this occasion, I send my revolutionary greetings and gratitude to all these organizations and individuals on behalf of our CC. It is such democratic and revolutionary consciousness which would help sustain people’s movements.

Azad was attracted to the revolutionary movement while he was studying in the Warangal Regional Engineering College in 1972. Azad who was exceptionally brilliant in his studies had played a dynamic role in the revolutionary movement too. He played a role in the formation of the Radical Students Union (RSU) in 1974. He was elected as the state president of RSU in 1978. He was one of the founders of the All India revolutionary student’s movement and guided it from its inception in 1985. He played a key role in conducting a seminar on Nationality Question in the then Madras city in 1981. Later he took up the responsibility of building the revolutionary movement in Karnataka and build up the Maoist party in Karnataka for the first time. He attracted many comrades like Saketh Rajan into the party. When opportunistic elements tried to split the party in 1985 and in 1991, comrade Azad had played a crucial role in keeping the party united and strong and in defeating their opportunist politics with a proletarian outlook. He worked tirelessly for twenty years as a CC member and Politburo member from 1990 till now. We cannot separate Azad’s life from the revolutionary movement’s history of the past forty years. Particularly, he played a key role in the ideological, political spheres, party education and running of periodicals and such. He fulfilled the responsibility of the party spokesperson since three years as ‘Azad’ in the most excellent and exemplary manner. He used his intellect and sharp pen outstandingly in fighting back the ‘War on People’ led by the Chidambaram gang. He stood as the voice of the people against the rulers and exploiters. In the development of the party’s political line, in the development of the party, people’s army and mass organizations, in extending the movement, in the emergence of new democratic power organs and in all the victories won, Azad’s ideological, political work and practice played a key role. Unflinching commitment in face of any odds and during the ebb and flow of the movement, great sacrificing nature, selflessness, simple living, indefatigable work for the revolution and for the interests of the people, astounding study, study of changing phenomena in the society from time to time, being with the people always are some of the great proletariat ideals established by Comrade Azad. Though he is no more, it is undeniable that he would serve as a revolutionary role model to every revolutionary and particularly to the youth, students and intellectuals.

It is true that it would be very difficult to fulfill the loss because comrade Azad’s life has been completely intertwined with the advancement of the revolutionary movement. He was a great revolutionary who was steeled in the ups and downs of the movement. Revolutionary movements give birth to leaders in this manner. In turn, these leaders lead the revolutionary movements down the path of victory. The sacrifice of many leaders is also inevitable in the revolutionary movement. The very conditions which give birth to the revolutionary movements and help its advancement would give birth to its leadership too. This has been proven repeatedly in the world revolutionary history. So the material conditions which are favorable for the rapid advancement of the revolutionary movement in our country today would give birth to thousands of leaders like comrade Azad. The ideological-political and practical work done by comrade Azad and the communist ideals he established have created the base for such an eventuality. The martyrdom of a Surapaneni Janardhan had placed an ideal in front of many comrades like Azad. Likewise many more revolutionaries would be born by taking the sacrifice of Azad as an ideal. They would lead the Indian revolution. The enemy could eliminate the physical presence of Azad but it would be impossible to stop the ideas he had spread in the party and among the people from turning into a material force.

In our history though we had lost important leaders many times and had faced many ups and downs, we had always stood up again and could advance the movement. We are still attracting educated cadres into our party from various parts of our country. We are confident that we would be able to fill the void created by Azad’s death by training them up well in practice. The ruling classes are ecstatic that they had broken the jar of knowledge by killing Azad. But those fools do not understand that thousands of Azads would be born from the land where that knowledge had been spilled. Azad had haunted the ruling classes with his political attacks when he was alive. Now even after his death he is haunting them. The ruling classes startle at the very mention of his name.

Before the death of Azad too, we had lost important leadership comrades in fake encounters and many more had been arrested. These losses are heavy too. But we would definitely overcome these losses and would definitely advance the revolutionary movement firmly.

Question : In the interview you gave to Jan Myrdal and Gautam Navlakha you said that your party was ready for talks with the government. In the letter written by your spokesperson Azad to Agnivesh, he said your party was ready for simultaneous ceasefire from both sides. Now that the government had killed Azad in a conspiratorial manner, do you think it is possible to hold talks? Are you still reiterating the stand taken before the death of Azad?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : In fact, you should put this question to Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh. For the past one and half year, comrades Azad, Kishenji and I have been stating our party’s stand regarding talks a number of times. The government has been hiding the endless brutal violence it had been perpetuating on the people and has been announcing each time that talks would be held only if Maoists abjure violence. Chidambaram has been repeatedly shouting these words from the roof top. Keeping in view the war declared on the people and the difficulties they are facing due to it, Azad had continued declaring till the end that our party would be ready for simultaneous cease fire if the government is ready for it. His intention was to lessen the travails of the people to any possible extent. He mentioned the same demand in the letter written to Swami Agnivesh. Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh had not only killed him in a conspiratorial manner but are shamelessly performing the same charade once again. The fact is that the government doesn’t feel any actual need for holding talks. If the peace wished by intellectuals, democrats and the people is to be established, then the most meaningless thing would be to demand that the counter-violence by people should be stopped while the government continues with its killing spree. When Chidambaram announced that Maoists should stop violence for 72 hours and Kishenji responded by giving a time of 72 days, Chidambaram’s answer was to target Kishenji and to intensify the attacks in order to kill him. Azad who had written the letter to Agnivesh was targeted and killed. As part of Operation Green Hunt nearly one lakh paramilitary forces and three lakh state forces have been deployed. Of these the major forces are Special Forces. Every day, every hour and every minute these forces are perpetuating countless atrocities on the people. They are targeting the people and democrats who are opposing this and putting them in jails under UAPA and other draconian laws of the states. Except for the reactionaries and their stooges in the media, nobody else is supporting this war on people in our country. Even if there are a few individuals who support it, it is not because they know the facts but because they innocently believe the false propaganda of the government. We feel that there is absolutely no conducive situation for holding talks now.

People like Agnivesh are asking us not to retreat from the dialogue process and to come forward for talks even after the cold-blooded murder of comrade Azad. We want to ask them if they would be able to stop such conspiracies and plots the government is hatching to kill our party leaders. Doubtless, comrade Azad was killed by the government in a conspiracy. The post-mortem and forensic reports too prove this beyond doubt. So we request all democrats, peace-loving intellectuals and human rights’ organizations to come forward with the firm demand that judicial enquiry should be conducted on Azad’s murder.

It is crystal clear that there is no conducive atmosphere for talks. In spite of this we request the people and democrats to demand the government to prove its commitment towards the process of talks by coming forward to implement the following steps.

1)  Stop Operation Green Hunt. Withdraw the paramilitary forces. If the government stops its offensive on the people, then the counter-offensive of the people would also stop. As many intellectuals are saying, if the offensive of the government doesn’t take place then there would be no need for the people to resist.

2)  Ours is a political party like many other parties in this country and the world. Our party has an ideological and military line and aim and correct, clear-cut policies on matters relating to culture, caste, gender, nationality, ecology etc. Even according to the laws formulated by these ruling classes, democratic rights would apply to our party. So the ban on our party should be lifted. Ban on our mass organizations should be lifted. Absolute democratic opportunities should be created for mass mobilization. Only in conditions where we could work democratically, we can come forward for talks.

3)  In Andhra Pradesh, comrade Riyaz who had participated in talks with the government in 2004 was caught and murdered after torturing him brutally. Others who participated in talks were targeted and attempts were made to assassinate them. Now comrade Azad who was working to facilitate the process of talks was murdered. So, it is not possible to believe the government and send underground comrades for talks. Therefore if the government releases our leadership comrades from jails, then they would directly represent our party in the talks.

So, you people should think about these three demands and place them before the government. We want to make it clear once again that any questions regarding talks should be put to the government first and not to us.

GK Pillai, Prakash Singh, Chidambaram and such likes are saying that we would come into line only if pressure is built up on us through intensification of fascist military offensive on our party and massacring the people. They are living in a fools’ paradise. Building pressure, creating illusions in the name of talks, deceiving and destroying the party – this is the strategy of the government. In fact, our party is fighting for peace too. They believe only in suppression and they are incompetent in facing us politically and ideologically. People are fighting under the leadership of our party with the lofty aim of establishing permanent peace by ending the exploitation, oppression, brutal suppression and violence in our country and in the whole human society. We see the issue of ‘talks’ and ‘peace’ as part of class struggle too. When class struggle intensifies, it would be in an armed form. In other circumstances it would be conducted in peaceful methods too. So it is completely false that our party would come for talks if pressure is built up.

And then, a false propaganda is being conducted through the media that there are differences in our party regarding talks and that they are mainly on the lines of erstwhile MCCI and erstwhile People’s War. This is hundred percent false. This is nothing but false propaganda by the enemy to create doubts in peoples’ minds about our party to carry on their aims. Our Unity Congress has taken a clear stand on the matter of talks. The struggle between correct ideas and wrong ideas is a continuous process in the party. We would solve our differences of opinion by abiding the principle of democratic centralism and in the light of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. This would only lead to the development of the party. We achieved great unity with the merger of the two parties. Now any discussions or conflict of ideas which takes place in the party would be in the form of ideological and political discussions in a united party and not in the form of differences between erstwhile MCCI and erstwhile CPI (ML) (People’s War). We categorically state that the differences would never ever take the form of conflicts before the merger.

Question : You are saying that the government has declared a war on the people. The government is saying that there is no war and that Operation Green Hunt is a figment of imagination of the media. It is very clear that coordinated attacks are carried on your party in all states. How is this offensive going on? How are you facing it and plan to face it?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : It is not just us who are saying that the government had declared a war on the people. All the people are saying so in one voice. All the people of the areas where this war is going on are saying so. All the democratic organizations, progressive forces and democrats of our country are saying very clearly that government is carrying a war on the people and are condemning it. The government is carrying on war on people and is blatantly lying that it is not the case. While Longkumer, Kalluri and Viswaranjan announce that the Operation Green Hunt is going on, on the other hand Chidambaram shamelessly declares that there is no such thing. It is increasingly getting exposed how terrible, how cruel fascist act this Green Hunt is and how dreadfully it is being carried on. In fact, in the various states where Maoist movement is present, nearly one lakh paramilitary forces are deployed. If we look at the number of police forces deployed in 9, 10 states against our movement it would be nearly three to four lakhs. What is the reason for deploying such a huge contingent of forces? What are these forces doing on a daily basis? Why are they increasing carpet security and construction of base camps, special training schools and jungle warfare schools? Why is the police budget of each state increased to such huge amounts and so rapidly? Why did the government release a package of thirteen and a half thousands of crores of rupees at once? Why huge sum of over one trillion rupees was allotted for internal security? Why are the central and state governments spending thousands of crores of rupees annually with the evil design of eliminating our movement? Why is the government carrying on mopping up campaigns in our strong areas like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, North Andhra and North Telangana? Mopping up means destroying everything. Anybody can be killed, arrested, missed, raped and property, houses, harvest and everything can be destroyed. All this is nothing but fascist rule.

It is as part of this war that the enemy is concentrating on our leadership and killing them in the most brutal manner and putting them in jails by arresting them in an undemocratic and illegal manner. The government has chosen armed repression as the main form and carrying on this war. However, in support of this it is carrying on the offensive in all other spheres, i.e., political, ideological, psychological, cultural spheres in a multi-pronged attack.

That is why the people are consolidating themselves under our party leadership with a clear strategy, intensifying the people’s war and establishing a new political power, new economy and new culture as an alternative to the present rule of the exploiting classes. Under our party’s leadership our PLGA, our new power organs and people are fighting a life and death struggle against MoUs worth billions of rupees which the central and state governments had signed with MNCs and big comprador corporate houses in many states such as Odisha, Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh etc. That is why, people are saying that this callous government is lying when it says that this is not a war. People, democrats and revolutionary forces are strongly and unitedly opposing and equally strongly fighting back the war on people which the government is intensifying day by day. Democratic forces, anti-imperialist forces and revolutionary proletariat all over the world are also strongly opposing and protesting this war on the people waged by the ruling classes of our country.

I want to clearly state one thing here. This war on the people is a brutal war launched by the government to suppress our just movement. This is an unjust war politically. This war by the ruling classes is carried on with a clear political aim. This would permanently continue the exploitation and oppression of the people. The self-defence war waged by the people also has a clear political aim. We are fighting with the aim of establishing a new society by destroying the exploitive and oppressive system. These two aims are completely at the opposite poles. At present revolutionary war is being waged in our country. The rulers are waging counter-revolutionary war against this revolutionary war. Both of these are seriously confronting each other. They represent the interests of two completely opposite classes.

Firstly, we want to fight back this war politically. The political aim of our resistance war is very clear. Depending on how deeply the vast masses understand this, how much they consolidate themselves, how much they arm themselves, we will be able to end this war as soon as possible. We are striving hard for the same. That is why we are fighting the enemy in a multi-pronged manner in all spheres.

Question : Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh are repeatedly asking you to ‘abjure violence’. But the attacks of your people’s liberation guerilla army are continuing. Don’t you think this is making it difficult to arrive at a solution? In the background of your recent attacks at Tadimetla (Dantewada), Kongera (Narayanpur), Silda (West Bengal) and Lakhisarai (Jharkhand), some people are expressing their anxiety that you are responding only with military means. They are saying that this would facilitate the deployment of army and that it would lead to more violence and greater loss of lives of ordinary citizens and adivasis. What do you say?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : Our central leadership has clearly stated our stand many times on this issue. I will do so one more time. It is nothing but a big deception and charade by the government to ask the people to abjure violence while the state continues its violence. It is violating its own laws and is massacring the people. So it is very necessary that every democrat and any politically conscious person questions the government on this and demands that it stop the violence and war on the people. They should demand that it is the government which should abjure violence. When the government says that we are practicing violence, it is just like a thief shouting ‘thief, thief’. It is trying to divert attention from the real issue by doing so.

People whose consciousness has risen would not sit quiet and suffer these attacks carried on with the aim of looting their resources and to turn them into permanent slaves using the government mercenary armed forces. They would resist them by arming themselves. All the members of our people’s guerilla army are none other than masses who have armed themselves voluntarily. These masses who had been exploited and oppressed like slaves since generations have understood the laws of historical development of society and are fighting by arming themselves. Our party is repeatedly making this clear – there is only one way for the people to achieve their liberation and that is the armed way. It means arming themselves, forming themselves into an army and waging an armed struggle. When crores of people of our country increase their political consciousness and build up a vast, strong army and when this army fights effectively, it would be possible to put an end to this exploitative rule. The soon this happens, the better for the people. That is why our party gives a call to the youngsters of this country every year on the occasion of the anniversary of the formation of our PLGA to arm themselves. This call is increasingly spreading widely among the people. The attacks carried on recently by our people’s army under the leadership of the party and with the active support of the people at Tadimetla (Mukaram), Silda, Lakhisarai, Kongera etc., are all military attacks. Who is anxious about these attacks? Is it the ruling classes and its mercenaries or the people? People are celebrating each occasion of a successful raid like a festival. Each such attack is giving a political message in a practical manner and showing them the path of liberation. The people understand this exactly in this manner. On the contrary seeing all these, the ruling classes are trembling with fear.

However, people who do not understand our movement and those who are not clear about it are anguished about the losses on both sides. We can understand their anguish. But the people cannot stop their war and resistance just because they are anguished. What they should understand is why is such an intense war going on? Why are hundreds of people participating in each attack? Where are we getting the active support of the people? Why are we getting it? If they try to understand this it would become clear. Then they would realize the need for such big attacks, more such big attacks and the need for more such attacks to take place more frequently. Then even they would celebrate whenever such attacks take place. They would also wish whole heartedly that such attacks should take place. But enemies of the people would always oppose them and they would resort to bigger attacks on the people in a more reactionary manner. They would foolishly choose suppression as the only way and would be hated by the people. As a result, they would again become victims of bigger attacks by the people.

As to the question if our attacks are facilitating the deployment of army – if people do not fight back, if they silently bow their heads and suffer exploitation and oppression which are going on since centuries, then there is no need even for police and paramilitary, leave alone the army. Then there would be no need for the ruling classes to carry on attacks too. As people have gained consciousness and have understood the real story behind exploitation and oppression, the fraud of parliamentary system and fake democracy, as they are fighting for land to the genuine peasants and for genuine democracy for the people, the rulers are resorting to serious suppression fearing that their foundations are being shaken. These fools who do not realize that their policies would only lead to an intensification of the people’s resistance, are making all preparations to deploy the army. In fact, the army had planned for counter-revolutionary Salwa Judum military campaign during Vajpayee’s rule when Advani was the home minister. The home ministry approved it. The Congress which came to power after Vajpayee’s government was toppled at the centre and the BJP which came to power in place of Congress in Chhattisgarh implemented this decision. From then onwards, the army has been very actively using all its commands (Northern, Central, Southern, Western and Eastern), has formed special structures in all of them and has been giving all kinds of advices to the state police departments through them. It formulated the strategy for the war on people and is providing all kinds of training, intelligence, technology and deployment plans to the central home ministry. It applied LIC policy formulated by the imperialists to suppress the Maoist movement in the concrete conditions of India and is implementing it with its own characteristic features and with increasing intensity. At present the army is not directly participating in attacks carrying guns. But army officers, some specialists and intelligence officers are directly giving guidance to the counter-guerilla operations in our strong areas. This has been happening since three, four years. So it is not true that they would be deploying the army because of us doing some attacks. They would deploy the army as part of their evil design to suppress the peoples’ struggles. Counter-insurgency forces are built inside the army for this purpose. They are building new cantonments, air-bases and helipads, as if on the borders, on a war footing. They are restructuring the whole state system in accordance with their counter-insurgency policies. This means that the rulers had made all kinds of preparations to perpetuate unprecedented level of atrocities, massacres and destruction on the people of our country. Our party feels that all revolutionary parties, democratic organizations and intellectuals, nationality liberation organizations, anti-imperialist patriotic organizations and the entire Indian people should realize this and resist this actively and intensely without any delay. The people of our movement areas are also thinking in similar terms and are hoping for it.

It is true that the deployment of the army would lead to more violence on the poor and the adivasis and would lead to greater loss of lives. When people are fighting in self-defence it is the exploiters and their stooges who constitute just five percent of the population that are suffering casualties. But in the violence perpetuated by the state, it is vast masses of oppressed people who are facing losses. People who are in the form of PLGA, the Maoist party, mass organizations and Janathana Sarkars are losing their lives. So one should understand this.  When ordinary citizens and adivasis are suffering losses on such a large scale, one should firstly question as to why this is happening? It doesn’t serve any purpose to make confused arguments, either innocently or deceivingly, that innocent people are dying. In this background of loss of lives, the oppressed people and the vast masses are putting a straight question to everybody – are you on our side or on the side of the rulers? It means there is no neutral ground left in between. So we request all those who express anguish about loss of lives to rethink in the background of this question.

On this occasion I want to bring some things to your notice. On June 12th, 2,000 state police and central paramilitary forces had attacked a political camp being held by our party’s Eastern Regional Bureau in Korhat forest of Jharkhand. Cobra forces, BSF and Jharkhand STF were involved in this attack. Three Air Force helicopters were used. Though the government said that 2,000 forces were involved, in fact more forces were involved. There were only two guerilla companies of our PLGA in that area. Our weapons were inferior. What was the reason for thousands of government forces to carry on this massive attack on our party and PLGA which are in that position? Is this war or not? Why are they hiding the glaring fact that this is a war? Why did they have to wage this war? Since the attack was done by mercenary forces, since it was done for the interests of a few exploiters, whether it was the commandos or Special Forces that had attacked, could not withstand the heroic resistance of our guerillas. Our comrades who have high political consciousness and sacrificing nature have fought back this attack bravely. In our counter-attack some Cobras have died and more were injured too. But the officers who led this attack do not even have the guts to announce how many of them were injured and how many had died. They are afraid that if the facts are announced, the morale of their forces would come down.

Between 25th and 27th of September, again in Jharkhand, the government forces attacked on a huge scale, a political camp being conducted by our Eastern Regional Bureau in Saranda forest with information. The police and paramilitary higher officials had themselves announced that five thousand (equivalent to a regiment) troops were deployed and helicopters were pressed into service. In fact, the number of troops which attacked would be much more. So one can understand how big a war the government is waging. What would you call this if not war? Once again, why are they hiding the fact that it is a war even after attacking at a regiment level? Would they perhaps agree when they attack with a division level force? On whom are they waging this war? Here too, like in Korhat, our comrades bravely retaliated this enemy attack. In Korhat comrade David lay down his life. In Saranda too a comrade was martyred. The enemy forces faced more losses. But to hide this fact, they resorted to false propaganda that three of their men were killed and ten to twelve Maoists were killed, huge quantities of weapons and other material were seized and training camps were destroyed by them.

Under the guidance of US imperialists, the number one enemy of the world people and taking the help of Israel, one of the cruelest governments of the world and a stooge of US, the Indian government is waging this war. Whatever the government may say, how much ever Sonia, Manmohan and Chidambaram gang and their boot-licking intellectuals may lie, the massive attacks in Korhat and Saranda were nothing but war. We are also candidly and clearly announcing that all our attacks have been carried out as part of our war of self-defence. Ordinary people are facing huge losses in the unjust war waged by the government. So we are once again appealing to all people to oppose and resist this unjust war.

Question : The ruling classes of our country are saying that Maoists are not sincere about people’s issues and they are not bothered about people’s welfare and that their only aim is to ‘overthrow the democratically elected government using armed force and establish communist rule.’ What is your explanation for this?

GP: The ruling classes are not at all morally qualified to hurl accusations against Maoists, who are sacrificing their lives for the people or to comment on their concern and commitment regarding people’s interests, people’s welfare and people’s development. Our aim is to overthrow this ‘democracy’ and ‘parliamentary rule’ which are nothing but means for the dictatorship of the feudals and comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie and which stand in complete opposition to 95% of the population’s interests, using armed force and to establish new people’s power. We feel it is wonder of the wonders to say that these elections and parliament are sacred and that the present rule is the highest form of democratic rule!

We are telling the people to overthrow this dictatorial government and build a government of their own which is genuine democracy of the four classes, i.e., workers, peasants, urban middle class and national bourgeoisie. People are consolidating themselves and fighting for it. Anybody who knows the ABC of politics would know this. But the rulers are saying that the constitution and parliament are sacred and above class interests. This dictatorial and bourgeois parliament and state machinery which they had established by colluding with the imperialists would serve none else than those classes. They may be sacred for those classes but they are a big menace for the people. So it is their birth right to pull them down. It is their democratic right. They should establish a genuine democratic political system which constitutes new legislative bodies and a new constitution.

And, we are not the ones who are obstructing development. It is the ruling classes who are doing so. People are performing agricultural tasks while fighting back the horrible violence and destruction perpetuated by fascist gangs like the Salwa Judum, police and paramilitary in Dandakaranya. The militia is doing sentry in defence near the fields and reaping the harvests. The People’s Liberation Guerilla Army is safeguarding the harvest of the people. The mercenary forces of the government are attacking such units and killing them. The government forces are wreaking havoc in the adivasi areas by destroying their property, burning homes and whole villages, seizing hens, pigs, cattle and what not from the hapless poor people, destroying the fields and burning the harvest. This enormous destruction is the development policy of the rulers. Here, it is crystal clear that who are the bitter enemies of the people’s welfare.

Of course, we are calling upon the people to overthrow this unholy state. We are calling upon the people to destroy this menace of the people and to liberate themselves. Only through this liberation struggle the people would be able to establish new power and be able to achieve all-round development with an alternative line in all spheres. The development we are talking of is definitely not the one dictated by the IMF and the World Bank and also not the development policy proposed by Ahluwalias, Rangarajans, Manmohan Sings, Chidambarams and Pillais. The development policy we are proposing would change the relations of production qualitatively and thus would lead to the qualitative development of the productive forces. It is a real development policy which says that one should oppose placing the sovereignty of our country at the feet of foreign firms, that it should also be an independent and a self-reliant one, that the resources in our country should be used not for the imperialists but for the people. Many intellectuals and researchers who have visited our areas had already written that an alternative political power is being established in our areas. Many are realizing that we are having an alternative line in all spheres like in ideological, political, organizational, military, economical, cultural, and ecological spheres. Observers have written clearly about the increasing development in all these spheres, though at a primary level.

Question : Many democrats had raised their voices against Operation Green Hunt. But don’t you think that your party would lose sympathy with incidents such as beheading of Francis Induvar, Jamui massacre, blasting of bus in Dantewada and Gnaneshwari Express accident? What is your explanation about these incidents?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : Firstly, I am sending my revolutionary greetings to all the democratic forces which are opposing and protesting this cruel and unjust war on the people waged by the government. Now coming to bad propaganda and the accusations on us, we do not have any hand in the incident which led to the accident of Gnaneshwari Express. Already our West Bengal party has clearly issued statements in this matter. This incident occurred due to the conspiracy hatched by CPI (M) and the central intelligence agencies. Though judicial enquiry in this matter has been handed over to the CBI, Umakant Mahato who was portrayed as the main accused was caught and killed in a fake encounter. This is also a part of that whole conspiracy. Our party which is fighting with the aim of liberation of the people had never conducted any raids or attacks targeting the people or with the aim of killing them and would never do so in future too.

Our party had already clearly given a statement stating the facts which led to the bus blasting near Chingavaram in Dantewada district. Our party had issued an apology too for the mistake. In the case of Induvar’s beheading Com. Azad had already answered clearly. Our party’s stand on such issues is very clear. When exceptions occurred our party had given explanations. But the ruling classes are intentionally doing bad propaganda to defame the revolutionary movement and the people’s resistance. The Gnaneshwari Express case is an evident example of this.

There is a lot of difference between the Induvar issue, Dantewada bus blast and the Gnaneshwari incident. Near Chingavaram, our targets were clearly the Koya Commandos and SPOs. These blood thirsty forces had raided a village named Kutrem, killed three adivasis, raped women and were returning. But we did not know that there were people inside the bus. The information we had was that SPOs had got into the bus after forcing the people to get down. On the roof top of the bus too it was these armed killer gangs who were traveling. So we considered it a military target and attacked it. We do not have any hand in the Gnaneshwari accident. In Induvar’s case, our party had given a clear explanation. While resisting the killer gangs and the endless cruel violence perpetuated on them, people may in some places, very rarely as an exception, resort to such acts as part of taking revenge. Unless we understand the uneven social conditions in our country, we will not understand this problem. The conditions in urban areas are different in one sense. In the remote rural areas, where there is the cruelest feudal and upper caste oppression, where people are suffering from the inhuman violence perpetrated by Salwa Judum, Sendra, Harmad Bahini and such killer gangs, where they are victims of the huge destructive campaigns of the state, the resistance of the people may sometimes take such forms too. Even in the urban areas, in the bastis where people are victims of the notorious usurers, slum lords, politicians, mafia gangs and police officers hand in glove with the gangsters and politicians, the resistance of the people may take such forms too. The killing of the notorious rapist and goon in Nagpur by the basti women is just one instance out of many such incidents. This is just an explanation as to why such things happen and it is very clear that our party doesn’t carry on such incidents as a policy. Our attitude is that we should educate our people and ranks in this matter. Some intellectuals who lick the boots of the corporations are doing such bad propaganda on us by making a mountain out of a molehill.

In the Jamui incident, a reactionary gang sponsored by the government had caught eight of our comrades in Phulwaria-Kodasi village and killed them in the most heinous, brutal manner by chopping off their limbs. When such incidents happen, we will never be able to safeguard our movement or our people if we keep quiet and do not act. That was why we were compelled to counter attack. In this attack, nine people died including three main goonda leaders. It is extremely sad that a woman and a child were caught in flames and had died accidentally. All the other seven were hard-core criminals, killers and lumpen elements. Our Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee had issued a clear statement on this. It was published in the Bihar papers and in the Maoist Information Bulletin-17.

On the whole, the governments and some paid intellectuals in their service who blow their trumpet are falsely implicating us and trying to defame us. In some incidents where we committed mistakes, they are not even bothering to listen to our explanation and are continuing the bad propaganda on us. So our request to the people and pro-people intellectuals is not to get deceived by the government’s psy-war. Our people’s army which had been formed to defend the interests of the people would lay down lives for the people but would never try to harm the people. So try to know the facts behind each incident. We are always prepared to accept any proper criticism and are always ready to correct our mistakes, if any.

Question : The police and paramilitary forces which are losing their lives in your attacks belong to the poor and middle class families. On the one hand you say that you have taken up arms for their liberation and on the other hand you annihilate persons from these classes who join the police and paramilitary forces. Does this not send the wrong message to poor and middle class families? How do you look at this problem?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : Any politically thinking person should understand that the state and state machinery are the means of the ruling classes for carrying on exploitation and oppression. The crucial components in these are the police, paramilitary and military. The number of the exploiters is always very limited. They would not even constitute five percent of our population. But they hold the means of production under their control and have built up the police and military to exploit and suppress the vast masses who constitute the majority. The rulers are recruiting them from among the people. That is why, the majority of these forces belong to the poor and middle classes. These forces are waging war on the people on behalf of the exploiting classes. As these are the forces that stand in the forefront in the war, it is inevitable that they would die in the self-defensive war of the people. But if exploitation and oppression are to be ended, if oppressed people are to be liberated and this agonizing situation is to end, then this war of self-defence is inevitable.

In our areas some individuals from the police and paramilitary forces meet us. They help us and we help them too in various forms. Only when the government forces come to attack us carrying guns, we are attacking them in self-defence. Our repeated appeal to the lower level personnel in the police and paramilitary forces is – please do not betray your own class, don’t serve the exploiting classes, don’t attack the people and revolutionaries on your own consciously in a revengeful manner, join hands with the masses and turn your guns against the real enemies and not on your class brothers and sisters. What you are doing is not service to the people but service to the exploiting classes. So stop serving the exploiting classes like slaves. Don’t just think of your livelihood, please think about the people, think about the country.

Our appeal to their families is that they should see to it that their family members do not serve this exploiting system for temporary interests; encourage them to be on the people’s side. When these families reside in our areas, our people’s governments will ensure that they get proper livelihood and necessary help as part of whatever the oppressed people get. We want to make this clear on this occasion to those families one more time.

Question : At present it looks as if your movement is confined to the remote forest areas and adivasis. You are not getting large scale recruits from urban areas and universities as you used to get in the past. Some people are also thinking that you can never extend to urban areas. Isn’t this worrying you?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : After merger, we have emerged stronger in some areas and become weaker is some areas. Among the areas where we have become weaker, there are some plain areas and some urban areas. Among the areas where we strengthened ourselves, there are some remote areas and some plain areas. Such ups and downs may be inevitable in a protracted war. It is not true that we have been completely eliminated from the urban areas and plains as some people are propagating or as some others believe. As I had mentioned before, India is one of the countries where Maoist movements are on going in the world. Imperialists and the ruling classes of our country are together intensifying the offensive to suppress our movement. When they so concentrate and carry on attacks, we may suffer losses. And we have suffered losses. This is just one aspect of the problem.

We have gained many experiences in the urban areas. We have enriched our policy on urban work. We have studied the changes in the economic and political conditions of our country and the world and had formulated a program accordingly. Communists never work according to their wills and wishes. They work by studying objective conditions in the society. Basing on the positive and negative lessons we have learnt, we are trying to overcome the losses.

The second aspect of this problem is that we may suffer losses due to enemy attacks, but on the other hand due to their suppression campaigns, their pro-imperialist policies and anti-people acts they are getting more and more isolated from the people. This means that they themselves are creating the conditions for the people to turn against them. It is true that at present we are not able to mobilize workers, students and intellectuals as we had done in the 70s and 80s. There have been some considerable changes and phenomena in those conditions. It has become very complex to work in areas where the enemy is strong and in the trade union movement where the revisionists have entrenched themselves. This is not just the case in India. This condition is prevailing in the whole world. But revolutionaries would definitely overcome this. In order to liberate this country we have to concentrate on organizing the peasantry. At present we would strengthen our movement among the peasantry and definitely extend to the urban areas. On the other hand, this peasant movement is inspiring the urban and people and is having a great impact on them. So, the days when we would vastly organize peasantry of plain areas, the suburban people and urban people are not that far off.

Today, the workers in our country are once again facing the conditions which the workers had faced in 19th century Europe. Most of the workers are turning into contract and casual labourers. They are forced to work for 12 to 16 hours in horrible conditions. Government is changing all labor laws to facilitate the imperialist exploitation. Workers’ families are forced to live like slaves in the barracks built for them. Everything is being restructured. The enemy may be happy about the losses he has inflicted on us. But since people are suffering, they are fighting against them in various forms. Our party would definitely lead these struggles bravely and firmly. All the conditions required for the proletariat and the urban masses to rise like a storm and destroy the exploiting system are gradually ripening.

The Indian government has finished implementing the LPG policy of second generation reforms and is going to take up third generation reforms. Under these circumstances, it is bringing many kinds of changes in the education policy according to the needs of the imperialist capital. In the background of the imperialist-dictated changes taken up by the ruling classes in the education policy, education opportunities are diminishing for the poor children and for women belonging to working class, peasantry, adivasi, dalit and religious minority families. Privatization of education is decreasing the opportunities with each passing day. At present, education mainly means corporate-dominated education. This education system mainly caters to the interests of the domestic and foreign corporations. This is creating a big chasm with the students, teachers, parents on one side and the ruling classes on the other. Within a short period this would erupt. Our party is recognizing the need to study and lead this. We will do everything possible in this matter.

Allowing imperialist capital into retail market and the increasing grip of the imperialist and corporate companies over our country’s economy in order to overcome the economic crises have led to the bankruptcy of the small traders and small and medium bourgeoisie in the urban areas. In the name of beautification of cities slums are evacuated and middle class people are chased away to the suburban areas. The life of the working class and slum population is in turmoil. Among these people, there are many people who had migrated to the cities from our movement areas. All this is speeding up the process of these cities and towns turning into gun powder centres. We are studying all these phenomena and trying to work among them with proper tactics.

All the riches between villages and mega cities have been produced by people from poor rural areas. It is the poor, dalit and adivasi labourers who are spilling their sweat and blood for the construction of huge mansions and infrastructure by Indian and foreign corporate lords. The majority of the workers and employees who work in the shopping malls and companies are from rural areas. Either in terms of social, economic and cultural ties or in terms of movement relations villages and cities are not two unconnected islands as such. They both are influencing each other. This is creating a strong base for our extension. So it is ridiculous and unreal to say that we would never be able to extend to urban areas. If rural areas are liberated first, then basing on its strength and on the struggles of the working class in urban areas, cities would be liberated later. Along with the liberation of cities the comprador rule and imperialist control would also be forced to end in our country.

Question : What is your party’s response to the recent deluge of people’s movement in Kashmir and the repression carried on by the government armed forces on it? What is your solution to the Kashmir issue?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : Kashmir people have been fighting for their independence and right to self-determination for the past sixty years. Countless atrocities, massacres and violence are being perpetuated by the Indian government to suppress this struggle. More than 80,000 Kashmiris have been murdered. Though Indian rulers claim that they have eliminated militancy, the Kashmiri people have been rising in waves during various instances. Recently, in the protest marches held from June 11th, more than a hundred Kashmiri youth were killed in firings by police, paramilitary and military. With a deployment of 7 lakh military and paramilitary forces, Kashmir valley has been turned into the most militarized zone in the whole world.

Our Party strongly supports the just movement of the Kashmiri people. Their demand for ‘Azadi’ (independence) and right to self-determination is fully justified. Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris. It has never been an integral part of India. Neither India nor Pakistan has any right on it.

Our party condemns this horrible repression on the Kashmiri people in the most serious terms. Indian people should condemn in one voice the government massacres continuing in Kashmir. Our party is making it clear that without doing this, it is not possible to effectively fight back or defeat the ruthless offensive of the ruling classes on the fighting people of India. Our party is concretely putting forth the following demands to resolve the Kashmir issue.

1. The massacres by the Indian government’s armed forces in Kashmir should be immediately stopped!

2. Withdraw paramilitary and military forces from Kashmir immediately!

3. Immediately annul the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) which authorizes the military to indiscriminately kill people!

4. Conduct plebiscite in Kashmir and let the Kashmiris decide their future on their own!

5. Release all political prisoners unconditionally!

Question : Commonwealth games are creating a furor all over the country. What is your party’s stand on these?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : The ruling classes conducted a big farce in the name of Commonwealth games by spending 70,000 crores of rupees in a callous manner with least bother or concern about the poverty, hunger, illiteracy, unemployment, diseases, homelessness, displacement, floods and other such unbearable problems of the majority of our population. While 77 percent of the people are living on less than 20 rupees per day they amassed crores of rupees under the pretense of games. The crores of rupees supposed to be spent on stadiums, roads, buildings that are built for the games and in buying various equipments found their way into the pockets of corrupt officials, ministers and contractors. The labourers worked in these construction works were exploited by giving them appalling wages.

On the other hand, the lives of working class and middle class people were in turmoil due to these games. In the name of beautification of Delhi, hundreds of thousands of slum people, roadside vendors and beggars were chased away. Daily movements of the people were restricted in the name of security. All this was nothing but an exercise carried out for profits of corporations and commissions of ministers and officials. Particularly, to divert the youth from their basic problems, to make them live in an illusory beautiful world and to douse their growing discontent too, these games were held. The people gained nothing from these games except heavy tax burden.

Moreover, these Commonwealth games are themselves a remnant of the colonial past which reeks of slavery. The past colonies of Britain join it. Except the comprador rulers who serve the neo-colonialists (imperialists) none of the citizens who aspire for the country’s independence and none of the patriots could ever digest the fact that our country is a member of it. Any country with self-respect would reject membership of such an association. We appreciate the participation of players from various countries in games as part of some forums. But this could be supported only when they are held on an equal basis, without all this extravaganza and when it does not compromise the sovereignty of those respective countries.

Question : The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court gave a judgment dividing the disputed site into three parts. What is your say on this? What is the solution you suggest for this dispute?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : Our party has stated very clearly our stand on the demolition of Babri Masjid many times in the past 18 years. Recently comrade Abhay, spokesperson of our CC has in a statement clearly stated our party’s stand on this. It is really very sad that the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court distributed the disputed site into three parts. There is no scientific basis for this at all. Nor is there any historical evidence to support this. Our party has been consistently and clearly saying from the beginning that Babri Masjid should be rebuilt on the same place where it stood. It is a crime of Himalayan proportions to demolish it. Our party’s stand is that the whole site should belong to the Muslim community. Through this judgment, injustice was done to the Muslim community.

On the question of arguments about the birth place of Rama which is supposed to be the spot where Babri Masjid was erected, when we look at the history of India, there were no Masjids at all at one time, you know! Just as Hinduism and Buddhism spread from the countries of India and Nepal to the entire Indian sub-continent and to some East Asian countries, all religions including Islam have spread to various parts of the world from their place of birth. So, by showing this reason and by making this judgment a model every Masjid can be turned into a disputed site, conflicts can be given birth to. Every minority community’s praying site can be demolished. Now this danger has come to the fore more clearly. After this judgment there is every chance for the insecurity among the minority people to increase further. As our party spokesperson Abhay has stated, the people should stay alert with the fundamentalists, particularly, the Hindu fundamentalists. In Bhiwandi, Mumbai, Karnataka, Hyderabad, Gujarat and Odisha all the incidents which took place in the name of religious riots were plotted and perpetrated by the ruling classes, particularly the Hindu religious chauvinists. This judgment has given legitimacy to the demolition of Babri Masjid. Now this court judgment has created conditions for the aggressiveness of Hindu religious chauvinists to increase in various forms on the religious minorities. So we are opposing this court judgment. Our party opines that only when people of all religious minorities including Muslim minority, secular forces, democratic forces and oppressed people of our country fight unitedly and isolate the fundamentalist forces, particularly Hindu religious chauvinist forces, a proper solution could be found for this issue or other such issues.

Question : Mamata Banerjee had demanded judicial probe into Azad’s murder. The CPI (M) party has been repeatedly hurling accusations about the close relations between Trinamool Congress and the Maoists? Are you having some undercover relations with Trinamool even while describing it as a bourgeois party? How do you justify this?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : We are not at all surprised that Mamata Banerjee had demanded judicial probe into Azad’s murder. Anybody who is familiar with the political situation of Bengal would not be surprised with this.  Democratic organizations and renowned personalities and mass organizations are demanding judicial probe and that the murderers of Azad should be held in trial for murder and punished. This demand represents the people’s aspirations. She demanded judicial probe by taking this into consideration. Why would she have any respect or affection for Azad? Who would feel that Azad had been murdered in the most unjust manner? People only who think that the political aim for which Azad had fought is justified, only those who support it and only those who are committed to genuine democracy would sincerely condemn his murder. Others may condemn it for various reasons. Mamata is also one of them. They would do so for their own interests. Though she had made this demand taking into consideration her clashes with CPI (M), and the upcoming elections, it is a welcome demand. Her demand would to some extent help the struggle of the people.

Moreover, for the past fifteen years or more, severe clashes are going on between Trinamool and CPI (M). Sometimes in some places this is taking the form of armed clashes too. The CPI (M) formed armed social fascist gangs like Harmad Bahini and is attacking Trinamool, Maoists, democrats and people to suppress them. Trinamool took up arms to fight CPI (M). So, in order to fight back these attacks and to come to power in the next elections it is natural for Mamata to speak some words to attract the people. In our country, nearly for the past 30 to 35 years the characteristic feature which is continuing in the Bengal politics is that the ruling classes have set up armed clashes with each other. We don’t find this in most of the other states. Though this contradiction between the ruling classes is very severe in various forms in other states, it is not at the level of armed clashes. This contradiction got reflected in Nandigram and it was useful for the people. In the parliament and municipal elections held later, Trinamool won more seats. Now in the upcoming assembly elections the competition would be even more tough. If she has to come to power now, she is compelled to talk as if she is on the people’s side. People who hate and abhor CPI (M) would definitely teach it a lesson. Now the entire people and democrats of Bengal want to escape from the tiger they are facing on the front side. Now for them the tiger in the front is more dangerous than the bear which is at their back. But after they chase away the tiger they cannot escape the bear’s hug. Our party would continue to caution the people about this danger too. We would ask them to chase away the bear too in the future. They would have to certainly fight against the bear too. Unless people get rid of these two menaces, any one of them would continue riding on the back of the people.

Tomorrow, even if Mamata Banerjee comes to power, she would not seize the lands of land lords and distribute them to the poor peasantry nor would she seize the industries of the imperialists and big bourgeoisie. People would not have a chance to participate freely in the elections too. This means that even if she comes to power there won’t be any fundamental change. However, if Trinamool comes to power after a long rule of social fascists, it would definitely try hard to gain a tight grip over the administration. During this period keeping in view the election promises she had made, she may temporarily stop attacks on the people. But this would be only temporary. Later, people would have to fight against her government too.

And our party doesn’t have any open or undercover relations with Trinamool. But on some occasions even ruling classes may talk in the interest of the people. They would take up some pro-people demands on some occasions for mobilizing the support of the people and for votes. They would even conduct some struggles. Such struggles also exist though their scope is very limited. When such people talk in the interests of the people, we would examine them concretely. As the contradictions among the enemies are indirect reserves for the proletariat, depending on the concrete situation our party would clearly state its stand. Our party would never support or oppose such things blindly. But people should seriously try to understand their class nature and their political and economic policies and should not entertain any illusions about them. If such illusions exist, it would be a task of our party to bring them out of it.

When our stand is so clear, it is not at all proper to say as if we have relations with her party and as if we are justifying it.

Question : The Home ministry has recently hurled accusations at you that you are getting weapons and money from foreign countries, especially from China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. They are also alleging that you are getting help from the separatist organizations in North-East. What is your explanation?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : This allegation is part of the psy-war against us by the ruling gangs to portray our Party as a terrorist and traitorous organization and isolate us from the people. Our weapons are mainly country-made. All the modern weapons we have are mainly seized from the government armed forces when we attack them. The enemy himself knows that seizure of arms is our main source for getting weapons. Our party supports the various nationality struggles waged for the liberation of their nationalities and their right to self-determination. We have political memoranda of understanding with some of the organizations which are leading the struggles there. We have published open statements about these in our magazines too. As a revolutionary political party which represents the vast masses and as a party which would lead the government that would be completely responsible for this country after we come to power, we would establish relations with countries having different political systems in the world on the basis of Panchsheel policy. Now and later too we would decide about maintaining these relations with various organizations and parties in the world in the interests of the world revolution. This is one of our candid basic policies. We have announced this policy through our party programme long back. We would also buy weapons to fulfill the needs of our people’s war from domestic and international market. This is the third and last source for our weapons. And the allegations made by Chidambaram-GK Pillai about getting weapons and money from those countries are nothing but baseless rubbish.

In fact, it is the Indian government which is buying weapons, war material and modern technology from US, Russia, France and other imperialist countries, from Israel and other countries to suppress the people’s democratic movements, nationality liberation struggles and revolutionary movements. With this huge arsenal the Indian expansionists are becoming a peril for the South Asian countries and this is also increasing the arms race with Pakistan. It is sending officers from here to notorious intelligence agencies like the Mossad and CIA for training in order to target the comrades leading the revolutionary movements and kill them. It is the ruling classes and their military higher officials who are wasting the people’s money, filling their pockets with billions of rupees in the name of commissions in these transactions and betraying the country as traitors downright. Everybody should condemn this, question this.

Question : Recently there have been allegations that the Maoist leadership is getting funds on a large scale from mining industries and other corporate companies. What is your answer to these allegations?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : This is also part of the foul propaganda of the government on us. They are even alleging that we are collecting five thousand crores of rupees annually. GK, PC and Prakash Singh never tire of harping on our ‘extortion’. This is the falsest allegation that has been made on us. We out rightly reject this. Perhaps their eyes are used to seeing commissions worth thousands of crores of rupees and out of habit they see our collections too in those terms. If we could have collected even one percent of that amount, we could have done so much for our people! In fact, our party mainly collects donations from the people and funds from the traders in our guerilla zones. We have a clear people’s financial policy. And our party also collects rational levy from contractors who take up various works in our areas. A considerable part of these funds is spent for welfare of the people through our people’s power organs. As for mining organizations, our people are fighting their best not to allow them into our strong areas. Our party is leading these struggles, it is supporting them. So the issue of collecting funds from them does not arise, you know. The police officers, government officials and ruling class parties who illegally collect crores of rupees from various organizations, pocket commissions and stack away their money in Swiss banks do not have any moral right to point a finger at us.

Question : What is your assessment about Obama’s policies regarding withdrawal of US army from Iraq and Afghanistan, Indo-US nuclear deal and nuclear liability bill which was passed recently? How do you see Obama’s visit to India who’ll be coming next month?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : The economy of US broke down as US had to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to continue the war in Iraq and with thousands of US soldiers dying by getting bogged down in this war and Bush losing his face as he waged the war with the arrogance that he would be able to take hold of it within a few months and could not do so. Due to these reasons, leave alone Obama, even Bush had to talk about withdrawal of forces long back. The very attack on Iraq by US is a heinous crime against humanity. In fact, the US had not fought any heroic war there. US has superior force. But what it did was to rain lakhs of tonnes of bombs on Iraqi cities and towns, kill millions of Iraqis, create havoc and destroy one of the oldest civilizations of the world and its rich heritage, culture and society. So from the day it occupied Iraq, US has been continuously facing the resistance of  the rebels, patriots and freedom-loving people of Iraq.

The US imperialist completely destroyed the state, army, judiciary, legislative bodies and administration machinery built by Saddam and is building a neo-colonial state by keeping their puppets in the front. It formed a new state with the puppet forces. It could destroy Saddam and his followers but it could not solve the new contradiction which had cropped up between the people and its puppets. They are unable to suppress the people’s resistance. The army withdrawn by Obama is less and that which he is continuing is more. Recently when Iraqi national forces conducted a huge raid, the US army in Iraq barracks immediately stepped out.

After Obama came to power, more than 30,000 additional troops were sent to Afghanistan by him. A fake election farce was conducted amidst severe opposition of the Afghan people and he had his puppet Hamid Karzai elected. Ninety percent of the persons dying in US bombing are ordinary citizens. NATO troops under US leadership are indiscriminately killing Afghan citizens. The atrocities committed by US are so horrible that even their puppet Karzai was forced to open his mouth. In West Pakistan, they are killing hundreds of ordinary citizens in drone attacks. Till date, Karzai’s power is confined to the cities. Afghan people have never bowed to the rule of any intruder in their whole history. They chased away the imperialists and occupiers from their land enduring all kinds of travails. Exactly as in the case of Russian imperialists, Afghan land would prove to be the graveyard of the US imperialists too. Obama is implementing the same diplomatic policies followed by Bush in Middle and South Asia, if not more callously. The US strategy for world hegemony to gain control of Caspian sea gas and establish permanent bases in Afghanistan to surround China is bound to fail.

During UPA-I, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ignoring stiff opposition from the people, had civilian nuclear deal with the US passed proving himself a trustworthy servant of the US imperialists. The Nuclear Liability Bill which has been passed by the Parliament recently is nothing but a continuation of this servility. Regarding the Bhopal gas leak accident which led to gruesome death of thousands of people and disaster for hundreds of thousands of people in Bhopal, the wounds in the hearts and minds of the people of India continue to pain till this day. And now the UPA government has in a most shameless manner dared to prepare this Bill enabling many more ‘Bhopals’ to make their way and ensuring even if such holocausts take place, the foreign capitalists responsible for those would be set free with far less ‘liability’ (just like Warren Anderson and Dow Chemicals were set free). While BJP has helped UPA government in passing this Bill, the parliamentary Left parties who call themselves Communists, have once again proved their compromising nature by not opposing this traitorous Bill firmly and not initiating people’s movement against this. Manmohan Singh worked hard to ensure this Bill passed before the arrival of Obama.

US imperialism, which has been plundering the poor countries across the world, suppressing the oppressed nationalities, pushing the notorious thugs and dictators into the power, bullying those countries who wouldn’t cooperate, going to any extent to loot oil, minerals and all other natural wealth and sources, is the no. 1 enemy of world people. Its leader Barack Obama is such a person whom the entire humanity must hate. As his predecessor George Bush had accumulated the hate across the globe, US imperialist masters brought Barack Obama in a plan that people could be deceived with his skin color. Though Obama was so much rhetorical opposing the policies of Bush, after entering into the White House, all the policies and decisions taken by him till this day are nothing but continuation of the Bush administration. In fact the difference between George Bush and Barack Obama lies just in their color and in the name of their representing parties. There is no difference between them in exploiting and suppressing the world people, oppressed nationalities, countries and working class of the US. It’s an irrefutable fact that this black color President was selected by the most notorious white vultures of US monopolistic corporations.

The comprador ruling classes of India are busy laying red carpet to welcome Obama. Welcoming Obama means nothing but a betrayal to the values of sovereignty, freedom, independence, self-reliance, peace, justice and democracy. Inviting Obama to our beloved country means showing servility to its warmongering, invasive, exploitative and hegemonic policies. Therefore, on behalf of the Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Maoist), I call upon entire people, revolutionary and democratic organizations and all patriotic forces of India to register your protest in various forms and to raise the slogan ‘OBAMA! GO BACK!!’ loudly in one voice.

Question : Finally, how do you assess the main successes and failures after you held your Unity Congress in 2007? What do you feel about the future of Indian revolution on the whole?

COMRADE GANAPATHY : Our Unity Congress held in January, 2007, took up the main, immediate and central task of intensifying the people’s war all over the country, developing guerilla war into mobile war and developing the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army into People’s Liberation Army (regular army) with the aim of establishing Base Areas. As part of it, our Congress gave us many tasks such as intensifying mass struggles, extending the movement, building and strengthening the United Front. For the past three and half years, our entire party fought by keeping everything at stake to fulfill these tasks basing itself firmly among the people. In this process, we achieved some significant successes. We faced some serious failures. We gained many valuable experiences. We learnt some important lessons. On the whole, when we look at our successes, we can surely say that the necessary foundation for advancing the Indian revolution down the path of victory by gaining more successes in future has been strengthened further.

If we look at the successes….

1. In the past three and half years, in many areas of our country a deluge of mass struggles erupted under our party’s leadership. Especially in Dandakaranya, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, people participated on a large scale in struggles against the loot of their resources by the Indian and foreign corporations and particularly against the displacement of adivasis. Though the Indian ruling classes formed goonda gangs like Salwa Judum, Sendra, Nagarik Suraksha Samiti and Harmad Bahini and perpetrated terrible violence and atrocities on the people, they fought bravely under our party’s leadership and with the support of our PLGA. In Kalinganagar, Singur, Nandigram, Lalgadh, Narayanapatna, Dumka, Polavaram, Lohandiguda, Raoghat, Pallamad and many other places people mobilized on a large scale and participated in struggles. Nandigram, Lalgadh and Narayanapatna came to the fore as new models of mass struggles. In the various programmes we took up on political issues, we mobilized lakhs of people. People responded greatly to our political programme of boycotting the elections to various state assemblies and the parliament. In our movement areas, people boycotted elections on a huge scale and brought to the fore very strongly the need for people’s political power. As part of Operation Green Hunt carried on with coordination between the central and state governments since mid-2009, people were massacred. In spite of it, thousands of oppressed people, especially the adivasis and women participated in several programmes against state repression and on various political issues in Dandakaranya, Bihar-Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

2. Another important victory is the emergence of people’s democratic political power at a primary level and its strengthening and extension as an alternative to the state system of the feudal, comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie, run with the support of the imperialists. In our main guerilla zones of Dandakaranya and Bihar-Jharkhand, Revolutionary People’s Committees (RPCs) have been formed and are functioning. They are strengthening and extending. In Lalgadh and Narayanapatna which have newly emerged on the political scene of our country, the people’s power organizations which were formed at a primary level by having people’s development at the core even amidst severe enemy offensive have attracted the attention of the people of our country. They overthrew the rule of the local exploiting classes and are running people’s rule at a primary level. These new political power organs are working in the spheres of education, health, sanitation, water facilities and agriculture development etc having people’s real development as their aim. They are a great inspiration to the oppressed people, the democratic organizations and intellectuals all over the country. They are coming to the fore as the genuine people’s alternative system. As an answer to the fake development model of the exploiters, these new political power organs are bringing forth a genuine development model of the people.

3. In the past three and half years, the guerilla warfare intensified and is continuing at a higher level. Our people’s guerillas conducted valiant attacks on the police, paramilitary and commando forces that are resorting to endless atrocities and violence and massacring people to accomplish the interests of the exploiting classes. Our guerillas eliminated hundreds of mercenary troops and seized hundreds of modern weapons and ammunition and improved our armoury. The guerilla war going on under our leadership is giving inspiration and self-confidence to the people. Defending the people’s political power which is developing at a primary level and defending the lives and properties of the people, our people’s army had emerged as the real saviour of the people. Though the enemy is carrying on many suppression campaigns, implementing carpet security by deploying lakhs of police and paramilitary forces and carrying on attacks continuously, with the active support of the people our PLGA is growing ever more.

4. Particularly, when we observe from our Unity Congress onwards, the emergence of our party on the political scene of the country as a major alternative political force is another significant success. People increasingly understand that our political line is correct. Now, citizens of our country are showing more interest in knowing about our stands and solutions regarding many problems faced by our country. For the past 63 years people are frustrated with the bankrupt politics of the various exploiting ruling class parties, revisionists who call themselves left parties and the Hindu religious chauvinists. It is now clearly seen that they are getting increasingly influenced by the politics of Maoists and moving nearer to it than in the past. We believe that this would serve as an assurance for the formation of a strong, broad and countrywide united front in the future.

Along with these main successes, we had faced some serious failures and losses too. The main ones are…

1.  As we had lost leadership forces in the enemy attack we faced serious losses. After completion of our party Congress, a considerable number of our CC members were caught by the enemy and were either killed in fake encounters or put in jails. This is the very big hindrance we are facing in achieving our goals. No doubt, this would have a grave impact on the Indian revolution.

2.  Due to the severe offensive of the enemy and our failure in understanding it properly, formulating proper counter tactics and implementing them, we were weakened in some areas and we retreated from some areas.

These are our main successes and failures. Meanwhile, the living conditions of the working class in our country are increasingly becoming worse. The peasantry is increasingly becoming penniless due to the policies imposed by the feudal and imperialist exploiters and are resorting to suicides in lakhs. In the name of new policies, the penetration of foreign capital into the fields of education, health, industry, defence, transport, media, trade etc has intensified. The exploitation, oppression and control of the imperialists increased to an unprecedented level since 1947. Severe repression is continuing on the Kashmir and North-East people who are fighting for their national liberation and right to self-determination including the right to secession. Due to the policies followed by the Indian expansionists by colluding with the US imperialists, they are bitterly hated by the people of South Asia. The socially most oppressed sections of dalits, adivasis, women and religious minorities that constitute are suffering from several problems. The state is unleashing terror on those forces which are fighting against these problems. Civil rights are becoming completely absent. None of the basic problems of the people are in a position to be solved in this present setup. The announcement by the Prime Minister that we would become a strong economic force in the 21st century and would achieve a two-digit economic growth is a big sham. While corporations belonging to the likes of Ambani, Tata, Mittal, Jindal and Essar are amassing enormous wealth and increasing their ‘development’ rate at a rapid pace, they are throwing the vast masses into the whirlpool of insufferable poverty, hunger, unemployment etc.

When we examine all these problems, it would become increasingly clear that the fundamental contradictions in our country, i.e., the contradiction between feudalism and the vast masses, between imperialism and Indian people, between capital and labour and the contradiction among the ruling classes are intensifying further. Our party is advancing forward with an attitude of taking up the problems of the people. Our political line lays emphasis on the solution to these problems. We believe that the Indian revolutionary movement would advance down the victory path only through the People’s War waged under our party leadership while strengthening our people’s army with the aim of establishing Base Areas and the United Front formed by uniting all these forces under the leadership of the proletariat. We also believe that its future would depend on how this process advances. On the whole we are looking at the future of the Indian revolutionary movement with great optimism.

Our party is serving as a beacon of hope for the oppressed masses of our country. In the midst of this decadent, corrupt and loathed system our party shines like a bright star. We are not at all saying that we have ready made solutions to all the complexities existing in the world revolution and the Indian revolution. But we have a correct political line. We are confident that we can solve all these problems in a process of making the new democratic revolution a success as the first step towards socialism and communism. We believe that all the problems faced by the society can be solved in the light of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. Likewise we will learn from international experiences too. We will apply Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology to the concrete practice of Indian revolution. We will fight dogmatism and empiricism which raise their head in practice. We will firmly adhere to mass line and dedicate ourselves to fulfill the aspirations and hopes of our people. We will determinedly fight the left and right opportunist trends and revisionism which may crop up in our party and in the international communist movement. However, there are chances for mistakes and accidents to happen in the process of revolution. So, we would accept our mistakes with a genuine self-critical attitude and humility. We will correct our mistakes. We will advance in the path of revolution till the final victory in this great war waged to establish a society where there is no scope for hunger, injustice, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, price rise, displacement, untouchbility, discrimination, social evils etc by liberating our beloved country from the exploitation and oppression of feudalism, imperialism and comprador bureaucratic capitalism. Our party has emerged out of the innumerable sacrifices of our cadres and leaders. They lay down their lives unflinchingly for people’s democracy and communism. These selfless, exemplary martyrs are the ray of hope in our society. We will definitely hold high their esteemed revolutionary tradition. We will establish their lofty human values in this society. We will steer clear of avoidable losses and display communist consciousness, courage, determination and sacrifice to fight back the cruel enemy. In this process, our party would steel itself in the flames of class struggle.

Many areas have already developed into guerilla zones in our country. In many areas people’s state power came into existence in an embryonic form. The PLGA is growing in strength and capacity. Guerilla war is intensifying. This new power is developing as the primary form of a new democratic state. But in comparison with the more than 110 crores of our population and the vastness of our country, our party is very small. We have to travel very far. True, the path is thorny. But if we continue in the revolutionary path, the future would brighten a lot.

Contrary to the parliamentary parties and all kinds of reformist organizations, the CPI (Maoist) which is based on a cadre that has unflinching faith in their aim, a sacrificing nature and dedication is shining like a bright sun, lighting up all the darkness surrounding our country. Indian people want revolution. They are advancing in the path of People’s War for building a new society. The dawn of New Democratic revolution is unfolding. Let us march into the bright sunlight of the new society which is unfolding on the horizon.

Lal Salaam !

In the ensuing savage suppression of the students’ movement, Khatami (the president of Islamic republic at the time) and other “reformers” joining Khamenei and other “hardliners” savagely attacking the militant students exposed their true nature in the eyes of the world. The criminal regime ordered a brutal clampdown in the universities and demanded the severest punishment for the students. More than 1500 students were arrested and many were given long prison sentences. Thus the July 9 uprising of the students unmasked the real nature of the “liberals” within the regime and exposed the fact that there is no difference between Khatami, Khamenei and other leaders of the reactionary regime.

The July 9 students uprising, in which thousands of the oppressed masses had joined, also demonstrated that in oppressed societies no matter how severe the spread of suppression and the rule of terror and repression, the reactionary regime in power can not stop the people from protesting and continuing their struggle, and can never hinder the revolutionary upsurge of the masses.

Following the coming to power of Mr. Ahmadinezhad, repression, terror and murder has continued unabated and the backward looking regime has continued violent attacks against the just struggles of workers, students, women and other oppressed sectors of society.

In June last year, following the sham presidential elections that reinstalled Mr Ahmadinezhad as president and the upsurge of mass protests against the whole regime of Islamic republic, repression has intensified even further and many have been arrested, tortured, imprisoned and killed. While, the “reformers” led by Mr Mousavi (the prime minister of the regime during the massacre of political prisoners in 1988, that led to the murder of 18,000 political prisoner) called for a recount of the votes claiming forgery in the election results and tried to pose as the leader of the opposition, the oppressed masses of Iran demanded the complete overthrow of the regime of Islamic republic.

As the struggle of the oppressed people of Iran in the face of the intense crisis of the regime intensifies, prisons continue to be filled with political prisoners. Thousands of workers, participants of May 1st demonstrations, students, journalists and web bloggers, activists of the women’s movement, and indigenous peoples and national minorities continue their resistance against this barbaric regime from behind prison bars. But notwithstanding the attempts of the regime to suppress and to stifle the resistance, the struggle of people of Iran continues unabated.

The bloody events in Iran since July 1999 and the rise in the militant protest actions of the workers, students, women and national minorities across the country in the last year, show that the people are more determined and resolute in raising the banner of the revolutionary struggle against the whole regime of Islamic republic and with all its factions.

On the 11th anniversary of the students’ uprising in Iran,

• We resolutely support the just struggle of the workers, students, women, oppressed peoples and other toiling masses of Iran;
• We condemn the recent execution of 5 Kurdish activists; and,
• We condemn the suppression of the recent workers, students’ and other sections of society by the Islamic regime and demand the immediate freedom for all political prisoners.

Down with the reactionary regime of Islamic Republic!

Victory to the revolutionary democratic-anti imperialist movement of toiling masses of Iran!

Activists of Peoples Fadaii Guerrillas of Iran – London

Democratic Anti-imperialist Organisation of Iranians in Britain

Red Salutes to Martyrs com. Azad (Cherukuri Rajkumar) and com. Hem Pandey (Jitender)!!

Let us avenge the killings of the beloved comrades by the khaki clad fascist gangs of AP government!!

Azad was arrested at Nagpur on June 1^st along with com. Hem Pandey

On June 1st, the notorious Andhra Pradesh Special Branch Police for its abductions and cold blooded murders, have arrested com. Azad, Polite Bureau member and Spokesperson of CPI (Maoist), and com. Hem Pandey, a zonal committee level comrade in Nagpur city around 11’o clock when they went to meet a comrade who was supposed to receive them from Dandakarnaya zone. Com. Azad reached Nagpur around 10 am on the fateful day along with com. Hem Pandey, after travelling from long distance.  With specific information, the lawless goons of AP SIB abducted them, perhaps flown them in a helicopter, to Adilabad jungles near Maharashtra border and killed them point block and in cold blood.

We pay our red homage to our beloved comrades and vow to take vengeance of these killers.

Life of com. Azad

Comrade Azad is one of the senior most party leaders of CPI (Maoist). He was born in Krishna district of AP, in a well to do family. He did his school education in Sainik School, at Korukonda of the present Vizianagaram District.  Com. Surapuneni Janardhan, a legendary comrade of the student movement brought com. Raj Kumar into RSU in 1974. A brilliant student at the Regional Engineering College, which became famous as Radical Engineering College in those days, he finished his Mtech in Chemical Engineering and moved to Vishakhapatnam as per the Party direction.  He was the second president of AP Radical Students Union till 1984. He was the catalyst behind many all Andhra wide student agitations and peoples movements in that period. He became the district committee member of vizag unit of the CPI (ML) (PW). He moved length and breadth of India, to organize the Seminar on Nationality question held in Madras (now Chennai) in 1981. He was shifted to Karnataka in 1982 and com. Azad was one of the founder members of the Karnataka Party and worked as the secretary of the Karnataka State Committee. He was taken into CC, after the Central Plenum in 1990. He was the elected member of CC in the All India conference in 1995 and since then he served in CC and PB. He continued in those posts after the formation of CPI Maoist too in 2004. He has been the spokes person of the CC since then.

Known for his simple life and hard work; voracious reading and brilliant analyses of situations, crystal clear articulation and sharp logic, and fine organizational skills, he contributed widely to the revolutionary movement in many spheres. He wrote profusely to the People’s March, Peoples war (theoretical organ of the CPI (Maoist), and to the Maoist Information Bulletin. He wrote a fine critique of the intellectuals of AP, who got disillusioned and lost faith in revolutionary movement after the 1990 events of collapse of soviet imperialism and its satellite regimes.

In his death, the Indian revolutionary movement lost an exemplary comrade and a shining star, who served the movement more than three and half decades.

Just before his last journey, he received questions for interview from a well known magazine. He replied that he was in the journey and would send the answers as early as possible.

It is not Sukhdev, but com. Hem Pandey of Uttarakhand who was killed by APSIB

Com. Hem Pandey, 30, hailed from a nearby village of Pithoragarh town of Uttarakhand State. He did his MA history in Nainital University and got himself registered in PhD. While he was in college, he was active member of AISA, and slowly realizing he pseudo revolutionary character of AISA politics, he moved to the radical groups, later in 2001 he joined the then CPI (ML) (PW). He organized peasantry in the mountainous villages in Almora district, taking up umpteen numbers of issues of peasantry, including the problems arose out of Binsar Sanctuary. Soft-spoken, bespectacled, lean and energetic Com. Hem won the love of people of that region. He was moved into more important works in 2005. He had done his new assignments with patience and endurance.  His appetite for learning new things, reading more and more, and zeal for penning his ideas are things for the emulation for all the revolutionaries. He has written various articles to newsmagazines under various pen names.  We request the civil rights organisations to demand the A P police to send the body of com. Hem Pandey to his bereaved mother who is in Haldwani, Uttarakhand state, who is his sole surviving parent.

APSIB- the Indian avatar of Mossad

The Andhra Pradesh Special Intelligence Bureau, which has been partially trained partially by the Mossad, has acquired the notoriety of its master trainer-Mossad, in India. It has been moving across the state borders, and conducting abductions and cold blooded murders with impunity. This is all happening with clear blessings of Manmohan- Sonia and Chidambaram. This fascist gang has established its tentacles all over India, resorting the killings of revolutionaries, scoffing at the recent AP high court judgement that all encounters are to be first booked as murders under IPC 302, Ultimaely these killers will be taken to task by the revolutionary masses.

Will Chidambaram expect CPI (Maoist) to sit for talks with his blood on his hands of com. Azad and com. Hem Pandey?

CPI (Maoist) never contested or raised any hue and cry in the case of real encounters. The AP Police is resorting to globbeian lies, not believed even by gullible. CPI (Maoist) stood for truth and accountability to the people, and always stated facts. There is no such programme of Azad going to Sarkepally forest of Adilabad.  Azad was going to discuss with our comrades, inter alia, the concrete proposals of well meaning people like Swamy Agnivesh about particular dates for the mutual cease fire. He was a carrying the confidential letter of Swamy Agnivesh written to Azad dated- 26^th June 2010. Will Chidambaram expect CPI (Maoist) to sit for talks with his blood on his hands of com. Azad and com. Hem Pandey? He calls repeatedly to us to abjure violence? Killing the unarmed comrades by AP Police with your blessings – is it not like devils chanting scriptures?

White lies by AP Police

When there is no movement and organization in Adilabad, what is the necessity of Azad going to Azad? That the police found AK47 is again white lie. He alighted from a train around 10 am along with com. Hem Pandey in Nagpur Station, and was caught by the APSIB unarmed.  Is the government following its own constitution of article 21? Is the government following kernel of the Geneva Convention that “defenceless persons” should not be harmed? Is it not utter  hypocrisy and hoax that on one hand the government is placing the prevention of torture bill and  the police every minute resorting to the torture of the detained? It is a concocted story of encounter repeated ad nauseum, by the AP Police, churned out to the media umpteen times. The right life, guaranteed under the constitution is mocked and the right to be produced within 24 hours of the arrest is metamorphasized into killing within 24hours of arrest, so that there is no scope for any redressal by their near and dear.

We appeal to the civil rights organizations, democrats, patriots to raise to raise to the occasion thoroughly investigate this fake encounter as an example of extra judicial killing that are happening in scores in this country and bring out the truth before the people.

Ajay,

Spokes Person,

CPI (Maoist)

1. – The political phase Basque Country is facing is the phase of political change. This change has to be made through the Democratic Process. Once the conditions for the change have been achieved, it is time to realise it. The objective of this phase is to reach a democratic scenario where all political projects can be not only defended with equal opportunities but also implemented. The objective is to reach a stable and lasting peace in the Basque Country. Materializing this change also requires that we change ourselves.

2.- For the Abertzale Left there is a real opportunity for the desired real political change. The opportunity to overcome the current cycle and open a new democratic one is there. The challenge is to pass the door opened after decades of struggle and tireless work and to do the change. There are enough political and social conditions to do it.

3.- The Abertzale Left reaffirms its commitment to use exclusively political and democratic means. Those means make possible the necessary masses mobilization and unity of action of the democratic and progressive forces of the country to open the process and to develop it. Those are the guarantee and leading forces of the process. This democratic process must be developed in a complete absence of violence and without interference. Dialogue and negotiation among the political forces should be governed by the principles of Senator Mitchell.

4.- An increasing accumulation of forces through exclusively mass, institutional and ideological struggle is the basis to move the State to the field of the democratic and free confrontation of ideas and political projects and to achieve a scenario where the Basque people freely, peacefully and democratically will be able to decide about their future. We call Basque people and all progressive, democrat and popular forces, maintaining each one its own history, identity and being, to unite forces to make this process irreversible. We call international community to accompany this process. We are sure that through common work and masses struggle next months will bring us new scenarios and developments making this process irreversible.

Basque Country February 2010

Dear Friends,

Representatives of democratic mass organizations,

Unions, defenders of workers’ rights

We call you!!!!

Whilst our trade union, Council Workers Union, was carrying out activities to make workers members of the union, 3 workers who are members of our union got fired on 18^th August, 2009. As a result of this, we launched a campaign for those workers. Until now16 workers have been fired because of being a member of the union.  The council does insist on not to recognize the union. From that day on, all workers gather in front of the Esenyurt Council Hall during working hours from 08:00 to 18:00 and struggle to get back their jobs and their rights.

Since our union activities began on 22.06.2009, the council does not recognize our union and fires workers who want to be member of union.

Yet with the fact that they are not able to prevent the union from further activities by doing that, deputy mayor of Esenyurt council, Emin Batmazoğlu, and mayor of the council, Necmi Kadıoğlu , assaulted workers physically and verbally.

We, Council workers Union/ Istanbul, hold picket in front of the Council Hall in Esenyurt every Wednesday at 12:00 Additionally, we are organizing and joining many other activities to mold public opinion about our struggle in Esenyurt/Istanbul.

You can support us by showing your democratic reaction by calling and faxing Esenyurt Council on the issue of unlawful policies of the mayor. We also call upon other Trade Unions to stand against this attack which does not only target us but also all trade union activities. We can stop all these attacks against worker by uniting.

These workers also need financial support to continue to struggle. We are now able to cover their lunch and travel expenses.  We also are organizing certain events to get fund for these workers.

All democratic mass organizations come together in Esenyurt to support the struggle of council workers first time in their history. The workers stand outside of the hall without any shield. The total number of workers in Esenyurt Council is 234 and only 38 of them are member of Council Union of Istanbul Branch 2.

With commence of campaign, our demands are listed below:

1-We want the mayor of the Municipality to stop attacking our constitutional right to become a member of the union. The Mayor of the Council must respect this.

2-All fired workers must get their job back.

3 – Union as an organization of workers must get recognition.

International public opinion has significant importance to get our demands accepted in this struggle.

Therefore we appreciate your support and solidarity in this manner.

Representative of Council Workers Union/ Istanbul

Chairman

HASAN GÜLÜM

Contac addresses :

BELEDİYE-İŞ 2 NO’LU ŞUBE

Hocaüveyiz Mahallesi Akdeniz Caddesi No: 90/1

FATİH-İSTANBUL

TEL- FAX: 02125250824

GSM HASAN GÜLÜM: 0532 527 56 78

Contac with English language:

EMRE EREN KORKMAZ erensidar83@hotmail.com

For protest letter:

ESENYURT BELEDİYESİ

TEL: 02126220333 FAX:02126220399

At around 2 o’clock PM, Élcio and Gilson were kidnapped by gunmen in the road linking the peasant camp called Rio Alto and the city Buritis. They were tortured with refinements of cruelty, having their fingernails torn out and pieces of their skin scalped from their bodies and their ears cut off. Then they were summarily executed with shotgun gauge 12, in the necks. The bodies were found two days later.

On the same day at morning, two peasants had been persecuted in the same road.

Gilson Gonçalves had been interviewed in the end of 2008, by the international delegation held by IAPL, which was fact-finding the violence against peasants in Rondônia. In the occasion, he denounced the illegal arrests and harassments in the region and provided evidences against the landlord Dilson Caldato. The IAPL Fact-Finding Mission Report, regarding the case União Bandeirantes, published that

Gilson testified that he saw the men arrive and that he recognized one of the armed men, who is known to have worked for the landlord. He also said that he saw the three dead bodies. They were handcuffed and shot in the head.

acountability of State

In July 2008, the Police went to the Rio Alto camp with to make a warrantless search of weapons. Some days after, peasants were kidnapped and had their hands tied and were beaten. The peasants recognized several police officers that were in both Police raid and the gunmen action.

The peasants issued their complaint to the authorities in Rondonia’s capital, Porto Velho. They reported that the Agrarian Ombudsman, Márcia do Nascimento Correa, told that she wouldn’t mind if the peasants were killed by para-militaries gunmen. By this connivance, nothing was done.

In the last December 3rd, a meeting occurred in the office of the Nation Agrarian Reform Institute, with the the National Agrarian Ombudsman, Gercino José da Silva Filho, the landlord Dilson Caldato, and Militar Police commander in Buritis, Major Antônio Matias de Alcântara. They spread a document saying that the peasants should be punished for alleged illegal actions, asking the action of the Militar Police to “protect the properties” of landlords, and seemingly saying that the landlords would do nothing against the peasants.

In this same meeting, participated 4 gunmen of Dilson Caldato’s farm, that identified Élcio Machado.

The peasants’ movement have already made several complaints against the landlord Dilson Caldato, who rushes over the peasants lands, already reserved for Settlement Project, and supports para-militaries bodies that inflict serious crimes as the one reported.

They also report that policemen under the command of the mentioned police officer work in training the armed groups of landlords and receive money to escort the wood cut out by the landlords of the area.

What we demand

Considering the facts above reported, the International Association of People’s Lawyers is deeply concerned about the killings of Élcio Machado and Gilson Gonçalves, founding the these facts constitute strong evidences about the participation of Dilson Caldato as principal. The reports also show the involvement of the police and other state agents.

IAPL is also concerned about the role played by the National Comission Against Violence in the Countryside and the organs of the National Intitute of Agrarian Reform, as it appears to be organs that accuse the peasants and permit the unlawful actions of the landlords militias.

IAPL demands the Brazilian Government to investigate and punish the responsibles for this killings, as well as the crimes against peasants related to land struggles in popular movements, in general.

Finally, IAPL urges each organization, office or individual, worldwide, to spread these informations, demand response by the international instruments and call for solidarity to the peasants’ movement in Rondonia.

Signed:

Edre Olalia,

IAPL President

This time the offensive was aimed at the people of this country, those who are among the most deprived and exploited. This is just to facilitate the handing over of the country’s natural resources to the plunder and loot of foreign corporations, even though purported aim is to ‘re-establish the sovereign rule of the Indian state in Maoist influenced regions’. One of the main proponents of this war on people is Manmohan Singh, who was an economist with the World Bank controlled by US imperialism before he joined active politics. Till the day of becoming the finance minister of the UPA government, P Chidambaram was a member of the Board of Directors in Vedanta, the British mining multinational. He was also the lawyer of the notorious US electricity corporation, Enron. Both Singh and Chidambaram have been die-hard advocates of foreign investment to the country, the two foremost agents of US imperialism in the country. On 18th of June 2006, the prime minister made a statement in the parliament, pronouncing that ‘the environment for foreign investment is going to be severely affected if left-wing extremism continues to grow and expand in the mineral-rich regions of the country’. The booty of this war declared by Manmohan Singh’s government on the people is going to be handed over to the imperialist countries, particularly to US imperialism.

Borders within the country: Much like the US government which sent 1.5 lakh soldiers to occupy Iraq and 1 lakh to Afghanistan, the Indian government too is sending its 1 lakh troops to wage a war against in central and eastern parts of the country, with similar purposes in mind. Only that the target this time is our own people, in our own territory. It is as if the government has declared a part of this country to be a foreign land, and is now sending its armed forces to occupy it. In addition to the Indian army and the air-force, tens of thousands of armed personnel from the police, CRPF, ITBP, IRB, Special Task Force, Rashtriya Rifles, etc. are mobilized to take part in this full-scale war. The home ministry and the defense ministry are jointly overseeing this war under the command of high-ranked army officers.

Army colonels and brigadiers are running Jungle Warfare Schools in Chhattisgarh, and are imparting training to the troops to confront the people. The notorious Rashtriya Rifles under the direct command of the Indian army, as well as the ITBP and BSF, raised for defending the borders of the country, are being redeployed by the central government for this military offensive. Air force helicopters are being requisitioned, including the ‘Garud’ armoured helicopters. The government is outlaying more than 7,300 crores of hard-earned money of the working people for this war.

The government is preparing to take the help of intelligence input from US defense satellites as well.  In Lalgarh too, which the home secretary has termed as the ‘laboratory of joint army operations’, US spy-satellites were used to scan Borpelia, Kantapahadi, Ramgarh and adjoining areas. In September 2009, the home minister Chidambaram went on a four-day state visit to the US. Just after his return from this trip, ‘Operation Green Hunt’ was launched in the northern, southern and eastern parts of Bastar. At least 19 adivasi villagers were brutally murdered during this operation. It is worth noting that many teams of US security establishment secretly visited Chhattisgarh in order to assess the war preparations. The Indian government is also in constant consultation with the US army officers who are commanding the imperialist war against Afghanistan and North-West Pakistan.

Corporate plunder for super-profits is the real motive behind this

war: From the year 2001 onwards, there was a scramble among various state governments to outsmart one another in inviting foreign investors and comprador big business houses of the country to their respective states, and to conclude hundreds of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). In Jharkhand itself, more than 100 MoUs were signed by the state government with Mittal, Jindal, Tata, RioTinto and other foreign and Indian big corporations in the last nine years involving mining projects, steel and aluminum plants, electricity plants, dams, and so on. In Orissa too, companies like Vedanta, POSCO, Tata, Hindalco, Jindal and Mittal are eyeing for the unexplored natural resources. The BJP government in Chhattisgarh has already concluded agreements with Essar, Tata, RioTinto and other such big corporations to set up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the mining sector. In these three states alone, agreements worth Rs.873,896 crores of investment in various projects have been concluded till September 2009. The peasants who are largely dependent on land, forests and rivers for their livelihood, particularly the adivasis, have refused to give up their resources for corporate plunder. They have organized themselves against forcible land-acquisition for these big projects. The Maoists too, who have been fighting against the ruling classes to carry out a revolutionary transformation of the present exploitative system and for the liberation of the oppressed masses, have built up a strong resistance against these anti-people projects. The Maoist movement has successfully organized the masses to fight for the scrapping of these agreements and MoUs, to resist the incursion of the corporates, and to establish people’s revolutionary power that guarantees the rights of the masses over land and natural resources in many of these regions.

The government intensified its onslaught on the people soon after the agreements and MoUs were concluded, and the adivasis in particular subsequently became the targets of state terror. The unleashing of Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh left hundreds of adivasis dead, raped and maimed, thousands of houses burnt, and more than seven hundred villages displaced. Children were decapitated, dead bodies of adivasi villagers were mutilated and hung from trees, rape was used as a means of state repression.  Around three lakh adivasis were forced to leave their villages, of which more than fifty thousand were forcibly kept in Salwa Judum camps. The first of these police camps were financed by Essar. In the Singhbhum region of Jharkhand which attracted the largest amount of agreements for corporate investment, a reign of state terror was established through ‘Nagarik Suraksha Samiti’.

‘Tritiya Prastuti Committee’ was used in Balumath in order to crush the resistance against the setting up of a power plant by the Abhijit Group of Companies. In Orissa too, the so-called ‘Shanti-Sena’ which complimented the mercenary goons of the corporations, was created to attack the people’s resistance. The resistance of the people and the revolutionary movement has resiliently withstood the combined attacks of the police, para-military and the vigilante gangs, and defended the people’s rights over land and natural resources. Imperialist forces, particularly US imperialism and its ‘strategic partner’ the Indian government, have therefore launched this fresh military offensive on the people in these regions, similar motives with which US imperialists went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan to subjugate and plunder the mineral and natural resources of these countries.

The only way forward is to Establish People’s Power: The people’s struggle for rights over their land, forests and natural resources has been continuing ever since the feudal and colonial forces have tried to dispossess them through the use of force or the ‘rule of law’. Ever since the imposition of the Forest Act by British colonialism, whereby the rights of the adivasis on their forests and land was taken away, many glorious rebellions challenged the might of British India. The adivasi Ulugulan under the leadership of Birsa Munda in Jharkhand, Bhumkal Vidroh in Bastar led by Gundadhar, the Ghumeswar rebellion in Orissa, etc., all were aimed at defending the rights of the people over land and forests. During Naxalbari movement too, the oppressed masses fought for their rights over land, and to establish people’s revolutionary power by overthrowing the feudal social order. The masses of this country in general and the adivasis in particular have a history of waging persistent and uncompromising struggles against the exploitation and oppression of the ruling classes. Even today the masses of the entire country, led by the people’s movements in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal etc. is marching forward, holding high the banner of revolutionary class struggle and defeating the fascist attacks of the reactionary rulers one after another. Be it Operation Green Hunt or Operation Siddharth, Salwa Judum or Harmad Vahini, Ranveer Sena, Sunlight Sena, C-60, Black Hundreds, Sendra, Grey Hounds, CRPF or CoBRA, the fighting masses of the country have time and again stood up to ensure befitting response to the combined repression of the feudal, comprador big bourgeois and imperialist forces.

The Indian government must stop this war waged against the people of central and eastern India, and must immediately and unconditionally withdraw its armed forces from these regions. All the MoUs and agreements with foreign multinationals and Indian corporations for the plunder of natural resources of the people must be scrapped, and the land forcibly acquired for such projects must be restored to their rightful owners. In addition, the rights of the people over land and forests must be acknowledged. Otherwise, the people of this country will rise up against this war waged on them by the central and state governments, and fight a resolute struggle for establishing people’s sovereign power over their resources, their sources of life and livelihood. This struggle will not cease until the dream of a truly People’s Democratic India, visualized by Bhagat Singh and thousands of martyred revolutionaries, is turned into a reality.

REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC FRONT (RDF)

Contact: Rajkishore, Secretary, RDF, rdfindia@gmail.com

According to the grand plan of the reactionary rulers a total of 75,000 central forces, assisted by tactical air support by IAF choppers, will go to war by the end of this month. An equal number of police forces from the states will join these central forces to carry out the biggest ever military offensive against the people in general and the Maoists in particular. While deploying such a huge force, which is greater in size than the armies of most countries in the world, Chidambaram is trying to fool the people that he is not going to war with the Maoists. It is the state terror, saffron terror, and state-sponsored terror that have become the greatest threat to peace and security in our country. The Congress-led UPA government has to its credit the massacre of over 2000 people and Maoist revolutionaries in the past five years. And yet, Manmohan and Chidambaram have the audacity to say that their government is implementing the “rule of law” and ask the Maoists to lay down arms and sit for talks.

Asking Maoists to lay down arms as a pre-condition for talks shows the utter ignorance of Manmohan and Chidambaram regarding the historical and socio-economic factors that had given rise to the Maoist movement or are too intoxicated by the brute force they possess by which they dream they can stamp out a movement rooted in the socio-economic causes. The CC, CPI (Maoist), makes it crystal-clear that laying down arms means a betrayal of the people’s interests. We have taken up arms for the defence of people’s rights and for achieving their liberation from all types of exploitation and oppression. As long as oppression and exploitation exist, people will continue to be armed in ever greater number. However, an agreement could be reached by both sides on a cease-fire if Manmohan and Chidambaram give up their irrational, illogical, impractical, absurd and obstinate stand that the Maoists should abjure violence. They should be introspective and decide whether they are prepared to abjure state terror and unbridled violence on the people. If at all they are serious about talks then they should first create a conducive atmosphere by earnestly implementing at least what is guaranteed by the Indian constitution by which they swear.

They should stop illegal abductions of Maoists and people suspected to be supporting Maoists. They should put an immediate halt to torture and murder of unarmed people, instruct their so-called security forces to desist from raping women in Maoist-dominated areas, abandon their policy of destroying the property of the people and burning adivasi villages. They should withdraw the police and para-military camps from the school buildings, panchayat community buildings and from the interior areas so as to instill a sense of security among the people.

They should disband the state-sponsored armed vigilante gangs like salwa judum, sendra, gram suraksha samiti, nagarik suraksha samiti, shanti sena, harmad bahini, and other blood-thirsty mercenary gangs that are unconstitutionally established by the police top brass and the ruling class parties. An impartial judicial commission of enquiry should be formed to go into the inhuman atrocities by the police, CRPF, other central forces and the vigilante gangs on Maoists and the people at large and basing on the investigations the culprits should be punished as per the law. All those arrested for being Maoists or on suspicion of aiding the Maoists, including people in particular who do not have any connection with our organisation, should be released unconditionally. They should repeal all draconian laws and Acts such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Chhattisgarh Special Powers Act, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), etc. They should disband the government-organised concentration camps in the name of rehabilitation of the adivasis displaced from their villages, pay adequate compensation to over two lakh adivasis who were forcibly displaced by the salwa judum gangs and the CRPF-police combine. All those who have become victims of state and state-sponsored terror, i.e., those who were murdered, maimed, raped and pushed into a state of mental trauma should be given adequate compensation.

As for socio-economic issues, the lands of the tribals should be handed back to them wherever they are snatched from them; the mining and other so-called development projects that lead to displacement of the tribals and destruction of their way of life should be immediately disbanded. All the MOUs signed with the imperialist MNCs like Vedanta and the big business houses like the Tatas, Mittals, Essar, Jindal, etc should be scrapped. The much trumpeted policy of Special Economic Zones which is nothing but to create enclaves of foreign occupation and imperialist plunder that ruin havoc in the social, economic, ecologic and cultural lives of the people living in these areas should be immediately scrapped along with the colonial policy of land acquisition. The lands snatched away from the tribals by unscrupulous landlords, other non-adivasis, and by the government should be restored to their rightful owners. If these are fulfilled, then one can think of talks to discuss on the deeper issues that are blocking the real development of our country.

The CC, CPI (Maoist) unequivocally asserts that the government’s proposal for peace talks is only a propaganda ploy that in no way differs from the peace proposals of Hitler prior to World War II.

After the Cabinet Committee on Security had given the final approval for the massive offensive against the Maoists, after the IAF choppers are ready with the Garuda commandos and gunships to pulverize the adivasi areas, these war-mongers are talking of peace! We appeal to all democratic and peace-loving forces to expose the hypocrisy and double-speak of Manmohan, Chidambaram, Raman Singh, Buddhadeb and others and oppose their war preparations against the oppressed downtrodden people of our country who are waging a struggle for land, livelihood and liberation from inhuman feudal and imperialist exploitation.

Azad,

Spokesperson,

Central Committee,

CPI(Maoist)

Operation Green Hunt[2] is an attack on the poor and indigenous peoples of India to pave the way for the continouous displacement of millions of people to serve the comprador capitalists and their international backers from Britain and USA .

The United Nations has just condemned India for it’s food policy whereby 30 million additional people have been made hungery since 1990′s as a result of government policies and 46% of children are undernourished.

These are the realities of India ‘s neo liberal policies exposed by the Indian Maoists.

We the Co-ordination Committeee of the Revolution ary Communists of Britain express our solidarity with Indian comrades in their battle for social justice and will do our best to let the whole world know the barbarities of the current ruling elite perpetrated against Indian peoples.

We will expose the false propaganda of neo-liberal India ‘s so-called economic success, which is nothing but prosperity for the few and poverty for the many.

Statement issued 1st November – London 2009
CARC Party – International Relations Department

When we wrote a letter to you at that time Lalgarh movement lost 4 of its youngest sons who stood bravely in all the ups and downs of the movement. Recently another two also martyred. Com. Bishnu (22yrs.) and Com. Manoranjan (21 yrs.) of Shyamnagar of Belpahari P.S. were captured on 23-03-09 at Badshol village. Shyamnagar and Badshol both are side by side villages on West Midnapur-Bankura Borders. On 23-03-09 both comrades Bishnu and Manoranjan went to the nearby village to purchase goats. On their way back they were attacked in Badshol by Jharkhand Jana Mukti Morcha (JJMM) members who are now known as Gana Pratirodh Committee of killer gangs.

Majhgaria (Barikul PS) with force of 100 jawans and Tarapani (Belpahari PS) with a force of 200 Jawans are the nearest camps to Shyamnagar around 2 KM. distance. The dead bodies of the Bishnu and Manoranjan were thrown away in Majhagaria forest under Barikul PS of Bankura district. Villagers of Shyamnagar started search for those two but they could not trace them out.

On 29-03-09 there was a public meeting by the PSBJSC at Simulpal of Belpahari. To terrorize the people police issued a statement on 29-03-09 that they found two mutilated bodies and informed the family members and the press the names of the murdered on 25-01-09. The same killer gang killed Com. Nirmal Sardar to foil Chakadoba public meeting. But these two meetings were successfully held by the PSBJSC.

Earlier in 2007 October Com. Bishnu and Com. Manoranjan were arrested in a false cases after an ambush on a police jeep by the Maoists on Belpahari-Bulabheda road. They were in jail for 3 months. Despite police repression of the police excess these two young comrades fro Nov.08 onwards actively participated in the Adivasi upsurge and till their martyrdom they were the active members in the PSBJSC of Belpahari. The PSBJSC confirmed this and declared it was a conspiracy led by the CPM_JJMM-GPC and police combine against the PSBJSC. Hope you have followed all these.

Here what we want to inform you that the killer gang belongs to Ganapratirodh Committee led by the Jharkhand Jana Mukti Morcha.

Com. Rana you have close relations with this party and its leadership. On the 13.03.09 meeting called by you was attended by the same leaders who are day in and day out acting against the revolutionaries and the Lalgarh mass upsurge. Knowing all this you have taken a stand to work with those elements who are conspirators and hobnobbing with social fascists. We do not know whether you will call the CPM social fascist but what the CPM’s practice in Bengal since last 32 years is known to every politically conscious person. It is the people who know it too well what are their tactics and power politics.

Apart from the above we want to bring to your notice another cold blooded murder committed by the JJMM on the night of 29.03.09. Already you have full information of this incident through electronic and print media from 30.03.09 to 04.04.09. However, once again bringing the facts before you.

Com. Indrajit Sahis was an active full time member of the PSBJSC of Dahijori area. He had attended the Simulpal public meeting on 29.03.09 and on his return he was way laid and killed. On 29.03 night itself his family members booked a case in the Lalgarh PS. This was published in the dailies on 30.03.09. We think you are well aware of it.

Again the killers’ political affiliation is the same, and the murder was backed by the police. We are not asking you Com. Rana that why you or your party did not join in any protest programmes against the killing of the sons of Lalgarh people’s movement nor  are we asking you what stand you have taken. But we are simply asking you how you are shaking hands with the reactionary counter revolutionaries ? What do you want to achieve aligning with these leaders ? Will your demand for autonomy for the three districts be achieved this way ? Are you not getting isolated from the people ? Please think over.

Now let us see your electoral alliance. Through news paper report we learnt that your party is supporting Mr. Aditya as a joint candidate from Jhargram constituency. No doubt Mr. Aditya is an adivasi, but he has never been firm to fight against the CPM, which is the main oppressor of the adivasi people. In his political carrier he has always hobnobbed with the CPM. He has a dual character. Now isolated by the Lalgrah Belpahari mass movement a section of the CPI(M) leaders is now taking shelter in Aditya’s party in order to save their skin. We have many examples to show you. In the guise of ‘Jhjarkhandi’ they are mainly working against the interest of the Jharkhandis and the on-going revolutionary movement.

You see Mr. Ram Tiwari, the erstwhile CPM leader, switched over to the BJP and became its Midnapore district president and in alliance with the TMC he challenged the CPM’s supremacy in Goarbeta. Then a conflict arose for power between the BJP-TMC combine on the one hand and the CPM on the other. Our party initiated mass movement in Gorbeta and countered advancement of a general secretary of the TMC. All these developments were recorded in People’s March in 2000-01 issues. What we want to say shifting alliance weighing power and profits is a general phenomenon in the class politics. So those inconsistent Jarkhandi leaders too show off the same character. However, their role and involvement is too weak in comparison with others.

No doubt Aditya demands an autonomous area. This is a play by him supported by the CPM to get sympathy and improve his vote bank and to keep the CPM’s support untouched. What we stress is your opportunistic tactics. It is palpably clear that what you stick to is the Adivasi identity of the Adivasi leaders who haveclearly proved their anti-Adivasi role. With the same logic you can go to the extent of finding positive qualities in Shiby Soren, Babulal Marandi and their ilk. The division in the Adivasi society in the period of imperialist globalization in particular, the rise of a section of political mafias from amongst the Adivasis, etc. can not be swept under the carpet. A mechanical preconceived notion, it appears, leads you to consider all Adivasi groups are perfectly homogeneous in the present age. You yourself do know so many people from amongst the Adivasis chose to build up their own political career to reap personal profits in terms of money and power. Yet you prefer to remain blind to all this and hold cut your hand of cooperation with the known degenerate, reactionary elements in the name of Adivasi unity. This line is dangerous.

But in the agnigarbha Bangla your approach and the outlook of your party will help directly none but social fascists. So what steps be taken are to be decided by you. As a friend just we are referring to the problem and also the damage to your party. Whatever stand you will take on behalf of your party that’s upto you. But as friends of your party we want to tell you that the steps and programme which you are initiating and practicing certainly will help social fascists and counter revolutionary camp. So, please think over in which side you will stand by the side of the people and people’s movement or against it. Mao taught us, “There can be no differentiation without contrast. There can be no development without differentiation and struggle. Truth develops through its struggle against falsehood”.

Comrade,

In our earlier letter to you we wrote that on the one hand you are condemning salwajudm of Chhattisgarh, on the other you are maintaining close relation and also have formed a front with the parties and the leadership, who are playing key role in Bengal’s Salwajudum, in the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa border areas guided by the social fascists. How can you judge your role, or to say, two attitudes on the same issue ? The social fascist led Salwajudum is more dangerous in comparison with that of Dandakarnnya. There the judum was defeated and our party is marching ahead victoriously. At the fag end of the DK’s Judum you and other friends joined in the protest meet. Though it was delayed step still we welcome your attitude. Better late than never. However, you and other friends are knowingly or unknowingly dancing to the tune of the social fascists and the other reactionaries who are now close to the CPM in West Bengal.

Frontier, the known broadly left magazine, wrote in its February 22-23 editorial on Bengal’s Salwa Judum and Liberating Mao…” In truth the top leadership of Mrxist party is more interested in invoking ‘Salwa Judum’, not Mao to liquidate the Maoists as the recent incidents in Lalgarh substsitiate”. (Here it is not worth considering other aspects of this editorial).

Sir Ajit Jogi the Congress leasder and ex-chief minister of Chhattisgarh always condemned his own party’s stand on Salwa Judum publicly. Still he remained in the Congress. Sri Subrota Dutta of West Midnapur Congress secretary also opposed the Salwajudum of Chhattisgarh and here in Bengal. Sri Subrata Dutta issued a call which was published in Anandabazar Patrika on 12.12.08 issue which said “The CPI (M) has geared up its machinery for destroying the mass movement to continue with its fascist terrorby means of deploying its Harmad Bahini on a large scale in order to launch attack on Lalgarh form Shalbani, Goaltore, Sarenga and Dharmpur (Lalgarh)”.

Dear Rana,

You see Sri Ajit and Sri Subrato maintain similar stand on Salwajudum but you are slipping. If you say we are misunderstanding you, we accept it for a while but why the people too are misunderstanding you, comrade? When political position and practice are clear, explanations will not yield any result except being an eyewash to cover up the misdeeds. It is a question of line, it is a question how to analise a mass upsurge, how to stand by the masses, how to separate and isolate the hideous characters, how to identify friends and foes, how to stand with a firm political line, how to initiate and participate in united front work and so on.

Anyhow, Comrade, the Lalgarh upsurge has certainly shown a path of mass resistance which no doubt is a great experience after the Naxalbari upsurge. From 1967 to 2008 we have travelled towards achieving our goal and overcome many twists and turns in our ways. As followers of Mao we all should grasp the essence of what he taught to us “No political party can possibly lead a great revolutionary movement to victory unless it possesses revolutionary theory and knowledge of history and has a profound grasp of the practical movement”.

Hope you will think over and respond positively.

Surya

Spokesperson

CPI (Maoist)

Eastern Bureau Central Committee

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REPLY from Santosh Rana

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Reply to the Eastern Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)

Dear Comrade,

We are not accustomed to carrying on debates arisen of differences among fraternal organizations through open letters. But, your issuing an ‘open letter’ makes us reply to it in a somewhat open manner.

1.We have been engaged since 1967 in organizing the masses on the basis of Naxalbari politics in the area lying in the Paschimanchal- Jharkahnd cultural zone. We have built up, for long period of time, struggles including seizing the lands from the landlords and distributing them among the peasants, against feudal oppression, for the enhancement of wage rate, for ensuring the right to forest, against upper caste oppression on the lower castes and Adivasis, to establish the right to mother tongue, Jharkhandi identity and so on. At the same time, we have built up by ourselves or extended support to others in building up struggles against oppressions perpetuated by feudal forces, corporate capital and the state in other parts of the country.

Following the path of Marxism-Leninism-Mao-ze-Dong’s thought we have been staying firm on the class line of depending upon the small and landless peasants, getting united with the middle peasants, neutralizing sections of the rich peasants and spearheading the struggle against the jotedars and landlords. In the long course of struggle between 1967 and 2008 we had to fight against both right and left ideological deviations.

2. Since 1981, we have been taking part in the movement for a seprate Jharkhand state. In carrying this movement forward we have launched joint struggles in association with the different sections of the Jharkhand Party. In course of the joint struggle, we had to carry out struggles with these sections and sometime the alliance was broken. In 1989, the Congress government in Delhi won over a section of the Jharkhand Party  in its favour and created a division in the Jharkhand movement. That section under the leadership of Ms Chunibala Hansda has been continuing the alliance with the Congress. Apart from this, we have had differences concerning land, wages and other questions with the Jharkhand Party. We have observed various levels of corruption in the Jharkhand Party led panchayats and have launched struggles against them.

3. After the formation of the Jharkhand state through curving out parts of erstwhile Bihar we have been struggling since 2001 for the formation of an autonomous council for the areas lying under the Jharkhandi cultural zone of West Bengal. It’s a struggle for national identity. The need for ending the national oppressions is urgent for the democratization of the Indian society.

In order to advance the movement for the autonomous council we convened on March 13, 2009 a meeting of various left and Jharkhandi organizations. The Peoples’ Committee  of Lalgarh (PABJC) was also invited to the meeting, but they did not turn up.

4. The CPI(M-L), Jharkhand Party and some other forces have consistently been fighting against the unprecedented violence and terror unleashed in the area by the CPI(M) for a long time. The degree of terror in Jamboni area was so high that the opposition parties could not even field their candidates in the Panchayat Elections for 10 years. The same single-party rule of the CPI(M) is still continuing in vast areas including  Keshpur, Garbeta and Arambagh. Many of the workers of the CPI(ML) and the Jharkhand Party had to sacrifice their life in their struggle against the CPI(M)’s terror; hundreds of fighters of this struggle have been entangled in false police cases.

In the 13 March meeting it was decided to build up a platform for struggle for autonomy with the forces who would struggle against the ruling Congress and the CPI(M)  and support the demand for autonomy.

5. The peoples upsurge in Lalgarh against police oppression had had the participation of all the anti-CPI(M) political forces in the area. In course of the movement there arose some differences among these forces. The lack of sorting out the differences democratically aggravated them and in some places they took antagonistic shape. We have suggested sorting these differences out through dialogue.

6. We have been with the Lalgarh movement since the beginning and are still with it. However, we have strongly been maintaining that the movement can achieve success only through developing fully the democratic rights of the people (which include the right to form political party, the right to vote and the right to elect the body of governance on the basis of universal suffrage).

7. We do not accept that the political contradictions have to be resolved through annihilating the political opponents. The struggle against the corruptions in Panchayats needs to establish the authority of the Gram-Sansad; this requires inspiring and organizing the masses. Peoples struggle against corruption cannot be developed by killing a corrupt Panchayt authority by the squad.

8. The problem with you is that you want to establish in the area of movement a single-party rule to achieve which you want to wipe out the existence of other political parties. This makes you label all others, having any difference with you, as counter-revolutionary. This results in making all the contradictions antagonistic.

9. We consider the CPI(M) as an agent of imperialist capital and have been struggling against them in various ways. After the 2004 general election they have taken side of imperialist capital openly and have been working as the principal mouthpiece of imperialist globalization in West Bengal. So, in the last general election we employed ourselves to defeat the CPI(M) everywhere. We are happy with the peoples’ giving their verdict against the CPI(M).

10. You have mentioned in your letter that the CPI(M) has been a social fascist force for the last thirty years. We do not share this view. In the more or less first ten years since it coming to power in 1977 the Left Front Government had done some democratic reforms and the same period had seen certain level of empowerment among the rural people. It resulted in democratic development to that extent. But, the CPI(M) stopped that process and started monopolising power in the hands of party-bureaucracy. Their attempt to establish single-party rule in every sphere of society has led them to their present state. But, according to your analysis, the CPI(M) has been a social fascist party for the entire part of the past thirty years. Then, how could you join hands with the same social fascists in order to make the vast areas of Garbeta-Keshpur-Arambahgh completely free from any opposition party?

In an interview to the Times of India, published on April 27, 2009, your leader has been quoted to have said, “I myself had brought 5000 cartridges from the CPI(M) office. Where would have been the minister Susanta Ghosh now had not we been there?” You feel proud to have protected Susanta Ghosh, villain of the fascist terror unleashed in the vast areas of Garbeta-Keshpur-Arambahgh.

On the other hand we have observed that some of the tribal women sympathizers of the CPI(M) have been garlanded with shoes and forced to walk in the processions. An ordinary CPI(M) supporter Gopinath Murmu has been beaten to death and his wife was dragged on to join the procession. We cannot support these; rather those who are applauding these are actually causing damage to the Lalgarh movement.

11. Similarly, we do not support the killings of the doctor and nurse, carnage of the electoral personnel at Dahijuri or the assasination of Bishnu-Manoranjan, Nirmal Sardar and Indrajit Sahis.  We condemn all these killings.

12. You have accused that the Jharkhand Janamukti Morcha was responsible for the murder of Bishnu-Manoranjan, Nirmal Sardar and Indrajit Sahis. They have denied this charge. Apart from that they have stated not to have any connection with the activities carried out in the name of Gana-Pratirodh-Committee.

We propose that  an impartial inquiry of the killings occurred since Novemebr last be carried out by a team of people associated with democratic and human rights movement. The Jharkhand Janmukti Morcha is agreed to this proposal, and an inquiry team can be constituted upon your agreeing to this.

13. Mr. Aditya  Kisku was associated with the Jharkhand Party (Naren). He developed his difference with it on the question of making alliance with the Congress. That difference led to the split in the Jharkhand Party (Naren). Ms Chunibala is still an ally of the Congress. We appealed to Ms Chunibala to severe her relationship with the Congress and join the coordination, but she refused. In the given situation we unanimously decided to  field Mr. Aditya Kisku as the candidate. He has been raising the demand for autonomy for long. He has his role in combating the CPI(M)’s single-party violence in the area. This apart, he has played part in the democratic movements of West Bengal,  including Singur and Nandigram. Taking all these  into account we, three different CPI(M-L) organizations, decided to support Mr. Aditya Kisku.

You have accused Mr.Kisku to be a vacillating force. Whether they would stay firm by the demand of autonomy or show vacillation would be judged by history. But, even if we take your accuse in face value that Mr. Kisku and his associates are vacillating, it would be a grave mistake to push them towards the CPI(M) without attempting to establish unity with them.

14. We were surprised to see that while calling for the boycott of election your activities were guided towards lessening in Aditya’s share of vote. People under the 75 polling booths where Aditya had potential support were not allowed to cast their votes. In other places you asked people to vote either for the Congress or Chunibala. The CPI(M) has won in Jhargram with a  margin (2.93 lakh votes) which has earned the constituency the distinction of giving the CPI(M) the highest margin in West Bengal. You certainly deserve some credit for this.

15. You have accused that we do not want to launch a struggle against the agents of the ruling class among the adivasis.

We see Paschimanchal as part of the Jharkhand Cultural Zone. The inhabitants here include tribals like, Santal, Munda, Lodha, etc., dalits like Bagdi, Mal, and so on,  and communities like, Kurmi Mahato, Bagal, Teli, Kumhar, Khandayaet, Raju etc, who form a common Jharkhandi identity. The ruling classes in West Bengal do not recognize this shared identity. For them, any struggle for the assertion of the Jharkhandi identity is secessionism. For us, struggles against identity suppression are inseparably attached with the democratic revolution of India, and this view guides us to support the demand for autonomy of the Gorkha, Kamatapuri and Jharkhand people

Again, being a party of the working class we give primacy to the interests of the working classes of the suppressed identities. Thus, our relationships with the organizations, such as the Jharkhand Party, cannot but be of unity and struggle. We cannot put them together with the parties like the Congress and the CPI(M) at our own will.

16. The autonomous council we are demanding will be something where, different levels of political power will be devolved in the hands of bodies to be elected by the people on the basis of universal voting right, the basic democratic rights of the people to deliberate and to form   political parties, and the working class control on the economic activities will be established.

17. You have accused that we have been opposing the Salwa Judum of Chattisgarh but not doing the same in the case of Belpahari’s Salwa Judum. The corporated sector has invested thousand of crores of rupees and adivasis of vast areas have been evicted to protect the corporate interest there. A whole river has been leased out to a company. The Salwa Judum there has been built up with corporate money. No corporate capital has been invested in Belpahari or Lalgarh, nor has any eviction in these areas taken place. The CPI(M) and the police has sometime attempted to build up resisting squads but that has not got any organized shape. Thus, it surprised us when we heard from you about Salwa Judum in Belpahari.

Nevertheless, whether Salwa Judum or not and whether the resisting squad have got organized shape or not, we oppose all sorts of attempts to suppress peoples movement.

18. Aiming to build up nation-wide mass movement on the issues imperialist globalization, SEZ and state terror we organized a convention in Kolkata in June 2007. In Januray 2009 we organized another large convention in Kolkata where, in addition to the above, two major demands – Stop Salwa Judum”, and “Release Binayak Sen” – were highlighted. To my knowledge, it was the first ever convention in Kolkata held against Salwa Judum. And, it was this time that a campaign movement for the release of Dr. Binayak sen was organized in such a large scale.

The convention of January 2009 was attended by activists associate with anti-eviction movements across the country, but the Peoples Committee of Lalgarh, for reason best known to them, did not respond to the invitation.

19. You have accused that we have been helping the social fascist CPI(M) by raising the demand of autonomy and that has added to peoples’ misunderstanding us. How the demand of autonomy has helped the CPI(M) we failed to understand. The CPI(M) labels all the movements of the marginalized people (Gorkha, Kamatapuri, Jharkhandi) as secessionist. Two issues that CPI(M) highlighted most in their 2009 election campaign were, one, the driving out of Nano from Singur, and two, prevent the division of Bengal. In 2008 they have passed in the state legislative an unanimous resolution against the division of Bengal. They filed against the participants in these movements cases of “treachery against the country”.  So, the argument that the movement for autonomy helped the CPI(M) was ridiculous. We have seen in many of the documents of the CPI(Maoist) that they support the demands of autonomy of the marginalized communities. But, now your letter has confused us as to which line you have actually been following.

20. You have mentioned in your letter your Garbeta experience. In the vast region including Garbeta and Keshpur your and Sushanta Ghosh’s armed squads, with the help of the state police, ousted the opposition parties from the area. The terror unleashed by the CPI(M) there is still in force. The degree of the terror is such that the wife of Baqtar Mondol failed to identify at the court her husband’s photograph. It is precisely that terror that has won CPI(M) all the three Loksabha constituencies in West Medinipur. And you are boasting, “where would have Sushanta Ghosh been had not we been there?” Yet, you are accusing us of helping the CPI(M).

21. So far, the only large scale anti corporate movement carried out in Jhargram Sub-division is the movement against the pollution by the sponge iron factories. You are fully aware about how tirelessly have we worked to build up this movement. The movement has taken such a mass form that many of the CPI(M) activists have also participated in it.

Comrade, the moment of severe crisis of world capitalism has given rise to an unprecedented revolutionary situation in India. The context adds urgency to build up revolutionary unity among the true left forces. The differences in opinion and path that may arise need to be sorted out through fraternal dialogue and debate. Despite your “open letter” we shall stick to this position and continue the struggle against imperialism and its reactionary Indian allies.

With greetings

Santosh Rana

General Secretary

PCC, CPI(ML)

May 25, 2009