[From Liberation, Vol. I, No. 10 (August 1968).]
Everyday the "Marxists" and their allies — the Dange renegades, the R.S.P., the S.S.P. and others — seem to surpass all their previous records as agents of the reactionary classes: whenever they adorn the ministerial offices, they deny food and jobs to the people, seek to divert people's anger with talks of a sham struggle against the Congress government at the centre and try hard to suppress all expressions of discontent of the people, all democratic movements, by fascist methods. During the first ten months of the rule of the "Marxist"-led ministry in Kerala, Namboodiripad said to a Washington Post correspondent, "people today have.... even less food (and that at higher cost) than ten months ago. The problem of unemployment and lack of all-round economic development has also become worse during the last ten months" (People's Democracy, January 14, 1968). Since this interview the price of food ration has been considerably raised by Namboodiripad's government. This is the kind of relief the "Marxist" and their allies are offering to the people of Kerala and promising the people of West Bengal. And the manner in which they are "strengthening the democratic movements of the people" for making revolution at a convenient time in future is best illustrated by the news that has recently come from Kerala.
The employees of Namboodiripad's government were agitating for some time for some very just demands. When the "Marxist"-led government refused to accede to them, seven hundred employees of the Kerala Secretariat went on one day's mass casual leave. Namboodiripad and his men have responded by imposing a salary cut of one day and what is most astounding of all, ordering a break of service of these seven hundred employees. That amounts to treating them as new entrants, who are forced to lose the benefit of all previous increments, seniority in service etc. and to start anew from the lowest rung of the ladder.
It is reported that these penal measures have received the support of the United Front Co-ordination Committee in Kerala. The utterly reactionary character of the United Fronts and United Front governments is demonstrated once again as it was demonstrated before in West Bengal.
In Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere government employees have again and again demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the miserable conditions of their service in various ways including mass casual leave and strike. Even the governments led by notorious Congress bosses like Bidhan Roy and Prafulla Sen and bureaucrats like Governor Dharma Vira never dared impose a salary cut or order a break of service. Namboodiripad and his men have set an example for all other reactionary bosses to emulate. We know that when the present system torn with crisis is on the verge of collapse, the "Marxists", the Dangeites and others have undertaken to stabilize it. "I may now claim that one of the biggest achievements of our pre-election alliance and the post-election coalition government is that we have shown that it is possible for the various non-Congress parties to come together and establish a relatively stable alliance on which a stable coalition government can be built." (Namboodiripad during his interview with Washington Post Correspondent, ibid). The task is difficult. Naturally, these degenerate lackeys of the ruling classes have to try to accomplish it.
Only a few days ago, several hundred retrenched policemen who were demanding reinstatement in service were mercilessly attacked with lathis on the orders of Namboodiripad's government. When these sham Marxists and their allies are treating the toiling people agitating for just demands with lathis and bullets and adopting all kinds of vindictive measures, they are full of servility towards the U.S. imperialists. During their demonstrations on the Vietnam Day this year, the youth of Kerala, incensed by the brutalities of the American aggressors who are laying waste the whole of Vietnam, set on fire a van belonging to the U.S. Consulate. While anti-imperialist India acclaims this action of the youth of Kerala, an action which is a token of solidarity with the heroic Vietnamese people, the "Marxist" Chief Minister expressed "deep personal regret" for the incident in a letter to the U.S. Consul and promised to take severe action against the young men. When the influence of the Congress is declining, the "Marxists" and their allies have taken upon themselves the task of restoring political stability to the present vicious system; naturally, they are servile to the Birlas and other Indian reactionaries and to the U.S. imperialists and hostile to the impoverished toiling people.
The mask of the "Marxists" and other traitors is falling off. In order to win victory the toiling people must get rid of all illusions about these agents of reaction planted among them and wage a fight on two fronts — against the reactionary ruling classes and against their agents who call themselves 'Marxists', 'Communists' and 'Socialists.'