CPI (ML) [Party Unity]
1. Our beloved motherland, is one of the largest and most populous countries of the world, inhabited by people of many nationalities at varying stages of development and of different religious faiths. Our country is endowed with rich natural resources. Our people, the vast majority of whom depend on agriculture, are hard-working. They are inheritors of a rich revolutionary tradition and a glorious culture.
2. Two hundred years ago, the British colonialists conquered India and established their direct rule. In their pursuit of exploitation and plunder, they ruthlessly destroyed our independent and thriving trade, commerce and cottage industries and mercilessly ruined indigenous artisans and traders. They modified the prevailing feudal system, encouraged commodity economy on a wider scale, converted land into a commodity, established absolute control over the Indian market, built up Railways and improved the transport system and connected Indian agriculture with the world capitalist market. In the process of consolidating their rule and exploitation, the British colonialists crushed many a feudal lord who resisted them and created a new landlord class, comprador merchants, money lenders and speculators - all acting as their social prop. In the wake of foreign conquest and domination, independent and feudal India was thus turned into colonial and semi-feudal India, causing pauperisation of the great majority of peasants and artisans on the one hand and laying the basis of a colonial variety of capitalism on the other. The masses who were subjected to oppression and exploitation on a scale never experienced before rose in revolt. A series of peasant rebellions culminated in the First War of Independence in 1857. This uprising spread throughout the country like a wildfire, inflicted many humiliating defeats on the colonialists and shook the very foundations of British rule, but it ended in failure because of the lack of able leadership and the betrayal of a section of feudal lords.
3. As capitalism transformed into imperialism, British imperialism patronised the setting-up of industries in colonial India so as to facilitate exploitation of finance capital. They encouraged investment in industry by comprador merchants, money-lenders and landlords who had amassed huge wealth by fleecing the people. Thus were born an industrial bourgeoisie, comprador in nature, i.e. dependent upon imperialism for survival and growth and a proletariat. They introduced an education system to suit the needs of their administration and in the process an educated petty bourgeoisie was born.
4. Since the turn of the century, our motherland witnessed several movements of an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal character. The imperialists and landlords resorted to severe repression. But as the conditions of the masses became more and more unbearable as a result of imperialist crisis and the World War, the peasants, workers and other toiling people rose in revolt in increasing numbers. To overthrow British rule the revolutionary petty bourgeoisie took up arms and their heroic struggles, though isolated from the masses, made a great imprint on the people. The exploiters and oppressors were frightened. Beginning from the Champaran struggle, the Gandhian leadership representing the comprador bourgeoisie and the landlords, intervened with its ideology of non-violence and diverted the developing national movement from the path of struggle and revolution to the path of surrender and bargain. To protect their political and economic interests, the British rulers gave some political and economic concessions to the big bourgeoisie and landlords so that they would act as stable pillars of British imperialism. However such reforms instead of ensuring the free and independent development of our country, helped perpetuate semi-feudalism.
5. Since its very inception, the working class of India fought many a patriotic and class battle. The salvos of the October Revolution brought Marxism-Leninism to India and the Communist Party of India was born at a time when our beloved countrymen were seething with anger and hatred against Imperialism and feudalism. But the Communist Party failed to explore the immense possibilities of the developing situation as the leadership lacked revolutionary initiative and could not fight Gandhism. The leadership of the national movement thus passed into the hands of Congress under Gandhian leadership.
6. Imperialism was greatly weakened by World War II. It was shaken to its very foundation as a result of the great proletarian prestige gained by the Soviet Union through the defeat of fascism, the emergence of the peoples democracies of Eastern Europe, the world-shaking victorious advance of the Chinese Revolution and above all, the mighty national liberation struggles of Asia, Africa and Latin America, reflecting the enhanced consciousness of the people. It had to retreat in order to survive. British imperialism, hitherto the foremost imperialist power, was relegated to a secondary position and American imperialism, which had undergone an unprecedented development established itself as a superpower and undisputed leader of the Imperialist camp - the greatest champion of neo-colonialism. In essence, neo-colonialism is subjugation of a nation through indirect control economically, politically as well as by other means. Imperialism gradually gave up its direct rule in the Third World and propped up such tested indigenous leaders from among the native exploiting classes as would become vehicles of intensified exploitation of imperialist finance capital. Formal or fake independence - transfer of power - was trumpeted as real and complete independence. Thus peoples wrath against exploitation and oppression in general and against Imperialism in particular temporarily lost its edge. Imperialist hegemony was established on a new political basis. In the changed conditions, colonies were transformed into semi-colonies on the basis of neo-colonial form of control and exploitation.
7. An unprecedented revolutionary situation overtook the Indian subcontinent after the Second World War. The movement for the release of 'Azad Hind' prisoners, anti-imperialist demonstrations by students, the 'Tebhaga' and 'Bakasht' movement, the anti-feudal struggles in the princely states, the P&T workers strike, the great mutiny of the R.I.N. ratings of Bombay along with unrest in the Air Force and the Army and police revolt in Bihar, the solidarity actions of the working class and the beginning of the historic armed peasant struggle in Telengana brought imperialist rule in India almost to the verge of collapse. British Imperialism became panicky and was forced to retreat. The Communist Party could not utilise this wonderful revolutionary situation as the leadership had failed to integrate Marxism-Leninism with the concrete conditions of India, and refused to creatively apply the lessons of the Great Chinese Revolution - importance of the peasant question, united front based on worker-peasant alliance and protracted peoples war, and eventually took to parliamentarism in the name of "tactics". Thus, despite the heroic sacrifices of the Party ranks and people, the leaders of the Congress and Muslim League representing the big bourgeois and landlords, could project themselves as national heroes. In such a situation the Indian big bourgeoisie and the landlord class, in collusion with British Imperialism, sabotaged and betrayed the genuine aspiration of the Indian people for democracy and independence. The Indian exploiting classes sought elevation top state power to improve their share of spoils, and in accordance with the new strategy of World Imperialism, British Imperialism decided to give up their direct rule. Amidst conspiracies and intrigues resulting in communal carnage and partition on a religious basis, power was transferred to the Congress and the Muslim League. Independence was declared, and India was transformed into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country.
8. During these years of big bourgeois and big landlord rule, India, in addition to exploitation of British Imperialism, became the happy hunting ground of different other imperialist powers. American Imperialism established itself as the main imperialist exploiter of India. The Soviet Union which had over the years degenerated into a Social Imperialist country, emerged as a superpower and as US Imperialism's chief rival for hegemony over India. In these years of neo-colonialism, imperialism took to some new forms of control and exploitation. Finance capital began to be exported through international institutions of the imperialists such as the I.M.F. and the World Bank and through loans and 'grants' from imperialist and social imperialist states. This is in addition to increased direct investment by multinationals. To accomodate this huge imperialist capital and facilitate imperialist exploitation, the state sector and the 'Green Revolution" became necessary. Imperialist capital penetrated every sphere of our life _ economic, political, military and cultural. This all round penetration and control of finance capital is reflected in a phenomenal increase in the total quantum of foreign capital, in heavy remittances of profits abroad, in thousands of collaborations for technology and capital, in unequal and humiliating treaties, and in dependence on imperialism for 'aid', 'grants' and loans, capital goods, technical know-how, agricultural inputs, military supplies and armament industries, and even for market.
9. Acting as a vehicle of imperialist exploitation, the big bourgeoisie, aspiring for growth under Imperialist umbrella, initiated the development of the state sector. The big bourgeoisie achieved its monopoly growth by depending more and more on imperialism and utilising the infrastructural facilities supplied by the 'public sector' and securing control over the Indian market at the cost of the small and middle bourgeoisie desiring independent growth. The comprador monopoly bourgeoisie serves Imperialism in order to serve itself. During these years the state sector which regulates the major arteries of industry and finance underwent a phenomenal growth. This state monopoly capital or bureaucratic capital and comprador monopoly capital are interlinked through thousands of links and its coalescence constitutes comprador-bureaucrat capital. A small upper stratum of bureaucracy and political personages in power, by virtue of their positions and privileges exercise considerable control over the economy and have also turned into embezzlers of state property. The Indian big bourgeoisie, along with these strata, constitute comprador bureaucrat bourgeoisie. The acute inter-imperialist contradictions, particularly that between the two superpowers, give the cunning comprador-bureaucrat bourgeoisie relative and limited freedom for bargain.
Thus as a result of exploitation by Imperialism and comprador-bureaucrat bourgeoisie, our country is having a dependent, lopsided and crippled growth, instead of free and independent development. Industry suffers from permanent stagnation and millions are facing an uncertain future and destitution as a result of shrinkage of employment opportunities.
10. Afraid of the peoples wrath repeatedly demonstrated by peasant revolts, the indigenous ruling classes introduced some changes in land relations after 1947. But the age old aspiration for land of the vast majority of peasants remained unfulfilled. The 'princely states' and the intermediary system of land tenure were abolished; but land ownership was so manipulated as to ensure continued monopoly possession of land _ illegal and legal, depriving the overwhelming majority of the rural poor. In India's semi-feudal economy today, 10 per cent of the households hold 55 per cent of the land, but 80 percent of the households own only 25 percent of the land. Extra-economic coercion persists and the peasantry is forced to live below subsistence level. Extortion of share-croppers _ robbing them of at least 50 per cent of their produce, employment of bonded and attached labour and the domination of usurious and merchant capital are among the prevailing semi-feudal forms of exploitation. The backward agriculture on fragmented land is mainly dependent on primitive methods and vagaries of nature, and the overwhelming number of poor and middle peasants live on a subsistence economy. The continuing semi-feudal relations is the main cause of destitution of tens of millions of our people. The countryside is dominated by landlords, usurers and merchants. It is this class of landlords, usurers and merchants who are the mainstay of this semi-feudal production relations. This class champions casteism, communalism and superstition, sometimes maintains private armies, perpetuates oppression on the rural masses, lynches Dalits and molests the womenfolk. It is this class of oppressors who hold social and political power in the vast countryside. This is the dominant aspect of the rural society if India and one of the main obstacles to the release of productive forces and the progress of our country.
11. Over the decades, one reform after another has been adopted; land reforms, community development, expansion of cooperatives and banking, and above all the 'Green Revolution". The 'Green Revolution' was introduced to meet finance capitals requirement of a limited market and the necessity of the ruling classes to hoodwink the peasants demanding development and to overcome the food crisis. As a result of these reforms, particularly the 'Green Revolution', some infrastructural facilities associated with capitalism and market oriented production haphazardly developed in Indian agriculture. A tiny section has emerged as new types of landlords and rich peasants in scatterdly developed pockets or cash crop areas in different parts of India. In this process, the relatively free section of agricultural labourers has also developed. This capitalist development has achieved regional shape only in one or two areas. Such an area is Punjab-Haryana where capitalism in agriculture _ distorted, stagnant and marked by semi-feudal remnants _ has developed in the main. In the overall semi-feudal setup this development is a partial feature only.
12. The Indian ruling classes have inherited the colonial state machinery, preserved it and developed it over decades. Under cover of a formal parliamentary setup, they have established an authoritarian rule. Nurtured by the prevailing semi-feudal conditions, the authoritarian rule is strengthened along with steady bureaucratisation and centralisation of state power. This rule is backed by a well-equipped army and para-military forces and a bureaucracy _ corrupt and powerful. The ruling classes and their political representatives occupy a vicious circle of economic and political corruption, fostered by parallel circulation of black money and election oriented politics. They spread all round corruption and seek to corrupt different sections of people. To divide and rule, the Indian ruling classes practice Hindu chauvanism and communalism. All these are features of their oppressive authoritarian rule.
13. The Indian ruling classes profess socialism and non-alignment, but in practice support all the nefarious deeds of imperialists and Social-Imperialists. Their expansionist ambitions are a threat to neighbouring countries.
14. Instead of guaranteeing the right to self-determination, the ruling classes have ruthlessly trampled underfoot the democratic aspirations of different nationalities. Imperialist and big bourgeoisie exploitation has stifled their development, resulting in sharp regional disparities. Forcible imposition of Hindi and English and their special status result in denial of equality of languages. The ruling classes mislead nationality movements, setting different nationalities against one another. The proletariat must oppose coercion and uphold equal rights. It must lead nationality movements and integrate them with the class struggle, judging each nationality struggle and demand concretely.
15. To sum up, our society is still a semi-feudal and semi-colonial one, despite some changes. This determines the stage of our revolution, which is Democratic. But in this era of Imperialism and Proletarian Revolution, the bourgeoisie is incapable of leading the revolution. So our revolution is a new type of Democratic Revolution. It is a Peoples Democratic Revolution led by the proletariat, and a part of World Socialist Revolution. The axis of Peoples Democratic Revolution is agrarian revolution.
16. The targets of our revolution are the imperialists including Social Imperialists, the comprador-bureaucratic bourgeoisie and the big landlord class _ the three enemies blocking the development of our country. The major contradictions of our society are:
a). Contradiction between Imperialism including Social Imperialism and the Indian Nation;
b). Contradiction between feudalism and the broad masses of the people. (In particular, the contradiction between the landlord class and the peasantry and agricultural labourers.)
c). Contradiction between comprador-bureaucrat bourgeoisie and the broad masses of the people
d). Contradiction among the enemy classes; and
e). Contradiction between capital and labour.
Of these, the first three are fundamental, the resolution of which will ensure the unfettered growth of our country.
17. In this period of neo-colonialism and indirect control of imperialism. the peoples wrath against the indigenous exploiters and rulers is greater and the contradictions with them, i.e. the internal contradictions are sharper. Of the internal contradictions, the one between feudalism and the broad masses is the principal one. First of all because the progress of our country depends primarily on the development of agriculture that can be achieved by smashing the backward relations of production and releasing the productive forces. Secondly because the majority of our people live in the villages and oppression and exploitation is the most acute in the rural areas. If Imperialism commits direct aggression on our country, the principal contradiction will change into one between Imperialism and the Nation. The phase of the revolution will also change accordingly. But the stage of the our revolution will continue to be that of People's Democratic Revolution until the semi-feudal character of our society changes.
18. The working class will exercise its political leadership over this revolution through its party. It will perform its leading role also by intensifying its own class struggle, launching struggles on political issues _ national and international, by waging solidarity struggles in support of the revolutionary struggles of the peasantry and by sending its detachments to organise peasant struggles.
19. To forcibly overthrow the enemy classes and establish a Peoples Democratic State, a broad United Front on the basis of the general programme of Peoples Democratic Revolution and armed struggle is essential. The enemy is strong. To achieve victory in revolution, all those who can be united with must be united against the common enemy. The United Front will be based on the alliance between the working class and the peasantry. Relying on the agricultural labourers and poor peasants, the working class will firmly unite with the middle peasants and even win over a section of the rich peasants while neutralising the rest. It will be only a tiny section of the rich peasants that finally joins the enemies of the revolution. The urban petty bourgeoisie is a firm ally of the working class. We have to unite with the national bourgeoisie, though they are vacillating allies. The working class must include the oppressed nationalities and religious minorities in the front. However this broad United Front will take shape after we go through various phases of the movement. During these earlier phases, we will go in for various types of joint activities on the basis of specific programmes.
20. The semi-colonial and semi-feudal structure of our country is being maintained by brute force of the state machinery, the main pillar of which is the army. So the central task of our revolution is to settle the issue by war. The semi-feudal character of our society, i.e. the uneven development and acute agrarian contradictions, virtual absence of all democratic rights in large areas of the countryside, and the vastness of our country as well as the relatively weak grip of the state machinery in rural areas have determined our path _ the path of protracted peoples war, encircling the cities by the countryside and the ultimate seizure of power in the cities leading to nationwide victory. The countryside will be the main centre of our activity. Throughout the period of our peoples war, our strategy will be guerrilla war. But mass movements are indispensible and will have to be built up. As Mao said, "...war is the main form of struggle and army is the main form of organisation. Other forms such as mass organisation and mass struggle are also extremely important and indeed indispensible and in no circumstances to be overlooked, but their purpose is to serve the war. Before the outbreak of a war all organisations and struggles are in preparation for war...." At the initial stage our main form of struggle in the countryside will be mass struggle and main form of organisation will be mass organisation. But later with the development of struggle and extension of area of struggle, we will have to develop guerrilla zones where dual power will exist. Gradually the armed form of struggle will be the main form of struggle and we will have to develop an army which will be of guerrilla nature. Primarily our peoples army will be built from the class struggles of the countryside and mainly from among agricultural labourers and poor peasants. However because of our distinctive socio-economic development, the importance of urban struggles should by no means be minimised. So, working class struggles and struggles of other strata in cities will have to be consciously developed to help rural struggles. The object of these struggles also is to prepare the working class and other sections of urban people for ultimate seizure of power. We must try to organise revolts of military and para-military forces to strengthen our peoples army. With the development of the army, we will have to organise upsurges on a regional basis by extending our guerrilla zones which may now cover adjacent towns and thus strive for building up base areas which are likely to be of temporary nature. This protracted struggle will lead us to eventual nationwide victory. However our protracted war will have many twists and turns in the event of peculiar national and international developments.
21. The victory of the revolution achieved, the Peoples Democratic State will be established. The new state will ensure maximum possible democracy for a great majority of the population and exercise dictatorship over the tiny minority of oppressors. It will carry out the tasks of the general programme of Peoples Democratic Revolution, of which the following are the major ones:
a]. Confiscate all banks and enterprises of imperialist capital and liquidate all Imperialist debt.
b]. Confiscate all enterprises and properties of the comprador bureaucrat bourgeoisie.
c]. Confiscate all land belonging to the landlords and redistribute it among agricultural labourers and poor peasants on the principle of land to the tillers; cancel all debts of agricultural labourers, poor and middle peasants, ensure all facilities for growth of agriculture and encourage development of agricultural cooperatives wherever possible.
d]. Smash the repressive state machinery and exercise political power through revolutionary committees at all levels, on the basis of a Peoples Democratic Constitution.
e]. Enforce the eight hours working day; introduce need based wages; guarantee equal pay for equal work irrespective of sex, stop exploitation of child labour; and ensure safety conditions in factories.
f]. Ensure better living conditions for the people, remove unemployment and establish the right to work as a fundamental right;
g]. Improve the living conditions of soldiers and give land and jobs to ex-soldiers
h]. Help the growth of cottage industries and handicrafts, develop cooperatives for such industries and improve the condition of handicraftsmen and artisans;
i]. Protect small and medium industries to help develop the national economy.
j]. Abolish all exorbitant taxes and adopt a consolidated, progressive, direct tax system;
k]. Build up a progressive, scientific and mass education system, abolish the decadent Imperialist and feudal culture and promote a democratic and genuinely national culture.
l]. Ensure equal rights of all national languages and encourage voluntary acceptance of Hindi as the state language of India
m]. Guarantee the right to self determination of nationalities, including the right to secession, to achieve real integration of India;
n]. Abolish caste disparities, remove all social inequalities and all discrimination on religious ground; protect the legitimate rights of religious minorities;
o]. Guarantee equality of status to women and carry out an ideological struggle for equal rights of women in the social, economic and political life of the country;
p]. Guarantee the personal freedom of entertaining any religious belief or upholding atheism;
q]. Ensure the genuine secularism of the state and prevent use of religion for political; purposes; abolish all professions based on religion and superstition;
r]. Abrogate all unequal treaties with imperialism and settle peacefully the border dispute with neighbouring countries;
s]. Oppose Imperialist war, support revolutionary struggles and war against Capitalism, Imperialism and reaction the world over.
22. Our party is placing this programme of People's Democratic Revolution before the people and dedicates itself to this great revolutionary cause. Our ultimate goal is Socialism and Communism. Hoever tortuous the path may be, the ultimate victory of Socialism and Communism the world over is an inexorable law of history. As a detachment of the International Communist Movement, we shall unite with genuine Marxist-Leninists and the oppressed nations the world over. We pledge to fulfill our sacred duty of completing the Peoples Democratic Revolution and putting an end to the misery and sufferings of tens of millions of our beloved countrymen and to continue the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat and march forward.