Pioneering Voyage of An Indian Communist Vol 2 Final

Pioneering Voyage of an
Indian Communist
Autobiographical work by K N Ramachandran
Volume Two
Title Pioneering Voyage of an
Indian Communist
Vol. II
Language English
Author K N Ramachandran
First Edition 2023 September
Copies 500
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Pioneering Voyage of an
Indian Communist
Autobiographical work by K N Ramachandran
K N Ramachandran
Volume Two
Massline Publications
Significance of the Autobiographical
Book of KNR
For me it is an honour to write an introductory note on the
significance of the autobiography - autobiographical political-his-
tory - written by our beloved and esteemed Comrade K N Ram-
achandran (abbreviated as Comrade KNR for all of us). As the
title, ‘Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Communist’ aptly indicates,
the book unravels the seven decades of unparalleled traverses of
Comrade KNR beginning with student politics in the fifties, its
transformation, following a brief interregnum of a decade, into
full-fledged revolutionary political activism since the early sev-
enties and remaining at the helm of politics for five decades as the
leader of the communist revolutionary movement based on the
ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought.
As is obvious, when Comrade KNR entered student politics in
1952 while in school, the prestige of the Communist Movement
both at international level and in India had been on the ascen-
dance, and probably reaching its zenith, rendering one-third of
humanity going under socialist regimes led by Communist Par-
ties. Following the advent of Krushchevian revisionism, though
reverses began since the second half of the 1950s, communists the
world over were proceeding ahead inspired by the Great Debate
led by the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong and the
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. As its out-
come, and fighting against Krushchevian revisionism, Marxist-
6 Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Communist - Vo.II
Leninist parties came into being in many countries of the world.

It’s Indian manifestation had been the 1967 Naxalbari Uprising
and formation of CPI (ML) in 1969, leading to the historic 8th Con-
gress of the Party in 1970.
But when Comrade KNR resigned from Farakka Barrage
Project in 1972 and became a professional revolutionary formally
rejoining the Communist movement, unlike the early fifties when
he joined the movement as a student activist, by the beginning of
the seventies, the International Communist Movement itself had
started displaying many ideological-political setbacks. From the
mid-seventies onward, especially after the death of Comrade Mao
Zedong, China also started embracing the capitalist road result-
ing in ideological confusion and political deviation among Parties
and Groups in many countries. In India, even much before that,
due to the erroneous equating of Indian situation to that of pre-
revolutionary China and consequent adoption of the ‘semi-colo-
nial, semi-feudal, protracted people’s war line’ in the 1970 Con-
gress of CPI (ML) in gross disregard of the post-war neo-colonial
transformation of India, the Movement had already started facing
disintegration and setbacks.
In the following years, as vividly explained in the ‘Pioneering
Voyage of an Indian Communist’, Comrade KNR played a leading
role in reorganising the Party towards adoption of massline total-
ly rejecting the left adventurist line together with the task of initi-
ating a concrete study of Indian situation in the context of post-
war neo-colonial developments. Though there were many efforts
in this direction, the Reorganisation Committee formed in 1979
(Central Reorganisation Committee -CRC- since 1982) under the
initiative of Comrade KNR was a decisive move. Its First All India
Conference of 1982 resolved to make a study of India’s post-war
transformations including the class relations in agriculture which
was presented to the All India Study Class held in 1985. However,
the ideological, political and organisational questions evolved
Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Communist - Vo.II 7
within the Party in relation to international and Indian develop-

ments including the approach to neo-colonialism called for carry-
ing forward the task of reorganisation further resulting in the for-
mation of CPI (ML) Red Flag in 1987.
By the time of the Second All India Conference of CPI(ML) Red
Flag in 1991, the approach of utilising all forms of struggle togeth-
er with the ideological clarity on international and national issues
and practical struggles thereon led to the expansion of the organ-
isation joining with others groups and individuals. However, the
ensuing decade also witnessed ideological-political differences
within the organisation.To tide over this situation, the series of
discussions held under the initiative of Comrade KNR led to the
merger with CPI (ML) (Kanu Sanyal) through the 2005 Unity Con-
ference, though the experiment ended by the beginning of 2009.
This was followed by the 2009 Bhopal Special Conference that
adopted documents pertaining to the International Situation, Char-
acter of the Indian State, Principal Contradiction and Path of Rev-
olution. These documents that unequivocally characterised Indi-
an state as neo-colonial also laid down the stage and path of revo-
lution in India as that of People’s Democratic. This culminated in
the 9th Congress in 2011 enabling the Party to consolidate itself as
CPI (ML) Red Star, basically altering the 1970 Program of CPI (ML).
The conceptualization on the inseparable link between class and
caste in India and the adoption of the contradiction between cap-
ital and nature as the 5th major contradiction at both national
and international levels were salient features of the 9th Party Con-
gress.
The adoption of the Party Program in 2011 that evaluated In-
dia as a neo-colonial country and the ideological-political advance-
ments and organisational consolidation of the Party under Com-
rade KNR’s leadership led to unity with organisations and sec-
tions from different revolutionary streams. Even as neoliberal cor-
poratisation mounted during the second decade of the 21st centu-
ry, followed by the advent of neo-fascism under the Hindutva re-

gime, CPI (ML) Red Star could put forward it’s ideological-politi-
cal line with more clarity, as reflected in the 10th and 11th Con-
gresses of the Party held in 2015 and 2018, culminating in the
updating of the Program and Basic Documents of the Party in the
12th Congress held in 2022 when Comrade KNR relinquished his
responsibility as General Secretary of the Party at the age of 85.
Though a minority within the Party having ideological-political
differences had gone out of the Party at the time of the 12 th Con-
gress, the Party organisation with its all India spread already built
up by Comrade KNR is proving itself capable to overcome that
challenge.
While this brief note is being drafted, Comrade KNR, now in
Kerala, is busy with finalising the first volume of his autobiogra-
phy to be published by July 28, 2023, as scheduled. Let’s hope that
‘Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Communist’ by Comrade KNR
shall remain a lasting contribution to communist history enthus-
ing revolutionaries of all hues in the days ahead.I thank all our
comrades/friends in Massline Publications for shouldering the re-
sponsibility to bring out the book within the stipulated time.
With Revolutionary Greetings
P J James
New Delhi General Secretary
21/06/2023 CPI (ML) Red Star
Introduction to the Vol. II

The Volume I of Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Communist, my
autobiographical workwas published on 28th July, 2023, on the
53rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Com. Charu Majumdar at
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was also the 53rd anniversary of
the day of my resignation from the job in Farakka Barrage Project
to become fully engaged in the revolutionary movement.
As many of my well-wishers had advised, it was absolutely
not a favourable time to join the left movement, especially the
Naxalite movement which had already splintered in to numerous
groups. But, none of these advices, nor the thought about what
will happen to my family and aged parents could stop me. It was
not the impetuosity of an angry youth, it was the decision of a 34
year old man’s well thought out decision. Of course, I was angry
due to the setbacks the ICM was suffering compared to those bright
days of early 1950s when I joined the student movement. In spite
of the still continuing revolutionary upsurges the world was wit-
nessing in South-east Asia’s Vietnam, Kampuchia, what I saw in
East Bengal, and the martyrdom of Che Guerra in Bolivia, the revi-
sionist backlash was strengthening. In spite of the last battles Mao
was waging launching the great Cultural Revolution and People’s
Communes as centres of people’s political power, against the cap-
italist roaders who were further strengthened by the misdeeds of
Lin Biaoist left adventure, it was looking like even the Chinese
revolution was facing danger. And within our country, I was an-
gry that even after the last article of CM which had come out in
Liberation, many of the leaders of the revolutionary movement
were targeting only CM as the cause of the debacles suffered by
the CRs. In this situation, I strongly felt that interference by those
like me, is very much needed to rebuild the CPI(ML) as CM called
for in his last article.
The Vol. I (which include parts I,II and III), and the Vol. II (which
include Part IV and V) to be released on 28th September, at com-
prising of more than 600 pages together, provide my autobiograph-
ical over view of the experiences of the Pioneering Voyage in which
quite a large number of comrades were also involved, for finding
the answers to the various questions like how and why the inter-
national communist movement which was challenging the capi-
talist-imperialist system once, and the Indian communist move-
ment which was moving ahead till the 1950s, suffered such severe
setbacks? Linked to this, there are many more questions generally
raised, similar to those given below. For example, why the Marx-
ist-Leninist, or Communist Revolutionary or Naxalite, or Maoist
forces whichever way one calls them, is still stuck up in a thick
mire of sectarianism and dogmatism? In spite of these setbacks
why don’t they come out of them and move ahead? Why over-
whelming sections among them, whether called revisionist, neo-
revisionist, social democratic, opportunist, anarchist or adven-
turist, still dogmatically, stubbornly stick to their old positions
which are proved in practice wrong? Why do not they refuse to
concretely analyse the fast changing situation around them and
take lessons? Even after the neo-fascist RSS, the oldest and the
biggest fascist force in the world, is in power which is spreading
the fascization to every aspect of political, socio-cultural and eco-
nomic fields, why do they still refuse to change, search for the
reasons for the setbacks, find ways to overcome the setbacks and
try to give leadership to the people to march forward towards
people’s democracy and socialism? There are many more ques-
tions raised by the friends of the movement.
This pioneering voyage of which I was a part, started from the

1950s itself, on many of the basic questions regarding the concrete
analysis of the current situation, the study of how the imperialist
system itself was undergoing many significant changes, how to
update the Marxist-Leninist teachings according to present con-
crete conditions etc. were before us. But, from the early decades of
last century, when the great impact created by the stormy days of
Lenin was almost over, the influence of dogmatism and sectarian-
ism had once again set-in in new forms. Instead of taking up this
challenging task, mechanically following the semi-colonial, semi feu-
dal and protracted people’s war frame, called the Chinese Path, had its
dominance in the ICM and in our country. After the early vibrant
years of the Communist International, according to various con-
temporary documents now available, almost by the 1930s,the the-
oretical stagnation had started dominating the ICM. It quite ad-
versely affected the development of revolutionary theory and prac-
tice, in a qualitative sense.
The most cardinal problem faced by the revolutionary work-
ing class movement, right from the beginning was the stagnation
of ideas obstructing continuous activities and freezing, that is, at
important junctures the revolutionary movement gets frozen, af-
fected by a lack of direction, or theoretical break through, due to
confusion or uncertainty. There were always many political forc-
es in the field, especially in our country, due to its vastness and its
complex nature. The overview of the history of the communist
movement in our country shows that, while overcoming the right
deviation in the 1940s, the movement went to a left deviation fol-
lowed by two years of directionless situation. If the 1951 Special
Conference documents resolved the problem, a new Program, tacti-
cal line and other documents were adopted, the leadership sabo-
taged its implementation. For the sake of facilitating the partici-
pation in the 1952 general elections, it withdrew the great Telen-
gana movement also. The arrival of the revisionist theory of peaceful
transition to socialism from the capitalist roaders who usurped pow-

er in the Soviet Union and consolidated it by the time of the 20thPar-
ty Congress of the CPSU in 1956, speeded up the right deviation
within the CPI. As the inner party struggle aggravated, it led to
the 1964 split and formation of CPI(M). But, it did not solve the
cardinal problem of settling account with revisionism. It was
basically a neo-revisionist party which did not dare to address
the cardinal tasks of advancing the People’s Democratic Revolu-
tion in the country. It was a centrist party. How to fight this and
pave the way for PDR was the central challenge before the com-
munist revolutionaries within the CPI(M).
When the fierce ideological struggle was taking place, with
contributions from a number of comrades from all over the coun-
try, the Eight documents of CM stood apart as they were dictated
based on the rich experience of the Tebhaga Struggle and the nu-
merous anti-feudal, anti-imperialist struggles going on in the coun-
try; they provided the general orientation on how to start, where
to start, which were serious challenges. Once the landless and
poor peasants and plantation workers of North Bengal started the
land movement as part of the agrarian revolution, the state gov-
ernment, in which CPI(M) was the controlling force, declared it as
an antagonistic movement and ordered its brutal suppression.
The stage was set for the historic Naxalbari Uprising. At ev-
ery step forward, attention was given so that freezing does not
take place. The discussion on Terai Report, formation of the all India
coordination committee and all such steps followed, inspiring the
left masses immensely. In the Volume I, we have gone through
these and how under the CRC and then under the CPI(ML) Red
Flag the movement was led forward. It experimented, by building
the party in Karnataka almost entirely among the dalit masses
and expanding it to a fighting militant organization. In Odisha,
with Sivaram in the forefront, we started Party building starting
by organizing the slum dwellers for their housing rights. Proba-
bly no other organization had taken such difficult routes for Party
building.
While making such bold initiatives to mobilize the masses, in
the course of three decades, rejecting the semi-feudal, semi-colo-
nial analysis of India and the Chinese Path, we tried to link these
and other theoretical advances with practice and Bolshevik style
party and class/mass organizations building. We have proved how
under the leadership of a struggling revolutionary party, the class/
mass organizations can be built up based entirely on people’s sup-
port.
In this Volume- II, we have focussed on these evaluations, and
theoretical contributions. It is in this context, the last article of CM
published in the July, 1972 issue of Liberation, is reprinted. It was a
self-critical note, it has pointed out what happened after the strug-
gle reached a particular level, how the setbacks took place, how to
rectify the mistakes, and how to go forward building a strong
party and preparing ourselves for leading the coming people’s
uprisings which were bound to erupt everywhere in the coming
days.
Presently, when every RSS’ moves are for intensifying its Manu-
vadi Hindutua offensive and its plans for declaring a Hindurashtra,
while it is frantically engaged in turning everything saffron, not
only politics, but culture, social relations, education and adminis-
tration to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In this situation, how
are we going to help the mobilization of the working class, peas-
antry and all oppressed sections in order to beat back and defeat
this RSS offensive? This is the immediate and greatest challenge
before the people, as well as the Marxist-Leninists.
The message of this autobiographical work, concluding the
hitherto pioneering voyage of not only that of the author, but of
hundreds of thousands of the militants who have rallied under
the banner of CRC, then CPI(ML) Red Flag, and now CPI(ML) Red
Star, is boldly put forward in the documents adopted by the 12th

Party Congress of the CPI(ML) Red Star held in September, 2022.
In this voyage, in this March to Socialism, many valiant com-
rades have laid down their lives, and very many comrades have
suffered much. We started from the scratch, relying only on the
people, and based on the science of Marxism. In this march, after a
certain phase, my personal life completely merged with the revo-
lutionary activities, the party life. Very little of the family life was
there for me. In a way the idea was that it will re-create the spirit
of the Paris Commune, that of the Soviets in Russia and the peo-
ple’s Communes in China, to help the comrades to have a better
idea of the limits of the present family system in our society, how
to transcend the influence of private property, and speed up incul-
cation of the values of a Cultural Revolution as Mao called for,
when the struggle against the capitalist roaders had become red
hot. When the ICM has suffered such severe setbacks while build-
ing socialism it calls for class struggle for political power should
be integrally linked with the class struggle at the realm of ideas, to
create revolutionary ideas, ideals, and values, with earnest efforts
to beat back all revanchist ideas.
Today our goals are clear: Throw Out the RSS Parivar from Pow-
er and its Manuvadi Brahmanical ideas from our socio-cultural fields;
Intensify the March to People’s Democracy and Socialism, mobi-
lizing the workers and all oppressed people; Intensify the all-round
offensive to build the Party and program-based left core charged
with this spirit of independent left assertion.
It was in this context, the bitter inner party struggle took place,
with a handful of dissenters with backward ideas going out of the
Congress. It showed that they were terrified that once the draft
documents are presented, discussed and adopted, they also have
to implement the decisions, if they remained inside the party. So,
they fled.
If the neo-liberal policies of last few decades had taken the

plunder of labour and nature by the global imperialist system to
unprecedented levels, leading to outbreak of the pandemic Covid
and corporatization under neo-liberal imperialism, they have also
taken the human misery and ecological catastrophe to extreme
levels. As it further intensified the contradiction between the glo-
bal capital on the one side and the working class and the oppressed
masses on the other, it is also drastically suppressing whatever
democratic rights and welfare measures existed, leading to
strengthening of neo-fascist forces. In an ever larger number of
countries, the neo- fascists have emerged utilizing the religious
fundamentalism and other revanchist ideas as their theoretical
base. India is no exception. The oldest and the most powerful fas-
cist force in the world - the RSS, through Modi rule, has systemat-
ically turned the country into a fascist state, using Manuvadi Hin-
dutua as its theoretical base for Brahmanical domination in all fields.
At this juncture, considering my health and advanced age, I
felt it is high time I should step down to bring forward a collective
younger leadership capable of leading the party forward by fight-
ing all alien tendencies. The 12th Congress concluded successfully.
The new CC was elected which elected the new General Secretary
after all the updated draft documents were discussed and adopt-
ed. A long pending Resolution calling for strengthening the Caste
Annihilation Movement and as a part of it, removing the caste-
related surnames starting from the CC and CCC members was
enthusiastically adopted.
After transfer of all responsibilities of the GS, I have left the
Party Centre at Delhi and reached Kerala after a long gap, by the
beginning of 2023. I shall be helping the party activities and at-
tending the committee meetings. I shall be helping the organiza-
tion as vigorously as possible in developing the future theoretical
and practical tasks also.
During these five decades or more, along with a large number
of comrades from different regions we were engaged in a pioneer-

ing voyage to overcome the hitherto mistakes and to build the
party with all our might. What I have written is based on these
theoretical studies and practical experiences acquired during the
Pioneering Voyage, critically following the contributions of our
first General Secretary of the CPI(ML), Com. Charu Majumdar. It is
up to you, and of course history, to judge how much of these efforts
have helped the people’s march towards Democracy and Social-
ism.
Our view is that to avoid incidents like what happened in the
Red Star now, a rectification move is essential at every level in
every organization and in the entire movement linked with the
uncompromising struggle against both revisionism of all hues on
the one hand and the left sectarian and anarchist forces on the
other. It will only help to implement our present central slogans:
Defeat BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections and build Party and left
core focussing on developing independent left assertion. My auto-
biographical work is presented for scrutiny and threadbare dis-
cussion at all levels, and even by all the organizations and trends
whom I have strongly criticized, not personally, but politically.
K N Ramachandran
Appeal from Mass Line Publications

Mass Line Publications have a long history from 1972 when it
was started by com. KNR at Pala, Kottayam, Kerala. The first
publication was Malayalam translation of Edgar Snow’s Red Star
Over China. In three years time it published nearly 50 Marxist books,
including books on Cultural Revolution and People’s Communes
by Mao and other revolutionaries. During the emergency time it
was also banned, and after that including three volumes of Mao’s
selected works and many other books were published, mostly in
Malayalam, and few in English. After another break, from 1995
including the Great Debate books and discussions on international
communist movement were published with Com. Ayalam
Karunakaran playing a leading role in it. There were publication
of many books during these years from Delhi and Kerala.
It was restarted in 2021 with the aim of 10 books before the
12th Party Congress, and to continue it as an all India Publication
Centre. Now it is re-organized with a bigger committee to look
after it. Now this committee is enthused to publish a series of
books in different languages. As part of the new beginning, we
have great pleasure to release Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Communist,
an auto-biographical work by K N Ramachandran in two volumes
in English to be followed by its Malayalam translation soon. Its
translation in other languages, as well as a series of Marxist-
Leninist books and writings on struggles led by the party and
mass movements are also planned in different languages.
All comrades and friends are requested to send orders for the
Vol.I and Vol., II of the work by KNR and orders for both volumes
(at Rs 400 each). Please help to make this new beginning a great
success.
Leading team, Mass Line Publications

K.Sivaraman, P N Provint
Contents
Fourth Part
1. Spirit of Unity Vanishing. ......................................................... 23
2. Plenum on Party History .......................................................... 31
3. RF Decides to Seperate ............................................................... 37
4. Bhopal Special Conference in 2009 ......................................... 46
5. Formation of ICOR .................................................................... 56
6. National Situation ...................................................................... 66
7. “No to Reformism, No to Anarchism,
March to Revolution!” ............................................................... 72
8. 9th Party Congress, Bhubaneswar, 2011 ................................. 82
9. Conclusion ................................................................................... 84
Fifth Part
Introduction to the Fifth Part .......................................................... 89
1. Intensification of the Ideological-Political Struggle .............. 91
2. National Situation and Party Organization in States ......... 97
3. MLPD’s Concept on New Imperialist Powers .................... 105
4. 10th Party Congress, Lucknow, 2015 .................................... 107
5. Centenary of October Revolution ......................................... 115
6. Modi’s Demonetization & Corporatization ......................... 119
7. Bhangar Movement 2015-2018 ............................................. 126
8. 11th Party Congress, Bengaluru, 2018 .................................. 139
9. Modi -2 Rule in 2019 ............................................................... 147
10. Guntur CC Meeting in February 2020 ................................. 150
11. ICOR Fourth World Conference, 2021 .................................. 157
12. 12th Party Congress, Kozhikode, 2022 .................................. 161
13. Conversations with Kunnikkal,
Kolla Venkaiah and Kondapalli ........................................... 181
14. Charu Majumdar – A Great Communist Leader. .............. 187
15. March Forward To Future ..................................................... 194
16. The Conclusion . ....................................................................... 198
Appendix ................................................................................... 205
Abbreviations .......................................................................... 233
Fourth Part
From Vijayawada Unity Conference, 2005, to 9th Party Congress of CPI(ML)
Red Star, 2011.
1
Spirit of Unity Vanishing
The successful Vijayawada unity conference had created lot of en-

thusiasm among the working class and oppressed masses who
are looking for a revolutionary alternative against the various
streams of ruling class parties and social democratic forces. The
Unity Resolution adopted by the Vijayawada Conference had point-
ed out: “The present situation is characterized by deep crisis in
the world capitalist system, mounting unemployment and cur-
tailment of social security in the developed countries, frenzied ef-
forts to re-divide the world to suit US imperialism and its allies,
leading to widening of the differences among the different imperi-
alist powers, increasing stranglehold of imperialist exploitation
and plunder of the developing world, leading to deep economic
crisis and pauperization of vast masses of people there, growing
people’s resentment and protest against this situation. The degen-
eration of Soviet Union first into social imperialist country, and
then disintegration and fragmentation into bourgeois society gave
a heavy blow and setback to the world communist movement.
Taking advantage of his, the US, the remaining super power, un-
leashed an ideological, political and military offensive to establish
its global hegemony. It is spearheading the present phase of Impe-
rialist globalization and has attacked and occupied Afghanistan
and Iraq in the name of fighting terrorism, but due to the weak-
nesses of the world communist movement, no effective struggle
could be launched at global plane against the blatant exploitative
and aggressive policies of imperialism, especially the US imperial-
ism.
“In our country also the sufferings of the people have increased
manifold due to the increasing exploitation and suppression by
the Indian ruling classes and their imperialist masters. People are
angry and they want change. But there is no strong, viable and
reliable political force to bank upon to lead them to liberation from
the nightmarish conditions of the day. There is no real communist
party capable of providing leadership to people’s movement.
“Communist Revolutionaries are divided and splintered into nu-
merous groups causing deep frustration among the masses. In this
moment of trial and tribulation, the unity of the communist revo-
lutionaries is a matter of great importance”.
It was in this situation, the spirit of unity even with differences
became the driving force at Vijayawada. But in the first meeting of
the Unified Central Committee at Bangalore itself the Red Flag
comrades felt that the spirit of the unity conference had started
vanishing among most of the comrades on the other side who had
come forward to join with differences.
The Karnataka state committee had made all the arrangements
needed for the three days meeting of the 32 CC members, 11 of the
RF and 21 of the KS section. When the initial organizational and
functional arrangements were taken up, because of the unity spir-
it shown by the RF section, decisions could be taken swiftly. Then
the step by step initiatives for political centralization, based on
the points of already existing agreements, as reflected in the docu-
ments adopted in the Unity Conference, and for developing uni-
form approach to the building of party and class/mass organiza-
tions were taken up. At that time, even before any differences com-
ing up between the RF and KS sections, serious differences among
the CC members of KS section started coming up on each and ev-

ery issue. And the emotional way they raised these questions,
shouting at each other, sometimes with even leading comrades
shouting at each other and threatening each other, even raising
hands provocatively created a bad atmosphere.
The Vijayawada conference had created lot of expectations
among the left masses. So, apart from the volunteers, many state
level and district level comrades of Karnataka and even some lead-
ers of other communist revolutionary streams had reached the
place, to meet each other, to meet the leaders during the breaks
and to hand over their material assistance for the meeting. In spite
of RM explaining the situation, no attention was given for the de-
corum to be maintained. Some of the leading comrades continued
the shouting, and once there was a walk out by few comrades.
Even after repeated intervention of both KS and me, the atmo-
sphere went on becoming worse.
It became clear by the conclusion of the first CC meeting itself
that though the UCCRI (ML) section led by Viswam, and the
CPI(ML) New Initiative led by Aravind Sinha had united to form
the CPI(ML) Unity Initiative, and the OCCR and many other com-
rades from West Bengal had united to form the COI(ML) under the
leadership of KS, and then both had merged to form the CPI(ML)
led by KS, except for the general formulations like semi-colonial, semi-
feudal India with protracted people’s war as the path, there was no basic
ideological, political, and organizational consolidation, or even a
minimum level of unity among the many groups and sub-groups,
and individuals like PK Murthy. While most of the leaders of erst-
while COI(ML) and CPI(ML) NI including KS had emotionally stood
for unity, many others were not having that spirit. While the erst-
while UCCRI(ML) section led by Viswam and Subodh Mitra,
though ideologically upheld the left sectarian semi-colonial, semi-feu-
dal, protracted people’s war stand, it was even ready to compromise
with the social democratic line of CPI(M). But, practically on all
important basic issues starting with the understanding on neo-

colonialism, it had fundamentally different views. It had a very
bureaucratic organizational concept, which it tried to impose even
in committee meetings and conferences. On the whole, both in
theory and practice, all of them were influenced by the right op-
portunist trend in the broad spectrum of the left movement, which
is still continuing as the main danger, in the communist move-
ment, in one form or other. Very soon the RF comrades found that
Viswam had no democratic style of functioning, and was very
bureaucratic, coupled with a backward theoretical understand-
ing. In the first meeting itself, we found that his attempt was to
bring the organization under his personal control, using KS as a
cover.
Though, there were lots of emotional overdose of unity spirit
till the Vijayawada Conference, in the first meeting of the unified
CC itself, it started weakening or in some cases, started disappear-
ing. For example, when an agenda item was taken up, in the course
of first round of discussion itself, while the RF section had a united
stand, many on the other side were divided in their approach. So,
on party unity at state level, on building countrywide class/mass
organizations etc. the stand taken by RF side and opposed by
Viswam’s section were adopted when put to vote. Probably after
an overnight discussion among the leading comrades, on the sec-
ond day we found that though KS did not participate in these
manoeuvres, his section started meeting before any voting was
done. After its repetition two-three times, automatically the RF comrades
found that they were left alone till the other section returned after taking
decisions. And, later it came to light that, there were even sub-group level
meetings also taking place. In this situation, the RF comrades also were forced
to meet, and exchange their views.
In the first unified CC meeting it was decided to form unified
state committees in Odisha, Delhi, and Kerala. In Kerala, there was
no problem and the RF was given the responsibility. In Odisha,
the problem was difficult. Under the leadership of com. Sivaram,

starting with the powerful Basti Surraksha Movement at Bhu-
baneswar, it had much stronger party committee at state level
and class/ mass organizations level, it was leading many day to
day struggles also. But, in though KS section is present for a long
time, itspresence was very nominal and it was not a struggling
organization also. Even after knowing very well that there shall
be problems created by the KS section, after a long discussion, it
was decided to elect a veteran comrade of the KS section, Ganan-
ath Patro as secretary.Only because of the high level of maturity
shown by Sivaram, the functioning of the state committee could
be maintained.
In Delhi, though the secretary of the committee of the KS sec-
tion was again a ‘veteran’, his practice was limited to settling
workers’ issues in labor courts. Because of seniority, KS section
insisted to make him the secretary of the unified committee, and
once again to preserve unity, it had to be accepted. The young
comrades who constituted the RF committee could not tolerate
him for long. They became inactive and later left RF. It was a big
loss. This senior comrade who was made secretary did not make
any change in his approach and practice even after this experi-
ence.
Even there were contradictions regarding the style of func-
tioning of the CC. KS and many comrades of his section preferred
beds and pillows, instead of chairs. The RF had the practice of
generally holding the committee meetings from 9am to 1pm and
2pm to 7pm or more if, required. But the KS section reached for the
meeting by 10 am up to 1 pm, and after a siesta, from 3 or 3.30 pm to
6 or 7 pm. These practices also led to growing differences. The way
the adivasi cooks and helpers were treated by Subodh Mitra when
meetings were held in his ancestral house also led to hot debates
on approach to the caste question. It was found that on the ap-
proach towards the caste question, most of those who were part of
KS section had almost the same approach as that of CPI and CPI(M);
they did not stand for caste annihilation movement as part of
class struggle.
The Unity Resolution called for holding the Plenum to settle
the differences in the approach towards Party History. But, though
one year was over, there was no progress on this question. Ulti-
mately, it could be held only after two years, and it brought up
more problems than the ones it resolved. The unity spirit was
weakening fast.
Differences on Building Party and

Class/Mass Organizations
During the prolonged deliberations that took place when we
met frequently, to solve the problem of whether to have coordina-
tion or unity with differences, one question on which unity was
achieved was that there should be development of class / mass
organizations at the all India level. During the second CC meeting,
an understanding was arrived at, to convene a meeting of all India
activists, to unite the existing trade unions as well as peasants’
organizations. It was to be followed by convening all India activ-
ists meetings of women, youth, and students.
Following this decision a well-attended meeting of working
class cadres was convened at Bhilai by the end of 2005. There was
good discussion on the approach paper presented by Sanjay Sing-
hvi, general secretary of the TUCI. During the discussion many
proposals came forward. Based on them, a charter of demands was
drafted for all India campaign. A list of comrades to lead this
campaign as well as to lead the coordination work at all India
level was also decided. These decisions were presented before the
CC for approval. But surprisingly, many of the comrades, espe-
cially those belonging to erstwhile UCCRI (ML) vehemently op-
posed any such organizational steps to bring the working class
groups together. The discussion became so violent that finally the

whole program was abandoned. In this situation the RF section
said that if this is the case there was no meaning in calling the
cadres meeting in other fields also. Instead of rectifying their mis-
take, they took it as an opportunity to stop any all India initiatives
at class mass organizations level or in other fields.
By this time there were reports from Odisha that because of
the intervention of Gananath Patro, the secretary of the unified
state committee and the Central Executive Committee (CEC) re-
sponsible for Odisha, the activities of the Basti Suraksha
Manch(Forum for Protection of Slum Dwellers) was adversely af-
fected. Sivaram put forward many instances also. In spite of pro-
longed discussions this problem could not be solved. In short, it
was becoming clear day by day that the unity process was not
advancing, on the other hand only the differences were growing
between the two sections.
At the all India level, the political situation was becoming very
serious. All revolutionary left forces, especially the left masses were
expecting that as a veteran leader, KS will take initiative to take up
people’s issues, uniting as many CR forces as possible. But, con-
trary to what was expected, after the first meeting of the unified
united CC, his enthusiasm had started disappearing.
But the national situation demanded lot of initiatives from
our side. When I was at Vijayawada in 2005 along with KS to help
the propaganda offensive started a week before the Unity Confer-
ence, there were three big press conferences, apart from interviews
with many newspapers and talks with representatives of differ-
ent CR forces etc. There were a few well attended seminars also.
Besides I had attended press conferences at Delhi and wherever I
went to attend the state level Plenums also. Wherever I went and
addressed such sessions, everybody was asking one common ques-
tion: what is the urgency for going for this unity even with differ-
ences?
My reply always was: yes, there is an urgency; but it is not

decided by the subjective wishes of any of the leaders, or of a group
of the leaders; this urgency is because of the objective situation in
our country which demands initiative and leadership from the
communist revolutionaries to urgently unite and put forward a
revolutionary alternative, when all the ruling class parties or
fronts, and the social democratic left front have only worsened the
condition of the country and the vast masses of the people. So,
even with our differences we are uniting to provide the evolution-
ary alternative to the people. Then another question automatical-
ly came before KS and me, particularly before KS, who was one of
those in the forefront of the Naxalbari Uprising: Will you try for
bringing the revolutionary left who uphold Naxalbari Uprising
together and give a revolutionary alternative to the people? Even
those leaders who claimed to be “underground” and could avoid
open press interviews and seminars, must have given the same
answer which both KS and myself gave to the cadres and masses
whenever they addressed them: that the objective situation in our
country demand such a unity and initiative which we shall carry
forward even after this Unity Conference! But it seemed many of
the leaders forgot what they promised as soon as the Conference
was over, and when all of us sat down to materialize the promises.
Plenum on Party History
As per the Unity Resolution, the all India plenum to resolve

the differences on the approach towards party history during
1967-72 had to be convened within one year. But, even after one
year elapsed nothing had happened. To speed up the process and
to help comrades from both sides to put forward their approach
towards the issue, an internal publication, the Guide was launched.
Many articles on this question were published. During this pro-
cess, not only the differences between the two sections Red Flag
and KS sections came forward, but there were more serious differ-
ences among the leading comrades of KS section itself.
Finally, the all India Plenum was organized at Vijayawada in
January 2007. The different positions were put forward and there
were very sharp exchanges and shouting during the plenum. It
was clear that the debate was not mainly between RF and KS
section. RF had a consolidated position which was put forward
by KNR and supported by other comrades. It called for a compre-
hensive evaluation of CM’s contributions from his Eight Documents
of 1964-67 to his last article “People’s Interest is the Party’s Interest” in
1972 July. While summing up the international and national situ-
ation, and the experiences of Tebhaga and Telangana movements,
CM, in his Eight Documents, had put forward a comprehensive
understanding to launch and develop the People’s Democratic Rev-

olutionary struggles in the then concrete conditions of India.
Following the Naxalbari uprising, the “The Peal of Spring Thun-
der Over Indian Horizon” broadcasted by Beijing review, though it
was a Lin Biaoist analysis of the Indian situation and the path of
revolution, were adopted by each and every section of the com-
munist revolutionaries including CM. They had mechanically
adopted its position without making any effort to go for a con-
crete analysis of the Indian situation. As soon as the CRs in differ-
ent parts of India came forward, rebelling against CPI(M) leader-
ship and upholding Naxalbari uprising, CM called for coordina-
tion of all these forces and got it realized by the formation of the
All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionar-
ies. It was a significant step forward. By 1969 beginning, CM called
for why the party should be formed, and took concrete steps on
this line, vigorously fighting against its opponents.
As a result, the CPI(ML) was formed on 22nd April and an-
nounced at the 1st May rally by Kanu Sanyal at Shahid memorial,
Kolkata, 1969. The first (eighth) Party Congress of CPI (ML) was
convened in 1970 which put forward a party program and a path
of revolution. But its shortcoming was that it failed in analysing
the concrete changes taking place in the country, including chang-
es in the mode of production in the agriculture sector in vast areas.
Without taking these factors into consideration it went for adopt-
ing the line of annihilation, characterizing it as the highest form of
class struggle and the beginning of guerrilla struggle giving it one-
sided emphasis.
As a result, on the one hand, the party came under severe state
suppression, and on the other hand, since even the preliminary
party building process was not taken up at lower level, it could
not withstand the repression, and the disintegration of the party
started. What happened following this was that, without trying
to rectify these weaknesses on the one hand, a section of CC com-
rades under the leadership of Satyanarayan Singh (SNS), blaming

CM’s line for all these debacles, separated and formed a parallel
organization in 1971/ On the other hand, those who were dogmat-
ically following the annihilation line, stuck to it, inviting more
repression from the state. So, both these deviations aggravated
the situation. It was at that time, the proposals sent by CPC through
Com. Soren Bose reached CM. It is based on these suggestions and
his own evaluations that CM came out with his last article. It had
put forward an analysis of the emerging Indian situation, and
proposals for mobilizing countrywide insurrection according to
this concrete situation. But by that time the confusion had reached
its climax and Com. CM was no more there to clarify and to give
leadership.
There were three clear cut sections among the CRs. Firstly, the
SNS like forces who took right opportunist line, who used these
setbacks to, in effect, abandon the path of revolution; secondly
those who dogmatically insisted for continuing the annihilation
line which included the second CC stream and later those sections
who got mobilized into CPI (Maoist); thirdly, those who wanted a
concrete analysis of Indian situation and development of a path of
revolutionary mass line. The mistake committed by many sec-
tions was that, instead of making a self- critical approach and
developing the path of revolutionary mass line, CM was one-sid-
edly attacked for all the setbacks that happened. The evaluation
put forward by RF got good support, while the line of subjugation
to right opportunism came under severe attack. The evaluation
document adopted by the plenum reflected to these differences.
During the course of Vijayawada Plenum, sharp differences
came up among different streams within the KS section. The draft
adopted was not of a particular stream but a general statement
adopted by the majority. But what happened after the plenum
was that a series of splits from within KS section took place to-
wards the right opportunist positions.
Splits in CPI(ML) KS Section

The All-India Plenum held in the beginning of 2007 brought
forward the serious differences inside the CPI(ML) KS. There were
differences on the evaluation of CM, on the evaluation of the conse-
quences of disintegration of the CPI(ML), on the forms of struggles
to be adopted to defeat CPI(M)’s social democratic stream etc. On
the above issues, there were sharp differences among the com-
rades belonging to erstwhile OCCR, COI(ML), UCCRI(ML) sections.
There were also differences on the formation of CPI(ML) and unity
of the Naxalite forces, and on the evaluation of the class character
of Mamtha Banerjee etc. The discussions on these questions in the
plenum aggravated them.
When the Singur struggle against the CPI(M) led Left Front
government broke out, the big reception KS received from the
struggling people of that area was discussed in the CEC. It was of
the opinion that more struggles are going to break out against the
LF government, which was becoming increasingly unpopular. So
the CEC proposed that we should open an office in Kolkata, and
com KS should shift to the city for some time to give leadership to
the people’s movement. It was also pointed out that, if the revolu-
tionary left do not come forward to lead the anti-LF movement,
Mamtha led TMC will reap benefit from it. Though this proposal
was later supported by the CC also, KS did not agree to it, and he
stubbornly opposed any proposal for him to shift to the city to
lead the movement. The criticism of KS by leading comrades like
Pradeep Banerjee, Somnath Chatterjee intensified in this context.
According to them, since the party was not prepared to lead the
coming people’s upsurge, they looked for other alternatives, start-
ed discussions with TMC and later all of them, except Somnath
and his group, joined the TMC. The Somnath group also drifted
away. It was a major setback.
During this time, another issue concerning the reception of an
award from the French government by PK Murthy came up, and

majority of CC comrades demanded its return. The issue was
wrongly handled and he left the organization. Three of the senior
comrades from UP became more sickly, creating another setback
there. In short, the internal problems went on deteriorating. The
KS section as a whole did not take any lessons from these serious
setbacks.
Differences on International Relations

Then the question of how to carry forward the international
relations came forward. During the 2004 meeting of the Interna-
tional Coordination of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations
(ICMLPO), delegations from Red Flag as well as of Marxist-Lenin-
ist Party of Deutsche (MLPD - Germany) had proposed that we
should have an international platform which can adopt resolu-
tions on important international developments and for organiz-
ing campaigns on them. Though almost all the participants agreed,
the general consensus was that it should not be done utilizing the
present ICMLPO structure, but the organizations who wanted to
launch, should have a different platform for that. Following this
decision, both MLPD and Red Flag decided to meet in India in 2006
and chalk out a plan for building a different platform. Many of the
comrades of the KS faction were not for any such initiative. There
was a heated discussion on this question. The Red Flag comrades
pointed out that those comrades going against the international
initiative are really going against the spirit of the Unity Resolu-
tion adopted by the Vijayawada Conference. Finally, after the
intervention of KS, it was finalized that a team comprising of com-
rades KNR, Sanjay Singhvi, and Aravind Sinha will participate in
the discussion with MLPD. Though this decision was taken, there
was no guarantee that the KS section shall change their opinion
and work for building an international platform.
By this time two more international issues came up. The NCP
(Mashal) was conducting its party congress when it was on the
verge of a split. It invited a delegation to attend the Congress. There
was strong opposition from KS section to sending a delegation. RF
comrades pointed out the importance of attending the Congress,
and it should be sent. Finally the CC took a majority decision to
send a delegation.
As already decided, the MLPD delegation came to India for
discussing the proposals for formation of a platform of the revolu-
tionary parties and organizations. The already chosen three mem-
ber delegation held discussion with it and concrete proposals were
worked out for presentation In the ICMLPO conference convened
for it. Meanwhile, when these proposals were presented to the
CC, again there was strong objection to any such international
initiative. The discussion had to be postponed.
RF Decides to Seperate
The Unity Resolution had agreed to conduct a special all India

conference to adopt joint documents and to complete the unity
process. Already three years had passed, and though the RF side
had prepared the proposals for finalizing the document, no such
move was coming from the KS section. Moreover, any proposal for
giving priority to act according to Unity Resolution was conscious-
ly side-lined. The organization was facing another challenge.
There were three CC meetings in 2008. In these meetings, the
RF section repeatedly called for immediate action to start the pro-
cess of the Special Unity Conference. In spite of KS also asking for
working out a time frame for it, the leading comrades of erstwhile
UCCRI (ML) were not ready for it. When Subrato Basu, from erst-
while OCCR asked why you are acting against the Unity Resolu-
tion, they had no explanation to give.
Meanwhile, in the January, 2008 meeting they demanded the
co-option of the secretary of the Delhi Committee and one new
comrade, Ranjit Singh, from Rajasthan, who was once active in
Jhunjhunu district, but inactive for many years, to the unified CC.
This was in total violation of the agreement that there shall be no
such co-option to this unified CC and that it shall work based on
consensus. So, it was strongly opposed by the RF section. But

Viswam and others insisted that their presence shall strengthen
the CC and got it adopted on the basis of majority. Though we
severely condemned this decision based on majority, and demand-
ed the opinion of KS, but he kept mum. The RF section demanded
that since the Unity Resolution is violated as the Special Unity
Conference is consciously delayed, and now decisions are being
taken based on majority basis, this question should be discussed
as the first agenda in the next meeting. But, KS was absent and the
matter of Special Conference was sidelined again in this meeting.
In the third meeting in 2008 also there was no improvement in
the situation. KS was again absent, so also Subrato. In spite of
undemocratically bringing two new CCMs inside, four CCMs had
gone out and many were sick or absent. While there were many
struggle reports from the states where the RF led committees were
active, Viswam had no struggle reports to present. His erstwhile
UCCRI(ML) section was becoming increasingly dogmatic and ar-
rogant. In effect, the erstwhile CPI(ML) KS was reduced to a loose
coordination of erstwhile UCCRI(ML) section led by Viswam, and
erstwhile OCCR led by Subrato Basu. Staying together with this
remnant section was becoming difficult. In this situation the RF
CCMs discussed the matter. It was decided that I should try to
contact KS to inform him that we cannot continue in this way. We
wanted him to attend the next meeting, and save the unity. I called
KS and told him that things were happening quite contrary to our
expectation. He was tired and not ready for a physical meeting. So,
we discussed over phone in detail.
For the January, 2009, CC meeting, we were asked to reach
Vijayawada. In the afternoon it was shifted to Vijaykumar’s vil-
lage in Guntur. After reaching the place we were asked to wait for
Viswam who is expected to come with KS. While waiting for them,
the RF section had a talk with Aravind Sinha, who was the only
one left in the KS section who could understand the challenges we
were facing, and what we were losing after a wonderful unity

conference at Vijayawada. But, there was no benefit, as he also
had already aligned with the Viswam section.
About 20 comrades had reached the meeting place by the af-
ternoon. But, the meeting could be started only by about 10 pm. as
Viswam reached late and KS did not come. When the president
was elected and the meeting started, I requested the president to
take the agenda I had proposed in the last three meetings, about
holding the Special Conference as stipulated in the Unity Resolu-
tion. It was Com. KS who took initiative to transform the co-
ordination about which we were discussing, into the present unity
with differences, is absent for last two meetings and this time also.
When I called KS and sought a convenient date for meeting
him in his village, he had avoided it. He sounded tired and told me
that things are going in the opposite direction. Among those com-
rades who were in the CPI(ML) section with him, many had left it,
and those who were remaining were either not accepting his opin-
ion or were silent. So, he told me that the RF comrades can take
any action they want, which they consider will be positive for
revolution. In this situation, we wanted that this meeting should
decide the date and details of the Special Conference. Otherwise,
we the CCMs of former CPI(ML) RF shall be forced to take appro-
priate action”. So, I requested the president to take it up as the first
agenda and come to an understanding.
What followed was a planned attack by Viswam. He arro-
gantly told that those who sit here should work obeying the ma-
jority. No decision can be taken on Special Conference in the ab-
sence of KS. He did not take into consideration what I told about
my telephone talk with KS. Instead of discussing about the Special
Conference, the Red Flag comrades came under attack, raising many
false allegations. It was already 1 am, and the tempo of the attack
on RF from some others also was rising. And after some time, the
president closed the meeting without any decision on the Confer-
ence. So, before the comrades were dispersing for sleep, we told all
of them that we are leaving in the meeting and shall go from the
place by 6 am by bus. So, contrary to what later Viswam section
falsely propagated, the RF comrades left the place by 6 am only
after announcing it in the CC meeting. I had told Aravind Sinha
that, if you force us to go out, we shall leave Guntur only after
holding a meeting in a hotel and issuing a press statement.
We went to a hotel near the railway station, held the meeting
there in which we re-constituted the CPI(ML) Red Flag CC. Fol-
lowing that a press statement was issued and all necessary imme-
diate decisions were taken and we disbursed by the evening with
the decision to meet again at Delhi soon to discuss everything in
detail.
Impact of Unity with Differences Experiment

As pointed out in the Unity Resolution, when the present in-
ternational and national situation demands immediate steps for
building powerful Marxist-Leninist parties in all countries, to
overcome the present disintegrated and weakened condition, new
experiments are required to defeat sectarianism and to unite the
communist revolutionary forces. What was done in such a situa-
tion though with an overdose of unity spirit, namely the experi-
menting of unity with differences approach at Vijayawada Unity
Conference from 27th January to 01st February, 2005, was a really
bold step. But, our mistake was that, we underestimated the influ-
ence of sectarianism and petti-bourgeois opportunism in the move-
ment. So also, we under estimated the continuing powerful influ-
ence of the main danger, the right opportunism, the social demo-
cratic tendencies.
Though with the walking out of the CC members belonging to
former CPI(ML) Red Flag on 2nd January, 2009, after the end of the
first day’s meeting of the meeting of the unified CC, can be called
the end of this specific experiment, at a time when the communist

movement is confronting ever intensifying crises and setbacks,
many such experiments may be needed in coming days, so long as
the revolutionary movement is under the overwhelming influ-
ence of sectarianism, dogmatism and petti-bourgeois opportun-
ism. The creation of a “dare to think, dare to struggle and dare to
win” situation calls for uncompromising struggle against all alien
tendencies mentioned above, along with strengthening the prole-
tarian revolutionary spirit. Our main mistake was that we over-
estimated the influence of KS in his group and did not make a
correct evaluation of CPI(ML) KS, which was only an agglomera-
tion of a number of sectarian groups. All forms of right opportun-
ist and sectarian tendencies were dominating this group. So, the
disintegration of the unity with the differences experiment started
with splits in this section led by KS itself.
Apart from KS, those who vehemently stood for unity with
differences, not limiting unity to co-ordination, were the erstwhile
COI(ML) sections and breakaway sections of CPI(ML) Janasakthi,
all except the UCCRI(ML) section led by Viswam. During the KS
section’s state level plenums to adopt the draft documents for the
Vijayawada Conference, to which Red Flag comrades were also
invited, we had seen how opportunistically and violently the dif-
ferent factions in it were quarrelling. These quarrels were repeat-
ed in ugly forms in the Vijayawada plenum, in 2007, also. As
Singur and Nandigram broke out against the CPI(M) led Left Front
government in WB, all those Communist Revolutionary groups
who were seeing CPI(M) as the main danger in WB wanted broad-
est possible unity to oust the LF government. When there was a
proposal for a KS led initiative to fight the LF they were happy.
But, soon after KS rejected this proposal, they started discus-
sion with the TMC forces. At that time, though Pradeep and So-
manath asked Red Flag comrades also to join it, we had categori-
cally rejected it, and written about our concept of then anti- LF
initiative in WB in the Red Star in detail. Soon after Vijayawada

Plenum, all these sections of former CPI(ML) KS went out with the
many forces led by Pradeep joining TMC, and Somnath and Ran-
jan Chakravarthy groups remaining independent. By this time
PK Murthy also left due to his own differences. Anjani Kumar
group from former CPI(ML) NI also left from Jharkhand. CPI(ML)
KS was reduced practically to former OCCR, what was left of
former CPI(ML) NI, and UCCRI(ML) led by Viswam.
Soon after RF came out of the unified CC meeting, in Odisha,
the Gananath Patro section walked out of CPI(ML) KS. On 23rd
March, 2010, com. KS departed tragically, disgusted with all these
developments. Soon Subrato Basu led OCCR section also left, re-
constituting themselves as CPI(ML) Founding Secretary Kanu San-
yal. What was left of CPI(ML) KS was a section of comrades of
UCCRI(ML) led by Viswam along with a thinned down Aravind
Sinha section.
Impact of the Unity with Difference in the States

As far as the impact of the separation with KS section on the
Red Flag state committees were concerned, the worst influence
was in Kerala. Probably it may be due to the very serious split
that took place in 2003, in Kerala. Then the predominant section of
the strong state committee had separated and gone out with the
expectation to become part of the CPI(M) led LDF, with the illusion
of a parliamentary future. What happened was different, as ex-
plained above. In spite of this, the CPI(ML) Red Flag could face this
challenge and build up an active state organization. But, another
separation after such a short time confused a section of the com-
rades at the state level. They became inactive. It was a setback in
Kerala, from which the Party has not yet fully recovered. What
happened in Delhi was more serious. Due to many reasons the
reorganization of this committee got delayed, and ultimately when
it was formed it came under the influence forces who were trying
to sabotage the party initiatives in theory and practice.
In other states, and at central level, the impact was very reju-
venating. In Odisha, it was like a good riddance for the party. Very
soon, under the leadership of com Sivaram, Pramila and hundreds
of active cadres, the party and mass movements developed fast. In
Karnataka also there was very good development at all levels.
These developments at all India level were reflected in the success-
ful Bhopal Special Conference in November, 2009.
Following the parting of ways with the CPI(ML) KS, on 1st Jan-
uary,2009,, the re-constituted CC of the CPI(ML) Red Flag resolved
to convene the All India Special Conference at Bhopal from 7th to
12th November. With this decision, the entire year was mainly
used for summing up our experience , developing the ideological
political line; and updating our documents based on it. At the same
time, what happened to other CR streams in the first decade of the
new millennium?
One of the major developments among the CR forces during
this time was the merger of CPI(ML) People’s War and CPI(ML)
Party Unity which had already taken place; it was further ex-
panded by their merger with the Maoist Communist Center (MCC)
in 2004, leading to the formation of CPI(Maoist), with Marxism-
Leninism-Maoism as its guiding ideology. It was in this context,
our party waged an ideological campaign against this left adven-
turist, in effect anarchist organization. As a part of this, the docu-
ments adopted by the Bhopal Special Conference could extensive-
ly deal with it. On the other side, CPI(ML) Liberation’s 2007 Party
Congress adopted a stand giving further importance to parlia-
mentary cretinism and to the possibilities for peaceful transition
to socialism. Protesting against this, or in the course of this dis-
cussion when some of the leading delegates called for going back
to Indian People’s Front (IPF) experiment, including its former CC
members, many cadres left it. Com. Labh Singh and few other
comrades from Punjab joined us also. By 2009 an organizing com-

mittee was formed in Punjab. While the CPI(M) led Left Front was
in disarray and facing impending setbacks in WB, each and every
CR organizations or groups also were in confusion and disarray.
Consolidation of Hitherto Theoretical Initiatives

The Vijayawada Unity Resolution had called for a Special
Unity Conference in two years’ time to settle all differences, to
arrive at joint, united positions, and to elect the new Central Com-
mittee and office bearers. As soon as the delayed Plenum for set-
tling differences on Party History of 1967 to ’72, was completed, I
had told the next CC meeting that preparations for the Special
Unity Conference should be started so that the Conference could
be completed in one year’s time. Later it was found that the CC
members of the CPI(ML) KS formed in 2003 did not give any atten-
tion to carry forward this task. Even the advice of KS was not
heeded.
But, immediately after the completion of the Plenum, CC mem-
bers of the former CPI(ML) Red Flag started meeting and re-draft-
ing all the draft documents adopted by the 2005 Conference based
on the theoretical positions arrived at after the Unity Conference.
The Special Unity Conference could not be held, and the two
organizations got separated on 1st January, (or at 01am of the next
day, to be precise), 2009. After the re-constituting of the CC of
CPI(ML) Red Flag, it decided to convene the Special Unity Confer-
ence from 7th November to 12th November, 2009 at Bhopal. It was
also decided that all the documents shall be drafted including the
new theoretical positions we have arrived at during the last three
decades’.
For example, when our stream of communist revolutionaries,
experienced how the caste system had become so divisive and
undemocratic, an Anti-Caste, Secular Convention was organized

in Kerala; and based on the discussions among like-minded forces,
follow up actions wherever such caste based oppression are wide-
spread were taken up. Following these the Caste Annihilation
movement was launched. Through this process it is explained and
introduced in the relevant document. It was not just mechanical
copying. Similar was the process taken up for developing the un-
derstanding in other fields also.
Bhopal Special Conference in 2009
The Bhopal Special Conference took place at a very critical

time when the Congress led UPA government, because of its own
rightist policies was not interested, or failed to take any steps
against the growing menace of the Manuvadi Hindutva RSS forces.
Though the CPI(M) led Left Front parties got a record number of
seats in both houses of parliament, and though they were sup-
porting the UPA government, because of their social democratic
line they were only tailing behind the UPA government.
In the four basic documents, The International Situation and Our
Tasks, The Character of the Indian State, The Principal Contradiction and
The Path of Indian Revolution were adopted by the All India Special
Conference of the Party held at Bhopal from 7th to 12th November
2009, at the culmination of an almost year-long process of discus-
sions at various levels. The ideological-political orientation and
the strategic and tactical line of the People’s Democratic Revolu-
tion were put forward, struggling against all reformist, revision-
ist or sectarian positions. It marked an important step forward in
the history of the Indian communist movement.
As Lenin wrote about the “place of imperialism in history”, in
the concluding part of his epochal work “Imperialism, the Highest
Stage of Capitalism”,: “the fight against imperialism is a sham and
humbug unless it is inseparably bound up with the fight against

opportunism”. A few paragraphs before it, he has almost prophe-
sied a picture of the future beyond the colonial phase as: “When
the colonies of European powers, for instance, comprised only one
tenth of the territory of Africa (as was the case in 1876), colonial
policy was able to develop by methods other than that of monop-
oly — by the “free grabbing” of territories, so to speak. But when
nine-tenth of Africa had been seized (by 1900), when the whole
world had been divided up, there was inevitably ushered in the
era of monopoly possession of colonies, and consequently, of par-
ticularly intense struggle for the division and re-division of the
world”. But this process, after the two world wars for the division
and re-division of the world, led to the intensification of anti-im-
perialist struggles, to the growth of national liberation movements,
to countries with one-third of world population becoming part of
socialist camp led by Soviet Union and to the sharpening of its
own inherent cyclic crises. In this situation, under the new bal-
ance of forces among the imperialist powers following the Second
World War, when US imperialism replaced Britain as the leader of
the imperialist camp, the old colonialism was replaced by neo-
colonialism, with finance capital and market dominating all fields.
In continuation of its Leninist analysis in ‘Apologists of Neo-
colonialism’, published as a continuation of the Great Debate, CPC
had pointed out: The United States is most energetic and cunning in pro-
moting neo-colonialism. With this weapon, the U.S. imperialists are trying
hard to grab the colonies and spheres of influence of other imperialists and to
establish world domination. This neo-colonialism is a more pernicious and
sinister form of colonialism.”
Thus it is clear that the Chinese party had correctly seen the
evolution of the colonial phase into the neo-colonial one. However,
at that time it was itself engaged in a severe struggle against the
rightist line of Liu-Shao-Chi. Due to this reason, or to other rea-
sons we do not know, they were not able to take up the task of
carrying forward a deeper theoretical study of neo-colonialism.

Later, under the “left” line, under the leadership of Lin Biao, the
Chinese party, not only did not carry forward the study of the
international situation, but also did not take any initiative to re-
organise the Communist International.
The Lin Biao line argued that “the countryside, and the countryside
alone, can provide the revolutionary bases from which the revolutionaries can
go forward to final victory. Precisely for this reason, Comrade Mao Tse-
tung’s theory of establishing revolutionary base areas in the rural districts
and encircling the cities from the countryside is attracting more and more
attention among the people in these regions.” The Second CC group led
by Mahadev Mukherjee and the split away group from it led by
Nitish Bhattacharjee-Asisul Huq group followed the Lin Biao line
openly. Presently these groups are limited to W. Bengal or have
become extinct.
It must be made clear here that Mao had never said that the
“Chinese Path” is applicable to the countries of Asia, Africa and
Latin America. On the contrary he had advised the leaders of the
Marxist-Leninist parties visiting China repeatedly that they should
develop the revolutionary line in their own countries only ac-
cording to the concrete conditions there. Still this line of Lin Biao’s
was taken as gospel truth and two generations of the Marxist-
Leninists all over the world. It is almost the very same line which
is followed by the different shades of Maoists around the world!
Though the Tenth Congress of the CPC in 1973 claimed to have
rectified the erroneous understanding of the era put forward by
the Ninth Congress, as we have mentioned in the 1997 document,
no document has come to light which shows how the CPC has
evaluated the mistakes of the line led by Lin Biao except criticizing
him for his ‘Confucian thinking’. In any case, there was no attempt
to further deepen the understanding of the neo-colonial system. In
the absence of such a serious study and in reaction to the sectarian
line of Lin Biao that had emerged during the Cultural Revolution,
in spite of its historical significance, it made things easy for the

capitalist roaders like Deng to usurp power. One of the vehicles for
achieving this was the class-collaborationist “Theory of Three
Worlds”. This was another right deviation which in effect neglect-
ed the contradiction between capital and labour, between imperi-
alism and socialist forces and one-sidedly emphasized the contra-
diction among the imperialist forces, mechanically dividing the
world on a non-class basis into First, Second and Third worlds.
Since the General Line document of 1963, the Marxist-Lenin-
ists all over the world have generally accepted the present funda-
mental contradictions at the global level as: “The contradiction be-
tween the socialist camp and the imperialist camp; the contradiction between
the proletariat and bourgeoisie in the capitalist countries, the contradiction
between oppressed nations and peoples and imperialism; the contradictions
among imperialist countries and among monopoly capitalist groups.”
In slightly different words, this was also, more or less, the
understanding of the Third International. While the deviation led
by Khruschov one-sidedly stressed the contradiction between the
socialist camp and the imperialist camp, neglecting the other con-
tradictions, the sectarian line of Lin Biao laid one-sided stress on
the contradiction between oppressed nations and imperialism
neglecting the other contradictions. This resulted in many of them
taking a negative view of proletarian internationalism in practice.
Many of the sectarian parties (both of the “left” and right variet-
ies) have ceased to accept the contradiction between the socialist
forces and the imperialism under the influence of these erroneous
lines.
There are also many other alien “world outlooks” that have
emerged in the Marxist-Leninist movement due to the failure to
make a concrete analysis of the post-World War II world situation
and in the absence of fraternal exchange of views among the Marx-
ist-Leninist forces with a view to overcome the past mistakes and
to develop the ICM including the development of a centre. These
include the post-modern ideas, with their emphasis on NGOs, “new

social movements” and finally, many initiatives which seek solu-
tions within the system. All these alien trends have to be uncom-
promisingly exposed and struggled against.
The efforts to develop fraternal relations among the Marxist-
Leninist parties and to rebuild the ICM will have to start in con-
tinuation to the line put forward by the Third International and
the Proposal Concerning the General Line of 1963, asserting the
fundamental contradictions at the international level. It includes
the study of the development, maturing and inter-play of these
contradictions in the period of neo-colonialism.
International Initiatives
After Vijayawada Unity Conference, we had not kept up on
our international duties. We were not able to attend any interna-
tional meetings or conferences due to the sectarian line of the
CPI(ML) 2003 with whom the CPI(ML) Red Flag had united. We
had to restrain ourselves from attending the Brussels seminar or
the ICMLPO meetings, though we could attend the MLPD Con-
gress in 2008. As a result of these we were not able to take any
stand on the international situation and our tasks during this pe-
riod. We have now overcome this sectarian tendency in the party
by separating from it.
During the course of the 9th Congress of the ICMLPO, under
the initiative of the MLPD a “Declaration on the Building of an
International Form of Organization for the Coordination of the
Work of Autonomous Revolutionary Parties and Organizations”
was adopted. This declaration focuses on the need for revolution-
ary parties and organisations to join forces in today’s situation. It
focuses on the need to build regional and international forms of
organization for Marxist-Leninists, the working class and also the
entire anti-imperialist movement. This gave rise to the ICOR or
“International Co-ordination”.
Besides actively working in the ICOR, it is also necessary to

develop fraternal relations with other ML parties, especially in
South Asia and also in the West Asian region. The developments
in West Asia are already affecting the politics of South Asia, espe-
cially Pakistan. We must therefore make great efforts to develop
close relations with parties in South Asia and in West Asia who
have an understanding akin to ours.
There are many parties, in other continents, especially in Lat-
in America, Europe and Africa, with whom we have developed
contacts and who are close to our understanding. We must nur-
ture these contacts and develop them where ever possible.
The present situation calls for initiative to form a forum of ML
parties from different countries who are fighting both, right revi-
sionism and left sectarianism, including the line of “protracted
people’s war” as the only path for countries of Asia, Africa and
Latin America. Such parties, who uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao
Tsetung Thought or Marxism-Leninism and a positive attitude
towards Mao Tsetung Thought, should constitute themselves into
a Marxist-Leninist Forum to organise solidarity actions, organize
international conferences, to develop the General Line of the ICM
and to move towards a new Communist International.
It is time for our party to take up this international task in
right earnest. As detailed above, in the present world situation,
the international content of the Peoples Democratic Revolution
has greatly increased and we cannot make revolution in a vast
country like India without launching uncompromising struggles
against imperialism and its lackeys and agents, uniting with the
Marxist-Leninist forces at the global level.
The International document of Bhopal Conference shows how
we were engaged in a debate on Lin Biaoism right from the early
1980s, we started exposing Maoism right from the time when it
surfaced in Peru, and to show how from the very beginning we
had developed and maintained a Proletarian Internationalist stand,

and worked for it.
Even before the CPI(Maoist) was formed, we had pointed out
that the concept of Maoism is very sectarian. It does not uphold
and try to develop two of Mao’s greatest contributions, the Cultur-
al Revolution and People’s Commune movement. Even after the bitter
experience of degeneration of all former socialist countries to cap-
italist path, the Maoists refuse to take it in to consideration.
Even before the Kruschov group emerged and usurped power
in the Soviet Union and diverted it to capitalist path, in his Critique
of Soviet Economics and other works, Mao had repeatedly pointed
out: We have succeeded to make revolution in a number of coun-
tries. But, after the seizure of power, after following socialist con-
struction for some time, all these former socialist countries degen-
erating to capitalist path shows that, making socialism as an al-
ternative to capitalist imperialist system is a thousand times more
difficult task than making revolution in a country.
After the great setback in the Soviet Union and East European
countries, the highest level of socialist construction we could reach
was in China, the phase of Cultural Revolution and of People’s
Communes. The essence of Mao’s teaching during this period was
that through unending series of Cultural Revolutions, pursuing
Marxist principles, we have to continuously overthrow the exist-
ing reactionary ideas, build sustainable, people oriented and hu-
mane development concepts, and educate and mobilize the work-
ing class and all oppressed masses for ceaselessly building a soci-
ety without private property and with ever expanding socialist
vision. Presently, when humanity is confronting the ecological
catastrophe, in order to protect them from extinction, overthrow-
ing the global imperialist system and building an alternative to
capitalist devastation is of paramount importance, and it is an
urgent task. The significance of the discussion on ecological pro-
tection that we had developed, based on last few decades of expe-

rience, was that it gave a revolutionary orientation to the whole
process. (In this way the Bhopal Special Conference did a pioneer-
ing work of summarizing the theoretical advances and practical
experiences of few decades, and enriched our struggle against
counter revolutionary concepts like post-modernism and Anar-
chism under the banner of Maoism, thus approaching class strug-
gle in India, and integrating this with caste struggle and gender
struggle, and developing the concept of human growth as an al-
ternative to capitalist, imperialist, neoliberal, globalized model of
development paradigm. It was the beginning of the summing up
of, updating of our theoretical work which we have carried for-
ward to the documents adopted in the 12th Party Congress of the
CPI(ML) Red Star in September, 2022. This is a revolutionary pro-
cess we have to continue, according to the concrete analysis of the
concrete situation.
Another great contribution of the Bhopal special Conference
was that here we came to direct fight with RSS forces to protect
the Conference from their attack. Provoked by the extensive wall-
writing for the Congress, and by the powerful rally on 7th Novem-
ber, though the Bajrangdal forces tried to destroy some of the dec-
orations for the rally, we effectively handled them and conducted
our programs successfully.
Political-Organizational Consolidation
Immediately following the separation with the CPI(ML) 2003,
primary importance was given to convening all India Conference
of the TUCI, which was overdue. The TUCI conference was held at
Kanpur, with a mass rally and public meeting and cultural pro-
grams. As it was given good publicity among the CR forces, many
of the political groups also reached Kanpur for holding discussion
with the political leadership. Already Anjani Pandey who had
walked out from the CPI(ML) 2003 had joined us, and his section
was working as the Jharkhand state organizing committee of

CPI(M) Red Flag. Though the Ranjan Chakravarthy group (called
CCR) had also walked out of CPI(ML) 2003, it had not joined any
other organization, and it had also come to Kanpur for holding
discussion. Because CCR was moving towards CPI(M), our dis-
cussion failed.
But CCR (ML) formed by his younger brother, Alik Chakra-
varthy, contacted us later, and our discussion with him led to com
Sharmista and Sankar attending the Bhopal Conference as observ-
ers. They were inspired by the Conference, and their positive re-
port followed by discussions led to their merger with Red Flag.
Following this the WB state organizing committee was formed
which led many struggles of the jute workers.
Odisha – If separation from the unity with differences attempt
had its only negative impact in Kerala and Delhi, it had its positive
impact in other states, especially in Odisha, where under Sivaram’s
leadership, the party and Slum movement had to save themselves
from the manoeuvres of senior comrades of KS section to escape
splits. Sivaram faced this challenge from within with maturity.
Even during these challenging four years, he succeeded to protect
them, as well as to expand them. Not only the party organization,
but also, the Bustee Suraksha Manch, and all Class/Mass organiza-
tions also could be saved from the internal negative trends. Many
struggles were waged by the Busti committees as well as the wom-
en’s organization and mass organizations also made significant
advances.
Karnataka – The Karnataka state committee had no problems
to face like the Odisha state committee due to the four years of
working as CPI(ML) with the unified CC. On the contrary, undis-
turbed by organisational problems, in Karnataka there was con-
siderable development in the building of party and activities in
the trade union and the peasant fronts. Major working class activ-
ity took place in the North western industrial belt. In building the
class/mass organizations in other fields also there was good
progress. Through these activities, our own understanding about
how to build a Bolshevik style party also was developing.
The Bhopal 2009 Special Conference had decided to register
the party with the Election Commission. We wanted to register it
as the CPI(ML). But, the CPI(ML) Liberation had already applied
for registration in this banner, but it was refused by the Commis-
sion. Instead it was registered as CPI (ML) Liberation. So, the reg-
istration was done under the name of CPI(ML) Red Star with the
name of the central party organ in affix. Thereafter the party name
has become popular under this name.
Formation of ICOR
In the course of discussion on the setbacks suffered by the ICM

during the post-Second World Years, from the time of re-starting
contacts with fraternal parties at international level by late 1970s
and while bringing out statements on international affairs, we
had consistently pointed out that the dissolution of the Commu-
nist International in 1943 was a mistake. Though Comintern was
re-constituted as Communist Information Bureau (Cominfarm)
as a platform of the communist parties in power in the Soviet
Union and East European countries, it also disappeared after the
20th Party Congress of the Soviet Union in 1956. During the SWW,
as the US replaced Britain as the leading imperialist power, it con-
vened the Brettonwoods Conference in 1943 for re-charting the
post-War world affairs to establish its hegemony. The blue print
for transforming the colonial forms of imperialist control into neo-
colonial forms; constituting the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank; initiating GATT negotiations towards constituting
the World Trade organization (WTO); to launch of the United Na-
tions Organization with numerous branch organizations under
its control, and other steps to transform territorial domination of
oppressed countries into domination through finance capital and
market etc. was initiated there. Not only the dissolution of the
Comintern, but also the refusal to re-start the building of the Com-
munist International, according to the fast changing new interna-
tional situation, was an urgent task, which even the CPC during
Mao Zedong period did not take up, due to the complex inner par-
ty struggle taking place, which ultimately led to usurpation of
power by the capitalist roaders in China also after Mao’s death.
Right from 1979, when we started the process of re-organiza-
tion of the CPI(ML), we gave considerable importance to this task.
These efforts were evaluated and a course of international action
was later charted out at the Bhopal Conference in 2009, a task
which should have been taken up in the Special Unity Conference,
proposed at Vijayawada Unity Conference, 2005. The CPI(ML) 2003
section which enthusiastically participated in the conference of
the revolutionary parties from different countries held at Mum-
bai before the fourth WSF, after Vijayawada, started showing al-
lergy to even discussing the affairs of the international commu-
nist movement. After the unified CC was formed, all international
tasks followed by us were prevented, or obstacles were created to
participate in them, or if participated, no follow up actions were
allowed. Majority of the CCMs belonging to 2003 section started
taking a stand opposing any international tasks.
Even then, with special permission of the unified CC, our rep-
resentative participated in the Party Congress of the MLPD, at-
tended the ICMLPO meeting where the new initiative for building
a platform for international action was discussed. As a follow up
action when the MLPD team came for bi-lateral discussion to car-
ry forward the new international building, it was after overcom-
ing many obstacles, a three member team of KNR, Sanjay and
Aravind were allowed to carry forward this task. This meeting at
Delhi discussed the initial draft documents and organizational
points brought by the MLPD comrades. Both delegations agreed
to convey the points we discussed to parent organizations, and to
continue the process in 2009 meeting. When the discussions were
reported, some comrades started opposing even any internation-

al activities! It showed that, instead of going forward to unity on
more and more issues, majority of those left with KS now were
even going against the very spirit of unity visible at Vijayawada.
The next meeting was held at our Party Center at Delhi in a
better situation as we had already separated from the CPI(ML)
2003 group. It was attended by full-fledged larger teams from both
sides, which could cover most of the points, except some theoreti-
cal questions which had come up earlier also in our papers. They
were basically linked to evaluation of imperialism in the present
situation.
Discussion within ICMLPO

The Delhi meeting in 2009 decided that the following five orga-
nizations (1) MLPD, (2) CPI(ML) Red Star (3) Marxist-Leninist Par-
ty of Turkey (MLKP), (4) Communist Party of Congo, and (5)(Com-
munist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) shall be invited to become mem-
bers of the drafting committees, whose General Secretaries or most
important functionaries shall meet at MLPD headquarters for up
to two weeks for this purpose. This meeting shall prepare all draft
basic documents, agenda, form of organizational representation,
and the details of the organization of the First World Conference
during October, 2010.
Representing the party, attending such a long meeting in a
European country was a first experience for me. As far as foreign
travels are concerned, though Bhutan is a foreign country, Indians
do not need passport to go there. I have gone to Nepal also few
times. But there also Indians can go without passport. I went to
East Bengal during 1970-71 when the border had disappeared. I
first took a passport in 2004 to go to gulf countries. During few
days stay in the Gulf countries, especially in UAE, I had interac-
tion with a large number of progressive sections as well as with
the workers living in labour camps. Next time when I went to Gulf
countries, I spent few days in Bahrain also where I addressed few
meetings. But for going to Germany to go to MLPD headquarters
and again in 2010 to attend the ICOR meeting, I had to take special
care as I had crossed 70. But, it is a fact that age never made me
slow down. I was attending to all functions including foreign trips
without any difficulty till 2021 when I got a serious Covid attack,
and soon after, a double shock in the form of departure of Sivaram
followed by Sharmista. These did affect me badly. I could never
retain my health fully after that.
Preparation for Draft ICOR Documents

I reached Frankfurt from New Delhi, from where a German
comrade took me to MLPD headquarters in April-May. There I met
Stefan Engels, chairman of the MLPD, who shook hands and em-
braced me saying, “KN, you have brought the Indian summer to
Germany. Extreme climate change. It is unusually hot here”. It is a
big four story building, with space for everything, including a big
library. I was taken to the housing block where I was introduced
to the comrade from Congo Republic and comrade from Bang-
ladesh, who reached few hours before me. All the comrades reached
by the afternoon, and after the evening tea, Stefan with the other
German comrades who will be helping us during the meeting took
us to the already well-arranged meeting rooms where we will be
having the discussions for the next 10 or 11 days. All of us were
handed over all initial drafts prepared based on the last Delhi
discussions and consultations with other delegates. A big bundle
of papers, lot to discuss in the coming days. I conveyed my first
impressions to Sanjay and PJJ, who were members of the Interna-
tional Department of the party. Then I plunged in to the drafts,
Stefan has explained the voting system. If there is a debate on a
point, if one wants to get it approved it has to get 80% votes. That
is, four out of five delegations have to support you. I had a quick
dinner and again went through the papers.
All the delegations met in the morning at the dining hall. It
was an opportunity to know about each other. German delegation
apart from Stefan included, Monica and Clause Valenstein who
had come to India many times. MKCP was represented by a young
lady comrade and another young male comrade, both PB mem-
bers. Bangladesh by Prof. Rano, PB member of CPB and Congo by
its chairman. There were four lady and two male comrades from
MLPD for office help. Tea, coffee, variety of snacks were available
all time. After everybody was seated, sharp at 9 am Stefan wel-
comed all and started the meeting. A presidium consisting of Ste-
fan, KN and Rano was proposed, which was accepted.
The meeting started with a long introductory speech by Ste-
fan. He gave the history starting with the ICMLPO, and till we
came together now, in detail. It continued almost till lunch time.
Deliberations were mainly in English, and translations went on
simultaneously for those who required it. After his speech some
clarifications were sought. Then lunch. After lunch we met at 2
pm. Next was my turn. I gave an overview of communist party
history in India. Lot of questions came. Our struggle against all
deviations, our reaction to Soviet revisionism, how fast were we
in condemning the Deng in China and Enver Hoxha, RIM experi-
ment from which we separated. All comrades asked many ques-
tions and I answered them in detail. By first day evening the intro-
ductory part was over. On second day we discussed about the
international situation, in detail. Stefan explained the evolution of
MLPD history in detail, during which he introduced how his par-
ty views the struggle against the petti-bourgeois mode of thinking as the
source of revisionism. After that I presented our evaluation of the
international situation, approach to dissolution of the Comintern
in 1943, our approach to neo-colonialism, post Second World War
situation and the latest developments. During this presentation
some of our differences with the MLPD position included in the

draft also came out. Stefan’s intervention and our explanation took
much time. Since we are dealing the agenda paper more time was
required. All the delegations except MLPD accepted our analysis.
So, on the second day itself all others started almost rejecting the
MLPD analysis, and almost all the changes we proposed got the
80% votes and incorporated.
We could point out the weakness of MLPD’s analysis of not
attacking German and other European imperialisms. On the other
hand, the development of India, Brazil like countries were one-
sidedly highlighted in the analysis of the international situation.
When the draft statutes were taken up, when the question of
main slogan reflecting the present situation, in Stefan’s draft had
only put forward “Workers of all countries, Unite!” I pointed out
that it was the slogan put forward during the time of the Second
International; at the time of the Communist International this was
developed into “Workers and Oppressed Peoples of all countries
Unite”. I remember, the most serious struggle took place on it. Ste-
fan tried his level best to get support for his stand.
After many rounds of presentation by him, and all others con-
sistently demanding for the retention of the Comintern position,
the changes we proposed were adopted. Finally the delegation of
MLPD had to agree to incorporate what others said. It was a ten
days long bitter, but healthy struggle, during which we had to
struggle for each and every point. But, one thing became crystal
clear, on each and every cardinal approach towards building the
ICOR, while taking up the role of imperialism and oppressed peo-
ples in history, the MLPD’s stand was influenced by Eurocentric
outlook!
The struggle was uncompromising. There were points we
which had to be redrafted many times. Still, it was a healthy strug-
gle. All of us at the end congratulated Stefan for the way he con-
ducted the meeting combining with other presidium members,
even when he bitterly fought for every point the MLPD was put-
ting forward. All the other delegations took firm positions, even
when at times the MLPD reaction was bitter and dogmatic.
Sometimes the discussion went on with no possibility for an
agreement. It looked like we may need more days for discussion.
Still we could complete the tasks in ten days. Stefan arranged a
special dinner on the last day in which all sang songs and toasted
for ICOR, as one important step we have completed, adopting the
final draft documents for the first World Conference of ICOR.
Stefan had asked me in advance, if the work is completed in
ten days, I will have two days free, what I would like to do. As I
had no idea, I asked his opinion. He suggested a day to visit Engels’
museum, and the next day a discussion with workers of Mithal
steel factory. They were excellent suggestions, I accepted them.
A visit to Engels’ museum need at least two days. There is so
much to see and study there. All comrades who go to Germany
should try to visit it. It is a great experience.
The next day the German workers were really prepared to
show how a corporate force from imperialist India was exploiting
them. Many of them had come with written notes. It was a diffi-
cult job to explain to the workers what was happening. Still, I
explained elaborately to show how Mittal is getting the capital to
invest, and what is the reality about India. I explained the trans-
formation of colonial India in to neo-colonial India, and how Indi-
an economy is growing big, but how still it is a neo-colonially
dependent country. I do not know how many I could convince, but
most of the workers who were trying to show, they know every-
thing of Mittal’s investments in European countries, looked not so
sure at the end. We had lunch in between, lot of tea, and in the end
singing International together before I departed.
I travelled back after becoming part of the great task of pre-
paring the drafts for the First World Conference of ICOR.
Resolution on Formation of ICOR (Draft)

“The ICOR was founded as an initiative for uniting the revolu-
tionaries of the world on 6 October 2010.
In view of the deep crises of imperialism and the foundations
of life of humankind being threatened by environmental destruc-
tion, the time for taking this step had come. The wave of democrat-
ic people’s uprisings in North Africa and the Arab countries, the
rebellious mass movements on the squares of the Mediterranean
capitals, the large workers’ strikes and people’s movements in Af-
rica and Asia, the anti-imperialist struggles in Latin America, the
worldwide upturn in the rebellion of the youth and the growing
independent environmental movement require such an organized
union. Only thus can they achieve the necessary maturity and
strength, which they need for the victory over the capitalist sys-
tem of exploitation and oppression.
The ICOR is a union for practical cooperation and a form of
organization of international cooperation and coordination for the
activity of the revolutionaries of the world, and for mutual sup-
port in class struggle and party-building. It unites parties and
organizations on an equal footing, which are very different in terms
of size, practical, organizational and political experience, histori-
cal-ideological roots, strategic task and socio-economic conditions.
The Founding Resolution includes a revolutionary, anti-imperial-
ist, anti-revisionist and anti-Trotskyite platform, which forms a
basis for achieving unity in all essential questions by an interre-
lated process of theoretical discussion and practical work. A World
Conference of representatives of all ICOR member parties and or-
ganizations takes place every three years as supreme decision-
making body. The joint implementation of international days of
struggle is a training ground for practical cooperation.
The ICOR calls on all class-conscious workers, the oppressed
peoples, the militant women, the rebellious youth and the broad
masses to make the building and strengthening of ICOR their cause.
Workers of all countries, unite!
Workers of all countries and oppressed peoples, unite!
ICOR- First World Conference, 2010

Soon after retuning, a CEC meeting was convened, mainly to
decide on matters concerning ICOR. The meeting was started by
discussing how we could reach the present situation. In our paper
to the ICMLPO, and in the message to the party congress of MLPD
during 2007, we had proposed the building of a broad based inter-
national forum, where issues of international importance could
be discussed and decisions taken, for solidarity campaigns and
joint movements. MLPD also was of the same view, and in consul-
tation with our party and others, in August 2007, in a resolution,
21 organizations which were constituents of ICMLPO, decided to
create an international organization for the practical cooperation
of revolutionary parties and organizations. It is after a prepara-
tion of more than three years, in which the MLPD played the lead-
ing role, the ICOR was going to be founded in October 2010.
Every party can send two delegates. So, we had to decide about
the delegates and how to send them. But before that, our ideolog-
ical stand and political tasks had to be discussed in detail, espe-
cially in the context when Stefan had told me that if he becomes
the Main coordinator, India had to provide the Deputy Coordina-
tor. I also pointed out to the CEC that if we were not firm about our
ideological, political line, deviations can always take place as hap-
pened to our delegates when they attended the 1984 conference
convened for RIM preparation. So, I proposed an in-depth discus-
sion in the CEC before decisions were taken.
Another point was also put forward for discussion. We should
consistently build international relations, and while starting with

ICOR we should guard against all possible deviations. All CEC
comrades, which included KNR, RM, Sanjay, PJJ and Umakant,
discussed these issues seriously. Everybody agreed that we should
firmly uphold party line without any compromise. If any devia-
tion happens it should be pointed out as soon as it is detected. All
agreed that I should not take up any international task like Dy.
Coordinator of ICOR. Sanjay had already attended some programs
as our representative. He was interested in this task also. So, San-
jay and I were decided as our delegates. After sending the draft
documents with a note to all members, the CC meeting was held,
in which the stand taken in the drafting committee and the CEC
proposals for delegates were accepted.
The First World Conference of the ICOR was successfully held
in the first week of October, 2010, with about forty parties from all
continents, from among the 55 constituents, participating.
The First World Conference of ICOR created lot of enthusiasm
not only among the participating constituent parties but also
among many of our fraternal parties. But the most unfortunate
thing was that in spite of the fact that the contradiction between
the imperialist forces and their junior partners and lackeys on the
one hand and the world proletariat and oppressed peoples is in-
tensifying day by day, and the objective situation for revolution-
ary changes is becoming more ripe day by day the subjective
forces, the revolutionary parties and organizations are so sectar-
ian, and dogmatic that they are not prepared to form a revolution-
ary left unity to overthrow the forces of reaction. In spite of talk-
ing about unity they are only dividing increasingly. In such a sit-
uation, the formation of the ICOR, uniting so many parties from
all continents, was a very positive step in the right direction.
National Situation
During the last two decades, the Indian State had almost aban-
doned all the so called welfare state policies. The ruling classes
had succeeded in snatching away all rights won by the working
class and imposed contract labor system and ‘hire and fire’ policy
in all sectors. The government procurement of food grains and
public distribution system (PDS) was almost getting demolished.
MNCs and corporate houses were allowed almost total domina-
tion in industries, services, infrastructure building and in whole-
sale and retail trade. They were allowed uninhibited entry to agrar-
ian sector, intensifying the land accumulation in fewer and fewer
hands. More and more sections were thrown out of land through
SEZs, new industrial centres, real estate lobby and land mafias.
Commercialization of education, health-care, services, etc. was
taking place at ruthless pace. As a result of these policies, the inte-
gration of Indian economy with global imperialist system was
going ahead at a maddening pace. The grave consequences of this
integration at the behest of imperialist powers, especially US im-
perialism, were now felt in all fields following the global financial
crisis, with its epic-centre in the US. Recession and depression
had spread fast to India like countries, exposing the hitherto tall
claims of the ruling classes and their political representatives.
While those responsible for it were bailed out by the state at peo-
ple’s expense, millions of workers were thrown out of jobs and all
sections of people were further pauperized.
Throwing away whatever progressive aspects the Indian for-
eign policy had, and whatever sovereignty the country had, Indi-
an state under the junior partners of various imperialist forces
was intensifying its so-called strategic ties with US imperialism.
At the same time, the gap between the rich and poor had widened
phenomenally. Almost half the people were under poverty line,
with almost 25% reduced to destitution, when 60-70% of the wealth
was accumulated in the hands of less than 10%. The price rise
unprecedentedly intensified the misery of the vast masses. Con-
trary to ruling class claims, the prices of essential commodities
were continuing to rise. Adivasis, Dalits, women and all other
oppressed classes and sections were facing acute devastation.
Along with these, the imperialist dictated ‘development policies
devastated the ecology, leading to global warming like impacts.
The overall objective situation was one of ever-intensifying
neo-colonial plunder and oppression, unprecedented sharpening
of all internal contradictions. This situation demanded an all-out
intervention by the Communist /left forces against the existing
anti-people, reactionary system for ushering in people’s democ-
racy and socialism. But what was happening by the end of the
first decade of the 21st century was just the opposite.
The UPA government which came to power in 2004 with the
support of the social democratic Left Front forces was facing new-
er and newer corruption charges. The price rise, unemployment
etc. was worsening. It also failed to take any action against the RSS
goons led by Modi and Amit Shah, who perpetuated the Gujarat
pogrom in 2002. Utilizing this situation, the RSS was launching
major anti-government campaigns, using Anna Hazare like Hin-
dutua forces, trying to project the BJP led NDA as the one and only
opposition to the Congress led UPA government in the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections. If RSS/BJP was becoming the only opposition to

the UPA government, what was happening to the other opposi-
tion parties?
Social Democratic and Left Adventurist Streams

In W. Bengal, after 34 years of continuous social democratic
rule, the CPI(M) led Left Front was just waging a crucial struggle
for existence. In Tripura, BJP was resorting to political terror tac-
tics to oust the 25 year old Left Front rule. Within a decade after its
record victory in 2004, social democratic forces were facing an
acute crisis, with no political answer to the growing challenge of
RSS parivar!
What about the revolutionary left forces who had inspired
two or three generations of Indian youth with the Spring Thunder
over Indian Horizon in the 1960s and early 1970s? In spite of the
objective situation becoming more favourable for the Indian rev-
olution, with the increasing people’s anger against the three de-
cades of neo-liberal globalization and ever-intensifying threat of
Manuvadi, Hindutua, RSS neo-fascism, many shades of Naxalites
under different banners were in a hurry to align with the social
democratic stream in one way or other!
In spite of fast changes taking place in the socio-economic,and
political situation in the country, many were still stuck up within
the semi-colonial, semi-feudal, protracted people’s war iron frame, refus-
ing to recognize the vast changes taking place in the mode of pro-
duction in the agrarian sector. This was giving rise to new waves
of farmers’ movements and throwing up new political challenges.
This was the situation the revolutionary left had to confront after
the Gujarat pogrom.
The extremely sectarian, Maoist stream was moving further
away from what Mao taught during his entire struggle against
the capitalist roaders everywhere through raising the banner of

Cultural Revolution and People’s Communes.’ As a result, disinte-
gration started gaining strength among them, and the extortion
of huge amounts and many fake encounter killings by police in the
name of combatting it became the major trend. It was in this chal-
lenging situation, the stream of communist revolutionaries, pio-
neering to search out a revolutionary mass line according to the
concrete condition in India, summed up their hitherto, four de-
cades of experiences, and announced the convening of the 9th Par-
ty Congress of the CPI(ML) Red Star in November, 2011, at Bhu-
baneswar!
As pointed out earlier also, the ‘unity with basic differences’
was more of an emotional step taken, with the expectation that
comrades like KS, Pradeep, Somnath, PK Murthy etc. shall succeed
in convincing Viswam, Subodh like forces to change their posi-
tions. Another factor which led to this move was the hope that
fast changing situation shall force the diehard elements to change
their attitude towards revolution, by ‘seeking truth from facts’,
instead of getting satisfied with phrase-mongering.
But, where we committed the mistake was in our under-esti-
mation of the influence of sectarianism in the movement as a whole.
Once we recognized the fact, it did take some time to separate from
the unified CC. Once we did that, except for a section of comrades
in Kerala, the entire party stood with the CC. And during 2009,
while organizing the Bhopal Conference, during 2010 when we
went for ICOR World Conference and in 2011 when we went for
the 9th Party Congress, the Central Committee and the Party cen-
tre worked in an inspiring manner. The Centre and the state com-
mittees did comparatively better work in the publication and party
education fields to cope up with the demands. This campaign led
to summing up the experience of the decades after the Naxalbari
Uprising..Based on the theoretical summing up of the evaluation
of the hitherto experiences, the four documents were adopted at
the Bhopal Conference. They were put forward as the drafts for
the 9th Party Congress.
The party leadership’s responsibility was to see that in the
future also, while unity through merger is taking place, it should
be correctly looked into. Otherwise even after merger with no dif-
ferences, such differences shall come up, or vested interests shall
utilize this aspect to split the organization again.
In this case, even after the suicide of KS, Viswam and his friends
did not try to learn any lessons. KS was emotionally attached to
this whole unity process. More than anything else it was the emo-
tional appeal of KS for unity that led us up to Vijayawada confer-
ence. First of all, many of the forces Viswam brought together and
formed the CPI(ML) led by KS in 2003, left and merged with the
TMC. Then, separation with the CPI(ML) Red Flag took place, be-
cause Viswam was not ready for the Special Conference to finalize
the merger as part of the Vijayawada Unity Resolution. These
developments put so much pressure forcing KS to take such a dras-
tic decision. In spite of these facts, the whole blame for separation
was put on the Red Flag by Viswam. Combating this we launched
a powerful campaign. By successfully holding the Bhopal Confer-
ence we could overcome it. During the campaign for the 9th Party
Congress at Bhubaneswar, the entire history of the disintegration
of the party, and as a distinct stream of the CPI(ML), the role played
by Red Flag by taking up the task of rebuilding the party on Bol-
shevik style were explained..
For example, Chapter 4.10 of the draft Party Program present-
ed to the 9th Party Congress pointed out, “Following the 2008 melt-
down faced by the imperialist financial centres starting from the
US, a stream of proletarian upsurges was witnessed in West Eu-
rope to North America. In 2011 world people are witnessing mas-
sive uprisings in a number of North African and West Asian coun-
tries, which were dubbed as dens of Islamic fundamentalism by
US imperialists and their lackeys for long, for democracy and oth-
er basic rights. They were trying to overthrow the feudal mon-

archs and dictators maintained by the US imperialists and their
allies. All imperialist countries were rocked by a new wave of
working class upsurges. India like countries are no exception. Here
also the working class, the peasantry and all oppressed sections
were coming on the streets against price rise, corruption, unem-
ployment, displacement from their land and occupation etc. What
was lacking in all these countries where these people’s uprisings
are taking place, was a revolutionary party capable of leading
them to revolutionary changes in the society. This is the challenge
confronted by the Communist Party in India as elsewhere. The
Party Program for the PDR in India is put forward at such a criti-
cal turning point, trying to address these challenges before the
Indian people, the world proletariat and oppressed peoples”.
These three years of central political campaigns, release of party
organs and other publications regularly, and central orientation
of the campaign provided by the Party centre led to political orga-
nizational consolidation before the 9th Party Congress in the fol-
lowing states: Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Maharash-
tra, Chhattisgarh, MP, Punjab, Delhi, UP, Jharkhand, and W. Ben-
gal. Party contacts were made in AP, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The
pioneering voyage starting from Kerala thus reached all these
states, establishing nominal political contacts in almost all the
states. As an extension of these activities, political contacts could
be established in the overseas countries also where tens of mil-
lions of Indians have migrated as workers. On the way to ICOR
meetings, I used to club it with few days stay in UAE to help the
committee there. The formation of ICOR, in 2010 with the CPI(ML)
Red Star playing a significant role in it, reflected our commitment
to proletarian internationalism. The Party Program adopted by
the 9th Party Congress at Bhubaneswar reflected the distinct path
of revolution to be followed in continuation to what was followed
since 1970, when the 8th (First) Party Congress of the CPI(ML) was
held under the leadership of CM.
“No to Reformism, No to Anarchism,

March to Revolution!”
As noted above, 2009 Bhopal Special Party Conference was

the first step towards a theoretical assimilation of all that we
grasped in our hitherto pioneering voyage. It was a march to-
wards the theoretical offensive to update our vision of the strug-
gle for people’s democracy and socialism with the slogan “No to
Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution!.” The 2011
Bhubaneswar 9th Party Congress of the CPI(ML) Red Star, which
was enthusiastically and successfully held during November, 2011,
marked the next step of our theoretical offensive; theoretical up-
dating of whatever was studied so far in our pioneering voyage,
giving a higher vision to our task of advancing towards people’s
democracy and socialism.
Following the tradition of Bhopal, 2009, at Bhubaneswar also
extensive wall-writing was done from 9th September onwards. At
Puri, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Berhampore and Koraput districts cen-
ters also it was done. Banners were put by Slum committees, and
cultural programs were organized from 1st October onwards. In
many other states also these campaigns were organized. Fund
collection from the people also started in all districts and state
capitals where we were active. While the Manuvadi, Brahminvadi,
Neo-fascist RSS was targeted mainly, the campaign was organized

against the RSS accomplice, the Biju Janatha Dal (BJD) government
also.
The rally on the 7th November was really an inspiring one. It
was followed by public meeting attended by the foreign and Indi-
an fraternal delegations also. No to Reformism, No to Anarchism and
March forward to Revolution banners were everywhere. The 9th Party
Congress was very successfully organized followed by the ICC
meeting of the ICOR, and an International Seminar. Com Sivaram
did wonderful work in making everything in an inspiring man-
ner.
While publishing the six major documents adopted by the
2009 Special Conference and the 9th Party Congress, in 2011, in its
introductory note I had written the following points on behalf of
the Central Committee:
A Historic Step Forward

THE six basic documents: The International Situation and Our
Tasks, On Character of Indian State, On Principal Contradiction,
Party Program, Party Constitution and Path of Indian Revolution
were published as part of the ideological-political campaign to
deepen the understanding about the Program and path of Indian
revolution in the present stage among the party members and the
revolutionary forces as a whole. Among these: the International
Situation and Our Tasks, On Character of Indian State, On Princi-
pal Contradiction and the Path of Indian Revolution are the basic
documents adopted by the All India Special Conference held in
November, 2009, and updated based on the Party Program adopt-
ed by the Ninth Party Congress held in November, 2011. The Par-
ty Constitution was also amended and adopted by the Ninth Con-
gress. They provide the basic orientation and path of Indian revo-
lution in the concrete conditions of today and are the products of
the ideological struggle during the last four decades in the com-
munist movement.
It was after a gap of 41 years the Ninth Congress of the CPI(ML)
was convened from 7th to 12th November 2011 at Bhubaneswar
in Odisha. The first Congress of the Communist Party of India
(CPI) was held in 1943. Till its Sixth Congress in 1961, it had re-
mained united in spite of serious inner-Party struggles, which
went on intensifying and started coming out in the open from the
time of the Fourth Congress in 1956. These inner-Party struggles
led to the first split in the communist movement in the country in
1964. The CPI(M) was formed, and its Seventh Congress took place
in the same year. But as the leadership of the CPI(M) took a centrist
line, the inner-Party struggle intensified within it, leading to the
Naxalbari Uprising of 1967, to the second split in the communist
movement and to the formation of the CPI(ML) in 1969 upholding
Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought as its ideological guide-
line.
On Eighth Party Congress

Though CPI(ML) succeeded to bring the agrarian revolution
and completion of the People’s Democratic Revolution back to the
agenda of the Indian people, it had come under the influence of left
adventurist line divorced from Indian realities. As a result, when
the Indian state unleashed a severe onslaught against the move-
ment, it soon disintegrated. It is after more than four decades of
incessant efforts for the reorganization of the Party, by developing
the Marxist-Leninist understanding according to the concrete con-
ditions of today, and applying them for the development of the
theory and practice of Indian revolution, the Ninth Party Con-
gress was convened, marking a historic step forward in the nine
decades long history of the Communist movement in the country.
Following the great victory of the October Bolshevik Revolution
in 1917, formation of Soviet Union and founding of the Third or

Communist International (Comintern) in 1919, based on the les-
sons from the First and Second Internationals.
Lenin had put forward the ideological-political orientation and
the strategic line of the two streams of World Proletarian Socialist
Revolution, the socialist revolutions in the imperialist countries,
and the People’s Democratic Revolutions (PDR) in the countries
under colonial domination, or in the colonial, semi-colonial and
dependent countries, to be applied according to the concrete con-
ditions of each country. By applying the Comintern positions, ac-
cording to the concrete conditions of China, the Communist Party
of China (CPC), under the leadership of Mao Tsetung, could lead
the democratic revolution to great victory and to the formation of
the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.
An Over-view of a Century of
Communist Movement in India
But the experience of the nine decades of Indian Communist
Movement was quite different. In spite of very favourable objec-
tive conditions for completing the PDR in the colonial India, the
CPI leadership failed to apply the Comintern positions to the con-
crete conditions here and to recognize the comprador character of
the big bourgeoisie and the bureaucratic class, and of the leader-
ship of the Congress and the Muslim League.
As a result, even though the Party and class and mass organi-
zations could make great advances and the Party could play im-
portant role in developing the working class movement and the
anti-feudal struggles, it failed to establish the leadership of the
working class in the independence struggle to overthrow the Brit-
ish colonialists and their lackeys. The Second Congress of the CPI
in 1948, held after the transfer of power to the comprador classes,
rejected this reformist line. But once again, failing to analyse the
concrete conditions at international and national levels, when the

imperialist camp under US imperialism had transformed the co-
lonial plunder to neo-colonial forms, and to utilize the favourable
conditions created through the Telengana struggle and numerous
other struggles, the leadership resorted to a left sectarian line based
on the ‘Calcutta thesis’. The few sporadic struggles that took place
were brutally suppressed by the Congress government and the
Party faced a crisis. The Telengana leadership who had presented
the AP paper, that took over also could not provide a revolution-
ary orientation, and the crisis deepened.
It was in this situation, the Party Program, Policy Statement
and Tactical Line were adopted in 1951 after consultation with the
CPSU leadership. It provided a positive orientation to the Party,
calling for an Indian path of revolution utilizing all forms of strug-
gle for the capture of political power. But the new leadership elect-
ed in the 1951 Conference did not follow this line. It withdrew the
Telengana struggle and failed to provide a revolutionary orienta-
tion for utilizing the parliamentary struggles for advancing the
revolutionary movement. As soon as the Krushchovite leadership
in Soviet Union came out with its revisionist line, by the time of
the Fourth Congress in 1956, CPI came under its influence. Based
on the line of ‘peaceful transition to socialism’ of the Soviet revi-
sionists, it took the line of National Democratic Revolution, taking
the stand that the big bourgeoisie and the Congress Party is pre-
dominantly national bourgeois in character. Emergence and
strengthening of this revisionist line led to intensification of inner
Party struggle and the first split in the undivided Party in 1964,
leading to formation of CPI(M). But as its leadership took a centrist
line which soon led it to neo-revisionist positions, and to parlia-
mentary cretinism, the inner-Party struggle intensified against it.
Following the Naxalbari Uprising, the Communist Revolutionar-
ies openly started rebelling, leading to the second split and forma-
tion of the CPI(ML).
But, soon it came under the influence of the left adventurist

line which was gaining dominance in the CPC, and mechanically
following it, advocated the ‘Chinese Path’, contrary to the con-
crete conditions here, declared India is in ‘semi-colonial, semi-feu-
dal’ condition like pre-revolutionary China, and advocated armed
struggle as the only form of struggle, with the ‘line of annihilation
of class enemies’ to launch it. In spite of the positive contribution
of the 1970 Eighth Congress of the CPI(ML) of bringing agrarian
revolution and the PDR back to the agenda of the Indian people,
due to the sectarian line, it got alienated from the revolutionary
classes. Under severe state suppression, soon disintegration set in
as stated in the beginning. From that time different groups have
tried to reorganize the Party and to revive the revolutionary strug-
gles. But almost all of them, including those who claim to have
rejected the sectarian past and to have adopted mass line, refuse
to go deep in to the reasons for the setbacks suffered by the move-
ment in India, and in the larger context of the setbacks suffered by
the international communist movement during the last four de-
cades or more.
While the groups who merged to form CPI(Maoist), claiming
to uphold the 1970 line, degenerated to anarchist positions, others
even after adopting mass line, refuse to reject the ‘semi-colonial,
semi-feudal, people’s war’ line, the very source of the sectarian
positions. At the same time, a section of these forces even claiming
itself as the most ardent upholders of Naxalbari line, have degen-
erated to rightist positions, including electoral alliance not only
with CPI(M)-CPI like forces, but with the ruling class parties also.
Few others have gone to the other extreme by characterizing India
as capitalist and stage of revolution as socialist. But, none of them
could make any headway in the reorganization of the Party at all
India level and in developing the line of revolution based on the
concrete conditions of the country. Even those who could make
some progress in the beginning are now fumbling in the darkness.
How We Started Our Pioneering Voyage

It was in these circumstances, a section of the CPI(ML) after
the severe setbacks to the communist movement at international
level and in India, took up the concrete analysis of the changes that
have taken place in the world situation and in the imperialist sys-
tem after the Second World War when imperialism replaced its
colonial forms of plunder with neo-colonial ones. It made an eval-
uation of the dissolution of the Comintern in 1943, almost without
any opposition from any of its members.
These critical studies helped us to develop a study of the post-
Second World War developments in the imperialist system which
had transformed its colonial plunder to neo-colonial forms. The
failure to recognise it led to the evaluation that the setbacks suf-
fered by the ICM took place, in the main, due to it. It is after consis-
tent efforts to develop the ideological-political line based on the
Marxist-Leninist positions, and evaluating the long experience
about Party reorganization undertaken from the time of the First
All India Conference in 1982, that it successfully organized the All
India Special Conference in 2009, which put forward the docu-
ments: International Situation and our Tasks, On Character of Indian State,
On Principal Contradiction and on the Path of Indian Revolution. It creat-
ed the basic premise to play an important role in the founding of
the International Coordination of the Revolutionary Parties and
Organizations (ICOR) with other like-minded Parties in 2010, as a
first step towards the reorganization of the Communist Interna-
tional. These developments created the conditions for convening
the Ninth Party Congress, forty one years after the 1970 Congress.
The Party Congress consolidated the 2009 Bhopal Conference
positions through the Party Program adopted by it, developing the
basic line of Indian revolution. The documents adopted by the
Bhopal Conference were updated , along with the new Party Pro-
gram and the amended Party Constitution constitute the basic doc-
uments of the Indian revolution developed in the course of the

strenuous ideological political struggles during the last four de-
cades. The booklet including these six documents were published
, presenting them before all revolutionary forces and left masses,
with the call for carrying forward the building of the Party and
class and mass organization at all India level, for developing the
class struggle in all fields with the comprehensive world outlook
they provide, and to carry forward the Party reorganization unit-
ing all communist revolutionary forces that can be united, so as to
make CPI(ML) capable of leading the PDR to great victory, utiliz-
ing the present favourable objective situation.
These documents were distributed at their draft stage itself
for ever deeper discussion, not only inside the Party but outside
also, inviting responses from all. After adoption by the Party Con-
gress and updating, they are again taken to broader sections for
further discussions at all levels, cutting across the boundaries of
different organizations, as the basis for developing active revolu-
tionary practice. All Communist Revolutionary forces were urged
to unite on the basis of these documents to complete the tasks of
the PDR and to advance towards socialist revolution, upholding
proletarian internationalism’.
Apart from the above, evaluating our hitherto studies and
experiences the Red Star had asserted independent positions on
Caste question, Gender equality question, Climate change ques-
tion and on Path of Revolution, which were incorporated in the
Party Program adopted by the 9th Congress:
i. On Approach to Caste Question
One unique feature of India is its heinous caste system and
subordination of women and rejection of gender equality using
the Manuvadi Hindutua domination. The Ninth Party Congress eval-
uated our experience enriched by the long history of renaissance
movement and the new Party Program called for intensifying the
cast annihilation movement and movement for gender equality as

integral parts of the class struggle. Abandoning the reformist or
opportunist approach towards caste annihilation followed by
most of the left organizations, the party had decided to carry for-
ward the uncompromising struggle for uprooting Manuvadi tenta-
cles from the society.
ii. Ecological Protection and Alternative Development Para-
digm
In the post- Second World War (SWW) period, even while the
era still continued as the era of imperialism and proletarian revo-
lution, under the imperialist system in its neo-colonial phase, the
major contradictions at the international level continued as the
contradiction between imperialism and the oppressed nations and
peoples of the world, the contradiction between capital and la-
bour, the contradiction among the imperialist countries and
among the monopoly groups, and the contradiction between the
imperialist system and the socialist forces. At the same time, dur-
ing this period, especially after the crisis of the 1970s, there was a
mad rush for exploitation of natural and human resources utiliz-
ing the unprecedented technological advances under the imperi-
alist perspective of development. The ever- intensifying ecological
devastation started becoming a major factor both at the interna-
tional and the national level. It has given rise to a new, fifth major
contradiction, at both international and national levels, the con-
tradiction between capital and nature, along with the other four
major contradictions. Among these five major contradictions, the
contradiction between imperialism and the oppressed peoples and
nations continues as the principal contradiction at the interna-
tional level.
iii. On Path of Revolution
The Party Program had declared: “The CPI (ML) reiterates the
declaration of The Communist Manifesto: The communists dis-
dain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that
their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all
existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a com-
munist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their
chains. They have a world to win”. “The path of Indian revolution
calls for rejecting all shades of parliamentarism and reformism
and pursuing the path of revolutionary seizure of political power.
It means combining the countrywide struggles of the working class
with the revolutionary agrarian struggles, combining all other
forms of struggles with it”.
9th Party Congress, Bhubaneswar, 2011
On all the documents as well as on each point there were seri-

ous discussions when they were taken up. All the documents were
adopted with some amendments, but maintaining their basic ori-
entation intact. Through these discussions, among the newly
merged sections, while the unity with the comrades of CCR (ML)
from W. Bengal got consolidated, the group from UP led by Brij
Bihari came nearer, so also many of the observers from Manipur,
Gujarat etc., the differences with Anjani Pandey(from Jharkhand )
only widened, leading to his group going away from the party
after few months. More than the ideological political questions, it
was the small group mentality linked to petty bourgeois opportun-
ism which plays an important role in the existence of many of the
large number of petty groups in all the states. The existence of
such individual based sectarian groups, and their opportunist
activities including extortion of funds, are doing lot of damage to
the development of a powerful Marxist-Leninist Party in the coun-
try. The 9th Party Congress witnessed a serious struggle against
such alien trends. Along with this, it marked a different phase the
CPI(ML) Red Star had reached, traversing the revolutionary mass
line path, fighting against reformism and anarchism, upholding
proletarian internationalism.
The participation of fraternal delegations from Germany, Neth-

erlands, Turkey, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Morocco, and Con-
go, along with comrades to ICOR centre, and their participation in
the discussion of the documents, reflected the democratic atmo-
sphere in the Party Congress. Apart from fraternal delegates from
abroad, fraternal delegates from Manipur, Assam, Gujarat, Jhark-
hand and Rajasthan also participated, plus many other demo-
cratic forces in the inaugural session.
After the conclusion of the Party Congress, the ICC meeting of
ICOR was also held successfully. Then there was also a Seminar on
international situation and Marxist-Leninists’ tasks
It was the first time a Communist Party was organizing a
Party Congress at Bhubaneswar. The large number of volunteers
from the slums and people’s participation in large numbers in all
open programs showed the considerable mass base it has in Odis-
ha.
Conclusion
From Vijayawada to Bhubaneswar, though the distance is not

very much.But, ideologically and politically, the difference between
Vijayawada Unity Conference to the 9th Congress of the CPI(ML)
Red Star was tremendously. Politically, it was a great lesson. As
far as the unity among the Naxalite forces are concerned, unity
with differences cannot reach integration of the forces and unity,
even if a leader of the stature of Kanu Sanyal take a pledge for it.
Why, even if Marx himself comes forward to help, India’s Nax-
alites will still refuse to unite, I was told by Shiv Kumar Mishra, a
member of the 1970 CC giving many of his experiences. So, after
meeting few comrades, he stopped activities after coming out of
Jail in 1978.
When I met him at Kanpur, he was sitting with his elder broth-
er, who was a priest owning one of the small temples. Though I
met him next year, he told me openly that he has become inactive
and has no faith in the possibility of a revolution in the country. I
felt he had become more spiritual! Before joining the Naxalite
stream in 1969 and he was secretary of the UP state committee of
CPI(M)and had written books on people’s struggles. But, in spite of
having decades of experience among the people, he and so many
others could not save the movement by developing struggles ac-
cording to concrete conditions in one area and mobilize the mass-

es.
So, when the splits started in the CPI(ML) in 1971 itself with
SNS going out with few CCMs and forming a parallel CC, accusing
CM for not holding CC meeting, what he could do? When we say
the Bhopal Special Conference followed by the 9th Congress of the
Red Star (RS) could put forward an ideological-political line and
practice, why so much reluctance is witnessed among the so-called
CR forces to put forward a perspective for revolution and practice
it? should be an eye opener. So, powerful was/is the influence of
sectarianism and petti-bourgeois opportunism in the movement.
Due to remaining in small groups for a long time, without getting
involved in any major struggles, small group mentality is also very
rampant. Most of these groups/organizations have frozen their
activities or have become stagnant as a result.
But, from the bad experience following Vijayawada, what we
achieved at Bhubaneswar was great. The more than three decades’
experience was evaluated and we could develop all basic docu-
ments accordingly with the slogan: No to Reformism, No to Anar-
chism, March to Revolution. The 9th Party Congress was qualita-
tively much advanced, where we could update all documents and
prepare the party for marching forward towards the completion
of People’s Democratic Revolution. It also tested the ideological,
political firmness of com Sivaram, Pramila and comrades with
and around them. First they withstood all the problems confound-
ed while working with very senior, but very sectarian comrades.
Now they have successfully held a Party Congress. Red Salute to
Odisha comrades.
After the initial days when we started the Slum Protection Move-
ment, I could not find to go to these Bustees and meet our comrades.
But, while agreeing to hold the Party Congress at Bhubaneswar,
Sivaram had a condition: after completing all state conferences,
KN should stay with him for 2-3 weeks. I had agreed. I could stay
20 days with him, almost every day evening we shall have a study
class in a busti followed by songs and other cultural programs,
followed by community meals. Biswapriya like advocates, intel-
lectuals also participated in these. Extensive wall writings, pam-
phletting, postering, press conferences and public meetings, lively
cultural programs…….. everything contributing to the success of
the 9th Party Congress.
Fifth Part
From the 9th Party Congress of CPI(ML) Red Star, 2011, to its 12th Party
Congress in September, 2022.
Introduction to the Fifth Part

We had started the evaluation of the explanation given for the
unity with differences in Part 4 by showing the great success achieved
in trying to unite communist revolutionary forces even when they
were having some basic differences. The great success of Vijayawa-
da Unity Conference, 2005,showedit’s the immense possibilities in
the present Indian situation. But, we have also seen how fast these
expectations started fading. Instead of seeking truth from facts, and
making concrete analysis of the contemporary realities, develop-
ing the party line and practice accordingly, if anyone persists on
his practice under sectarian influence and sticks to dogmatic posi-
tions, whatever unity efforts are made, however great their revo-
lutionary vision, these attempts are then bound to fail .
We have explained how desperate KS became due to many of
his own group’s leaders going against his unity concept. So finally
the separation took place. Following the separation, sharpening
the ideological political struggle against all alien trends, which
prevent the development of the revolutionary line according to
the concrete analysis of the concrete situation, we showed that it
is the sectarianism which is dominant among the Communist
Revolutionary forces which prevents their unity. We showed in
practice, how speedily we could sum up the hitherto experiences
and qualitatively develop our line, in the Bhopal Special Confer-
ence reflecting this development. Through Bhopal Conference, fol-
lowed by the 9th Party Congress held in 2011 at Bhubaneswar, we
could assimilate our hitherto experiences and launch a theoretical

offensive.
These developments show that though there was a tempo-
rary setback following the great success of the Vijayawada Unity
Conference, we could overcome this and make big strides in build-
ing party and developing the practice. What were these theoreti-
cal summations of the experiences till the 9thParty Congress which
helped us to overcome the new challenges and go forward? They
are given briefly in the Fifth Part below. From the CRC’s time we
had continuously raised the question, how could such a great,
colossal socialist bloc crumble down, even when the international
criminals, the crises ridden capitalist system could make changes
in their tactics to shift every burden of it to the shoulders of the
working class and oppressed masses and survive? Even when one
is seeing it quite nakedly around us in India, when the RSS led
Modi rule is consolidating its neo-fascist hegemony dangerously
day by day, why the Communist Revolutionaries are refusing to
seek truth seek from facts and get matured enough to address the chal-
lenge! Let us see how to take up this vital question, this great chal-
lenge confronted by every serious Marxist-Leninist in the world,
in the background of what happened to, and in, Red Star during
just little more than a decade’s time, from Bhubaneswar to
Kozhikode in the fifth and concluding part.
Intensification of the
Ideological-Political Struggle
The main tasks taken by the Bhopal Conference 2009, and the
th
9 Party Congress 2011,were the assimilation of the results of our
hitherto enquiries and experiences and the development of our
ideological political line accordingly. What where the questions
on which we were trying to find answers with a pioneering zeal?
Firstly, the caste question. Almost all the Marxist Leninist forc-
es generally agree that the caste question is a unique feature of
Indian society. It divides the people and makes democratization of
the society extremely difficult. From the beginning of Aryan dom-
ination India was not a class divided society, but a Varna divided
society, which later turned into a Manuvadi caste divided society.
Thus class struggle and also gender struggle are integral parts of
the class struggle. Differences on this question led to the differenc-
es of the CPI leadership from the beginning with Ambedkar. It
greatly damaged the communist movement and the struggle of
the oppressed masses. The 9th Party Congress rectified the errone-
ous approach by updating the Party Program accordingly. With
these steps the Party feeling the heat it had created by daring to
touch such a sensitive question like caste system which is like a
sacred cow for the Manuvadi fundamentalist and calling for caste
annihilation to be taken u as part and parcel of class struggle for

social change, mostly from outside, but from inside also.
Secondly, the Marxist Leninist analysis of the colonial phase of
imperialism , the laws of motion of the capitalist-imperialist sys-
tem during the imperialist period, show how under the leader-
ship of US imperialism it was turned in to a qualitative different
phase, to neo-colonialism, to facilitate the imperialist plunder more
effectively. So, based on our studies of the developments, during
and after the World War II, we incorporated in our updated pro-
gram that after the War, the colonial phase of imperialist domina-
tion and plunder had transformed into neo-colonial phase after
the War.
Thirdly, under the impact of ever intensifying neoliberal poli-
cies the ecological destruction had reached catastrophically dan-
gerous levels, transforming the contradiction between capital and
nature as a major contradiction at national and international
level also. All these theoretical developments were definitely go-
ing to facilitate the development of class struggle in all fields.
Formation of Caste Annihilation Movement

The 1984 Anti-Caste Secular Convention organized in Kerala
was a pioneering effort to develop an understanding about the
concept of caste annihilation according to concrete conditions.
Based on the updating done on the question of caste annihilation,
in 2010,an all India two days’ seminar followed by a convention
was organized at Delhi on the question of Caste Annihilation. In-
vitations were sent to different CR forces , Dalit organization and
progressive forces to present papers and to participate in this two
day seminar, in which about 200 delegates from all over India
participated and presented their papers.
Three view points came out through these presentation of pa-
pers and discussions. Firstly, there was a repetition of the me-

chanical view that the revolution shall solve all problems. The
second view, reflecting the position of the majority of the social
democratic parties and reformist forces was that movements
against ongoing caste oppression in different forms should be or-
ganized along with revolutionary struggles. The third view was
that as caste system had developed according to the socio-cultur-
al and historic realities under Aryan domination; so, the caste
annihilation movement should be developed as the integral part
of class struggle.
(Before the convention, An and Tultumbde who has published
many studies on the origin of the caste system in India and the
need to launch caste annihilation movement was invited to one of
the central committee meetings of the Party and discussion took
place after his presentation).
It became clear that there were sharp differences on this ques-
tion of caste annihilation among the various forces in the broad
left spectrum following the two day seminar. Apart from us only
com. Aloke Mukheriee, the editor of a Bengali journal, comrades of
one section of CLI and few individuals only upheld the cardinal
importance of taking caste question as an integral part of class
struggle and for which a movement should be launched from now
itself. On the third day a convention was called, of these forces
who agree on the question of launching the caste annihilation
movement at all India level. A program for the caste annihilation
movement and its organizational approach were adopted. The
convention called for launching a socio cultural movement, like
campaigning for elimination of the practice of linking caste with
individual names, campaign against Manuvadi caste system etc.,
and for implementation of land to the tiller slogan. An all India
committee for organizing the Caste Annihilation Movement was
formed, which was given the responsibility to spread the CAM at
all India level. It was an important step in the struggle against
caste system and against reformist concepts which in effect negat-

ed caste annihilation.
National Campaign for Propagating ICOR

In 1997, the4th All India Conference adopted a paper on present
international situation and the tasks of the Marxist Leninist forc-
es. In that paper the transformation of the imperialist plunder
from colonial to neo colonial forms by the imperialist forces, lead-
ing to intensification of the exploitation and miseries of the work-
ing class and the oppressed peoples were analysed.
It criticized the dissolution of the Communist International in
1943, and for not building atleast an international platform of the
revolutionary parties in its place. In the context of the ever-in-
creasing imperialist plunder, this task was very important, and
the paper had criticized all the various tendencies which opposed
this important task. In continuation to this paper, Bhopal special
conference put forward a paper updating the contents and giving
a picture of various international efforts taking place in this direc-
tion.
In this context, the paper pointed out the significance of the
joint effort by MLPD and our party, along with other like-minded
forces, which led to the successful convening of the first world
conference of the ICOR in 2010, attended by myself and Sanjay as
delegates, in which our party was elected to take responsibility as
Deputy Main Coordinator, while Stefan Engels, chairman of the
MLPD was the Main Coordinator. As already approved by the CC,
I proposed Sanjay as Deputy Main Coordinator which was re-
ceived by the World Conference This first world conference was
attended by delegates from more than 40 constituent parties and
organizations.
The 9th party congress called for an all India campaign to an-
nounce the formation of ICOR by publishing and distributing the

main documents of the ICOR. After the 9th Party Congress of2011,
along with the campaign for propagating the decisions of the 9th
Congress of the CPI(ML) Red Star, campaign of the ICOR was also
organized at all India level. The great significance of ICOR and of
Proletarian Internationalism was explained.
Formation of Democratic People’s Forum (DPF)

After the six party, issue based alliance became inactive by
1999, for almost a decade we did not have any all India united
front for all India joint campaigns. As various peoples’ movements
were intensifying activities against the UPA government, and as
the danger of neo fascism was also increasing, the CC called for
renewed efforts for a common minimum program based Demo-
cratic Forum at all India level. After holding bi-lateral discussions
with a number of organizations, in a meeting of the representa-
tives of the different organizations was held at Delhi party centre,
which decided to form the Democratic People Forum with a ten
point program comprising of CPML Red Star, New socialist move-
ment [NSM] Gujarat , Marxist Leninist committee of AP [MLC]
,New Democratic party led by Arun maji, CPIML[ New proletar-
ian], and PCC CPIML. It was decided to include other organiza-
tions also. A joint program was held at Delhi Jantar Mantar focus-
ing on immediate people’s demands.
Though the elections to Gujarat assembly was coming closer
in December, and still the UPA government was not taking any
action to book the 2002 massacre culprits, DPF decided to organize
a big mobilization with the slogan Defeat BJP. Under the active
initiative of com Mukul Sinha, the NSM did good campaign and
made arrangements for the one day convention with afternoon
rally and evening public meeting. The RSS with the backing of BJP
state government did create all possible obstacles right from the
beginning. Bringing comrades for the program by train also was

made difficult. Still thousands were mobilized and the program
was well organized. It was a successful anti-fascist initiative.
Soon after wards, Mukul became a cancer patient and in few
months he left us. It was a great shock. In spite of many rounds of
discussions, the DPF constituents were becoming less active, or
some of them could organize only token participation. Still, giving
a lot of attention, we kept DPF alive. On Centenary of October
Revolution a militant rally and public meeting was also held at
Delhi Jantar Mantar.
National Situation and

Party Organization in States
Following the successful convening of the 9thParty Congress

at Bhubaneswar, the basic documents adopted at Bhopal Special
Conference and the9th Party Congress at Bhubaneswar developed
through the theorization of the hitherto enquiries and experienc-
es, provided an excellent ideological-political basis for recruiting
large number of party members and candidate members. Though,
there was some progress in this field, our recruitment of worker
comrades from the TUCI and from the peasantry and agricultural
workers linked to AIKKS, and recruitment from other mass move-
ments, especially from the youth and student sections were weak.
It was observed that rejecting the strong sectarian influence, and
transforming the party into Bolshevik style party building,and
taking up class/mass organization building also in Bolshevik style
are very difficult tasks. Even the advanced party elements work-
ing in the class organizations and mass movements could not be
effectively mobilized for this purpose. It called for a thorough scru-
tiny.
It was found that the membership campaigns for the class /
mass organizations were not taken up energetically and regularly
due to the political and organizational weaknesses and lack of
political centralization in their leadership. Some senior organiza-

tional leaders had started openly arguing that organizational in-
dependence of class/mass organizations means no political lead-
ership of the party. As the party sub committees in the class/ mass
organizations we releid by these senior leaders, they were not
functioning with the full political orientation and spirit called for
from them. So these sub committees and fractions below them
could not develop politically and organizationally developed mem-
bers from among the general membership and recruit them as
party members in large numbers. This was one of the main rea-
sons for membership not increasing as was expected.
Similarly the required importance to recruit large number of
party members/ candidates members from the grass root level,
that is from branch committee to area committee levels, was not
given by the state and district level party committees. As a result,
the party membership was not increasing. These were serious
questions in front of the party. As a result, in spite of the develop-
ment of the theoretical line and development of many struggles,
the membership was not increasing. The various problems creat-
ed by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the lockdowns, also played
a role in the party membership not increasing during this period.
The interesting thing is that some of the senior comrades who
were always criticizing the party for not expanding the party
membership were themselves creating all these obstacles, and
themselves not active, becoming afraid of Covid.
Explaining all these questions, a paper for an all India study
class on building party in neo colonial situation was drafted and dis-
cussed at all levels; even then the situation was not improving.
There were two reasons for it, one was, the field work to find out
and recruit large number of members to class/mass organizations
on the one hand, and to find out the active comrades from these
class and mass organizations for recruitment to the party on the
other hand were not taking place. Secondly, it was because the
senior comrades were making irresponsible criticism to cover up

their own political degeneration, as justification for their own stag-
nancy. To overcome these problems regular, yearly study classes
from central level, yearly membership renewal and enrolment,
strengthening the publication sector etc were discussed at all lev-
els. After the 9th Party Congress, the CC convened the all India
conferences of all the class mass organizations. Problems concern-
ing all of them were discussed.
On the whole, there was lot of inequality in the memberships’
quality and quantity in different states. Even though there was
general stagnation in the communist movement everywhere and
at every level, it alone cannot be used for justifying our weakness-
es. What was called for was a serious analysis of the specific fea-
tures of the concrete situation at international and all India level
and rectification of our weaknesses in all fields.
Unity Talks in West Bengal, AP and Gujarat

The energetic atmosphere created by 9th Party Congress at
Bhubaneswar and the World Conference of the ICOR had increased
the political prestige of the party at all India level. A situation
favourable for merger of many forces with the Red Star was also
increasing. It was in this situation, the WB organizing committee
of the party reported about their discussion with the CPI [ML]
Red Flag led by Pradip Singh Thakur. The WB committee wanted
party centre to help in the next round of discussion with PST and
his comrades. This group had splitted from CPI(ML) ND. After
participating in the next discussion with PST, when I had a dis-
cussion with the leading comrades from WB, all of us agreed that
though PST had agreed to some of the positions in our documents,
he is basically still in the CPI(ML)New Democracy line from which
he had split only for differences in organizational approach. Com-
rade Alik and other comrades there also were not much impressed
by PST. But, in spite of it, they were of the view that PST’s merger
with Red Star would create a favourable situation for the party in
West Bengal even if some compromises were required for it, since
we are still a very small force in the state.
Before the next round of discussion with PST, these develop-
ments were reported to other PB members. Majority of them were
of the view that development of Bengal party committee shall help
us at all India level. But at the same time I agreed with comrades
RM and PJ that if we compromise for unity, whether it will affect
our basic line should be given attention to. But, by the time we met
Alik, before starting next round of discussion with PST, he had
taken a firm stand that without unity with PST, Bengal committee
can’t go forward. At the same time all state organizing committee
members from Bengal were also of the view, that since our organi-
zation was very active, PST will be forced to change his dogmatic
position in the course of practice. And finally with the understand-
ing that we can win over PST to our side theoretically also step by
step, the PB agreed for the merger.
Though PST had connections in almost a dozen districts, no-
where it was active. But since such a senior comrade is going to
merge with us, it shall improve the prestige of the party. In away,
indirectly this merger helped us in the developing the Bhangar
movement also. But, as a member of the PB, soon PST took the role
of an opposition leader, and in the AIKKS more attention was giv-
en to inner party campaign to win over the leaders of it, than for
building the organization. But, it was only the beginning and he
was moving cautiously.
During the discussion in the PB and CC which finalized the
merger decision, I pointed out: In our party building process, with
regard to merger with certain differences, we had many negative
as well as positive experiences. Because of extreme sectarian influ-
ences prevalent in the communist movement, even a positive merg-
er can soon turn to its opposite also. So, we cannot say, no more
mergers, or unity because of past experiences. The best possible
approach should be to keep an open mind, evaluate past experi-
ences carefully, and take the best positive looking decisions ac-
cording to concrete conditions. At the same time, according to
changes in the concrete conditions, keep an open mind and take
decisions. We should be flexible in our approach, and seek correct
path based on facts.
AP: My comradely relation and open hearted discussions with
the veteran com. Kolla Venkayya started since 1979 when I first
met him at the Hyderabad court premises. It played an important
role in the development of close relation with Com. K V Rao and
ultimate merger of MLC with Red Star. As I used to do for many
years, I maintained such relations through regular letter corre-
spondence also. It was with the last Inland letter I had written to
K V, Comrade KV Rao who became secretary of the [MLC] after
KV’s departure, met me the first time we met at Delhi. He became
part of DPF and was regularly attending the DPF meetings then
onwards. Because of very close personal relation, the possibility
of merger with it was increasing. And as hinted earlier, when the
full team of MLC comrades came to Lucknow party congress, they
declared their merger with the party there itself.
In Gujarat, after our 2002 intervention, a number of comrades
from Ahmedabad, though not very active, came closer to us. From
the time of the CRC we had organizational presence in the state.
Joining with veteran communist who supported Naxalbari Up-
rising, Dr. Behera and his sister Damayanti Behen, who left CPI(M),
we had close relations and some organizational contacts. The pos-
sibility for forming an organization committee was also increas-
ing. But our problem was that, not only in Gujarat, but also other
parts, including Northeast and J&K, was that unless local com-
rades are developed we should not go for forming even organizing
committees at state level. During extensive travels to study the
various movements taking place in different areas, I had made

many contacts and held discussions, and even participated in cam-
paigns and movements, coming close with a large no of comrades,
who can be mobilized for struggles. But, we could not so far re-
cruit and train sufficient number of cadres at central level to go
and work in these states, integrate with the conditions there and
develop the party structure. The party leadership should be capa-
ble to search and find new areas on the whole through studying
the objective situation at national and regional level, and develop-
ing such initiatives for taking up the development of cadres and
infrastructure.
Struggles Against Nuclear Power Plants

In my studies of Marxism from my school days itself I was
attracted by the importance and priority given in these works of
Marxist teachers for the protection of nature from the devastating
consequences of imperialist development perspective. Today, all
scientists of the world, like Stephan Hawkins who passed away
last year, have declared that the human species can be saved from
ecological catastrophe and total destruction only by wiping out
the capitalist system from the world! They have warned, either
perish, or destroy the imperialist system for saving humanity from
devastation!
From my school days some of the teachers had encouraged me
in this. Formation of Sasthra Sahithya Parishad in Kerala which took
up the agitation for protection of Silent Valleyin Palghat district of
Kerala, I along with friends got inspiration from it. Later, when I
studied more writings of Marx and the Dialectics of Nature by En-
gels, it helped me to grasp the critical importance of ecological
protection and the significance of overthrowing the imperialist
system for it.
There is an interesting story about the delay in the publica-
tion of this important book. It was one of last books of Engels.

When the manuscript was ready, it was left with Bernstein, one of
the top leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Engels
was very busy in publishing many books including the publica-
tion of the Vol.3 of Marx’s Capital. So, he had almost forgotten
about its publication. As far as Bernstein was concerned, after
reading the manuscript, he did not find it important enough for
urgent publication! It was in early 1920s, when some theoretical
questions concerning some of the scientific problems came up, the
great scientist Einstein remembered about this manuscript, which
he had read earlier. To his dismay, it was still not published. A
search was made, and the manuscript was found in Bernstein’s
library. Einstein sent it to JBH Haldein, another great scientist,
with a request to write an introduction and to publish it urgently.
The book was published in 1926 in Soviet Union. In his introduc-
tion, Haldein wrote “many decades of scientific research by nu-
merous scientists could have been saved if this could be published
earlier‘’ It means Lenin and so many others could not read this
book!
As imperialist globalization and neoliberal policies were in-
tensifying, by 1980s,all the great scientists of this period had de-
clared that humanity shall perish if the imperialist system is not
overthrown, and an alternative, people oriented development per-
spective is not brought forward. But, still not only the ruling class
parties, and the reformist parties, but even the social democratic
parties like CPIM, but even many of the so-called Communist Rev-
olutionary forces as well did not recognize the importance of tak-
ing up the ecological question. But, from the CRC days our party
took up the ecological question very seriously. And, in the Party
Program adopted in the 9thParty congress it had recognized that
the contradiction between nature and capital is one of the major
contradictions before the world people.
Right from the 1980s in Kerala the party struggled against
and succeeded to stop the construction of a nuclear power plant.

From that time onwards, in numerous ecological issues our party
committees had intervened, like in the Western Ghats Protection
Movement, in the struggle against Special Economic Zones, against
plundering of water and mining resources by the corporates etc.
In the course of these struggles we have come closer to many sci-
entists and environmentalists like Dr Soumya Dutta, Dr. Faiziand
others who agree with us that saving humanity from ecological
catastrophe is a political question.
It is in this context, when UPA government announced the
construction of 10 nuclear power plants all over India, a broad
based Peoples initiative against Nuclear Power Plants was formed,
joining hands with numerous like-minded forces. We succeeded
to prevent the construction of this entire project. Presently, as
humanity has started suffering from the consequences of the eco-
logical destruction increasingly, this struggle is becoming more
and more important.
MLPD’s Concept on
New Imperialist Powers
Before the Second World Conference of the ICOR, MLPD came

out with more studies on imperialism. It put forward a new con-
cept that under intensification of globalization and neo liberal
policies, and along with this the further intensification of global-
ization of capital and global division of manufacturing, a large
number of countries all over the world including or ranging from
India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico to Kuwait and Qatar have be-
come neo -imperialist countries. Its argument is that without rec-
ognizing this fact the strategy for fighting imperialist system can-
not be worked out.
MLPD as a constituent organization of the ICOR, like any oth-
er organization has the right to transform its hitherto position
that all these countries so far were neo-colonially dependent coun-
tries and to put forward a new concept like this. It may have its
own arguments for it. But no constituent organization, even if it is
the organization of the Main Coordinator of the ICOR, has the
right to impose any concept, as the concept of the ICOR, so long as
it is not discussed in it and a decision is taken. MLPD could de-
mand a discussion on this question. A seminar or special World
conference can be organized to take a decision on the new concept
of the MLPD if it considers it as so urgent. Instead of doing that,

putting it forward in some way or other as the line of the ICOR is
not correct.
There was a serious struggle on this question. We consistently
stood against the new concept of MLPD and the way it is trying to
impose its line or to win over others to its viewpoint. When voting
took place on a resolution reflecting the line of MLPD, its position
was rejected by more than 80 % of the delegates present.
After the2008 crisis faced by the imperialist system, all the
contradictions at international level are intensifying faster, no
doubt. In many countries neo fascist governments were coming
up serving corporate giants. Big upsurges were taking place in
increasing number of countries against them. At this crucial junc-
ture it was the responsibility of the ICOR to unite more and more
countries and to launch large number of anti- imperialist move-
ments everywhere. While intervening in the discussion in the ICOR
agendas, as well as during our bi-lateral discussion with Stephan
before leaving Germany after the World Seminar On Centenary of
October Revolution, I had explained that at this crucial juncture,
MLPD should follow the correct stand in the statutes. He had agreed
to see that it is done. We are of the opinion that democratic central-
ism is being followed we should go on trying to make the D of
democracy bigger.
In the Second World Conference of the ICOR, myself with San-
jay again participated as our delegation. We actively took part in
the discussions and held bi-lateral discussions with as many par-
ties/groups from Asian, African, Latin American continents as
possible. Our delegate, Sanjay was elected as the Deputy Coordi-
nator again.
10th Party Congress, Lucknow, 2015
The 16th General Election took place when further intensifica-

tion of the neoliberal regime, nicknamed Manmohanomics under the
UPA government was on. During the three years, since our Tenth
Congress, it had led to alarming price rise, unemployment, cor-
ruption, displacement, ecological destruction, loss of livelihood,
etc. They aroused unprecedented people’s fury across the length
and breadth of the country. In the absence of a left people’s alterna-
tive, the BJP succeeded to catapult itself to power with the backing
of the very same corporate capital that gobbled up the biggest
gains during the UPA rule, together with using the ideological and
organizational backing of the Hindutva forces led by RSS, unleash-
ing the ‘cultural nationalist’ offensive, creating a dangerous situa-
tion in the country.
Modi’s ascent to power was characterized by the ascendancy
of aggressive Hindu communalism to power. It was reflected in a
slew of riots, religious conversion drives, esoteric Saffronisation
of culture and science, strident calls for Hindu Rashtra, idolization
of Nathuram Godse like figures. The open communal polarization
resorted to by the RSS, and Bajrang Dal like forces in its parivar,
were promoted by Modi and his administration. BJP MPs and
MLAs continued to make blatant communal statements to incite
tensions. All these were accompanied by ruthless acceleration of

Manmohanomics as manifested in the extrapolation of his ‘Gujar-
at model’ to the whole of India, with corporate-friendly catch-
words such as ‘minimum government,’ ‘good governance’, devel-
opment, etc. The future ‘road map’ for Modi regime includes a
transparent policy environment for business including reforms
to enhance “ease of doing business”, liberal tax regime, full liberal-
ization of FDI regime in strategic sectors such as defence and rail-
ways, construction of freight and industrial corridors including
the creation of what is called a Diamond Quadrilateral project of
high speed trains, specialized Agri-Rail networks, promotion of
air connectivity to smaller towns and development of low-cost
airports, connecting ports with hinterland through road and rail,
outsourcing of public sector banking operations to MNCs and cor-
porate giants such as Reliance, building up of 100 cities equipped
with world class amenities, etc. based on PPP, a euphemism for
privatization, attracting private investment in coal sector, com-
pletion of nuclear power projects and operationalization of inter-
national nuclear agreements, modernization and corporatization
of agriculture, etc.
In this situation, the documents and the resolutions adopted
in the Party Congress defined the primary task as developing the
existing Party organization and class/mass organizations to make
them capable of intensifying the struggles to throw out neo-liber-
al policies and communal fascist tendencies, and to launch people
oriented development paradigm. Along with this, all committees
called for strengthening party fraction work in all class/ mass or-
ganizations. Recruiting party members from them was given ut-
most importance. A vigorous campaign for recruiting party mem-
bers from revolutionary intellectuals, students and youth based
on the ideological political line put forward by the Party has to be
launched. People’s resistance against the neoliberal regime can be
built up effectively only by a party having strong base among the
masses. The documents called for further consolidation and ex-

pansion of the Party organisation in all states where it was exist-
ing, and spreading it to more areas. Based on the ideological polit-
ical line put forward by the party, systematic political and organ-
isational work should be initiated and developed.
Reorganization of the party is inseparably linked to uniting
all Marxist-Leninist forces in to a powerful Communist party ca-
pable of leading the working class, peasantry and all other ex-
ploited and oppressed classes and sections of people for revolu-
tionary social transformation. While the BJP with its ultra-right-
ist and communal fascist agenda has unleashed an unprecedented
onslaught, the struggling left forces should put forward an alter-
native before the country and give leadership to people’s struggles
against imperialism, against neo-liberal policies and programs of
the Modi government and various state governments.
The Party documents declared that they shall be linking ef-
forts to reorganize the communist party with moves tounite all
left forces for building a program based left core, and anti-RSS/BJP
forces for forming the broadest possible people’s resistance against
its neo-liberal policies and fascist actions, linking it with the above
tasks.
Brij Bihari(BB), a Dalit scholar, who got doctorate from JNU,
was active in Sitapur district and surrounding areas of Central-
North UP. During a decade long work with CPI(ML) Liberation he
had built a pocket-borough around Sitapur. According to him, he
separated from Liberation after its 2007 Party Congress, mainly
due to its refusal to accept the caste annihilation line. In 2009 he
joined the RS, and was elected as the state secretary of the UP
committee in the state conference before the Ninth Party Con-
gress, replacing Monasur, who was secretary for more than five
years. It was after his suggestion, the CC decided to hold the 10th
Party Congress at Lucknow, with the slogan “Don’t allow UP to
become another Gujarat”. But its task could be carried forward suc-
cess fully only if a political and organizational consolidation could

take place in the state. Before that could be achieved the Lok Sabha
elections took place, with Modi coming to power at Delhi. So, the
central slogan became “Don’t allow Modi to turn India in to a mega
Gujarat”.
Thus, the task before the party and the people of this country
became a thousand times more difficult. At that difficult time, what
we found was that the influence of small group mentality and
identity politics were so strong among the two leading comrades,
Brij Bihari and Purvanchal leader Baburam Sarma who joined RS
from the Maoist stream, that even a proper state committee meet-
ing was not possible due to their unnecessary personality con-
flicts. In this situation, BB said he cannot mobilize any fund and
volunteers at Lucknow, but can mobilize for the rally only.
Baburam Sharma took the responsibility for an amount from his
area. In this situation, the Party Centre had to take almost the
entire responsibility to make the Party Congress a success with
the help of Raju and other comrades from Lucknow and nearby
areas. But as the entire CC rose up to the occasion, the Party Con-
gress was conducted successfully with an effective rally through
the main centres in the Lucknow city and a good mass meeting.
Based on the merger agreement with the CPI(ML) Red Flag led
by PST, some of the points in the Program and Path were changed
appropriately. While this point was being presented by the GS
and discussions were taking place, the way Alik was showing his
aggressive attitude to anyone who raised even a doubt had un-
necessarily spoiled the atmosphere in the Party Congress for some
time.
Seminars on Education, Environment and

Imperialism in the Neoliberal Phase
As far as the question of ecological destruction becoming a
grave challenge before the humanity is concerned, it is not a sub-

ject alien to Marxism. Marx and Engels have profusely written on
it in all their important works. For example in Vol. I of Capital,
Marx had shown how the contradiction between nature and cap-
ital had started turning in to an antagonistic one with the begin-
ning of Industrial revolution. In all his later important works also,
how the ecological question had become a political question, an
integral part of class struggle was explained. Stephan Hawkins,
the great scientist who passed away last year, in his last inter-
view had explained how humanity had failed to prevent the eco-
logical crisis reaching the phase of a catastrophe, and how it is the
most serious political struggle to save humanity from extinction.
It was this devastating effect of the intensification of the con-
tradiction between capital and nature, that we had made the cen-
tral theme of the campaign, during a drought in Kerala three de-
cades ago, and took it to the people of my village while giving
leadership to a three week long mass movement for saving the
Kurunthara puzha, a rivulet in my village. This was when I had
to take a break from my all India programs after a bus accident
while I was going to my village and was forced to take rest in my
brother’s house. When we first started writing about how the
ecological question was becoming extremely devastating after the
imposition of neoliberal globalization, and how it has become one
of the central contradictions the working class and the oppressed
people face, many ‘wise old men’ (the characters in the story quot-
ed by Mao in the article “The foolish old man who removed the
mountains”)had chided us. The interesting thing is that, even today,
when all the scientists have started talking about the impending
ecological catastrophe, the consequences of which we have already
started increasing sufferings in ever-increasing scale, these wise
men( the imperialists and their lackeys)were still repeating that
everything is ok, nothing to worry, the imperialist system, will
find an answer to it also!
When we adopted the contradiction between nature and cap-

ital as one of the major contradictions to be resolved for the sur-
vival of the human race, many were raising doubts about it. But
today more and more political movements have come forward to
accept it. Dr. Soumya Dutta is one of those scientists who are work-
ing full time on it and is very close to us. A seminar was organized
during one evening on this question at Lucknow during the 10th
Party Congress in which he explained this question and many
comrades actively participated in the discussion. Presently the
party has taken it at all levels as one of the cardinal questions
facing the humanity.
Similarly, after coming to power at the centre, for the first time
in 1998, when RSS/BJP had started saffronizing the education sys-
tem under the Vajpayee govt very fast, opposing it, large number
of organizations representing the academics, teachers, students
and other concerned forces got organized under the banner of All
India Forum for Right to Education(AIFRTE) and had started cam-
paigning against it. Dr. Anil Sadgopal, one of the main leaders of
this movement participated in the Seminar organized against saf-
fronization of education, along with representatives of students,
teachers and educationists raising their voice against it, and sug-
gesting how to intensify the movement against this. As the AIRSO
and RYFI are active participants of AIFRTE, this seminar deep-
ened the understanding on strengthening the movement in com-
ing days, while mobilizing more forces in it
The third Seminar on Imperialism in the neoliberal globaliza-
tion situation brought out our contradictions with the MLPD’s
stand on it. Clauz Walenstein representing MLPD presented a pa-
per and com. Sankar and others participated in the debate oppos-
ing the MLPD’s stand that under neoliberal globalization, India,
Brazil and a large number of neo-colonially dependent countries
have become neo-imperialist countries. The other international
delegates also participated. Though the NCP(Mashal) wanted
more time before coming out with their views, our comrades as
well as all other fraternal delegations came out strongly criticiz-
ing the MLPD position. This serious debate will have many rami-
fications in the ICOR and we called for serious studies and discus-
sions in the ICOR before any collective decision is taken on it.
Party Calls for Defeat BJP/RSS Campaign

The Political Resolution adopted by the 10th Party Congress at
Lucknow, after evaluating the quantitative and qualitative changes
that have taken place in the country as a result of quarter of a
century of imperialist globalization, and present second ascen-
dance of RSS/BJP to power in more naked form, called on the party:
to “seriously ponder over the quantitative and qualitative chang-
es that have taken place in the country as a result of almost two-
and-a-half decades of imperialist globalization. Of particular con-
cern should be issues with reference to the economic and cultural
repercussions that these changes have brought among the class
forces and their impact on working class, peasantry, women,
youth, students, and all other oppressed sections including Dalits,
Adivasis and minorities. A concrete analysis and understanding
on these aspects must go hand in hand with the Party building
and with the efforts for broadest possible unity of all genuine left
and democratic forces, linking them with all out ideological, polit-
ical and organizational offensive against the ruling system for
building up a people’s alternative. At this juncture, the imperialist
finance capital in alliance with all reactionary forces, had launched
the worst-ever offensive against the working class and broad
masses of the people. On the basis of a concrete evaluation of this
neoliberal/neo-colonial phase, the Party pledged to take the lead
to “impart fresh orientation to the revolutionary advance”. It
emphatically called for organizing the Defeat RSS/BJP campaigns
during the coming elections to throw out the communal neo-fas-
cist forces from power. It called for taking lessons from the mis-
takes of a decade long UPA rule, and the result of disunity among
the non-BJP parties and for rectifying them.
When the RSS has used the electoral means to come to power
through its front organization, BJP, the non-BJP forces also should
utilize these for throwing it from all seats of power. Though Red
Star consistently implemented this line, neither the other revolu-
tionary left forces/ nor the parliamentary left, nor the non-BJP
opposition parties had come forward for implementing such a
line then. The only way out was to persist on this path while
strengthening the party and class/mass organizations through all
out efforts.
Centenary of October Revolution
The international communist movement observed the cente-

nary of the October Revolution from 7th November, 2016 to 7th
November, 2017, organizing many programs across the country.
The CC called on all state committees to organize seminars, study
classes and rallies wherever possible highlighting the Resolution
on Theoretical Offensive adopted by the 10th Party Congress. It had
called on the whole party to take up theoretical studies and to
mobilize the students, youth and intellectuals along with the work-
ing class and the peasantry for revolution.
The Resolution started with this call:”Marxist teachers have
repeatedly pointed out that the ideological political line determines ev-
erything in leading the social revolution forward. Resorting to prac-
tice without scientific theoretical line is like fumbling in the dark.
It does not mean upholding Marxism-Leninism in abstract, but
developing it and applying it according to concrete conditions.”
Delhi DPF Program

The central theme of the campaign was how to take lessons
from the shortcomings of the movement, how to rectify them, and
how to advance the revolutionary movement nationally and in-

ternationally. The concluding program, a powerful rally of hun-
dreds of comrades was organized at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, with
the slogan:”No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution”
under the banner of the DPF. At state committee level programs
were organized
World Conference on Centenary of

October Revolution
Explaining the significance of observing the Centenary of the
October Revolution, the ICOR had given the call to all constituent
organizations to organize all possible programs to take its mes-
sage to the masses of people. These programs were concluded with
an international Seminar that was presided by leading comrades
of MLPD, India, and Turkey, with big mobilization and extensive
arrangements at MLPD centre. The MLPD had made extensive
arrangements for both, the International Seminar on the Centena-
ry of the October Revolution followed by the 3rd World Conference
of the ICOR. Two more presidents were invited, one from Philip-
pines Communist Party and the other from the Argentine Com-
munist Party. Delegations were invited from other fraternal forc-
es also. From the side of Red Star, apart from me and Sanjay, com-
rades PJ and Sharmista also participated as speakers.
From the initial talks about the agenda, participants and ar-
rangements by Stefan Engel who will lead the presidium it was
clear that the MLPD has planned for carrying forward its cam-
paign to get maximum support for its contention that a large num-
ber of countries like India have become neo-imperialist countries.
According to the agenda, large number of worker comrades and
intellectuals from Germany are participating in the seminar as
speakers.
With nearly two thousand participants and various stores
and restaurants for them, the meeting place had a mela like look. A
continuous stream of MLPD supporters also were visiting the
meeting place. During the two days seminar, speeches were re-
stricted to short duration. Even if strict preparations were made it
would be difficult for anyone to present a satisfactory presenta-
tion.
By this time, our International Department(ID) had started facing
some problems concerning the way the MLPD was trying to get a
majority At Lucknow, Sanjay was presiding over the Seminar on
International developments and our tasks. He used this to avoid presen-
tation of his views on the MLPD’s stand that under neo-liberal
globalization, countries like India have become neo-imperialist
ones. Though he had started making some pot-shots about lack of
increase in party membership and under the pretext of technical
problems, keeping ID uninformed about important decisions of
the ICC etc. it was taking the form of ideological differences. At
Lucknow our PBMs openly attacked MLPD position, Sanjay was
taking almost a centrist stand. But as myself, PJ and Sharmista
took a firm stand, it helped vast majority of the delegations to
support our stand. Later, when a book was published by the par-
ty publication centre, collecting articles giving both positions, from
the article by Sanjay in this collection, his differences with the
party line were becoming clear. His presentation in the Interna-
tional Seminar also were at variance with the party’s stand. He
was elected as the Deputy Main Coordinator of the ICOR as a del-
egate of the Party whose stand was appreciated by vast majority
of the delegations. Sanjay’s stand was creating problems as he
was not carrying out responsibilities in the ICOR according to
party line. But, due to the firm stand that other delegates adopted,
and the fact that he was not participating actively, this growing
differences in RS was not creating problems so far. On the whole,
the Seminar went very well and our party’s stand opposing the
MLPD stand on depicting India, Turkey like countries as neo-im-
perialist got overwhelming support, even after MLPD’s effort to

allow large number of their guests to echo its views.
One weakness of the Seminar was that, since MLPD’s atten-
tion was concentrated to impose its stand on neo-imperialism,
other questions like solidarity campaigns in support of Palestine
people, for example, did not get sufficient attention.
ICOR 3rd World Conference, 2017

The CC had elected PBM PJ and Sanjay as delegates to the Third
World Conference to be held soon after the International Seminar.
The Conference went well as reported, but in it also there was an
attempt to win over delegations in support of MLPD’s stand on
neo-imperialism. So, once again the attention needed by other
major issues like rise of neo-fascism in increasing number of coun-
tries, development in West Asian and African countries, growing
danger of ecological catastrophe etc. could not be given. Though
our delegation proposed again Sanjay as our candidate as Deputy
Main Coordinator and he was re-elected, Sanjay was not showing
necessary interest to present our views on neo-imperialist coun-
tries. Though criticisms were raised about Sanjay not giving ICOR
reports after ICC meetings and holding discussions in ID about
preparations for ICC meetings, the situation was not improving.
After Lucknow Congress, as he stepped down from the PB,he start-
ed creating the impression that his interest in active political work
was decreasing. His attendance in the CC meetings also started
decreasing. But, his later activities showed that he was only de-
ceiving the Party. His real intentions are now exposed with what-
ever he did to make the 12th Party Congress a failure, in the forma-
tion of the CPI(ML) Revolutionary Initiative (RI).and from the way
he is reducing the TUCI to his private property.
Modi’s Demonetization
& Corporatization
In a situation of RSS led extreme divisive policies, instigation

of mutual hatred among people, and in an atmosphere of increas-
ing feeling of insecurity among Dalits and minorities, BJP govern-
ment has brought every aspect of social life under the firm grip of
corporate capital. Strengthening India’s position as the junior part-
ner of US imperialism and entering into strategic alliance with it,
Modi has destroyed the erstwhile non-aligned position that India
had in international relations. All institutions of parliamentary
democracy are degraded so as to facilitate the corporate, saffron
fascist offensive.
The drive towards neoliberal corporatization unleashed by
Modi has led the country to further disruption in productive and
employment-oriented sectors. Thus, even according to usually
doctored official data, economic contraction in India today is the
worst since the fiscal year of 2008-09 when the country was con-
fronting the global meltdown under the Congress led UPA gov-
ernment. The crucial reason for this socio-economic disruption
has been the sudden deterioration in the purchasing power of the
vast majority of Indian people on account of neoliberal policies
coupled with the super-imposition of demonetization and neolib-
eral policies like anti-federal GST, the biggest-ever loot through

corporate price-fixing of petroleum, etc., that have transferred the
reins of the economy to the firm grip of corporate capital.
Ultra-rightist and pro-corporate shift in economic policies in-
cluding massive subsidization and transfer of wealth to the finan-
cial elite and superrich, through several corporate tax exemptions,
along with a steep budgetary cut in all kinds of social welfare
spending, have resulted in a forcible extraction from even the bare
minimum means of people’s subsistence. As a consequence, India
has become one of the most unequal countries globally.
Though the share of agriculture in national income is around
15 percent, almost half of the Indian people still depends on it for
their sustenance. Unlike in the colonial days, the present trends in
agriculture should be visualized in the context of the fast penetra-
tion of corporate capital in it, along with usury and still prevail-
ing pre-capitalist relations in certain regions. The drive towards
corporate agriculture is resulting in land concentration in agri-
business companies, corporate farms and agricultural bourgeoi-
sie on the one hand, and increasing landlessness, displacement
and destitution of the peasantry on the other. With no avenues to
subsist, large sections of the displaced landless peasants and agri-
cultural workers are forced to migrate to urban centres only to
join the ranks of informal working class and slum dwellers. On
the other hand, the share-croppers, marginal peasants and even
middle peasants, having no other option except to cling on to agri-
culture, have become the worst victims of neoliberal and WTO-
enforced agricultural policies.
Industrial sector including core and strategic industries re-
mains sluggish. To ensure ‘ease of doing business’ for FDI and
corporate capital, even the meagre pro-worker laws are amended
and workers are deprived of their hard-earned democratic rights.
Privatization of existing infrastructural facilities, extension of PPP
model for new infrastructure projects, disinvestment of PSUs, etc.
have already destroyed large number of employment opportuni-

ties in the organized sector. While casualization and contractual-
ization, in the organized sector, are the general trend, more and
more workers are forced to depend on the informal and unorga-
nized sectors which have been the worst hit on account of demon-
etization and GST. Allocation to the much publicized MNREGA in
real terms has gone down in successive budgets. The condition of
all oppressed including women, Dalits, Adivasis and minorities
had become more devastating. Privatization and disinvestment
of the PSUs and machinations against caste-based reservation have
become threatening to Dalits. Worst form of caste discrimination
and humiliation and caste-based daily oppression, together with
forcible displacement from land and habitats and consequent in-
creased marginalization, have accelerated their highest level of
discontentment, creating resentment. The ground is made fertile
for the growth of extremist Muslim outfits, adding further justifi-
cation for fascization and intensified repression on minorities.
All environmental regulations including mandatory EIA stud-
ies for infrastructure projects were being taken away. Meanwhile,
expenses of healthcare and education, fuelled especially by soar-
ing petroleum prices, were galloping. PDS was systematically
dismantled even as large sections of poor people were deprived of
all kinds of subsidized services through Aadhar, that had become a
data base available for online monopolies. Corporatization and
commercialization of healthcare and education had become the
general trend. Entire cultural and educational spheres of the coun-
try were put under saffron tutelage. Obscurantism and religious
bigotry were superimposed on science and historical studies.
The entire north-east was further militarized and the situa-
tion in Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam had further ag-
gravated due to the wanton use of black laws such as AFSPA,
along with state’s own militarization, with the backing of open
communalization led by RSS. The attempt to amend the Citizen-
ship Act in favour of mainly Hindu immigrants and wholly tar-

geted against Muslims, and the efforts to tinker with the National
Register of Citizens (NRC)in Assam in conformity with this, have
created a communally surcharged and polarized situation there.
The state of the Gurkha people’s ethnic question has further wors-
ened due to the manner it is handled by the TMC government,
along with interference by the BJP. As a whole, the federal struc-
ture of the country was facing the biggest threat under Modi re-
gime. The superimposition of GST, depriving the states of their
constitutional rights to have own sources of resource mobiliza-
tion, etc. are undermining the federal structure of India.
Irom Sarmila’s Historic Struggle

On July 11, 2004, 32-year-old Manorama was taken in to custody
from her home by the soldiers of the paramilitary Assam Rifles, gang
raped and killed while in their custody. When people came out in pro-
test, they were fired upon and the Malom Massacre took place. Following
this, dozens of women went to the main gate of Assam Rifles, de-robed
and demonstrated. deeply agitated,
Irom Sharmila, who was 28 at the time, began to fast on 5
November,2005,in protest. Her primary demand to the Indian gov-
ernment had been the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers)
Act (AFSPA).She vowed not to eat, drink, comb her hair or look in
a mirror until AFSPA was repealed.
Three days after she began her strike, she was arrested by the
police and charged with an “attempt to commit suicide”, which
was unlawful under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at that time, and
was later transferred to judicial custody. Her health deteriorated
rapidly, and nasogastric intubation was forced on her from 21
November in order to keep her alive while under arrest. Sharmila
had been regularly released and re-arrested every year since her
hunger strike began.
By 2004, Sharmila had become an “icon of public resistance.”

Following her procedural release on 2 October 2006 Sharmila went
to Raj Ghat, New Delhi, which she said was “to pay floral tribute
to my ideal, Mahatma Gandhi.” Later that evening, Sharmila head-
ed for Jantar Mantar for a protest demonstration where she was
joined by students, human rights activists and other concerned
citizens.
From the time of the massacre, Red Star had covered the news
and from 4th November, along with our comrades, I participated
in the struggle and talked to her also. I promised Sharmila that I
will come to Imphal, meet her and support her movement. On 6
October, she was re-arrested by the Delhi police for attempting
suicide and was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Scienc-
es, where she wrote letters to the Prime Minister, the President,
and the Home Minister. At this time, she met and won the support
of Nobel-laureate Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Laureate and human
rights activist, who promised to take up Sharmila’s cause at the
United Nations Human Rights Council.
Our participation in the movement at Delhi helped us to get
contact of Manipuri students in Delhi University and through
them political contacts at Imphal also. Soon we got contact of com
Shyam Sunder, working with the Kangleipak (ancient name of
Manipur) Communist party which became KCP(ML) after Naxal-
bari uprising. After making two days program, I went to Manipur
in 2008 March. Sharmila was kept in custody in a room within
Imphal Medical College hospital. The elderly women who demon-
strated in front of the Assam Rifles headquarters had organized a
centre near the hospital gate as part of the struggle for repeal of
AFSPA. Our supporters had organized a hectic program for two
days, including meeting Sharmila, then the elderly women, then a
hall meeting, followed by meeting intellectuals and old comrades.
Next day, starting with meeting young comrade in a room used as
our office, press conference, meeting some left leaders etc. before
going to Gauhati in the night. Sharmila was informed about my

trip and she remembered me. We talked for one hour sitting near
her. Then we spent two hours with the ‘mothers’ and had lunch
with them. My program and press conference, announcing plans
to spread the campaign against the AFSPA at all India level got
good press coverage. In continuation to this, two young comrades
participated in Bhopal Conference as observers.
Thereafter, up to 2015 I went to Imphal four times, had our
party organizing committee formed there and our relation with
Sharmila and the ‘mothers’ became very close. From elderly com-
munist friends I got an over view of the history and politics of
Manipur. Meitei’s who migrated to Manipur valley about 6-7 cen-
turies ago and who constitute more than 50% of the total popula-
tion, dominate the Imphal valley which is about 15% of the moun-
tainous country. Though till recently, they resisted assimilation
bids by Brahmanical Hindutva forces, of late RSS has succeeded, as
the once powerful traditional communist stream which was very
much influential among them got degenerated, while the commu-
nist revolutionary groups by and large degenerated to armed
groups indulging in cross border smuggling, narcotics business,
extortion etc. The RSS has occupied the space lost by the commu-
nists of different streams, and once they are in power, they are
pushing out the 45% of the tribals of many streams, who have
adopted Christianity, out of the valley. This is the root cause of
present severe crisis. What is happening now is the result of de-
cades of saffronization, which was helped by the degeneration of
the left spectrum. In September 2011, Communist Party of India
(Marxist–Leninist) (CPI ML)Red star state conference supported
the movement against AFSPA spearheaded by Sharmila, calling
for a nationwide agitation. Three delegates from Manipur led by
Shyam Sunder attended the 9th Party Congress at Bhubaneswar.
In 2011 the Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign (SSSC) was launched
to highlight Sharmila’s struggle. She only met her mother once
during the fast, as she believed that seeing her mother’s anguish
might have broken her resolve. On 28 March 2016, she was re-
leased from judicial custody as charges against her were rejected
by a local court in Imphal. Sharmila kept her vow of neither enter-
ing her house nor meeting her mother until the government re-
peals AFSPA and went to continue her fast at Shahid Minar, Imphal
on the same day of her release. She was again arrested by the
police under the same charge of attempt to commit suicide by
means of indefinite fast. Due to aggravation of political develop-
ments in Manipur, and also due to the failure of the CMs given
responsibility to continue the contact, our SOC got weakened and
later inactive. Meanwhile on 26 July 2016, Irom Sharmila, who
had been on hunger strike since 2000, announced that she would
end her fast on 9 August 2017. She also announced that she would
contest the next state elections in Manipur.
The objective of her fast and entering politics was to fight for
the removal of AFSPA, as she had asserted “I will join politics and
my fight will continue.”In October 2016, she launched a political
party named Peoples’ Resurgence and Justice Alliance to contest two
Assembly constituencies of Khurai and Khangabok. Khangabok is
the home constituency of the then Chief Minister Okram Ibobi
Singh. In the 2017 Manipur Legislative Assembly election, the win-
ner in Thoubal, Ibobi Singh, received 18,649 and Sharmila received
only 90 votes! The fewest out of the five candidates. The weaken-
ing of the communist and democratic movement in the state, helped
the RSS to spread its influence. Now using the state power it is
suppressing the tribal masses and Manipur is turned in to a
prayogsala of RSS, with neo-fascism in dominance.
Bhangar Movement 2015-2018
The significance of the Singur-Nandigram movements during

2007-’10 in W. Bengal was that after three decades of unchallenged
domination of the CPI(M) led Left Front rule, these mass upsurges
opened up opportunities for the opposition to challenge and over-
throw it. In the concrete situation then, neither Congress nor BJP
was capable of using them and come to their leadership. If the
Naxalite forces after decades of frustration and lack of revolution-
ary orientation, were prepared to correctly analyse the signifi-
cance of these upsurges, mature enough to get united with a com-
mon stand, putting forward a people’s alternative, they could have
made a historic breakthrough. But, they were still so much frag-
mented, frustrated, directionless, sectarian and without a revolu-
tionary vision, that they remained so much flabbergasted, with
some of them ending up behind TMC. And Mamatha used this
objective situation and the subjective weaknesses of others in the
opposition and came to power.
During last 12 years, though Mamatha’s rulehas been highly
corrupt and increasingly autocratic, and it is continuing, since it
is the only option presently before the people to keep BJP out of
power. During these years, there were many opportunities to ex-
pose and defeat TMC at least at local level, and throw up possibil-
ities for a people’s alternative to it and to the neo-fascists. Though

the revolutionary left with a vision could do it, so far it has failed.
The significance of Bhangar movement was that it was the only
exception.
As pointed out earlier, even after the merger of the RF group
led by PST, though our WB state committee activities had reached
more districts, its cadre force was still weak. The only positive
thing was that when our comrades knew about Bhangar issue,
they went there, made a study, evolved a method to develop a
people’s movement and launched it. The people were so angry
against the local TMC leadership, and the state and central gov-
ernments that they joined many mobilizations, formed the Com-
mittee for the Protection of Land, Livelihood, ecology and the Environment
on 23rd November, 2016, marched to Raj Bhavan on 10th January.
Still there was no positive response from the Mamata govern-
ment. It was when the Committee started blocking the arterial road
on 17th January, the police and TMC goons fired upon the masses
killing two youth, Alamgir and Mofijul. The agitation reached a
serious situation. At state level, protests were organized.
After talking to Alik, I started forBhangar as soon as I could
manage a ticket. Whether due to laziness or due to not under-
standing the gravity of the situation, Ravi who was given respon-
sibility by Alik to receive me, did not bother to reach the station or
make any alternate arrangements. Or, was he afraid, something is
going to happen to me at the station, and wanted to save himself
from it! He directed me to take a bus and reach his house, even
after I told him that it is a new station, I have never travelled from
it.
When I reached Kolkata railway station, on 23 rd January
evening, central and state intelligence forces overpowered me, took
away my mobile, put a towel in my mouth to stop me from shout-
ing slogans, blindfolded, and forcefully took to their headquarters.
There, continuous questioning started. Next day morning new forc-
es reached for questioning, I refused to talk to them. I told them

that if I am not released by evening, I will start hunger strike. In
the evening they took to me to Durgapur, and put mein Howrah-
New Delhi Rajadhani Express. When the railway staff checked,
they found that the ticket the police had given me was an invalid
one. Without a valid ticket, no money and mobile what can I do?
When I told them the whole story including who am I and why
people are fighting at Bhangar, they allowed me to talk to the mo-
bile numbers I remembered, and came to know that the news about
my kidnapping had spread to all places and there were reports of
protest rallies from different places. The Rajadhani crew helped
me to reach New Delhi next day evening, where I was expecting
that comrades and press people shall be waiting for me.
But nobody was there. With difficulty I had managed to in-
form Umakant, whose number I had in memory, what happened
to me. I had directed him to inform all friendly organizations, the
press people, then come to New Delhi station in the platform where
Howrah Rajdhai arrives. But nothing was done by Umakant.
When Provint asked him what to do, he shouted at him, caution-
ing, it may be the police who are calling. So they waited for an
hour and reached the station, but did not find out the platform
number, and waited outside. No information was given to press
also. I know Umakant very well, how cowardly he is. Still I in-
formed him because there was no other way out. I thought at least
Provint will do something. Since Umakant rebuked him, he kept
quiet.
By the time the train reached New Delhi station, I had told a
good number of railway staff and passengers about what hap-
pened. I told them that our comrades and press will be at the
platform to receive me. But it was a great shock that nobody was
in the platform. I could boldly face the kidnapping by the police
and everything they did to me. But this was too much. Some of the
railway staff realized my condition. They knew I had no money. I
had to go to office. They arranged a cup of coffee for me from the

tea-stall They gave me Rs 200 also to reach the office. I thanked all
of them, and to save the prestige of the party told them that police
may have raided our office! Or something like that must have
happened, detention of our comrades!
Very fast the platform was becoming empty as the passengers
were walking away. I took my coffee and then slowly walked to
the metro station and finally reached the office. On the way I was
thinking what I will tell the neighbours. They all knew that I was
kidnapped by police. I told them, Umakant and Provint were
stopped from reaching the platform, so I had to come alone. I took
the mobile of Sasi, our neighbor and called Provint. He told me
what happened. I told him to rush to UNI and give information to
all press people, especially from Bengal that I have reached and
will meet them in front of Mavlankar Hall coffee house within one
hour. After repeatedly telling him, I got fresh and rushed to Mav-
lankar Hall. Next day is Republic Day. Lot of police bandobust.
Somehow I reached the place thronged by hundreds of press peo-
ple. For more than one hour they asked questions about what hap-
pened repeatedly. By the time the press people hurried back to
their offices to give this breaking news, Ad. Arun Maji and other
political friends reached the place. We immediately planned a Jan-
tar Mantar program in the next few days. Bhangar was becoming
an all India news.
More shocking was what Sanjay did. Though he was the first
man to whom I gave the full news about what happened to brief
the democratic organizations and plan what legal action can be
taken, he did very little. His argument was, as he is a senior Su-
preme Court advocate, without substantive evidence he cannot
file any case! He did not make any effort even to issue a statement
condemning this kidnapping of his party’s general secretary!
On the ground level, my arrest and the all India level publicity
it received helped the movement. But the WB state leadership did
not correctly evaluate the situation and take lessons from it. As a
result, within two days, the enemy succeeded to locate com.
Sharmistha at Bhangar. Keeping strict surveillance over her move-
ments, they made plans to take her in to custody. Without recog-
nizing its possibility, as she was moving from one village to an-
other, the police forces could surround her and take her into custo-
dy. It should have alerted the leadership more.
Instead, the same evening, the state secretary, PST, went out
of the room near College Street, which was used temporarily as
the state committee’s office, and started moving to his home with-
out having any care about possible police action. Naturally, after
Sharmista’s arrest, it was very clear that their next target was
going to be the state committee secretary. PST did not take care,
and on his way home he was easily picked up. Later when I at-
tended the WB state committee meeting, it evaluated this as a
serious lapse, and called on all comrades to maintain high alert.
Next day I contacted Alik and he wanted to discuss many
things for which I should reach Bhanger. He informed that a big
meeting was going to be organized at Mavlali Yuva Kendra, by the
Bhanger Struggle Support Committee and APDR like organizations and
I should represent the Party. From there in one of the buses coming
with villagers for the meeting, comrades will take me to the place
where he was. I had n the scheduled day, I took an air ticket to
Bhubaneswar, and from there reached Howrah with body guards
arranged by Shivram. This time about 20 comrades were waiting
for us when the train reached the station. The Yuva Kendra was
jam packed when the meeting started and I was the main speaker.
reached the hall via Bhubaneswar and Howrah stations escorted
by a large number of comrades. After the program in which I was
the main speaker, in a bus full of Bhangar comrades I was taken to
Bhangar. By 9pm I was among the people who were making histo-
ry. We were giving new meaning to combining open and secret
ways of struggles and using all forms of struggles for developing
the movement. For many weeks, Bhangar was under siege. We

had barricaded all the affected 20 villages. The TMC goons as well
as police men were throwing bombs and firing continuously. It
was very difficult to block them from attacking the villages.. The
armed attacks by TMC goons with the support of the police had to
be retaliated in the same manner. To survive these attacks, it was
not possible without giving reply in the same coin.
Besides, after my kidnapping, within 2-3 days We faced many
setbacks. Bhangar struggle support committee leaders, Sankar (RS
PB member) and Kushal Debnath of MKP were also arrested un-
der UAPA. While Alik had to concentrate entirely on the resis-
tance struggle at Bhangar, I along with some of the state commit-
tee comrades had to spend most of the time for mobilizing the
struggle support programs regularly; mobilizing the huge funds
required for collection of arms and equipment’s for resistance on
the one hand, and for activating the state committee to rise up to
address the urgent demands as much as possible. I had to give
attention for regular coordination with Alik and with all other
non-RSS, non TMC forces also.
The CC had planned the 50th anniversary of the Naxalbari
mobilization and rally in a big way at Naxalbari, as an All India
Program. It was to be organized in coordination with the MLRO
and the PCC CPI(ML) as already decided through bilateral discus-
sions. Making the WB committee of the party functional, itself was
a big challenge, in the absence of most of the leaders who were
either under detention, or at Bhangar, leading the struggle. A reg-
ular propaganda campaign outside Bhangar, coordination with
Press and all India level coordination to maintain the tempo of the
campaign, etc. were also needed. The Party Centre had to work
literally round the clock.
Till July, 2017, the movement passed through crucial days.
Then the wind started blowing in our favour. The government
informed that it was prepared to talk. At the same time the pan-
chayat elections also came nearer. As Sharmistha came out on bail
by this time, followed by other leading comrades also, they played
an important role in organizing the election campaign for five seats
which we could win. But even for submitting 8 nominations
through WhattsApp, with special permission from the High Court,
the Committee had to wage a fierce struggle on the Kolkata streets
and in the courts. With people’s support, the 11 members of TMC
could be boycotted and the five of the elected comrades of the Com-
mittee could run the panchayat. It also became a morale boosting
move.
The Party CC and the Party Centre had given guidance to the
movement from beginning to end. But after the victory of the strug-
gle for the panchayat samithi, Alik’s health condition aggravated,
and he had to go out of the villages for treatment at Bhubaneswar.
Police could find out about this trip of Alik. They trailed him and
took him to custody at Bhubaneswar. Though by this time we
could find out what was happening to him, and com. Sivaram
could immediately mobilize BSM comrades to gherao the hospi-
tal, the WB police took Alik to the airport and soon to Kolkata.
Alik was taken to a hospital and government and Grid Corpo-
ration of India representatives started negotiations with Alik and
the Committee leaders. In the negotiations all the demands of the
committee as well as the compensation for the damages to the
families of the three martyrs and to the environment were ap-
proved. It was in a way a successful agreement which had consol-
idated the support base of the Committee.
The agreement that was signed was in favor of the Committee.
The Grid question was settled in the manner the People’s Commit-
tee demanded. The compensation for all damages, re-construction
of the villages, etc. were also settled as the Committee demanded.
A progressive set up for implementation of all agreements, and
immediate withdrawal of all cases linked to the struggle were also
agreed and implemented. The Committee has published a booklet:

The Historic Bhangar Movement, which gives a vivid picture of the
struggle led by the Central Committee of the CPI(ML) Red Star
and by the People’s Committee.
The 10th Party Congress had called on the Party committees to
develop mass movements at all levels. The Bhangar movement in
South 24 Parganas district of W. Bengal marked the peak of these
efforts so far to launch and sustain people’s resistance movements.
But, it cannot be seen in isolation. It should be seen as a continua-
tion of the Singur and Nandigram movements which played sig-
nificant role in throwing out the 34 years long Left Front rule.
Though the TMC succeeded to come to power in 2011 and got re-
elected in 2016 utilizing fall out of these movements, it is pursuing
the very same LF’s path of ‘development. But, if it could demolish
the mass base of the CPI(M) through criminal attacks, though the
TMC goons attacked the people of Bhangar using state terror, they
successfully resisted it and a satisfactory agreement could be ar-
rived at. It had created a new political situation in the state.
It was at this important or crucial point, Alik who was lead-
ing the movement from the beginning was arrested on 31st May
from Bhubaneswar, where he had gone for urgent medical treat-
ment. The people’s response and media attention of his arrest and
the continuing protest actions reveal the political importance of
Bhangar movement not only in Bengal, but all over the country.
Contrary to the expectations of the enemy forces, in spite of the
arrest of Alik, the Committee and the people with the help of party
comrades and fraternal forces helped the movement to go forward.
While the TMC and BJP were engaged in a war of attrition for
hegemony, the Bhangar movement became the focal point of peo-
ple’s alternative in the state. When this led to leading to the sign-
ing of the agreement on 11th August. The important task before the
Party was to unite all fraternal forces to further develop and con-
solidate the Mass Political Movement (MPM). But as Alik started de-
viating from the party line, and later started hobnobbing with the
anti-party elements, all the unity visible during Bhangar move-
ment among the left and democratic forces started disappearing.
While we are happy that the Bhangar People’s Committee is still re-
maining and leading the panchayat work forward, the political
degeneration of Alik has destroyed the immense possibility to build
a broad united left movement, the Mass Political Movement, we
had planned as discussed seriously using Bhangaras the focal point.
On Political Centralization in the

Class/Mass Organizations
Right from the time we started the all India level party re-
building process, with the formation of RC, CPI(ML) in 1979, we
had initiated the organization of People’s Cultural Front as a mass
organization, and radical student and youth groups like Red
Guards, Revolutionary Youth Front, Kamgar Sakthi (Nagpur) etc.
But only after settling accounts with the Venu faction in 1987, in
the 1991 Second All India Conference at Bengaluru we could adopt
the revolutionary mass line based on building a Bolshevik style
Party surrounded by the class/mass organizations and mass move-
ments. By the time we decided to hold the 11th Party Congress of
CPI(ML) Red Star in 2018, after 27 years we had gained some
amount of positive and negative experience in the building of class/
mass organizations and mass movements at all India level.
The Bolshevik style of Leninist class/mass organization build-
ing calls for their organizational independence and establishing
ideological/political leadership of the party through party frac-
tion work. An overview of the beginning period of AITUC, AIKS,
All India Women’s Front, AI Students Federation, AI Youth Feder-
ation, Progressive Writers Organization and IPTA shows that all
of them were built on Bolshevik style so that they could really
become class and mass organizations in which organizations
belonging to different parties with the common understanding of

opposing British colonial rule could work together. As the undi-
vided communist party (CPI) had experienced comrades in all these
fields, well trained in fraction work (it had secret fractions even in
all armed forces), they could politically influence all their func-
tioning. It was after the launching of Quit India Movement by
Congress in 1942 the picture changed. The CPI took the line that
the war efforts of the British colonialists should be supported in
order to help the anti-fascist war, in which the Soviet Union is
playing the significant role. It was an erroneous understanding of
the role to be played by the communist party in the then concrete
condition when the people of India were engaged in the national
liberation movement to throw out the British colonial rule. In such
a situation these all India class/mass organizations started to split,
starting with the split in AITUC and formation of INTUC led by
the Congress. From that time onwards, whatever their leader-
ships may claim, all the class/mass organizations, big or small,
linked to all political parties are functioning as their front organi-
zations. As far as those with the Naxalite organizations are con-
cerned, all of them work strictly as their front organizations. All of
them, in the main, are upholding Marxism-Leninism-Mao Thought
as their guiding ideology also, like their parent parties.
We in the CRC thought differently. We asked: why can’t we
start experiencing the Bolshevik line and see the consequences?.
So, in the approach papers put forward for building the class/
mass organizations in the 1990 All India Plenum itself, we had
called for the implementation of the Bolshevik style. But, building
such class/mass organizations in a vast, multi-national, multi-
lingual country like India, calls for cadres well-versed in the im-
plementation of the organizational and political tasks. We started
understanding our limitations on both these points as soon as we
started working at all India level. Since we decided to build class/
mass organizations, which are organizationally independent and
politically led by the Party, at all India level, right from the begin-
ning, even before gaining experience through building them in one
or two states, along with building experienced cadres, many prob-
lems confronted us. In the beginning due to lack of experienced
cadres, and later, due to those deputed to take responsibility at
higher levels utilizing the opportunity to impose their leadership
in erroneous ways.
Let us examine what happened in the beginning. As stated
above, though we had started developing experience in building
working class contacts among the ‘ship-building yard workers at
Kochi from 1973, even before starting even primary organization-
al work, Emergency was declared and all mass front works were
stopped. During post-Emergency days, the news about our anti-
emergency activities and the suppression we faced, the martyr-
dom of Rajan, Vijayan and Balakrishnan, and the PCF campaign
after the emergency had made the Naxalites heroes in Kerala. Our
interference in Vypin against the liquor tragedy in which even
John Abraham like film directors were active and the peoples’ trial
of a corrupt doctor at Kozhikode Medical College had given us
such popularity that many trade unions also approached our com-
rades for help. Though we could not do anything due to our lack of
experience in the TU field, and mainly due to the inner party strug-
gle going on to defeat the right opportunist sectarian line of K.
Venu, we could not do much. But, once we separated from Venu’s
sectarian line, we started TU work in Alappuzha and Ernakulum
districts and TUCI was formed in a conference at Alappuzha.
Though there were some workers experienced in TU work with
us, mostly it was led by our young inexperienced comrades.
As a result, when AIJACROW was formed during 1990-91,
and TUCI had to take the leading role in this workers’ upsurge
against neo-liberal policies, the lack of experience of our leading
comrades became evident. Not only lack of experience, but errone-
ous understanding about the absolute independence of the TU
from Party was also an obstacle.. Though, practically I had to do

most of the important ground work in bringing all these organi-
zations together, which everybody including the other party and
TU leaders present appreciated, our own comrades started be-
coming touchy about it. Moreover one of the leading comrades
given responsibility in trade union work was telling everybody
he met how comfortable he was with Malayalam and how much
he would like to hand over the all India responsibility to someone
else. I used to criticize him. I reminded him what happened to
K.Venu, who had the same problem. KV started presenting it as a
philosophical problem, and later tried to politically resolve it by
putting forward his own dependency theory to form ‘Kerala Com-
munist Party’. It also did not work out. So, he threw out Marxism
itself! Thus he resolved all botheration’s created by slogans like
‘Workers of the World Unite’. Since, the team of Kerala comrades
who initiated the re-organization of the CPI(ML), based on CM’s
July, 1972, self-critical note, as part of their enquiries, they had to
take responsibilities at the organization level also, till an all India
team is developed based on the ideological-political orientation
they put forward. But many of the leading comrades from Kerala
refused to do it under various pretexts. Because of this attitude,
what happened? When comrades from different streams joined
the party, even before integrating them with the evolving party
line, neglecting the principles of democratic centralism, they were
elevated to highest positions in the party and class/mass organi-
zations in the very first conferences they attended.
In such a vast country like India, if the capacity to deliver
speeches, using English is given the topmost importance, and if
the experience gained at grass-root level, in the course of people’s
struggles are neglected, what will happen? We neglected the valu-
able experience gained by TUCI, and our peasant movements in
Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and in other states, and as experienced
comrades from these areas were hesitant to take higher responsi-
bilities, we elevated SS or PST like people to higher posts before

integrating them with the ideological, political, organizational line
of the party. Lessons should be learned from these.
Almost the very same thing happened with AIKKS also. Though
KRS was active in Karnataka, and peasant and agricultural work-
ers’ organizations were active in Kerala and in other states, as
soon as PST’s organization merged with RS, in the very next con-
ference of the AIKKS, new CC was formed, with PST as its general
secretary. As far as the women’s movement was concerned, there
was no doubt that compared to all leading comrades of other wom-
en’s organizations, Sharmista had the most advanced perspective
about what should be the orientation of building and leading the
women’s movement forward. Even though she was working in a
small group for many years, when she got the opportunity she
could rise up to the occasion and lead the women’s movement not
only at national level, she became a capable leader of the WWC
also due to ideological clarity and preparedness to develop her
understanding. Many others were not prepared for it.
Our experience during the last two decades show that in un-
derstanding the concept, organizational independence under the ideolog-
ical political leadership of the party, there were extreme variations among
the leaders, cadres, and general membership of these organiza-
tions. At the same time, there were weakness in the political cen-
tralization on this question, or in some cases, there was total lack
of political centralization. It calls for very serious rectification at
all levels.
11th Party Congress, Bengaluru, 2018
During the three years after the 10th Party Congress, Modi gov-
ernment further speeded up neo-liberal policies. Sangh Parivar
indulged in communalization with state support. Through demon-
etization and imposition of GST, through imposition of WTO condi-
tions, by increasing privatization/commercialization of all fields,
corporatization was further intensified. The public sector bank-
ing system was made totally servile to corporate forces starting
with writing off of enormous amounts as Non Performing Assets
(NPAs), leading to many scams. The latest budget itself has inten-
sified these tendencies under populist cover. While talking about
Make in India, the economic subservience had intensified in all fields.
As an extension of these economic and fascisation policies, the for-
eign policy was also transformed, linking it further with the glo-
bal interests of US imperialism. The strategic alliance with US
imperialism further strengthened and extended to strategic part-
nership with Zionist Israel, and to partnership with Japan, Aus-
tralia and Taiwan in the Asia-Pacific Treaty. Like the virtual deser-
tion from the SAARC, relations with the BRICS was also made
namesake. Modi government was working as the junior partner of
US imperialism. Relations with all neighbouring countries, wors-
ened, especially with Pakistan.
Under the Hindutva onslaught, the Brahminical/ManuvadI offen-

sive had intensified, unleashing attacks on all oppressed sections
including Dalits, Adivasis, women, on the oppressed people of J&K
and Northeast etc. on the one hand, and on the religious minori-
ties, especially Muslims, on the other. Imposing food, dress codes
etc. divisive forces have been promoted, and the society criminal-
ized. Education, history and all socio cultural fields were further
saffronized. Fascist atmosphere was created as a cover to promote
corporate hegemony and commercialization of all fields. In this
situation, throwing out RSS/BJP rule, building anti-BJP alliance
and defeating it in 2019 Lok Sabha elections had become the cen-
tral task in the parliamentary political arena before all the strug-
gling left and democratic forces.
In Karnataka we have more than two decades of experience in
mass movements starting with militant peasant movements cap-
turing and distributing land to landless. Later it has developed in
to powerful working class movement especially in the northern
districts, organizing mining workers and other sections. The de-
velopment of such struggles in all fields should have expanded
our mass base and political influence. As it did not materialize as
proved in party’s performance in 2013 and 2014 elections, the
CC had called for a rectification process to overcome this weak-
ness, including strengthening the grass root level party commit-
tee system. As the elections were declared, steps were taken to
draft a people’s manifesto and to form the Janandolana Mahamaithri
to contest the May elections. We launched powerful campaign in
the two constituencies where we fielded candidates and support-
ed 17 more Maîtry candidates.
But almost similar to what happened in 2013 and 2014 elec-
tions, the performance of our candidates as well as of the Maha-
maithry candidates were poor. The Central Committee has called
on the state committee to make a serious evaluation and to take up
rectification measures to overcome the serious weaknesses in both
these fields. Within a short time, overcoming these weaknesses,

the state committee started making good progress
In Odisha party and class/mass organizations and people’s
movements had developed faster during last three years. While
the Basti Suraksha Manch at Bhubaneswar is still our main area
of mass activity, right from the days of the Chilka Movement, the
party had actively participated in all mass movements against
the various neoliberal projects up to the struggle against the POSCO
project. As a result the Slum people’s movement has expanded to
state level and the party’s organizational base also expanded,
making it capable of taking up bigger mass movements in coming
days.
In Kerala, as the LDF government was pursuing the very same
neoliberal policies of the UDF government, and implementing the
pet projects of Modi government, the state committee organized
mass movements against the ‘development perspective’ which is
leading to people’s misery and ecological catastrophe in all fields.
If the land struggle for the recovery of the land illegally occupied
by the corporate houses can be led mobilizing the Dalit, Adivasi
masses and the plantation workers still living in the old Layems,
taking up other issues also, it shall lead to a political breakthrough
in the state.
TN wasfacing acute crisis in the socio-political-economic fields
when numerous people’s movements focussing land, livelihood
and environment issues had broken out like, the Thuthukudi up-
surge against the Sterlite copper plant, against the Methane project
which will devastate millions of families, the Nutrino Project, the
super highway from Chennai to Salem etc. The Party and class/
mass organizations had to be strengthened, to become capable of
leading these movements.
In all other states, Maharashtra, AP, Telangana, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, MP, UP, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat, the par-
ty committees and under them class/mass organizations and mass
movements have to be strengthened to intensify the anti-fascist

movement along with independent left assertion in order to ad-
vance towards the revolutionary goals.
Centenary of the October Revolution
The centenary of October Revolution was observed for a year
starting from 7th November, 2016, with a mobilization, rally and
public meeting at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. At international lev-
el, programs under the initiative of ICOR gave a good fillip to it.
Our Party actively participated in it.
50 Years of Naxalbari Uprising
The Central Committee called for observing the 50 years of
Naxalbari Uprising, from 25th May 2016 to 25th May 2017 at an
important juncture in our country, when attempts are made to
dilute the historic significance of the Uprising from within the
movement as well as by the revisionists of all hues and the reac-
tionary forces. The outbreak of Bhangar movement gave new sig-
nificance to the programs taken up during this period, culminat-
ing with the rally and public meeting at Naxalbari on 25th May
2017.
Though a much more vigorous campaign was needed, as ama-
jor section of the W. Bengal committee had to concentrate on Bhan-
gar movement, it could not be taken to bigger levels. Overcoming
these challenges, the party made all out efforts to continue theo-
retical offensive focussing on Naxalbari Uprising,
Significance of Theoretical Offensive
“The Resolution on Theoretical Offensive for Communist Resurgence”
adopted by the Tenth Party Congress, after explaining the com-
munist advances following the October Revolution, and the se-
vere setbacks suffered by the movement following the 1956 Twen-
tieth Congress of the CPSU which advocated the Theory of Peaceful
Transition, it pointed out:
“This (experience) clearly outlines the need for a theoretical

offensive. At the international level we are one of the few parties
which are now willing to see the real concrete situation. We are
willing to make a self-criticism of our past and are also willing to
make an attempt to rectify these mistakes. We are therefore in a
stronger and more advantageous situation for undertaking such a
theoretical offensive. What does such an offensive entail? a) We
have to undertake a thorough study and analysis to identify the
causes of the collapse of the erstwhile socialist countries, especial-
ly Soviet Union and China; b) We have to launch a vigorous ideo-
logical struggle to establish across society the superiority of com-
munism over the present ruling system as well as over various
alien trends; c) We have to develop Marxism-Leninism on the ba-
sis of a concrete analysis of the concrete situation…..”. The Tenth
Congress had called for serious study of The Resolution and the
implementation of the conclusions put forward by it at all levels.
Adoption of this Resolution by the Tenth Party Congress was a
bold step forward. Based on this we further developed our analy-
sis of present day imperialism and discussed it in the Party Schools.
When the MLPD came up with the interpretation of New Imperialist
Countries, trying to explain India also as a new imperialist country,
we came forward with the critic of this erroneous concept. We
have taken up the environmental movements emphatically, join-
ing hands with like minded forces. Bhangar movement has shown
how to resist the annexation of the land, livelihood and environ-
mental aggression by mobilizing the masses. The successful anti-
nuclear power movements also gave new insight in to the strug-
gle against imperialist development perspective which is leading
to environmental catastrophe. The Caste Annihilation Movement
has initiated moves to build movements for social change as a
continuation and development of the Renaissance movement. The
Cultural Movement had put forward the significance of the pro-
tracted Cultural Revolution for continuous transformation of the
superstructure.
But while considering the magnitude of the theoretical chal-

lenges confronting the communist movement, as explained in The
Resolution, what we could do in this field so far was very little. The
Central Committee self critically view it. In spite of many initia-
tives taken through the pages of The Marxist-Leninist, the theoretical
organ, the Red Star, our central organ, and through the
website:www. ecopolitiks.org, very little contributions so far came
up to carry forward the debate. There is huge gap between what
we try to achieve and the real theoretical level of our party cadres
and ranks. Still we have failed to raise the intellectual level inside
the Party. Moreover we have failed to involve intellectuals from
outside the Party to participate in the debate. There was influence
of right opportunism and sectarianism in our party. Serious effort
was required to overcome these weaknesses in our Party also.
It was in this context, the Political Resolution adopted by the
11th Congress explained the urgency of putting forward the idea of
independent left assertion along with building a people’s alterna-
tive as two inseparable components. At the realm of parliamenta-
ry politics, defeating the BJP in the forthcoming general election
had become the central task today. At the same time it should not
in any way dilute our perspective of an alternative people’s devel-
opment paradigm against neoliberal policies. That is, while rais-
ing the banner of a grand alliance against BJP, the indispensable
political struggle against neoliberalism and all its manifestations
should not be neglected.
Therefore, the uncompromising struggle against saffron fas-
cist forces needs to be carried forward, uniting with all the genu-
ine secular, democratic and left forces, having a principled stand
against neoliberal policies. The Bhangar people’s resistance move-
ment unfolded the correctness of the political orientation as eluci-
dated in the Program and Path of Revolution of CPI (ML) Red Star.
Lessons of 11th Party Congress
Because of the political organizational problems in Karnata-
ka, there was anxiety whether the Congress can be successfully

held at Bengaluru. Because of this , after attending the state confer-
ences, I spend 3-4 weeks at Bengaluru to help the state committee
to successfully organize it. Since the World Women’s Conference
alsohad to be held at the same venue, in every respect, more atten-
tion had to be paid.
But it was not a serious question, when compared to the prob-
lems created by the alien trends manifested during the state con-
ferences and during the Party Congress. While discussing about
draft documents for the 11th Congress, the CC decided to update
only the Political Resolution. But, there were hints about some CCMs
having basic differences on some of the points adopted in the 9th
Party Congress in our programmatic positions and Path. Two of
the CCMs of the 10th PB refused to become part of the 11th PB.
The most important lesson to be learnt was that even when
neo-fascist forces were becoming stronger, refusing to make a cor-
rect analysis of the concrete situation, the sectarian, opportunist
forces were polarizing behind the social democratic stream, or
forming a centrist grouping or continuing as left sectarian anar-
chist stream, unconcerned with the devastating consequences of
the ecological catastrophe, and from the ever-intensifying neolib-
eral globalization throwing up neo-fascist regimes everywhere.
Waging uncompromising ideological struggle against these three
trends mentioned above, the building of the Party and the class/
mass organizations should be given top priority. The formation of
the program based left core has to be taken up along with it. The
PR explained that while intensifying the above two tasks, atten-
tion should be focused for defeating the RSS/BJP in the 2019 LS
elections. If this task could not be fulfilled, and Modi led RSS/BJP
forces could win the 2019 elections with greater majority, along
with the ruling class parties and social democrats in the opposi-
tion, the so called revolutionary left forces are also responsible for
it.
World Women’s Congress Held at Bengaluru

From the time of its formation days, ICOR had given attention
for building the World Women’s Conference along with its other
tasks. The Second WWC had proposed to hold the third WWC in
India. In consultation with the Party, the All India Revolutionary
Women’s Organization (AIRWO) had agreed to hold the third
WWC at Bengaluru after the conclusion of the 11th Party Congress
of the CPI(ML) Red Star. Accordingly all preparations were made
to hold the third WWC at Bengaluru on 4th to 6th December 2018.
Under the leadership of Sharmista, the GS of the AIRWO, all
arrangements were made, with the ICC of the WWC taking up all
international tasks. By 2ndevening and 3rd of December, delegates
from about 27 countries including India and Germany had reached.
On 4th morning, with the raising of the WWC flag the program
started. The Conference was successfully completed on 6th Decem-
ber with the election of the new ICC and deciding the immediate
tasks ahead also. It was yet another significance step ahead by the
Party.
Modi-2 Rule in 2019
In the 2019 elections to Lok Sabha, the RSS/BJP led by Modi got
clear majority in the LS and near about majority in the Rajya
Sabha. It further emboldened the Manuvadi Hindutva forces to be-
come facilitator of both corporatisation and saffronisation. It helped
RSS, the world’s biggest fascist organisation, to spread its tenta-
cles to every aspect of social life including all Constitutional and
administrative institutions. Modi.2 since mid-2019, unleashed a
series of fascist offensives such as abrogation of Article 370 of the
Constitution by breaking up of Kashmir into pieces on the one
hand and their forcible integration into Indian Union. The con-
struction of Ram Temple was started at the very site where Babri
Masjid stood. Modi made Muslims second class citizens, even de-
nying citizenship to them by amending the Citizenship Act. Saf-
fronisation and corporatization of education was imposed through
NEP 2020.A move towards imposing a Uniform Civil Code started.
RSS was moving towards imposition of a majoritarian Hindurash-
tra.
Under neo-fascism, unhindered corporate plunder of nature
was facilitated through amendments to EIA, etc., leading to un-
precedented ecological devastation. On the whole, with his sec-
ond coming in 2019, Modi regime was completing total disinvest-
ment of the remaining public sector units such as Railway Sta-

tions, Airports, LIC, Arms Factories, etc. In continuation of this,
the Modi regime used the pandemic as an added opportunity for
its corporate-fascist agenda. Without even consulting the parlia-
ment, and without any preparation, the neo-fascist regime im-
posed the world’s most stringent and most coercive lockdown for
months.
The CAA was an ingenious RSS move towards Hindurashtra
by stamping Muslims as second class citizens. Our party was ac-
tive in the country-wide anti-CAA agitations including the his-
toric Shahinbagh movement, a new form of country-wide upsurge
in which the Muslim women played an important role, putting
the neo-fascist regime on the defensive. But, using the pandemic
and Covid protocols, suppression was unleashed and conditions
were created for the withdrawal of the movement. When the Lok
Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, we discussed with
all CR groups in Delhi, democratic organizations and minority
groups and had a meeting at Gandhi Peace Foundation hall. After
3-4 meetings we decided to mobilize maximum forces, formed a
joint committee with Ad. Arun Maji as convener. The mobiliza-
tion was started to arrange the protest rally to Juntar Mantar
from Mandi House metro station on 14th October, 2019.But when
about 1000 participants reached Mandi House, Maji informed that
police refused to give permission.
After the CAA was adopted by the parliament and signed by
the president this was the first major protest against it. If this is
cancelled how serious will be the confusion. So, I decided after
consulting with few of the leading comrades, at whatever cost we
should go forward with the rally. I said, let all comrades get ready
to march without permission, come forward. I asked two com-
rades to hold the banner, stood in the front and within minutes all
the comrades who had reached the place marched, pushing away
the policemen who tried to stop. There was consultations among
officers and they stopped obstructing. We marched with full vi-

gour, with the slogans: Intensify Anti-CAA/NPR/NRC movement;
Stop the beginning of NPR from 1st April! No CAA, No NPR, No
NCR. By the time we reached Jantar Mantar spot, where we had
our stage and chairs, the place was full. We had two hours of slo-
gans and speeches before concluding the program without per-
mission. That was the beginning. There were one or two meetings
more and then the scene shifted to Jamia attacks on students by
Delhi police, and then the Shahinbagh movement started. It soon
spread all over the country. In every state we are active, we played
a significant role along with others to carry forward it. Though
the last resistance was put down by Delhi police on 24th March,
2020, by forcibly dispersing or taking to custody the hundreds of
women there, using the pandemic as a cover, this movement taught
us the great possibility for countrywide uprisings. Besides, Modi’s
plans for the census under new laws were thwarted.
When the country was reeling under the pandemic, using
Covid as an opportunity, Modi regime imposed the three Farm Laws
for the corporatisation of agriculture at the behest of WTO in Sep-
tember 2020, without even subjecting them to scrutiny by regular
parliamentary committees. Against this, a more historic struggle
led by farmers’ organizations, laying siege around the national
capital, emerged. The historic Farmers’ Movement continued for
more than a year compelling Modi regime to withdraw the Farm
laws. It was a great victory.
It was during the same time, the Modi regime launched a sim-
ilar offensive replacing the existing 44 labour regulations in the
country with the pro-corporate four Labour Codes. But, the depolit-
icized mainstream trade union leadership failed to initiate any
organized movement against this, coordinating with the historic
farmers’ movement. Even they failed to launch any significant sol-
idarity movement in support of the historic farmers’ movement.
10
Guntur CC Meeting in February 2020
The 2009 Bhopal Special Conference and the 9thParty Congress

at Bhubaneswar have great significance in the history of CPI(ML)
Red Star. They summarized and evaluated the hitherto theoreti-
cal struggles and experiences and consolidated our theoretical,
political line through the documents published as a book titled No
to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution. That the 9th Party
Congress adopted these documents and later published them to-
gether does not mean that there was unanimity in the Party on all
of them. In that Congress session, the delegates from Bengal be-
longing to CCR (ML),who had participated in the Conference as
observers even before merging with Red Star, had expressed many
differences. But they were prepared to work under the majority
line, while the debate on the differences shall continue. Later, dur-
ing last 12 years, while the CPI(ML) Red Flag led by PST, the CPI(ML)
MLC from AP merged, sections from CPI(ML) Class Struggle joined,
and then the CPI(ML) Maharashtra merged, all of them had agreed
to work based on the general line of the party explained in the
basic documents, while they, like any other party member, will
have the right to raise their differences inside the party. We were,
in the main, following this method of democratic centralism and
inner party struggle. But, the picture started changing, or what-
ever was taking place covertly so far, started coming out overtly
when we took up the updating of the basic documents before the
12th Party Congress.
After com Sankar started writing a series of articles as a critic
on the approach to caste question in Red Star, analysing the writ-
ings of Debiprasad Chatopadhyay, there were some heated dis-
cussions on this question in the PB. Especially with regard to drop-
ping the caste surnames from the names of the CC members, which
was one of the campaign items of the CAM. Alik wanted to present
a paper on caste question he was writing, in the PB and CC for
discussion. It was agreed. But, when the paper was being dis-
cussed in the PB, as all others opposed his position which was
fundamentally opposed to caste annihilation put forward by the
9th Party Congress, he became angry and walked out of the PB. PB
decided to put forward the discussion of the paper to the CC.
When the paper was discussed in the Feb, 2020 CC meeting,
though all were against caste oppression, and overwhelming ma-
jority of the comrades were upholding the Party’s documented
line of caste annihilation, very few of the CCMs were supporting
Alik. Still, the resolution asking all CCMs to drop the caste related
sur-names was postponed to the 12th Party Congress for decision.
From the discussion it was found that, even those who write pro-
gressive articles and thesis on caste question, are in essence against
caste annihilation, some are even influenced by identity politics. Af-
ter the police firing on farmers in MP who were struggling for
higher minimum support prices for agricultural products (MSP)
and better APMCs, when the Samyuktha Kisan Morcha (SKM) was
formed, PST, who was GS of the AIKKS then, made AIKKKs a mem-
ber of it. But once the farmers’ organizations surrounded Delhi
and were struggling for higher MSP and better APMCs, though he
claimed to support it, he did not accept that such vast changes in
mode of production have taken place anywhere except Punjab,
Haryana and Western UP, and no such farmers’ organizations are
required in other states. Though the CC adopted the position that

‘farmers’ organizations should be formed in all states according to
concrete situation, he was not ready to accept it. So, though a mas-
sive farmers’ Kisan Panchayat was mobilized in Chhattisgarh, he
did not participate, that is, he had in effect boycotted it. Thus,
these sections who merged with the party, were not trying to “seek
truth from facts”, make concrete analysis of the fast changing in-
ternational and national situation and trying to integrate with
the party line; on the contrary, most of them were dogmatically
sticking to the semi-colonial, semi-feudal positions. Instead of
strengthening the party, they were creating confusion and con-
spiring for dividing the party to subvert party’s basic positions
on caste question, changes taking place in the agrarian sector, on
party’s political leadership over the class/mass organizations etc.
The CC had met at Guntur in February, 2020, when the Sha-
hinbagh movement was reaching its peak, mass upsurges were
taking place at numerous places against RSS/BJP neo-fascist rule
spearheaded by Modi. Naturally the discussion on the national
situation pinpointed the correctness of the path of revolution put
forwarded by the RS that numerous mass upsurges shall break
out all over the country taking the form of a countrywide mass
upsurge leading to completion of Peoples’ Democratic Revolution.
This will lead to the phase of socialist revolution. But some of those
who took the rightist position positions rejected it also. When a
full day discussion about importance of building student move-
ment was taken up also this question came up. Though there was
unanimous agreement on the question of starting preparations
for convening the 12th Party Congress, on all basic questions of
party line this section had differences and they had started ex-
pressing them in different forms. When the February 2020, CC
meeting concluded it was clear that the inner party struggle will
come out more and more openly in coming days as the process of
the next party congress is taken up.
In fact, when the question of convening the 11thParty Congress

was taken up, at that time itself, I had asked PBMs that while
discussing the preparations for the next Party Congress, the ques-
tion of electing a new general secretary also should be taken up as
part of this. As I had reached 80, it was high time that a new GS is
elected, when I can continue in the committees for some more time
to help the process. But all the PBMs unanimously took the stand(of
course from basically different standpoints, some political, some
personal) that it should be postponed till next Congress. Looking
back at the discussions that took place, it can be seen that in the CC
there were two sections and both had differing perspectives in
asking for postponing. As far as the majority of comrades who are
with the history and line of the party were concerned, they want-
ed to postpone, as none of them were ready to take the responsibil-
ity, and not sure whom to propose. But those who were opposing
the party history and line were concerned, they were waiting for
canvassing more CCMs to their side, by weakening the existing
leadership. Though the problem was very serious, I had no other
option but to wait since no one from the first section was ready to
take the responsibility. Besides, the refusal of both Sanjay, and PST
to be in the coming PB panel also was indicating the direction in
which this trend is moving. In the PB elected after the 11th Party
Congress, though there were agreements on day to day function-
ing, as reflected in the way the Bhanger movement was led and
successfully brought to an end, on basic questions like caste anni-
hilation, approach to CPI(M) like forces, party’s political leader-
ship over class/mass organizations etc there were no political cen-
tralization. Within a short time, especially after the caste annihi-
lation was taken up and the discussion started on how to fight
RSS, differences in the PB was increasing.
Though, the Guntur CC meeting agreed on the time frame and
the general approach to 12th Party Congress, when the PB pro-
posed a panel of CCMs for preparing the initial draft of each docu-
ment, the section who had basic differing views refused this pro-
posal. So, finally it was concluded by asking the PB to put all pro-
posals before the next CC meeting. It meant a lot of ground work
and at least one or two PB meetings before the proposals can be
arrived at.
After Guntur meeting I had planned a Kerala trip for a week to
meet my family before returning to Delhi. Bindu had come and
returned with Jayarajan to their flat. Omana was as usual alone. I
told her my plan. The channels and newspapers were full of news
about the impending lockout and other details about increasing
Covid threat. She asked about the details of lockout and what she
will do? For the first time she asked why can’t I postpone my jour-
ney till more details are known. I had some idea what is going to
happen under lockout which Modi is postponing for the apt time
in order to use it to put down all people’s movements. So, after a lot
of thinking and a talk with Bindu, next day I tried to explain to her
the urgency of returning to Delhi. After that, even when I tried to
say something, she would just get up and go to kitchen or outside.
And I left for Bindu’s place, and then left for the airport as planned.
Though Bindu insisted, she did not employ any one or allow her to
employ someone to help her during lockout days. I was so busy at
Delhi with the preparations for the 12th Party Congress and orga-
nizing all possible resistance to Modi’s plans, that, except for a
brief call sometime, I could not give more attention to home.
Modi’s Attack on People

Under COVID Pandemic
Modi rule delayed acknowledging the arrival of the pandemic
so that it could be utilized to the maximum level for reaping ben-
efits for the corporates, while under it the people can be terrorized
and maimed. In Covid’s name, the Shahinbagh movement was
brutally wiped out. A Gujarat model pogrom was planned and
executed in North-east Delhi. Finally the total lockdown was bru-

tally and suddenly imposed giving very little time for the vast
masses of migrant workers even to think about a way out. All
means of transport was instantly closed down, stranding tens of
millions everywhere. So, also the eateries, ration shops etc. Tens of
thousands set out walking for even thousands of kilo-meters, with
many of their dead bodies spread over the roads. Instant lock-
down was used by the employers not to give payments to the
workers. Practically millions had to rely on charity organizations
and the neighbours. While people were in unprecedented miser-
ies, the neo-fascists reaped all benefits. In spite of the growing
threat from the pandemic and strict lockdown rules, wherever
possible large number of our comrades joining hands with all pro-
gressive forces did everything possible to extend all assistance to
affected people. It was following such activities, Sivaram was af-
fected by Covid and left us. The loss of Sivaram and Sharmistha,
due to Covid, was grievous to us. A month before this great loss, at
Party Center, myself and Tuhin were struck by Covid during the
most serious second wave. Our party friends knowing I am sick
arranged a bed for me in a good hospital. I went with Sishuranjan
to the hospital. Then I thought, what about Tuhin? What about
urgent tasks at Center? Moreover, the hospital where I am going to
be admitted, was full of patients waiting for admission. They were
in worse condition than me. I asked Shishu, a student comrade, I
do not want to get admitted, denying a chance to so many others
who were in worse condition. With his help I went out after say-
ing thanks to the doctors, got a taxi and returned to office. Com-
rades Shishu and Bijendar put a bed in the office room and collect-
ed medicines and food for us. Tuhin was already in bad condition.
In two days’ time I also was in bad condition –between conscious
and unconscious condition. It took almost two weeks time to re-
cover, with half the energy lost. I was in this situation when we
lost Sivaram and then Sharmista. It increased my weakness. It
was thanks to Shishu Ranjan and Vijendar and many friends who
helped in various ways we both recovered. Though Umakant was

in the office all these days, he was so much afraid of the pandemic
that he never came near us!
Instead of helping the people, in this horrific period it was
utilized by Modi rule to throw out all hard earned labour laws
and to impose the four labour codes to intensify their plunder and
oppression. But the leadership of the major trade union centres
kept mum and did not come out on the streets in support of the
workers. Instead of mobilizing and politicalizing for resisting these,
the leaderships were indirectly helping Modi to saffronize them!
But when Modi under dictates of the WTO imposed the three acts
to corporatize agricultural sector, the farmers organizations of
Punjab, Haryana and Western UP, got mobilized, formed Samyuk-
tha Kisan Morcha, and marched to Delhi breaking down all obsta-
cles on the way, and lay siege around the national capital. From
the end of 2020 till the Modi rule withdrew the anti-farmer acts. It
was a historic struggle showing the possibilities for a country-
wide people’s upsurge if the working class also mobilized to throw
out their present reformist leadership and to bring forward a mil-
itant revolutionary leadership, which is prepared to join hands
with the peasantry and all other oppressed masses.
11
ICOR Fourth World Conference, 2021
My last participation in an ICOR Program was In 2017 in the

International Centenary Seminar on October Revolution as a special invi-
tee to preside over it along with Stephan Engel (MLPD), and senior
comrades from MKCP (Turky), PCP Philippines CP, and CP of Ar-
gentina. I had two roles, I think most of the presidium members
also had them; first, the role as a presidium member. But, as MLPD
had introduced the debate on New Imperialist countries, depict-
ing most of the erstwhile neo-colonially dependent countries as
neo-imperialist countries, with dozens of German comrades pre-
senting the MLPD position, it was a difficult job to present our
different stand. For three days the debate continued. But though
MLPD had many speakers to support its stand, I could see the
number of their supporters did not increase. The only exception
was the NCP (Mashal) which had started swinging to MLPD side;
The Seminar was well arranged. But, as we had stressed, when
the ICM is passing through such a critical condition, the discus-
sion should have been focused on it, and our way out. But this
central theme was not even touched. In that way, content-wise it
was a failure.
Our delegation included Sanjay Singhvi, who was the Deputy
Main Coordinator as the delegate from India, and P J James.
Sharmista also was a special guest to the Seminar on behalf of the

WWC. PJ was sharing a room with Sanjay, but was complaining
that he was not available in the evenings, and because of that the
bilateral meetings were not arranged properly. And I was notic-
ing that In any of his presentations it was not clear whether he
was replying to the erroneous arguments of MLPD that India like
countries have become neo-imperialist countries. He was enjoy-
ing most of the evenings at the Bar with his friends.
In the Third ICOR World Conference which followed the Inter-
national seminar, PJ and Sanjay were the delegates. As PJ did not
want to be the next Deputy Main Coordinator, there was no other
option than proposing Sanjay for this post for one more term. At
the same time, considering Sanjay’s vacillation in his approach to
neo-imperialism, and the damage such a stand will cause to the
support received by our party, either Sanjay should rectify his
stand or we may have to find a new representative in due course.
This was the stand I had reached and I talked with him two or
three times and had raised it in the PB also. He was blaming his
class character for it in all informal talks. It was a lame excuse.
Problem was he was not interested to struggle against alien influ-
ences, and to become a better communist. As we had an earlier
experience, when Venu and Murali failed to present the party stand
in the 1984 RIM formation conference, the problem was given lot
of importance. As reported by PJ in the ID and later in the PB, we
continued our struggle against the MLPD stand and could further
consolidate our stand during the discussions.
After the 3rd World Conference, like all other activities, Covid
affected the ICOR functioning also. During this period, the ques-
tion of building an International Anti-imperialist, Anti-fascist
United Front along with Philippines Party was put forward en-
thusiastically by Main Coordinator Monica of MLPD. We as ICC
member opposed it, while giving positive suggestions for build-
ing such a front. As Sanjay was not understanding the impor-
tance of our suggestions, and as he was not presenting all the com-
munications from Monica timely, we faced technical problems also
in placing our views timely. By this time he had started saying in
the ID, in which Kabeer also was included by the PB elected by 11th
Congress, that he wanted to step down from the CC also in the 12th
Congress, more frequently. At the same time, repeating some tech-
nical problems, he practically stopped giving the ICOR letters to
the ID.
It was at this time Sanjay informed about the 4th World Con-
ference. As ICC member he knew when the discussion started about
it. He also knew that apart from him, PB had proposed two dele-
gates, PJ and Kabeer, as he was stepping down from next CC in
spite of repeated persuasions. He neither informed our proposals
to the ICC, nor give the dates of the ICOR Conference in time. As a
result, though PB had decided, PJ and Kabeer could not attend the
ICOR Conference. Later it was found that he did not inform our
Party decisions to the ICC also. Later it was found that though he
agreed to send invitations to ICOR and its constituents for the 12th
Congress six months ago, no letters were sent by him. That he was
keeping the party in the dark came to our knowledge only when
we contacted some parties for sending the draft documents. As a
result, except for a representative of the MLPD, no other Party sent
delegations, not even messages of greetings from any other party
were received. Sanjay was engaged in a conspiracy against the
party misusing the trust with which he was sent as our represen-
tative to the ICOR.
Now the whole conspiracy by Sanjay had come out. After, the
th
12 Party Congress we have informed everything to the Main
Coordinator and ICC. Kabeer has now replaced Sanjay as the Dep-
uty Main Coordinator. CPI(ML) Red Star has a history of trans-
parency and democratic functioning. It is painful to see how cad-
res developed by the party degenerate so much once they become
apologists of social democrats and Manuvadi Hindutua.
In building up ICOR, along with the MLPD, the CPI(ML) Red

Star played an important role. In spite of the heinous role played
by such conspirators, we hope that along with the MLPD and the
other constituent parties, we shall strengthen the ICOR in coming
days overcoming the present problems.
12
12th Party Congress, Kozhikode, 2022
The PB soon met for chalking out plans to overcome the prob-
lems connected to impending imposition of countrywide lockout
and to draft the proposals to be presented before the CC for carry-
ing forward the tasks linked with organizing the 12th Party Con-
gress. Its proposal was that all the basic documents, the Party
Program, Path of Revolution, and the Political Resolution should
be updated according to present concrete conditions and for this a
joint drafting committee of PBMs and CCMs should be formed. By
this time, the very strict lockout, cancelling all transport facilities
was imposed by Modi rule. As printing presses, postal facilities
and distribution of publications were stopped, RS was brought
only online. All party committees, class/mass organizations were
proposed to meet online. When the online CC meeting took place,
the PB proposals for forming joint committees was put forward.
Though majority of the CCMs accepted this proposal, all those
who generally put forward differing views insisted that let the
PBMs draft the documents. They refused to be part of the joint
committees also. So, it was decided that the PB shall prepare and
present the initial drafts and other proposals about organization-
al arrangement’s also. In the next PB there was a round of general
discussions and then the sub committees were formed to prepare
initial drafts. Based on general discussion, PJ, Alik and Sankar were
given joint responsibility to draft the Program, Path and the Polit-
ical resolution (PR). Alik had differences. He said, he will alone
draft the PR based on the discussion in the PB. Final understand-
ing was that based on general discussion, KNR will prepare the
POR; PJ, the Party Program; Sankar, the Path of Revolution , Alik,
the Political Resolution; and and Tuhin, the Constitution amend-
ments. PB shall finalize initial drafts by PBMs and send to CCMs
by September end, 2021, to be made CC draft by October, Decem-
ber physical CC meeting, and all arrangements for state confer-
ences and Congress by April, 2022, CC meeting.
Everything was moving smoothly forward. But, Alik went on
postponing the presentation of the PR initial draft, and ultimately
when he presented it very late, it was not conforming to party line
reflected in other drafts. So, based on Party line, PJ was asked to
draft it by the PB and it was also adopted by the CC in its April
meeting which finalized all arrangements for the Congress, with
the state conferences starting with Kerala conference in May, 2022.
By the time of April, 2022, CC meeting again at Guntur, the inner
party struggle against the party line by a small minority had come
out clearly. As explained above, if the basic ideological-political
line was firmly established in the 9th Party Congress, by the time
of the 10th Party Congress, the anti-party clique had slowly start-
ed its conspiratorial activities. From the time of the 11th Congress,
with two senior members of the CC refusing to continue in the PB,
their compromising positions were coming out more openly. By
the time of the 12th Congress, they consolidated their rightist line,
and finding that they cannot capture the party, they became busy
in weakening it. But, as we could see later, contrary to what they
calculated, when the basic documents were updated and were
going to become Party’s line with more support, they chalked out
plans for winning over maximum possible forces to their side and
walking out. They no more wanted to remain as a small minority
inside the party.
What was their line, which were the basic points on which
they differed from the party line?
(1) They were against the caste annihilation line and efforts
to put it in to practice. They opposed our line of attacking Manu-
vadi Brahmanical line, our line of upholding caste struggle and
gender struggle, integrally linked to class struggle, They did not
want to go beyond what is in their documents on opposing caste
oppression. They were opposed to even rejecting the caste-related
surnames from the names as part of caste annihilation struggle,
(2) They are opposed to our line that during the post-World
War II period imperialism led by US imperialism transformed the
colonial mode of plunder to neo-colonial mode of plunder using
the exploitation through finance capital, market, technology etc.
They have become apologists of neo-colonialism.
(3) They are against the party politicizing the working class
and peasantry, and developing country wide mass insurrection
as stated in the Path of Revolution.
(4) They are opposed to the utilization of elections to throw
out the RSS/BJP from power, and the need for mobilizing Defeat BJP
campaign as we did in WB, UP and recently in Karnataka.
(5) They do not recognize the need for independent left asser-
tion by consistently developing party and class/mass organiza-
tion, while building, in whatever way it is possible, the broadest
possible anti-fascist front.
(6) They oppose any criticism of the CPI(M) as a social demo-
cratic party. They consider it a crime if anybody criticize the Sin-
gur, Nandigram like incidents in WB or what the CPI(M) led LDF
government does in Kerala by imposing UAPA on their own cad-
res as social fascist acts.
This politics lead them in Kerala like situations to become apol-
ogists of social democracy.
What Happened in the State Conferences and 12th Party Congress?

All the state conferences in Kerala, Bengal, AP, Karnataka, Tlen-
gana, Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Delhi, Pun-
jab, Maharashtra, were successfully held as per CC decisions. It
was in the middle of state conferences a letter was received from a
Group of 7 CCMs and one CCCM that they are not satisfied with
the process and want to present alternative documents in the Par-
ty Congress. It was received at Guntur where myself, PJ and Sou-
ra, PBMs were attending the AP conference.
The available 3 PBMs prepared a reply to them that the state
conferences are taking place as decided by the CC meeting, and
their proposal has reached the completion phase of state confer-
ences when party Constitution does not allow such alternative
documents. So, when the CC is meeting at Delhi office for final
decisions before the Party Congress, we can discuss the matter
and decide what can be done.
When the CC met at Delhi, these 8 comrades were told that as
the state conferences also have completed, the only thing possible
was the ‘alternative papers’ they have given also can be distribut-
ed to all delegates along with all amendments, and they can be
discussed along with the amendments and voted if they want.
But, their demand for representation in the presidium and Steer-
ing Committee were not accepted for obvious reasons.
But what they did at the Party Congress at Kozhikode? After
the rally and public meeting were successfully held on the first
day, and the open session was successfully held on second day till
4 pm, when the delegate session started at 5 pm, and I was pre-
senting the panel for presidium, steering committee and other com-
mittees for the acceptance of the delegate as per the agenda. Then
violating all discipline, in a pre-planned manner, PST and about
60 delegates and observers out of about 370 stood up and started
shouting slogans. In spite of my repeated requests, they continued
to defy my appeals for presenting if they have an alternative pro-

posal in a disciplined manner. Instead of following the well estab-
lished procedure, they went on shouting and then walked out.
Accommodation was already arranged for them. Even after
walk out and not attending the Congress food was also provided.
Every day Presidium comrades were meeting them and request-
ing them to return to Congress hall. They went away before the
Congress was over. All of them including the former CCMs were
expelled by the Party Congress from the primary membership of
the Party.
The five day Party Congress with 310 delegates and invitees
and observers attending it was successfully held. It elected a 33
member CC and 3 member Central Control Commission. The newly
elected CC elected com PJ James as the new GS, and a PB. KNR shall
be continuing in the CC and PB as a member.
We got the information that the walked out delegates met at
Chennai three months later and formed another organization called
CPI(ML) Revolutionary Initiative.
Party Documents Updating Exposes the Right Opportunist Trends
It was when the Updating of the documents was taken up that
the contradictions came to the forefront; the right opportunist
stream wanted to block it at any cost, resorting to the most un-
democratic methods, even by walking out of the Party Congress,
and joining with the social democratic degenerates and the right
opportunist stream among the supporters of Naxalite stream. As
pointed out earlier, and as proved repeatedly in the history of the
communist movement in India, whenever the ideological struggle
centring around the caste annihilation had come up in the com-
munist movement, the degenerated elements serving the Manu-
vadi Hindutua forces, hiding in the party, shall try to defeat it by
any heinous means, including even splitting the Party, if they can-
not succeed in their effort.
The history of the communist movement shows that, it is not

the Red Star which put forward the caste annihilation as a basic
task integrally linked to class struggle for the first time. See what
happened to the “ Draft Platform of Action, 1930; of the Communist
Party of India, which explained under, MAIN TASKS OF THE INDI-
AN REVOLUTION: The Indian people is groaning under the yoke and
the exploitation of British imperialism. Relying upon their political
and economic supremacy, and squeezing billions of rupees year by
year out of the miserable national income of India, the blood-thirsty
imperialists have brought the toiling masses of the people to a state
of famine, hopeless poverty, intolerable slavery and mass extinction
as a people. With all the power of the state in its hands, controlling
the main branches of industry, railways, sea and river transport, banks
and credit system, the greater part of the land, forests and the irriga-
tion system, British imperialism has retarded and still obstructs the
economic development of our country in every way, supporting and
relying upon all that is backward and retrograde in town and coun-
try. .……
The abolition of rank, castes, national and communal privilege,
and the full equality of all citizens irrespective of sex, religion and
race; ……………………………..Gandhi and the Congress leaders call
for the maintenance of the caste system, which is the basis and justi-
fication for the existence of the socially outcast pariahs. Only the
ruthless abolition of the caste system in its reformed, Gandhist [sic]
variety, only the agrarian revolution and the violent overthrow of
British rule, will lead to the complete social, economic, cultural and
legal emancipation of the working pariahs and slaves. The CP of In-
dia calls upon all the pariahs to join in the united revolutionary front
with all the workers of the country against British rule and landlord-
ism. The CP of India calls upon all the pariahs not to give way to the
tricks of the British and reactionary agents who try to split and set
one against the other the toilers of our country. The CP of India fights
for the complete abolition of slavery, the caste system and the caste
inequality in all its forms (social, cultural, etc.).
The CP of India fights for the complete and absolute ANNIHILA-

TION OF THE CASTE SYSTEM. CPI’s Draft Platform of Action,
1930 /73".
Such a draft document could come out from CPI in 1930 be-
cause at that time a lot of discussions were taking place quoting the
Asiatic Mode of Production and so many other writings of Marx had
called for taking a correct approach towards caste system. Marx
had criticized the mechanical materialist approach while study-
ing the caste system which came up in connection with Varna sys-
tem like concrete conditions in India. But what happened? Surpris-
ingly, this document of CPI and similarly many other studies were
abandoned in Soviet Union during theearly years of 1930s under
the influence of a rightist ideological stream of thought which came
to dominance in the ICM at that time. These things call for serious
studies.
As a result what happened? Along with this draft, the word
caste annihilation also disappeared from communist vocabulary. So
when Ambedkar came out with his famous writing on Caste An-
nihilation in 1935, it was hostilely looked upon by many commu-
nists. If I remember correctly even today, even after lot of discus-
sion that had taken place on caste system, except in the documents
of Red Star, not only in the Party Programs of CPI and CPI(M), even
in the Program or other documents of Naxalite organizations, caste
annihilation usage is absent. It was in such a situation, our Party
Program was updated by 12th Congress. (Refer Party Program).
The matter was presented historically in the 3rd chapter of it.
Firstly, How this caste annihilation is linked to all forms of
struggle, to develop class struggle, as explained in the Program of
the People’s Democratic state, is explained in the Program, and
how it should be linked to capture of political struggle is explained
in the Path document.
Secondly, RS differs from the right opportunists who left the
Party on the question of understanding imperialism and its form

of plunder today, this question is well explained above while ex-
plaining the documents adopted by the Bhopal Conference.
Thirdly, the updated Program clearly explains how the con-
tradiction between capital and nature has become an ever inten-
sifying major contradiction, without struggling for the resolution
of which the humanity cannot be saved from extinction caused by
ecological catastrophe.
Fourthly, the ICM has suffered such a severe setback since it
could not develop an alternative path of development against the
devastating and oppressive imperialist system. This is a question
of fundamental importance. As the dominant imperialist system
has developed science and technology to the phase of artificial intel-
ligence to continue its hegemony, the question of developing alter-
nate development perspective, learning from what Mao did by
developing Cultural Revolution and people’s communes, as a high-
er phase of democracy and people’s power is a matter of para-
mount importance. On the whole, consistent theoretical and prac-
tical studies, and development of Marxist theory and practice ac-
cording to present concrete situation is very important.
In this context, the following appeal was given to all members of the
Party, on behalf of the CC, exposing the factional Group of 8:
Dear Comrades,
Revolutionary greetings.
We have built up the CPI(ML) Red Star through a difficult pro-
cess. It involved rectifying the past mistakes, developing and ap-
plying Marxist understanding and practice according to the con-
crete conditions of our country, and uniting different CR forces.
After unity, all the organizations united became integrated part of
it and we have advanced further developing our theoretical line
and revolutionary practice. After the advent of RSS fascism to
power, we have taken various initiatives to unite the CRs as well

as the anti-fascist forces in general. As a result, the 12th Party
Congress is held, when we are having great opportunity for Party
Building, for building the revolutionary core of left forces with a
minimum program and to help the building of the countrywide
broad-based anti-fascist front. The CC had appealed to the 8 com-
rades who have signed the Letter and now gone to the level of put-
ting forward so-called alternative documents, comrades Sanjay
Singhvi, Pradip Singh Thakur, Umakant, Suriyam, Praveen Nad-
kar, Ravi, Vimal, and Alik, to refrain from these totally negative
approach so that the Party can develop its theoretical and practi-
cal lines and advance further.
Similarly the CC appeals to the entire Party to. face up to the
situation created by these eight comrades with revolutionary
maturity. In spite of such a development let us maintain high,
healthy traditions of inner party debate we have always main-
tained, and try to resolve the problem in a communist way with
the spirit of revolutionary unity. As the successful completion of
the Party Congress shall provide great opportunities for revolu-
tionary advances in coming days, I appeal to all delegates, observ-
ers and invitees especially to all the CCMs and CCCMs to make it
a Congress of revolutionary unity.
This appeal is sent to all the party members, friends and sym-
pathizers of the Party by the Central Committee, as an extra ordi-
nary situation is created by the factional activity by a group of
eight CC/CCC members when all our comrades in Kerala and near-
by states are busy with the mobilization for the 24th September
rally and with the arrangements for making the 12th Party Con-
gress a great success. Unconcerned with the magnitude of the chal-
lenges faced by the masses of the people and the revolutionary
forces, these comrades, influenced by divergent rightist view-
points, have opportunistically joined hands to weaken our revo-
lutionary goal by indulging in factional work and putting for-
ward alternate draft documents and views against the draft documents
put forward by the CC and based on which all the 16 state confer-
ences were successfully held. In spite of it, even after the CC put-
ting forward all their amendments, along with amendments from
other comrades before the delegates, for discussion and decision
by the Party Congress, they have published their so-called alter-
nate documents widely, using the social media, a blatant anti-
party move to divert attention of the comrades from the serious
tasks in front of the 12th Congress of our party. To understand the
gravity of the situation created by their move, an over-view of
what happened after the CC took the decision to hold 12th Con-
gress by September, 2022 shall be helpful.
In continuation to the 11th Party Congress held by the end of
2018, the CC meeting in February, 2020 decided to start prepara-
tions for the 12th Congress. But the outbreak of Covid pandemic
delayed the process. It was in the course of many online PB meet-
ings, starting with a four day physical sitting of the PB and two
online CC meetings, the basic understanding for updating/draft-
ing the four draft documents, Party Program, Path of Revolution,
Political Resolution and Political Organizational Report was de-
cided. After 3 physical meetings of the CC in October, December,
2021 and a 4 day long meeting in April, 2022, all the four draft
documents as well as amendments to the Constitution were pub-
lished by the beginning of May, 2022. During this process, many
suggestions and amendments were put forward by the CC/CCC
members; many were incorporated and some were rejected. But
never a voting was demanded on these decisions. There were no
talks of putting forward an alternative to the drafts adopted by
the CC majority and circulated for translation. But when the state
conferences in Kerala, W. Bengal, AP and for the Overseas Com-
mittee were completed in the normal process by 30th June, these 8
comrades sent a joint letter to the GS stating that in the course of
many joint consultations and canvassing among other CCMs, (ac-
tivities violating the spirit of the Party Constitution) they have
decided to put forward alternate draft documents against the CC

draft documents. A reply to this letter was sent to them. Along
with it this letter was sent to the CCMs. In the online PB meeting
held to discuss it, Alik and Umakant, both signatories, tried to
justify their action. Over-ruling their views, the other PB com-
rades evaluated it as a factional act and appealed to them to desist
from such activities and to send whatever amendments they had
to the Party Centre, which they can present in the P/Congress. The
PB also decided to present the letter of eight comrades and the
reply to it by the GS to the physical CC meeting to be held on 25th-
26th August, preceded by two days’ PB meeting. Before, during and
following the PB and CC meetings these comrades openly held
factional meetings also, canvassing others to it, challenging the
party leadership. They made further PB meetings impossible. The
CC meeting concluded with a call to these comrades to send what-
ever amendments they have to party centre, and to make the
theoretical campaign and other activities successful. But neither
they took any initiative for these, nor they agreed to join the series
of interviews and speeches on important issues linked to party
line, nor did not send any contributions for the special issue of Red
Star.
After the deadline for sending all amendments to the party
centre, when the CC met online from 6 to 9pm on 18th September,
the PB had submitted the codified amendments, and the entire
party congress agenda to the developed panel for the coming CC
and CCC. Instead of discussing them, they did everything to wors-
en the atmosphere. One of them went on shouting and others sup-
ported him, making any discussion impossible. They shouted that
they represented the party, and the CC and PB were cliques in-
dulging in majority sectarianism!. The online meeting had to be closed
by the president without even discussing the progress of the Con-
gress arrangements, as these comrades went on obstructing the
healthy conduct of the meeting.
And just after the meeting, by 10 pm, this group of comrades prop-
agated their so-called alternate documents extensively at all lev-
els, in many states, and indulged in open canvassing of leading
comrades extensively. A very vicious atmosphere was created. In
the name of making the documents very brief, they have removed
the concrete analysis of Indian situation, abandoning the evalua-
tion of the integral relation between class struggle in India with
case annihilation struggle, gender equality movement, the strug-
gle against impending ecological catastrophe and for alternative
paradigm of development in the present context of capitalist plun-
der of human labour and nature from the phase of industrial rev-
olution to financialisation of capital, to neoliberal corporate neo-
fascism. Again, in the name of shortening the documents, the brief
evaluation of the theoretical struggle waged by CPI(ML) Red Star
from the post Second World War years was removed, throwing
the call given by the 11th Congress Resolution for Theoretical Of-
fensive
The Draft Path of Revolution on which discussion had started
through online PB following the Bhubaneswar CC meeting was
adopted in an online CC by the beginning of 2022. The drafting of
the Political Resolution and POR entrusted respectively with Com
Alik and GS could be completed only after March 10, after UP
election. Comrade Alik, who was entrusted with the task of initial
draft of Political Resolution, presented it to Guntur CC during
first week of April 2022. Before the CC took up that agenda, San-
jay, who had given only one day for this crucial four day long CC,
had to depart in the night, in an extended session of the CC meet-
ing, made a whole lot of criticisms against that initial Draft by
Alik, including both its content and form. But in spite of that, he
upheld Alik’s Draft for its orientation, which is against the orien-
tation of the CC documents, as he claimed. Almost all the CC mem-
bers who participated in the discussion on PR in the next day,
expressed their opinion that the Draft note of Alik was contrary to
the basic positions of Draft Program and Path of Revolution and

not in conformity with the immediate task of building up the an-
tifascist front. Then the PB sought the permission of CC to redraft
it in conformity with CC discussion and it was agreed upon.
In the next day, when discussion on how to make the Draft PR
in line with other documents was started, Alik stubbornly stated
that he shall draft the paper himself and when the previous’ days
discussions were pointed out, he got provoked and boycotted the
meeting and put his resignation letter from PB and CC (recently he
again resigned from both PB and CC on another issue). It is after
painstaking efforts that he withdrew his resignation and came for
PB meeting again and completing the process of drafting Political
Resolution by the first week of May.
The above mentioned four draft documents, Party Program,
Path of Revolution, Political Resolution, Political Organizational
Report and the proposed amendments to the Constitution are CC
documents. And in the three State Conferences already complet-
ed, Kerala, WB and AP, these draft documents were presented as
such by the PB members who were attending them.(Till the last
state conference in Maharashtra it was done so). It is in this situa-
tion that on June 30 while the GS was attending the AP State Con-
ference, he got a what’s app message from Alik in the name of
“undersigned” eight comrades giving a “come out and unite with
us” call against the CC majority and the documents presented by
it!
Meanwhile, the PB members had come to know that the “un-
dersigned” had selectively approached CC comrades to ally with
them. As part of the same, the Letter addressed to “Central Com-
mittee and Central Commission members” was already sent to
CC members for canvassing.
Comrades, we have got a history of conducting three Party
Congresses successfully. In these, many draft documents were
presented on which there were sharp differences. But, though

sometimes hot, healthy discussions were there, based on princi-
ples of democratic centralism, encouraging inner party debate,
we had adopted the documents and developed practice based on
them. As part of the 12th Congress, which was delayed more than
a year because of COVID, through a democratic and lengthy pro-
cess we have adopted the four draft documents and Amendments
to the Constitution. Three State Conferences were already over.
These conferences reflected the growth of the Party in Kerala, WB
and AP. Other State Conferences were also going to take place in
the process as per the schedule adopted by CC meeting in April.
It is at this time, the “undersigned” in violation of Constitu-
tional provisions have extensively contacted and canvassed to
impose their position on the majority. We hope, the Comrades
shall agree that it is a very unhealthy step on the part of these
comrades. All the “undersigned” who had time to attend the CC,
and had received sufficient time and opportunity to put forward
their views. They will get time to discuss and move amendments
in the Party Congress. Hence indulging in this type of unconstitu-
tional methods destroy the transparency of discussion. The mer-
its of the issues the “undersigned” are raising can be taken up in
the appropriate forum. I hope all the comrades shall rise up to the
occasion, make the 12th Party Congress a great success in order to
intensify our struggle against RSS fascism.
In spite of such a development, due to the unhealthy and op-
portunist actions by these comrades, on behalf of the Central Com-
mittee my appeal is, let us maintain high healthy traditions of
inner party debate we have always maintained and try to resolve
the problem in a communist way with the spirit of revolutionary
unity. As successful completion of the Party Congress shall pro-
vide great opportunities for revolutionary advances in coming
days, I appeal to all delegates and others who attend the Party
Congress to make it a Congress of revolutionary unity.
The eight comrades have pointed out following points on

which they differ from the CC documents:
1. They say: “On the question of method of developing anti-fas-
cist front. The entire CC is united that the RSS/BJP government
is a fascist regime. How to fight against it in today’s specific
situation? We say to fight RSS fascism that all anti-BJP forces,
from all communist revolutionary organizations to Congress
should join hands. Because anti-fascist front cannot be only
the joint front of progressive democratic left forces. That should
incorporate even anti-fascist section of reactionary forces”. Is
it not a fact that the CC has organized the anti-CAA campaign,
the campaign in support of the historic farmers’ movement,
the “No vote to BJP” campaign during the assembly elections
in 2021 with this spirit of building such a front and the “Defeat
BJP, Save Democracy” campaign in UP in which two of the
undersigned tried to undermine it, were the best examples of
the initiation of anti-fascist struggles led by the CC? At the
same time, the fact is that one of these eight comrades in WB
acted against the “No vote to BJP” campaign, demanding that
instead of it we should support the CPI (M) led front! Similar-
ly, when our comrades and those in the “Defeat BJP, Save De-
mocracy Manch” was trying its best to organize the campaign
in UP, two of the comrades from the eight were not participat-
ing in the campaign, and instead were spreading the word
that calling RSS/BJP Manuvadi Hindutva will alienate ‘Hin-
dus’ and trying to weaken the campaign! While the CC is unit-
ed in building joint campaign for a broad based anti-fascist
front, it is the group of eight who are having and spreading
differing views!
2. They say “Of course for a thorough and endurable win against
fascism a powerful all India communist party capable to fight
on the street and in parliament also is required. So develop-
ment of a party in all India basis is a precondition for the suc-
cess to build anti-fascist front in real sense. We feel this is im-

perative keeping in mind the fact that if such a front has to
come into existence, we should make unrelenting efforts to
mobilize working class, peasantry and all oppressed social
sections into this anti-fascist front and in fact we should en-
deavour to develop these forces to act as vanguard of the anti-
fascist front”—What the group of 8 is saying here is just oppo-
site to what is said above. They counter-pose party building
to building broad anti-fascist united front. At the same time,
the draft PR put forward by the CC clearly explains how the
building of the party, building of the revolutionary left core
with a program and extending all out support for emergence
of a broad based anti-fascist united front are inter-related.
The bankruptcy of the line of the ‘Undersigned’ is exposed here.
3. They say: “Minorities and Dalits are already suffering brutal
oppression. Women are treated as commodities by feudal cul-
ture and modern corporate culture. Intellectuals who do not
agree with the ruling party are targeted and on such persons
attacks continue. In this situation, the formation of a broad
anti-fascist front as we have described is the only possibility
to prevent the RSS forces” When the CC is making all out ef-
forts to put such a line in to practice through extensive cam-
paign for the success of the 12th Party Congress, in the name of
differences with it, the group of eight spent their entire time to
harm such a campaign; is it not self-contradictory? Is it not a
fact that these comrades are only doing phrase mongering on
this question?
4. They say: “In this situation we feel that genuine efforts should
be made to unite all sections of the Communist Revolutionar-
ies in a single party basing on a general line comprising with
all differences. Only common activity, unity of action and will
is most important thing to be united within a party. It is our
view that the revolutionary forces in the anti-fascist front
should be the main part of it to give direction to the anti-fas-

cist front” It is a call for a liberal, federal, heterogeneous party
without any centralized line and program. It is an advocacy
for the line of liquidation of the party. Their claim that” the
revolutionary forces in the anti-fascist front should be the main
part of it” is a very unreal proposal in the present situation
when even if all the present forces who have red flag are put
together it will be a very small one! Such false claims when
they are indulged in weakening even the only organization
which has comparatively a clear outlook on overthrowing the
RSS led neo-fascism is extremely self-contradictory.
5. They say: “ So Party Program and Path should be developed
basing on that viewpoint. And the method taken by comrade
Lenin to form Party Program and the method to make policy
statement of CPI in 1951 must be followed. So the entire sec-
tions on party history and history of India should be deleted
from the program document. According to the points written
about the history of the party, the official documents portray
that we are the only ones being on the right track always.
Such writings create an unfavorable atmosphere for the CR
forces’ unity talks. There are many illusions and error of facts
have been written about the history of India also. But even if
these were supposed to be correct, still party program docu-
ment is not the place to keep them in. It is anti-Leninist prac-
tice to stage documents for such a lengthy discussion. Those
writings give a one-sided view of history and further the trend
of misogyny. The path document also, instead of giving direc-
tion towards revolution, it is being a commentary. That is not
readable for party comrades and at the same cannot give any
direction. So it should be precise and concise” – This whole
scholastic effort is to destroy or atleast somehow weaken the
concrete analysis of the international and national situation
in the CC documents and to sweep away the line of caste anni-
hilation, gender equality, intensifying contradiction between

nature and capital etc. put forward by them to strengthen the
anti-imperialist, anti-fascist movement at all levels called by
the Party. And they claim that the history of the CR move-
ment in the country and of many of its leaders themselves are
meaningless. A glance through the recent utterances of those
among these eight shows that all these scholastic statements
are to liquidate or push down Red Star to the condition of one
of those aimless organizations floating around us, calling it-
self CR!
6. Now our friends belonging to the group of 8 complain that “
Not only CC majority is trying to reject our document before
discussion, but at the same time they are trying to hijack the
whole congress process, making panels for presidium and
steering committee, keeping outside the senior and leading
comrades of various fields. They want to conduct party con-
gress only with who are holding or at least not opposing their
view…..”—It is a strange argument. Alik has shouted and
walked out of the PB and CC meetings many times during the
last one year. Even in the online CC meeting of 18th September,
he was shouting for more than an hour in an effort to abruptly
end the discussion on amendments. After such bitter experi-
ence, when the Undersigned eight wants to make the Presidi-
um and Steering Committee forums for shouting, can we agree
with that? Accepting the proposal of the Undersigned eight
will mean allowing the party congress to turn into forums for
shouting match. It is an irresponsible demand which no re-
sponsible organization can accept.
7. They say, “You are overseeing an all India month long online
discussion program which is going on. That is not organized
by the CC. That is organised by the Reception committee, who
have only the responsibility to hold party congress in Kerala
successfully. Instead of doing this, they are organising all In-
dia programme!”- The undersigned conceal the fact that in-

cluding the three names mentioned, most of this group were
asked to speak on various subjects or write for the Special
issue of Red Star. But none had responded even after remind-
ers. Whose fault is it?
The undersigned 8 claim that they have not concealed any-
thing. But is it not a fact that in the name of making the draft
documents brief the Undersigned have abandoned the analysis of
the Indian context where the sprouting class struggle was turned
in to Varna struggle under Aryan/Brahmanical domination? Simi-
larly, they want to conceal the fact that except for a brief period
during and after Asoka, Brahmanism was always in dominance
in various forms in this country. Even in the communist move-
ment, it was the Brahmanical/savarna domination which degenerat-
ed it very fast into shades of revisionism or social democracy on
the one hand, or to left adventurism on the other. Like caste anni-
hilation, gender equality struggle is also thrown out, and so also
the struggle to prevent ecological catastrophe. What is put for-
ward as alternate documents are an eclectic mixture of the oppor-
tunist concepts of the constituents of this strange mix of 8, who
joined hands for their opportunistic goals. A healthy atmosphere
in the party is possible only if they abandon their present stand
and rectify their mistakes: ideological, political and organization-
al. To defeat such alien tendencies, and to achieve the revolution-
ary goals put forward in the CC draft documents, let the whole
party stand together, making the 12th Party Congress a great vic-
torious step forward!”
This appeal on behalf of the CC from the GS helped the party
comrades to wage uncompromising struggle against the anti-party
elements who were engaged in all heinous acts to weaken or sub-
vert the Party Congress, and to make it a great success. The more
than a century long history of the communist movement of our
country shows that whenever it dared to touch the caste question
seriously, all the petti-bourgeois opportunist sections serving the

Manuvadi forces had resorted to all heinous attacks to crush it.
What happened now was no exception. They wave red flag to
destroy red flag. When they claim to oppose neo-fascism, they
actually conspire to destroy the genuine anti-fascist forces! When
they found they cannot subvert the Party Congress and destroy
the Party, the only way out before them was to walk out of the
Party Congress, and form another sectarian group in the service
of Manuvadi neo-fascism. It is what they have put in to practice. It
will not take much time before the G8 fragment internally and its
coordination of the four groups face the fate of CPI(ML) Janasakthi
a few decades ago!
13
Conversations with Kunnikkal,

Kolla Venkaiah and Kondapalli
In 1963 November, after a two years gap I went on leave from

Bhutan to Kerala. I had a plan to meet com Kunnikkal Narayanan
(Keyen as he abridged). He had returned to Kerala from Mumbai,
left CPI(M) and started publication of selected Mao’s works as book-
lets from Kozhikode. In 1974 end, when after leaving the job I had
settled at Pala, one old comrade living nearby came in the early
morning and told me that Keyen stayed with him last night and
wants to meet me urgently. As he is underground, we decided it is
better to meet him in the comrade’s house. By the time I reached he
was ready and after breakfast we both had a long discussion.
I was meeting him for the first time. But our activities and line
of thinking were known to each other. During the last one decade,
many things had happened. After exchanging latest information
about his family and the political scene, I asked him what hap-
pened at Tellichery police station where he had gone with com-
rades to attack it and capture weapons. He patiently explained
how he and the leading comrades expected nearly 1000 comrades
to make it look like a mass upsurge when they could overwhelm
the police force, capture the arms and march to Wynad. By this
time, the comrades from Pulpally shall complete the attack on the
police station there, and join them with the captured arms. These
actions shall be synchronized with the upsurge of the rebelling
coffee farmers. These upsurges will be joined by the workers of
Kannur. This was the plan. But from the beginning itself the plan
failed due to lack of necessary organizational arrangements. First-
ly, the expected number of comrades did not reach Tellichery, and
even many of those who reached returned before the action. While
self-critically accepting the weaknesses that led to the setback to
his plans, he pointed out that according to the objective situation
in Kerala, it was a better line, compared to the application of anni-
hilation line as the only tactics everywhere without taking in to
consideration the concrete condition of different areas had proved
erroneous. He was of the view that if the groups/committees in
different areas had adopted their tactical line according to con-
crete conditions in their area, even CM would have come out with
his self-critical evaluation earlier. Instead of doing that, the differ-
ent trends like the one led by SNS, the UCCRI (ML) etc., instead of
developing struggles based on the conditions in their area were
contended with attacking CM’s annihilation line as the sole reason
for all the setbacks; while the left extremist 2nd CC, the CPI(ML)
PW, MCC, etc were indulged in ways to develop the ‘annihilation
line in better forms’; both in their own ways, in effect, were in
effect helping the enemy to malign or crush the revolutionary
movement.
Keyen did not blame CM alone for the setbacks suffered. Both
of us agreed that It was a basic mistake on the part of the CPC to
put forward such a general line that countries like India are in
semi-colonial, semi-feudal condition, and that the protracted peo-
ple’s war (the Chines Path) is the only path of revolution in these
countries. Such an action was contrary to the 1963 Great Debate
documents. Taking such a step not even holding a discussion among
the emerging ML parties was a serious mistake. In the absence of
any International organization or platform for these newly emerg-
ing Marxist-Leninist parties, they took China as the centre, and

whatever it said was dogmatically accepted.
I told him that I am opposed to annihilation line as a strategic
line. In a vast, complex country like India, as far as the annihila-
tion line is concerned, it was presented as a tactics to initiate gue-
rilla struggle, to serve the the protracted people’s war, which was
the strategy. In Tebhaga and Telengana movements many tactics
were utilized, even some landlords were attacked and even killed.
My stand was that as India is a country under neo-colonial plun-
der as the CPC explained in 1963 in the document “Apologists of
Neo-colonialism”. Annihilation as a beginning of guerilla strug-
gle, or what you did in Tellicherry, or any number of tactics can be
used as part of the revolutionary mass line under which all forms
of struggle can be used for the completion of democratic revolu-
tion and advancing to socialist revolution. Vietnamese liberation
struggle is a very good example. There guerrilla struggle was com-
bined with upsurges and all other forms of struggle.
Instead of only blaming CM, if all of them, DV Rao, CP Reddy,
SNS, and others, had tried to develop the ‘resistance struggle’ or
other tactics they had started according to concrete conditions,
similar to what he did, the consequences would have been differ-
ent. I asked Keyen whether he had read CM’s last article? He said,
he had heard about it, but not read. I had a copy with me. As he
wanted, I read it out to him. He asked me to read some portions
again. After hearing it fully, he said this is the best self-critical
evaluation. Before departing, he told me that he shall discuss with
his comrades. But, the next time we met was in the police vehicle,
taking us to courts. After that we could never meet.
My opinion was that, if we had seriously studied the last arti-
cle of CM (1972), self-critically evaluated the setbacks, and started
re-building the party on Bolshevik style, we could have prepared
ourselves for leading the people’s upsurges which were going to
happen. But, though the Emergency was imposed soon, the CPI
became a stooge of the Congress, the CPI(M) leadership kept quiet
in the name of protecting the party as criticized by P. Sundarayya,
its GS in his resignation letter. As the CR forces were fragmented
and did not study the self-critical note in July, 1972, Liberation,
they were totally unprepared to face the challenge. It is in this
situation the RSS could utilize the situation and leap forward.
In my first meeting with com. Kolla Venkaiah in 1979 at Hy-
derabad, his evaluation of the hitherto movement was almost sim-
ilar to the one we had also started presenting in the discussions.
He basically disagreed with DV Rao, CP Reddy groups, and took a
positive approach to what CM had tried to put in practice. When
I mentioned about CM’s call to support the East Bengal liberation
struggle, KV said, it showed CM’s revolutionary vision. He was
appreciating the last article of CM and told me that she will read
our documents and shall try to implement the tasks according to
AP conditions. He had no hostile criticism against Kondappalli
also. But he was a string critic of CPI(Maoist) and had appreciated
the articles I had written criticizing it.
In this context, I have to mention the name of Com.Kondappalli
Seetharamiah also. I have only met him once, when he was part of
the delegation from PWG during the second meeting somewhere
in the Malanad region of Karnataka in 1991-92 period. He started
his communist life in the great Telengana movement. He became
part of the communist revolutionaries who upheld and carried
forward the message of Naxalbari Uprising. Unlike leaders like
Chandra Pulla Reddy, T NagiReddy, DV Rao like comrades of AP,
he was part of the CPI(ML)from the beginning, and upheld CM.
One year after CM’s martyrdom, he was also part of the meeting
organized to re-organize the CPI(ML) in which Sunithi Kumar
Ghosh, Sarma, Ramnath, Narayan Sanyal and few others partic-
ipated. But the COC formed in that meeting could not survive due
to differences, and along with Sathya Murthi and others he formed
CPI(ML) People’s War in 1974. It became the biggest revolutionary

organization of undivided AP combining peasant movement, and
other mass movements like Zingareni mining workers Union.
Millions of peasants were mobilized and many militant struggles
were waged for their rights.
As informed by Varavara Rao, though I reached at his resi-
dence in time, KS was arrested a day before. So, I could not meet
him in 1979. By the time I met him during the second bi-lateral
discussion he was affected by Parkinson disease very much and it
was difficult for him to speak clearly. He was an advocate of revo-
lutionary massline, using armed struggle along with all other
forms of struggle. On the second night when all comrades were
sleeping, after hearing some sound I woke up. It was around mid-
night, and I found when we were all sleeping, KS was sitting with
2-3 pillows behind him. I went near him and sat down. The infor-
mal talk we had was quite significant. He started talking about the
last article of CM and regretted that in spite of many efforts he
could not change the PWG’s line based on it.
When I told him why I uphold CM in spite of the shortcomings
of the line he pursued before this last article, his call for liberation
of East Bengal, how we tried to support it, and based on CM’s last
article how we are developing the line and trying to build a pow-
erful Party organization capable of giving leadership to people’s
upsurges, he was very much interested to continue the talk. He
was much interested in the international relations we were devel-
oping. He told about the big mass mobilization in Warangal going
to take place soon, and the importance of Virasam, our joint forum
AILRC. I found he was also critical of some aspects of the 1970 line
and it could be smelled then itself what happened after two years.
As already mentioned, when the younger elements found they
were closer to MCC, Ganapathi and the younger comrades not
only stopped discussions with us, but removed KS from the lead-
ership. Before closing our discussion by about 4 am I told him it
was a great loss that we could not meet in 1979. Though I went to
bed, I could not sleep thinking about this veteran old comrade’s
line of thinking, in spite of all limitations on many theoretical ques-
tions. In a way both PWG and CRC started from almost same
point: how to assimilate the essence of CM’s self-critical evalua-
tion and call. But experiences of last two decades struggles have
created obstacles to move forward united. I greatly respect KS.
What happened to the section of PWG who joined with MCC and
formed CPI(Maoist) in 2004 was that it got reduced to an anarchist
line bereft of the revolutionary mass line and cultural impact cre-
ated by the PWG under the leadership of KS
CM’s last article pointed out, “We have suffered a setback after
the armed struggle in our country reached a certain stage. It is our
task now to preserve the Party. In order to preserve it we have to
build the Party among the broad masses of workers and peasants.
We shall be able to get over the setback and raise the struggle to a
stage higher than before, if we can build a politically united party.
I hope we shall be able to do this within a short time” When I
decided to resign the job and to plunge in to the revolutionary
movement, what CM pointed out in his last article was almost the
point from where I decided to start. My expectation was that, from
the experiences gained in the course of the theoretical struggle
against neo-revisionist CPI(M) line, the CR forces must have gained
much.
But what I found was that expect for the above two discus-
sions with Kunnikkal and KV, and few others, the various forces I
met, discussed and worked with were severely affected by dog-
matism and sectarianism. Though many of the groups still claim
to uphold Naxalbari Uprising, they are more eager to embrace the
once rejected CPI(M), than learning from the mistakes and going
forward with more vigour.
14
Charu Majumdar -
A Great Communist Leader
He Inspired Through His Revolutionary Vision!

I have not met CM. I could not even try to meet him. Because,
by the time I reached Farakka in 1968 it was very difficult to meet
him anywhere in W. Bengal or in nearby areas. He was under-
ground guarded by reliable group of well- trained young com-
rades, I was told. From what I heard from those supposed to be
close to him, who took shelter in my quarters or in the quarters
arranged by the three other comrades in our group, CM had to
face difficult problems, as the team which protected him were
followers of Mahadev Mukherjee (later known as CPI(ML) 2nd CC,
or Lin Biao Group) who was against CM convening the CC elected
in 1970 in the first (Eighth) Party Congress. I resigned the job at
Farakka on 28th July, 1972, when I got the information about his
martyrdom in Lal Bazar police headquarters, Kolkata. Few days
after that, I left for Kerala. Before leaving Kolkata a comrade in-
formed me that it was the Second CC men loyal to Mahadev who
gave information to police about his shelter, to prevent him from
calling a CC meeting. They disliked the last article of CM and were
angry for its publication in the last issue of Liberation. I also heard
that one or two among those responsible for the betrayal was
killed by comrades from North Bengal.
I was critical for his one-sided stress on armed struggle. But I
respected CM for his communist vision. He is definitely the founder-
leader of the CPI(ML). He had an all India perspective. He was an
internationalist in the true sense. When the revolt broke out in
East Bengal, though CM had earlier raised the slogan, “China’s
Chairman, Our Chairman” to express his spirit of international-
ism, without any hesitation he criticized China for supporting
Yahya Khan, who was leading the military rule in W. Pakistan.
CM called upon all communist revolutionaries to fully support
the Mukthi-vahini section which supported the East Pakistan Com-
munist Party (EPCP). Thousands like me were inspired and worked
hard to help revolutionary Mukthivahini as much as possible tak-
ing many risks. My close friend Dipankar Chakravarthy opposed
CM for initiating the annihilation line, but respected him for his
vision and internationalism.
Another great thing about him was his uncompromising op-
position to revisionism, the main danger to the communist move-
ment. Most of the so-called old Naxalite leaders have some-way or
other later became close to CPI(M). They get angry if you call CPI(M)
social democrat. Many of them regret for calling Singur and Nan-
digram as social fascist acts! In effect, they are denouncing the
ideological struggle against neo-revisionism which gave rise to
the great Naxalbari Uprising.
CM started his revolutionary days with the great Tebhaga
movement. His son Abhijit, in an interview, has talked about CM’s
relation with the Tebhaga movement: ”Tebhaga happened in 1946-
47. Tebhaga means two-third. At that time, the landless share crop-
pers who were doing the actual farming had to give half of the
harvest to the landlords. They were called ‘Adhiyars’ as they were
supposed to part with half of (Adha) what they produced as tax.
They were like bonded labourers. They never used to get even the
half. Towards the end of the 1930s, the Communist party took up
this issue and organised the share croppers in the neighbouring
district of Jalpaiguri. It was during this period that my father
joined the Communist party. This was in 1939, when he was 20.
The sharecroppers started insisting that they would give only
one-third of the harvest. Once they got organised, they also start-
ed harvesting what they were eligible for. The movement gradu-
ally strengthened and along with that, state repression too went
up. By 1942 the party’s influence spread among the plantation
workers and the railway employees. Next year there was a great
famine. Workers were starving. Charu Mazumdar and other lead-
ers exhorted people to come together, attack the granaries of the
landlords and grab the grains. ‘We may die by a bullet, but not by
starving’ was the slogan raised. Soon the struggle spread. Agricul-
tural labourers and plantation workers jointly took out rallies.
The struggle picked up steam. Workers harvested the crops, at-
tacked the granaries and distributed the hoarded grain. The state’s
efforts to suppress the revolt became more and more brutal. Dur-
ing one of the rallies, peasants tried to grab rifles from the police.
This led to police firing and 11 agricultural workers were killed on
the spot.”
Did the struggle continue? “Yes. The leaders continued to or-
ganise the peasants. In 1953, the Nehru government at the Centre
passed a legislation abolishing the Zamindari system. But it was
not a bill meant for implementation. It was just to hoodwink the
people. The Communist party leadership had made an issue of it
too. In 1959, the party called for grabbing the excess land above
the land ceiling from the landlords. The movement became more
and more strong. But then the party felt that things were getting
out of its hand. The party’s state leadership called off the agitation.
My father had returned to Silguri, his place, in 1952 and was fully
engaged in organising peasants in Darjeeling district. District lead-
ers like my father were greatly disturbed and disappointed by

this decision. Ignoring the instructions from the party, they con-
tinued organising peasants and tea garden workers urging them
to grab excess land and revolt against exploitations by the land-
lords. This culminated in Naxalbari’’.
(This interview of Suchitra with CM’s son Abhijit appeared in
Mathrubhumi Weekly May 21-272017)
For CM and his comrades who ignited the fire among the land-
less and poor peasants in Naxalbari, the anti-feudal struggle days
of Naxalbari was a continuation of Tebhaga. So, the Eight Docu-
ments of CM, dictated during 1965 to 1967 were really inspiring.
They provided revolutionary orientation to the members of CPI(M)
to carry forward the agrarian revolution according to the con-
crete conditions in the areas where they live and agitate.
The Historic Eight Documents
The Historic Eight Documents are a set of eight monographs
authored by Charu Majumdar that outline the ideological princi-
ples on which the Naxalite militant communist movement in In-
dia was based.
1. Our Tasks In the Present Situation-January 28, 1965 (1st
document).
2. Make The People’s Democratic Revolution Successful By
Fighting Against Revisionism - 1965 (2nd document)
3. What Is The Source Of The Spontaneous Revolutionary
Outburst In India? -April 9, 1965 (3rd document)
4. Carry On The Struggle Against Modern Revisionism 1965
(4th document)
5. What Possibility The Year 1965 Is Indicating? - 1965 (5th
document)
6. The Main Task Today Is The Struggle To Build Up The True
Revolutionary Party Through Uncompromising Struggle

Against Revisionism - December 8, 1966 (6th document)
7. Build Armed Partisan Struggle By Fighting Against Revi-
sionism.
8. Carry Forward the Peasant Struggle by Fighting Revision-
ism. April 1967 (8th document)
1968: In Terai Report, an evaluation of the Naxalbari Uprising,
it was declared that the agrarian revolution in India which is part
of People’s Democratic Revolution has started, and it called for
completing the PDR under the guidance of Marxism-Leninism –
Mao Tsetung Thought, and for advancing to socialist revolution.
1968: As the inner party struggle within the CPI(M) reached a
qualitatively new phase, large number of its members resigned
and walk out of it; its leadership also started throwing out the
Communist Revolutionaries from its ranks; Following Burdwan
Plenum of the CPI(M), in 1968, many more revolutionary forces
came out of it. The All India Coordination Committee of the Com-
munist Revolutionaries ( AICCCR) was formed under the leader-
ship of CM.
1969: Though the AICCCR was formed, it was clear that un-
less the basic documents are drafted and it is transformed in to a
party led by the proletariat, guided by Marxism-Leninism-Mao
Thought, the People’s Democratic Revolution cannot be complet-
ed, and the proletariat and the oppressed classes and masses can-
not march towards the victory of the socialist revolution. In order
to remove all shades of hesitations and vacillations about it, the
following article was written by him in early 1969:
Why Must We Form the Party Now? (Appendix-i)
In spite of this clarion call by CM explaining the importance of
forming the party immediately, APCRC like forces were vacillat-
ing on this cardinal issue.
Formation of the CPI(ML)

It was in this situation, the AICCCR under the leadership of
CM went ahead to form the CPI(ML) on 22nd April, and announced
this decision on 1st May Day rally near Shahid Minar at Kolkata by
Kanu Sanyal. The correctness of the decision taken then is evident
today: after six decades, though the CRs have disintegrated into a
number of organizations, almost all of them are known as only
CPI(ML) factions.
In 1970, the First ( Eighth) Congress of the CPI(ML) was con-
vened. The Party Program, Constitution, the Path of Revolution,
the Political Resolution and the Political Organizational Report
were discussed and adopted, and a 21 member CC with CM as its
general secretary was elected. When it confronted brutal suppres-
sion by the state forces, and organizationally started facing disin-
tegration, splitting in to numerous organizations/groups, except
repeating about mass line, the split away sections had no idea
about how to combat it.
But, it was once again, CM who came forward with a self-
critical evaluation and put forward a way out through his last
letter published in the last issue of the Liberation in July, 1972. This
letter has historic significance. It is re-produced in Appendix-ii.
Just like CM evaluated. the people’s upsurge took place in Gu-
jarat and then Bihar during 1973-’75. But the Party had splintered
so much that we could not rise up to utilize the occasion. When the
Emergency rule was imposed, though the CR groups struggled
and suffered much, as we were splintered, except in few areas we
could not create an impact. CPI was serving the Congress, and
CPI(M), as its then GS Sunderayya criticized, was lying low in the
name of saving the party. The extreme rightist RSS used the op-
portunity continuously, gained strength, and became the ruling
power imposing neo-fascist rule ruthlessly. As a result of the rise
of extreme rightist forces and continuing disunity among CR forc-
es, even though the massive all India Shahin Bagh movement, fol-
lowed by the historic farmers’ movement became great upsurges again
during 2021, once again we could not utilize the opportunity to
advance the movement. As CM evaluated, the objective condition
is once again becoming favourable for a countrywide upsurge
against neo-fascism. It is our task to build up the party based on
the ideological, political line put forward by the 12th Party Con-
gress, and class/mass organizations powerfully so that subjec-
tively we are prepared to capture power and usher in People’s
democracy and socialism.
Let us learn from CM’s Vision and get prepared to march for-
ward based on the ideological-political-organizational line we have
updated in the documents adopted by the 12th Party Congress.
Long Live Revolution!
15
March Forward To Future
The picture was absolutely clear by the time the 12th Party
Congress was to start.The initiation of the ideological, political,
organizational line of the CPI(ML) Red Star based on the summing
up of more than three decades of enquiries and experience up to
the Bhopal Special Conference,2009 was consolidated in the 9th
Party Congress, 2011. These basic documents were published in a
compilation as No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March Forward
to Revolution. Then the Party launched an offensive to win over
new forces based on this line. When the merger talks were com-
pleted, starting with the CCR(ML) in 2010,followed by merger with
other groups, our general understanding was that the mergers
following in depth discussion and acceptance of the general line of
the Party shall be followed by progressive integration based on
Bolshevik style of party building and revolutionary practice based
on the general line of the Party.
The Political Organizational Reports discussed and adopted
by the 10th and 11th Party Congresses exposed that these are not
developing in the way we desired. Sectarian, dogmatic influences
were/are so strong among the CR forces, that not only in the Red
Star, all the mergers take have taken place so far among other
organizations also, very few have survived and the real integra-
tion took place. In spite of developing the ideological political line

to a high level, the lack of integration after mergers was not recog-
nized giving it the seriousness it called for. So, the rectification to
overcome this was not taken up seriously. Even when Sanjay and
PST refused to continue in the PB, the gravity of the question was
not given the serious attention it called for.
In spite of serious persuasion, they did not change their deci-
sion, they did not step down from the responsibilities they were
entrusted with as PBMs. When they did not, necessary steps
should have been taken to relieve them from the responsibilities
entrusted with them as PB members. It was not done. So, like the
PB elected by the CC after the Lucknow Congress, the new PB
elected after the 11th Party Congress also did not have centralized
view on party line. It became clear with the presentation of the
paper on caste question by Alik for discussion in the PB and CC.
Not only his paper was diametrically opposed to the party line,
but his attitude towards differing views also was not based on the
spirit of inner party democracy based on democratic centralism.
During the discussion of the paper on caste question in the PB
itself, his extremely sectarian and ‘small group mentality’ came
out. When all other PBMs present opposed his views, he started
shouting and wrote resignation letter from PB and CC. When this
caste based paper was discussed in the CC also same thing hap-
pened. In this atmosphere, the resolution discussed in the CC on
removal of caste related surnames of party comrades starting from
the CCMs, also had to be postponed to the 12th Party Congress. The
entire Party, especially the leadership should learn lessons from
this bitter experience.
Again, when the PB started discussing about electing the new
General Secretary as KNR was going to step down, Alik’s view
was that since PJ is not ready, he is the most eligible to become the
next GS, (even when he was against the ideological political line of
the party, against following its principle of democratic central-
ism, and had different approach about handling inner party strug-
gle democratically).On both these points PB majority was against
him, his approach in the PB became antagonistic. He became the
catalyst force around which the other anti-party tendencies got
polarized.
They included Sanjay who was using his threat to step down
from the CC also, to get consent for further de-politicization of the
TUCI and for his degeneration to petty bourgeois life style, and to
get support for the compromising approach towards social de-
mocracy with which he wanted to ally along with PST. He was
trying to mould AIKKS according to his own thinking, In effect, he
made it inactive while trying to win over comrades to his right
opportunist positions.
As far as Vimal Trivedi was concerned, though he accepted
the Party Program and Constitution while the membership was
taken and renewed, in essence he was following Manuvadi Brah-
manical views. The line of approach and the way he tried to sabo-
tage the party, and to win over party leaders to his side was al-
most similar to that of a enemy agent. He was engaged in conspir-
atorially propagating his anti-party line and trying to win over
other CC members to his line through very unhealthy means. For
this he utilized corrupt methods also. In this manner he won over
Umakant, the PBM responsible for Delhi committee and the Delhi
State Committee members also Though it was found out and re-
ported to the PB, due to lack of centralization in it and because of
liberal approach on the side of some comrades, no action could be
taken at the appropriate time. Bhaskar Rao and Narasimha Red-
dy, also supported Alik in order to continue their anti-party stand.
In similar ways, the CC member, Pravin Nadkar, also joined the
G8 soon. Once the G8 was formed, its members conspiratorially
started a campaign against the party line, especially the caste an-
nihilation line. It became open attack on the party and holding of
parallel CC meetings by the G8 by August itself. In the CC meeting
in August the G8 was clearly told that in spite of all these anti-
party action, no action is taken not because of any lack of courage,
but because of the democratic principles we follow. We do not
want to take any steps as the Party Congress is going to be held in
next month and any disciplinary action shall not help to maintain
our high democratic values.
During this whole period, the party leadership was busy with
carrying forward the tasks linked to the process of the 12th Party
Congress. At the same time, the G8 systematically planned to sab-
otage it and to split the party by walking out in the beginning of
the delegate session itself. They were afraid that if they, with their
followers attend the delegate session, their own followers, espe-
cially from the Bhangar people’s committee, may leave them when
the anti-party opposition, built up on lies and slanders, gets ex-
posed in the course of the Congress. So, they had no other option,
but to walk out, and later form the CPI(ML)Revolutionary Initiative,
with the only agenda of slandering and sabotaging the Party in
most heinous ways. Starting from the CC and the PB level, it is the
revolutionary task of all party members to expose these anti-par-
ty elements in the course of carrying forward the revolutionary
practice based on the tasks put before us by the 12th Party Con-
gress.
16
The Conclusion
After almost seven decades of active participation at different

levels in the communist movement, when I decided to step down
from the General Secretary post of CPI (ML) Red Star, with the
consent of the Central Committee, the central question before me
was what to do next. I had a severe attack of Covid during its most
serious second wave due to which my physical health was affect-
ed. It was in April, 2021. The loss of Sivaram and Sharmista, our
dear young comrades, next month, was another serious attack,
which further weakened me. This factor further strengthened my
decision to step down from the GS post.
But, what happened was unexpected. When the CC decided to
convene the already delayed 12th Party Congress by the second
half of 2022, and the question of updating all basic documents was
taken up, the stormy days of fierce inner party struggle started,
mainly on how far to update the basic documents. For me what
happened was like the famous saying : the trees wants to rest, but the
wind does not allow them! I had to throw away the Covid impact, and
plunge in to completing the tasks of this historic Party Congress.
On 5th October, 2022, after completing all remaining works of
the Congress, including clearing all liabilities so that the state
committee which took the responsibility for conducting the Con-

gress is left debt-free, I left Kozhikode. This is a practice I main-
tained from the days of the First All India Conference of the CRC in
February, 1982. Then I went to Delhi for two months to hand over
everything connected with the centre’s functioning. Before leav-
ing Delhi, I asked PJ, our new GS, his suggestions about my tasks
then onwards. He suggested writing on my long experiences is
one of the first tasks I can take up so that the party comrades are
benefitted from it. I also thought so. As a result of six months’ work
the first Volume of my autobiographical work is already out on
28th July, the 53rd anniversary of CM’s martyrdom. The second
Volume is going to be released on 28th September. After giving time
for the comrades of Red Star and especially of other organizations
to go through them and time to react, we can think of organizing
meetings to discuss the various points raised about the disunity
among the Marxists, the reasons for the setbacks suffered by the
ICM, and how to overcome them.
As I have written in the introduction, I started my communist
days during its brightest days, when Mao commented: It looks like
the East Wind of Socialism may sweep away the West Wind of Capitalism.
Today, when I am stepping down from the GS post of Red Star, the
picture of the Socialist forces, the International Communist Move-
ment, is not at all bright. Though powerful people’s movements
are still continuing in a number of countries, the communist par-
ties everywhere are fragmented and in total disarray, with the
capitalist roaders usurping power in all hitherto socialist coun-
tries. Presently, there is not a single country left with a communist
party capable of leading the revolution for capture of power in the
world. On the contrary, if one takes Nepal for example, though
during the last 2-3 general elections more than two-thirds of the
votes were polled in the name of different communist parties, none
of them are prepared to break the shackles of parliamentary cre-
tinism and lead the people towards social change. If this degener-
ation was gaining strength in early 1970s, when I joined the pio-
neering voyage for the re-organization of the communist revolu-
tionary movement, presently, while the objective condition for
revolution is increasingly favourable in almost all countries, it is
not the revolutionary communist parties which are gaining
strength; it is neo-fascism in dominance almost everywhere. India
is one of its best or worst examples.
What are the reasons for such a severe setback, international-
ly? Marx and Engels had pointed out in the Communist Manifesto
that as capitalist system is re-creating the whole world in its own image
very fast, it can be overthrown only if the socialist forces emerge
as an alternative to it. While evaluating the experience of Paris
Commune, and drawing lessons from the liquidation of the Second
International, the challenging task of building an alternative to the
capitalist system was repeatedly discussed by the Marxist teach-
ers. After the victory of October Revolution, Lenin could lead the
Soviet Communist Party and the Communist International only
for a brief period. During these days he gave primary emphasis to
building Soviet Union as a revolutionary alternative to capitalist
imperialist system, and a reliable base area for the ICM. Like Paris
Commune, Soviets were developed as centres of people’s political
power. But, studies of archive documents of the Soviet Union of
1930s show that along with appreciation of “American efficiency”
in increasing production, a dilution of Marxist principles had start-
ed. Many Marxist contributions like “Asiatic mode of production”
were removed from study materials. US- centric or Euro-centric
views were given priority. As Soviets and co-operatives were dis-
placed by collectives, bureaucratic tendencies started gaining
strength. When US convened the international Bretton Woods con-
ference in 1943 to chalk out post-Second World War mode of impe-
rialist domination, transforming colonial forms of exploitation to
neo-colonial forms, and building up IMF, World Bank, UNO, etc.
Mostly under pressure from the US, the only international plat-
form the communists had, the Communist International, was dis-

solved in the very same year. And after the War, instead of build-
ing alternatives to US imperialist models, the communist party
led governments, starting with Yugoslavia, became part of the
above instruments built by the US led imperialist forces for im-
posing their hegemony and for destroying the communist chal-
lenge! As a result, internationally the communist movement had
started suffering severe setbacks. Presently the survival and ad-
vance of the ICM calls for building up of powerful communist par-
ties capable of utilizing the favourable objective conditions for
overthrowing the imperialists of all hues and the neo-fascists, and
coming to power. There are no shortcut to it. Learning from the
shortcomings of the socialism that was put in to practice so far,
answers have to be found out for building socialism as real alter-
natives to the capitalist system.
Taking up this gigantic task is possible only by taking up the
re-building of the Communist International, along with building
strong communist parties wherever possible. Making a ruthless
and concrete analysis of its hitherto experience in continuation to
the great contributions of Marx to Mao, and according to the con-
crete conditions of the present times, linking the international and
national tasks dialectically. The Resolution on Theoretical Offensive
adopted by the 10th Congress of our party has given a general
orientation to this task.
On the ground we have achieved many experiences in this
field, starting with the issue of five party statement in 1980, the
theoretical struggle against the RCP, USA led Revolutionary Interna-
tionalist Movement, the protracted efforts to build the International
Coordination of the Revolutionary Parties and Organizations
(ICOR) along with the MLPD, while continuing the struggle against
its erroneous concept about imperialism today including its char-
acterization of neo-colonial dependent countries like India as neo-
imperialist countries, and through bi-lateral discussions with like-
minded Marxist-Leninist forces at international level. In this pro-

cess we have to wage consistent struggles against various petti-
bourgeois anarchist and opportunist tendencies which negates
the cardinal importance of re-building the Communist Interna-
tional and weakens proletarian internationalism. In order to car-
ry forward this international task, the important decisions of the
12th Party Congress shall provide a guideline.
Our Party can help the international tasks of assisting the
building of powerful communist parties capable of leading the
revolution forward, and re-building the Communist Internation-
al, only by vigorously taking up the reconstruction and building
of our party at all India level, with all round initiative. The revo-
lutionary movement inspired by the Naxalbari Uprising created
great enthusiasm and led to the initial advances it achieved.
Though it suffered serious setbacks right from the beginning, they
can be overcome only by rectifying the mistakes, and putting in
practice the 12th Congress’s guidelines. Then only the party can be
re-constructed to make it capable of leading coming people’s up-
risings as CM made clear in his July, 1972, Liberation article. But,
what happened was, frightened by it, the rightist streams within
the movement, which had not settled accounts with revisionism
decisively, withdrew from the revolutionary struggles, putting
the whole blame for the setbacks on Charu Majumdar and his anni-
hilation line while remaining silent on the self-critical article of CM
in Liberation!
At the same time, the left adventurist, Lin Biaoist stream led
by the Second CC of Mahadev Mukherji, in the name of preventing
the convening of the CC, dared to go to the extent of even betraying
CM to the police. As splintering of the movement continued, no-
body from among the ‘veterans’ took initiative to implement what
was called for in the CM’s article. As a result, the movement suf-
fered real setback. It is at this critical juncture, the Re-organiza-
tion Committee (later CRC) started its pioneering voyage to find
answers to the serious problems confronted by the CPI(ML) to

carry forward the revolutionary struggle. What are chronicled
above are not just the efforts of one man, on the contrary it is the
result of the class struggle at both theoretical and practical fields
led by many, in many parts of the country, always emphasizing to
provide a new theoretical line to the movement. What we could
achieve during the last five decades are summarized and put forth
succinctly in the basic documents, adopted by the 12th Party Con-
gress.
What have we seen in our country during last five decades,
while we were taking up the pioneering job of making a concrete
analysis, of the changes that have taken place at international and
national level, in the imperialist system, in its relation with the
working class and the oppressed classes and sections, and to de-
velop the Party Program and Path of revolution according to it?
First and foremost the RSS had emerged as the most powerful
political force in the country. It has succeeded to bring the country
under a most vicious neo-fascist rule. Secondly, the CPI(M) led
social democratic forces have faced rout in W. Bengal and Tripura,
and is being reduced to a regional force. The rightist influence with-
in the CR forces who are still sticking to the 1970, semi-colonial,
semi-feudal, protracted people’s war frame is increasing day by
day, with CPI(ML) Liberation also openly embracing parliamen-
tary cretinism. The building of the broad anti-fascist front is used
as a cover to abandon building up of independent left assertion
and the program based left core. On the other hand, CPI(Maoist) is
resorting to more anarchist practice and is getting more splin-
tered and weakened.
Still all such forces are refusing to make concrete analysis of
the vast changes that have taken place in the Indian situation and
transform their line accordingly. On the one hand, while the neo-
fascist RSS is intensifying its penetration among the masses, di-
viding them and spreading the politics of hatred; on the other
hand, rightist influence among the so-called CR forces and their

sectarian/dogmatist approaches are further weakening them.
In this situation, only by intensifying the ideological struggle
against both right and left deviations of all hues, the primary tasks
of building a powerful revolutionary party and left core can be
carried forward, linked with all out efforts for building the broad-
est possible anti-BJP front to throw it out of power in the 2024 LS
elections. The walking out of a small section of the delegates with
a rightist agenda from our Party Congress will gladden only the
neo-fascist forces. It is in order to deepen the theoretical offensive
in such a critical situation , the Resolution on Theoretical Offen-
sive, my Marxist-Leninist article and an over-view of CM’s contri-
butions till his last days are given above. Let us strengthen the
struggle against the revisionism of all hues and anarchism, and
relentlessly march forward to people’s democracy and socialism.
No to Reformism, No to Anarchism, March to Revolution.
Appendix:
i. Why Must We Form the Party Now?
Charu Majumdar
Chairman Mao has taught us: “If there is to be revolution there
must be a revolutionary party. Without a revolutionary party,
without a party built on the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary the-
ory and in the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary style it is impossi-
ble to lead the working class and the broad masses of the people in
defeating imperialism and its running dogs.”
The Naxalbari peasant struggle has developed only because
the party organization of the Terai region followed this teaching of
the Chairman and tried to spread it among the peasant masses.
The peasant struggles in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra have
broken out only by depending on the teaching of the Chairman.
Revolutionary authority cannot grow if we depend only on the
local initiatives for developing all these struggles along the same
path and to a higher stage. As a result, the struggles will fail to
develop to a higher stage. For taking these struggles forward it is
necessary to build an all-India Party and a centre recognized by
all revolutionaries. Self-imposed discipline is essential for build-
ing up this centre. This discipline cannot of course be imposed
from above; it must be voluntary. The All-India Co-ordination
Committee of Communist Revolutionaries was set up with this
purpose in view and this was set down in the very first Declara-
tion. It is by following the leadership of the Co-ordination Com-
mittee that revolutionaries in different states of India have tried to

build up peasant struggles on the Naxalbari line and succeeded in
doing so in many parts of the country. This has led to the forma-
tion of a centre accepted by the revolutionaries. That is why the
international leadership has been reminding us time and again of
the importance of building up a Party. We too realize today that it
is no longer possible for the Co-ordination Committee to lead these
struggles on the correct line. Therefore, we must have a revolu-
tionary Communist Party which will be an all-India organiza-
tion. It is by following its lead that the revolutionary communists
of the different states can advance along the path of class struggle.
The All-India Co-ordination Committee is not, of course, the per-
fect weapon of class struggle, for the Co-ordination Committee
can function only on democratic principles, does not recognize
any kind of centralism and so fails to rouse the sense of discipline
among the revolutionaries. All the forces of class struggle cannot
be centralized without awakening the sense of revolutionary dis-
cipline. As a consequence, the struggle loses its edge. The Chair-
man has taught us: “Be resolute, fear no sacrifice and surmount
every difficult to win victory.”
Unless we build up a revolutionary party, discipline will re-
main slack and, as a result, we shall not be resolute enough to
make supreme sacrifices, shall be unable to surmount the obsta-
cles to attain victory. That is why, at a time when revolutionary
communists all over the country have given priority to the task of
building revolutionary bases in the rural areas and have taken up
the work of uniting the entire peasantry, at a time when the slogan
of revolutionary class struggle is rending the sky, it has become
our urgent duty to build a revolutionary party. We shall be hin-
dering the advance of revolution if we confine ourselves within
the Co-ordination Committee and shall fail to fulfill the heavy
responsibility that has now fallen on the shoulders of India’s com-
munist revolutionaries. It should be borne in mind that the world
has now entered a new era of world revolution and that our re-
sponsibility in this era is very great.
All the imperialist powers of the world, whether the U.S. im-
perialists or the Soviet social-fascists, are trying to win a fresh
lease of life by exploiting the five hundred million people of India.
They are not content with merely exploiting, but are trying to use
the 500 million people of India as cannon-fodder in a war to de-
stroy the great Chinese Republic, the base of the world revolution.
That is why our revolutionary duty has assumed such great pro-
portions. By making the revolution we shall be able not only to
end this brutal exploitation of the vast masses of our country but
also to deal a staggering blow to world imperialism and revision-
ism, By uniting with the great Chinese Republic we shall unite
with the liberation struggles of every country of the world. This
will forge the unity of the vast forces that will be able to smash
world imperialism and revisionism. By completing the democrat-
ic revolution, we shall be able to march towards victory in the
socialist revolution, and the prediction of the Chairman will come
true:
“It can be said with certainty that the complete collapse of
colonialism, imperialism and all systems of exploitation, and the
complete emancipation of all the oppressed peoples and nations of
the world are not far off.” The dream the two young men dreamed
in 1848 will be fulfilled at the end of the twentieth century. For
mankind this twentieth century will bring a new promise? the
promise of communism. The vast forces that will be unleashed
will change the face of the whole world. That we are building this
radiant future will awaken our sense of responsibility. Our class
brothers are waging the struggle in Vietnam, Burma, Thailand,
Malaya, Indonesia and in various countries of the world. Uniting
with them all, we too shall forge the bond of great internationalism,
that internationalism which has found a glorious expression in the
great proletarian revolution initiated and led by Chairman Mao.
Refusal to recognize the inevitability of struggle within the

Party will give rise to idealist deviations. Chairman Mao has
taught us: “Opposition and struggle between ideas of different
kinds constantly occur within the Party; this is a reflection with-
in the Party of contradictions between classes and between the
new and the old in society. If there were no contradictions in
the Party and no ideological struggles to resolve them, the Par-
ty’s life would come to an end.” As we committed revisionist
deviations in the past, we shall have to wage struggles against
revisionism both within the Party and outside.
In this age revisionism is counter-revolutionary ideology.
That is why the inner-party struggle, the struggle between rev-
olutionary ideology and counter-revolutionary ideology, will
continue. “Unity, struggle, unity” - this means that counter-
revolutionary revisionism must be fought and defeated. Only
then unity is possible but that unity is not lasting. New contra-
dictions will arise, revisionism will try to appear in new forms.
That is why struggle has to be waged at a new level.
The All India Co-ordination Committee played an impor-
tant role in uniting communist revolutionaries and in building
up revolutionary struggles. But if there is any vacillation to
form the Party after that stage is over, the source of it must be
traced to idealist thinking. Under the influence of idealism we
want, consciously or unconsciously, to wage a struggle against
opportunism and form a Party that has already rid itself of
revisionism. This outlook is wholly idealistic and has nothing
to do with dialectical materialism. The Party will develop
through constant struggles, both against the enemy outside and
against alien trends within. Through these struggles the Party
will grow in strength, act as the vanguard of the revolution in
order to serve the people, transform itself and transform the
whole society.
ii. It Is the People’s Interest That Is the Party’s Interest.

Charu Mazumdar (Liberation, July, 1972)
We have suffered a setback after the armed struggle in our
country reached a certain stage. It is our task now to preserve the
Party. In order to preserve it we have to build the Party among the
broad masses of workers and peasants. We shall be able to get
over the setback and raise the struggle to a stage higher than be-
fore, if we can build a politically united party. I hope we shall be
able to do this within a short time.
Chairman has said that there is still the possibility of a world
war. Imperialism and social-imperialism are today enmeshed in
various crises at home and abroad. Because of the political and
economic crises, they are at their wits’ end. To capture each other’s
market and expand their own they now resort to different under-
hand means and, as a result, the contradictions among them are
becoming sharp. They seek to shift the burden of their own crises
on to the underdeveloped and undeveloped countries. That is why
those countries too are today assuming a role of opposition to the
two superpowers — US imperialism and Soviet social-imperial-
ism. In their vain efforts to escape from the crises they may start a
world war. In the beginning we shall, indeed, have to face difficul-
ty, if a world war begins. But that difficulty will not be there for
long. A vast, widespread, revolutionary upsurge will bring our
victory near.
Within a short time there will be a spontaneous outburst in
our country and this will take the form of a national uprising. Our
India is a vast country. The people of this country are groaning
under exploitation and oppression. Gradually these two camps —
the exploiters and the exploited — are moving towards a confron-
tation.
Discontent is smouldering among the exploited people. They
will refuse to submit to oppression for a long time. There will be
spontaneous outbursts of the people’s resentment in different plac-

es. When the resentment of the people of this vast country will
explode, no reactionary government will be powerful enough to
put it down. That is why the fall of the reactionary government is
inevitable. So the reactionary Indira government has been trying
to build up a strong Centre, for they can anticipate the future await-
ing them. This vast country has many problems. Moreover, they
have created another problem— ‘Bangladesh’. Tamil Nadu has
already raised the demand for autonomy. The vast land between
Bihar and Gujarat is inhabited by adivasis. There is no limit to the
exploitation of the adivasi masses. The workers in the industrial
areas of Maharashtra are victims of severe exploitation. Terrible is
the exploitation of the peasantry of Mysore; the same is true of the
other regions in the south. One cannot calculate and predict be-
forehand when the unrest among the oppressed people of our coun-
try will find its expression and in what form. Chairman has said
that in the next 50 to 100 years there will occur many events which
were inconceivable before. In our country, too, such events as can-
not be conceived of beforehand will take place.
On the other hand, the heroic people of Vietnam are providing
courage and inspiration to the people of the entire world. They are
waging a struggle that has no parallel. If Vietnam is liberated, fire
will blaze up throughout South-east Asia. With Vietnam as the
central issue, the governments of Asian, African and Latin Amer-
ican countries, together with those of other countries, are clam-
ouring against US imperialism. Besides, they have established re-
lations with Socialist China, the great citadel of world revolution.
In our country the Nagas and the Mizos were waging entirely
national struggles to realize their demand for separate states, but
they forged relations with China when they observed the struggle
of the heroic people of Vietnam.
An upsurge is coming — a country-wide upsurge. We must
keep this upsurge in view. Only then shall we have confidence in
ourselves. In days before, we witnessed upsurge in one or two

districts. The upsurge that is coming will spread over a far wider
area and will attain a still higher stage than in the past. One should
bear in mind that the advance of struggle is not evolutionary but
revolutionary. Our country will not be liberated even by the year
2001, what to speak of 1975, if we take into consideration only the
pace in which the struggle led by our Party is advancing. It is
because the progress and development of struggle is revolution-
ary that the upsurge which occurred in a small area yesterday
will not remain confined within that area and that the struggle
will attain greater intensity and reach a higher stage in the com-
ing days than before.
Is it possible for us to lead everywhere the coming upsurge?
Certainly not. The struggle in those areas where it will be led by
our Party’s conscious leadership will set an example to the strug-
gles in other areas where there will be no such leadership. If, to-
day, we can implement agrarian reforms in some areas, these may
take place spontaneously in many other areas during the revolu-
tionary upsurge. Our conscious leadership will bring about an
armed revolutionary upsurge and through this armed revolution-
ary upsurge our leadership will gradually be established every-
where.
It is our duty today to carry forward the work of building the
Party among the basic masses and set up a joint front with the
broadest sections of the people on the basis of struggle. It is possi-
ble to build the broadest joint front against Congress rule. Today
the “leftist” parties refuse to provide leadership to the common
people in the struggle against the oppression the Congress perpe-
trates on them. The worker-peasant masses who are within the
folds of those parties feel resentment against their leadership. We
have to carry on efforts to unite with them on the basis of united
struggle. Even those who once acted as our enemies will come
forward in special circumstances to unite with us. We must have
the largeness of mind to unite with such forces. Largeness of mind

is a quality of the Communists. Today, it is the people’s interest
that demands united struggle. It is the people’s interest that is the
Party’s interest.
iii. Resolution on Launching Theoretical Offensive for Commu-
nist Resurgence.
[This Resolution was adopted by the Tenth Party Congress of the CPI
(ML) Red Star held at Lucknow. The updating of the basic documents: (1) the
Party Program, (2) Path of Revolution, and (3) Political Resolution in the
12th Party Congress at Kozhikode was taken up as a part of these proposals
put forward in this Resolution.
But this is only a part of the proposals put forward in the Resolution.
Almost a decade after the Lucknow Congress, drastic changes have taken
place at all levels. The international communist movement has faced many
new challenges. In this situation, as the Resolution had suggested, we have
to take up the following suggestions also: a) We have to undertake a thor-
ough study and analysis to identify the causes of the collapse of the erstwhile
socialist countries, especially Soviet Union and China; b) We have to launch
a vigorous ideological struggle to establish across society the superiority of
communism over the present ruling system as well as over various alien
trends; c) We have to develop Marxism-Leninism on the basis of a concrete
analysis of the concrete situation. We have to take up the new challenges like
the emergence of the neo-fascist forces. Besides, more studies are required on
the intensification of the ecological catastrophe, as well as more details of the
alternative development paradigm against the global imperialist system. All
these studies have to be linked to the development of class struggle in all
fields also.
Let us enrich the Resolution according to present needs as a continuous
process, and develop the theoretical studies and practice also according to the
concrete conditions. KNR]
1. Presently the situation in India has changed drastically. The
rightist Congress led government has given way to the ultra-
rightist BJP led Government. But that is not the phenomenon

only in India. The world today presents a mixed picture. On
the one hand, in many Latin American countries the Left are
being voted to power, and the recent success of the Syriza in
Greece is quite as spectacular. On the other hand, in several
countries across the globe the Right and the Ultra-Right are
being returned to power with a vengeance. In Turkey, the Er-
dogan regime got a larger percentage of the vote after the strug-
gle at Taksim square than before. In Nepal, the government of
the UCPN (Maoist) has been replaced by the openly rightist
Nepali Congress government. In Egypt, the leadership of the
Muslim Brotherhood was stopped, but only by the army tak-
ing over power once again. Still, the youth in general do not
appear to be attracted by the ideas put forward by the revolu-
tionary left. Rather, their opposition to rightist regimes and
policies is reflected in their gravitation towards sundry alter-
natives like the Aam Aadmi Party in India or the Greens, NGOs,
etc., which have no radical alternatives to put forward against
the reactionary ruling system which is speeding up imposi-
tion of the neo-liberal policies.
2. The situation in around 1950s was exactly the opposite. The
upsurge of the international communist movement was so
powerful that half of the world’s land area and a third of the
population were living in socialist countries. Powerful national
liberation movements were challenging the vestiges of colo-
nial domination. Strong communist parties were leading the
movements of the working class and oppressed peoples in a
number of countries. Since then, however, there has been a
decline. It was usual for us, earlier, to blame Khruschevite re-
visionism for this decline. However, even the Chinese Party,
even though it led the opposition to Khruschevite revision-
ism, itself fell prey to left deviation and, subsequently, revi-
sionism. Many of the Marxist-Leninist parties which emerged
in large number of countries all over the world finally accept-

ed that both the USSR and China were not socialist any more
but had degenerated as imperialist countries, colluding and
contending for power with US and other imperialists. How-
ever, many of these Marxist-Leninist parties have simply van-
ished without a trace, while many have degenerated all over
the world either into becoming neo revisionists or left adven-
turists. The problem with the international and national com-
munist movement therefore is clearly not only the problem of
Khruschevite revisionism or neo-revisionism or the left sec-
tarianism that the Chinese leadership succumbed to. The so-
lutions must be sought even deeper than this.
3. In 2004, fighting against a section within the party which
wanted to go closer to the CPI(M), the then CPI(ML) Red Flag
had reached a conclusion that it was necessary to unite all
sections of the ML forces who were opposed to both right revi-
sionism and left sectarianism. It undertook an experiment in
this regard of forging a unity “with differences”. It was guided
by the understanding that the Communist party must have
a mechanism for solving all problems of program, strategy
and tactics on the basis of a democratic procedure, once the
basic ideas of class struggle, dictatorship of the proletariat
and democratic centralism are accepted. That our understand-
ing and faith was misplaced is a testament of history. The sec-
tion with whom the unity was forged, based on the agreement
that through a Conference, the majority line shall be evolved
and it will be accepted by all, as the general line for practice,
rejected it, making this experiment a failure. There were gains
from this experience, may not be so much in terms of member-
ship and spread, but in terms of learning the problems that
the movement faced.
4. In the subsequent All India Special Conferences in Bhopal in
2009 and in the Ninth Party Congress held at Bhubaneshwar
in 2011 we have succeeded to address many questions related

to problems faced by the communist movement and put for-
ward some new developments of thought. We were able to
put forward our understanding of the neo-colonial phase of
imperialist domination as distinguished from the colonial
phase. We accepted that there has been a growth of capitalis-
tic type of relations even in the agricultural sector while rem-
nants of feudal relations still existed. We accepted the reality
that new classes were developing in the rural areas. We were
able to clearly show that Mao himself said that the foot must
not be cut to fit the shoe, but rather the path of revolution in
each country must follow the concrete conditions of that coun-
try. We were able to openly and without hesitation or apology
reject the path of protracted people’s war for India. We have
put forward the necessity to link the struggle for protection of
nature with the class struggle.
5. With this new understanding also came glimpses of what was
the problem with the communist movement in the world. It
was no coincidence that the decline of the International Com-
munist movement had started taking place since around 1950s,
the same time as imperialism had changed from the colonial
phase to the neo-colonial phase of plunder. When Marx was
writing about capital, it was the stage of free competition and
he naturally could not foresee that capitalism would develop
into a new phase – imperialism. Around the turn of the 20th
century, when capitalism was developing into imperialism
and free competition was giving way to monopoly, Lenin who,
having read all the literature on the subject, laid bare the mach-
inations of the new capitalist cartels and exposed that imperi-
alism was nothing but a higher stage of capitalism. They were
talking about how the capitalists had formed cartels, about
how the big banks were not only loaning money to industrial-
ists but were entering into industrial ventures on their own
thus forming “finance capital”. They were talking about how

war was inevitable in such a scenario where groups and sec-
tions of capitalists, backed by certain states would have to
fight it out for the raw materials and markets of the world.
Lenin in around 200 pithy pages laid bare the machinations of
the new capitalist cartels and exposed that imperialism was
none other than a higher stage of capitalism. In continuation
to this the basic contradictions of this era were then put for-
ward by the Communist International as: (1) between imperi-
alism and the oppressed nations and peoples of the world; (2)
between capital and labour; (3) between socialism and impe-
rialism; and (4) among the various imperialist countries.
6. It was Lenin who extended the theory of the workers in the
imperialist countries uniting to liberate themselves from their
wage-slavery to the peoples of the exploited countries liberat-
ing themselves from imperialism. It was the Bolshevik party
under the leadership of Lenin which put forward the thesis of
turning the world war into civil war in Russia and of the es-
sential link between the movement of the workers for social-
ism in the imperialist countries and the movement of the peo-
ples of the oppressed nations for national liberation. It was on
the basis of this understanding that the original slogan of the
Communist Manifesto, “Workers of the world unite” was subse-
quently developed to “Workers and Oppressed Peoples of the
World, unite!”
7. We may well criticize this understanding of the world, in ret-
rospect, as being inadequate. It did not say anything about the
environment and “sustainable development”. It did not put
forward a new paradigm of “development”. It did not give a
clear enough understanding of the problem of women’s liber-
ation. It did not even have a whiff of the need for fighting against
caste, colour, “race”, etc. However, such a judgement would
clearly partake of idealism. We would be trying to judge the
leaderships and movements of those times on the anvil of to-

day’s social structure and understanding.
8. Based on this General Line the international communist move-
ment grew from strength to strength till the 1950s. The main
thrust behind this growth was the basis line laid down by the
understanding of imperialism put forward by Lenin. No doubt,
this understanding had to develop – and it was developed to a
very great extent. This understanding was also able to grip
the masses and become a social force. Even, till after 1950s,
when many countries of the world had come under neo-colo-
nial domination, even the ruling classes in the countries under
neo-colonial domination had agreed, at least in words, that
colonialism and neo-colonialism must be opposed. The writ-
ings of Nkrumah on neo-colonialism, the acceptance of the
Bandung Declaration and the starting of the Non-Aligned
Movement were all testaments to this felt need. There was a
profound change in the situation in the world around 1950s.
Bretton Woods Conference had given rise to a new economic sys-
tem of which the WB and the IMF were the pillars. There was
a massive proliferation of MNCs. Green revolutions started
taking place all over the world. Connected to this was the po-
litical system put in place. Not only the formation of the Unit-
ed Nations Organization as a world body, but also the accep-
tance of the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 which
then became the basis for most of the Constitutions written
during that period (though each Constitution did have its par-
ticularities). New blocs were formed like SEATO, CENTO,
NATO, Warsaw Bloc, etc. Soon discussions started on the GATT
and finally in 1995 the WTO was formed. On the philosophical
front, post modernism took on an ever growing role and be-
came the theoretical backbone for the proliferation of reac-
tionary schools of thought and became the basis of formations
like NGOs.
9. The International Communist Movement responded to these

changes in two ways. Firstly, under Khruschev, the Commu-
nist Party of the Soviet Union took the line that with the dis-
appearance of colonies, imperialism itself had become very
weak and that there was now no more need of revolutionary
change. The Socialist camp and the imperialist camp would
now peacefully coexist, compete peacefully on the market and
finally, seeing the innate superiority of the socialist system,
the newly independent colonies would peacefully transform
themselves to socialism. The Chinese Communist Party op-
posed this analysis and put forward that the disappearance of
colonies did not herald the disappearance of imperialism. They
put forward that the old colonial system had given way to a
new neo-colonial system, which, they emphasized, was more
pernicious than the earlier colonial system. However, beyond
this short analysis made in “Apologists of neo-colonialism”,
the CPC did not take this further forward. The General Line
document made an attempt to put forward a strategy for the
communist movement in the new situation. Though it was
not developed further, its contents are relevant in today’s com-
munist movement too.
10. This clearly outlines the need for a theoretical offensive. At
the international level we are one of the few parties which are
now willing to see the real concrete situation. We are willing
to make a self-criticism of our past and are also willing to
make an attempt to rectify these mistakes. We are therefore in
a stronger and more advantageous situation for undertaking
such a theoretical offensive. What does such an offensive en-
tail? a) We have to undertake a thorough study and analysis to
identify the causes of the collapse of the erstwhile socialist
countries, especially Soviet Union and China; b) We have to
launch a vigorous ideological struggle to establish across soci-
ety the superiority of communism over the present ruling sys-
tem as well as over various alien trends; c) We have to develop

Marxism-Leninism on the basis of a concrete analysis of the
concrete situation.
11. We have already made certain theoretical gains. We have a
deeper understanding today of the neo-colonial system. We
have found that in India and in many other countries under
neo-colonial domination, there has been an ever more capital-
istic system being introduced in agriculture. We have under-
stood the importance of the environmental question and giv-
en it the importance it deserves. Many more questions still
face us such as further studies on the nature of imperialism
today, the meaning of a new paradigm of development and the
building of socialism with greater democracy .We have to face
such questions fearlessly and study them.
12. We must take up a clear, unsparing and scientific analysis of
our past! Without this we cannot make a correct objective
analysis of the present. This will mean asking a lot of uncom-
fortable questions and shedding some of our dearly held con-
ceptions. This is necessary even to begin a theoretical offen-
sive. Even during such an offensive we may, many times come
to the conclusion that many of the positions put forward by
us in the past were wrong. We must be able to boldly put
forward a clear and pointed self-criticism including how and
why we went wrong. This requires that we must build up an
atmosphere of trust, openness and frankness within the par-
ty. We must not be scared of analysing the situation of ours
and of others around us and must go, in practice, to wherever
such an analysis takes us.
13. We must develop a system of propagating our ideas to the
masses. To do that requires not only a good development of
our publications but also a more systematic use of the social
media. We have to develop such a style of writing which will
help the people to clearly understand what we stand for in the

concrete situation of today.
14. A party does not consist of a few thinkers and a mass of doers.
Today there is a great gap in the consciousness of a few leading
cadres and of the rest of the cadres in the party. A systematic
method of developing the party study schools etc., must be
undertaken to build up the party as a whole.
15. Even with party study schools, etc., we will not be able to
propagate the ideas for a theoretical offensive on our own. We
have to take the help of mass organizations like cultural orga-
nizations, anti-caste organizations, trade unions, peasants’ or-
ganizations etc., for this purpose. We must involve all such
organizations into the debate on the real questions which are
facing the people today and must use their resources to prop-
agate radical solutions for such questions.
16. The task before us is to take up the building of the communist
movement in India, and to play active role in doing so, in the
rest of the world. A major part of this task is to take such a
theoretical offensive as we have outlined above. We must bold-
ly seize the real questions of the people in today’s situation
and must scientifically search out the solutions. We must un-
sparingly lay bare our own history, the history of the commu-
nists in India and all over the world. We must make a base for
combining with all sections of the people who are fighting
against the injustice caused by the present imperialist-capi-
talist system – whether in intensifying the human labour, in
all forms of environmental damage, gender injustice, caste and
racial injustice, persecution of minorities, etc. We must fer-
vently organize the workers and peasants to face the new sit-
uation. Students, youth etc., must be rallied on the basis of the
new understanding. It is precisely if we develop the correct
theory, that we will not have to go behind the workers, peas-
ants, youth, women, dalits, etc – they will be drawn forward
to the correct theory. This true measure of the theoretical of-

fensive has to be grasped and carried forward.
Central Committee, CPI(ML) Red Star. Dated 28th April, 2015.
iv. Overcoming Setbacks Demands Development of Ideologi-
cal-Political Line According to Present Neo-colonial Conditions.
(Article written by K.N. R. in 2011 in response to an article of
NDMLP- Sri Lanka, and in the background of the important deci-
sions of the Bhopal Conference in 2009 and 9th Party Congress of
2011 {published under the title “No to Reformism, No to Anar-
chism, March for Revolution”. After one round of discussion in the
Central Committee, it was published in the theoretical journal,
The Marxist-Leninist for further discussion. Many of the ques-
tions raised in this paper are already discussed in the various
documents later. In order to help the on-going discussion in the
Party on many of these issues, and to help the further discussions
on them, it is reproduced here.)
THESE ARE DAYS when many of the ML parties refuse, or hes-
itate, or are afraid to come out of the frame of ideological-political
positions they took during the 1960s and 1970s while they were
emerging from the struggle against Khrushchovian revisionist
positions, under the guidance of the then dominant line within the
CPC, which was upheld by all of them as the international au-
thority, in the absence of any international organization or plat-
form of ML parties. The consequences of this were sharply reflect-
ed in the different Marxist–Leninist trends in India. At such a time,
in its article, “Handling Contradictions among Fraternal Parties”
which is a positive one, dealing with many important aspects of
how to handle ideological–political issues, the NDP of Sri Lanka
has concluded with the words, “Marxist–Leninists in Sri Lanka
like those in other small south Asian countries, look up to mass
revolutionary struggles in India as an inspiration” and “revolu-
tion in India will make the revolutionary task easier for the small-
er neighbours”. After reading this, we felt that it is necessary to

make an analysis of the revolutionary forces in India, including
the line pursued by them, so that the ML parties in South Asia can
make a scientific evaluation of their merits and de-merits. We feel
that such an evaluation shall help these ML parties to avoid mak-
ing any wrong analysis of the subjective forces of revolution in
India.
In this context, we start this discussion quoting what this ar-
ticle says about the position of NDP towards handling the Tamil
National question there. It says :
“The position of the NDP was that the national question should
be resolved without recourse to secession, by establishing auton-
omies for the various nationalities based on the principle of self-
determination. While denouncing Sinhala chauvinism, it criticised
Tamil narrow nationalism, the anti-democratic ways of the Lib-
eration Tigers (LTTE), and LTTE’s excessive reliance on arms at the
expense of mass politics. This approach was at variance with the
views held by several Indian Marxist Leninist parties, which were
conditioned by the general impression created by the Indian me-
dia and other biased sources of information.”
In 1982 a delegation of the Ceylon Communist Party (then led
by Com. Shanmukathasan), attended the First All India Confer-
ence of the CRC, CPI (ML),under which name we were working
then. As a result of the discussion between both the parties, both
had taken an almost identical position on the Tamil national ques-
tion in Sri Lanka during 1983-84, which was explained in our then
Organ Mass Line. But, contrary to this, CPI(ML) People’s War,
CP(ML) Party Unity and MCC, who merged in 2004 to form CPI
(Maoist) had taken a stand of fully supporting the LTTE. Same was
the case of the ML groups in Tamil Nadu, like COC, CPI(ML) and
TNOC (later TNMLP). Some of the other groups had taken eclectic
positions. Contrary to their positions, our organization could
develop the ML understanding about the nationality question in

Sri Lanka, as well as in India, fighting against all chauvinist posi-
tions and defeating even a leading group in our organisation, be-
cause we had started developing our understanding about impe-
rialism in the post-World War II period, when it had transformed
its colonial forms of plunder to neo-colonial forms.
We fully appreciate the stand of the NDP as explained in this
article, that we should not dictate to parties in other countries,
that “Marxist-Leninists cannot compromise with opportunism
or adventurism” and that Mao’s approach towards handling con-
tradictions among the people should be upheld. Because of these
positions we would like to analyse the emergence of different po-
litical lines in India, which may be of help to our fraternal parties
at the international level.
We felt it is necessary, since the NDP article is mainly focusing
on the forms to handle contradictions among fraternal parties, as
the title itself indicates. But how can one concentrate mainly on
this aspect when the international communist movement and the
Indian communist movement are passing through a period of great
ideological convulsions and setbacks? By 1950, based on Marxist-
Leninist theoretical, political and organizational guidance pro-
vided by the Comintern, during its existence from 1919 to 1943,
the ICM had achieved great advances with one-third of the world’s
people living in socialist countries, powerful communist parties
in a large number of countries, and national liberation movements
advancing in a number of countries. But what is the condition
today? Almost all the socialist countries have degenerated to the
capitalist path. In spite of taking anti-imperialist, more precisely
anti-US imperialist positions, Cuba and North Korea cannot be
called ‘socialist countries in the transition period from capitalism
to communism’. Without any exception, the communist parties
have splintered into various groups or parties or fractions or trends
in all countries. In spite of the gains made by the anti- imperialist
forces in recent times in Venezuela, Bolivia and other Latin Amer-

ican countries, the forces of national liberation and democratic
revolution are still weak internationally. A large number of alien
forces with counter-revolutionary, or reformist / opportunist ideas
have emerged and imperialist forces are utilizing them to confuse,
further divide, and weaken the Marxist –Leninist forces. In such a
situation, according to us, development of the ideological political
line and revolutionary practice based on Marxist–Leninist princi-
ples and according to present concrete conditions should be the
basic and primary task confronting the ML parties international-
ly and in India.
The Marxist-Leninist parties emerged in the 1960s and 1970s,
struggling against the revisionist line developed under Khrush-
chev and later leaders of the Soviet Union, upholding the struggle
led by Mao Tsetung against it. During the 1956-1966 decade, from
Mao’s criticisms of Khurchov’s attacks on Stalin in the 20th Con-
gress of CPSU, to the Great Debate documents, the critique of Sovi-
et revisionism focused on two important aspects. Firstly, while
upholding Stalin as a great Marxist–Leninist, who successfully
led the Soviet Union and the ICM during a difficult period, while
denouncing the personal slanders and attacks on Stalin by the
Krushchov gang, Mao made a critique of Stalin’s contribution show-
ing how he had erred on certain important theoretical questions,
like developing proletarian democracy, including the methods of
handling antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions. Ac-
cording to Mao, these weaknesses had created conditions favour-
able for bureaucratic tendencies to emerge and for forces like Krush-
chov to become powerful.
Secondly, giving it more stress, the Great Debate documents of
the CPC, led by Mao, emphasized that Krushchov’s analysis of the
post-World War II period was totally erroneous. The Soviet revi-
sionists evaluated that through de-colonization, colonialism had
come to an end and newly independent countries had emerged.
They refused to recognize that the imperialist camp, led by US

imperialism had replaced colonialism with the more pernicious
and heinous neo-colonialism. It was from this erroneous stand
that they proceeded to evaluate that imperialism has weakened
and put forward the ‘Theory of Peaceful Co-Existence and Peace-
ful Competition with Imperialism and Peaceful Transition to So-
cialism’, abandoning the path of class struggle. It created condi-
tions for capitalist restoration in the Soviet Union. It led to the
degeneration of the East European countries to the capitalist path
and to the fall of all communist parties around the world, which
were upholding the Soviet leadership mechanically, to the revi-
sionist path. In this context, the contributions of Mao including
his theoretical contributions, the strategic and tactical line that
led the Chinese revolution to victory, and the launching of the
Cultural Revolution against the capitalist roaders in China, up-
held as Mao Tse tung Thought by the Marxist-Leninists, played a
major role in the struggle against Soviet revisionism and its grave
consequences.
As Marx, Engels and then Lenin repeatedly stressed, the capi-
talist system and its highest form, the imperialist system of global
dominance and plunder, call for global level responses from the
proletariat and oppressed peoples. It was with this basic under-
standing, the First International was formed following the publica-
tion of the Communist Manifesto. Taking lessons from the Paris
Commune it was developed as the Second International. When it col-
lapsed, failing to make a scientific analysis of imperialism, imme-
diately Lenin came out with his epochal study — Imperialism the
Highest Stage of Capitalism —, led the October Revolution to vic-
tory and reorganized the Second International as the Third or Com-
munist International or Comintern in 1919. As already pointed out, it
was under the guidance of the Comintern, the ICM could advance
to such great heights by the 1950s. But its dissolution in 1943 and
the failure to reorganise it, as was promised in the dissolution
statement, in spite of the great challenges faced by the ICM in the

context of the various counter-revolutionary moves by the US led
imperialist forces, were creating serious hurdles.
The publication of the Proposal concerning the General Line of the
ICM by the CPC in 1963, along with other important comments,
including Apologists of Neo–colonialism had created hope among
the newly emerging ML forces struggling against Soviet revision-
ism, that the Comintern would be reorganized based on the Pro-
posal. It was also expected that following the footsteps of Lenin, the
imperialist system along with its neo-colonial forms of plunder,
will be subjected to further studies and development by Mao.
But contrary to expectations, in 1966, the CPC after throwing
out the capitalist roaders led by Liu Shaochi and Deng, gave much
importance to the book ‘Long Live the Victory of Peoples’ War by
Lin Biao, which called for the mechanical application of the strat-
egy and tactics of the democratic revolution of China at the inter-
national level. There was no initiative to convene meetings of the
newly emerging ML forces who were taking a positive approach
to the Proposal to develop a discussion on it, to encourage devel-
opment of the strategy and tactics of People’s or New Democratic
Revolution in the former colonial, semi colonial and dependent
countries (as Lenin described them in the colonial period) accord-
ing to their concrete conditions, and for their unity. In the absence
of such an initiative at the international level, what really hap-
pened was that all the ML forces, emerging in various countries
upholding Mao Tsetung Thought, started mechanically copying
whatever was happening in China, whatever documents, or state-
ments, or Peking Daily editorials, or Peking Radio announcements,
were available. So when the left adventurist line dominated the
9th Congress of the CPC in 1969, with its erroneous concept about
the new era, authority, etc., they were soon mechanically copied.
Following the Naxalbari uprising in 1967,when the CPC hailed it
in a Peking Daily editorial as a Peal of Spring Thunder Over the Indian
Horizon, depicting India as a semi-colonial ,semi-feudal country,

this evaluation was also mechanically copied without trying to
make an analysis of the developments in India following the 1947
transfer of power.
Through the Great Debate documents, though Mao had initi-
ated a discussion on imperialism in the post-World War II de-
cades, along with its transformation of plunder and domination
from colonial to neo–colonial forms and analyses were published
in Chinese periodicals that India had transformed from a colony
to a neo colony, the Spring Thunder editorial was mechanically
upheld, leading the ML forces in India to use the terms ‘semi colo-
nial’ and ‘neo colonial’ synonymously for some time, as in the 1970
Eighth Congress document of the CPI(ML). One can argue that the
CPC did not interfere in the affairs of any fraternal parties but
what really happened was that, in the absence of any internation-
al platform of the ML parties, the dominating trend in the CPC at
a particular time was mechanically copied and upheld as the in-
ternational authority.
In 1970 when Com. Souren Bose, a politburo member of the
CPI (ML) held discussions with Chou En Lai and other senior lead-
ers of the CPC, citing their own experience, they had criticized the
left adventurist annihilation line pursued by the CPI(ML) and had
criticized the second part of the slogan “China’s path is our path
and China’s Chairman is our Chairman.” However, the published
conversation does not show that they had criticised the first part,
“China’s path is our path”, except generally stating that each par-
ty should follow its own line. Similarly they did not try to clarify
the confusion between semi-colonial and neo colonial. Thus they
failed to criticize the erroneous formulations which led to the er-
roneous tactical line which is still pursued by most of the ML
organisations in India. Even after almost all the ML parties like the
then CPI (ML), which pursued the left adventurist line, influenced
by the formulations of the CPC in its 1969 Ninth Congress docu-
ment, faced severe setbacks and splintered, there is no record of

any initiative by the CPC, even in the most general forms, to help
them by pointing out the General Line to be followed in the emerg-
ing international situation in the 1970s. On the contrary, though
the 1973 Tenth Congress of the CPC made a subjective attack on
Lin Biao, the erroneous theoretical concepts of the Ninth Congress
were not rectified. On the contrary with Chou En Lai in the fore-
front and Deng Xiao Ping and others in the background, a rightist
line had started emerging once again, starting with the 1970 Ping-
pong Diplomacy and Nixon’s visit to China. Nationalism was get-
ting counter posed to and gaining dominance over international-
ism. Deng was reinstated as vice premier and in his notorious
1974 UN speech, he distorted the casual political statement of the
then condition of the different countries at international level by
Mao into class collaborationist Theory of Three world’s.
Though Mao had waged a last struggle months before his death
to throw out Deng once again, due to the erroneous line dominat-
ing the CPC as mentioned above, the capitalist roaders had con-
solidated their positions to a great extent, and immediately fol-
lowing Mao’s death, they could come to power in all spheres put-
ting forward the “Theory of Three Worlds” as the general line of
the ICM in 1977 and the Four Modernizations of the Chinese econ-
omy as the strategic line. The ICM once again confronted a grave
challenge. Whether upholding the ML line of Mao or the counter-
revolutionary line of Deng became a crucial question, a matter of
life and death before ML parties.
In India except for a small section polarized as CRC, CPI (ML),
which denounced the Dengists , their usurpation of power in Chi-
na and their TWT, all other groups refused to take a position on
Dengists in power and all of them, with their own interpretation,
upheld the TWT as Mao’s great contribution. Only after a bitter
struggle was waged against this, a good number of groups started
denouncing Dengists, with their own interpretations. The seri-
ousness of the two line struggle that took place in 8th, 9th and 10th
Party Congresses of the CPC and till Mao’s last struggle in 1976
was not appreciated. Besides, almost all of them upheld the TWT
and a section of them even went to the extent of compromising
with a section of the ruling class parties to fight the main enemy,
i.e. Soviet social imperialism. Even after the Dengists themselves
abandoned the TWT, many groups are still evaluating it as a ‘
Mao’s Theory’ and are still trying to put it in to practice.
To state that the ML movement in India was splintered due to
state repression, reflects only part of the history. Following Nax-
albari, there was an upsurge in which major sections of the CPI(M)
and the revolutionary masses in general started polarizing be-
hind it. But the left sectarian line, gaining dominance in the CPC,
had started influencing ML forces in India. As a result though for-
mation of the CPI(ML) in 1969 against the revisionist CPI and the
neo-revisionist CPI(M) was a historic step forward, all the ML
forces could not be united within it. As it took the line of the Chi-
nese path based on “Protracted Peoples’ War”, analysing India as
a semi-colonial semi-feudal country, soon the left adventurist line
dominated it. The party and class/mass organization building and
the revolutionary mass line were, in effect, abandoned. The line of
individual annihilation came to dominance. This was the main
reason for the ML movement getting alienated from the masses
and once the state forces started suppression, it led to setbacks
and disintegration.
But the line of annihilation and sectarianism is pursued vigor-
ously in anarchist and militarist forms by the CPI(Maoist) today.
Some of its so called spectacular actions are providing it immense
media publicity. Including the statements of the Prime Minister
and other leaders of ruling class parties, who are defining Maoists
as the main danger, synonymously using the words Maoists and
Naxalites, and are calling for wiping them out, utilising even the
Army and the Air Force. Using Maoism as a bogey, all people’s re-
sistance movements against neo-liberal policies are attacked. Yes,

it is a fact that the ruling classes and their governments are using
one pretext or another to crush the revolutionary advances of the
masses; but that cannot justify the anarchic actions of Maoists
which are nothing but pure and simple militarism, wholly differ-
ent from the mass line. So in the Indian situation, on the one hand
we have to wage uncompromising struggle against the social dem-
ocratic forces led by the CPI(M), who have become part of the rul-
ing class parties in practice. On the other hand, we have to wage
ideological political struggle against the CPI(Maoist) and the line
and practice it represents so that the masses can be mobilized for
revolutionary struggle. We have to struggle even against those
fringe forces who analyse India as an independent capitalist coun-
try in the stage of socialist revolution. As we are working in the
areas where these forces are also active, without an uncompro-
mising struggle, we cannot expose them and build the Bolshevik
style party and its practice based on mass line.
India is a country where, even during the colonial period, the
productive forces had developed comparatively fast. As a result,
considering the industrial development, changes in old feudal re-
lations, the infrastructural developments etc., colonial India was
more advanced than pre-revolutionary China. Now, though India
is transformed from a colony to a neo colony, with the 1947 trans-
fer of power to comprador classes, its productive forces have un-
dergone vast changes and the developments that have taken place
have transformed it in to a ‘junior partner’ of the imperialist forc-
es. But this reality is not recognized by most ML forces. For exam-
ple, the CPI (Maoist) as well as almost all other ML groups evalu-
ates India as being semi-colonial and semi feudal, similar to pre-
revolutionary China. Though some of them, as a mere formality,
point out some of the stark realities which nobody can deny, they
ultimately conclude that “in spite of all this, India is a semi-colo-
nial semi-feudal country”.
That is, they refuse to make a concrete analysis of the real

situation in the country. So, whether they practice it or not, they
repeat that Protracted People’s War is the path of revolution. In-
teresting thing is that after maintaining such an evaluation in
their latest documents, CPI (ML) Liberation still sees China as a
socialist country and calls for a confederation with CPI and CPI
(M). There are even some groups who evaluate India to be a capi-
talist country in the stage of socialist revolution refusing to recog-
nize the neo-colonial stranglehold over India. There are others,
who act as B-teams of the Maoists, in words.
It is in this situation, establishing the Marxist–Leninist ideo-
logical–political line according to concrete conditions in India,
struggling against both right and left deviations and all alien
trends, and developing revolutionary practice based on an Indian
path of revolution, have become the cardinal task in front of the
ML parties in India.
This is exactly what we tried to do at Bhopal in its All India
Special Conference in November 2009. We have put forward an
International Document, which analyses the international situa-
tion in the post-World War II period, explaining the transforma-
tion of imperialist plunder and domination to neo-colonial forms
and which calls for building a platform of the ML forces at the
international level in continuation to the First, Second and Third
Internationals. The document on the character of the Indian State
analyses it as a neo-colony which is working as a junior partner of
the imperialist forces as a result of the development of its produc-
tive forces. The document on the principal contradiction defines
the task of Indian revolution in the present stage as People’s Dem-
ocratic or New Democratic Revolution, overthrowing the Indian
state led by the comprador bureaucratic bourgeois–big landlord
classes serving imperialism, ushering in People’s Democratic In-
dia, advancing to socialist revolution. Based on these analyses, the
Path of Revolution, in continuation to the strategy and tactical
line adopted by the undivided CPI in 1951, an Indian path of rev-

olution is put forward – an Indian path for revolutionary seizure
of political power.
The CPI(ML) is concentrating all its strength to further devel-
op these concepts, to put them into practice and to unite all genu-
ine ML forces on this basis. To achieve its goal, it is waging uncom-
promising struggle against both right opportunism and anar-
chism and against all alien trends.
The CPI(ML) is engaged in building unity of the ML forces based
on this line. At the same time it is working hard along with other
ML forces to build a co–ordination of the ML forces at internation-
al level to create a congenial atmosphere for waging the ideologi-
cal–political struggle which shall lead to reorganization of the
Comintern according to the present conditions.
In this way, the CPI(ML) wants to provide the ideological po-
litical content and orientation to the theoretical struggle to be
waged. By just formulating forms of waging this struggle alone
we cannot overcome the present setbacks. Forms are important,
but content is primary and it determines the forms also. So our
appeal to all fraternal parties is to handle the contradictions among
the ML parties based on the Marxist-Leninist ideological political
line.
Abbreviations
1. CPI Communist Party of India

2. CPI(M) Communist Party of India (Marxist)
3. CPI(ML) Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
4. CM Charu Majumdar.
5. KS Kanu Sanyal
6. SB Soren Bose
7. SNS Sathya Narayana Sinha
8. CPR Chandra Pulla Reddy
9. TN T Nagireddy
11. DVR DV Rao
12. KSR Kondapalli Seetharamaiah
13. SM Ssthya Murthi
14. KV Kolla Venkaiah
15. KN Kunnickal Narayanan
16. EMS EM Sankaran Namboodiripad
17. Chettan elder brother or elderly person
18. UCCRI (ML) Unity Committee of Communist Revolutionar-
ies of India (ML) 302 Pioneering Voyage of an Indian Com-

munist
19. Maoists Those belonging to CPI( Maoist) or similar views.
20. CPI(ML) PU CPI(ML) Party Unity
21. MCC Maoist Communist Center.
22. AICCCR All India Coordination Committee of the Commu-
nist Revolutionaries.
23. RC Reorganization Committee
24. CRC Central Reorganization Committee.
25. CC Central Committee
26. PB Polit Bureau
27. SOC State Organizing Committee
28. COC Central Organizing Committee
29. CPI(ML) RS Communist Party of India(Marxist-Leninist) Red
Star.
30. CPI(ML)Red Flag CPI(ML) RF
31. AITUC All India Trade Union Center
32. CITU Center of Indian Trade Unions.
33. TUCI Trade Union Center if India.
34. AIKS All India Kisan Sabha
35. AIKKS All India Krantikari Kisan Sabha
36. AIRSO All India Revolutionary Students Organization
37. AIRWO All India Revolutionary Women’s Organization
38. RYFI Revolutionary Youth Federation of India
39. CAM Caste Annihilation Movement Pioneering Voyage of
an Indian Communist 303

40. RCF Revolutionary Cultural Front
41. ABM Adivasi Bharat Mahasabha
42. BSM Basti Suraksha Manch
43. ICM International Communist Movement
44. ICOR International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties
and Organizations
45. WWC World Women’s Conference
46. BRO Border Roads Organization
47. GREF General Reserve Engineering Force
48. WSF World Social Forum.
49. AI Artificial Intelligence.
50. PST Pradip Singh Thakur

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Pioneering Voyage of an

Leninist parties came into being in many countries of the world.

within the Party in relation to international and Indian develop-

ry, followed by the advent of neo-fascism under the Hindutva re-

Introduction to the Vol. II

This pioneering voyage of which I was a part, started from the

transition to socialism from the capitalist roaders who usurped pow-

Star, is boldly put forward in the documents adopted by the 12th

If the neo-liberal policies of last few decades had taken the

of comrades from different regions we were engaged in a pioneer-

Appeal from Mass Line Publications

Leading team, Mass Line Publications

Spirit of Unity Vanishing

The successful Vijayawada unity conference had created lot of en-

the CC members of KS section started coming up on each and ev-

important basic issues starting with the understanding on neo-

the problem was difficult. Under the leadership of com. Sivaram,

Differences on Building Party and

groups together. The discussion became so violent that finally the

My reply always was: yes, there is an urgency; but it is not

Plenum on Party History

As per the Unity Resolution, the all India plenum to resolve

understanding to launch and develop the People’s Democratic Rev-

rades under the leadership of Satyanarayan Singh (SNS), blaming

Splits in CPI(ML) KS Section

award from the French government by PK Murthy came up, and

Differences on International Relations

The Unity Resolution had agreed to conduct a special all India

consensus. So, it was strongly opposed by the RF section. But

were facing, and what we were losing after a wonderful unity

Impact of Unity with Differences Experiment

the end of this specific experiment, at a time when the communist

initiative in WB in the Red Star in detail. Soon after Vijayawada

Impact of the Unity with Difference in the States

comrades from Punjab joined us also. By 2009 an organizing com-

Consolidation of Hitherto Theoretical Initiatives

undemocratic, an Anti-Caste, Secular Convention was organized

Bhopal Special Conference in 2009

The Bhopal Special Conference took place at a very critical

humbug unless it is inseparably bound up with the fight against

carrying forward a deeper theoretical study of neo-colonialism.

in spite of its historical significance, it made things easy for the

include the post-modern ideas, with their emphasis on NGOs, “new

Besides actively working in the ICOR, it is also necessary to

had developed and maintained a Proletarian Internationalist stand,

tection that we had developed, based on last few decades of expe-

was working as the Jharkhand state organizing committee of

In the course of discussion on the setbacks suffered by the ICM

reported, some comrades started opposing even any internation-

Discussion within ICMLPO

Preparation for Draft ICOR Documents

some of our differences with the MLPD position included in the

Resolution on Formation of ICOR (Draft)

ICOR- First World Conference, 2010

consistently build international relations, and while starting with

Sabha elections. If RSS/BJP was becoming the only opposition to

Social Democratic and Left Adventurist Streams

the capitalist roaders everywhere through raising the banner of

er basic rights. They were trying to overthrow the feudal mon-

“No to Reformism, No to Anarchism,

As noted above, 2009 Bhopal Special Party Conference was

Neo-fascist RSS was targeted mainly, the campaign was organized

A Historic Step Forward